Week 23 - Day 62 - 10.17.10 - Sunday (B - 26.2 miles)

I DID IT!!

Check out the movie I created that I think captures the essence of not only my journey but my fellow TNTers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_U9PCYjC0s

Week 23 - Day 61 - 10.16.10 - Saturday (B - 2 miles)

Can't believe we are finally here and my first marathon is tomorrow!!!

We all met at the SF Westin Hotel lobby for our morning run.  It was a nice 2 miles around the hotel and back. Afterwards a group of us went to the nearby breakfast eatery and enjoyed our much deserved food.

Now I just have to remember to avoid walking/running anywhere today to save my legs for tomorrow.

Week 23 - Day 60 - 10.13.10 - Wednesday (B - 3 miles)

It was another morning run close to home today.  I was about to take a shower and then thought, might as well get my short run in to at least keep my legs still used to running.

It felt good but of course I was both hit with a feeling of anxiousness and excitement for my first full marathon this Saturday.  Felt good after my run and can't wait to see my running buddy and friend Karissa for dinner tonight at The Chart House.  It almost is like a full circle of having my send off dinner with Karissa at the Chart House where I have ran to for the last several months of my morning training on Terwilliger.

Week 22 - Day 59 - 10.09.10 - Saturday (B - 6 miles)

Another raining morning but can't believe this my last Saturday team run.  I decided to just run 6 miles instead of the 8, since no one else was doing 8 and the majority of the runners were doing 2 who are running tomorrow for the Portland Marathon.

It was raining of course and all of us met at Nike.  Soon after I rushed over to Mentor Diane's house for bubble painting of our race shirts.  I can't believe it's almost here!

After the bubble painting, I was able to treat myself to a much needed massage and then rushed to downtown Portland to meet one of my BFF to get ready to cheer our friends/teammates who will run the Portland Marathon tomorrow.

Check out the movie I put together regarding how our TNT Westside team rocked the 10.10.10 Portland Marathon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4typfspfSIE

Week 22 - Day 58 - 10.06.10 - Wednesday (B - 3.02 miles)

Decided to do my run early this morning at home because my day calendar shows no time for me to do it at lunch nor after work because of our Nike Womens Send Off party.

Week 21 - Day 57 - 10.02.10 - Saturday (B - 12 miles)

I am definitely tapering and it felt good to run the entire 12 miles.  I found out immediately when I made it back to the park that I was the ONLY one who ran 12 miles today since most of the other folks were running Portland and had to do 8 miles and my fellow Nike full marathoners were either nursing their injuries or tapering early.

It felt good and kinda weird that just several months ago the thought of running 12 miles terrified me and now it feels like just running 5 miles in my brain.  Next Saturday will be 8 miles and I can't wait.  The only thing that is concerning me with this tapering is losing my comfort or muscle memory with running the longer miles.  I know there is reasoning behind all this and I will trust the reasoning and my coaches.

Now to look forward to our Nike send off next Wednesday, 10/6/10 in downtown.  It will be nice to see my fellow TNT runners all in their normal attire instead of our usual sweaty running garb.

Last Track Day - 09.29.10 - Wednesday (B - 2.8 Miles)

I still can't believe this is our last Track night together.  It was also a very relaxing one since we ONLY had to run 2.8 miles around Cornell, Evergreen, and back to Chevy's Restaurant for our much anticipated dinner.

Thank goodness the company was excellent because the customer service from our overworked waitress was much to be desired.  I am excited for our potential last group run this Saturday which is ONLY 12 miles instead of the usual 20.  I am in awe that I am saying ONLY to these large numbers and that my body has endured with all the hardwork and sacrifice I have put in this program.

When I look at these photos of myself, I am amazed how much my body has changed as well as my attitude towards running and what I can accomplish with positive thinking and support from family and friends.

In two weeks I will be running my first full marathon in San Francisco and I know it will be filled with emotion, tears of joy and all worth this long journey once I cross that finish line!

