Rain, Rain Go Away

Day 34
Alton Baker Park
30 minutes

My shins started bugging me again today. It was really painful. I went to Nike and got a pair of Free Runs so hopefully those will help fix the problem. I also worked out at the gym today so I was a little tired for my run. I didn't eat before I ran- bad idea. It was like trying to push a car with an e-brake on.


Day 33
Fiddle Creek
30 minutes

My so called running buddies leaving me in the dust! How nice huh? haha

Just some things I saw on my run today!!

Spring Fling

Day 32
The Parental Units House
30 minutes

Today I got a massage from Michelle at Pacific Moon Massage and it was amazing! I felt like a lot of tension was shed off of me. Since she put a little more pressure on my legs I decided to hit the treadmill to make sure I didn't mess up the progress that was made on my legs. I turned on the TV to keep my mind some what entertained and I ended up watching How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. I had to list some of my favorite quotes from that movie:
I find this one particularly funny-after some of my own personal experiences it's not only women that do this.
"Andie: No! I'm going to limit myself to doing everything girls do wrong in relationships. Basically, everything we know guys hate. I'll be clingy, needy..."

Andie: It's our love fern! Oh, Bennie-boo-boo, boo-boo.

Andie: I love you Binky... but I don't have to like you right now.

Andie: Does Princess Sophia want to come out and play?
Ben: Who's Princess Sophia?
Andie: Little, big, little, big... I don't know... we will find out!
Andie: C'mon, blow. Nobody likes a Mr. Sniffles.
Tony: Yeah, uh, I hate Mr. Sniffles.

haha I love this movie.
So good run for a treadmill. I'm really enjoying being home with the family.

Day 31
North Jetty!
30 minutes

I didn't really get to celebrate my half way point yesterday so I thought what better way to "celebrate" than a beach run. I ran with the wind on the way there and against it on the way back. Besides the wind the beach was beautiful. There were some dark rain clouds but rain had yet to fall. It had been so long since I have been to the beach. It was really refreshing. I didn't go as long as I wanted to because of a couple pains here and there that I didn't want to aggravate. I'm getting a massage tomorrow (a light one not a deep tissue) that I am hoping will push those aches and pains out. After my run I sat on a piece of driftwood and just enjoyed the sight. I wish I would have appreciated it more when I lived here. I'm itching for summer- beach bon fires, camping, and skim boarding. I never thought I would say this but I love this town. Don't tell anyone. ;)


Day 30 HALF WAY DONE!(maybe)
Barger Area
45 minutes

I was going to have a busy day so I was up and running pretty quick this morning. I had Volunteers in Medicine today and then a drive to Florence. I really wanted to celebrate my half way point in style but I wasn't sure if I would make it to town in the daylight hours so I just jumped up and ran this morning.
On a good note: I think I am in a lot better shape than I was 30 days ago. I have a better running mentality. I do it because I enjoy it. It is such a huge stress reliever. I look forward to my long runs even if I am running them alone. I am working on doing one at least once a week but I would really like to bump it up to two or three. I am going to see how the start of this term goes and go from there. But I really think I'm gettin the love back. It's something that's constant in my life. Every day changes but at least I know I'm going to be running everyday for at least 30 minutes. I need some consistency in my life.

Lazy Day... kinda

Day 29
Barger Area
30 minutes

There was a news broadcast that there was a sex offender loose over in the Alton Baker so I decided to keep to the well traveled road by my house, especially since I was going to be running alone. I found the prettiest street with my favorite trees blooming! It made for great scenery! My legs were a little sore and stiff from the longer run yesterday so I decided to take it easy. It was a good run.
PS.... I'll be half way to my goal tomorrow
 

The sun is shining, the tank is clean...

Day 28
Alton Baker Park
60 minutes 

Since today was such a beautiful day I decided to drive out to Alton Baker to do my run and since I had spare time today I wanted to get another long run in. It is the perfect place to do it. I ran from the beginning of Pre's Trail in the parking lot of Alton Baker all the way over to Springfield's Island Park. It was great, although not as much fun as running with a friend, but still very good. The last ten minutes or so my lungs started acting up but this is the first time I have noticed since I started running. Maybe something in the air. It was a beautiful day completed with a beautiful run! 

