Running Lately and Hood To Coast 2014

"Just found out I'm the only woman in my Hood to Coast van. Gross...I've been on enough running teams to know that this van is going to stink!! But I'm also expecting some funny memories with this rowdy bunch! And I get to race with Waylon the entire time!"

The words above were my Facebook status right before the Hood to Coast relay this year.  They certainly  make me laugh now!  Let's just say, I didn't have to worry about the guys in the van one bit when it came to stinky or rowdy.  They might actually be writing this status about me in the future.

What an adventure!  Hood to Coast always is.  To be honest, I didn't think I wanted to do it this year.  After very recently moving from North Carolina to Bend, OR, I kind of wanted to stay home and try to relax a little.  I was sick of traveling, not in the best running shape, and just not in the mood to travel in a van for 200 plus miles with people I didn't know too well (and everything else that comes with this relay:  lack of sleep, limited opportunities to use the bathroom, build up of lactic acid, etc. etc.).

Team No Reason Why 1 and 2

I'm so glad I did this!  I'm glad my husband went ahead and signed us up for this despite my negative naysaying.  I think this was my seventh HTC relay and my third time being on a team with my husband.  This year we were on teams we have run with before: No Reason Why 1 and 2.  Yes, two teams, four vans.  That made it so that each of us was matched up with a compatible runner and we ran with them the entire way.  Always two at a time.  I liked this!  First, I got to run with my best friend and favorite running partner.  I also liked it because it made being out there on the road in the middle of the night feel a little safer (for many reasons...one being that I have a really hard time seeing in the dark).  The last time I have run with this team was in 2004 when had just found out that I was pregnant with my first child.  It was so weird to come back ten years later when so much has changed but yet it felt like nothing much had changed at all!

It was a gorgeous night for a relay!  This is the skyline at our first pass off from van 2 where we began our second runs.  A perfect night for running.  

Here's the things I loved about Hood to Coast (specifically HTC 14):

• Being in a van with my husband.  It truly was a date for us.  So nice to have family near now that we are back in Oregon.  

Wahoo!  Right after our first run. What a beautiful climb.  This is when I knew without a doubt that this was going to be fun! Sub 8s came easy. And you can't see, but behind us is a gorgeous view of Mount Hood covered in clouds.  

• Lots of laughing.  What happens in the van, stays in the van!  I love noticing people and how they interact.  It is always so funny to me to see how perfectly responsible and successful adults/parents can behave when placed far away from responsibility, kids, and reality.  It was so much fun.  Rowdy.  Safe.  Hilarious.  Immature at times.  Sleep deprived fun.  
• Building relationships with people you would have otherwise never have spent much time with.  Traveling for the better part of 2 days with a group of people can either make you sick to death of them or really kind of connected to them by the end of the trip.  With this group, there was nothing but positive vibes.  Everyone got along.  An easy going group of dudes...and me.  I'm not always easy going (not uptight either...just middle of the road) but it was impossible not to be with this group.  
• Running for FUN. Finding so much JOY in running.  My words to a friend in email last night:

"Anyway, we made it to the beach and our runs were mostly easy pace and I LOVED the fact that we didn't feel pressure to race.  It was just fun!!  We ran faster than I thought we would though.  In all our legs we had a few faster miles that felt strong!  WE rocked the up hill and the distances were NO PROB!  Very happy with how awesome it felt!  Just a true JOY in running!!  No pressure.  No time goals.  Just fun!  Some really fun and funny stories from these runs." 

• Leg 5! I was a little worried about this leg considering my low mileage lately but I actually  loved this leg!  It was a combined total of almost 20 miles.  My least favorite run of the three was the middle leg because it was at night and I struggle seeing in the dark even with lamps.  However,at one point there was a guy running next to me trying to give me his name and number.  Little did he know, I was running WITH my husband. ha!  

Our last run was by far the hardest!  But also the most fun.  That first part was INTENSE and the downhill on the second part was thrilling.  After that climb, we were very happy with our 6:42 and 7:09 with a 6:20 pace to finish.  The climb felt tough but I was pleasantly surprised by how much support we had along the way.  We always had our own vans but during this leg, there were so many other runners cheering us up that hill, offering us drinks, and encouraging us.  

