Famous? Oh Yeah.

Here is part of my 15 seconds of fame:

http://uwnews.org/uweek/article.aspx?id=53177

Four More Days

Okay, so the marathon is technically in 7 days, but we leave in 4 days....excited? I can barely contain myself. I am still paranoid of all of the germ carriers on campus, and will keep Purrel stock up until we get back. Then as of Therese's recommendation I will relax a little, so I don't create the next super-bacteria that wears a cape and laughs at your pitiful trying to stay healthy precautions.

Other areas of concern? Not hurting myself, which is easier said then done. Yesterday I was walking on a sidewalk maintaining an inner dialogue that went something like: "Angela, you should really wear better footwear. Your Ugg boots are slightly too big, and you need to make sure you don't do something stupid like roll your ankle. Okay focus...one foot in front of the other." As I was having this conversation to myself, my ankle literally rolled off the sidewalk and gave me a heart attack. 

But I am loving the taper mode, which basically forces me not to run long distances (very helpful with trying to manage time). The training is complete and all I have left to do is finish my school work, pack my bag, and pick a mantra that will push me through the wall. I am open for suggestions.

A Lovely Weekend...and A Hint of What is to Come

The last week was filled with family, friends, love, laughter, good food and wine, and the beginning of my favorite season. My aunt Darla flew in from southern California Wednesday evening and we spent Thursday traversing throughout Seattle. We ate at one of her favorite old breakfast spots in Greenwood (Phinney Ridge Cafe), and window shopped our way through the University Village and of course Target, where she bought Ben and I a beautiful new house warming present: a living room rug that is soft to walk on and not covered in four years worth of memories. We then dined at Ben's restaurant, gorging ourselves on scallops, halibut, and the best dessert: peach crepes with black sea salt. 

Early Friday morning, Ben and I headed south to Eugene to be a part of Allan and Kelda's wedding weekend. There we ate well (Belly for the rehearsal dinner), helped with last minute adjustments as the less than 1% chance of rain decided it wanted to be a wedding guest, and watched our friends exchange their vows. 

(Ben and I before the ceremony)

(The lovely bride)

(Her grandmother's veil)

My favorite part of the evening was finding all of Kelda's personal touches, including little birds everywhere (my absolute favorite). Here is an example of one hanging out in the cream puffs (side note: I ate 7 cream puffs...and 1 cupcake...and a lemon bar--don't judge me...they were delicious). 

We then headed back North to visit more family and friends, and then drove to Seattle in a monsoon. I have never been on the freeway when out of the blue, all the cars slow down 20 mph, when there is open road. But you literally could not see out the window...scary to say the least. Back at the house we spent the rest of the weekend hanging pictures (no bare walls!), hanging out with family, and tackling a 14 mile run. Yes, you read that right...14. Now I know we're training for a marathon (26.2 miles), but 14 is still a big deal to me...it's the longest either of us have ever run (see Ben, I didn't write about what you thought I would write about...yet...).

Overall, the weekend was lovely...but the icing on the cake was that I saw signs of my favorite season: fall. I'm not sure if it was the cup of tea, the change in the air, or the fact that I heated up my frog warm-up that Therese gave me in an effort to loosen up my back...but I got a glimpse of it. And guess what...I LOVE FALL!

Why you ask? 

Well, the simple answer is because it's BEAUTIFUL. The leaves change and outside looks like a painting. But I also love: the beginning of football season , when the air turns crisp, and back to school and all the anticipation it brings. Plus, after a long hot summer, snuggling up with a cup of tea in a warm sweater starts to be very inviting. The cool nights allow for better sleeping, and there is the hint of the holidays, which brings fun movies that you save for those special times, meals that your mother made meant to put meat on your bones, and fun decorations. The speed also slows down for awhile (at least until the end of November). Gone are the plan-filled weekends that last from the 4th of July to Labor Day, and instead they are full of long runs through RED, YELLOW, and ORANGE filled streets, chili in the crockpot, my Jake Locker jersey, and a fresh start. 

I have always felt like Fall is the true beginning of the year. There is just something about it that says clean, crisp, new, and refreshing. I could go on and on...carmel apple ciders, carving pumpkins, etc.  I hope everyone had a lovely Labor Day weekend, and please enjoy the last summer days we have...because the leaves are changing...literally.

Danskin Completed!

Sunday was a very exciting and fulfilling day. To start off with...I FINISHED the triathlon! I know that is typically how the blogpost should end, and there were many ladies wearing pink shirts that had a quote from my favorite Runner's World writer Larry Bingham (aka The Penguin) that said something to the effect that the "great thing isn't that I finished, it's that I started," but to me, finishing was a big deal. 

AND a HUGE congratulations to Katie, Sara, Connie, Margaret and the rest of the Longview ladies, and the triathlon ass-kicker Becky. Everyone had a great race, but Becky decided for her first triathlon she would show the Danskin what's going on and finished 3rd in our age group, 27th overall (out of 5,000 women) and a ridiculous 2nd overall in the swim (1/2 mile in 11:02...damn!). I've decided we're going to start entering her professionally. WAY TO GO LADIES!!!

Here are a few pictures that I stole off Facebook (I illegally entered through Grace's account), so beware the site might crash again! 

