Two Things

Two things as I frantically try to organize everything for tonight's New Years Eve Bash at my house...

FIRST--I am officially signed up for the Mercer Island Half Marathon on 3.21.10!! WOO HOO! So far, I know that Mel and Kerrie are both running it, which means excellent company. :) Very excited about this race. Half Marathon #2, coming right up!

SECOND--Guess what was parked right in front of my house last night???? Seriously wicked creepy and one of those "you have GOT to be kidding me" moments. Dun - dun - DUN!!

HOLY FREAKIN' COW. It's a NEKKID SEMI! Totally random! GAH!

It was there when Trav and I got home from work. Just chillin' in all of it's scary, chrome, evil doom. Thank goodness I didn't hear it leave later, because my music was blasting as I cleaned house. That would've been freaky too.

That's all for the randomness. 2009 has been one heckuva year, and I can't wait for more kick-butt running in 2010. Bring it!

Oh yeah...Water!

I'm not drinking enough H2O. Mad toe cramps today. Oops! I'll work on that.

Also, a confession: I haven't run since Sunday's 15 miler. GAH! I did a little barefoot 15% incline walking on the tready for about 20 minutes tonight. Alas, it doesn't count in my mind.

A couple of little links/giveaways to check out:

Run Faster Mommy's Raffle to support the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults
RunninAround's Luna Moon Giveaway

Getting ready for the New Year over here! More later...

Mel & Zoe's Excellent Adventure

That's a big one-five there, roger that. 15 miles, bay-bee!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope everyone had a fantastic holiday! Who's ready for the New Year?

This weekend was a "back-on-track" kind of weekend. Yesterday I ran 5.5 miles around the neighborhood in a T-SHIRT and my red running skirt! It was gorgeous outside! For the first time in a while I had an old friend running with me...my shadow. :) I tried to snap a picture of her, but it turned out horrible while running. Oh well. She was fast, too. Man, how does she only run every so often and stay in shape? I don't get it...

On this morning's schedule was a 15 miler with Tall Mom Mel...which would be my 5th double-digit run and my longest distance yet. My plan was to just do it and stay alive/breathing/moving/etc. The weather was amazing and just like yesterday in terms of clarity. Last time I ran with Mel on this trail it was dreary and foggy, so I had no idea how close Mt. Rainier looked! I had to take a early AM picture of it from my car because it was a site to behold.

I actually got to the trail start before Mel! Ah ha ha ha! I didn't want to be late like last time because I hate having people wait for me. :) Apparently the temperature outside was not t-shirt weather, and I'm glad I brought my long-sleeved pink shirt to change into before we set off. Duuuuude, it was cold! Thank goodness for the new long running tights I got for Christmas! Cheapy black gloves came in handy too! And my new Dollar Store earmuffs from my mother-in-law were perfect...I need to invest in about a dozen more and give them away (stay tuned!).

This trail run was no different from last time when it came to animal sightings. We saw a poor cow on the wrong side of the fence just moo-ing her little heart out for help. There were blue jays (I think), seagulls, ducks, geese, osprey, horses, llamas, more moo cows, a dog, a couple kitties and....a freakin' bald eagle! It was just chillin' at the edge of the river just eating a big fish at mile 14. He looked over our way once or twice as we gawked at him and all his glory. It was a great ending to our long run!

Eagle says "nom nom nom"

Anyway, jumping backwards to mile 6ish, Mel and I were talking about our little fear of dogs. Well, wouldn't you know, up ahead we saw this big, black mass of an animal and we had a Kerrie moment of "what the hell is that??"

Me: Is that an R.U.S.?!?*
Mel: (laughs) It looks like a sloth.
Me: That's a huge sloth.
Mel: No, wait. It's a dog.

Oh, but of course, we must run straight into what we fear...and a rottweiler to boot. But this little/big doggie just continued to sniff along the trail, owner-less, and didn't even give us a second glance. *PHEW!* Holy crap. Crisis averted. Breathe...

GAME ON!

So, one of the big goals on this long trail run is to see the 8 foot wooden latte and you know you've made the halfway point. :) What a sweet little piece of wood that was.

After chillin' (literally, I might add) at this halfway mark and gulping down some water and halfway frozen Chomps and Shot Bloks, we set off to finish that bad boy of a run. The only other wildlife we encountered after that was their remnants...aka poo. Lots of poo. This was by far the crappiest run I've ever done. Heh heh *snicker*

Mel was awesome and bought me a very yummy latte after the run. We sat, chatted and came up with many "-athon" jokes and I recommended for her to watch "The Hangover." Then we had to go because it was already after noon (say what?!). But, there was some difficulty standing up from the table. Oh boy! We're going to be sore tomorrow!

Thank you, Mel, for the opportunity to run a new distance with you! You rock!

*Extra points for those Princess Bride fans! Woot! "Rodents of Unusual Size!"

'Tis The Season

Posts will be scarce this week...

Today is my baby sister's 21st birthday. Oh gosh, I remember the day she was born! Trouble! :)

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I'll run, but not sure about the rest of the evening after work.