Week 20 - Day 56 - 09.25.10 - Saturday (B - 20 miles)

Now I know I can run my first full marathon. This was my second week in a row that I ran my required 20 miles. Last week I was suppose to only run 18 miles but instead didn’t take my required turn and ended up doing the full 21 miles as well. I started running at 6:30AM and officially ended around 11:33AM so about 5 hours.


I started strong with the first 4 miles from Duniway Track to the Waterfront’s Steel Bridge and back. I also was strong running up Pill Hill on Terwilliger to the local High School and back since I have been used to this route with my weekly training runs on my own. Then it all started to crumble on the third leg of my 20 mile run.

I got back at Duniway Track and was cheered as I came in. My TNT family told me I just finished about 13 or so miles and had under 7 miles left to get my 20 miles. I should have asked someone in the crowd if I needed to move on since I unexpectedly did my 21 miles last week but felt kinda good and thought what’s 7 miles anyway? Well it was all uphill towards Washington Park and back and by this time I had no more Body Glide to save the bloody rash under my left arm and my back where my bra hooks were digging in. Thanks to Captain Wendy she was so sweet and stayed by my side even though I knew she was itching to run this final part of the course. My feet and legs were just spent and the only thing I kept in my pea brain was to finish.

We got closer to downtown and did our final turn on 4th where we saw Coach Darrell, Mentors Linda, Loretta, Kat, and Diane coming towards us and cheering us in. It was a sight and sound for sore eyes and ears and believe you me I wanted to start crying but knew the Duniway Track (aka start/finish) line was so near. Here are the pics Mentor Diane took of those last yards and I now know I can do this marathon!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Week 20 - Day 55 - 09.23.10 - Thursday (B - 3.56 miles and 102 steps)

What a great day for a run in the Emerald City…Seattle!
I took my time waking up at the hotel and headed outside and ran part of downtown to the famous Pike Street Market and along the pier. It was a cloudy day but kinda muggy. I was able to get in about 3.56 Miles in 0:38:51. Along the way I was whistled at by a greasy looking fella, passed two, no make that three loading dock workers who puffed smoke whilst I ran by.

Here are some pics of the local scenery that I ran past, but have to say our very own Portland waterfront area is much nicer and very runner/bike/walk friendly.

There is no place like home indeed!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Week 19 - Day 54 - 09.18.10 - Saturday (B - 23.83 miles)

Well I got to NW Fit on 22nd and Raleigh about 6:30AM, although the rest of the West and East TNT teams wouldn’t be there until 7PM. I was pretty proud of myself for snagging the front door spot but then was advised by Coach Darrell when he arrived a little before 7AM to probably move my car since the parking police around there were brutal and there were no way in Hell that I can run 18 miles in just 2 hours so I moved Sally two blocks down.

Boy was I glad I did. My trusty running buddy Andrea and I must have gotten the wrong directions or what but we ended up running 21 miles instead and then walked the last 2.83 miles to get back to NW Fit. We did so in 05:33:23 and burned a whopping 2,795 calories. Needless to say we were sore but glad we were there to help each other out. We celebrated our mileage with fellow TNT running friend Karissa at Pastini Pasta!

Below are some of the photos we took along our run today on Highway 30 (lots of Adult Shops/Nude Girls) and in front of Adidas for the last 3 miles of our journey. I can’t believe my TNT Karaoke and Potluck Fundraiser is just hours away, God help me!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Week 19 - Day 53 - 09.15.10 - Wednesday (B - 2.64 miles) LAST HILL REPEATS

Our last hill repeats at Foothills Park and boy was I glad to get there an hour early.  I decided why not start since I had a feeling it would be the same 3 loops around the man-made lake with 10 hill repeats.  By the time I was done and ran a total of 2.64 miles the rest of the TNT crew showed up.  They were surprised to see me running my last two hill repeats and some looked quite envious too.  I said I wanted to spend more time with the hubby and decided to get my hill repeats done an hour early so it could be done….now onto 18 miles for Saturday…oy vey!