Day 27
Tredmill
30 minutes

I had to get up at 6am in order to get my run in today and since it was still dark out I didn't want to run outside. Better safe than sorry so I ran on the treadmill at my apartment's gym. Talk about boring! The picture is one I took on another run awhile ago but I thought I would put it on here. Aren't they cute!! I got the weirdest look from someone at the bus stop when I was taking the picture too. Probably thought I was crazy haha maybe he was right. :)

Finding Beauty in the Little Things

Day 26
Echo Hollow Bike path
35 minutes

While I'm running there are so many things going through my head. It really helps me think and get my thoughts in order and while I was running today I starting thinking about the things around me. I am so go go go all the time I hardly stop to admire my surroundings. So today I took a couple of pictures of things that were beautiful or unique. They're not breath-taking like the top of a mountain but beautiful in their own way.

 So I'm working on slowing it down and taking the time to appreciate the world around me because you only live once.
“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.” Albert Einstein 

Also while I was running on the bike path I found a little park!  It has a bark trail that goes around it that would be amazing for repeats! I don't know how long the loop is. I think it's a little larger than 400 meters but really cool to find. It takes about 12-14 minutes to get there so perfect warm up and cool down to and from.

Work out time? We'll see!!

We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals. Immanual Kant

Day 25
Barger Area
40 minutes

I was exploring the bike path that I found a few runs ago and I was really enjoying it. Until I came across two of the most beautiful kitties! First thought is aww how cute next thought is they have no collars. One of the cats was very young looking, maybe around 6-9 months old and when I bent down to pet it, it tried nursing on my hand. This literally broke my heart. I don't normally use the word hate for anyone or anything but  I hate people who abandon their pets. It's not fair to the animals to be put out on the streets because their owner gets tired of them. Then comes the issue that people don't spay and neuter them so that alone causes more animals to become strays. I have so much compassion for these animals and I want to help is every way I can but I am only one person. A college student at that so I can only do so much. It broke my heart to leave these two cats alone on a bike path beside Beltline unsure if they have any food.
That was kind of a tangent of mine, it is by far my biggest pet peeve and if I could adopt all the strays I would. It is actually one of my life goals to have an animal rescue.
On another side note my new favorite website is Calorie Count besides counting the intake and output of calories this site tells you what nutrients you're lacking in your diet. It's really informational and is helping me eat the right foods with the right vitamins and minerals in them. I got a B today because of high sodium (thanks to a bouillon cube). I recommend the site even if you don't have weight loss goals because it is really helping me stay on track with my nutrition.

Death Week

Day 24 
60 minutes
Alton Baker
No picture for today but I had another awesome buddy run with Tara! It's crazy how 60 minutes feels like 20 when your running with a friend. The time just flew by. We were going a pretty decent pace the whole way too. It was a great way to get our run in and talk. It's interesting my running shoes have been making my feet go numb a little bit and Tara said she had the same issue with the same shoes. Maybe it's time to start transferring into some Frees.

 
Day 23
30 minutes- 1,2,2,1
Alton Baker 

When it hit 5 o'clock and I was driving to go do my run I seriously was dreading it. It was cold and had been raining on and off. My original plan was to go to Ridgeline but I went the wrong way when I was driving there so I ended up at UO. I just went through Alton Baker from there. I decided to do a set of minutes. Just 1,2,2,1 but enough to get my legs moving. I turned out I felt much better after my run than I did before even though I didn't feel like doing it.
 

Day 22
35 minutes
Amazon

Buddy Run!!

Another dreary day in Eugene! I was really lucky and got to run with Tara today! It's crazy how fast the time goes when you're talking to someone! It was a great time to catch up and get our run in! We ran at S. Eugene again and there happened to be a track meet going on. I saw the LCC distance team there (not sure if they were competing or just for a workout). It was kind of exciting to be surrounded by so many runners. 
It was a beautiful morning, hardly any rain but go figure as soon as we get ten minutes into our run it started pouring. I kind of liked it today since it wasn't very cold. 
Today's run reminded me of buddy runs that we did in high school. We didn't get to do them very often but I still remember my buddy run with Gretchen Dunning one day.  Very good memories from those runs! And of course the exploratory runs where we found a camp ground where the homeless (?) had been living. 
Nice to break up the monotony of running alone and get to catch up with a good friend.


Day 21
48:20 miutes
Rexius Loop from S. Eugene

Picture taken from [#J361] Reporting One Blog 

I wasn't thinking as I was deleting pictures out of my phone and I deleted my pictures from today before they got through sending to my email. Apparently, if you delete them before they are finished sending- they don't send!! Lesson learned- So I lost my pictures for the day but I ran Rexius trail from S. Eugene High School.

I ran the whole trail for the first time in my running career!!