Christmas Day is going to be jam-packed with my family and then Trav's family. Hopefully I'll squeeze in a little run, too.

Then the 26th is busy at work, so I have to come in on that Saturday. GAH!

In the meantime, Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

I leave you with the MOST AWESOME-IST light show EVAH!

Ah HA!!

Ok, I found the movie that I think about when semi-trucks "come alive" and start killing people. It's Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive, starring Emilio Estevez. Pure 1986 horror genre genius!

Photo Courtesy of The Internet Movie Database

Now you see why I have a fear of nekkid semi's??? :) Hahaha!

Spur of the Moment 5K

First off, I'd like to give a big Thank You to Rachael at The Beginning Runner's Blog for her awesome little runner's care package I received in the mail today! It's like Christmas! Oh wait. Yeeeeaaaahhh. :) Love the cute purple gloves and the beautiful card! Just wanted to let you know that Murphy was very interested in the package and helped me "unpack." He's a handy little kitty.A random thing that happened yesterday on my little 4 mile jaunt around the neighborhood...I ran into THIS:
Of-freakin-course this is on one of my cul-de-sac routes. A tractor trailer minus the trailer--a nekkid semi, if you will. These things FREAK ME OUT. I hate them. They're ok when they're pulling something, but when they are just a giant engine on a bunch of wheels...yeah no. Can't deal. So, I had to take a picture of the scary black semi just chillin' in my 'hood. Normally on this little loop I run on that side, but there's no sidewalk and I would not even try to run around and in front of this monster because WHO KNOWS if it starts up and chases me! EEK!! *Sidenote: I mentioned this to Mel on our 10 miler on Saturday because we saw one on the road near the trail...see Mel? I'm dead serious about this fear!*

Ok. I'm done freaking out.

Onto much more "cooler" things. Actually more like "colder."
Tonight I decided last minute to participate in the little 5K Bonney Lake Fleet Feet fun run. I surprised Mel and her Muscle Man right before the little trek through the neighborhood. They were decked out in holiday garb! I was ill prepared as I decided to run an hour before the event and it turns out I wore ninja black for a night run...smart eh? I'll just say that I stuck to the sidewalks most of the time. At least my layers helped because it was freezing! The run ended up just over 2 miles, but the neighborhoods we ran through had some gorgeous Christmas lights!

It was fun to just go out and run with a bunch of people. Definitely more exciting than running my same 'ol neighborhood all by my lonesome. Thanks for the invite, Mel!

And no, we were not partaking in any celebratory ganja...the haze is from just a little fog on the camera. Geez! :P

Overall, I had an interesting evening full of laughter, running, and sneezing. Yes, sneezing. Some crazy sneeze monster exploded in my nose and caused me to have almost a 15 minute gesundheit-fest. And boy, I'm tired now! G'night!

Gu, Gus & Gummy Candy

Wow. I'm really having a lazy weekend, and yet not. Weird.

Yesterday I trekked down south a couple towns to run with Mel for 10 miles, and it was a very fun/hilarious run. :) The morning was really foggy, which made the surrounding hills and treeline look like it was straight from a dream. And it was only mildly drizzling, more like misting, the entire time...not bad though. The trail itself had some really beautiful views, especially by the river, and we definitely saw our fair share of animals. Um, buffalo? Yup! Giant hawk? Double yup! Brown moo cows? Of course! (I love the word "moo" so I must use it when I get the opportunity)

Mel was awesome to let me try out a new Gu flavor, Mint Chocolate. Now, I'm a Gu newbie, so after hearing horror stories of explosive poo and stomach cramps, I was a wee bit nervous on trying it on a 10 miler. But hey, none of that happened! WIN! And my goodness, anything that combines Mint and Chocolate is worthy of trying...and it was delicious! I wanted to just slather it on a muffin and call it good. Very tasty. However, since I'm not used to the consistency, I was a little nervous of getting suffocated by the Gu as I took it. It's a little thick for my liking, but I did feel that it helped my energy levels. Mel gave me a sample of Gu Chomps to try out (chewy gummy candy? don't mind if I do). I'll give Gu another try soon though. :)

Also interesting was that Gus was not really syncing the miles with Mel's Garmin (Gus' identical twin). We would hear the mile beeps at different times.
According to Gus:
10.01 miles, 1:35:51 total time, 9:34 avg pace

Hmmmm. Perhaps Gus was just too excited about the trail run. ;)

Then I lifted weights in the trusty garage for 25 minutes and proceeded to make my arms useless for the rest of the evening. GAH!

OH! Apparently I came in 3rd place in my age group for the Christmas Rush 10K last Saturday, as I received a cute little white ribbon in the mail. Woot!

YAY for Sundays!

Just. Run.

Dear Today,

So glad you are over. Give my love to Tomorrow.

Best Regards,
Zoë

Going for a nice 10 miler with Tall Mom Mel tomorrow morning. I hope I can keep up with her! :) I'll be sure to let you know...

Scotch & Cabbage

Sounds appetizing right? Let me explain...