Week 19 - Day 52 - 09.14.10 - Tuesday (B - 3.01 miles)

Decided to run my 30 minutes during lunch time around the trusty old Waterfront. Good thing I did because I was delighted to see a pirate faux sword fight on top of the old Sternwheeler Rose. Apparently this weekend is the Pirate Festival so I assume this taping of this awesome swordplay is being used to promote the upcoming festivities.

Although there were some light sprinkle it was very humid and I was glad I decided to run with my sleeveless Dri Fit shirt. I was able to run 3.01 miles in 0:31:19 near my race pace of 10:23 minutes a mile. I felt great and was able to return back to work proud that I got my run in for the day.

Week 18 - Day 51 - 09.11.10 - Saturday (B - 17.00 miles)

I have this uncanny habit of running more than I need to at the last part of my TNT group runs.  I did this when we ran our 16 miles near the Nike Campus and forgot to take the right left to get back to the group.

I did it again today with missing Sorrento Ridge/125th on Brockman and instead went all the way to Hall and had to backtrack by running down Nimbus and taking my last two rights on Scholls then to the entrance of our starting point at Portland Running and Walking Company.  My teammates were worried that they decided to call me just to check where I was.  The positive thing about this is it probably added another mile of running to my required 16 today, so it's all good.

Boy were my legs tired because the double whammy of hills on the Murray Hills trail and Weir Road were killer.  Here is the photo of the beginning of the trail that still makes me shudder just looking at it.

The only negative was that with all the trees that line these hills, it keeps screwing with my CardioTrainer's GPS and would automatically pause which didn't account for 3 to 4 miles I actually ran.

I was able to end the day with my racing buddy Andrea at my friend Karen's TNT fundraiser and let's just say we had a great time :D

Week 18 - Day 50 - 09.09.10 - Thursday (B - 0.96 miles)

I felt so good after track practice last night, both my running buddy Andrea and I decided to meet at the bottom of Barnes Road hill to tackle it at 5AM this morning. I got there right at 5:00AM and no Andrea, but that’s okay we made a pact to keep going regardless who shows up so I did.

First of all it was dark but good thing there were some light posts on at this early hour that gave me some light. I would run up the hill at 65-75% of exertion and then walk down at the bottom of the hill. In the end I did 4 hill repeats total and I think I scared a poor lady waiting at the bus stop at the top of the hill.










Here is a photo of what it looks like on top of the hill of Barnes in the dark. I must be crazy?

Track Day - 09.08.10 - Wednesday (B - 5.0 Miles)

The weird thing was I missed track day, even though I dread it every week. Today was no exception and had no idea what Coach Darrell would give us since it was starting to sprinkle when I arrived to Sunset High School 30 minutes before everyone else. I decided to warm up and run the track. Once I started, I couldn’t stop and ended up running 2 miles for my warm up. During my warm up run, I noticed a stately looking gentleman walking the track with his cute Scotty dog. I’ve seen him and his dog on the track before on our Wednesday track nights and tonight for some reason I really got a good look at him. He seemed familiar to me for some reason, especially with the combination of the dog. I used to live by this sweet family at Rock Creek who had a Scotty dog named Heather. Well Heather decided to have a tryst with one of the local neighbor dogs and became pregnant with our future family dog Chelsea. Chelsea lived until I believe 2003 so that would make her about 15-17 years old. I thought well I will just call out the dad’s name to see if he reacts and boy did he. I called out Mr. Adams and he looked at me puzzled. My hunch was right and he was my former neighbor of some 22-23 years ago. I explained to him what happened to us, updates of Chelsea, parents, and brother. I found out for the first time that his name is Craig Adams and his wife’s name was Joyce. His Scotty dog today was two dogs over from the original Heather. This cute gal was named Tess. I asked about his daughters Amy and I couldn’t remember the young sister’s name. Both are doing fine, with Amy being a doctor in Las Vegas and married with two kids. Youngest daughter living in New Hampshire, married, no children. Wow time flew by and I explained what I was up to and why he saw our team practicing every other weekend. Can’t wait to waive hi again in two weeks.




