Froze My Fanny!

My new Tshirt and Headband

Hey there!  On Saturday, January 18th I went down to Clarkston, WA to run in a little race called "Freeze Your Fanny 5K" and let me tell you....the race lives up to its name....it was 27 degrees at race time....BRRRRR!!


On race day, it had been almost 2 weeks since my last run, but I kept telling myself, it's only 3 miles...this will be cake!  When I go to a race, I have to believe in my training over the past 22 months.  I ask myself all the time....when is running going to become easier for me??  Well, I must admit, 3 miles is fairly easy.  I may not be the fastest runner in the world, but I CAN finish 3 miles with ease and with little struggle.  So the answer to myself is:  Denise, running IS getting easier....keep going!!

I was joined at this race by my friend, Kristi.  We were ready to concur our first race of the year together :)  We began the race and stayed with each other for about the first half mile, but Kristi is faster than me and I would never hold her back.  I told her to just run and I will see her at the finish line.  So she did, Kristi took off and I kept running my pace.

Last year at this same race, I ended with a PR of 33:29.  My goal today was not to beat my PR, but to simply run a solid run.  If I finished at 36:00 or under, I would be super happy!  At the first mile marker, I was happy to see my Garmin telling me that my first mile was 10:56.  Sure made me smile as most of my training runs lately have been an average of 13 minutes per mile.  I was bookin' it!  Yay me!!

The 2nd mile is usually slower for me than the first mile.  So my goal for the 2nd mile was to keep running strong and get as close to an 11 minute mile as I could.  But, this was the point in the race where my outlook changed....a few yards in front of me, I noticed a little girl struggling a bit.  Then I saw her put her hands over her face as she was crying her little eyes out.  She was struggling and scared...so sad :(

I quickly caught up to her and said...."hey there, come on, run with me!"  She looked up at me, and with a crying voice said..."ooookkkkk."  I asked her name and she said "Ruby".  I introduced myself and said..."nice to meet you Ruby".  "Guess what?  We are almost halfway done.  You can do this!  I will stay with you.  Not everyone can run 3 miles.  Think about all of the people sitting on their couch right now.  You are doing great!".  Ruby smiled at me, stopped her tears and began to run along side me.  I suddenly had a new goal for this race....my plan was to help Ruby the best I could while staying solid.

So I had a running buddy for the rest of the race.  I discovered that Ruby is 9 years old and in the 4th grade.  Pretty cool :)  Ruby and I ran together.  She actually ended up being a little faster than me.  She would take off on the downhills.  I told her..."go ahead, I will catch you on the uphills.".  So, that is what we did.

Near the end of the race, I had a woman come up from behind me.  She said..."I watched you help that little girl.  Nice job!".  That made me feel good :)  Ruby's Mom finished the race before us and ended up coming back to cheer Ruby on at the end.  Ruby took off with her Mom and finished in front of me.  I finished solid, just like I wanted to do.  My finishing time was 35:50.  Pretty dang good!!

Finishers! (Me and Kristi)

When I ran across the finish line, I had a great cheering section...Kristi, her husband, Dan, Sym, and Logan.  Always feels good to have people supporting me at the finish line.

I won something! What?!?

 This race had a raffle at the end.  My name was actually called!!  Can you believe it?!?  I never win anything!  But this time, I won this really cool Brooks' headband.  I was so excited!  It's just what I needed for my running wardrobe....so cool!!

2nd Place Finisher!

Kristi is a rock star! She won this cool mug by finishing 2nd place in her age group....sweet!  Great job Kristi!! You inspire me :)

My first race of the year was a huge success!  Kristi said..."I can't believe we are running a race in January!".  I (we) are year-around runners for sure!  I'm ready for the next race in February.  Yay for 2014 :)

New Year, New Goals, Change is Good!

5.07 Miles Done!

My New Year's Day began with a nice 5 mile run with my running buddy Chris O.  We decided to take a route that included running up Stadium Way....and when I say "up", I do mean up!  I have a tendency to avoid hills if I can.  Not an easy thing to do in Pullman considering you can technically go up hills both ways.  But today I trudged up the endless hill.  Chris was telling me a story, I was listening, and then before I knew it, we were at the top....whew!

This is the 2nd year in a row that I've gone for a New Year's Day run with Chris.  It really is a nice way to start off the year.  Makes me feel good anyway :)

Last year at this time, I wrote a post that included my goals for 2013.  It's time to check-in and see how I did.....

2013 Goals...did I complete them?
1.  Run 500 miles.  If you have been reading my posts regularly, you know that I made a goal to run 500 miles between November 1, 2012 and October 31, 2013.  I didn't quite make it to 500 miles.  Life has a way of changing plans sometimes.  I adjusted this goal back in August after doing the math.  I'm happy to report (in case you missed my previous post) that I ran 309.5 miles.  Happy face!

2.  Sign up and run at l race each month.  So this goal was also adjusted back in August, but the outcome was still the same.  I finished 14 races during 2013.  I would say this goal was met.  Check!

January 26, 2013 – Freeze Your Fanny 5K, 33:30

February 9 – Sweetheart Run 4 miles, 44:00

March 2 – Snake River Half, 3:03:00

March 30 - Campus on the Run 5K, 39:36

April 13 – Mom’s on the Run 5K, 39:00

April 21 - 100K Relay, 5.6 miles, 1:12:00

April 27 – Seaport River Run 10K, 1:17:00

May 5 – Bloomsday, 12K, 1:44:00

August 17 – Lentil Festival 5K, 42:00

September 21 – Dash for Cash 5K, 36:00

October 5 – Fall Flash 10K, 1:19:30

October 24 – Virtual 5K College of Education, 38:52

October 27 – Run for Your Life, 5K, 39:58

November 2 – Doc Sears Half, 2:52:21

3.   Finish at least 2 half marathons...done and done!

2013 Highlights!

4.  Continue to motivate myself and be a cheerleader for my friends.  I was just talking to Chris about the motivation piece this morning.  I'm dedicated to my running.  However, it's still not easy for me.  I have to motivate myself daily and sometimes talk myself into going out for a run.  BUT...I'm still doing it!  As for cheering on my friends, I try to encourage others as much as possible.  Great job everyone!

5.  Keep a consistent running schedule of 3 days per week.  I will have to say that I did not complete this goal.  I always had it in the back of my mind, but I'm still working on the consistency part.  Keep moving my feet!

 I've been sitting here thinking about what I want my goals to be for 2014.  I already have a couple changes coming my way.  Which is both exciting and scary at the same time.  I start a new job tomorrow and I have a new jeep coming soon.

I'd like to take a moment to say thank you to my 2005 jeep liberty.  I feel that it sacraficed itself to protect me and my boys in our recent accident.  Thankfully we are all ok.  My small injuries will heal.  I'm so thankful!!  RIP!

The upcoming changes to my life will inevitably affect other parts of my life too.  That will be a challenge in itself, but I'm ready.  So here we go with my running goals for 2014....

1.  Run 400 miles.  Now that I have a baseline, I think 400 is do-able.  Don't you?
2.  14 races in 2014.  I know I already did this, but I think I will do it again.  I'd like to add a couple more 10K's if possible.
3.  Run a race with my sister Laura.  We ran Bloomsday together last year.  I'd like to travel to Seattle to do something with her this year.
4.  Continue to motivate myself and soak in the enthusiasm of other runners.  Thanks to facebook for helping with this one!
5.  Finish a half marathon in 2:30:00 or less.  This one will be hard, but the challenge will be good for me.

Ok, that's it for now.  I hope you all have an amazing year!!  Oh and....Go Cougs!!