Yes, We Do Things Other Than Running

On Thursday December 8, Laura and I hit the town!  First, we went to Pyramid Brewery to grab a bite to eat and meet up with Sarah S.  After having some tasty pub nachos and hummus/pita, it was time to walk over to WAMU Theater.  It was the Winter Warmth concert hosted by 103.7 The Mountain.  Matt Kearney got things started by singing a few of his songs.  Next, The Head and The Heart played.  Great band to see live!  Lastly, Florence + The Machine hit the stage.  Florence rocked it!  It was great to have a night out and listen to some great music.    

Where Did They Go?!

Oh goodness!!  It has been a long time since Laura or I posted.  So, it's time for an update!
First and foremost - another big "Thank You!" to all of you who have made a donation!!  Laura and I would not be able to do this adventure without your support.  We were able to meet our registration deadline! During the registration process, Laura called me to go over some of the information we needed for registration.  One of the questions was regarding our team name.  What?!  We need a team name?  I wasn't sure I had any creative juices left to come up with yet another team name.  After several phone conversations that night, we settled on a team name.  We are "I thought this was a 5K!"  It makes me laugh every time 
To date we have raised $1607 - That is so RAD :)  That means we over 1/5 of the way to reaching our fundraising goal.

On November 19th, Laura and I participated in the Grand Ridge Trail 1/2 Marathon.  The course was an out and back on single track trails reaching an elevation gain of 2,000ft.  It was a very cold and wet morning.  We stayed in the car with the seat warmers on, until just before start time.  At 8:40, it was time to leave the warm cocoon of the car and make our way to the start line.  After a last minute Porta-potty visit, the safety briefing and winning a pair of socks in a drawing; it was time to start the run.  9:00 am sharp, we were off, running through mud, gravel and leaves on a slight downhill to the "trail head".  Promptly the trail goes up and up and up.  Everyone was packed in tight until about mile 3.  From there the 5 mile runners turned off and Laura and I headed on.  The aid station marked mile 4 and we felt good - no need to stop.  The next section of the trail was relatively flat and smooth.  Our pace was comfortably set by some fellow runners and we enjoyed some easy conversation.  Laura and I noticed that the trail was starting to descend at about mile 6.  Who doesn’t love downhill, right?!  After a mile of steep downhill, Laura says “I don’t think I want to go downhill anymore!”  Little did we know; we had another mile of descending to go before we reached the turnaround point of the run.  If you have been doing the math that makes 2 miles of downhill.  It isn’t so easy to run downhill for an extended period of time.  Our fellow runners and hikers will also know; what goes down must come back up.  As quickly as the feelings of joy came from making it to the turnaround point, those feelings fizzled as we made our way up the 2 mile hill we had just come down.  Laura and I have a new appreciation and respect for walk breaks!!  There were a lot of them on that 2 mile uphill climb.  I have never been so excited to reach an aid station!  This marked mile 11 and time for a snack!  I had a shot of Pepsi and some pretzels while Laura dined on a slice of bagel slathered with PB – MMMMMM.  With break time over, it was time to finish this thing!  Leaving the aid station behind, Laura started ahead of me as we returned to the trail.  We had just over 2 miles to go.  Everything was going great and then it happened.  I had read somewhere that it was just a matter of time, a “when, rather than, if” situation.  I fell.  Not the trip and stumble forward kind of fall, but the fly in the air then “BAM” kind of fall.  “SON OF A BITCH!” echoed through the forest.  I picked myself up, wiped the mud off my hands the best I could and walked up to Laura.  My comment to her was “stupid rock!”  We walked for a minute and then started running.  As we came off the single track and back onto the double track trail, we had a ½ mile to go!!!  We dug deep and pushed our tired legs to the finish line.  Laura and I completed our first trail run in 2:43!  We came in 74/75 out of 170 half marathon runners and 9/10 in our age bracket – Woot Woot!!  It was a great experience and we had a blast.   

During the Thanksgiving break, Laura and I have been in Spokane enjoying the holiday.  While we have been here we have spent time with friends and family, eating yummy food, celebrating Natalie’s 6^th Birthday and getting two runs in.  We hit the pavement early Thanksgiving day and pounded out 4 cold miles around the hood before we had dinner.  Today (Saturday), braving the cold weather again, we got in a 7 miler on the Spokane River Centennial Trail.  Now we can enjoy 7-layer dip, chips and football.  GO DAWGS!!