Coach Darrell announced he would yell out our times after each run around the track to determine our race pace. We had to run for at least 30 minutes and keep track of our pace and how many miles we logged in. After 10 minutes, I wished I would have saved my legs for this because at the end of 30 minutes and some odd seconds my legs were tired. Note to self, don’t over do it during warm up which would have probably given me a faster pace at the home stretch. Either way, I was happy with my results….



Mile 1 00:10:07

Mile 2 00:20:05

Mile 3 00:30:06



The good thing is even when I was tired at the middle to end of Mile 3 (really mile 5) I was still getting faster during each mile. I was soaking wet by the time I left there but all was good with my race pace and total of 5 miles running in the cool rain…LIFE IS GOOD!

Week 18 - Day 49 - 09.06.10 - Monday (B - 2.69 miles)

Started to feel guilty for taking some time off running on Saturday due to enjoying my long awaited birthday present which was all day of driving $2 million worth of supercars.

So when I awoke today I figured hills it is. Being that it is Labor Day, there were hardly any traffic on the road which was nice so I parked my car at the Subway parking lot on Barnes Road. I remember this hill because almost a month ago, I remember the sheer enormity of it and most of my fellow TNT mates decided to walk it, however both my race buddy Andrea and I still ran it, slow, but we ran it!

Today was no exception. I just looked at the top of the hill and decided to tackle the hill with full force. Man did my legs AND lungs feel it but gosh it was worth it! Now for a 6 inch Subway sandwich to celebrate!

Week 17 - Day 48 - 09.01.10 - Wednesday (A - 4.68 miles)

Got a call from my running buddy Andrea reminding me that both Coach Darrell and his better half Coach Heidi has cancelled our usual hill repeats today.

This has not deterred us so we decided to meet at Duniway Park racetrack and still move forward with our run.

Glad we did, because the run felt good and got a nice surprise seeing my friend Karen run/walking up towards us.  We both then realized that even though the Westside may not have track practice the Eastside was still having theirs.  We saw the whole lot of them at Duniway track when we were cooling off.

So proud of us!

Week 17 - Day 47 - 08.31.10 - Tuesday (B - 3 miles)

Did my required 40 minutes run at sea level AND in the rain.  I noticed a difference running and it seemed to be a lot easier, unfortunately my CardioTrainer was still on vacation and would not accurately log my run today.  I am guessing I ran a little over 3 miles and felt good afterwards.

Ironically when I got home, a FB friend of mine by the name of Terresa sent me an email asking if I had just run past an eatery on the waterfront called Little River Cafe.  I said yes and apparently she saw me run by whilst she was drinking tea before her dragonboat practice. That made my day!

Week 16 - Day 46 - 08.28.10 - Saturday (B - 16 miles)

It was hard but I did what I could which was 16 miles today!

I ran the first 12 miles and then my body said if you don't walk the last 4, you are gonna hurt tomorrow.  I didn't want any injuries so I followed what my body was saying.

My sister in law Jill took me back to the New Sante Fe Trail for my run this early AM.  Unfortunately she has been plagued with an injury and ran back to let me know she was going home to rest but would pick me up later. 

Photo of mile 9 on the trail.

Mile marker 34.5 miles which is roughly 12 miles from my starting point near the Air Force Academy.













Luckily my brother bought me a new camelback since the high altitude and the high miles would leave me very thirsty. I noticed a lot of the runners, some military had some kind of camelback for their runs. Boy was I glad that he bought it for me as a gift. I ended up drinking about a gallon of water when it was all said and done. This was a tough run both physically and mentally but I was proud of myself for going as far and long as I could which was roughly 3 hours and 30 minutes with my 16 miles. I will accomplish 18 miles back home on sea level in the next coming weeks with my TNT team.

Week 16 - Day 45 - 08.27.10 - Friday (B - 5.89 miles)

Can't believe I did it!

