4 miles

Today I ran 4 miles. It was easy and unsatisfying. I hate treadmills. You never go anywhere, and they make a mile seem endless.  One mile on a treadmill is like two on the track. I have a sneaky suspicion that this is exactly the case. We shall see.

Anyways 4 miles in the gym, a little bit of weight lifting, and truthfully I  am bored. I need to get outside and feel the rain, the cold, and Portland's innate darkness inside me. However, my shoes are shot they have almost 400 miles on them, and they are worn through. My toes quickly become numb in them. Is it not amazing how the lungs feel when one runs in the cold. The way lungs expand in the body and take in all of that heavy oxygen which spreads like an emotion throughout the muscles. How sweet it is to be young and strong. I think I want to hang my running shoes on my wall and stare at them in gratitude for all the long miles they have taken me.

Summary  12/29/2010
4 miles
weight lifting, arms an abs

Runners High at Lewis and Clark

Here is a picture of me and my brother from a couple of days ago after running. I ran 4 miles and he ran 2 miles. You can see the runners hi and it was a great day.

Yesterday, was an interesting day. I started with  a half mile  before my Yoga class. I can't really articulate how Yoga informs running, but I know it does.I think that Yoga really cleanses the muscles and the organs of toxins and thus making the cardiovascular exercises easier. Also the yoga classes that I take really build your core muscles, and any cardiovascular exercise requires a core.

I would have like to run a little farther before Yoga, but I just didn't get to the gym in time. Running before yoga loosens and warms the muscles so in the long run your muscles get a better stretch and workout than if I had started with cold muscles like most people do.

After yoga I went home and  took in a little protein and headed with my roommate to Lewis and Clark. Lewis and Clark is a small private college in the hills of Portland that I used to go to. I love going to this track because even at night they keep it lighted, but because of Winter break the track gates were locked. So instead my roommate and I ran campus. It was completely empty and dark, but it was so beautiful. Lewis and Clark has these incredible architectural details, beautiful fountains, and the woods creep into the campus.  We went at a fast pace, uphill, downhill, and on different terrains. It was intense, and it was raining.

Running in the campus in the dark, I could feel this giant ghost, this beloved burden that I carried, running through me, and all the ways in which it had changed and blessed me. It was hard to distinguish between the rain and my sweat.

Summary 12/28/2010
3 miles
Yoga

Where the Miles Hang

Today I drove from my small hometown in Eastern Oregon back to the city of Portland. It is a kind of desolate empty drive through open country. It’s a trip I have taken many times, and every time I stop and look at this amazing shoe tree, which stands along the side of the road miles away from any towns or homes.  A shoetree is a tree where people and come and hang their old shoes like Christmas tree ornaments on the branches.  Everyone knows of the shoetree, and anyone that you talk to will mostly like say that this tree is for people less fortunate who can’t afford to buy shoes.

Their answers don’t make any sense to me. Personally I think this shoetree is for the children of my small town, who grow and change, and then leave. I think the shoes they leave behind are symbols of the lives we all have led, the places we have gone, and the hope that we can continue to travel.  In a way this tree is a little sad. People usually leave their shoes here on their way out of town. There is no future for anyone out here. It is too small, and too poor to support most dreams. These shoes serve as a reminder to everyone  that they too can leave their shoes behind and travel outside county lines. 

Lately I have been thinking a lot about why I run. Why does anyone run? Do we run to try and escape ourselves, our problems, or our lives?  Is it even about the escape? It doesn’t make any sense but somehow I feel like if I run just one more mile, one more stretch, and get just a little closer to the horizon than life is less heavy.

Summary 12/27/2010
1 mile.....(BUT today is my intense yoga class)

An Interesting New Years Resolution

So,

I cam across an interesting idea the other day via Kelly Barton  whose posted on her blog, this challenge to Oregonians to run a half marathon every month for a whole year. WOW!!!! I had never thought of this idea, and I have to admit I am intriuged. Kelly went on to post a list of events for each month and I think I am going to go ahead and repost them here as well. So the question is, who wants do any of these with me?????

