Monday, May 28, 2012

22 miles - Wear Blue Runs for the Fallen Memorial Day Run

Today I ran 22 miles to remember the service and sacrifice of our Soldiers.

Calling out the names of our Fallen Soldiers

I started by calling out the names of the fallen Soldiers who died May 28th 2001-2011

LCPL Peter James Clore
SPC Adams Scott Hamilton
PFC Chad Michael Trimle
CPL Alexandre Alexandrovich Alexeev
CPL Zachary David Baker
1STSGT Michael Scott Barnhill
SSG Kenneth Ray Bradley
CPL Junior Cedeno Sanchez
CW2 Theodore Uland Chruch
SGT Anthony David Ewing
1LT Keith Neil Heidtman
SSG Thomas Michael Mcfall
SPC Jose Amancio III Perez
SPC Phillip Nicholas Sayles
MAJ Mathew Earl Schram
LTC Albert Eugene Smart
CPL James Eugene III Summers
1LT Kile Grant West

Then I called out the names of the Soldiers I was specifically running for

 SGT Tom Troy
CPT John Hallett
SPC Dennis Williams
SPC Kevin Graham
SPC Kyle Coumas
 CPT William Jacobsen
SSG Robert Johnson
SPC Lionel Ayro
SPC Clint Gertson
1SG Michael Bordelon
SGT Roberty Ayres III
SGT Christopher Sanders
LT Garrison Avery

Ready to run to remember
Your service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.



Gene's friends and Soldiers from 1-17 who didn't make it home with him. We will never forget you.

Thank you to everyone who pledged their miles to run in honor of our heroes today. With your help, every one of the 6,470 American Military Members who made the ultimate sacrifice were remembered. Total miles tallied so far is 13,780 and there are still more numbers coming in.

Thank you for taking the time to remember.



Wednesday, May 23, 2012

6,460 miles - A mile for every life lost on the Global War on Terror

I promise I'll get to my race recap by the end of the week, I just wanted to share with you something that is very important to me.

---------

6,460
The number of American Service Members who have died in the Global War on Terror.


Memorial Day, for many, marks the end of a 3 day weekend, shopping sales and backyard BBQ's.
But this Memorial Day, before you enjoy that time with your family, I ask that you join me in remembering and honoring the Heroes who gave their all for the Unites States of America. Join me in remembering the gravity of the sacrifice these men and women made. In remembering that these Soldiers had names, families and stories.

This is not about politics, religion or your views about war. It's about honoring and remembering the service and sacrifice these men and women made.

This Memorial Day, I ask that you run or walk a mile, or more, in honor of the 6,460 Soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

All you have to do is pledge your miles HERE

I have pledged 22 miles.
21 of those miles for the number of years Gene was in service.
12 of those miles for 12 of Gene's Soldiers and friends
and the last mile, mile 22, for all the families that have lost a loved one in the Global War on Terror.

Want to join a Wear Blue Run's For the Fallen group run?
 Go HERE for events happening all across the US 
Already have a run planned that day? Then just pledge your miles and run.

You don't have to have a specific Soldier to run for. All you have to do is run to remember their sacrifice.

5,462 miles have been pledged so far.




How many miles will you pledge?

Friday, May 18, 2012

Brave the Run!

Tomorrow I'll be running the Idaho Potato Half Marathon




It's a flat race so i'm hoping to be around the 2 hour mark. We'll see. I took 11 days off from running after the Lake Lowell Marathon. Initially cause the week got busy and I never got out the door. But then I decided it would do my left leg some good. Posterior shin splints are still bothering me :(
I went for a 4 mile run this past Thursday. Even woke up early to run before work! Yay me! They still hurt but not to bad. I'm thinking time off is what they need. After Seattle RnR Marathon I'm going to give them a little rest and not run for a few weeks. Hopefully that will do the trick and I can come back and finish the rest of the year strong.


Here's a sneak peek at my outfit for tomorrow

That's the back of the shirt.

I'm going to check out itunes for some new music and make sure my ipod is actually charged this time!

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!


See Jane Run Half Marathon Winner!!!

Thank you to everyone who entered!
You all had some really great and inspiring reasons for why you run.

I wanted to keep this fair and used random number generator to pick the winner.

And the winner is...




Hope you're ready to run for chocolate and champagne!

Please email me at cynthia.runs@gmail.com



Thursday, May 17, 2012

Last chance to enter!!


Just a quick post to say today's the last day to enter the Boise See Jane Run half marathon giveaway!!

Click HERE to enter.
Make sure you check back tomorrow to see who gets to run for chocolate and champagne!



Monday, May 14, 2012

See Jane Run Half Marathon GIVEAWAY

Last year I ran the Boise See Jane Run Half Marathon and set my current PR of 1:53:24




I love going back and re-reading that recap. Not only was it a 10 minute PR, but it was also the first time I ran a half marathon in under 2 hours! I was so proud of myself that day. Looking back at it I remember how hard I pushed myself and how happy I was once I crossed the finish line.  So happy to get my medal that I worked hard for and of course to get my glass of champagne and chocolates!


