Running with the Turkeys Recap!

I love that my sister is blogging about running again.  She is my inspiration.  I love the picture she posted of us as little girls.  The picture was taken Christmas morning.  We both got those fancy shirts from our Aunt and I loved that mine was an ice cream cone.

I have a recap from my 1st Annual, "Run With The Turkeys" race.  It wasn't actually a "real" race, my friend and I didn't want to pay the $20 to sign up for the Community Turkey Trot... so we made up our own race.  We had a total of 3 runners.  No timers, No worries, we just had a good time.  However, I did make us some pretty fashionable race bibs. They were not as nice as real race bibs, but people drove by and wondered where the race was.  We told them we left them in the dust, and then my friend gobbled at them! Just kidding, not about the gobbling though.  

After reading my sister's recap I realized how different we are! She is ultra competitive, and me not so much, sort of.  When we were younger I was chosen for the teams because I was tall, could run pretty fast, and most of the time I could catch.  They chose my sister because she was out for BLOOD! And she could run fast, and catch all of the time!  I'm glad she's like that because I would have NEVER played softball if she wouldn't have signed up first, or basketball, or water skiing, and certainly I would not be running if it weren't for her.  Some of us need that nudge to get us going, and then there's me who needs a BIG nudge! Thanks for keeping me going.

(I wanted to show how lovely our bibs were, not how lovely I look in this picture!)

My goal for December is to just keep running.  Johanna :) 

Turkey stuffer recap!

So I wanted to post this sooner but our internet modem died on Wednesday night. Hmm, it's funny when you realize just how much you use the internet.
I was reading in runners world and it talked about after a race it is a good thing to hash out race with someone so you can review it and figure out what went well and what went wrong. So you small handful of people are going to be my group that I hash out my race with.
The morning was beautiful couldn't have asked for nicer weather in November. The sun was even shining and I live in Oregon, that doesn't happen a lot in the winter. I woke up early (not to early that would be crazy) and I had a small breakfast of Kashi cereal. It really hit the spot. Usually before my morning runs I don't eat but I had over an hour to wait before race time so I knew I needed to eat something small. My husband dropped me off and I could hardly believe how many people were there to do the race. I am very competitive so this started to make me nervous. I often look around and try to eye who is my competition (ha, like I'm gonna win a prize or something). I decided that I couldn't do this to myself I was there to race for myself and get the time I had set out to get not to beat anyone else. So, I found a bathroom and went into the stall. I believe in a Heavenly Father who hears and answers prayers so I said a small prayer asking for help to calm down and just do the best that I could do for that day. It worked. I went back outside and headed to the starting line. I wasn't nervous just anxious to start running. Bummer part of the race was that A LOT of people waited until the morning of the race to pick up their packets so this made start time late by like ten minutes. When I say a lot I mean a lot. Even after starting late there were still people pinning on numbers and not at the start line when the gun went off.

I have to admit I was worried that I started out to quick which is a mistake I make a lot,but I kept going and found my rhythm and it felt great. I got the time I had been working for which made me really happy.
The race showed me a few things about myself. One shorter races are fun. Two I am tougher and a better runner than I give myself credit for. I really need to quit comparing myself to others and just work harder on making myself the best me I can. Three I also realized that I have got to stop neglecting my core work. Toward the end of the race I could feel my core and it felt weak. I know that if I had worked harder on it I may have been able to go a little bit faster.

All in all I loved this turkey stuffer. I felt so invigorated when I was done and it gave me back some motivation and some love of running that I have been missing.

Goal for the month of December; CORE and all over strength training.

P.S. I also had a nice thanksgiving as well. hope you did too.

Keep running. Corrine

Turkey stuffer!!

Hi! How was your weekend?  Mine was pretty nice. Saturday I started the day out with a run on the treadmill. At first I was not that excited  to run on the treadmill but with the schedules we had that day I really had no other options. To be honest it turned out to be a very nice six miles. I felt really good and it was nice to just run. I turned on pandora and the first song that came on was an oldie but a goodie. It was Erasure: Take a chance on me. That started my mood out great. As I ran on the treadmill I was more like run/dancing. If only you could have seen my arm movements they were totally awesome.  So all in all a great run on the treadmill.

