50k is how far?

I did it, my first 'ultra' - I ran a 50k on Saturday morning! That is 31 miles. I ran 31 miles. I ran 31 miles. I ran 31 miles. I still don't believe it. Saturday morning was the Pigtails 50k around Lake Youngs in Renton. I made it to the early start and ran the entire way with Michelle and we finished in 7 hours 2o minutes. The first lap around the lake (it sounds so short, but was around 9.6 miles) we had a fairly large group, which was really nice because we started at 6:30 and ran with headlamps - who is this writing... I woke up early on a Saturday and started running at 6:30 am. We ran three loops around the lake, which is the Seattle watershed and then a short out and back with a huge hill to the finish. I am sore today and my giganto blister has been deflated and is doing fine, I am also still really tired today. Through all of this I am super proud of myself. I did it! And now on to bigger and better things!

Anyway this is a short and sweet post as I have some running fundraising to start. I've been thinking about this whole running thing lately and that while it has been amazing and life changing for me, there are surely others out there that I could help while running, so I joined Team in Training last week and I have been reviewing all of my information and getting ready to get some flyers out to everyone I know. It is a really great organization with 75% of the fundraising going toward research serving patients and families that are affected by blood cancer. Thankfully I have not had first hand experience with blood cancer, but I strongly believe in research and supporting a group that furthers that work. So that being said, take a look at my fundraising page and help if you can. I will be working on fun ways to raise money and posting them here - if anyone has any ideas, I'm game.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/anchor09/jwillia6im

Also, please become a blood donor. It is easy, doesn't hurt and hey, what a way to instantly loose a pound. I've been donating every six weeks for over a year (that's over a gallon donated)http://www.cascadebloodcenters.org/home/index.htm

where 'o where in the world has jessica been?

Ok, I’ve totally been slacking at keeping my blog updated. I’ve been really, really busy the past few months – whoa it really has been a while. So here is the long and short of it. I really will get better at posting – even if it is only a few words, such as ‘I finished’ or ‘Today I ran’ or ‘Yipee another size smaller’…. So here it goes (this starts in the year 2008 – again, yikes!).

October
On the 5th I ran the Portland Marathon – I had a wonderful time – my lo-o-o-ng overdue and long race report can be found through a link above. The short and sweet of it is that I finished 1 hour faster than my first marathon six months earlier! Oh yeah, I was 28 pounds lighter – that might have helped. It was a great experience and I will surely do it again – I was floating for days!

I hosted Elinor's baby shower in the middle of the month. If I didn't already have a day job, party planner would be my calling, I love getting everything ready for guests, and especially for Elinor and baby Owen. We have waited a long time to meet this little guy, so his party had to be big. I really enjoyed the day and I think baby Owen has a lot of 'aunties' to watch over him. How cute is pregnant Elinor - she was seriously glowing!

I also ran the Dawg Dash with my friend Lisa and her kids Brandon and Abby. Darby tagged along too, since this is one race that encourages the four-legged family members. Brandon was almost 5 and he ran the whole 5k - I was impressed. Lisa pushed the jogging stroller with Abby and was really fast (I'll have to weigh it down next time!). Abby even ran the kids dash! We had a great day and I will definitely put it on the schedule for next year!

My sister had baby girl Ashlyn Patricia – baby #3
Brian and I baby sat my niece and nephew for two nights so that my sister could recover and bond quietly with Ashlyn. We took the kids to the zoo for the first time and then got them dressed and went trick-o-treating – they had a ball. Brycen was Spidermand and Haylee was a princess (I even made her a magical wand). We were wiped after we took them home - I can't imagine how my sister does it.

November
Started working in retail – yikes! Worked, worked and worked – trying to keep my sanity, and trying to keep my schedules straight.
On November 29 I ran the Seattle Ghost Marathon after working a full week at job #1 (40+ hrs) and job #2 (3-4hrs each night). I ran with Michelle, Margaret with Steve and Robin joining us for the second half. This run was totally not about my time, but about keeping Michelle sane on her second of three marathons in a row, this in turn kept me preoccupied and I just ran and ran and we talked and started singing towards the end – this is what it is all about, running with friends on a beautiful day in along the shores of Lake Washington. It was a beautiful fall day – in the 50’s, overcast and not raining (I even picked up a few pretty leaves to hang on the wreath on the front door). My running high was quickly ruined by huge chaffing issues with my REI performance underwear (they were too big – argg) and was nearly in tears as I headed off to work retail for 4 hours after running a marathon – yes, I greeted people at the door of a retail store after running for six hours and having my thighs rubbed raw – how the heck did I do it – I still don’t know, guess I’m tougher than I thought.

