12ks?

Is anyone planning on running the 12ks of Christmas in Kirkland next Sunday?

HIT - Bike Training STARTS THURSDAY 12/3!

You are invited to join a group of us for HIT - Bike training

13 weeks - Twice a week

THURSDAY 7 pm
Sunday 7:30 am

John's garage in Kent (up James) address to come

You need a stationary bike trainer, a thingy for your front wheel (elevated is nice) and a cadence/speedometer - also great to have a heart rate monitor.

More info to come
Or call me

Sunday 11/15 8:30 Lake Young

yep time to start posting on the blog again!

This Sunday Lake Young 8:30 start at the request of the Seahawks fans

see you there!

Seattle Marathon or Half Anyone?

I know Steve mentioned this as part of an earlier entry, but I'm curious about a head count.
From what I know, Lee and Steve are doing the half and Karin is doing the full. Oh yes, and Emily and Barb won't be about to join us because they'll be in Cozumel soaking up the sun and cheering hard for all the Ironmen.
I'm unknown right now because of my foot, but I hope to more next week and I have a month, so I'm thinking I can probably pull off the half no problem.
I'm thinking about having a post-run IM Cozumel gathering at my house after Seattle, so we can watch their progress while we celebrate our morning run, so keep that in mind.

GOOD LUCK SAN FRANSICO!!!!!!!

Good luck ladies. Lee, Melinda, Val, Deb, Emily.
I hope you have a great time in San Fransico this weekend. And that you each have a good marathon - for those of you with injuries holding you back - just enjoy being out there!
Wish I was able to join you.

Good luck!

Good luck this weekend to Emily and Melinda at the Baker Lake Ultra and to Sarah at the Portland Marathon! Go get 'em!

Speed

Sunday run at Lake Youngs

I'm planning on running one loop of Lake Youngs this Sunday (9/27) if you'd like to join me. Shall we say 9am?

Speed

Seattle full/half marathon?

In an attempt to maintain some semblance of fitness I'm seriously contemplating running the Seattle Half at the end of November (Sunday after Thanksgiving). Anybody else interested in running the event or at least training for it? All of my long runs will be on the weekends and should cover anywhere from 8 to 16 miles.

Speed

Super JocknJill Half Marathon- Who's Running?

I was just wondering who I was going to get to see on Monday. I know that the following people are running for sure: me, Andrew, Val. I know that Melinda and Lauren are maybes. Anyone else?

September 4/5 Run

Hello!

I'm back from the wildes of Maine and need to do 20 miles this weekend! Anyone care to join me? Any recommendatins on routes?

Saturday run - Lake Youngs

I've invited some of the Iron Pirates to join me for a run this Saturday at 9am at Lake Youngs. So far Janine, Barb, Jeff and Jacob have indicated they'll be there. Please join us! Plan is to run just a single loop... clockwise.

Steve

August 22 party

Greetings all,

I hope your summer is going well. I am having a party on Saturday August 22 in Port Ludlow for this years Victoria Team and thought it would be fun to invite last years team as well (and anyone else that wants to join us). The event will be all day with options for running biking and swimming (bring a wetsuit). If you are interested bring something to eat and drink and join us when you want to. The address is 250 SouthBay lane Port Ludlow Washington 98360 and my cell number is 2068184755. Hope you can make it.

Run Saturday August 15th Lake Youngs

Sarah wants to run 18 miles, I've got 20 on my calendar. Two loops of Lake Youngs will work great. Join us for one or both loops. We'll meet at Lake Youngs at 8:30 AM and run clockwise.

Cougar Mt Trail Run This Saturday

I'm thinking about running the Cougar Mt Trail Run 13 mile run this Saturday, Aug 8. I like the idea of a trail run that is already planned out for me. The Seattle Running Club does a series all summer long. Day of event registration is from 7-8 AM, the race starts at 8:30 at the Sky Mt trailhead. Anyone interested in joining me? And just to clarify, I'm not planning to race it, just to have fun on a trail run.

16 Saturday or Sunday

Anybody up for 16 miles on Saturday? I'd like to start early maybe 7:00 a.m. to be done before it gets too hot. Happy to have people join me for just part of the run too.

I haven't picked a route yet, any good suggestions?

Saturday July 25 - 12 miles on Burke Gilman

I am scheduled to run 12 miles on Saturday. Since I am running the Torchlight 5K in the evening, I want a flat easy run. I thought running on Burke Gilman would be nice and flat, and would give me the practice dodging people. I'll be leaving Matthews Beach around 8.30 am. Anyone interested in joining me?

12 miles this weekend

Anyone up for a 12 mile run on Sunday? I am flexible on location - eastside/westside.