• The party at the end.  Seaside is always so much fun at the end.  We danced to live music, visited with friends, had a few beers and just rode the wave of exhaustion and endorphins...and interesting mix.  

Photo bomb Jason.  

• Being in a van with people who were older than us made for some great parenting conversations!!  I got some really great advice from a few of them when it comes to how they've handled phones, screens, respect, sports, etc.  Very grateful for this insight!  Parenting is so much easier when we have others to help us along the way.
• Getting to see friends from other teams.  I ran into my newer running friends from Asheville who were running with the Jus' Runnning team.  They rocked it!  We started at the same time as them but they finished much much faster than our team.  I was going to run with them this year but couldn't pass up the chance to run with my husband this time around.  Maybe next year.   

Things I didn't love:

• Um, I like to poop when I have to poop.  Nothing is as much of a killjoy as having to poop during a run or while in the van and not being able to!  It changes everything.  Ha!  It made for a very uncomfortable feeling for a bit there!  However, when you finally do get to poop, it calls for a whole van celebration AND a Poop Party Dance on the side of the road with all the other vans creeping to the next exchange.  I wish I had a video of this dance because it was quite fun.  Not being able to stick to my regular schedule?  Not so fun!  I know, I know, TMI.  Whatever...everybody poops!  And everyone knows how much it sucks to not be able to.  

Check out some of the Honey Bucket lines!  Hey, at least it was a beautiful view.  

• The next day.  Waking up in a house full of people with a lack of sleep/too much running/stiff body hangover of sorts is never my favorite.  I enjoy waking up in my own bed.  But nothing like a cup of coffee and breakfast with people you like that snaps you out of that.
• I thought I'd come up with more that I didn't like but this year that was about it.  Even the limited sleep didn't bother me so much.  

I have much more to say about Hood to Coast.  I know, I already said quite a bit.  There are good parts and bad parts for sure but in the end, I keep going back for more.  Who knows what next year will bring.  

My running lately:

• I'm in running trail heaven.  Most of you already know that from my instagram and facebook posts.  Come visit.  Bend has some incredible places to run!  I can be on trails pretty much steps from my door.  Now, I just hope to find more time to get out there and build some mileage.
• I have been running every other day or so.  Really, my mileage lately as been maybe 20 miles a week.  However, before HTC, I got in a few quality runs. 
• My quality runs before HTC have been one close to 10 miler with a new running partner Shelley (she is from Portland but we actually met after the Napa Valley Marathon in 2012).  She has a faster marathon time but I think we will have fun running together.  She just had a baby not too long ago and she's already pushing me along.  I felt like was going to die after this run...it truly felt like a marathon for me after such little mileage and the long road trip across the country.  
• A 5k!  Yes, I did run that Deschutes Twilight 5k.  And surprisingly, I felt pretty good considering I wasn't in 5k shape.  I didn't push to pain like racing racing a 5k feels like but I did push myself and it turned out to be a GREAT workout! Quality.  21:15?  I have to look that up for official seconds.  I also got to see some familiar faces.  Oh, and my Age grouper days might be limited if I'm going to continue to race locally in Bend.  There are some smokin' FAST runners here!!!  Elites. Olympians.  No joke.  They might need to make a new category in Bend called a Sub Age Group Awards. 

Visiting with some fellow Nuun girls after the 5k.  

• I've enjoyed running a couple times with my friend Marci. What a genuinely awesome lady.  Rock star.  Kind.  Humble.  and FAST!!!  Marci just ran a 2:35 marathon at Grandma's in Duluth this June.  Smokin' fast.  She doesn't run with a Garmin either.  It's just all by feel and heart.  We ran into each other by accident the first time when running in Shevlin Park (so gorgeous!) and then we ran last week on the Deschutes River Trail.  Our 5 miles at 7:54 avg was a nice solid run for me right now...conversational and relatively easy pace (on edge for me right now though when it comes to "easy"...let's just say I was breathing heavier than usual when trying to talk) but SUPER easy for her.  It was her second run for the day (she's training for New York) so a recovery run.  We will run again this Wednesday on a new-to-me trail.  I'm looking forward to spending more time with her AND to seeing a new trail.  Thanks for running with me Marci.  You rock!   