This week is the 5K turkey stuffer. I have a time goal for this race. I have never run a 5K with a time goal in mind. The one's I have run I am usually just running for the fun of it. I have to be honest with a goal I am kinda nervous. My running hasn't been the greatest as of late but this has given me some motivation to keep going.

What about you are you running a turkey stuffer?

Also, this morning I read a great post by Dorothy over on mile post. I have been reading her blog for a while now and I really like her. She is an amazing runner who has an amazing story. Her post today was about dieting and food. I really like her thoughts about this and I feel the same. Check it out if you like. 

new view = smarter perspective

Part of pre's trail.

Okay like my sister I have been MIA from blog world but not the running world. You see my running this year has been sub par for my standards and it was getting me down. My foot has been bothering me and I may have to have surgery and it just seems like my runs are work instead of fun like they usually are. My life has also been busier.  So needless to say my motivation has been low. I had big dreams this year. I really wanted to run a marathon and try to PR but with my foot I decided with the help of my physical therapist to back out on any marathons this year. I took the summer easy and kind of started from scratch with my running.I had plans to run a half marathon this month but found out the one I had been planning on got changed and I was not able to run it. This really didn't help the motivation department.  However, today I went for a run on an old trail that I haven't been on it while. If you have been to Eugene you may know of Pre's trail. I drove to it today and had the best run ever. Running on the soft bark and next to the river I found myself enjoying my run today. My thoughts where even great. I decided that it is okay that I am not running this massive big races but I am still running. There are a lot of people out there that can't run 6 1/2 miles like I did today and there are a lot of people out there that would love to run my pace (which by the way is not fast).  I got a new perspective on running today and it added some umph to my motivation bucket. Maybe a marathon isn't close in my future but a 5K is and then maybe a 10K and then a great half and it those go well and my foot holds up we will brave the marathon again next year.
So, if you need some motivation find a new view for your next run.  Just keep running! Corrine

Therapy Sessions

I have been MIA in the blog world.  There for awhile I was MIA in the running world too.  I had some big changes in my life that were causing me  a lot of stress.  I was moving to another town and not able to find a place to go in the time frame I had.  I was also sad to leave my friends who I grew to love and were always there for me, and I was sad to leave a town I loved living in as well and being so close to my 92 year old grandma.  So, I would set out on a run and get all sentimental and start crying on my run! (I know, pathetic, but I know you have a route that you run that is your favorite go-to route) But soon I was crying not only on my run, but pretty much at the drop of a hat.  I knew everything was going to work out just fine and that my life would go on, and so on the outside I was calm, cool, and collected.  However, on the inside, I was a jumble of nerves who couldn't sleep.  Feeling like a zombie, running was the last thing I could think of doing.  I kept telling myself if I could just go for a run I could think much clearer and it would settle my nerves.  But the exhaustion would win and another day would go by without me running.

After finally getting moved  I knew I needed to start running again.  I kept thinking about the title of this blog and how running, in the past, had cleared my head and made life a little bit easier to handle. I was  finally able to sleep so the exhaustion was gone but now I needed someone to nudge me just a little.  So, I texted a friend and asked her if she wanted to run.  Our first run was a hill run! YIKES! I hadn't run a hill in, hmmm, yea not really trained on many hills! But I did it! And I felt great.

At first I just wanted to run.  I didn't want any expectations of training for anything or running at a certain pace I was out there to feel better.  It worked too.  It was fun to be out running with someone and hashing out our day-to-day problems, AND running up some pretty big hills!

Works for me! :) 

I'm ready to be pushed, and I sort of need some goals to work toward to keep me going.  So I gathered my posse and I'm signing up for the Ogden, Utah Half marathon.  I sent out the invite to some friends and family because I need the support, and it also holds me accountable.  If someone else is running because I talked them into it, you can bet I'll be training. If any of you reading want to run with me, or around me, or even if front of me (I'm ok with that) sign up, and hurry it fills up fast (last year only took 5 days) Registration starts Nov. 10 at 6am Mountain time. It's not until May 19, 2012, but it gives me (and you! :) plenty of time.