Sunday 7/12 - open water swim & mini tri practice

Sunday 7/12 - open water swim and mini tri/transition practice

2 pm Angle lake

we'll start w/ a swim (distance/speed determined by group - we will break into groups if feasible)

As an added option (any one getting ready for Seafair or Danskin?) Then we can practice the swim to bike transition and bike to run transition. I'm planning on a very short bike ride and a run.

you are welcome to do just the swim or all of the "triathlon"

Let me know if you are planning on joining me

Saturday July 11 - Run at Lake Youngs

I will be running around Lake Youngs (clockwise) on Saturday 11 July. Val will be there and Debi too (right Debi?) I would like to start at 8.30.

Anyone else interested?

Run Sunday, July 5th

Okay, as promised, here is the first group run for the fall marathon season.

Start / Finish Location: Leschi

Finish time: 10:30 AM

Since people are training for several different marathons, we will be running different distances (and paces) this season. So rather than one set start time, I decided to try a finish time. Post your planned distance and running time, then we'll match up people for start times. I know, sounds confusing, and it might not work, but it will mean those speedy runners won't be standing around for an hour at the end. Can't make the run, feel free to join us for coffee or breakfasdt afterward.

I plan to run 14 miles; if anyone wants to join me, meet me at Leschi at 8 AM.

I think Emily and Jen are planning to run around 4 miles.

Happy 4th of July

Rock n Roll!

Congratulations to all of you who ran the rock n rol marathon yesturday! What a beautiful day for a race. I hope everyone had a great race and enjoyed themselves.
Miss you all - and am looking forward to training with you for San Fran.

Run this weekend

I was going to post a run for Saturday, but I hurt my back Wednesday night and it is still not better. I'm hoping to run Sunday morning, but am unsure. If want to run Sunday, let me know.

Good luck to those running Rock and Roll this weekend. I wish I was going to be out there with you.

Run - Sat 6/13 10 am Lake Youngs

Steve and I are running Lake Youngs - Sat 10 am start
Do you want to join us??

Ready to Run?

It is time to start training for Fall marathons. I know, hard to belive. As we all know, the training runs are much more fun together. So, we will start organizing Saturday morning long runs in the next couple of weeks. The more people who join us, the better, so invite family, friends, the neighbor's dog. If you're not up to running right now, please join us and plan to walk or walk/run. Are you ready?

Why kick?

More swim info to keep the June theme going

I swim w/ the Federal Way masters swim group and love it.
Our coach, Wendy, regularly incorporates kick drills into our workouts (I do NOT love them).
I always do the drills to the best of my ability and I've had some ah ha moments and my kick has improved (slowly).


After reading this article on line,
Training Tip - Boosting Your Kick By LifeSport Coach Lance Watson
the link is below - it is worth reading
http://triseries.ca/news_article.php?id=113
I want to say Thank you Wendy! I'm a better open water swimmer because of your coaching!
and for all you triathletes who don't think you need to kick to save your legs for the bike/run - hopefully the article provides some insight to the value of a good kick!

Swim like a fish!

Swim, Swim, Swim

Last winter was the run, run, run and my first Marathon!
This Summer is swim, swim, swim!

I'm planning on my first 3 mile swim (Fat Salmon 7/18) and swimming across the Sound (BR memorial Swim 8/22)

Here is some info about some open water swims available in the area - there are different length versions for each event (something for everyone!)


1) Friday Night swim series - Lake Meridian in Kent
First race June 12th, then 7/10 and 8/7
.5 or 1.2 or 2.4 mile options
More info
http://www.weraisethebar.com/swimrace.html

2) Fat Salmon July 18th
1.2 and 3.2 mile options
registration opened May 1st - (this one sells out each year)
http://www.fatsalmonswim.org/

3) Brent Rice Memorial Swim the Sound
2.3 mile across the sound swim
Sat 8/22
http://www.brmsos.com/
(yes I'll be doing this one with my brother - yes I'm nuts!

Also - you are invited to join me for Wednesday night swims at Angle lake (let me know if you need more info)

Swim like a fish!

Congratulations team!!!!

What a great race at onionman this year. Everyone did an amazing job. Congratulations - Jeff, Barb, Andrew, Vince, Michelle, Melinda, Debi, Steve, and Lee ( Lee - who amazed us all by winning her age group).
Great way to start the season!

Walla Walla Here We Come!

It's finally here - a chance to see how all the winter/spring training will look in a race.

After two open water swims - I feel ready as I'll ever be
Thank you to all who have joined me the last two Weds - I love swimming w/ the group!

For me my training has been much much more run /strength focused this year than last year(TnT Victoria training). It will be fun to see if it makes a difference.

I'm looking forward to seeing many of my training friends bright and early on Sunday morning, on the race course (and hanging out together afterwards)

Onionman - ready or not here we come!