This is Marci (definitely one to watch for the 2016 Olympic trials):

This photo taken from her blog, Runner Marci

• I'm looking forward to running more now that things are settled.  I don't need to be training for anything right now but that might be coming soon too.  Not so sure I will go to Boston this coming year.  Part of me wants to be there since two of my best friends will be there and I don't know how much longer that will happen.  However, Boston is expensive and it's also a lot to think of training for a spring marathon right now when I don't know what to expect with my schedule, a Bend winter, etc.  Plus, I kind of want to do something other than Boston.  Boston is awesome, yes!  But there is MUCH MUCH more to running than the Boston Marathon!  I have a few weeks to decide. No matter what, I want to run more.  I need the endorphins!  It makes life better all around!!  
• In November, I hope to be running a 5k with my middle daughter.  I'm really looking forward to working towards this with her.  She asked me to do this...all her idea.  It will be special to spend the quality time with her.  I've come to truly cherish our alone time when we go on little runs together.  We talk about goals, life, our runs, and just all sorts of things.  

Have you run Hood to Coast or a relay like it?  Do you want to?  Why or why not?  

Amanda

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Bump of a Training Week, 22 Miler, and Gratitude

Honestly, this was a hard week for me.  In so many ways.  It was one of those bumps in training that had me feeling pretty lousy until today.  I started the week with the flu right after a 30k race/training run with the last 13ish miles @ around marathon pace.  Not only was my body tired from the harder long run, but I was sicker than I have been in a long long time.  Lucky for me, my husband stayed home from work on Monday to help take care of me and our sick kids.  This was a HUGE help.  


On top of being sick, it was THAT week.  You know, the one right before your period where all your energy is zapped, you want to eat nothing but junk, and you feel like crying at the drop of a hat or snapping at everyone for saying the WRONG thing, looking at you the WRONG way, or for just being in the room at the WRONG time.  


Let's just say that fitting in my planned workouts this week was HARD. I ended up with 67 miles out of the 70 that I was supposed to get in so I feel pretty good about that..considering.  I found myself barely plodding through every run and feeling an overwhelming amount of fatigue. I did manage to fit in one decent threshold workout.  Although it wasn't what I had planned and didn't go down in the books as a "great" workout by any stretch, it did get done and I'm stronger for it.  


22 Miler is in the books baby!
I'm normally one who doesn't mind running alone.  In fact, I've always enjoyed it more than running with a partner (other than my husband).  However, lately I've realized more and more what a blessing it is to have found a friend and compatible running partner in my friend Nicole.  We don't run together often but when we do, I often leave feeling charged and challenged.  I was so very grateful that Nicole was able to run with me today so that I didn't have to plod through 22 miles on my own.  After this week, my spirits were pretty low when it came to running and I was just feeling an overall BLAH. Usually, I'm a pretty positive person but there are just those times when you need a friend who will listen to your "Blahs", doubts, and "ho hums" without judging or getting sick of you.  This was one of those runs where Nicole just let me process for the first few miles.  She listened and let me know she understood.  That's all I needed.  Thankful for this today. I'm glad that we can be there for each other in this way.  Our 22 miles together left me feeling recharged, motivated and EXCITED to finish this Boston training STRONG.  She even managed to get me kind of excited about racing a 10k next weekend. 


22 miles.  Easy pace. 8:06 average.  First mile 8:47 pace. Last three miles for me were : 7:38, 7:29, 7:25.  The cool thing was that I felt like I could have kept going for at least 4 more miles at this 7:25 pace.  This is a good feeling to have after a 67 mile week and recovering from being sick.  


Thankful
So much to be thankful for:

• A husband that picked up the slack BIG TIME this week.  He cooked all week, was so nice about me taking off for a three hour run with my friend after church today, and he didn't complain at all.  
• Some really supportive and wonderful running girlfriends who have been there for me every step of the way through this training.  To encourage, advise, tell me like it is, love me and believe in me more than I do myself sometimes.  
• Some beautiful spring weather this week.  
• My mom...so proud of her.  

• My mom coming over to lead my kids through a painting on canvas experience.  So neat.  I've always wanted to have my walls filled with art from my kids over the years and I really wanted to have something of theirs on canvas but didn't know where to start.  