December
I worked and worked some more. Working in retail was a whole new world for me – People are really rude sometimes, and others are so dang nice and easy to talk to and help it is amazing. If anything else I learned a lot about the Christmas spirit and I transferred it to our holiday – we went small this year, but meaningful. I pulled my sister’s name from the hat and I gave her some great gifts – some lotion for her (when she gets some quiet time), some photos of her kids at the zoo in an album and a framed collage of her family. Gifts that were unique and created just for her. I did not get a lot of runs in (but when I did they ended up being long runs), I did run the Pigtails Flat Ass Marathon on the 20th in the snow with screws in my shoes for 26.2 miles with Michelle. My camelback hose froze about 1 mile in it was in the teens – I’d never ran when the temperature was so low. I kept my small water bottles from freezing by putting them in my shirt and alternating them. My Starbucks hot chocolate turned into a Frappachino by the time I started drinking it, but it turned out to be delicious. This was another slow run (6 hours 29 minutes), but running 26.2 miles in the snow is no small feat. I was a little sore after this run, my hips were achy, but I really think that I was using different muscles to help keep my balance on the snow. There were a couple of blisters, but nothing too bad. I did find wonderful Patagonia underwear – no chaffing – yippee! This was my third marathon in three months which qualified me for Marathon maniac status! I am maniac #1255 – I did it.
I got my jersey on Christmas eve – I was stoked! I might have even worn it to dinner at my in-laws =)
January
I ran the First Call Marathon on January 1st hosted by Adrian and he and his volunteers did a wonderful job. This is the first race that has provided pancakes at the finish line – and boy were they delicious, I’m going to try and carry some on an upcoming race. They settled my upset stomach the instant they hit my mouth (I had way too much sugary items during the run). The trail still had some slush (as seen in my Maniac jersey photo above), but after about the first mile it was clear pavement. I ran on my own, Michelle was doing the second marathon of a double and I didn’t make it to the early start to run with her. I had a great time though –my i-pod was playing Bennie and the Jets by Elton John over and over and I talked to my friend Lisa and her daughter gave me a good luck shout (nothing better than a 3 year old cheering you on). I talked to my parents and they gave me some kudos and I left a message for Elinor to make Owen wait until I crossed the finish line to come into the world so I could meet him (today was her due date, but it was not like I could stop him). Along the trail I saw two bald eagles perched in a tree and the beautiful Woodinville valley with the all of the breweries and wineries – maybe next year they can host an aid station – hey I might have something here I finished in 5 hours 42 minutes – only 3 minutes slower than Portland (even with the slushy trail) so I was pretty proud of myself.

Brian and I have gone Cross Country Skiing a couple of times since Christmas and we learned to snowshoe with Darby the last time we were up, the weather has been beautiful each time we get to White Pass – we’ve been lucky

Elinor & Jack’s Baby Owen Arrived on January 5th. I was fortunate to be able to spend a day at home with Elinor as she was getting used to another man in her life. It is really amazing how such a small person is created – it was a blessing to be able to spend time with them. I made Elinor and Jack a wonderful (I’m hoping it was good) lasagna dinner and made up their plates and left them to enjoy a quiet dinner as a new family – it felt wonderful to do something for others and I’m sure they appreciated a good home cooked meal (and I’m sure the leftovers were a hit).

My Upcoming Plans:
Registered for the Yakima Marathon in April, 1st Annual Rock’n’Roll Marathon in late June. I have a lot more that I want to run – I’ll get the calendar out and start signing up!

Pigtails Flat Ass 50k this weekend, my first ultra!

I ran...

I went for my run after work tonight. Darby and I suited up and ran for 4 miles. I cleared my head and still made it home in time for boboli pizza dinner! Thanks for the words of wisdom and encouragement - you really do have to take time for yourself, then everything else seems to fall into place. I need to hit the hay - lots to do this week.

keep running!