Windermere Marathon

Lauren and I ran the Windermere Marathon in Spokane yesterday. Andrew rode his bike along the course, which is the Centennial Trail , so we got to see him a few times. We kept an eye out for MaryKay, who was running the half, but didn't see her. It was a beautiful, and mostly flat course, along the Spokane River. There were about 1000 people total, 617 people ran the half and 287 ran the full. The inaugural running of this marathon had super friendly volunteers and a lot of port-o-potties. There were a few glitches; the most glaring error was mis-numbered mile markers. Mile 17 happened twice and after that the numbers were only sometimes right. Having mile markers repeat mislabelled is a VERY confusing thing when you have been running for over three hours and can't think right. I am sure that will get worked out next year. I would highly recommend it! www.windermeremarathon.com

Ride on Sunday?

Anyone interested in riding on Sunday, May 17? I am thinking about riding around 75 miles, but don't have firm plans.

Sat 5/16 - Bike/Run Brick

Join us for a FUN bike run brick - Sat 5/16 7am

meet at Debi's
We will ride (miles - route tbd), then park our bikes in her garage and run around Lake Youngs (9 miles)

Remember - what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

Ride Sat 5/9

Deb and I are meeting at 8am for a 30-35 mile ride to Sumner (great coffee shop) and back - loop route mostly flat.

Meet us at Cycle Therapy in Kent (on Central) if you want to join us!

Kirkland half marathon

Hello everyone,

Will I see any of you at the Kirkland Half Marathon this weekend, it looks to me like it will be warmer than it was last year but alas the hills are still the same!!

Get Ready - First Angle Lake Open Water Swim is Next Week!

Yikes it is almost here!

First Angle Lake Open Water Swim
Wednesday 5/13

Meet at my house 6:15ish
Bring a bright colored cap (or two caps to keep your head warmer)

If anyone can bring a friend to volunteer as a safety monitor to paddle the kayak (or surf board) - please let me know so we can be set up and ready.

Be ready to swim at 6:30!



Also - here are some interesting open water swim events to put on your calendar

1) Friday Night swim series - Lake Meridian in Kent
First race June 12th
.5 or 1.2 or 2.4 mile options
More info
http://www.weraisethebar.com/swimrace.html

2) Fat Salmon July 18th
1.2 and 3.2 mile options
registration opened May 1st
(this one sells out)
http://www.fatsalmonswim.org/

3) Brent Rice Memorial Swim the Sound
2.3 mile across the sound swim
Sat 8/22 or Sun 8/23 (not sure of the exact date yet)
http://www.brmsos.com/
(yes I'll be doing this one with my brother - yes I'm nuts!)

4) FWMasters Swimming - open water stuff

my masters swim team has some open water opportunities starting w/ a wet suit fitting this Sat

Wet Suit Fitting

May 9th 6-8 p.m.

Blue Seventy & Fleet Feet

Professional Fitting & at least 10% off

Get Fitted and Buy Local

Even if they don't have your size the suits will come from Seattle and you would have them by the 1st lake swim

MUST RSVP @ www.tri-time-swimming.com

Lake Swims

will start Sat May 16th (hold the intention!) or when the lake is 67 degrees which ever comes 1st! Wet Suits are a must!!!!

Beginning Lake Swim Classes, Intermediate & Advanced Workouts will be held on Wednesday Nights @ Steel Lake 7-8 p.m.&Select Saturdays

For More information visit: www.tri-time-swimming.com

Exact Dates for Classes & Workouts will be scheduled when we get closer to May 16th!

Lake Youngs - Sunday 8 am

1 loop - meet in the parking lot on the west side 8 am start
Deb, MaryKay and Lee - let us know if you want to join in!

Ride Sat 5/2

Deb & I are riding Sat 9 am - 50 miles (kent/black diamond/ravensdale)
starting at cycle therapy in Kent

Call me if you want to join us!

Who is Running Rock and Roll Seattle?

I just got an email that the run is 90% sold, so I guess I have to make a decision about running it. Am I going to have anybody to sufer with along the way?
I think Emily and Lauren are doing it. Is there anyone else registered? Half or full?
I'm only running once a week and don't plan to pick up the distance until the second week of June, so not a lot of running prep.

Run - Thursday 4/16 5:30

Start in Bellevue at Debi's office (SE 6th?)
meet at 5:30
Run 6 miles

join us if you can!

Angle Lake Swims

Onionman is coming in 6 weeks (so is Victoria - 10 weeks)

For your planning purposes - open water swims will start Wednesday May 13th at Angle Lake
So we can get two swims in before Onionman!

most likely starting at 6:15 to 6:30

Ride Sunday April 5th - 9:30 am

30ish miles - tentative route Kent to Flaming Geyser and back (mostly flat - but we can add some hills for fun depending on how we feel)

Let's meet at Cycle Therapy in Kent to start the ride - 9:30
http://www.cycletherapybikeshop.com/
703 Central Ave S
Kent, WA 98032

I'm bringing my running shoes for a short run after the ride!
Hope to see you there

Congratulations to Emily

Just 7 weeks after Austin, Emily went out and ran Whidbey Island marathon on her own. Way to go Emily, you did great. I'm proud of you and very impressed.