I ran for the first time in Colorado at the high altitude roughly at 2,000 meters and boy did I feel it.  It was hard but exhilirating and my little brother Mike was very pleased.  My brother took me for my first run here at the "Sante Fe Region Trail".  The trail runs through the U.S. Air Force Academy to Palmer Lake along an old rail route and is about 17 miles wide. If you want read more about this fabulous trail for a future trip, here is the link...
http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=BGR027-219#ixzz0yJOp1PXA


I expected to probably stop somewhere but kept my pace and felt good.  Just took deep breaths and kept looking forward. Ironically the New Sante Fe Trail runs parallel to a major highway and when I was almost to the end I saw a building with the moniker "Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado".  Even several states away, I am close to the mothership!

Can't wait to try to tackle 18 miles tomorrow with my sister-in-law Jill.

Track Day - 08.25.10 - Wednesday (B - 2.87 Miles)

Came to the Sunset High School track early for the calendar photo shoot for my running buddy's TNT calendar fundraiser.  Both she and super running Diane said they wanted a photo of me and my car Sally so we posed.

Afterwards it was all business doing some fun relays with the TNT team.  In the end we ran about 2.87 miles which included our warm up and cool down run. One of the exercises we did was an interesting one.  Coach Darrell split us in 2 to 3 groups of 8 and we all had to run for 12 minutes straight in a single file line and the person from the back has to spring to the front of the line.  Eventually Coach Darrell combined all the groups together until there were only two left and we had a race.  I started to lose gas in the end because of course I ended up with the faster group, but felt good when we started cooling down.  One thing I have noticed is my recovery time has gotten quicker.

I am nervous about my pending mile high runs in Colorado Springs with my little brother but also excited!

Week 16 - Day 44 - 08.23.10 - Monday (B - 2.36 and 2.32 miles)

Boy it was hard to get out of bed this morning at 4AM but I did and even with some sore legs.

It was okay the moment I started up Terwilliger Blvd.  I was able to get to the Chart House Sign in 0:26:48 and back down to the Duniway sign in 0:23:03.  Felt a little tired but glad I talked myself into running and glad I am done for the day and got my 49 minutes in when my running calendar stated I just needed to get 30 minutes in today!

Week 15 - Day 43 - 08.21.10 - Saturday (B - 16.31 miles)

What an awesome day!  Also a shout out to Coach Heidi and her dad for allowing us to use her house and bathroom as a aid station.

I have to say I am a little sore because 16 miles is the most I have ran at one time and I did it in 3:08:53 and burned an amazing 1,997 calories!!!

My running buddy Andrea treated me to some of her chocolate milk and we got to celebrate our recent run at Tom's Pancake House where we had some protein (bacon) and of course some of their famous banana and strawberry crepes...yum!!!!

Week 15 - Day 42 - 08.19.10 - Thursday (B - 4.17 miles)

Long day today with a finalist meeting for work in Bellevue, WA so decided to get my run down this AM in the 'hood.

I was able to discover some new places down Dogwood Street and have to say there are some beautiful and spacious houses hidden on those streets.  I was also feeling some garage envy because it seemed like every house in that pocket had at least 3 garages which is something we desperately need with our four cars.

Felt good afterwards until I got back home and one of my cats decided to leave a their newly thrown up hair ball at the door.  Oy vey!

Track Day - 08.18.10 - Wednesday (B - 2.66 Miles)

It's Hill Repeats at our trusty Foothills Park....

It wasn't as hot as it was two weeks so that was a plus! We did a lap around the lake, participated in some stretches and then did a set of 5 hill repeats. Then sprinted to the top and walked back down. My running buddy Andrea and I grabbed some water and took another nice easy lap around the lake and ran another 5 hill repeats. Finished with a 3rd lap around the lake and did some much needed stretching.

Today I got to break in my brand new Brooks running shoes and they felt great.  Amazing how much I wore down my other ones that I just bought back in May.

Week 14 - Day 41 - 08.14.10 - Saturday (12.32 miles)

Today was a tough run for me but glad I finished my required 12 miles.  We had a lot of hills (aka Barnes Road) and it was hot!

