#10 of 52 Holiday Half

Traveled with my family to Portland, OR last weekend and spend the night at our friends’ house. I packed a suitcase for my kids but it didn’t make it into the car. When we arrived in Portland, we had to go shopping for undies, socks, pajamas, shirts, pants, and toothbrushes. My daughter loves to shop so she was in heaven. The next day, I ran. It was a large road race. I realized about half way through that I could possibly PR. (I am referring to a PR for my 40’s. I don’t think I’ll ever match my PR from my 20’s.) In fact, I thought I could break 2 hours. But I ended up at 2 hrs and 2 minutes. Bummer.

It was misting out and it was boring. Am I already burnt out on running these half marathons?! Can I do 42 more of them??

On our way home from Portland, we picked up a rescue dog to foster. His name is Hero. I think I like him a lot!

 

 

Jingle Bell 5K

Today was the Jingle Bell 5K run in Seattle. I rallied my whole family for the race. I hope it becomes an annual tradition. We took the jogger with but both of the kids ran and walked the whole way. It was so cold out that I think they kept moving just to stay warm!

#9 of 52 - Redmond Reindeer Romp

It has been 2 weeks since I’ve run a race. It was 24 degrees and the ground was frozen. It was at the Redmond Watershed and the trails are really nice there! There were few people in the race and I ran alone quite a bit. There were signs warning me to watch out for bears. That’s one way to make me run faster!

#8 of 52 - Grand Ridge Trail Run

It was cold out, and wet. I met a woman before the race that was wearing flip-flops. I guess there are folks out there that call themselves minimalist runners and don’t wear shoes. I call them crazy. I wish I had known it was going to be so hilly. Silly me it’s a TRAIL RUN, and I should have expected hills. No pictures. The photographer must have been avoiding me. The best news of all is NO tummy pain! 

The parent of a 5 year old boy

My son pees a lot, like every hour. I took him to the doctor today and learned that the bladder and colon are closely related. The doctor suggested we clear out his colon and see if his peeing issues subside. I think that might be my problem with my tummy pain so I’m going to put myself through the same treatment. I hope it works!

#7 of 52 - First Call Veterans Day Run

I joined the First Call Club for $25 and I can run all of their races for a year for free! This race was along the Sammamish River Trail toward Redmond and back. If my tummy pain continues when I run, I’m not going to run. It’s just too uncomfortable.

 

By the way, have I mentioned that I am not really a morning person? Well, I have been seeing a few sunrises these days since I have to get up so early for these races. This one made getting up worth it.

#6 of 52 - In Unity We Run

Just a $10 donation to run this one! All proceeds went to a food bank. This race was directed by someone I used to run relay races with, Steve Barrick (in picture below). It was along the Green River Trail in Kent, out and back. Being on time is not one of my strengths. I arrived about 30 seconds after the race started. The first half was windy and rainy. My friend, Tami (in the second picture below), joined me for the second half of the run. Again, something in my tummy hurt so I stopped and pee’d in the bushes.

Note to self: tuck shirt in before kicking up heals!