I think it is really funny how my son's abstract ended up looking like an angry bull.  Fitting.  He isn't angry but he sure is like a wild bull in a china cabinet sometimes.  

• Feeling strong and healthy. 
• It is my husband's 33rd birthday this week and my daughter's 5th! Yes, it is a busy week with planning for 9 five year olds to come over to my house for a party and getting family together for my husband but I love celebrating birthdays!   
• A day off of running tomorrow and an open day to spend with my two younger kids.  These days are precious and I savor them so very much.
• Boston is in 5 weeks!   

Amanda

How Do You Like Your Running?

My first experience as a runner was my freshman year of high school when I joined the cross country team.  Before then I would run random races that my grandfather entered me in or I'd race kids at recess to see who was the fastest but I didn't truly define myself as a runner until I discovered what it was like to feel like running was part of me.  For the first time in my life I felt like I was doing something that I was born to do.  Running filled a part of me that had never been filled.

For the next eight years I ran competitively on the track and cross country teams in high school and college.  I knew I loved to run and running helped keep me balanced and focused on my goals.  It was a way for me to release stress, deal with the emotional changes that came from adolescence, and feel centered and  in control when everything else in my life seemed the opposite.  Although I loved running and how it made me feel, it started to feel more like work.  Being on a team, having practice every day, and racing every weekend made me feel more stressed than anything.  Running became more of an obligation than a joy, and with it came the pressure to perform and live up to something I wasn't emotionally prepared for.  I felt like I always had a nervous ball in in my stomach during track and cross country season.  Every track workout felt like something I wanted to get over with instead of something I looked forward to.  I felt sick the night before races and that nervous feeling and dread continued until the race was over.  I never got into a groove where my emotional level matched my physical level.  Because of everything I was working through in life, I wasn't able to let my mind go and perform like I wanted to.  Running became a chore.  A way to pay for school.  Something on a to-do list.  Every race down was a relief until the next one came.  I hated the competition...with myself, my teammates, and the runners I raced against. 

After college is when I truly discovered what it felt to run because I wanted to.  It was the first time that I ran for ME!  I ran because I felt alive and happy.  I ran against nobody but myself.  I ran because I wanted to.  I raced because it was fun.  I found running to be an almost spiritual experience.  Some days when I'd go out in Forest Park for a long run by myself, I would feel like I was in a prayer.  It was the best form of therapy I could find.  I was finally at a place where I had worked through so much of the emotional baggage that I carried for so long.  I loved myself and my life. Finally, running was simply something I did for JOY!  I began running the times I had never been able to push myself to do before.  I was easing past barriers that I didn't know I could reach and I did it with effortlessness. 

Running is something I enjoy doing alone.  I prefer to run in solitude rather than with a pack or a running partner.  I love being alone on the road, feeling the wind in my hair, feeling my heart beat, hearing my breath and listening to what my heart and mind have to tell me.  I love the time it gives me to process my life, connect with God, let go of pain and stress and come back to myself. 

My preference to run alone may come across to some as me being a running snob. I hope not. I'm not entirely a solo runner.   Even though I much prefer to train alone, there are also times I enjoy running with a partner.  This is true especially on really long runs when I'm training for a marathon and I will practically beg my friend Jen to come keep me company to make the miles pass by. 

 Having my husband train with me when I was running my first and second marathons was wonderful too.  We eventually grew to be perfect running partners.  He knew just what gave me strength and what took energy away.  I became used to his breathing and stride and I enjoyed every run with him.  And then kids came.  Now I don't always have the choice of running alone.  Many of my runs are with a double jogger and little girl on a bike leading the way. 

 The past few days, I've been reflecting on why this preference for solitude is.  Do other runners feel this way too?  I think a huge part of my desire to train alone most of the time is because of the emotional memories I associate with training competitively for eight years.  I think I'm scared to feel like running is a chore again.  I'm scared of feeling nervous before every practice and feeling pressure to perform.  I know that things have changed since then.  I'm not the same person.  Perhaps running with a group or finding a compatible partner  to train regularly with would be good for my growth as an athlete.  In fact, I'm considering joining Team Athena, a woman's running club here in Portland.  I think getting out of my solo running sometimes will push me a bit.  Will it change my preference for training alone?  Perhaps.  Only time will tell. 

What about you?  How do you like your running?

Amanda