Shoot for the Stars

ARSHS. Early a.m. Very misty/foggy which made it cold running. I wore gloves and long sleeved shirt. My clothes and face got pretty damp due to moisture in the air. Not the most pleasant day to run due to all the fog and it was hard driving back home. Felt fairly good. Not sure what is wrong with my throat. It has been bothering me since yesturday. Feels like it is scratchy/.something stuck but I don't feel sick. It feels like it makes it harder for me to breath. I pushed myself due to race coming up soon.

Game Farm Park. 7:30 a.m. No work today. Beautiful morning for a run. Not super cold but cold enough to have gloves and long sleeve. Clear with some clouds, no fog this time. Just a couple of older guys walking their dogs. Ran usual route 3 times. Felt fairly good except scratchy throat. Pushed myself again. It's hard to run fast after training differently for the marathon.

ARSHS. Early early a.m. So COLD!!! Again, didn't quite prepare for how cold it was going to be this morning. The one morning I didn't wear a tank under my long sleeved shirt! I did wear gloves but could have used something to cover my ears. The track had frost on it but was not slick which was good. I was so cold that I never warmed up. The whole time I felt so cold and just wanted to be done so I believe it made me run at a faster pace:) On the bright side, the track looked beautiful! It had shimmery sparks glistening as the light hit the frost! I ran on lane 5 but had to go to 6 on one part due to soccer goals and orange cones. 4 laps one direction, 4 the other, 3+ the other. Felt fairly good, just cold!

Kent, WA. Lisa's neighborhood. Met up with Lisa after work on a dreary rainny day. It was pouring when I was driving there. It calmed down some while we ran but it was still coming down very hard. Lisa ran with her baby in the Bob. Nicole couldn't make it tonight, another conflict. We ran over 3 miles but not exactly sure how long because I had trouble getting my Garmin to start up. It was probably about 3.20 miles. Time started a few minutes after we started to run. We both wore our hats with the lights on it. Bob had a light too. We ran along the Green River and back. It was good but we ran at a slower pace and we had to dodge lots of puddles. Brutal run but so nice to have someone to run with! Good job LIsa! Felt fine. We stopped a couple of times because Denahli was crying some. She did good for most all the run except near the end.

Roegner Park. Ran after a short day of work. I ran at about 3 p.m. coming back from Edgewood area stopped at Roegner Park. I havn't ran there for awhile so I wanted to get a fast run in. I really pushed myself even though my thoat has been bothering me....maybe I am getting sick? I ran as fast as I could the whole run just about. I felt so tired and had to breath hard. It was tough. I ran my usual route to disc golf course and back. I saw so many groups of guys playing disc golf. There were also groups of highschoolers hanging around the park area. I just tried to give it all I had. Man it was hard and my body wasn't use to it so I was sore afterwards. No pain. Other than my sore throat I think I am ready for the 5K tomorrow. I will do my best but still not down in the time that I want to be at. (I would like to be at 7 something min. miles. Very happy with my splits though!

Jingle Ball Run 5K. Seattle, WA. 8:50 a.m. So much fun! Lisa and I carpooled there. We ran with Nicole, Jordanne, Katie. Jordanne's mom did the 5K walk. Everyone finished and had a great time! There were thousands of runners there; not sure on exact amount but it was the largest Jingle Bell run in the country! It had live video coverage. It was hard to get going fast because there were so many people around me. It took me about the first mile to actually start getting ahead of people. I just followed one girl with a santa hat and ran to the side and zig zaged in and out between people. Time was okay but not what I was hoping for. It was mainly for fun and I am hoping to run it next year.! There were 2 hills, one small one in the beginning and a steeper one right near the end. I felt pretty good overall even with my scratchy throat. Near the end was tough.

ARSHS. Early a.m. Difficult run due to me having a cold/weird throat. Wasn't quit sure if it turned into a cold or not but didn't feel the greatest this morning but still pushed myself. Cold out. Felt fine but hard to catch my breath after. Felt good afterewards though when I cooled down, just chilly. Usual 11 laps (1 mile one direction, switch, and then back to the same)

ARSHS. Ran about 6:30 a.m. Slightly later due to not having to start work until 8:30 on a Thur:).Cold again and fence was a bit wet from previous rain but no rain on me while running:) Felt good. Happy with Splits and increasing my speed. Also happy no pain.