We even had an earlier starting time set for 6:30AM, unfortuantely wtih all the announcements and everything else we didn't actually run til 6:45AM.

I decided to take my time and conserve my energy with the heat. I was thankful there were many a lawn with a sprinkler and decided to partake in running through them every chance I got.

My trusty racing buddy Andrea was close by and was fighting off some leg cramps in this heat. We both finished and took our time stretching.  We reflected on why we are doing this and came to the conclusion that when it's all said in done it's for a noble cause, helping TNT and The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society find a cure.  We know that trying to raise the last part of our fundraising is not going to be easy but those battling this disease have it tougher than we do and this is why wo do this!

Week 14 - Day 40 - 08.12.10 - Thursday (4.69 miles with hills)

I was a little tired this morning when that darn alarm clock woke me up at 4AM! I got up, brushed my teeth and was out the door and at my downtown office by 5AM. This gave me a good start this morning to attack those hills on Terwilliger Blvd.

I added on my Facebook wall that I was ready to attack them and got so many positive comments from friends saying I can do it to good job! It was hard, especially since we had a good but tiring track practice last night but oh so worth it.

This time I decided to split my CardioTrainer runs from up the hill to Chart House sign and back down the hill to Duniway sign. I want to see the difference of my running speed and better it each time I do it so my running up the hill running gap from running down the hill is close.

Today I got to the Chart House sign at 0:26:54 (2.42 miles) and back down to the Duniway sign at 0:22:43 (2.27 miles) with a total round trip of 49:37. A little slower from last Monday, 8/9/2010 where I did the entire trip at 0:48:24.

Track Day - 08.11.10 - Wednesday

First another shout out to my co-worker and friend Marcia for donating $50 towards TNT and my running. She sees me every day and always provides me positive support and buys great high grain breads so I can have my regular BM (yup you guessed it Bowell Movement). Now that is a good friend!

Track practice was great tonight. Coach Darrell decided to do something different than planned because it was a little warmer than expected. We ended up partnering up with TNT runners whom we share race paces with and then we did a 300 mile relay for 30 minutes with a warm up laps (2X400 Meters) and cool down laps (2X400 Meters) before and after.

I felt great and noticed I was averaging about 1:30 minutes for my 300 meters. I was also happy to hear for our 12 mile run this Saturday that we will have a early start at 6:30AM to help alleviate the pending 92 to 96 degree weather that’s coming….GO TEAM!

Week 14 - Day 39 - 08.09.10 - Monday (4.64 miles with hills)

Back on track folks and woke up right when my alarm hit this AM at 4AM. I was out the door and ready to tackle them darn hills again and tackle I did.

The morning was brisk but perfect for running since I knew I would get hot as soon as I started running. I reached the infamous Chart House sign at 0:25:59, exactly a minute faster than last Tuesday, 8/3/2010 at 0:26:59. I also did the roundtrip run back to the Duniway sign at 0:48:24 versus last Tuesday’s run on 8/3/2010 of 0:49:04.

Now I’m ready to take my nap today.  Oh but before I do, special shout out to my President at my company HMA who donated $500 this weekend and my good friend and former co-worker who donated $50.  I couldn't do this without you guys!

Week 13 - Day 38 - 08.07.10 - Saturday (3.69 Miles)

I was 50/50 on deciding to do my TNT group run today which is set at 16 miles. I had successfully done 15 miles the week before and was feeling good. It wasn’t the case because I didn’t get back from my reunion until a little past midnight. So when that alarm rang this morning at 5:30AM, my mind and body was in no mood to run 16 miles.

I finally woke up at around 9AM and decided to run some miles instead of none at all. Well my familiar enemy Mr. Humidity decided to visit me again this morning so I finished with 3.69 miles in total of 0:39:53.

I was glad I still ran today even though I was totally spent from the night before.  What kept me motivated to run today were the nice comments I got from fellow high school classmates.

Here is a photo my hubby took of me before Friday’s festivities and thanks to running, I didn’t have my other enemy there which is Mr. Double Chin.