Tomorrow is my department's holiday potluck and I signed up to bring a dish. Since you all know I don't cook (except if you count pouring milk into a bowl full of cereal or adding the heaping scoops of coffee to the machine), I wanted to bring a dish that I do know how to make: Ramen Cabbage Salad. Liz's mom got me straight up HOOKED to this salad, it's absolutely delicious. Not sure if the dressing is particularly good for you, but I decided to forgo making it from scratch and bought an equivalent. There is cooking involved however...browning the sesame seeds, raw ramen noodles and seasoning over the stove (you know, that hot thing I don't mess around with often). The rest is chopping the napa and savoy cabbage and green onions. *phew* I'm tired now!

I did learn that Murphy likes cabbage, especially the stalks of the savoy--here's to hoping he doesn't get sick. He tried to be all slick when I stepped out of the kitchen for a moment, but I caught him and he left behind these:
See those sneaky little paw prints? Yeah, Murph's not very good at getting away with something. He's like me: he can't lie to save his life. :)

Now onto the Scotch. This isn't just your average scotch...it's the Johnnie Walker Blue Label. Why did I partake in a little bitty sipping drink of this $200 bottle of liquor? Well, the Blue makes his debut when milestones are hit by Jeff or Travis (or any other event that is worthy--which isn't many). Today, us three celebrated Jeff attaining his bench lifting max weight of 315 lbs. Woo hoo! He's been working towards this goal for a loooooong time, so that drink was well deserved.

See? It kinda has something to do with fitness. Kinda.

Other than "cooking" tonight, I took a rest day on running. My foot has been a little mean the past couple of days, so I've got my eye on it. Grrrr. But I'm definitely looking forward to running with Mel on Saturday and then Liz on Sunday. :D

And so I leave you with some fellow blogger giveaways:

• Rachael from The Beginning Runner's Blog is giving away a signed copy of Mark Remy's book, The Runner's Rule Book: Everything a Runner Needs to Know -- And Then Some
  on 12/21
• Marcia from Running Off at the Mouth is giving away a $15 Starbucks gift card tomorrow, 12/18!
• Mel from Tall Mom on the Run has TWO giveaways: Winter Scents ends tomorrow, 12/18, and Loose Knits ends 12/19

Alright folks, I'm out. G'night!

Steam!

I think I might have had some come out of my ears for a brief while today. So instead of wasting that awesome energy on vapor, I decided to just run it all out. And that I did.
Tonight's 4.11 miler had a 8:15 pace...and it definitely felt like it. My System of a Down, Britney Spears, Kesha, and Muse were coaching me along in their usual fashion. Just me, my trusty iPhone, Gus, and my hat (wasn't sure if it was going to rain). It was actually quite warm outside too (mid 40's!).

Sometimes I just want to scream into my pillow, punch the punching bag and ninja kick something. But, I just kicked some asphalt....

Yeah, that was a bad joke. Cut me some slack. ;)

Jingle Bell Run 5K Recap

Ah, the Jingle Bell 5K...loved it! All the festive costumes and hats and bells ringing, it was just so much fun. Since Trav was being a poohead and didn't want to make the drive to Seattle, I had the privilege of carpooling with Kerrie--and I'm SO GLAD I did!

Kerrie picked me up from the house at 7:15 on the dot and we drove to the super secret parking spot that was absolutely perfect for the occasion (no waiting for long lines of cars after the event! Definite WIN!). Walking to Westlake was fun because we kept seeing all sorts of people dressed up for the event, including Jesus, a slutty Mrs. Claus and Santa Claus himself! And of course there was an abundance of bells. And TUTUS! We totally agreed on making awesome tutus for next years race! Just get all sorts of tulle and glitter all over the place. Woohoo!

After walking around the start area and finally locating the bell person (woohoo!) we stood next to the AMAZING heat lamps that were provided...the best race addition ever. When it was time to line up, Kerrie and I found ourselves struggling to move into the huge mass of people at the start line. It took us a little more than two minutes to actually reach the start mat after the gun went off. But once that happened, BAM!, time to get moving. Of course, being in mid-pack was a little hassle, as I dodged and weaved and ducked and avoided light poles to get around A LOT of people. Oh well! Next year...

The course was an interesting loop-like jaunt around downtown, through the Express tunnels and back around to Westlake. Everything was going pretty well, despite Gus freaking out about another tunnel (he's a little scared of dark enclosures), and then the course veered up Boren street...giant hill. A mean hill. But then that mean it was downhill ALL the way home to the finish line. And it was in sight! So I was booking it like I was being chased by a [insert scary fast object/animal here]. Somebody had projectile puked in the middle of the street on the downhill portion, and it seriously had had some crazy velocity behind it. Gross, I know. I made sure to avoid those two giant splatters. Ick.

Splits for my records (may/may not be completely accurate):
Mile 1 - 8:02
Mile 2 - 7:00
Mile 3 - 7:51
.23 - 1:23 (6:02 pace?!?!?!) Yeah, where in the hell did THAT come from?