Cedar River Trail. 7:30 a.m. Lisa and I met up with the Cedar River runners where they met at Lake Wilderness Lodge. I waved to them as they ran off as they seem to like to start right on time. Lisa was a just a bit late. We went at our own pace. Lisa's first time meeting at the area in Maple Valley at the Wilderness Lodge. Nicole out of town this weekend-Linkin City. It was VERY cold this morning and windy. We actually felt snow flurries on us as we ran. I stayed very bundled up with a few layers; wore gloves as well. We saw a little stand/tent where Wilderness trail meets up with the Cedar River trail. Sharon was there (Balanced Athlete) with a another man setting up for a marathon that was going to be taking place at 8 p.m. (Pigtail run). Pretty neat! Lisa and I had a good run. Kept a slower pace but I was just so happy to put in that kind of mileage after not running that far in awhile. I don't think I have ran that mileage since the marathon. Whoo hoo!! Lisa and I had a nice run and good conversation. Felt tired but a do able run. I know I had eaten some snacks a bit late and went to bed a bit late that night. I also didn't sleep well due to the wind. We actually lost power last night and still don't have it. Didn't have power all day.

Tour De Lights. Bonney Lake, WA. Free 5K run for touring the xmas lights and donating a canned food. Fun run. The race was actually only 2.63 miles versus a full 5K. 7 p.m. at the Bonney Lake Park and Ride. We ran all around the neighborhoods in that area and back. Beautiful lights! All done up in one neighborhood! Carpooled with Lisa, Nicole, and Jordanne. Also Denali came as well. It was very chilly/windy so it was hard to warm up. All the girls just jogged but I raced it. I tried to stay up with the top runners but near the end prob ended up about 15th place....hard to say. There were about 100 or less runners but most of them were just running for run, taking pictures, etc...not competitive. Felt okay but the hills were slightly tough.

 TT: 22:09                  Avg: 8:25 min.                 Max: 6:16 min.

 Splits: 8:29, 8:30, 8:14 

Van Dolson's home in Paradise, CA. Nick and I are house sitting while in Paradise so I ran around the Valley View/Pinewood neighborhood this morning. It was a good day for a run; nice and sunny but yet cool, however I forgot there are some rolling hills that made the run hard. It was all on pavement and it was a nice route I did but tough. I was breathing hard. Started on Pinewood going out R on Redbud then around on Yorkshire up another Rd to Valley View and back on another street. When I made it back to Sky Oaks I had run run L on Redbud and back to get some more mileage for 3 miles. Good run overalTT: 26:18              Avg: 8:45 min.                 Max: 6:50 min.

Splits: 8:48, 8:36, 8:50

Paradise, CA. A different type of work out. Today I went with mom to try Zumba for the first time at Fit One gym. It was hard to catch on to that type of dance but I can tell it is a lot of fun and I like the music! It was a good work out even though I didn't get the steps right, I still worked up a sweat. Danced Zumba for about 1 hr.  I used too heavy weights for the workouts we were doing-5 lbs.

Afterwards I ran on the treadmill for about 20 min. Cal. burned was about 180. I ran 2 miles on treadmill with a 3 incline. It was hot up in the workout area upstairs. Those 2 miles were really hard! It was the combination of the heat and maybe after doing Zumba....Good work out though! I hadn't ran on the treadmill in forever, surprised I got a good work out!

Paradise, CA. Zumba with mom again at the Fit One at about 8:30 a.m. Worked out for 1 hr in the class. It seemed to flow a little bit better this time around versus Tues, which was my first time trying Zumba. I worked up more of a sweat this time.

Ran on the treadmill again which wanting to take advantage of the free guest pass I have been using this week by bringing in canned goods. Put on a 3 incline and ran for about 20 min or so. My pace was about 8:50 min/mile. I tried to keep it under 9 min. This treadmill actually has been kicking my butt but I miss running outside!