Run with Ellen

Met the lovely Ellen Walker this morning for a little jaunt around the lake. I'm still a bit under the weather -- can't seem to shake this cold -- so I had to drop to a walk for the second half. But it was great to see Ellen, get caught up, and talk about whether or not we're in for the next session.

She prompted me to actually look at the calendar -- I have a lot of travel coming up, so when would I be missing camp? It looks like I would only miss two days, which to me still seems worth it. I just need to verify that we really are having camp at Green Lake, not in Georgetown.

Gorgeous!!!

Another fine, if chilly, morning -- perfect for a slow run around Green Lake.

Post boot camp rainbow

Considering this one: Snohomish River Run

So I was already considering the Snohomish River Run in late October. It looks pretty, gentle, and, well, the timing is right. And you know how I like a medal. Then yesterday I got an email from the organizers which included this image:

Well, um, yeah. That's flat. 

Now, I'm not chasing another PR this year... but I'm also not looking for "challenging courses" as we get through the 40@40 Project... This course looks just about perfect...

New hats!

Okay, I've had mine for a while -- and it was so awesome I decided to get a matching one for Wil. Who doesn't love vintage Disney?

Why Amy Hastings is Awesome

Jeff Pearlman had a really great Q&A with Amy Hastings the other day -- here's my favorite part:

J.P.: Amy, how do you deal with the pain and suffering come mile 16 … 17 … 18? And do you think, because you run 100-plus miles per week, your pain and suffering isn’t as bad as average hacks like myself?

A.H.: When it comes down to it 26.2 miles is going to hurt no matter how you slice it! Whether you are out there for two hours or 10 it’s a lot for the body to go through. Marathons are are the great equalizers in that sense because everyone hurts when they cross the line. They create a sense of comraderie because it feels like you went into battle with every other person out there and whether or not you defeated the 26.2 mile beast, you attempted it and felt its wrath. The 100-mile weeks definitely help me finish faster but both times when I crossed the finish line I was hurting.


Ahhh, Amy. You're awesome.

"This is good...."

Sometimes, during particularly tough exercises at boot camp, I hear Miley (sp?) say under her breath, "this is gooooooooood.... this is goooooooooooood...."  I was running next to her on Friday and she said it, which made me laugh. I mentioned it, and she said, "Oh, do I? Huh. Well, I guess it *IS* good..."

Friday was tough -- though I can't really remember it. And then today... OOF. I am already sore, and I know it will just get worse tomorrow. But, as Miley says, "this is gooooooooood...."

After warming up, we did a tabata workout -- first set was squat jumps, then v-ups, then burpees, then bicycles. (I think?) We all noticed that midway through the second round of squat jumps, all of us were hurting. And it just went on and on... I can't even REMEMBER what the second set was. Fierce.

The group was really big today -- 16 people -- possibly the largest boot camp ever? And even though I feel bad that I haven't interacted much with the new recruits, I still blame that on the fact that it's super dark for the first half of the workout.

I have a meeting at 7am tomorrow, so no pre-work run for me. Heck, I'll be lucky to be there by seven! But I think I may be able to get a run in after work. We'll see. I did run on Thursday -- a slow run around Green Lake, but at least it was a run.

Dress light... Feel right.

Boot Camp in the Dark

Kerry led us through a fierce workout this morning -- almost surprisingly tough. At one point I heard Damon mutter,"I don't like her very much right now..."

BTW, this is what it looked like when I got to boot camp this morning:

Sunrise Run

Great little run around the lake this morning!! The best thing about the run was bumping into Ellen and her sisters and having a chat. I told her about the new boot campers, that we missed her, but that testing had gone well and that Hiromi was back. Ellen said, "Who did you partner with?" I said, "Oh, Hiromi" and Ellen said, "Oh, that's okay then. I don't feel threatened by her" and we both laughed. :) It will be interesting to see if I enjoy boot camp as much -- or at least, nearly as much -- without my buddy. We shall see...

Gorgeous, gorgeous sunrises and sunsets lately -- due, apparently, to the fires in Central Washington.