January

Sunday, 1/16: Cascade Half Marathon - Turner, Ore.

Sunday, 1/23: Vancouver Lake Half Marathon - Vancouver, Wash. (Note this race is already full for 2011)

February

Sunday, 2/13: Heartbreak Half Marathon - Portland, Ore.

Saturday, 2/19: Rogue River Half Marathon - Rogue River, Ore.

Sunday, 2/20: ORRC Hagg Lake 25k - Forest Grove, Ore. (Note this race is already full for 2011)

Sunday, 2/27: Max Muscle Half Marathon - Vancouver, Wash.

March

Saturday, 3/5: ORRC Champoeg Park Runs 30k - Champoeg State Park, Ore.

Saturday, 3/5: Mountain Man Hillbilly Half Marathon - Olympia, Wash.

Sunday, 3/6: Lincoln City Half Marathon - Lincoln City, Ore.

Saturday, 3/26: Wheatfield Half Marathon - The Dalles, Ore.

April

Saturday, 4/2: Shotgun Trail Blast 25k - Marcola, Ore.

Sunday, 4/3: Race for the Roses - Portland, Ore.

Sunday, 4/10: ORRC Vernonia Half Marathon - Vernonia, Ore.

Sunday, 4/10: Corvallis Half Marathon - Corvallis, Ore.

Saturday, 4/16: Trout Lake Half Marathon - Trout Lake, Wash.

Saturday, 4/23: Run for Risa Half Marathon - Forest Grove, Ore.

May

Sunday, 5/1: Eugene Half Marathon - Eugene, Ore.

Sunday, 5/1: Tacoma City Half Marathon - Tacoma, Wash.

Sunday, 5/8: Hippie Chick Half Marathon - Hillsboro, Ore. (Note: This race is full)

Sunday, 5/8: Cinco de Mayo Half Marathon - Portland, Ore.

Sunday, 5/15: Capital City Half Marathon - Olympia, Wash.

Sunday, 5/29: Happy Girls Half Marathon - Bend, Ore.

Date TBA: Eastern Oregon Half Marathon - Spray, Ore.

June

Saturday OR Sunday, 6/4 and 6/5: Timberline Half Marathon - Mt. Hood, Ore.

Saturday, 6/4: Sherwood's Run for the Roses - Sherwood, Ore.

Saturday, 6/11: Helvetia Half Marathon - Hillsboro, Ore.

Sunday, 6/12: Dirty Half - Bend, Ore.

Saturday, 6/18: White Salmon Backyard Half Marathon - White Salmon, Wash.

Sunday, 6/19: Vancouver USA Half Marathon - Vancouver, Wash.

Saturday, 6/25: Pac Crest Half Marathon - Sunriver, Ore.

Saturday, 6/25: Seattle Rock n' Roll Half Marathon - Seattle, Wash.

July

Monday, 7/4: Flat Half Marathon - Sauvie Island, Ore.

Saturday, 7/9: Smith Rock Sunrise Classic Half Marathon - Terrebonne, Ore.

Sunday, 7/10: Fueled by Fine Wine Half Marathon - Dundee, Ore.

Sunday, 7/24: Lacamas Lake Half Marathon - Camas, Wash.

Date TBD: Run in the Country Half Marathon - Coburg, Ore.

August

Sunday, 8/7: Haulin Aspen Half Marathon - Bend, Ore.

Saturday: 8/13: NOTE THIS RACE IS 13.0 MILES AND WILL NOT COUNT FOR THE HALF FANATICS: Crater Lake http://www.craterlakerimruns.com/Rim Run 13-miler - Crater Lake, Ore.

Date TBD: Circle the Bay 30k - North Bend, Ore.

September

Saturday, 9/3: Painted Hills Half Marathon - Mitchell, Ore.

Sunday, 9/4: Eugene Women's Half Marathon - Eugene, Ore.

