Dream Big: Reviving my Marathon Dreams!

Every year, I like to reflect on another year of running and the best races of the year.  This year, my favorite races include some amazing bling and so I've rated my Top 10 Bling of the Year!  It was a really tough year to decide on my favorites as I added so many awesome medals to the collection. #10 - Snohomish River Run Half Marathon and 10K medal. I ran the half marathon, but those of both distances get the same medal. I kind of like having a unique one for the half marathon distance, but they did a nice job with this medal and it is really big bling!  This race is run by Snohomish Running Company and they had a choice of soup at the finish line, which helped us warm up. #9 - One of my favorite annual events is the Hop Hop Half Marathon and they seriously have the best perks after the race - mimosas, hot breakfast, it's pretty amazing!  The medal this year was a popular spinning medal of their mascot.  Another cute touch at this race is the ...

Living in the Pacific Northwest, I can easily talk myself out of a good workout during the rainy winter months.  But, sometimes the right workout outfit can help spark the motivation to run or even dress them up for an evening out.  As a Skirt Sports Ambassador, I've had the chance to try many of the styles and have fallen in love with them.  I thought it might be helpful to share my Top 5 winter workout items from the Skirt Sports collections. #5 - Wrapsody This is my go to skirt/legging combo and has a nice little gathering at the bottom of the legging, which makes it work for short girls.  The skirt is a bit longer too, so I like to wear it for running and for dressing up. #4 - Skirt Sports Beanies!  I absolutely adore the beanies and they have two new designs I can't wait to wear!  Excuse the "not impressed" face, this was taken when Mississippi Blues was canceled for ice and I ended up being stuck all alone in Jackson, MS. #3 - Wo...

The holiday season has arrived way too quickly, where in the world did the year go? This year has been more stressful than in the past.  Trying to juggle work deadlines, meetings, kid's activities, family birthdays, buying the perfect gifts, trips to the post office, and preparing for the holidays can become very overwhelming.  It becomes a Stress Storm!  How do you cope with the stress storm? Enter the temptations and I'm not talking about the singing group.  I'm talking about the Peppermint Mochas... Chestnut Praline Lattes... Hot Chocolate with marshmallows... Chocolates in Christmas packages... Pies, Cakes, Fudge... Oops, chocolate covered cherries, gingerbread cookies and eggnog also hopped into my shopping cart... The temptations are endless, right?  So many temptations! Who doesn't love chocolate and cupcakes? There's a simple solution - just don't buy any of it!  Well, that's not realistic and restricting yourself from the fun...

Portland Marathon I haven't completed a full marathon since 2005 and when I tried again in 2006, I was medically pulled from the course at mile 22.  I felt I had unfinished business, but I've had a very inconsistent training season.  The interruptions of very hot weather over the summer, fires that caused unhealthy air quality and my nagging hip/sciatic issue has led to running some half marathons and hardly doing any training during the week.  So, needless to say, on the ride down to Portland, I was TERRIFIED!  So terrified, I nearly walked up to the information booth to switch to the half marathon.  But, I kept thinking...how would I feel if I dropped down.  I would feel disappointed for sure, sad that I let my confidence waiver, and I would be SO behind on long run training for NYC too. So, I tried to calm my nerves and prepare for the long day.  I was in the last corral, very last one.  I observed those gathering in to our holding area...

I had a monumental task ahead of me, drive about 2.5 hours north of home in the early hours of the more, complete a 6 hour endurance run and then drive about 3 hours home (traffic picked up by then).  I left home bright and early before the sun was even up and nerves were building up as I hadn't run more than 13.1 miles in the past 12 years!  Those little whispers of doubt were setting in but I needed to do this. I needed to prove to myself that I was strong enough to do it. When I arrived, I was thankful to see that the course was around this beautiful lake, Lake Padden in Bellingham, Washington.  I had never been there but the views on the entire course were very pretty.  I'm not typically a fan of loop courses and this one is a 2.6 mile around the lake for each loop.  Doing this for nearly 6 hours sounds boring, but somehow the trail was enough to keep you distracted and taking in the beautiful nature around you that it didn't seem annoying.  I...

Race 1: Oregon Summer Half Marathon I've done plenty of back to back 10K and Half Marathons and thought that was my limit but in July, I took on a new challenge and decided to try a double half marathon weekend.  The first race was the Oregon Summer Half Marathon put on by Uberthons and honestly, it was a beautiful run!  They shuttled us to the top of this hill in a state park, lush scenery all around and an awesome downhill start!  The race was extremely organized.  The photo below is from the start line. Wearing my Skirt Sport Mod Quad in Clarity print   I honestly give Uberthons an above and beyond award and this is why.  I was driving from about 2.5 hours away and arrived at 10 p.m. that night when packet pick-up ended hours earlier.  I happened to book a room at the hotel where they were hosting packet pick-up and I very apologetically asked if it might be possible to leave my packet at the front desk.  Not expecting a positi...

I've had a tough training year so far with a nagging IT Band issue and continued pain along the sciatic nerve.  So, I hadn't trained as well as I wanted for the Grand Teton Half, Yellowstone 5K, and Yellowstone Half Marathon.  They were back to back events, so no time for much rest in between. Grand Teton Half Marathon Before the half marathon, we spent a day exploring Grand Teton National Park.  It was so beautiful and we hiked around a little lake.  I was really happy to see snow still on the peaks and in the parking lots in places too!  I could tell the elevation was getting tougher on my lungs as we did some light hiking.  It made me a little nervous for race day.  We hung out in Jackson Hole downtown area where we had some really awesome food!  We even found an awesome dessert spot with very fancy looking chocolates.  Jackson Hole is an interesting town, definitely sprinkled with that old west feel.  Th...