Shoot for the Stars

Enumclaw, WA. 7:30 a.m. Amyas and I drove to Enumclaw Starbucks, parked and then ran a route from there to Mt. Peak. We ran on some back roads but eventually found the mountain. It was only about 2 miles awa from Starbucks. June passed us in her vehicle on the way to Mt Peak. She was not up for a run this morning because she stayed up too late. It was tiring for some reason to run to the Mt. I think I was just too tired from everything going on. Then we met up at base of mountain: June, Mishel, Denise (new runner), and Anna came later. It was a very steep climb. We hiked most of the way but ran some areas on top and down to the look out area. What a hike and beautiful view! It was so beautiful in the trees! The weather was just amazing! So bright and sunny! Great run! Amyas did very well on the run and hike.

Sheri's home. 8:00 a.m. Sabbath hike/run. Dad, Amyas, and I followed Mishel and her husband Jeff to Sheri's home. We ran with Sheri from her home down on a trail to the Green River. Beautiful sunny day again! The trail just went down and was a wide as a horse trail. The river was beautiful but gradually errodes away due to all the water. We ran back up the road but it was so tough because it was all up hill. I couldn't quite run the whole way up, so tired. We walked and talked a lot. When we got to the top dad and Amyas decided to go home but the rest of us did one more route down to the river but walked the way back up. I only timed areas where I was running and I forgot to start my watch part of the way down on the first route. It was a nice run/hike.

Cheri's home. 5:45 a.m. Mishel and I took separate cars there because I only wanted to do a 3-4 mile run. We met at Sheri's home and ran from her home down the St. to the main Rd. Turned R and then went down some other street to the Right. I had to turn around about 200 meters on that road. Sheri and Mishel kept on going. The weather was goregous today!! Sunny but yet still cool however not a cloud in the sky! What a nice opportunity to run with these women and have goregous weather! No pain in ankle this time, just a little pain under Left knee.

My home. 5:15 a.m. I ran solo today because the ladies all wanted to run a long run and they started later.I had to get up at 5 a.m. to make sure I could get my run in and have time to get to work because Fri I have to be there sooner. It was cloudy this morning and windy; kinda chilly. I wore a jacket for a bit. I ran from my home, on path to BV, then turned into where the red barn is. I ran on the back grassy trails going straight near the barn, followed that up a STEEP short hill but then turned around when I found the path was too overgrown.I ran back down and joined the main big trail on the private airstrip. I ran the loop, just backways compared to what I am used to. It was kinda scary running near the edge because of the overgrown bushes so I didn't do some of the back trails that go near the ridge. I ran the loop that went back to airstrip then turned around and ran the gravel road back to where I started. Then I ran down Academy Dr toward Lemontree to Auburn Way S, turned around and headed back to home, but took the car route back home. Wow, that seemed long but it was only 3 miles. I think it was tougher because a lot of it was on grassy uneven trails, plus the steep hill. No pain though:)

My home. 5:13 a.m. I hadn't heard from Mishel or anyone else about running this morning so I did a run solo. I tried to work on speed a little bit by running faster than I normally do. I started out way too fast as usual and got tired my 2nd mile but still had some in me to run a very fast time the last mile. I was happy with that! It was good temperature. I wore shorts and a light short sleeved top. I ran the usual route from my home, BV trail, Lemontree, all the way to the street off of the small street where there are horses, and back. I didn't see any people out. It made my morning to see the cute black and white cats along the way and some beautiful horses eating right as you turn onto the smaller street past the neighborhood. Good run! Breathing hard and a lot of work to run fast but helped that I went to bed early. No pains.

Interurban Trail off of W. Main St. in Auburn. 6:30 p.m. My 2nd series race from IRC. It was just a small group again but a fun run. There were less people than the last run but it was still a lot of fun. I would say there were only about 15 runners. I had a goal this time to beat my PR from last race and also it was for my brother whose bday was July 13, he would have been 31 years old. Happy with my results! Lisa was there again with her little girl. I also saw some of the Cedar River runners. Dean was there again but running barefoot! Craziness! Lisa and I also met some nice girls who run from Sqoreboard (sp?) in Federal Way on Thursday eve. They were both in my age division. Same course, out and back on flat asphault. I felt I did well except about the last mile I started to get a little nauseas. I had eaten at Athens resturant a veggie grinder for lunch, bad idea! It is a very heavy type sandwich. So I held it together and didn't loose it luckily but it hurt the last 100 yards. So glad to be done! I pushed myself too and beat my last time!! So happy about that. Lisa and I both got blue ribbons! We got a picture again with the Cedar river runners! Fun stuff!

Niki's house at Lake Tapps. 5:30 a.m. First run from Niki's place. I was so sore from last night but for some reason wanted to run again this morning! Plus I had never been over to Niki's area and wanted to run a different route. Let me tell you, it was different! We ran mainly on paved roads. We had to run along a highway for a bit of it, luckily it wasn't too long because it was busy. We ran from her place on some back roads to the main road that you would take going to Bonney Lake. Then we cute up a small road and that took us a back way into Lakeland Hills. We ran past the shopping area and did a loop on 62nd street, then back to plaza, then back the way we came. Man was this a work out! My legs were hating me! Luckily it was a slower pace run! We walked a couple of times with Niki's knees acting up. It was challenging for all of us because Mishel was tired too. It was Mishel, Niki, and I on this run. It was a good run though. It was all cloudy but no rain.