After finishing I saw a coworker, and apparently my chip time (Gus time) was faster than his! AHAHAHA! You know I gave him crap the next day for it, too. :) Fun times. I grabbed some water and jogged back to the finish sidelines in search of Kerrie. I found her! And she finished wicked strong too. Here's proof:

She's a blur!

Thumbs up for a great race

Mandatory Santa pics! :)

Overall, it was a very cool race with good company and yummy swag (Top Pot Doughnuts!). After grabbing a quick coffee at Nordstrom, we headed back to the waiting 'Bu (Kerrie's hubby's Malibu) and it's heavenly seat warmers!! Yes! WIN!

FINAL STATS:
Mileage - 3.23 miles (per Gus)
Time - 24:17
Overall - 446 out of 2365
Division Place - 32 out of 385 (F20-29)
Pace - 7:31

And LASTLY...

I have nothing against John Curley at all, but seriously, I just want to beat him in a race now. GAH! It's all in good fun though because it's ultimately for charity. However, when I was trying to send him a message to have the website updated, the word verification phrase made me laugh:

Christmas Rush 10K Recap

****UPDATED****

Ugh. I don't like going to races by myself.

This race wasn't chip timed, so thank goodness for Gus. My final time was 51:21, and since this is my first 10K, I'll take it! I have nothing but practice runs to base this off of. :) As many of you suggest...automatic PR! Yay!

I arrived at the course a little over an hour before the start, simply to secure a decent parking spot. After grabbing my bib (no shirt this time...it was only a $10 race fee!) I went back to the car to warm up for a bit. It was interesting watching the "migration of runners" heading towards the start area from my car's viewpoint. You could definitely tell there was some sort of running event happening. :)

When it was time to get out of my toasty warm little car I followed the mass of people back to the start. It had warmed up to about 26 degrees by then! Yes! The countdown began and the gun went off...wait, how in the world do you pace a 6 mile race??? I had no idea and winged it, and therefore lost steam throughout the upcoming miles.
My splits:
Mile 1 - 7:47
Mile 2 - 8:04
Mile 3 - 8:07
See? Getting slower...
Mile 4 - 8:16
Mile 5 - 8:30
Mile 6 - 8:32
Last .28 - 2:02 (7:13 pace) ---> the usual sprint

Another reason for my slower pace in the last 1.5ish miles was because the 5K walkers were turning around to go back to the start on the same trail and holy crap....they were all over the place! I was dodging and weaving and "excuse me"-ing and "on your left"-ing a whole bunch. It was utterly annoying having kids dart around you left and right and then stop for no reason, and I just wanted to get to that finish for some good 'ol H2O! Gah! Frustrating! So, once I cleared some of these peeps, I just took off and tried to pass as many people as I could. I even chicked two dudes at the very end before the finishing chute. Heh. One guy came up to me while I was wandering aimlessly trying to find the water.
Him: "Hey, you did great out there."
Me: "Oh. Thanks!"
Him: "Yeah, you beat me."
Me: "Oh? Well, you did well too. Good race!"

Yeaaaah. Where's that water?
Overall, it was an inexpensive race, so it wasn't over the top or "fantastic" by any means. It was a good little jaunt near the river.

I was stupid and just wanted some warm food, so I stopped at Jack in the Box for french toast sticks and curly fries. That idea = not good at all. Never had stomach cramps that bad ever in my life. I stayed in bed pretty much until Trav and I had to go to my sister's white elephant party at 5:30. Luckily my Dad was kind enough to pick up mine and Kerrie's Jingle Bell race packet for me up in Seattle so I didn't have to be up there before 4pm (thanks, Dad and Liza!). But, the cure for any sickness is family...and I felt like a million bucks after hanging out with my sisters and family. :) I was ready for the 5K!

And that will be my next post...stay tuned for that recap!

FINAL STATS:
Mileage - 6.2 miles
Time - 51:24
Overall - 115 out of 352
Sex Place - 31 out of 190
Division Place - 3 out of 16 (F25 -29)
Pace - 8:17

Friday Night Boring Post

Well, Billy was the only one who figured out where "Oh the weather outside is weather" quote came from....Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Paul Rudd's surfing character! Hahahaha!

Anywho, went for a chilly 4 miler again. Same old route, same time. Getting ready for the 10K tomorrow AM. Should be fun!

G'night and good luck runners!

Oh the Weather Outside is Weather

Before I got dressed in my uber layers, I checked the current temp: 26 degrees F. Huh, warmer than last night (Ha ha, "warmer!"). This time around I just wore my regular leggings from Nordstrom Rack under my new red Running Skirt. Not too shabby! I still was all over the place in terms of matching really...oh well. Sometimes I'm such a girl. This time around I didn't wear my "windshield" and just hoped that my contact lenses wouldn't freeze to my eyeballs (and they didn't! WIN!).

I set off at a decent pace, roughly 8:30 mile, but after struggling up that first annoying hill I realized I forgot to take a puff from my inhaler before starting. Crap. After slowing it down at the top for a bit, I caught my breath and just kept going. I swear that hill is like my kryptonite...every. single. time. Grrr!