Unlike in the beautiful picture the trail was a huge mess. My shoes are trashed and I had mud all the way up to my back! It was so soggy in spots that I had to turn around and find another way to go around. Beautiful "trail". I didn't realize that it connected into Ridgeline! When did that happen? I must be behind the times. I got really excited when I saw the two trail signs at the end on Martin Street (I think it was).  

My shins are feeling SO much better! It is such a relief!  I am still having some tightness in my calves but it's getting better too. I felt really good today! And I finished my run, I think it's about 6 miles, in approx 48 minutes, which is 8 minute pace. I was pretty happy with myself! 

And the best part about it was at the end of the run I got to see my girl Tara Krempley doing a workout on S. Eugene Track! It was a great surprise! 

SUCCESS!  

 

Day 20
35 minutes
Barger Area

It is the dreaded FINALS WEEK! A week full of studying, stress, and A LOT of coffee. Luckily, running helps relieve some of that stress! I really wanted to run at Amazon today but it just didn't fit into the schedule and to be honest I was scared to run it at night by myself... surprising I know ;) so I stayed close to home.  I found a little gravel track in a school yard which was pretty cool. Then I got kinda worried about getting called in for being a "stranger" on a school campus so I hauled outta there. For a while it was really pretty though!

Since I took off out of the school zone I found another path that I had never taken. I'm pretty sure it just makes it over to Santa Clara/River Road area but I am going to investigate further next time but I didn't want to do long run on the cement. Good run! I can feel that I have a good base now I just need to make the time to bump up my mileage!

Home Is Where The Heart Is

Day 19
45 minutes
HOME!
Soooo I was a complete baby this morning when I saw the weather and really didn't want to go out in it so I decided to wait and see if it got better... BAD idea. The weather didn't get any better. In fact it got worse. By the time I had my running clothes on it was thunder and lightning outside! Exciting? Yes. But scary to run in for sure so I bummed out and decided to run on the treadmill (don't judge me!!) I got a good work out in! Kinda bummed I didn't get to hit any of the trails this weekend but once I was at my parents house I didn't want to leave. Something about home makes the heart feel good... maybe a couple pictures can explain :)

Where I Come From

We're Duck Fans :)

This is why I don't want to go anywhere once I get home...

Who would when you see this out your window?

Plus it was so nice to get to spend a small amount of time with my family I didn't want to miss any extra time driving to trails... I need to come home more. 

Day 18 
35 minutes
Les Schwab, Miller Park, 35th, Les Schwab
Since I didn't get to do my beach run yesterday I had thought that I would run the beach today. Well my car had other plans. I woke up and started driving from a friends house out to North Jetty when I noticed something weird was going on. I got out and walked around my car only to find a flat tire. Annoying right? I got the spare on, with help, and took it to Les Schwab. I really wanted to get my run over with so I decided to run from there. Third day on cement so probably not the best idea but my shins don't feel too horrible. It was pouring down rain which made it kind of fun. On a side note- BEST buy ever for running- a north face water poof jacket (shell). I run in it almost everyday. A must have. 

 As I was running I ran by the track that I ran at in high school. Oh the memories... the 6:58am practices, the workouts, the meets. The Golden Days... if only I would have realized it. 


Day 17
30 minutes
Fiddle Creek!

So my original idea was to run on the beach today... but seeing as mother nature had other ideas I ran at my house. I've been really  home sick since this is the first time I've been home since January. There is something about running at home that beats any place in Eugene, soft surface or not. 
Since it wasn't on soft surfaces I didn't want to go too long so I did an "active" recovery day. My mom and Ruby (the pup) went with me.



...trying this new fad called uh, jogging. I believe it's jogging or yogging. It might be a soft j. I'm not sure but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It's supposed to be wild. Ron Burgundy

Day 16
35 minutes
Route: Hendricks-Fremont-Birch-Hendricks.

Coolest part about my run today?

 I found Pre's Rock! 

As I was driving up the Hendrick's Park to run I saw the sign to Pre's Rock. I followed the crazy hill to see it.  (Oh and I was most definitely going the wrong way the other day when I started looking for it.) By the time I had parked I decided I wanted to tackle the hill on Birch street and just go for it. 
I made it up the hill... pretty proud of myself since I've mostly been running on flat surfaces. I stopped at Pre's rock and was so inspired by all the little things people had left to honor one of the greatest runners of all time. I made a little cross with branches that I found and left my hair tie there and then went about my run. 

Another cool thing about my run today...

My shins didn't hurt too bad! It was amazing! I guess ice baths really do work. Imagine that! I'm working on keepin up the little things and they seem to be helping!

