First Post

I decided to switch from Xanga over to Blogger, since its so convenient to access with all of my other Google accounts.

Anyways, I have been terribly delinquent in posting, and now that I've decided to train for the Portland marathon (selective short term memory problems, I think!), I figured that would be a good impetus for me to start blogging again.

So, the first question I'm sure that you're all asking is WHY would I train for the marathon again after how long and painful the training was in 2007? Well, there are several answers. The simplest one is that friends put together a team, I loved how I felt after finishing the race, and I signed up before I could even think about it :) I also found a training program that I like a LOT better than the one that I did in 2007. This one is a bit easier, and I don't think will beat me up as badly as the other one did - by the time that I got to the marathon, I was doubting my ability to finish because of how many long runs I had to do in training, and how bad I felt doing them.

The more complicated answer is that I suffered a loss at the end of April that completely changed my summer plans and I was looking for a challenge to help me get back in shape. So, with my summer non-work hours freed up, I figured that I could train! I also signed up for the all-women's mountain bike camp in Hood River, a sprint triathlon (0.5 mi swim, 12 mi bike, 3.1 mi run), an Olympic distance triathlon (1 mi swim, 12 mi bike, 6.2 mi run), a 5K run (3.1 miles), and a 10K run. The races are all part of my training plan to keep things interesting, and the mountain bike camp is just plain fun. I got so much out of the camps I went to 2 years ago that I'm excited to go again! Plus several of my girlfriends are going (well, Jen is already signed up and we're working to convince Tanya & Jocelyn to go).

The 5K race was last weekend in Sandy. It was a great event, the 2nd annual "Run, Girlfriend, Run" put on by the Mt Hood Athletic Club. So much fun!! Jocelyn came down to run with me, and she kicked butt! I finished, but certainly wasn't happy with my time - I guess that by the time I'm done training I'll get faster. Her husband, Todd and the two kids, plus JD came down to cheer us on, and I won a free pair of running shoes at the raffle at the end. Yay! Those will come in handy!

Anyways, this blog is going t0 be my outlet for thoughts while running, thoughts on running, and everything else going on (I hope!)