The skies were completely clear and all the Christmas lights were lit throughout the neighborhood. I was like a kid getting excited about the little white twinkling lights and oooh-ing and ahhh-ing to myself--all while listening to crazy mosh-pit metal by System of a Down. How appropriate, right? It even smelled like snow. :)

So, as I was nearing the end of mile 3, I noticed a large stream of ice in the gutter originating from a house a few yards ahead. Um, then I noticed the smell of soap. And the crazy ice patch that completely covered this person's driveway and sidewalk. And LO, I behold a freshly washed Geo Storm upon said driveway. Um, seriously. SERIOUSLY? There was a sudsy mess of ice/soap/car grime on the sidewalk and in the street. I did my best ballet leap over the mini ice rink and kept running. Why in the world would you even think of washing your car in the evening when it's 26 freakin' degrees?!?! Is it because it's a red Geo Storm? Ah yes! Now it all makes sense...

Anyway, the rest of the run was less eventful than the snowman car wash weirdness. The back of my left knee was hurting a little, especially up the last steep hill, but stretching it has helped. That's a new pain for me. Hmmm.

Stats for tonight's 4.1 miles:
34:40
Avg pace: 8:27
Avg # of numb fingers: 4

Ta DA! And it's Friday tomorrow, people. Hurray!

**Bonus points if you can name the origin of the title of this post (actor/movie)**

The Number 23

Gotta keep this post short and sweet, because it's late and I'm sleepy. But the gist of it is that I ran outside tonight at 9pm. Yes, I believe I am crazy (and so do my neighbors). Apparently Nike inspired me and I Just Did It. Man, I was sooo itching for an outside run, and I got it! And let me tell you this: I could have ran in a thong because my Nike pants were not insulating anything one bit. Plus, I bundled myself up and layered like a mo fo...and I looked like a complete running dork. Travis had to capture me at my most unflattering moment of today:

Mitten gloves - check
Double long sleeved shirts - check
Bitchin' skull snowboarding headband - check
iPhone tunes - check
Glasses aka my eye "windshield" - check
23 degree weather - um, check??

23 degrees. That's right. I wiped my nose so much with a hanky that it actually started freezing in my hand. It was wicked. But I ran 4.1 miles in 36 minutes. Not bad for a she-popsicle.

Cards are on their way, peeps. It's not too late to send me your info! Happy (almost) Thursday!

Two Things...

*Random Blog Alert*

First, please consider voting for A Small Victory in the Chase Community Giving Challenge on Facebook.

I'm a huge supporter of A Small Victory and helping families who have lost babies through stillbirth, miscarriage and infant death. For more information, please click the link above.

Secondly, I finally made this year's Christmas/Holiday cards. If you want one from the R, Z, R! household, please e-mail me your address, yo! ---> zoe@runzoerun.com
[I promise your info is safe with me, but you may get an occasional random postcard :) ]

In the meantime, I'm still icky sick, aka "taking it easy." But I'm living vicariously through all my running blog friends.

Thank you, Penny & Velcro

This is just a little tribute post to an awesome runner and her furry running companion. Penny (aka Southbay Girl) and Velcro contributed to my fundraising page for the Arthritis Foundation's 25th Annual Jingle Bell 5K...and I couldn't be more grateful! Seriously, it is so amazing to have such cool running/blogging buddies.

Penny & Velcro, you both rock!
(Seriously, how cute is this picture???)

Wheezy McWheezerson

Still sick. Still trying to fight this dumb cold. And still stupid enough to attempt a jog on the treadmill.

Yeah. BAD idea.

I only had it on 6mph and a 5% incline (with about 2 minutes of 15% incline insanity thrown in)...only ran a mile. Still managed to find myself nearly passing out because I couldn't catch my breath. Also, my heart was beating so fast I felt it was going to jump out of my congested chest. Nice visual, eh?

Oh well. My fault for pushing it a little too much on the incline. But hey, I ran a mile! Woo hoo! And I'm alive to type this little post! Double woo hoo! Now, I'm off to attempt a little germ homicide via mouthwash gargling.

So far: Germs 1 Zoë 0

Oh, it's ON.

M.I.A. & Sunday Shout Outs

I've been M.I.A. these past few days due to a little head cold and some extra work stress. I have a huge meeting tomorrow that is very exciting and wonderful all in one, but at the same time, I'm wicked nervous. I know I'll be fine though...

Since my running has been on hold because of my cold, it's all I can think about. I really really REALLY wanted to run outside today (despite the little snow flurries and bone-chilling gusts of wind), but that would've been extremely dumb. And I ain't no dummy. ;)

Onto the Sunday Shout Outs!

Congrats to all the awesome performances at races this weekend!

• Aron BQ'd at CIM!!!
• Morgan got a PR at her 5K!
  
• Danica completed 3 marathons in 3 months to become a MANIAC!
• Ron got a PR at CIM!
• Maritza completed marathon #7!
• Nicole completed CIM in under 4!
• Tara completed marathon #8!
• John PR'd at Las Vegas RnR!
• Shelly finished Las Vegas RnR in WAY under 4!
• Sarah ran BQ'd at the Las Vegas Full!
• LB kicked butt at the Holiday Classic 15K!
  
