Merry Christmas and a run

The snow has finally melted and I was able to get out and run... on boy was it nice. After two solid weeks of snow covered ground... I finally got out to run again. I missed it. I didn't plan on running 6 miles... but it was so nice I did anyway.

Going to the beach over New Years... so I will be able to do some more running there. Here is wishing everyone a wonderful 2009.

A tip of the hat

When I was walking with my family after running to the park last week, someone saw my Portland marathon t-shirt and asked if I really ran a marathon. Now, he wasn't trying to be mean, just making conversation. When I said yes, he replied, "I tip my hat to you," and then continued on.

I didn't run this past weekend. Again. It was Christmas tree time. The whole family out to Helvetia and cut us down a tree.

I have fond memories of the roads out there. I ran the Helvetia half marathon out there. That was one very nice race. I hope to run it again.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Another trip into Fall

I tripped over a tree root today during my run and took a tumble. I survived ok but I am sure that I will be sore. I was rinning on a trail and the ground was pretty soft. All things considered, I am happy to not be hurt.

This is the offending root
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Run with pics

There have been many times during my runs where I have wished I had a camera. Since I have one in my phone, I think I will start taking it with me on my runs to snap pictured when something strikes me. Hopefully I can stay focused on running, but the places I run have a lot to do with my enjoyment of it, so I think some visual aides to my running world is a good thing.

Today was another lunch time run. Most of the fall leaves are gone, but Fall is still a wonderful time for a camera.

Here is a nature area near where I work:

And here, a lake near the corporate park. In the summer we play soccer and basketball near here:

I am very blessed to work somewhere I can run at lunch and play sports. Work hard play hard.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Nightime run

When I went to run today at lunch, I founf I left my shoes at home, so I ended up running in the dark. It wasn't bad. I ran on a path around a park, which was very dark. It was downright creepy.

I have to keep finding a way to run even when things get crazy or things do not go exactly as planned. Life is like that. Nothing ever goes exactly as planned. I have found though, that many great things can happen even when life is throwing curveballs.

This year has not been a steller running year for me. I hardly ran any races, and a grand total of 0 marathons. But still, I run.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Dreaming about running

I had another dream about running. It is if something senses I am not running enough... And then I dream about it.

I was running a marathon... Of all crazy things... In my jeans of all things. Yes... It did occur to me that would hurt, but I didn't want to stop. The dream lasted a long time- as marathons do.

Yesterday I ran to a park and met my family there. It was nice. We went for a walk afterwards.

I weighed myself yesterday and I have gained 5 pounds from where I should be. I am going to try to lose it by christmas.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Seven straight

I ran every day last week. First time maybe ever that I have done that. Granted… the weekday runs were short and at lunch at work… but hey… it is better than nothing.
The weekend runs were much more interesting than the lunch time ones. Saturday we were at the coast so I decided to run *one the beach* for the first time. For the most part Oregon beaches are pretty nice to run on. Long relatively level beaches leave and nice wet shoreline to run on. If you run too close to the water it gets mushy… and too much in the dry sand and you can’t get pushoff… but there is a nice line you can run on that is quite comfortable.

Usually the is wind blowing one way or another. Saturday is was blowing straight north along the beach… which is where I headed out. The wind pushing at my back… plus the beautiful pacific ocean made it very pleasant. At one point down the beach a full rainbow rose from the ocean and connected with the shore. Yes… the coast is a pot of gold.

When I turned around the wind was right in my face… and the dry sand was blowing hard enough to sting my legs. The roar of the wind (and it was a roar) and the fact it was blowing the water right out of my eyes made it a tough go. There was a particularly large amount of foam on the beach… and the wind was so strong it was bombarding me as I ran. Every once in awhile a large chunk of foam was too heavy to take flight and just skimmed down the beach like a white hovercraft. It was a wonderful run… but I don’t like running into the wind much.

Sunday I headed up the my running heaven. For the first time I was determined to run all the way up the hill at the start… and I did. I zig-zagged up it to make the incline less. .. and even run down without breaking out of a jog.

My legs are a bit tired today… but overall it was a great running week.