SPRING! (or running without tights and a headband!)

Yahoo - took my first outside run last night since Austin.
I ran in the daylight after work, got home just before dark
Only 3.5 miles (around Angle Lake) but it felt wonderful - 50F and DRY - I WORE Shorts!
Daffodils are blooming, everyone's yards are starting to come back to life.

Wow - I may like training for a marathon in warmer weather!
Bring it on

Nike Women's Marathon

It looks like we're in! Both Lee and I see charges for the marathon on our credit cards. Oh boy, here we go again. San Francisco get ready, here we come.
We'll be back to the organized group training runs by July, so feel free to join us. We definitely enjoy the company.

TIME TO SIGN UP - Nike Women's Marathon 10/18/09

Melinda, Jen and anyone interested in signing up for the Nike Women's Marathon LOTTERY as a group!

you have until midnight Wed 3/18 to sign up
Use my leespencer6 hotmail email address as the group name

If we get picked - we all go!

Port Ludlow - 20 Hilly Miles!

What a great weekend!

Karen, Dennis and Jacob were wonderful support for a fabulous training run - what a way to get 20 hilly miles done (my first 20 mile run)!

This was a challenging training run - it was great to do it with friends in a beautiful location.
I loved Karen and Dennis' hospitality and even loved Karen's route choice (after I was done)! Running all of the hills gave me a lot of confidence for Austin!


(Photos are from Finish to Start - and I'm still struggling w/ matching the captions w/ the photos)

Here is our group photo - after the run and a wonderful lunch!
Front row - Hailey's tail
Seated - Melinda
Crouched - Lee (how did I do that after 20 miles?)
Left to Right - Jacob, Andrew, Emily, Jen, Karen & Dennis

Maintenance and recovery - some tired feet and shins

Emily, Me and Melinda - Cold but happy -we are done

Go Jen Go!

I'm not sure I was that happy at this point - but Jacob's encouragement must have lifted my spirits.





















It must be easier to take photos of the "less fast" runners!
Jacob could only catch these two as they motored up another hill!

Jen, Karen & I at the bottom of the first 4 miles (w/ a conveniently placed car for extra water and food supplies)



































Most of the photos above (photos w/o snow) are from the middle or second half of the run (depending on if you finished the third and final "flat" 3 mile leg or missed the turn and made the second leg longer by 3 miles trying to find your way back:).

The second leg was a great route - w/ views of the water and more gradual hills. None of the 20 miles was was flat - but most of the hills on the middle/second let were smaller than the HILLS from the first leg)

Jacob - along w/ providing encouragement and support - acted as paparazzi! I love how he can take an action photo series of us coming and going!

The photos (above and below) w/ snow are from the first leg. We started out with a HILLY 4 mile out and HILLY 4 mile back.
The morning started off - COLD and a little icy w/ snow on the trees and the side of the road - but luckily it wasn't snowing, sleeting, raining or frozen fog.

And just above freezing temps are easily tamed by HILLS! (who knew I'd be so warm - thanks Karen!)

Here is Jacob powering up the first hill on the way back - it was steeper than the photo shows.

Andrew - running, waving and shouting to me as he speeds by down the hill that I'm still going up!

Jen working on the first big hill - what a way to start a 20 mile run.

At the start - Dennis - ready to ride all those hills to watch over and encourage us

How official! A race banner to welcome us!

Emily and Melinda model their beverage of choice at our water/food/special needs stop/table
(Ok - it was the start and finish too) and it worked out great.

And here we are bundled up and ready!

Melinda is a morning person - looking so snazzy in her fabulous running hoody w/ the pony tail and thumb openings!

Andrew with his movie star/burgler look - ready to run

After a comfortable night's rest in Karen & Dennis's beach house - Jen is ready to go (can't you tell?)

The Start!

Training photos

After much delay - here are my pics from our marathon training
(Port Ludlow pics will be next post)

Jan 17 run - starting at Leshi, ending at Blu Water Cafe for breakfast.

Freezing fog wasn't too bad, the hills were fine (even the extra hills I did when I got lost) and the breakfast was yummy!

Debi and Sarah - meet us pre run \/

Thur night run on Mercer island

My new shoes and toe socks

love the headlamps!

Melinda's cute new haircut - before the next cute new haircut

hanging out in the parking lot as we get ready - I love how the reflective stuff shows up in photos

TWO loops of Lake Young 1/10/09!

fueling up for the second loop

Jen runs up the last set of hills to finish the first loop

Who ever suggest the reverse direction for the second loop was a genius - it was so much fun to see everyone as they started their second loop!

Emily and Melinda take the road to avoid all the mud/puddles

Andrew!

Barb (has amazing focus while running- or was listening to a great song)

Lauren















Mary Kay & Jen

Thursday night at Sturgis park
w/ Sarah H and no rain!

Ok maybe it rained a little - but it didn't pour and we weren't dripping wet, which was an improvement over some other Thursday night runs.