I'm still working on the 50k answer... we'll see how the week goes.

here is a photo of darby and I in front of Emerald Ridge High School, it's pretty darn nice up there - I'll have to do more exploring around the campus in the daylight.

Oh yeah, 40 degrees and not raining - I love running!!!

OK this is it - I'M DOING THIS NOW...

Ok this is it – I’m doing this NOW (in a guilt free tone)….

I have been cranky lately, part of it is because the job that I love has had to reduce my hours in order to keep everyone working, partly because I added a second job, which is keeping my mind off of the first job’s reduced hours, and partly because I miss my running! Yes, I miss my running. With two jobs, and the holidays, I feel like going for a run is a luxury. I feel like going for a run takes away time from my husband, which is very slim these days as I’m always going to/coming from or tired from a 16 hr. work day. I feel guilty for wanting to take the time to go for a run. I feel guilty because I have another marathon on December 20th which will wipe me out for a whole Saturday right before Christmas. But most of all I feel guilty for feeling guilty. My parents raised me better than this, I can do what I want, I can make myself a better person, I can be a marathon maniac (even if I couldn’t do it in Las Vegas – again due to the whole job hours cut/two jobs issue). So that being said – I AM DOING THIS NOW, I AM GOING TO GO RUNNING WHEN I WANT!! Even if it means no quiet mornings at home or sleeping-in one day a week – I can’t be happy until I go running. So that being said tonight I’m going to take Darby, my steadfast running partner with me and we are going running after work (I only have one work today – later this week will be a little more problematic, but I’ll get there when I get there). On tonight’s run we will have a few goals; run by the glow of our headlamps (yes, she wears one too, she needs to see the sidewalk also), run in the cold (but thankfully not rain), look at all of the Christmas lights, run down the big hill by the high school and run back up it, and the most important thing – decide on running a 50k with Michelle and Rick on the 20th as my last goal in obtaining my Marathon Maniac status – well at least try and talk myself into it – as Michelle says, it’s only 5 more miles than a marathon….

I thought about making a list here that includes all of the items that I am not able to get done because I am out running, but I don’t think that works too well with my guilt-free mantra. So, let the list grow, I’ll get to everything later, I mean really, who cares if I don’t get the cards out early, or the dusting goes another week (or month, whatever), I’ll do that stuff later and probably better and faster after I have gone for a run.

I read Cyndi’s blog and she is so dang positive about her running, that it occurred to me that my running is for me, it is my time away, it is what makes me happy right now, I need my runner’s high back….

So her is to making & taking time for me - no strings attached.

Run Macha Run!

marathon update.....

well, i've been really busy, stressed and overwhelmed. Work has turned nerve-racking - we are going through some layoffs and reduced hours (which is really hard when there are only 5 people in the firm). So I have started a part-time seasonal postion at the mall in retail - something that I've never done before. Needless to say my October and November have been very stressful - my report for the Portland Marathon is still half done - someday I'll get to it.

I did want to report that I ran with the world-famous Michelle during her second marathon of three in a row, yes 26.2 miles on Friday, 26.2 miles on Saturday and 26.2 miles on Sunday - she is amazing, you have to read her past few posts - oh yeah, each one was progressivly faster - holly cow!

Saturday I completed the Ghost of Seattle Marathon along the shores of Lake Washington and Seward Park, it was a balmy 50 degrees and I ran with Michelle, Margaret and for a portion with Steve and Robin. Our goal was to keep Michelle moving - which by the way, we had no trouble with - she finished strong and happy!

I've been running in the past couple of months when I get the chance and I did well during the marathon, but I did forget one key item - body glide in a very important area at my undies - I have huge chaffing spots - yikes..... and it's because my fancy REI undies are too BIG!!!! I've been resting - oh yeah did I mention that I had to work the retail job after running the marathon - yeah, you know, 6 hours of running and then 4 hours selling lotion - I was beat!

The weight loss has been slow, but steady. Ups and downs, but I just keep working at it. I did have to buy a pair of jeans and they are a size 12! I was wearing an 18 this time last year - yippeeeeeeee!

I'll get better about posting, just trying to keep my head above water at this point.

Again, everyone go and congratulate Michelle on her awesome weekend - what an inspiration!

Next up is the Pigtails Flat Ass Marathon on December 20th for my Mararthon Maniac Status!