Here is Becky and I super nervous waiting to get the show on the road:

This is the start of our swim. Class #26 red caps! I'm pretty sure Becky was around the first buoy by the time I was still waiting to start and peeing on everyone. (Yes, I am aware that is too much information, but it's true...I also peed when I exited the water and ran to my bike. I never knew I had a hidden super talent, but apparently it's peeing anywhere, even while running. Don't get too grossed out, I was completely covered in water, and urine is a disinfectant---WAY TOO MUCH INFORMATION)...OKAY I get it....moving on...

What I learned from the swim is that next time I will wear a wetsuit. The water was a little choppy and right away I drank almost half of Lake Washington, which freaked me out more than I ever thought it would. So instead of pumping out the freestyle like I've been practicing for months and months, I did a lot of the backstroke, breaststroke, and anything that would keep my butt afloat (even floating on my back and just kicking). The water temp was great, but the buoyancy of a wetsuit gives you more freedom to use your energy to propel forward instead of trying to stay on top of the water. Overall, I am proud that I finished the swim in under 20 minutes, since that was my weakest leg going into the race, but next time I won't get so freaked out and/or hydrate myself in the lake.

The next leg was the biking portion....a 12 mile ride over I-90 on the Express Lanes, onto Mercer Island and then back again. I witnessed two crashes because some ladies could not downshift fast enough, but I managed to weave through the chaos (42 minutes and change).

Lastly came the 5K run. I'm not sure if you've ever rode a bike hard for a while and then tried to go running, but if you ever want to experience what some have labeled the "Kona shuffle"...give it a shot. You feel like your legs are going as fast as they can, but you're not sure they're actually moving. My goal of the running portion was to pump until I couldn't pump anymore. Becky captured two great photos of this at the finish line:

Me pumping to pass the lady in front of me....

and victory times two (passing her and finishing with a 8:53 pace!)....

The race was both amazing and interesting. When we finished I wasn't sure I would want to do one again. It was a strange concept for me to be racing when you have to change activities and try to keep going fast while you're unsuccessfully trying to pull a dry shirt over a soaking body. I literally got stuck and had to ask another racer to help pull my shirt down--not my finest part of the race. 

Yet now that two days have passed, I am experiencing the racing high and am very stoked, (and even proud) of myself for taking on this challenge, giving it everything I had, and finishing with a respectable time, fun memories, a great bonding experience with other ladies (especially my friends)....and a little piece of hardware:

So yes, I think I will take on this challenge again...and maybe lasso Becky's leg during the swim.

Last, but definitely not least...I owe a big THANK YOU to everyone who supported and cheered us all on, especially a few die hards who came out bright and early, and without their cheers I'm not sure I would have continued to push as hard. It's amazing what a few "Go Angs" can do when you're exhausted from getting out of the lake, pushing the pedals, or cranking out the last few miles. THANK YOU to all our well-wishers who were just waking up at the start of the race and sent lovely messages, and support throughout the whole training process!

To the fans who were present...THANK YOU....most especially ANNABELLE, and my swim coach KATIE, who got up early and biked to the race to cheer us on, but also provided doughnuts afterwards to a hungry athlete (thanks Annabelle!!!)...and to the two superfans who got up at 5:30 a.m. (one with only a few hours of sleep under his belt). 

Thank you SEAN and BEN! 

And a special double thank you to my support, my rock, and my devoted husband. You are amazing!

And as I started, I will finish...I DID IT!

Cheers!

Kudos

Yesterday my husband pulled out the big guns....well maybe the big legs. Dan Z. is in town (who is also running NYC) so we thought we'd all go out for our long run together. Having played some fun-filled games of volleyball this weekend (after taking 10 years off from the sport) I woke Sunday morning to no working muscles in my legs. It literally felt like my quads had been removed (imagine peg leg walk with a lot of wobble). Three ice packs, a billion ibuprofen later, and a good night sleep, and we were ready to hit the pavement Monday morning. 

Overall the run went well. 9.5 miles of nice conversation, blistering heat (it's hot here), a third running partner which is nice to mix things up and push us to running our best (way to go Dan on his longest run ever!), and me lagging in the back on the hills, but finishing strong with everyone.

The real point of my post is that Ben did awesome. Ben typically hits his stride during our long runs, but after working this third 60+ hour 6-day week, being on his feet all day, going to sleep late, plus training during the week, he pulled out the big guns and set the pace, ran ahead when we needed to go single file, and was an inspiration to me. Way to go Ben.

95 days till the marathon....

Directions

At least once a week I get asked for directions, and most of the time it's when I am running. I first thought it was because I had a sign around me that says "really good with directions...ask me!", but after my run yesterday I know the real reason--it's because people feel sorry for me. 

Yesterday I was huffing and puffing with my bright red face, that was probably wrinkled in pain, because my run was so terrible. Everything hurt: shins, calves, feet, lungs...elbows..whatever. Then I heard a honk, and a nice lady pulled over to ask how to get to I-5 North. Secretly I think she knew the way, but felt so bad for me, that she thought she would give me a break and a chance to catch my breath. 

Basically it's a sympathy stop. After yesterday's run--I'll take it.