The runners high I got from that race lasted for weeks. In fact it lead my to a 10 minute PR at Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon a week later!

There was no doubt that this race was on my list to run again this year. So when See Jane Run contacted me asking if I wanted to be their Boise race ambassador of course I said YES! 

So what does that mean for all of you?

How about a chance to win a free entry to the Boise See Jane Run Half Marathon and run it with me? Okay so you don't have to run it with me if you don't want to :)

To be entered to win you must answer the follow question....

What do you run for?

Extra entries if you Facebook, blog or tweet about it (Leave a separate comment for each)
Include @seejanerunsport and @cynthiaruns if you tweet about it.

Contest will be open till midnight on Thursday May 17th.
I will announce the winner on Friday May 18th so be sure to check back!


*See Jane Run provided me with an entry to this race as well as one to giveaway. The opinions expressed are my own.





Thursday, May 10, 2012

3 things that I'm loving and one that I'm not

Loving....

1. My son's 1 mile time for this year...


He ran it in 7:40 and got second place (8 seconds behind the first place kid)
Last year he ran it in 8:10 (and got first place) so he's improved a lot!

2. The awesome dinner Gene made for us tonight.


Corn on the cob, grilled steak, salad and homemade vinaigrette dressing and watermelon for dessert! Perfect!! Oh and a glass of white wine :) 

3. My New Balance 890's I just got in the mail this past Tuesday.


Gotta love FREE running shoes!
I won these from Racing with Babes courtesy of Online Shoes.


What I'm not loving?

The fact that I haven't gone on a run since Saturday :(
Wasn't intentionally planned. The week just goes by so fast I feel like I blink and Friday is already here. I really need to start waking up before work to run. And if this summer is anything like last year I know I'll be happier running in the morning when it's cooler.
First step is going to bed before midnight so I won't be so tired in the morning :/
Who wants to volunteer to send me a wake up text to make sure I'm up and getting out the door for a run??


Hope you all are having a great week! Check back on Monday cause I'll be hosting my first giveaway! I'm soooo excited!!

Monday, May 7, 2012

Lake Lowell Half Marathon Recap


Lisa, Kim and I carbo loading the night before the race
Saturday morning I woke up at 6:30am, ate a bagel with almond butter, got dressed and headed to Nampa, Idaho to pick up Kim and Lisa from their hotel. It's about a 20 minute drive and I got there right at 8am.

The start was a Lake Lowell Park and we got there about 8:20 so I drove straight up to the chip pickup area, Kim and Lisa jumped out, grabbed them and were back in the car out of the cold in a hurry. We parked the car and waited till about 8:45 (race starts at 9am). We got in the long line for the bathrooms but then the race directors wife told us there was a porta potty down the road so we took off for that one.
While waiting we had to take some pictures of course...
Yes I'm extremely short! I need to wear heels for ALL pictures from now on. I am 5 ft nothing in case you were wondering :)
The 5k, 10k and half marathoners all started together
Take from Lisa's blog
As we all gathered together I turned on my ipod shuffle and it said low battery! So sad! So I turned it back off and figured I'd turn it on when I really needed it.
Soon after they said go and we were off! Lisa started ahead of us and I ran with by Kim for a little bit. The first few miles is when my shin bothers me and it's always hard for me to find my stride during that time so I tired to focus on that but a mile into it the first big hill was upon us and with no music and my shin still wanting to be center of attention my pace slowed. We also had some headwind on the out 

Garmin elevation profile. Out and back course. The two big hills sucked.
I turned on my ipod at about mile 4 cause I needed something to keep my mind occupied. This helped and my stride started to get better which helped me pick up the pace too. At mile 6 it ended up dying but around that time the leaders were on their way back. I loved this part of the race! I was yelling out good job and giving high fives to my friends. It gave me a big boost of energy and they ended up some of the fastest miles of the race for me. I saw Lisa up ahead and was so excited for her and told her she was 3rd female! 
Just after the turn around I saw Kim, she gave me a high five and told me I was 16th female! This gave me another little burst of energy and with no music, my focus was to not let any other woman pass me and to pass as many as I could. I passed one girl pretty quickly.
My stomach had been feeling a little weird for most of the last half of the run, not sure why so I only took water at the aid stations (I had take a Gu gel at the turn around).
The last uphill sucked and seemed like it would never end. My stomach wasn't happy at this point so I stopped for just a second and saw two girls closing the gap between us so I started running again. I also ended up passing a couple I was playing leap frog with for a few miles at this point.
 Finally the downhill came so I picked up pace as did the girls that weren't to far behind me. At mile 12 I remember seeing my watch say 1:51 so I knew if I ran the last mile in under 9 minutes I could come in right at 2 hours. One of the girls told her friend the same thing I was thinking and they sped up and passed me so I said good job. 
One of the girls ended up slowing down and her friend went ahead. By this point my watch had already passed the 13.1 mile mark and another lady running near me said her watched says we already ran a half marathon, why are we still running. I told her mine did too! The girl who's friend had sped ahead was really struggling and I tried to encourage her. She told me this was her first half marathon. I told her she was doing such a great job and was going to come in at a great time. Her breathing was pretty bad and she really sounded like she was about to keel over! I told her just control your breathing you are doing awesome and it will all be worth it at the end! 
At this point I also saw Lisa off to the side and she was cheering me on which made me smile. She told me she was going to wait for Kim and they would meet me at the finish line. 