Keep on running, slow and steady!

YIPPEEEE! another PR

Ok, so I'll work on a long race report, I'm home today recouping - sssh don't tell, I'm not really that sore so I'm doing some cleaning, crafting and hanging out!

Sunday I broke my first marathon record! I ran the Portland Marathon with thousands of others and I finished in 5 hours, 39 minutes and 57 seconds! This is one hour (no really almost exactly one hour, the first was 6:39:52) faster than I finished my first marathon. Can you believe it !!! I attribute it to loosing 28 pounds, training and support of so many fellow runners!

I am elated - long report with photos to come

Thank for the pats on the back as I go through this transformation- and to Rob and 'someone he lives with' who I saw a few times during the marathon and to George K who I saw around mile 9 and gave me a great lift - wasn't it George who a year and a half ago said someday I'll be running a marathon - I gave him a crazy look and said no way - thanks for the inspiration George.

Until later

I DID IT - ANOTHER PR!!

ready or not, here I come Portland

Ready or not, Portland here I come! I’ve gotten in two, 5 mile runs this week, a bike ride and tonight another 5 miles in the rain – I’m ready! I’ve been packing all week to make sure that I don’t forget anything, I have my rice crispy treats, shot blocks and s-caps ready. Brian booked us a hotel for Friday night in addition to Saturday, so I can sleep in and the hotel’s spa has a pilates class that I might go to also. Then Saturday we’re going shopping and I am going to find a new pair of jeans! I am now down 28.2 pounds and I have been saving my running/weight loss money, so I’m ready to treat myself to some new clothes. We are also going to hit the marathon expo, which I heard great things about and maybe a trip on the elevated tram, we’ll see how the weather is. We are going to enjoy exploring Portland, I’m going to take it easy and rest and hit the sack early. Our hotel on Saturday is about a mile to a mile and a half away from the start so I will walk to the start for my warm-up. The run starts at 6am so I’ll need that time to wake up also. Anyway, I’m excited and ready. I’ll have a race report when I get back (and hopefully some new cute jeans)!

It’s been six months since my last marathon, here are some things that I have learned, realized or that have hit me;

• Body glide, apply liberally, even on feet.
• You need to eat (and the right things) to fuel your body in order for it to run at its optimum level.
• Chi-running helps my perceived effort level.
• 28 pounds has been hard to loose, but if you work at it (and follow the weight watchers plan), it really isn’t that hard.
• Eating right takes a lot of planning.
• Eating right doesn’t cost more, I’ve only been out to fast food a few times in the past 5 months – it has really cut down on my needless spending on crappy food.
• Run with friends, you really have more fun and the miles fly by.
• Try new things on short runs – don’t try something new the week before a race or the day of – go with what you know.
• Sign up for a lot of runs, it gives you something to train for and look forward to.
• Include your family in your run/weight loss path, they want to help and you may encourage one of them to take the leap!
• Take time for family, but also get those early morning runs in – I am working on this!
• Teach, encourage others to follow their passions – I don’t know how many people are amazed that I am running a marathon, when in reality is has been fairly easy, you just have to start, and keep running, a little bit at a time and some weekends a lot at a time.
• My face looks smaller, my rings are too big and I have to buy third belt this year – not to mention buying smaller underwear, clothes, and replacing virtually everything in my closet (goodwill has been getting great donations from me this year – yes, I’m getting rid of the clothes as I shrink out of them, I don’t need them hanging around – except of course the one pair of fat jeans for my before and after). I’m even running out of ‘skinny’ clothes in the closet! Not to mention my running wardrobe is getting slim – I guess I should get some new running clothes in Portland also.
• Take naps after a long run, it’s ok to rest.
• Enjoy time with friends, watch them grow (I can’t wait to meet the little boy Elinor), Brandon is in kindergarten and Abby is counting to ten! They amaze me every time I see them; I need to see them more.
• I thought I would lose all of my weight before the end of the year, but slow and steady is how it is going to be, after all, the slower the better, and besides, it’s gone for good, not ‘lost’.
• Enjoy the journey – thanks for the reminder Michelle.
• Take a minute and enjoy how far you’ve come, it’s OK to pat yourself on the back once in a while!

Run, macha, run! Portland here I come!!