West Lake Sammamish trail - all smiles after the run and a hot drink
















Doesn't Emily look colorful?

Amazing what she will wear when freezing cold

Melinda, Emily, Emma (joined us for her first ever 13 mile run) and Jen.

The tailgate makes a good hot drink bar w/ my new thermos!











Happy!

Freezing but happy

Luna Park - New Year's day

Yes - I tried to get out of the New Year's day run - but my wonderful friends kept me on track (peer pressure saves my training plan, again) !

Nov 15 - group run starting in Leshi w/ Sunshine!

Kneeling - Lauren and Sarah H
L to R - Lee, Barb, Steve, Jen, MaryKay and Andrew.

I remember thinking as I struggled on this run to complete 14 miles (my first run longer than 13.1) that I couldn't see how it was possible for me to run 26.2.

I'm glad I had your encouragement and support to get through the training - thanks

Whidbey Island (1/2) Marathon

I went to the Whidbey Island Marathon web site. I was disappointed to see that Nature's Path is not a sponsor this year. After reviewing the site, I'm again thinking of not participating. They mention there will be a shirt, but don't even say that it will be a tech shirt. They don't have a course profile available and looking at the course, the water stops are spaced unevenly. There are some stretches where there are no water stops for 3 miles. I didn't spend a really long time on the site, but I wasn't impressed. I really wanted one of the organic cotton t-shirts they had last year. Does anyone know anything different?

congratulations

Congratulations to everyone. I spoke with Barb last night and she said everyone did great.

In case you are looking for something to do I wanted to let you know that I am hosting another training session at the beach house. It is another fundraiser but for those of you who contributed the last time it is free. So here is the information, let me know if you will be joining us.

TEAM IN TRAINING BIKE RIDE FUNDRAISER

As many of you know, I am once again raising money for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society and training for the Victoria Half Iron Triathlon. Lance has been kind enough to schedule in a fundraiser for me. So, you are all invited to my Bike Ride Fundraiser on Saturday March 28th. For a suggested donation of $50 you will be greeted at the 8:40 Edmonds/Kingstone ferry with bagels, peanut butter and bananas. Upon arrival at Kingston there will be an initial 16 mile bike ride to my beach house in Port Ludlow (directions are at the end of this email). From there you will have the option of several loops depending on the distance you wish to train. All loops will end up back at the beach house where you will be served chili and cornbread and have time to hang out until your return 16 mile bike ride back to Kingston. In the event you wish to run rather than ride I can also provide directions to some awesome trail routes or hilly road routes!! Or perhaps you would like to go for a swim in the rather cool waters of puget sound!! If for some reason you do not want to ride your bike back and forth to Kingston you can always drive onto the ferry and out to the beach house.

To RSVP for this event simply make a donation on my website: http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/nbhtri09/knyrop. When I get the email about your contribution I will put you on the list of attendees.

If you have any questions send me an email.

If I do not see you on the 28th I hope we can hook up another time. and once again congratulations

Check this out...

I was hanging my shiny new medal with the others today and just had to share this with y'all... My how things have changed. The tiny medal is from my first marathon (Twin Cities, Oct 1993) and of course you recognize the other. Isn't that hilarious? I suppose they do say that everything's bigger in Texas! (oops, not sure how to rotate it within the blog...)

Thursday and/or Saturday Run?

Is anyone interested in getting together to run Thursday evening or Saturday morning? Lee, I know you have a hair appt Saturday. We could probably do an early (8 AM) eastside run to accomodate your hair. Gary Metcalf, the Livestrong Ride course designer guy, is going to be in town and is interested in some group training, so he may join us.

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!! what's next??

Congrats to everyone - you did a fabulous job! I have really enjoyed training with you all - and want to continue. So what does everyone have planned next? Shall we keep this blog active to cooradinate new events, or just oppertunities to train together for fun?

Good Luck Austin Marathoners!!!

All the best to you Austin Team - you have worked hard and in just a few days some of you will be first time marathon finishers (Wahoo) and the others will have one more marathon finish to cross off your list!! All of you will have something to be very proud of. Additionally you will all have a big-ass medal to carry around - I heard everything is bigger in Texas!

So let me leave you with inspirational words from my favorite singer - MeatLoaf

"This is big time, this is larger than life" Bat of of Hell Volume 1

Good luck, be safe, have a great run and party hard when you are done!!!! (Oh my gosh I made it rhyme!)
Heart you all!
Debi

weekend logistics?

So are we all at the same hotel? Which hotel am I staying in? I'd like to call and find out if there's a coffee maker in the room (or maybe someone already knows the answer to that). I definitely have to have my pre-race caffeine. :)

We're going to have a blast this weekend! I'm really looking forward to getting out of Seattle for a few days and all of us having a great run on Sunday. And of course, the post-race celebration! Woot!

