Wow, only a little over two years since I last wrote anything about my running. You would think I had given it up. Nope...in fact it has gotten a little more intense. Ehhh, that might be a word that is a little strong. So two years ago I was pretty sure I would NEVER do another marathon again (yet I continued to enter into the NYC Marathon lottery, that is crazy). So I guess I should fast forward. I would have to say that in 2012 I was a little on the lame side of running. I did the EPIC Relay (my first relay ever) and a few other races, but nothing too exciting. So on to 2013.
The year started of with the Resolution Run at the beginning of January. Not a bad 10k, but in Battle Ground and a little on the dull side for me. Mainly because it was on paths I usually ran. A few weeks later I flew down to Disneyland for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon. The start and the finish we awesome. I could have lived without the Downtown Anaheim part. But the course was different than the Disneyland Half Marathon, so that was nice. Plus the medal was AWESOME! In February it was down to Disney World for the Princess Half Marathon. We made it a family trip, and ran the Family 5K the day before. So I came home rocking 3 pretty cool medals. Plus, my brother and his wife met up with us and so did a good friend of mine. By the time March rolled around I was beginning to think, "hey maybe I will do 13 half marathons in 2013" that kind of flew out the window. I did the 15k for the Shamrock Run. I have never done it before, and there was a cool beer bottle medal involved. E and I both decided to do it together, and were a little disappointed that because there were so many people, they ran out of water at Mile 9. The view on Terwilliger was gorgeous though. But then when we finished there were not enough medals, and we had to have ours sent to us. Which kinda bummed us out because half the fun is wearing it on race day. I didn't have any races lined up in April or May. Well that was ok, in May a friend couldn't run the Hippie Chick Half and so I ran as her. Well I was just coming out of a crappy time, and wasn't feeling the running vibe and this run sucked it. I ended walking most of it, and really bumming myself out. But I planned on redeeming myself in June, with EPIC 2.0. I was running the same legs, and knew what difficulty I was up against. I was team captain this year and somehow thought I needed to torture myself....AGAIN. Leg 1 was great, hot...but great. Leg 2 in the middle of the night was good. I ran hard, and was running in complete darkness (which I HATE!) But Leg 3, it wasn't pretty. Thankfully my second van came along and pulled every ounce of energy I had to finish. And man when I was finished I felt good. But my body didn't. Turned out after some coincidental blood work a few days later my potassium was pretty low. Which now seems to be a trend. I also started with Team in Training again training for the Nike Women's Marathon. Yep...another marathon. So apparently the marathon bug wasn't completely gone. Oh, and I failed to mention I had signed up in March to do the Dopey Challenge in Disney World in early 2014. What is that you ask? A 5k, 10k, half marathon and full marathon. In four consecutive days. So really I am crazy. So let's see. After EPIC was Hood to Coast on Team Will Power. Which was AWESOME! I claimed the Number 1 runner, which gave me 5 miles of running down Mt. Hood. Wait, running isn't the right word....more like screaming. I seriously had never run that fast in my life. Close to a 9 min/mile. Which in my book is unheard of. E was also running H2C, but he took the more conservative leg. I took a few months off from races, and then ran Nike Women's. AMAZING. The race was amazing. I had learned that I do really well with the Galloway method. I was really afraid of not being able to finish. My training was not as good as it should have been, and my last 20 miler turned into only a 16 miler because my hip was acting up. Well, not only did I finish, but I PR'd by 17 mins! It wasn't a super fast time, and I want to bring my PR down even lower....but I did it. Then a few weeks later I did possibly the most difficult race EVER. It was basically 6 miles, straight up a mountain and then 4 miles down. My friend and I did it together and when at mile 7 a woman on a bicycle almost got a rock thrown at her after saying "you're almost there." A few other 5ks, and I rounded out 2013 with a few more medals and bibs hanging on the wall.
Now, in three and a half days I begin the Dopey Challenge. Not too worried about the first three, but the marathon has me a little nervous. Mainly due to weather conditions and afraid of my potassium taking another plunge. But keeping hydrated with the right fluid should help. Oh, and I am finally going to run in the NYC Marathon this year.
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