Join us for the Holiday Half!

All signed up for the Holiday Half! Brad, Sarah and I are doing the half and Dad's doing the 5K. Joel??? :)

Prices go up today - sign up and play with us :)

Strong, early long run

With fun holiday plans on the horizon, I decided to get my long run done early so I'll have all weekend to play with the fam.

It seemed like a less-perfect plan when my alarm went off at 4:45 this morning, but I still managed to drag my butt out of bed.

Sunlight was barely beginning to peak through the clouds when I left the house at 6 a.m. My prescription sunglasses made it a bit darker :) It was coolish and not horribly humid.

I started conservatively and sped up as the miles passed. Aside from my one walk break, I had near-perfect negative splits - woohoo!! Dad met me on his morning bike ride and escorted me through the park. 

Ten miles was the plan, but I finished a bit early. I walked up the big Cook Park hill and then finished it off for a total of 11.3 miles at a 10:25 average:

Now just a couple hours at work and then a great weekend ahead! (After I shower, of course!) ;)

:)

No. 39

Finished No. 39, The Lonely Crossing of Juan Cabrera by J. Joaquin Fraxedas. It's the story of three Cuban men who climb aboard a raft and set off for Maimi. The book follows the men and others on shore anticipating their arrival.

Just before heading home for summer, I randomly grabbed a bunch of books off the shelves in the THS library. I know people think I'm nuts, but this way I read things I never would have otherwise. I do the same with DVDs. I don't read the cover... I just dive in. It doesn't always work, but usually I am not disappointed.

I'm already into No. 40... Last year's total? 40! So I'm way ahead in miles and in books :)

Surpassing my goal with 98% humidity

I thought I was back in Missouri when I stepped out for my run this morning! At 6 a.m., it was 62 degrees with 98% humidity. Yikes. Good thing the temp was low or I would have died :)

It rained all night, and the clouds were breaking up as the sun rose.

The half moon was straight up in the sky.

Foggy!

Absolutely stunning:

I ran 4.03 miles at a comfortable 9:34 average:

Then I saw that I was .03 miles from my goal, so I threw on shoes and ran around the cul-de-sac for 4.14 miles in all:

Here's why:

I've already run more miles this year than last year! It's amazing how fast the miles add up when there are marathons involved :)

Canby Dahlia Run

Race weekend!

A whole gaggle of friends and family was on hand for the Canby Dahlia Run 10K and half marathon.

Sarah and I went out Friday afternoon to pick up packets and check out the dahlias. Beautiful!

We drove the course and discovered it was flat. Both of us had planned to just run casually, but after seeing the course, we got really excited and decided to try and race it. WOOHOO!

Race morning!

The start was at the Foursquare Church on Territorial Road. Inside bathrooms!

Half marathoners ready to run!

Mom and Dad did the 10K:

It was Jake and Tiffany's first half! Tera's second:

Eryn is nursing a stress fracture and stayed on the sidelines to cheer us on and snap lots of pics :)

Sarah:

Leaving the water station:

Jake:

Tera:

Tiffany:

Dad:

Eryn and Eryn (Tera and Tiffany's sister) posted themselves in front of the church and caught most of us as we sprinted down the hill to the finish. Mom actually ran the end!

Some of the Fawver family from our church:

Tera PR'd!

Because of injury, Brad hadn't run this far since April! He did terrific:

My racing experiment fizzled after 5 miles, and I slowed way down. I should have stuck with my original plan to run casually :)

Tiff killed her first half!

It was cloudy, which I love, but the humidity was yucky.

Joel ran his first 10K and came in way under his prediction - nice job, Joel! 

Great job on the PR, Mom!

Thanks for coming along, Eryn!

After getting cleaned up, Brad and I refueled at Native Foods Cafe. YUM!

Salty fries!

This was a great race - logistics, packet pickup, start/finish, timing, parking, communication, course and volunteers. Had I not gotten all crazy and decided at the last minute to race, it would have been super fun. I was disappointed at first but then realized that I gave it my all, and that's what matters.

I was also thrilled to have so many family and friends out there. Feel the love!

Can't wait for my next race :)