See you all at the airport... or are some of us on other flights than the 1:30 departure? How many of us are going anyway?  

Marathon Weather

I just looked at the 10-day forecast for Austin. The forecast for the 15th is perfect marthon weather. Partly sunny, low of 40, high of 63. Awesome!

"Run when you can, walk when you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up."
- Dean Karnazes (runner and author of Ultramarathon Man)

This Week!

Thursday night - Anyone want to run with me? 4-5 miles - Sturgis park or Cedar River or something east side? 6:30-6:45 start?


Saturday - How about Lake Youngs trail 9am?

15 days!

Hello, Team Austin! I am emerging from my interviewing haze. It sounds like everyone had an awesome, challenging run last weekend. From here on out THIS IS ALL MENTAL. Your body is ready. So, you have to BELIEVE that you can do this. WOO HOO!!!!

Since I have been so out of touch, I am not sure if there is a plan for tomorrow. The Captain Jack's team is running 1 hour and 45 minutes starting 9am at the Japanese Gardens. I am thinking about joining them. Anyone else in?

Barb

Hey Austin team!

Congratulations on finishing your 20-mile run! What an incredible accomplishment! Just a few weeks of taper left and you'll be at the start line for your marathon. Lee and Melinda, you'll be happy to know that our mantra for cycling class on Sunday was, "At least we're not running 20 miles . . ." When the going got tough, that made us feel a whole lot better. Again, great job to you all! :)

Sarah A.

Awesome Weekend

What a great weekend with friends. I am so impressed with how well everyone ran the 20 miles and the blister comparison afterward. And a very special thanks to Karin, Dennis and Jacob for their great support. I think the 'run' was harder on you guys than it was on us. Thank you all for a great weekend, Austin is going to be great.
We missed those of you who weren't able to make it. I hope you all had great runs too.
I am assuming we are not doing a group run Monday night. How about Thursday night? My schedule is for 6.

Hey Austin Group, just wanted to wish you all the very best on your 20-miler! Wahoo!!!! Enjoy your weekend, run like the wind, be safe and have fun!!!! You are all rock stars and should be uber proud of yourselves!
I heart you all!
Debi

Thurday Run?

Anyone else interested in a group run on Thursday night?

Green Lake Tonight?

Hello. Is anyone planning on running at Green Lake tonight? I was hoping to get in 5 or 6 miles. I miss you guys!!! Crazy times at work these days are limiting my schedule. UGGHH!!

Port Ludlow

Greetings all,

I am back from Phoenix. I tried to bring some nice warm weather back with me but it did not work. The jog with 35,000 others through Phoenix was fun but I missed having the team with me.

So here is the final information for Next Sunday's ride. You are all invited to spend Saturday night. If you come out Saturday night please bring something for dinner and breakfast. Also bring a sleeping bag and towel. There is plenty of room but not having to wash sheets and towels would be helpful.

I will have routes that will give you runs of up to 20 miles. You can start as early as you want. For those of you coming over on Sunday morning please let me know what time you are planning on showing up. I am planning on riding my bike around the course so if you come after I am out on the course I will leave maps at the house.

A lunch/dinner of chili and corn bread will be served afterwords.

Directions to the house are as follows:

Take a ferry (either Bainbridge or Edmonds) or drive around through Tacoma and then drive to the Hood Canal Bridge. Immediately after crossing the bridge turn right on Paradise Bay Road. Drive approximately five miles. At five miles you will crest a hill and see a real estate office on your left. Go to the bottom of the hill and turn right on South Bay Road. We are the 8th house on the right (not including the one being built) 250 south bay lane cell number 818-4755

In case you still need my tnt web site it is : http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/nbhtri09/knyrop

Emily Post - Saturday Run- Leschi 9am

The plan for Saturday (for those not going to Mt Vernon) is to meet at Blu Water Bistro in Leschi at 9am. We will run a nice 12 miler, with a couple of hills. Magically, it is EXACTLY 12 miles…according to google.

More Austin Info

Good Morning,
I recently met a man who lives in Austin. I mentioned a group of us were going to be there soon, so he sent me a list of some places we may be interested in, including a running store.
Have a great day,
Melinda

Regarding your trip to Austin - a few good spots:
Food:
Hula Hut - www.hulahut.com (tex mex - a must in Austin)
Olivia - www.olivia-austin.com (little bit of everything - one of my favorite places)
Salt Lick - www.saltlickbbq.com (bbq)
Chuy's - www.chuys.com (tex mex)
Maudie's - www.maudies.com (tex mex)
Uchi - www.uchiaustin.com (sushi)
Kenichi - www.kenichiaustin.com (sushi)
Bars:
-Anywhere on 6th or 4th Street
-Gingerman - www.gingermanpub.com
Running Stores:
-RunTex - www.runtex.com

Thursday Run

Who is up for a run Thursday evening? My schedule is for six miles, but I think some of you are planning on running eight. I have an appointment in Issaquah that will probably be done around 6.