 

Hands down best thing about my run today...

I got my first runners "high" since high school. 

It was the most amazing thing. I didn't want to stop. I felt like I could run for hours. It truly reminded my of why I'm doing this and why I love running so much in the first place.

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." Steve Prefontaine

Doing the little things: 
I have been having some pretty bad shin splints so I'm working on doing the little things to keep myself healthy. I took my second ice bath today... with 3 bags of ice in the bath tub. Completely miserable for about 3 minutes then it wasn't so bad. I had some Glee to keep my mind off of the coldness.  I also remembered something that we would do in high school to help out our legs- putting our feet up! As I was laying there it brought back SO many memories... putting our feet up at the state meet, our band aids to remember that everyone is hurting during the race, Johnson never yelling during races but talking quietly and each one of us could hear him. Getting pissed off because we had to do 200 cutdowns after a work out and I was really tired.
I wish I wasn't in such a hurry to grow up because those are some of the best memories I have. These memories are helping me find the love for running again. 
Workin on the little things... It's a work in progress

 


Day 15:
Pre's Trail
Minutes: 1, 2, 2, 1 (30 min w/ warm up and cool down)

My shins are feeling so much better after the ice bath that I took last night. My calves are still really tight and cramping for some reason. Maybe not enough water? I did a short minutes workout. I had a hard time keeping the off (65%) honest but it's a start! I ran at Pre's trail again because it's right by campus, it's on soft surfaces, and is for the most part a safe place to run alone. This picture is of my favorite part in the trail. It's only like two seconds long but I love it. 

 

The beginning: Days 1-15

Takin Care of Business
Ice bath time! I just wish I had the little booties to keep the toes warm!

Day 14: 
Pre's Trail
35 minutes w/ pick up.

I may not have been able to find Pre's Rock I found his trail!
Don't mess with the geese!

Day 13:
Hendrick's Park.
43 minutes.

Do they do shin replacements?

Day 12:
Alton Baker.
45 minutes.

Beautiful day for a run! Bumpin up the mileage!! Proud to live in Track Town USA :)

Day 11:
Amazon.
30 minutes.

I finally feel like I'm getting a good base in! I feel good! I think I'm gonna start boosting either the intensity or the mileage. Not sure which yet. Great way to start off a Saturday morning!

Day 10:
Inside.
35 minutes.

By the time I was able to run it was late, dark, raining, and I didn't have a running buddy so I took it to the treadmill. REALLY boring but hey I got it done!

Day 9:
UO Campus.
30 minutes.

I was in desperate need for some trail therapy on my legs and didn't have time to go to an actual trail but campus had me covered. This tiny trail gave me a glimpse of what I'm missing at home.

Day 8: 
Barger Area
30 minutes.

I was having a hard time gettin my booty outta the door tonight and I found my motivation in the T-Shirt I got at the end of my first 60 day running spree from my coach Mr. Travis Floeck. Thanks Travis for helping me stay on track and keepin me motivated!! Every damn day.

On another note the loop that I did tonight took me 16 minutes, it used to take me over 20 minutes. :) Seeing little improvements everyday.

Keeping this in mind:
"You just have to finally get to the point where you no longer accept your own excuses." - a reminder from Chris Johnson

Day 7:
Alton Baker River Trail.
35 minutes.

Lucked out and got sunny weather!! If only this was on a trail and not cement it woulda been perfect :)

Day 6:
Campus-Alton Baker.
30 minutes.

Who needs coffee when you've got wind and rain to wake you up.
Go Ducks!

Day 5:
Amazon/Rexius.
40 minutes.

Not my favorite place but I was able to see what pace I've been goin! Better than I thought! Nice to get off the pavement. Brings back a lot of memories from Lane XC.

Day 4:
40 minutes.
Dorris Ranch.

This reminded me of how much fun exploratory runs are.

Gettin Brave.

Day 3:
30 minutes
Alton Baker Park

Run around the river!

Day 2:
30 minutes
Fremont/Hendrick's Park.

Lovely 68 degrees! Going down was just as fun!

Day 1:
30 minutes
Barger Bike Path

I see Aslan?
Really who has a lion statue in their back yard? lol

When I think of high school I think of cross country and track. I miss competing and even the workouts. I miss our long runs where we'd play games to keep us entertained. Morning lifting... All of it. There are so many good memories from getting second at state freshman year to senior year at Nike Team Nationals and Border Clash. Best years of my life so far. I keep the memories close.