Thanks Lisa for taking this pic of me :)
As we entered the finishers shoot I could hear someone else breathing heavy trying to pass me so I sped up and finally crossed the finish line.

Coming into the finish

My garmin read 2:04:02 for 13.45 miles!!
Official Stats:
Chip time: 2:04:00
Gender: 13/70
Age group: 2/14
Overall: 37/117

Splits:
Mile 1 - 9:00
Mile 2 - 10:25 (long hill)
Mile 3 - 9:21
Mile 4 - 9:19
Mile 5 - 9:24
Mile 6 - 8:50
Mile 7 - 8:56
Mile 8 - 8:50
Mile 9 - 9:07
Mile 10 - 9:09
Mile 11 - 10:02 (long hill)
Mile 12 - 9:00
Mile 13 - 8:30
last .45 - 9:08

I chatted with some of my friends at the finish area. We planned a 22 mile group run for Memorial Day with one my friends who ran the race. We have pledged to run our miles in honor of the 6,444 Soldiers that have given their lives in the Global War on Terror (Will blog about that this week so please check back so you can pledge your miles too!)

Lisa and Kim had to get back to their hotel so they could catch a flight to Oregon later that afternoon (they were running another half the following day in Portland!)
So we got our awards early. I got my second place ribbon but it turns out because Lisa got 2nd place overall award it bumped me up to first place in our age group! I don't have a picture of it yet cause I have to go pick it up but here's me with the second place ribbon :)



Overall I was really happy with my performance on this race considering the hills. I also walked at the water stops for a few seconds. I know I have lots of room for improvement!

Half Marathon #10, #3 of the year. Next half marathon is May 19th!

I was also really happy I got to meet Kim and Lisa! It was great to be a part of their double half marathon weekend. Even though Nampa, Idaho isn't the most scenic place for a race, I tried to show them that Idaho is a fun place to be, even if they only spent less than 24 hours here :)

I ended the day with a yummy margarita at dinner



And happy late birthday to my Dash aka Peanut

Laying with his favorite toy, a stuffed rope monkey. His bday was Cinco de Mayo :)







Friday, May 4, 2012

Pre-race post

This week has been so busy! Well the last few weeks have been busy. With work, my son's baseball schedule and getting home late from either one of those two the only thing I want to do when I get home is read my book and and go to sleep. But in a weird way I love when things are so busy. With summer coming up and baseball ending at the beginning of June I don't know what I'll do with all my time! Well maybe i'll have more free time to run instead of running to my son's practices to make sure I fit in my runs :)

So tomorrow I'll be running the Lake Lowell Half Marathon! I had originally wanted to run the full but was changing my mind since it's such a small race. I actually got contacted by the race director earlier this week cause he had come across that post and offered to upgrade me to the full marathon for free. I thought that was really nice! I declined cause my mileage isn't up their enough to run a full marathon. The longest training run so far is 16 miles. In fact I pushed my first marathon for this year until Seattle RnR on June 23rd. Mostly because of these darn shin splints that are still bothering me during runs :(

Anyway I'm excited to run the half tomorrow! I got to meet Lisa and Kim today at dinner who are also running the half. They are both flew in today for this race and then are getting on a plane a few hours after the race tomorrow to fly to Oregon and run another half on Sunday!

I picked up their race packet as well as mine today which was took me all of about 2 minutes to get. They had sent out an email earlier saying the race shirts wouldn't be available till next week and our timing chips need to be picked at the race so all we really got was just the bib and a few coupons including one for $5 or $10 off their wine run in the fall. That race is actually on my radar so I may be more inclined to register for it.

My race bib and we also got some scentsy's in the shape of shoes

After dinner at the Olive Garden there were a few shops across the parking lot so I stopped in Ulta which is kind of like a Sephora if you haven't been to one. I was looking for a new perfume. I ended up getting Daisy by Marc Jacobs. It smells sooo good and I got two tote bags as a gift with purchase!



I finally decided on what to where. I had been debating on which skirt and socks to where but after trying them on I decided to go with this combo...



My goals for this race is just to enjoy the run and finish in around 2 hours.

I'm going to finish my updated my playlist for tomorrow then I'm off to bed!

If your racing this weekend have fun and good luck!
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