Roegner Park. 6:30 p.m. Met up with Lisa at Roegner park after a scrapbooking expo I went to! It was so cool to run at the park because it had been so long since I had been there! There was a huge reunion going on there so it was a little funny and akward running past this big elderly group of people gathering together. Also there were a lot of people playing disc golf as well. Lisa brought Denali and pushed her in the Bob. She did good until the end of the run and then started to cry so we stopped and walked some. Overall, great run and so nice to get together with Lisa again before she leaves for Hawaii! Weather was a bit muggy and about 70 degrees but not too bad, alittle cloudy.

Sunny's house. 7:00 a.m. Met up at Sunny's place for the first time but I had never been there before so I had to call Niki to make sure I hadn't passed her place off of Tacoma point on Lake Tapps. What a goregous home she just moved into a month ago!!! Her 3 kids are so so cute as well!!! It was just Sunny, Niki, and I today for a run around Sunny's neighborhood. We ran up her street turned around and then turned left on a street, hit 17th street to 16th St. Then we went on the road going towards Lakeland hills. We did a loop and then back to the gas station then to Sunny's home. It was about 4.25 miles. I had to estimate because my GPS didn't calculate where we were right away. Good run though, slow pace but good. Proud of myself for getting up early on a Sunday and running. It was cloudy so we just beat the rain, as it came later in the morning. I got to see Sunny's home after and view of the lake!! So nice to live there I'm sure!

My home. 5:10 a.m. It feels like it is getting so much darker than it used to. However, there was a cloud coverage this morning that may have made it look darker. It was just tricky to get running this morning. The temp was good though. I ran my usual route to Lemontree Lane and then on the country road to post and back. I ran had a decent speed this morning. I did have some R ankle pain though, but it wasn't severe.

Mishel's home. 6:15 a.m. I ran this morning with Niki and Mishel. I wanted to make sure and join the group before I leave to go camping. I also wanted to get a run in for sure. It was actually kinda misty though when I ran. The one day that I decide to wear a cotton Tshirt it was misty and it felt heavy and wet. We ran the usual route through Lemontree and up on the back roads, but when we got to school we made a left on a new road I am not familiar with and it made a loop back past the barn. It went on smaller gravel roads; fun new scenary!! We had a great run but had some R ankle pain this morning, even before I started.

Cedar River Trail-Lake Wilderness Lodge. 7:30 a.m. It has been awhile since I've met up with this group. Lisa met we there. Beautiful weather! Sunny but not too hot yet! There were about 8 of us there. I know some included Cliff, Trev, Dean, Lisa, me, another lady-can't remember her name, etc. Dean ran with Lisa and I for most of the way. We would leave the lodge and go the main route. I went about 4.22 miles on the trail before I turned around. We talked the whole day just about. Lisa turned around at 3.5 because she wanted to walk some.I ran with Dean about 1 mile more ahead then turned around. Dean kept running further. I tried to catch up to Lisa but never caught up with her. She did very well at the end! I got tired when I got the hill going up. Lisa finished about 5 mins or so before me. No pains so that was good.

Grayland State Park, WA. 9:00 a.m. Camping at a new beach with Nicks family. I decided to run today on the beach. The beach was only about 5 min. away from our campsite. I walked in my flip flops from the campsite to the beach. I left my sandles in the sand at the beach and ran from the bluff entrance to the ocean. Then I ran along the water for about 1.5 miles. Going back I wanted to set a challenge so I ran in some deep soft sand for 1/2 mile. Boy, was that challenging! I had to force myself to keep on running even though it was so tiring! What a work out! The distance I did in the deep sand was so hard! Then I ran the last 1/2 mile between the deep sand and right in the water, wet/dry sand like-more firm. Also some of the time was running up toward the bluff trying to find the exact area I entered the beach. They all looked the same! I could tell it was a bit harder on the feet running on the beach but proud of my accomplishment. However, that day and 1-2 days after the run my calves hurt so bad! I could barely walk!!!

Mishel's home. 6:30 a.m. I didn't have to work today! Whoohoo! I had today off because I thought we were going to be camping the whole time. It was just Mishel and I running this morning because everyone else seems to be injured or on vacation. We kept a good pace together and are about the same speed. I acutally felt a little tired out running with her because I feel like I may be catching a small cold from Nick. We'll see though, it doesn't feel too bad and may blow by. It was a good morning for a run but it was already starting to get warm. We ran the route from her home, to BV on trail, L on Lemontree, out to the country roads and turned L on a little road that enters a dirt trail that I've ran once. Good route!. She liked that we didn't have to stop to walk because a lot of times that will happen when someone has knee or ankle pain. Slight soreness on calves from last run on the beach.

Starbucks Encumclaw. Mishel rode with me in my new honda civic to starbucks in enumclaw. We were just going to do a hike up Mt. Peak but decided to run from the starbucks to the peak. We ran about 2 miles total from starbucks to Mt. Peak. There we met up with June, Angela, and Denise. June and Angela passed us driving as we were on the last stretch. It was a tough run for both of us for some reason even though so short. It was beautiful to see the cows and fog lifting. We both agreed it was so goregous and a great way to start the day! Us 5 climbed up the goat path to the top, saw the goregous view, got a picture then hiked down and then back up on a very steep goat trail. That was challenging! June is the leader when it comes to work outs. Also near the end when we were just going down hill, June and I ran down to the bottom of the hill as fast as we could.