• ...and Billy wanted to remind everyone that today he ate a "McRib"
  

If I missed you on this Sunday Shout Out...I apologize, and will make it up on the next post (just let me know, k?)!
Next weekend I've got back-to-back races: Saturday Christmas Rush 10K and Sunday Jingle Bell Run 5K. Yippee!!

Runner Profile: Meet Aron

Aron's got it! With three marathons finished this year, and another (the CIM) coming up on Sunday, she's ready to finish off a great 2009. She ran over 2000 miles, crossed off five of her six goals for the year (and Sunday she's determined to cross that last one off the list), and has inspired so many runners with her amazing talent and fun blog. Did you know that she decided to run a marathon in January 2008 and has completed FIVE since that goal?? Awesome!


1. What is your favorite stretch?
Right now its the lower calf stretch. Hands on the wall in front of you, one leg back like the normal calf stretch, but you bend your knee to get the low part.

2. Do you have any pre-race rituals?

Well I always do everything the night before - put my timing chip on my shoe, set everything out, fill up water bottles, etc. I am really crazy about getting to start lines early, and then I always have to go to the porta potties 3 times... its rather annoying :)

3. What motivates you to run?

Always having a goal to achieve. I am a very goal oriented person, so I like to have goals that I am trying to reach. It can be weekly mileage, a marathon time, or a specific pace for a run that day, it helps me get out the door.

4. When did you start running?

I started running in February 2008. I signed up with a group to train for the San Francisco Marathon and pretty much started from scratch. I worked out a lot, but wasn't really into running. 6 months later I was a marathoner!

5. Running shoe of choice?

Asics Gel Kayano 15

6. Best advice received?

"Listen to your body", "just run", and "you will never regret going for a run"

7. What do you think about when running?

My best runs are when I don't think about anything at all. When I do think, I do a lot of math (calculating routes, etc), I think about blogging a lot too, and just what is going on in my life.

8. What is something you cannot run without?

Sadly my garmin, I am a numbers addict and need to know.

9. What race distance is your favorite?

I love marathons, but I really love half marathons. You can run fast, don't have as long to recover, and are still a great accomplishment. But I do love the feeling after completing a marathon!

10. Most outrageous running story you've heard or experienced?

I dont know how "outrageous" this is, but during the San Diego marathon I was running around mile 20 and all of a sudden this guy and girl are kissing in the middle of the road and then he got down on one knee! I screamed "he's proposing!" and thought it was so exciting :)

Aron: Here's to a Boston Qualifying 3:40:59 (or less) finish at the CIM this weekend! Rock it, girl!

Uh Oh

No blogging tonight--must go to bed. I have to get up super early to drive to work and....my throat is starting to hurt.

Noooooooo!
It must've been last night's awesome (yet freezing) run....


G'night.

I Gotta Feeling

The plan was for an easy 3 - 4 miles. Ha ha ha ha! Right. The weather/music/moon combination turned me into a speedy, happy running girl. I felt like I was flying! I even cruised up the toughest hill in my neighborhood, all while thinking to myself "why couldn't I fly up those hills during the half???" Oh well, now I know that I need to work on killah hills some more.
But anyway, back to this amazing run of mine..
I ended up going 4 miles in 33 minutes. And I even focused on my running form/stride the entire time. It must've been the new music I had downloaded for the race:

Kesha - Tik Tok
Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling & Boom Boom Pow
Jay Sean - Down
Enur - Calabria 2008
Britney Spears - 3

(Yeah yeah, I know...Britney, huh? Well, the song is catchy...)
I didn't really like the Tik Tok song when I first heard it on the radio, but it grew on me hardcore. Fun music! Woohoo!

So, I discovered a fun little feature for the Seattle Marathon results. Here's where I stand in terms of the rest of the runners. The further to the right, the faster. Yay!
Pretty rad, huh?
Also, there was a nifty map that showed where you were compared to another runner (or the overall winner of the race). I looked up where I was when John Curley finished (yeah, I didn't beat him...again...grrrrr). I was at the yellow arrow when he crossed the finish line:
Argh! A little more than 1.2 miles behind him! Bummer! It's not the last time I'll be trying to beat him. Apparently I was not even to the 8th mile when the overall winner of the half finished. Sun on the beach! That's fast.

Next in the cards is the Jingle Bell Dash on the 13th. Just a fun little 5K that benefits arthritis research. And of course, I'll be wearing jingle bells. ;)

P.S. A fun little fact about my race results...this is what the little feature had to say:
"For the record, you were ahead of about 59% of male finishers" MWA HAHAHA! Suckaz!

Can you spot a Tall Mom?

I was going through my Flickr account and looking at past races, and I remembered that Mel from Tall Mom on The Run ran the NW Trek Run Wild race in September. Hmmmm, I thought...my dad and Travis took quite a few photos, maybe Mel is in there somewhere?

AH HA!

Can you find her?

*Hint: Orange you glad you spotted her?*

Just thought I'd share. ;)

Recovery? What's that?

