Hood to Coast. check!

6 miles - I was too much of a wimp to run in the tail of a rainshower today on the group run. So I hit the treadmill and spent about 3 of my 6 miles talking to my bestie from Denver, Christine. Last year we implemented the "wednesday drive calls". She works in Denver and lives in Boulder (we used to be roomies when I lived there) and so she has a commute. When the weather is nice I exercise outside during the call and she drives home. Total win/win. And I get to catch up with one of the most wonderful people I know. I'm thinking perhaps a trek out to Denver for a wee bit of a stay in October. Which gets me thinking about my upcoming travel ponderings. I'm thinking late summer perhaps for a Boise reunion and have committed to a team for the Hood to Coast relay in August in Portland. This relay is SO MUCH fun! 12 person (3 legs each), 196 miles, start at Mt. Hood and end on the beach in Seaside, OR. I'm committed so onward (except I hope I don't have one of the first few legs, the last time I ran it I had leg 2, down Mt Hood and we had to drain under my toenails with a syringe in the medic tent at the coast. yeah. not good.).

Tornado Action

8 miles - We've had some early Spring crazy tornado action here in the big state of Iowa. The first warning of the season, so it was to the basement I went last night and just thought I'd run for a while during the Biggest Loser. It's totally crunch time on the show as they all have their sights set on the final 4 at the big live finale where you get to see all the old peeps come back too(favorite TV episode EVER) and there is some definite game playing. I'm happy to say that Melissa got voted off again. She's quite naughty and there's a lot of negative energy around her so I say good riddance. So... I ran 8 miles and then walked a bit until the end of the show. Accomplished a couple different things:

1) 8 mile run which needed to be done

2) shelter in the basement in the event of a tornado.

Can't beat that!

The Courier

4 miles - When I was home over Easter my parents showed me the local newspaper and they had run a story about my friend Dainna and I, both from Reinbeck, running in the LLS Team in Training program. A big thanks to Jessica and the team there for helping us get the word out about our fundraising efforts. Here's the story: Reinbeck Courier. Thanks also to the Wambold's, local Reinbeck'ians that are always supportive of the cause and contributed. I'm adding their daughter to my list on this site of those that have beat Leukemia! My parents friends as well from the area are wonderful, thanks everyone for your support and donations. Small town people = good people! Yay!

Happy Easter!

0 miles - the most running that I did today was in the "adult" easter egg hunt on the farm. I walked (or ran rather) away with 11 eggs and a mere $3.25. Unbelievable! Aunt Jamie, walked away with 2 eggs and the $20 spot in the golden egg. Several others came out ahead of me as well with $10's and $5's here and there. Sister Lydia might be the exception with some old candy and a few bits of change. ha. ha. What fun. We hid the kids eggs first and helped them in the hunt, then mom and dad hid eggs for the rest of us. Imagine 11 adults running around the farm with money at stake, in this economy? :-) Yep it was definitely Game On. Aunt Jamie walked away the big winner, with a few others following closely, of that group, I am not included obviously. So after running around for that, we then all pitched and put on our work clothes/gloves and started clearing the grove behind the house. My parents recently moved into my Grandparents old farmhouse/stead. It had been years since that happened, so it was slow moving and we have a lot yet to do but we did get a lot done amongst the tractor rides with Grandpa and bonfire action. Here are some fun pics. The boys found a toad while "working" with us and Sophia got a long overdue ride with Grandpa in the tractor since the boys have had their share of that. :-)

The ultimate trick

10 miles - we started at 6:30am and the temp was in the upper 30's but as the morning progressed on the run, it was perfection! Light layering and no wind. That's right... I said it, a day of no wind in Iowa. I know hard to believe. :-) I ran with Staci and Coach Kevin the whole time as it was a smaller turnout and there were only 3 of us going the 10 mile marathon distance. And we asked Coach Kevin about his family vacation and some other stories from running. This I've learned is the ultimate trick, because then you don't have to talk, you just listen and you keep your mind on something other than the running you are doing. Brilliant. I guess it's not really a trick when I say to him "Kevin, tell us some stories so we can listen and not have to talk today". But you know... :-) We were on the Clive trail and saw a TON of deer along the way. Overall it was a great run! I had a brunch at La Mie with my good friend Sara to look forward to afterwards and then on to "home" in Reinbeck for Easter. We had some easter eggs to hide and Grandma is throwing in a $50 spot this year, so you can imagine how intense the "adult" hunt is going to get. Go grandma and game on!

Friday Chill

0 miles - I'm trying to give my body some rest around the long runs. Relaxing a bit on the "every day" runs that I was so diligent about in my initial training. I'd freak if I didn't get a day in, which was probably good to get my bum in gear for the initial stages of training for this. I'm OK with days off now instead of stressing about it. So, Friday was a day of rest. :-) 10 miles set for Saturday and a 6:30am start time. Strangely, 10 feels like a short run and I'm excited for that. ha. Let the mind games begin.

Throwing down 3

3 miles - It's been a bit of crazy week so got a quick last minute 3 miles in the neighborhood. It's crazy how i'm excited this weekend is only a 10 mile run. Somehow it relieves the stress of a long run. However... I am a bit stressed about traveling the following two weekends and struggling to get the long runs in.. a plan must be made! Anyway, this quick run was once again SO exciting because a) it is spring b) it was only 3 miles c) I went late in the day and it was still light past 8pm. What's not to love???