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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 :)