I really wanted a more clever title but the name sort of says it all.  I'm not entirely sure where to begin, except to say that I finished the race and that's an accomplishment. Yes, it took me longer than I had planned but I learned a lot and just have to keep reminding myself that patience is a virtue and that I just need to keep training and running and trying!

Anyway--here's a brief rundown of the race.  

The trail was COVERED in 10-11" of snow.  Powdery,…

Not Confusion...but Confusing.  I've started hanging out with the owner of our newly opened indoor climbing gym, who happens to be a mountaineer, rock climber, runner and fledgling swimmer and she's been positively mopping the floor with me for about a month.

It's awesome.  And a lesson in humility.  And a continuing lesson in "Shut Up and Do It". 

We've been doing run sprints, workouts with weight vests, the dreaded burpees, twists, cleans, squats...the…

...about yourself, your training and your motivation for doing what you do. 

It will also teach you things about layering, socks and just how grateful you can be over a granola bar.

In a nutshell, the lessons I got that were loud and clear were:

1. I could have pushed harder (always true)

2. Cardio and stamina were not my limiting factors

3. 13.1 miles is just the beginning, I think

4. If I can do this while experimenting with a…

I have two other blogs that I write at the moment and it seems like they have all been focused, in one way or another, on the idea of the Mental Game...the thing that keeps you motivated and can shoot you down the fastest, the creature that lives in your head...we all know how it goes.

There's always this moment of bliss for me when I start something new, before the accomplishments/goals/expectations can hit..when I'm just doing something that I've never done before and I'm…

I'm excited--and I can't seem to stop being excited.  I ran the 5k eeeaaarly (for me, ya'll runners are perky ones at 7am on a brisk Spring morning!) on Saturday morning.  My expectations were tempered:  I knew that physically I could run the mileage, I was worried about mentally though.  Could I not talk myself out of doing well, could I avoid getting defeated by the other, faster, more experienced, runners? 

The answer turned out to be yes, I can.  I ran my own race, I…

Well, there's no getting out of it now.  I've paid my money, done my training (which involved a lot of cycling) and the race is tomorrow morning!  Let's see if I've learned anything.  Wish me luck.  (c:

18 days and I'm going to be running an official 5k.  I know it's only 3.1 miles.  I know I've technically already run that far.  But this is the first all-running event I've ever done.  What's more, like so many others out there, at this time last year, if you'd told me I'd be running anything...away from a bear, to the store, around a track...I would have told you you were crazy.  What a difference a book, some discipline, time and the insatiable "what if" curiosity bug can make!  I'm…