pink in a sea of green.

i ran the shamrock'n half marathon on march 17th.  third year participating!

it was a gorgeous day for 13.1 miles.  unfortuantely, it will be my last long run until CIM training begins in july.

 

 

 

 

drunk with happiness.

My Second Marathon

My legs got me through the first 10 miles, my brain got me through the next 10, and my heart got me through the last 6.

Rain, wind and injury didn’t stop me from finishing my second full marathon, the California International Marathon on December 3, 2012. I may have been a few minutes slower than last year, but I’ll take it.   Rain and wind until mile 22 was a challenging experience.  26.2 miles of agony and utter bliss.  

Thank you to my family and friends for all the support and encouragement. To the crazy ones that actually made it to the course today, Ryan, my mom, dad (who actually rode his bike alongside me for a mile and a half), stepmom, Papa Rathke, Carrie, Jovana, Super, Ange, Cheryl and Logan… you helped me more than you know. Special thanks to Ryan for the daily encouragement, subjecting yourself to subzero temperatures in cryothearpy with me, making me healthy meals and knowing when I just need a freakin’ donut, I love you and appreciate you. Carrie, thanks for always making me feel better when I am frustrated with myself, my injuries or just running in general, for cheering me on at my running events and for my Team Chompers shirt. Hehee. To all my girls that do running events with me throughout the year, you are the best friends a girl can ask for. You girls make running fun and push me to do better. Cheryl, I was honored to wear the bracelet today. I thought of Greg often and felt a peace around me. Logan, my new running buddy, proud of you for doing the relay and excited to run Shamrock with you. Big thanks to all those that sent me lovely supportive messages. And to all those that celebrated with me at brunch. Cheers!

 

I am lucky girl to be surrounded by so many wonderful people. 

 

 

the night before

  

estimated arrival times

 

way too early in the morning

 

a mile of porta potties at 6:00 a.m.

 

at start line

 

 

 

and I did it!  26.2 miles

 

 

my Ryan, my love

 

 

 

  

26.2 Miles of Agony & Utter Bliss

Yes, I am still running CIM… RAIN OR SHINE, through WIND AND HAIL.  

 

The forecast for this Sunday is heavy rain and wind.  I have never run in these types of conditions before, but my boss and co-workers have given me some great advice and suggestions to help me prepare.   

 

This will be my second year running the California International Marathon, and hopefully not my last.  I feel just as excited and anxious for this marathon as I did last year.  Unfortunately, this year I injured my right hip, glute and hamstring.  It has been extremely difficult to continue training while injured.  Forcing yourself to rest and cut down your miles is frustrating and disappointing, but I have learned a lot during this experience -  when to push through the pain and when to rest, when to stretch and when to ice.  I feel confident in myself and my abilities.  I am ready to run.  I am ready to take this storm on!

 

 

 

 

 

I truly fell in love with running 4 years ago and I can’t imagine ever stopping.

images from october.

 

 

 

 



mileage.

week seven

5 days - 32 miles

core strength training - 30 minutes

cross training/bike - 45 minutes

starting to put some serious miles on my running shoes.  i'll probably have to buy one more pair before the marathon. 

glimpses from the week 8/20 - 8/26.

 cross training // happy hour with char char

made french toast bake again // while on the run, state capital

someone needed a nap // my favorite comfort food... chicken & dumplings at Dad's Kitchen

just run.

{image}

week six
3 days - 19 miles

core strength training - 45 mins

cross training/pool running - 40 mins

accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.

my mileage for the past week

week five

4 days - 22 miles

core strength training - 30 mins

cross training/pool running - 30 mins

olympic withdrawals.

i was a bit obsessed with watching the olympics this year, and not just one particular event.  I enjoyed watching almost ALL of the events… except for maybe 2 or 3, which I will not identify. 

there were just so many truly amazing and inspiring athletes!!!  i can’t tell you how often i caught myself crying at the end of a race, a swim, a perfect spike, a dismount, a goal. 

of course, track and field was very exciting and interesting to me.  both, the men’s and women’s olympic marathons, blew me away!  the men’s winning time 2:08:01 and the women’s winning time at 2:23:07.  obviously, i will never get even remotely close to those times, but just watching them has motivated me even more to beating my marathon PR in december.  i'm hoping to improve my PR by 25 minutes. 

my mileage for the week
week four

21 miles/4 days

core strength training/2 days

color me if you can.

yesterday i participated in the happiest 5k EVER, the first color run in sacramento.  what a great event!!!

mileage for the week
week three

17 miles
4 days 

before 

team color me if you can

after

much deserved brunch with friends

{15 car pile-up}