Breaking 4 Hours

I am not a fast runner. It irks me so much because I consider myself a decent athlete and I should be able to run faster. But, to be honest, I am not skinny enough to be fast. Don't get me wrong...I am in good shape...but I am not a bean pole and it really pays to be super lean when you run a marathon.

For the first time in my life I broke the 4 hour barrier in a marathon! I ran the Portland Marathon with my best friend from college (see picture above...Kyla and me) and we both managed to hit 3:57. This is great considering it's 14 minutes faster than our previous best time! But I had the goal in mind of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, which is a 3:50. I know, I know...believe me, I relish the fact that I have the luxury to complain! I thank God that I had the opportunity to run at all...trust me when I say that surviving cancer is always in the back of my mind. And I thank God that I am still outrunning it!

This was the first time that I trained the proper way for a marathon. I put in the distance and included speed training and tempo runs. The only thing I fell short on was hill training. And perhaps that will take me to the Boston cut-off the next time I run 26.2. But life intervenes and caring for two kids and a busy household, plus a business, kind of got in the way sometimes!

I dedicated the Portland marathon to a good friend who is fighting colon cancer at the moment. I thought of her every step of the way. My job of running hard and hurting temporarily was easy compared to hers...which is fighting the good fight. I know this all too well as I also underwent chemo nearly 8 years ago now. I know she will prevail...and perhaps she will join me in a future marathon! Running a marathon is easy compared to fighting cancer and I want to be running until I am old and gray.

Why Tri at all?

I have always avoided triathlons. When everyone was out doing the Danskin Triathlon here in Seattle I was looking the other way. This is crazy for someone who seems to be the natural triathlete...afterall I was an All-American swimmer in college and since then I have run three marathons.

The part that scares me is the bike ride.

It all stems back to a small bike trip I took with my sister way back when. I was only 12 years old and she wanted to ride around the island of Martha's Vineyard. She was 18 and one of those crazy bike people.

Janna worked in a bike shop in our neighborhood with all those interesting souls who loved to talk about bike parts and gears and get their hands really dirty with grease. Occasionally I would visit Janna in the store when my mom needed to drop something off. I hated the smell of that store. And it was dirty! But Janna loved it there and she found kindred spirits to fuel her bike passion.

So, Janna wanted to ride around Martha's Vineyard and for some reason my mother thought it would be a great idea for me to go too. Oh, how awful! By now you can tell that I am a bit of a princess. Plus, I was only 12. I did not like the idea of being away from my family for a few days and to my greatest horror Janna had plans to spend the night in youth hostels along the way.

So off we went. All I remember is that I had some sort of clunker for a bike. It was not a sleek road bike...it looked to be about two decades old and we had borrowed it out of the garage where my family was renting a vacation home.

I wanted to cry for most of the trip. And if you ask my sister I think I did cry for most of the trip. My brothers came to visit us at the youth hostel where we were staying and all I wanted to do was go home where I could find a clean bathroom and a warm bed. I was scared by the communal kitchen and the strangers strumming guitars.

I have no idea how far we went but it felt like hundreds of miles. And ever since then I have shunned bicycle riding. I have indulged in the spinning craze because it's indoors and I do not have to spend the night in a strange place. But outdoor bike riding has not been for me.

So...where does that put this princess? I have miles to go before next June. At the moment I have a passable training bike but I do not have a racing bike. I have a lot of research to do before I purchase some wheels. And I need to conquer the demon from within and learn to love the bike!

Half-Marathon: Done! On to the next goal...

I am terrible about posting on this blog...I guess I put too much pressure on myself to come up with interesting things to write about...as if my daily activities would be too boring to the general population. Well, that has all changed. I can now start writing about my new goal: The June 2010 Coeur D'Alene Idaho Ironman!

I am ready to be an Ironman. My daughter, Ellie, did point out the other day that they should call it the Ironwoman. Right? Right! But if that were the case then most Moms would already qualify for this title...because really we are already Ironwomen! 

I certainly have my fears about shooting for this goal. But I believe deep in my heart that I can do it if it's important to me. My husband, Curtis, has pointed out that I need to be really disciplined about not taking on too many activities during the next year if I actually want to complete the Ironman. I guess he is right when you consider that I will be needing to ride my bike for 6 hours every Saturday morning! And then some. Yikes.

Here is another insight. I am a newbie to tris. Technically I have done at least one tri when I was in college. But I have not even done a sprint tri as an adult. Oh, don't get all excited about my lack of experience. I have time to gain the experience. I have one year. And that's just how I roll. I decided one day that I was going to run a marathon and I just did it. So my lack of experience only slightly concerns me.

I do not have a proper bike or any proper gear for that matter. I am waiting to purchase a tri bike when I have some money! And I will get a wet suit. And anything else that I need to complete a tri. I am sure I need to start saving my pennies, now!

As I mentioned in my headline my running group finished a half marathon! I was so proud of the 16 women who crossed the finish line. Many of them had never run more than 3 miles. Their effort gave me the hair-brained idea that I could finish an Ironman...so it's all their fault! 

Time to get moving. I have many miles to go before next June!

Wanna run a half marathon?

I am so amazed at the human spirit.

I announced last week at my outdoor fitness class that I will be organizing a running group to train for the Rock and Roll Seattle Half Marathon in June. I wasn't really sure if I'd have any takers. But as of today we are nearly 10 ladies strong! Every single one of these women has never run farther than 5 miles...and here they are making the statement that they are ready to run for two hours straight! 12 whole miles!

I am looking forward to blogging about our experience over the next six months. I am particularly interested in sharing how all of us struggle with the ups and downs of reaching for a lofty goal and in the process meet many small health and wellness goals along the way (weight loss, stress management, improved heart rate...). The benefit of training for a larger goal is that we can work week-to-week to set smaller and more attainable goals...this is really the only way that we can get our heads around the fact that we will be pounding the pavement for many miles!

Our official training program begins Feb. 23. We will be using Jeff Galloway's training program, which involves both running and walking. A run/walk training program is best for injury prevention and for allowing all of us to have a life...and since we are all mothers we will need to be realistic about our training!

So please join me in this journey -- here's to the June half marathon and to the many adventures that we will face along the way!