Dog walking...might be as challenging at the race!

My house grew from one dog to three over the last week (and I LOVE it!). If I had the space I'd be one of those people with 3-4 dogs but for now I'll make do with dog sitting others. Lucy is my yellow lab, Sarge is the black lab staying with us for the next 3 months and Gumbo - the wiener dog/beagle is only here for a few more days. This was my first attempt at walking 3 dogs all on separate leashes. It was either going to go smoothly or end with me clotheslined at the knees. We made it out for a 20 minute walk with very few complications! I did receive several stares and a few smiles from people we passed. If I can figure out how to walk 3 dogs I should be able to come up with a training schedule for the race...right? :) Enjoy your Monday.

Water bottle

I love this water bottle from Lululemon: http://shop.lululemon.com/products/clothes-accessories/women-equipment/women-Sigg-1L-Sport-Top-Bottle-33086?cc=9357&skuId=3430745&catId=women-equipment (It's the blue one). But I'm slightly annoyed at the small print line at the bottom that says "but really I jog". If you've ever had that lung burning, side ache, legs getting weak moment, I don't care how fast your going...that's running!
Might buy the bottle and cover that part with a sticker. :)

Beautiful run on a not-so-beautiful day.

Discovery Park is one of my favorite running places in Seattle. It has the best of everything: great running trails, amazing views of the sound, and forest surroundings that make you forget its part of the city. I woke up this morning to a backlog of pathology and physiology reading for nursing school. Not the type of day I jump out of bed eager for...but it's the reality. After 3 hours of reading my brain was fried. The weather was crisp (39 degrees at 10am) but I decided a run was the perfect thing to clear my head. I loaded the two dogs (my Lab Lucy and a Beagle/Wiener dog mix named Gumbo I'm dog sitting for the weekend) and headed off to Discovery park. Just as we pulled into the parking lot the rain started....not a light Seattle mist but full on rain. I debated about waiting for it to clear but my most enjoyable runs usually end up being in the rain. There's something child-like about dashing through puddles, not worrying about wet shoes or soaked clothing. My dog Lucy has had several surgeries, which limits her running. I usually get my run in and finish by taking her for a 1-2 mile walk. Gumbo seemed very excited about the prospect of running though...even in the rain. So I clipped on his leash and we were off. I'm not sure what made this run so amazing - the location, new music on my IPod, doggy running partner or the rain but Gumbo and I flew around the park. We finished the 3.2 mile loop just under 23 minutes and it felt fantastic! No running pains, no negative thoughts, no wanting the run to be over....this type of run is few and far between sometimes.

Lucy, Gumbo and I also completed a 1.5 mile walk/jog around the bluff that overlooks the sound. I enjoy letting the dogs off in this area because of the tall grass. Lucy loves running through the trails in the tall grass and we usually play hide and seek - she runs ahead, I hide somewhere and wait for her to come find me. I swear she smiles every time she discovers my hiding spot. Gumbo and Lucy had a great time chasing each other through the field and we finished with a slow jog back to the car. I don't make it to Discovery as much as I like with my busy school schedule but I have never had a bad run in this beautiful park.

 http://www.seattle.gov/tour/discov.htm

Newest Supporter

                                  

How Did the Beer & Brats Fundraiser Go?

 It's us! We finally got a picture of us on the blog. Next one we'll have all our running gear (complete with night running vests). 

On Saturday we hosted our first fundraiser with beer and goodies donated by Manny's (see picture below). Thanks to some very generous donations from friends and family we raised $612.00!! We feel very blessed to have such great support from neighbors, friends, and fellow runners. 

Look!  We have advanced in our technology!  How exciting - we have now added a donate button to our blog!!  Check out the top right side of the page.  Feel free to test it out :)  

 Thanks again for all of your support!  ~ Tamaria and Laura

Donation goodies

Ready for the party!

Beer & Brats - Fundraiser Kick Off

Laura and I are kicking off our fundraising efforts today (Saturday October 22) from 3pm - 7pm.  Please stop by and have a pint of Manny's Pale Ale, nosh on a brat and find out exactly what we are up to.
We set a goal to raise $5500; Please support us and the Seattle chapter of SOS by making a cash donation at the party.

