Tanaina Kids Marathon & Glacier Half Marathon 2013

Stephen attends Tanaina Elementary School.  Our family chose to participate in the Tanaina

Kids Marathon which began in April.  Each participant was given a running log so they could track their miles.  April 9 was the official start date for all runners/walkers.  25 miles had to be completed by May 22 in order to participate in the final 1.2 miles on field day.  It was wonderful to see Stephen & McKinley run with their Daddy.  We would ask the kids if they wanted to do 1 mile or 2 miles every time we would take them for their run.  Stephen would always say "2" or sometimes "3."  McKinley was often content w/ "1."  I love my little girl.   She was a strong finisher on field day.  I was very proud of her.  I have a video of her that Mari will try and post.  I couldn't get it to load.   

We reminded our children that we are "finishers!"  We told them to start slow and finish fast.

They did great!

 Here are Stephen and McKinley before the race starts.  They earned cute t-shirts to wear

during the run and they received a medal at the finish line.  So fun for them!

Hafen's getting ready for take off at the start line.  Ray ran w/ Stephen and I ran w/ McKinley.  Loved encouraging them every step of the way.

Ray and Kary ran a 1/2 marathon 2 days later in Anchorage.  The Glacier Half Marathon started and finished at Westchester Lagoon.  It was an out and back.  I loved running the trail and seeing the new leaves on the trees and the flowing creek.  The sun felt so warm.  I couldn't believe how hot I felt by mile 6.

Ray and I both had a goal to get a PR (personal record.)  Our previous PR for a 1/2 was a 1:52 for me and last Saturday I pushed hard and finished in 1:48.  I was so happy!  

Ray's previous PR was a 1:40 and he hauled some bootie and got a 1:34 finish.  

He was thrilled!

It was a great way to enjoy our last running day of being 44 and 45 yrs old.

We celebrated our 45th & 46th bday on Monday, so I have entered a new age bracket in the running arena.  I'm ok w/ it.  I feel young, so I'll just keep acting as if I'm 27.

Ray ordered these shirts to support Boston marathon survivors.  They came in the mail the day before our race, so Ray said we should wear them.  I'm not much for yellow on me, but a few runners that were behind me thanked me for the message on the back of my shirt.  :  )

So, wherever you are in your walking or running training, KEEP walking/running!  Be a finisher!

Free at last!

Last Saturday felt like a Spring run.  It was my first time in shorts and I felt so free.  Remember, we have been running in several layers during the winter months.   We are members of the Willow running club and we get together w/ other runners once in a while to do some training runs.  Last Saturday we met on the Willow side of Hatcher Pass and started uphill.  We did an out and back.  9 up, 9 down.  The downhill was fun, but challenging.  I haven't done a lot of downhill training, so I definitely felt the quad burn.  So, if you're prepping for Timp half, train on the downhills.  Burn baby, burn!

We were running w/ Dave Johnston who is an Ultra runner.  He is the winner of Resurection Pass 100 miler every year and a variety of other races.  He also finished 1st place this year in a 350 mile winter race on the Iditarod trail.  Animal, for sure!    Check out his awesome pony tail.  I almost held on to it a few times so he could pull me up the hills.  :  )

As you can see in the pictures, I am the only woman who showed up to run that day.  Keeping up w/ the guys was tough, but they definitely slowed down to a gentle pace for me.  Ray would come back once in a while to check on me and get me up another hill.  It was a beautiful day and when three eagles flew overhead, I felt uplifted and ready to soar.

Run free and fly!

Goooooooooaaaallll time (said like a Latino soccer announcer)

I've had some harsh realizations lately. One of those that I need to push myself more when I exercise if I want to see real progress. So I figured if I wanted to make this real I needed to make more people aware of what I wanted to do. I have set up my training plan for the next 10 weeks for the 90 For Nan half marathon. I'm going to run it in two hours and 15 minutes. I started my sprint training runs last night and have to admit, I pushed myself so hard I almost wanted to throw up. But, I did it and it felt great. And I feel great today. Love you all, and I am excited to do this with you!