Trail Races Are Fun!

This weekend I ran a 7k in the woods. The Philosopher's Way Race is one of my favorites in the area and it was a pleasure to run it this weekend!

Wendi and I posing before we start

Here we go!

Hiiiiii!

So swift

Running in the woods is fun!

The finish!

4.3 miles in the books.

Good Things Do Happen in April

Picking up trash on the American Tobacco Trail with the Girls on the Run Team last week

Fish Fry Friday at school with REAL soul food

Stand Up Paddle Boarding with my man

New Beyonce

A Loyal Pittbull Turns 8

Girls on the Run...

...So much fun!

This past weekend was the Girls on the Run 5k. 2500 girls from around the Triangle participated in the 5k event. Some of them, like my team, ran their first 5K ever!

Gathering in the grass before the race

My lil' running buddy

Fayetteville Street Team

Awesome husband who came out to support by running with a girl

Awesome sister who came out to support by running with a girl

Running Career Back on Track

You can't imagine how good it feels to run a half marathon in your hometown on a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning in October after you haven't done a race in over year, especially after you only ran 8.8 miles for your longest training run.

It feels pretty great.

This was such a spectacular race. I might even say best half marathon ever. Not only was it fun and lovely and all that, but it was extremely well organized. I'd definitely do it again. Maybe I'll even make it an annual thing.

Lucky Number 1108

About to cross the finish line with Lena

Clock time 2:24:21, Chip Time 2:21:03

We did it!

Yay! I'm back!

Next up, an old favorite: The Gallop N' Gorge 8k for Thanksgiving!

Fundraising?

Other than going door to door and selling wrapping paper in elementary school, I have very little experience fundraising. I fear that mostly this is due to the fact that I simply don't associate with people who have flush funds to donate, nor do I have enough time or funds on my own hands to consider those less fortunate than I.

There's a first time for everything. This year me and Jason are doing a little fundraising for our Hood to Coast relay team. We are charged with raising 700$ for the Portland Providence Medical Foundation in order to participate with our team this year in the race. PPMF does cancer research and also funds medical support for people who struggle financially.

We even have a donation website! Check it out here. Maybe you might even want to donate some money. It's for a good cause.

In exchange for your donations, the 12 of us will run 198 miles in about 30 hours. We will live a van and subsist on goldfish, peanut butter sandwiches, and Gatorade. We will not shower, though some us us might change our shorts. We will not sleep more than a few hours at a time. We will make crude jokes and annoy each other due to sleep deprivation. We will promise ourselves that this is the last year that we do this race. We will finish on the lovely Oregon Coast, eat pizza, drink beer,  have glorious sleeps and then before we even realize it, begin to plan next year's race.

Look how cute we are. Want to give us some money?

Leggings..

are not
could be pants.

There was a time in my life not too long ago during which I had a firm stance on the whole "leggings are not pants" issue.  I had seen just about one too many young girls flashing their undies through a poor quality see-through legging a la exhibit A.

I can't believe I am about to say this (perhaps it is the fact that I am a yoga teacher, or maybe just because I always want to be comfy this climate) but I've changed my opinion on this topic.  Drumroll please...

Leggings can sometimes be pants. But only when adhering to this set of rules:

1) Said leggings must be of the thick material variety.
2) Wearer of said leggings must wear a shirt, sweater, or jacket that at least covers 1/2 or more of the wearer's bum.
3) Said leggings must be part of an ensemble conveying a message such as, but not limited to,  "I am going to yoga", "I am going on a run", "I woke up like this", "I stayed up all night studying",  or "I work at a leggings store".

See exhibit B

exhibit B

And there you have it folks, the new stance on leggings as pants. Have a field day!

To be or not to be?

That is as in to be 45 degrees and raining or to be 35 degrees and sunny? Always choose 35 and sunny. Trust me.

In other great news, today was my second run on healed/healing broken toe. Hurts, but I ran!

She came, she saw, she conquered

Bekah "gimme a doughnut" Brunstetter

"Is your rose sweet?"

Oregon sisters

Tasting wine

Swirl, sniff, sip

Just running a little 10k

Bekah was here this weekend and we had quite the blast. I do believe the themes this weekend were wellness and adulthood as we spent much of our time doing healthy and grown up things like running, hiking, doing yoga, and chatting before very reasonable bedtimes.

We did manage however to drink a little too much wine and acquire a small amount of sunburn, proving to ourselves that we still "got it". 

Year in Review Part 3

Ah, the summer! My favorite time of year.

Our summer was marked by much freedom, friends visiting, camping trips, The Hood the Coast Relay Race, another trip to NC, floating, drinking wine, my awesome birthday, and all around general warmth and goodness. Like I said, my favorite time of year!

Gratitude Day 18

Running Races!

Running Buds

Cheering on her mom

Quiet moment by the river

Finish! 13.1 miles, 2:10- not a PR but fun nonetheless

Busy Bees

We've had a busy week preparing, ruminating, and then medicating with friends, beers, runs, and hikes.  Marissa is here (for two weeks!) and I can't express enough how great it is to finally laugh again! Ok, I've laughed since we've been separated, but not like, really LAUGHED.  So that's pretty awesome and very santosha laden.

Paulina Lake, one of many mountain lakes in Oregon

McKenzie River at the base of Sahalie Falls, and siamese twins separated at birth

Falls and Friends!

Obsidian Rock

Jason and Brandon after they ran 32 miles on saturday. Brandon's son, Beck gives him a welcoming hug.