New Brooks Cascadia trail shoes!

Thanks to the great people at Super Jock & Jill for accepting my shoe return (without box or receipt) on a pair of Asics that were cause calf pain. I left with my first pair of trail shoes in almost 6 years (I started running marathons in trail shoes). I love the flashy color combination of lime green and blue. And yes, the bright colors do make me want to run faster. :-) I managed to squeeze in a loop around Green Lake and the shoes felt great. Now to find time for a real trail run this weekend!
Laura

Brooks Event/Group Run - Everyday Athlete

Just a reminder that Everyday Athlete is having their weekly group run at 6:30pm tonight.  After the run you can check out the new Brooks PureProject line of shoes.  Laura and I will be there!  Hope to see you!
http://www.everydayathlete.us/promos.htm
Come join us at Everyday Athlete for a group run, try on Brooks' new PureProject minimal running shoes, enjoy some food and bevereages, and possibly win a free pair of shoes!. 
LOCATION: 11829 98th Avenue NE, Kirkland, WA 98034

Portland Marathon update

Marathon #15 accomplished! I wasn't sure how the race was going to go with lack of training and last stages of a cold. We arrived Saturday afternoon at the expo to pick up race packets. I LOVE expos! I'm not much for shopping but get me in an expo and I'll shop for hours. I found a cute top from Puma, running visor from Brooks and arm bands to keep warm in the fall/winter weather. After a great homemade dinner with friends it was off to bed for the 5am wake up.

Race day turned out to be perfect running weather - high 50's with overcast...and a few spots of rain on the course. After getting all the "gear" on and eating my standard oatmeal for breakfast it was off to the start line. My friend Adrienne and I jumped in with the 4:10-4:30 crowd with hopes of staying with them until at least the half way mark. At 7:00am the race gun went off and we were on our way through 26.2 miles. I have to say the first two miles were not great. I felt sluggish, dehydrated and nervous about completing the race. Somehow we managed to shake off the race jitters with the help of walking through aid stations, conversation and built up anticipation of a bathroom stop at mile 10. We also came up with mini-goals along the way: bathroom stop at mile 10, half way mark at 13.1, single digit mile count down at 16, getting to the top of the big hill at 17, and finally starting our run 4 minutes/walk 1 at mile 18. The walk/run worked great for the lack of training and my legs felt pretty good until mile 23. From this point on the walk breaks were necessary and I was thankful to see the next mile mark. We did manage to run the last mile in and finished in 4:21! This was far better than either of us expected to complete the race. I have to say it was nice to feel so good after such little training and actually have fun for most of the 26 miles. Huge thanks to Adrienne for all the conversation, strategizing and team work to get through this race!

Laura

First Run

Tried out the new Brooks Pure Grit trail shoes this morning on my 9 mile run with Megan and Jeff.  They were great!  Of course, I have a small blister on the back of my heal.  What was I expecting - 9 miles on a new pair of shoes.  Not the smartest move......  The run was great - started on Mercer Island and ran across the 1-90 bridge to Seattle and back.  You can't get me to drive to Seattle, but I will run there :)  We had pretty good weather and of course great conversation!  Thanks Megan and Jeff :)
 Wanted to also post a note for the Eastsiders.  Everyday Athlete has an easy group run (3 - 6 miles) every Thursday @ 6:30.  This Thursday they have a fun event going on along with the group run.  Check them out!

Brooks PureProject Group Run Thursday October 13th at 6:30 pm.

Come join us at Everyday Athlete for a group run, try on Brooks' new PureProject minimal running shoes, enjoy some food and bevereages, and possibly win a free pair of shoes!.

Trail Shoes!

Yahoo!!  I just purchased my new trail shoes!  I took the kids with me to my local running store - Everyday Athlete.  http://www.everydayathlete.us/store.htm  They are always so helpful with anything I need.  Everyone in the store is nice to my kids - even when they are RUNNING around the store.  Sure, it's a running store, all the customers are running.  But a 2 and almost 6 year old running around a store.....that is a different level of running.  The kids even got to meet one of the store dogs, Sugar.  Alex thought that meant he was going to get candy.....
- Brooks Pure Grit, fancy :)