Whidbey 1/2 marathon

march 29th is the whidbey marathon. I did the half last year and it is a beautiful course. The hotel I stayed at last year has a promo right now for return racers. I was wondering if anyone else is interested in running this year. If so - I am willing to reserve a couple rooms on the night of the 28th at the coupeville inn www.thecoupevilleinn.com/ . It is about a 20 minute drive from the start - but is down by the water. The course is different this year then last - but I am sure it is still fairly hilly.
www.whidbeyislandmarathon.com/

Questions

I assume monday night per the ususal - who's in?
Who wants to plan thursday's run this week? 8 miles? who's planning on being there?
Saturday - who is going to Mt Vernon for the half? wanna carpool?
Saturday - sounds like Emily and Andrew are planning an in town run - who's going?

Austin - Emily was gracious enough to take care of our saturday night pre race dinner. Does anyone have any preference for our sunday night celebration dinner? Do we want to pick a place and make a reservation? Or plan it when we get there - since sunday night - shouldn't be as difficult to find someplace as saturday was.

Emily Post - found two dinner possibilities!

I found two choices for dinner on the 14th and I made reservations for 12 at both. The first is Romeo’s, which is about 1 mile from the hotel. The other is Sagra, which is about 1.7 miles from the hotel. Take a look at the menus and let me know what you think. Also, feel free to opt out of dinner if you would prefer room service or the pre-race pasta dinner. I’ll tally the votes, and then let everyone know the results.

1) Romeos
2) Sagra
3) Count me out

January 25 Port Ludlow

Hello all,

I hope your training is going well. We did our first brick with the TNT group today. Amazingly we stayed dry.

Next weekend I will be in Arizona running the 1/2 marathon. I am sure there is still room if any of you want to join me!!

Since I will be gone next weekend I wanted to check with all of you on details for the 25th. First I need to know how many coming are vegetarians and how many eat meat.

The second question is what time do you want to start? If we base the start time on the schedule for the Edmonds/Kingston Ferry we have the following options for Sunday morning Ferries:

7:10; 8:40; 9:20; 10:10; and 10:45.

If you take this Ferry the crossing is about 30 minutes and then the drive to our house is about 25 minutes so we could start the run at a minimum 1 hour after the scheduled departure of the Ferry.

My recommendation is that you take the 8:40 boat or drive around (takes about 2 hours from Seattle) and arrive at about 9:40 and we start the run at about 10:00.

I look forward to seeing you all on the 25th, or earlier at swim practice on Monday night.

Nookachamps half marathon

The update on the home page for the Nookachamps half marathon says that the race should run without any changes and it's supposed to continue drying out so all looks good. We can register online for $25 until Monday the 12th, then it goes up to $30. This does not include a shirt but sweatshirts and L/S shirts can be purchased for $25 & 15 respectively. The course map does not show an elevation profile but the description says "mostly flat."

Mt. Vernon is about an hour north of downtown Seattle so we'll want to carpool as much as possible if we do decide to go. Race starts at 10 AM so we wouldn't need to leave Seattle until 8-8:15 unless people are registering that morning. 

Thoughts on this? If we vote not to do it, I'm totally cool with that but I may head up on my own. I'd like to do a 'race' to see where I'm at speed wise. If you have an opinion either way, please comment ASAP so we can take advantage of the $25 entry.

www.nookachamps.com

Post from Emily - Some restaurant suggestions from an Austin-ite

My friend’s sister lives in Austin, and gave the following recommendations near our hotel(s)…

Guero's Mexican food- They have an outside bar where you can drink and listen to live music. The food is authentic Mexican and the atmosphere feels like you're in Mexico. It's very lively and fun. This may be the perfect place to go after the race because I'm sure they'll have music and ya'll will feel like you’re at a party. www.guerostacobar.com

Home Slice Pizza - GREAT pizza and atmosphere. I felt like I was in New York or Boston. Lots of fun. It's just across the street from Guero's. www.homeslicepizza.com

Continental Club- One of the best places to see really good live music in Austin. It's been here forever. The music is always good even if you don't know who is playing. No food, it's just a bar. (One time I went there to see a band and Bonnie Raitt came up to play a few songs). It's one of those kind of places where you never know who may show up. Love, love, love the Continental. Also, Botticelli's is right next to it. www.continentalclub.com www.botticellissouthcongress.com

Magnolia Cafe- Now, THIS is an Austin original. It's open 24/7 and they have really good food. Sometimes at the South location the service can be mediocre. I've waited for a table at 2:30 in the morning more than once. Great place to go if you "need" food or are hungover. www.cafemagnolia.com

Speaking of hungover- Zax Pints and Plates is right by ya'lls hotel. They have a bloody mary bar where you can make your own. They have good brunch items and we've had dinner there too. It was also really good. The atmosphere is lively and happy. www.zaxaustin.com