Jason after totally beasting 32 trail miles in 5:15. Yay! Just another reason why I love my husband,

The post race beer is epic

Viktor fetching a stick in Paulina Lake. Tomorrow he's going camping with his Auntie Marissa. He's very excited.

Helping is fun!

Because of the fact that what I do everyday seems a lot like volunteer work in it's own way, I very rarely volunteer my time for the good of others.  Time is a precious thing and doing things for yourself helps to preserve one's sanity, but helping others can be totally fulfilling too...even when you have to wake up at 4 a.m. to do it.  And sometimes you even get a free shirt out of the deal.

Today was the Running of the Bulls and it seemed like the perfect time to volunteer for race work.  It's sort of an understood agreement in the running world that if you run races, you also volunteer at a few races... spreading the love.  Running in a race is actually a very selfish act:  usually only concerning yourself with matters of your eating, your bathrooming, your race pace, your clothing choice, your shoe choice, your temperature, etc...It's rare to stop and think about the amazing people who volunteer their own personal free time to plan the race, set up the race, manage packet pick-up, work aid stations, cut up fruit, direct the course, and a bunch of other jobs specifically tailored to ensure that YOU have a great race.

I had a surprisingly fantastic time manning packet pick up last night and this morning.

Here is the race day packet pick up dream team from today:

And all done before 9 a.m.

So what had happened was...

So, after my post yesterday about potentially quitting my 60 day challenge, I really got to thinking about it. I had already decided to go for a run in the afternoon.  It was a beautiful day, pollen not seeming so bad, and the run went great! It was as if no time had passed at all since I last ran. I felt so strong and happy as I finished and at that moment I decided that I was not going to go to yoga class.  I didn't want to.  I wanted to continue feeling great, ride out the post run high.  So, I went home.  No day 41.  Challenge aborted at day 40.

I am 100% OK with this though.  I made it 40 days.  I'm not quitting yoga all together, just quitting going everyday.  Just changing it up a bit.  In fact, I'm going to Bikram class today and I am happy about it.

I'm realizing that too much of anything is not good. A lesson I've learned time and time again in other facets of life but to which I continue to return. A popular Buddhist principle, the middle path, perfectly illustrates this idea: everything in moderation.  When I run too much, I am full of disdain for running and long for time to do copious amounts of yoga.  When I do copious amounts of yoga, I miss running and fantasize about skipping out on yoga class.  The answer is to follow the middle path.  Do both, in moderation. Enjoy both. 

Tune us the Sitar neither high nor low,
And we will dance away the hearts of men.

But the string too tight breaks, and the music dies.

The string too slack has no sound, and the music dies.

There is a middle way.

Tune us the Sitar neither low nor high.
And we will dance away the hearts of men.”

— An ancient song that inspired The Buddha

 However, there is something to be learned from doing anything to an extreme.  You learn things about yourself and how you handle challenges.  And, of course, you eventually learn the lesson of moderation. For doing anything to an extreme will unequivocally lead to this realization.

Lesson learned, universe.

A very bad race indeed

I've been avoiding writing this post for the past two days because I didn't want to have to put into words what a loser I feel like, but alas the time has come to face the music.  My yoga teacher in Thailand said once that nobody ever learned anything from being comfortable, and that is most definitely the theme of this marathon: discomfort...and hopefully some learning.

As you can see, I hobbled across the finish line at a staggeringly slow 5:30 time.  I looked around as a few pity filled cheers brought me in and noticed that the race volunteers were breaking down the finish line party.  Yes, as in packing it up for the day...I was that slow. 

Here's how it went:

-Wake up at 3:55 am to be at the start by 5:30 (why they wanted us there an hour and a half before start time is beyond me.  One of my least favorite things is the pre race wait around and this time it felt like an eternity)
- Start running at 7:00 and feel pretty good until about mile 13 which makes sense considering my training.  I was totally prepared for a half marathon and not a full marathon)
-I did manage to push myself gingerly along to mile 15, where I saw Chris Brophy who so kindly came out to support us.  We ran together for the next mile or so.  Feeling good again.
-Mile 17, I see Jason on his way back from the out and back.  He's walking.  "My IT band" he says dejectedly.  I persevere on.
-Mile 18...Must stop and stretch. Hard to start running again.  I walk as the 4:45 and 5:00 pace groups jog past me.  Damn it. I start running again.
-Mile 20, I eat a pickle at the aid station.  Feeling good again.
-Mile 20.5, Must stop again.  This time it is bad.  My legs are so tight.  I am really far behind now.  I walk until I see Chris Brophy again at Mile 22.  Pep talk ensues.
-Mile 22, I run again.  "Damn this trail"  I shout as I leave the Tobacco Trail and head down some boring Cary road heading toward the finish.
-Miles 23-25  This literally feels like an eternity.  Cary moms and Jersey transplants drive past me.  I curse them.  I'm slow.  Like really slow.  Like, am I walking or running or just shuffling?
- Mile 26  The next .2 will be hell and it is.
-I cross the finish line at a painful 5:30:58.  Shame.

Here's the learning part:  1) At least I finished.  I didn't drop out as I had fantasized about doing many times during the race. 2) I did more that day than most people do on an average Sunday. 3) This failure will make me more hungry for success the next time (yes, there will be a next time) 4) I learned that I need to train for real next time.  I will not just get by on my past running experience.

I think that can be applied to life as well.