Sunday, 9/4: Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon - Dayton, Ore.

Sunday, 9/25: Winthrop Half Marathon - Winthrop, Wash.

Date TBD: Strawberry Mountain Half-Fast Half Marathon - Prairie City to John Day, Ore. 

Date TBD: Newport Half Marathon - Newport, Ore.

October

Sunday, 10/2: Dirty 2nd Half - Bend, Ore.

Sunday, 10/9: Portland Marathon Half Marathon - Portland, Ore.

Saturday, 10/22: Columbia River Power Half Marathon - Umatilla, Ore.

Sunday, 10/23: Columbia River Gorge Half Marathon - Hood River, Ore.

Date TBD: Spokane Windermere Half Marathon - Spokane, Wash.

Date TBD: Walla Walla Half Marathon - Walla Walla, Wash.

Date TBD: Girlfriends Half Marathon - Vancouver, Wash.

Date TBD: Run Like Hell - events in both Portland and Bend, Ore.

Date TBD: Leavenworth Half Marathon - Leavenworth, Wash.

November

Saturday, 11/5: Silver Falls Half Marathon - Silver Falls State Park, Ore.

Sunday, 11/27: Seattle Half Marathon - Seattle, Wash.

Date TBD: EWEB Run to Stay Warm Half Marathon - Eugene, Ore.

December

Date TBD: Reindeer Run Half Marathon - St. Helens, Ore.

Date TBD: Holiday Half Marathon - Portland, Ore.

Summary 12/26
4 miles

Christmas on the Track

Today is Christmas and I am at home with my parents and my brother. It is this time of year where I feel the most disconnected and lost. Every year the holidays come, and they screw with my diet, my body, and my routine. Maybe if I had children I could see Christmas being worth all of this hassle, but truthfully all of the abuse that Americans put their bodies through during this time of year confuses me.  This year I have decided to go for a long run, and enjoy a nice runners high.

So I drive into town and hit the high school track. My shoes have begun to wear through and running on pavement just seems really unappealing. It is cold out, and there is some water and snow on the track. My hometown is a pretty desolate place and during this time of year the highways, sky, and roads, have taken on a grayish blue tinge. Every now and then pick up trucks and semis will pass by and stare at me as I lap the track. My goal is ten miles, which is 40 laps. For the most part it is just me, the track, and my old high school.

As I run I begin to think about the girl that I was back then and how far I have traveled. That girl had bad skin, poor self esteem, and a soft teenage body. She played basketball, but hated the running. That girl, who I no longer am, would never have ran a mile, much less ten miles. How did I become this person who loves to run, who doesn't feel sane without a couple miles under her shoes? How do any of us change like that?

My mp3 player hums and burns in my ears. It has become my heartbeat, and my shoes move as if to the volition of this music. To further tune out any distractions I am wearing my new sunglasses, and through them I dissipate. This is what running does for me: It makes me feel like water, like air, and I float.----I disappear. Life is supposed to be painful, and hard. It is supposed to change you. Life is trans-formative and that growth is the most wonderful thing that we as human beings can experience.

Maybe it is the oxygen pounding in my muscles, the flow of endorphins through my brain, or my blood, immediate and overwhelming, moving inside my heart, but in these moments I feel myself grow.

Summary: 12/25/2010

8.5 miles

1st Post......Hello Big Internet Void

Hello World,

This is my first post for this blog. Lately I find myself talking about all things running with whoever will listen.  Most of my friends don’t like to run but would never admit it, so they politely listen, nod their heads, and secretly hate me for it.  I guess I would just really like to find some people out there who want to talk about running as much as I do.

So lets get something out of the way. I am not an expert. I don’t know what I am talking about, and my opinion is not worth a whole hell of a lot when it comes to running. (BUT I would love to hear from people who know what they are talking about).

Here is my truth. Running is a miracle drug. I believe that it can change people’s lives radically, and transform them physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

Summary
12/23/2010
3 miles