My idea of 1/2 marathon recovery:The patent-pending "Compression Cat." I think all athletes should have one to place on those legs after a long run. Plus, it's got a built in warming feature and subtle massaging vibration via "purring." Perfect companion to...Run, Zoë, Run!'s idea of compression/recovery socks! Stylish, yet supportive structure with durability and warmth. Found at any local Target, Ross, or TJ Maxx.

Add a LOT of H2O and you are set! Woohoo! Speedy Half Marathon Recovery! ;)

Seattle Half Marathon Recap

It all came down to today's 13.1Wow! What a day! My brain hasn't quite wrapped around what happened exactly, so this may be all over the place. First, I'm happy to report that I figured out how to do mile splits on Gus. It's actually pretty easy: Garmin Forerunner 305 --> Menu -->Training --> Training Options --> Auto Lap: Set by Distance @ 1 mile. Ta da! It is such an amazing feature, and I'm still wickedly grateful to Coach Fish for this cool gadget I call Gus. :)

I'll start from the beginning. Woke up this morning after having some really weird race dreams that had to do with spiders and pirates, and apparently me running away from them (Ok...throw in a couple of ninjas and it'd be a party). Quickly got changed and double-checked all my equipment batteries and made sure I had my post-run G2 (the lemon-lime is mighty tasty btw) from the fridge. Made myself some wheat toast but forgot I didn't have PB! Oh no! So, I used a little butter. Gave Murphy a goodbye/goodluck kiss thenTrav and I were off...

As we were driving to downtown, I was checking the two iPod earbuds that I brought along because both of them are a little wonky. Well, one pair had only one side that worked--garbage. The second pair I was just about to test out when my iPhone completely went blank. Um. What? Yeah... Tried holding down buttons, Travis tried calling my phone. Nothing. Completely blank. WTH?! I only mildly started to panic at this point (and we had just come up to the Mercer exit, which is always backed up and anxiety-inducing), then the iPhone was like "Sike! Tricked ya, didn't I?!" *&($@)*$#*()!! PHEW, crisis averted. This was the only little stress outbreak I had for the day; anxiety WIN.

We parked easily enough and the start line was less than a block away. Trav took a quick picture of me pre-race and kissed me goodbye. There was about 10 minutes until the Half Marathon start, so I just listened to my music (with one earbud shorting out...bummer!) and zoned out. I took a couple of iPhone pics (see Space Needle pic above) because it was so awesome being surrounded by runners and the city lights. Before I knew it we were off! I scanned the crowds for Trav after passing over the mats, and I found him and waved...he tried to take a pic of me, but there was a dude in the way (see me with my blue gloves, waving behind dude in white hat?). From here on out it was just me and my music. And perhaps a LOT of people watching. I saw a boy that looked no older than 9 running, a woman that seriously could have doubled as the Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz...but with a strange/scary running gait, and a handful of people that kind of ran like Phoebe from Friends (and that made me giggle a little). I'm sure I looked like an idiot at some point too. :)

Mile 1: 8:27
Mile 2: 8:29
Mile 3: 8:24
These first three miles I was just so excited to be running, I went out a little fast. Not too bad though, if I could keep that pace the entire time! Then I'd run a 1:52 half...hmm, I guess that could be my goal for the next.

Mile 4: 11:45
Mile 5: 5:03
Mile 6: 8:43
Um, yeah. Miles 4 & 5 are waaaaay off because we ran through the I-90 tunnel and Gus freaked out and didn't have a signal. Speaking of freaking out, running in a tunnel is weird. Straight up Armageddon style, except without the abandoned cars and stuff. It was a very odd feeling. Oh, and so was getting stuck keeping pace with this mammoth of a dude that was literally dripping sweat (I dodged some!) and smelled funky. Yuck. Getting out of that tunnel was a breath of fresh air. At around mile 6 I grabbed two gu's (not to be confused with my trusty Gus) to try later. I didn't feel like getting an upset stomach during the race. Ugh. But apparently this one dude just couldn't wait for the mile Honey Buckets and dropped trou right off the road in the bushes. Gross!

Mile 7: 9:16
Mile 8: 9:53
Mile 9: 9:02
Ah yes, hills, I've met you before. Except I also was introduced to my good friend asthma. Thank goodness for my inhaler. I had to walk up a hill for a moment to take a puff. But I didn't walk for long at all!

Mile 10: 9:19
Mile 11: 8:54
Mile 12: 8:54
At this point all I was thinking was "almost there." Plus I saw a woman holding a sign that said "It's not supposed to be easy, but you're strong enough." Heck yes! And, there was a 70ish years young man running a good 9:00 pace that was just amazing. At roughly 2 miles to go I spotted my friend Luke in the crowd (of Quick Pickle fame), so I sprinted the 50 feet to smack him in the arm. He turned and was pretty surprised "GO Zoe!" he said. I told him that that quick sprint to catch up to him was brutal and to just keep going.

Mile 13: 8:36
SOOO CLOSE! I had to walk a little to take another puff at this mile, but then there was a crowd and I just tried to kick it in. I think the hot pink shirt/hat combo really worked.