Threadgills - Another Austin Icon. They usually have live music. We went there for Sunday brunch not long ago and heard a really good gospel group. They have true, blue southern comfort food. It's been here forever. Janis Joplin played at the other location, that tells you how long they've been here. www.threadgills.com

Jo's Coffee- This is across the street from Continental. It's just a little walk up coffee bar that makes a really good cup of Jo. Jo's is our local Starbucks... www.joscoffee.com

Also, a local website that has city info is: www.austin360.com

A fun thing to do right across the street from your hotel is to watch the bats fly out from under the Congress Bridge. Just ask the hotel and they can let you know. It's interesting. They fly out at dusk. Anywhere you go they will probably have a little newspaper called the Chronicle. It has everything that's going on in Austin on a weekly basis. You should pick one up and the hotel may even have them. They're free.

Post From Emily - Dinner Reservation Issues

I am having quite a challenge finding a place for 12 for on the Saturday before the marathon. I have had a few restaurants tell me that can’t accommodate that many people, a few say they are booked, and one that doesn’t take reservations for under 15, but they won’t take reservations on Valentines Day. I’ll keep trying but we may start need to think about other options (eg, spliting up, figure it out when we get there, or do the race pasta dinner (which is $30 per person).

Onionman

So registration opened yesturday for onionman. I know many of us have talked about going again. But since Whitman college graduation is the same day - housing is going to be tight. I emailed Susan and she told me we can have the house again - but I need to put down a non refundable deposit to reserve it. So I am trying to find out how many people think they might go this year. if I don't get interest from at least 10 people it won't be worth it to put down a deposit on such a large house. I emailed the victoria google group as well. And I know we have all talked to others that might be interested - so please let me know.
thanks

Saturday 1-10

Well, it looks like most people voted to do 2 loops of Youngs lake. Ya'll really like pain don't cha? Probably the better choice anyways since the cedar river trail is probably flooded at 3-4 spots as it runs right along the edge of the river at several spots.
Shall we set up a self serve water stop at our cars? I can bring an ice chest - that we can put in extra waters, gatorade , energy bars, gu's, IBprofen? And if we do one lap each directions - then we'll at least see each other once out there.
Let's start at 9am. Who's planning on coming? And for those of you who occastionally join us - feel free to come and only run one loop - we won't torture you with two - but would love to have you join us!

thursday night

okay - so do we want to run lake union? OR.... do we want to run Andrews run from the monopoly houses to leshi? OR.... does anyone else have a suggestion? Please let me know if you plan on coming, and vote on where you want to run. And tonight I will total the votes and pick a run.

My new "best" friends

Let me introduce you to my new "best" friends

1) Epsom Salts - soaking aid for tired/sore feet (and toes). you have to use a lot if you want to take a bath - but two cups in a gallon of water is plenty to soak your feet.

2) Emily - for sending me this link to a runner's world article with five ways to lace your running shoes to relieve nagging foot pain. It even includes videos to help me. You all should check it out - it may help you too!

3) Eric - at the balanced athlete in Kent who fit me in new shoes (that feel better as far as I can tell) and helped me with my running form.

Thanks to my new best friends, I no longer want to quit running (which is how I felt on Sat afternoon and Sunday). Hopefully my toe will continue to heal (it feels much better today - I'm no longer wearing sandals in the snow) and I can break in the new shoes and get my training back on track for Austin.

Flights to Austin

Not sure who still needs to book their ticket to Austin, but I just checked Expedia and prices are $260 including taxes. A couple weeks ago they were over $300 so now might be a good time to buy.

Lodging in Austin

Right now we have 2 rooms at the Embassy Suites. One room has a King Bed in the bedroom and a pull out sofa in the suite and other has 2 Double Beds in the Bedroom and a sofa in the suite. These rooms are $188.60 per night including tax, breakfast, and snacks in the afternoon. Emily and Andrew also have a separate room at this hotel.

I did not cancel the original (2) rooms with double beds in them at the Hyatt at $182.85 including tax per night, just in case.

Both hotels are within 1/2 mile of the start.

I believe the following people need a room: Mary Kate, Lee, Lee's sister, Sarah H, Jen, Lauren,Melinda, me and Jeff. Please confirm or let me know if I have left someone out.

Pre-race Pasta

Are people interested in getting together for a pre-race pasta dinner on Saturday, 14 Feb? I think we should make reservations sooner rather than later since it is Valentine’s Day in addition to the thousands o’ people running the marathon… After we get near-accurate headcount, we can send out a few restaurant options and we can take a vote. (We are consulting with Austin locals on Italian restaurants.)

back on track?....

Hopefully all this new snow will melt by monday night ( so tired of the snow - not exactly motivating)
alright then:
Monday night 645 greenlake - speedwork? - to be determined by those who show up - who's planning on being there?

And then who would like to plan the other runs this week?
We need a 6-8 mile run on thrusday night.
And saturday I think we are due for 18 miles?