a fresh start

happy spring everyone. although many of you are looking at a fresh layer of snow, it is officially the first day of spring. tulips, budding trees, happy birds and last but not least racing season.

my training for the avenue of the giants half marathon is underway and truly couldn't be going better. i am feeling virtually no pain in my shin. my times are looking good, if anything i need to slow down a bit but meh. and the weather here is absolutely ideal for a runner. love. it.


since i am blissfully unemployed right now i thought, why not do my long run on tuesdays? then i woke up tuesday morning to rain and wind. awesome. so after several hours of putting off the inevitable i decided to strap on my shoes and just go for it. it was the best run i've had in a long time. the mist & breeze were just enough to keep me cool and my own personal sheriff that drove be 7 times made sure i was safe. (at least that is what i am convinced he was driving by for!) 8mi in 1:16:23, not too shabby for a girl who's been nursing a stress fracture for the last 4 1/2 months.

the rest of the week was smooth sailing. with a good 5mi tempo run and a couple easy 2mi runs thrown in there i am pretty confident going into this 15k next weekend. then it's back to the double digits. bring it on!

new discoveries abound

as you all know i am fully committed to the Chicago Marathon this fall, but thought that it wouldn't be a bad idea to sign up for some smaller races between now and then. so began my search and i was pleasantly surprised that although most required some driving, there were some interesting options.

first being right here in my fair city (well just a short 10 miles away). The Redwood Wild River Run 15k, mar 27 @ a very nice 11am... for those of you who don't know i'm not a morning person.

then we have the Pear Blossom Run on sat, april 10th in medford, OR, which is about 100 miles away but thought it sounded nice. i like pears and i like to run, bingo.

the last one i found thus far is by and large the one i am most excited about. The Avenue of the Giants Marathon (and, thank God for me, 1/2 marathon cause i'm just not ready to commit to 2 fulls in one year!) on sunday, may 2nd. essentially it is in the Redwood Forrest. runners world called it one of the most beautiful courses in the country. imagine running amidst these guys. love. it.

so, although the last two will require a weekend trip which of course will cost me some begging, i am prepared to do for the good of the cause. said cause being me keeping my sanity while training for a marathon alone! boo.

while searching for these races i stumbled upon a wonderful little website called dailymile.com. some of you are familiar with it but those of you who are not, check it out. there you are able to track your runs, workouts and chat with other running enthusiasts. it even finds other runners in your area. i have not made any attempt to communicate with these people as that seems a tad forward. but i sure can stalk them and see if they would be good potential running buddies!

so, there you have my week of discoveries. oh and i did manage to get in 12mi of running and complete week 2 of p90x (which i have a love/hate relationship with, but that is for another blog).