Finishing strong! And HAPPY!

Luke was waiting for me right next to the finish and we were yelled at by Trav on the sidelines. And guess who was there? My in-laws! It was so awesome that Trav's parents came! This is the first time they've seen me race. :) Yay! Unfortunately I couldn't meet up with Kerrie or Amanda today because of the surprise in-law visit. But I saw their stats and they kicked major boo-tay!! Very proud of both of these women! :)

That's the race recap for now (it's late!). Tomorrow I'll go into my interesting recovery methods. ;) Be sure to stay tuned.


FINAL STATS:
Mileage - 13.1 miles
Time - 1:58:01 (Chip), 1:59:07 (Gun), 1:57:28 (GUS)
Overall - 675 673 out of 4269 (Females)
Division Place - 131 out of 839 (F25-29)
Pace - 9:00

I Think I Can, I Think I Can...

This week has been crazy busy with work, family dinners, non-training training and Half prep. I worked a double shift (overnight) on Wednesday to help decorate the store for the holidays. This was my third year helping out, and even though we don't leave until 4:30am, it's still a lot of fun. :) So my Thanksgiving was spent 1) sleeping in until 12:30 and 2) dressing up in crazy costumes and having dinner with my sisters, bro-in-laws and Dad.

My Dad, Travis, Bob (bro-in-law) and my sister Kristal

Sisters & I: Liza, me, Karrie

After work yesterday I met up with Kerrie to go grab our bibs and t-shirts from the Seattle Marathon Expo. She brought along T Junior, too! We checked out some booths, tasted some different juices/fuels and then tried out some crazy magnet bracelet:

Seeing if "magnet power" truly works...and it was crazy that it did!

So maybe we aren't running the Full...but it's still a rad sign.

Now the race is less than 24 hours away, and I'm getting anxious! Today is already a busy day with the Apple Cup going on and Trav & I in the stands (GO HUSKIES!). Don't worry, I will be sitting as much as possible today. ;)

SO EXCITED! I'm bib #4072!

Runner Profile: Meet Morgan

She's a speedy running fiend with a fantastic sense of humor and a fun writing style. Also known as the Redhead, she recently finished her first Marathon in Chicago last month (awesome finisher's photo above), and ran 3 legs of a Ragnar Relay in Florida on no sleep last weekend. Plus, she's always sending encouraging words to runners around the country. Could she be any more kick a$$? :)

1. What is your favorite stretch?
My fav stretches are for the ITB for obvious reasons. More specifically this one: Iliotibial band stretch: Standing: Cross one leg in front of the other leg and bend down and touch your toes. You can move your hands across the floor toward the front leg and you will feel more stretch on the outside of your thigh on the other side. Hold this position for 15 to 30 seconds. Return to the starting position. Repeat 3 times. Reverse the positions of your legs and repeat.

2. Do you have any pre-race rituals?
LOL! I have OCD so pre-race rituals are standard (except my recent Founders Day 10k when I went completely against the grain...) Pasta dinner, epsom salt bath before bed, foam roll & stretches, to bed early, up earlier still, pb & banana on a slice of wheat toast, stretches, pee 5,345,856,238,483,951 times pre-race. :)

3. What motivates you to run?
Running completes me. It makes me a happier more positive person, it helps burn up some of this excess energy I have, it keeps me in shape and healthy, I have made so many amazing friends through running and I have become a bit of an inspiration to family and friends.

4. When did you start running?
I ran my first 5k July 4th 2008 and that's when the running bug bit. I was hooked after that.

5. Running shoe of choice?
I'm in a committed relationship with my Asics GT-2140's

6. Best advice received?
To run your first marathon for YOU. No ambitious time goal, just to finish. The enjoy the experience. So that is exactly what I did and I had the best time ever. I heart Chicago Marathon. :)

7. What do you think about when running?
More like what don't I think about!? I have a slight case of A.D.D. so sometimes I'll be coming up with ways to end world hunger and then a butterfly will pass in front of me and I'll start singing "Reading Rainbow"

8. What is something you cannot run without?
Besides the obvious, I don't leave home without my wrist rockers because I sweat something fierce down here in Florida.

9. What race distance is your favorite?
I did a 10 miler race in the beginning of the year and it was perfect. You hit the double digits so there was a huge sense of accomplishment without the total @ss kicking of the higher miles. I also really love 10k's I've yet to have a bad experience running one.

10. Most outrageous running story you've heard or experienced?
Being addicted to the blogging world I've read all kinds of crazy running stories but I think the most outrageous I've ever experienced will probably happen this weekend during the Ragnar Relay, so stay tuned for the recap! :) [I say: Check out Leg 1, Leg 2, and Leg 3 for some extreme laughs]

Check out Morgan's running adventures at CAUTION: Redhead Running

A Little Awesome-ness

How sweet is this GoLite tote?
Do you want to win it?
Tall Mom Mel is giving it away on her blog.
(But don't enter the giveaway too much, because I want this bag! Heh heh!)