Gonna be an Elk!

Welp, this Sunday, April 1st, I will do something I've never done before! I will be running with a herd of elk! Naw, not really...but, I will be running the  "Running of the Elk" half marathon with Jesse. :) It's the First Annual Kaiser Permanente Running of the Elk Half-Marathon in Elk Grove Ca. So far there are 1000 1/2 marathoners registered...looks like its gonna be a stampede! This will be our 3rd 1/2 marathon this year. Looking forward to running a new route & enjoying the festivities. :))

Running with the Elk???

Well, the adventure continues! Jesse & I will be running the "Running of the Elk" half marathon April 1st in Elk Grove Ca. The course is suppose to be flat & fast...I hope so!!! :)

Cool medal too!

Montara Mountain was a Monster!

Hello again...well, I ran/hiked the Montara Mt. trail run. The  2900 ft elevation climb was definitely a challenge. The first mountain we climbed wasn't to bad...the top had a beautiful view of the pacific ocean. The air was breezy & cool...the run down the mountain was awesome!

At the top of the mountain. :)

 Mile 6 there was an aid station & then we were off to conquer the other 7 miles of mountain. I have to admit that these last 7 miles were tough...it seemed like every time we had a turn around we were going up & up. At times I felt discouraged, but, Jesse stood with me & made sure I kept going. :)

Jesse on the trail.

Me & a beautiful view.



It was a great experience...I loved running the trail & being surround by nature. My hydration pack worked wonders & kept me well hydrated. It was tough & but it was fun. I really appreciate how much endurance it takes to run a long trail run like this one. But...it's- not- over...I have my eyes set on another trail run in the fall!

Jesse with view of pacific ocean.



Hike running up the trail.

A half marathon a month...mmm?

So Jesse thought it would be a great idea if we ran one half marathon a month. So, in light of our new monthy challenge I have found a half marathon for us to run in march. It's a trail run through the Coastal Trails Company. We have run with them before & enjoy the beautiful scenery their runs offer. The run we will be doing in March is the Montara Mountain Trail Run. :)

The elevation climb is crazy steep...2900 feet climb! Looks like the first 3 miles are the worst of it! Jesse doesn't seem to think it will be to bad...I dunno...

It's gonna be a challenge for sure...my thighs are already burning!

The course map...

The half marathon follows the yellow & pink portions of the trail. It's gonna be one beautiful trail run...you can even see the pacific ocean from some of the climb, that atta motivate me!

NWM! I won the lottery!!! Really I did!

I won the Nike Womens Marathon lottery, by winning a Nike+ challenge with virtual "Team Victorious"! Nike asked us gals to form virtual teams & the team with the biggest members would win entrance into the NWM lottery free! And guess what? My team won! Here we go again! SF here I come! Can't wait! I'm sooo coming for ya NWM...

 The question however is...to run the full again or the half...time & my legs will tell...stay tuned!

Nike + Womens Half Marathon

Well, in all the excitment of my Nike Womens Full Marthon, I signed up for a Nike + Womens Half Marathon. This marathon was different though, it was a virtual marathon. Basicaly, you get to pick the time & place you run. Nike had picked the date Jan. 14 or 15, 2012 for the virtual run to take place. All over the world women ran to band together to beat cancer.

Jesse ran with me & we decided to run through the Robert Mondavi vineyards in Woodbridge. We had ran a half marathon out there the spring before. Jesse downloaded the route so we could run the whole 13.1 miles. It was a cool morning, but, the sun was out & in no time at all we warmed up.

Mile 10, running past the vineyards. :)

The road was marked at each mile, so it was easy to tell how far we had run. I kept an easy relaxing pace & enjoyed my run. It was nice having Jesse run with me too...we talked & laughed as we ran...I even sand a little. :)  He didn't have to run with me, but, I really appreciate that he did...now that's love!

Made it to mile 13!!! Whoop whoop!

It was fun running a virtual race. I would definitley do it again. Being able to pick your time & place is alot of fun. Some people ran the whole half on a tred mill, other ran in snow & rain. I was blessed to have sunshine & blue skies!

Yup! I finished!!! Another half marathon under my belt! Can't wait for the next one!

My cool Nike bling for completing the virtual half. :)

CIM Relay Completed!

Well, it's been a while since I updated my blog, but, I did complete the CIM relay. It was alot of fun. I ended up running the 3rd leg of the race which was 7 miles. My old high school friend Jenny is the one who invited me. She is the 1st gal on the left in the below picture. :)

Team "Thriven Divas"

It was alot of fun running the relay with a team. Usually I run alone, and it was a different feeling knowing that others were depending on me to do my part. It was nerve wrecking too! As I waited at my station I became nervous & the 5 hr energy I took was do a number on my anxiety.

Waitng for my turn to run. :)

When my turn came I was so happy to start running my part of the race! The road was pretty flat & fast. The weather was cool...perfect running conditions! I would definitley do the CIM relay again if the challenge presented itself. :)        

And I'm off! 7 miles here I come!

Giving Giselle a "good job" hug. :)

Getting ready to switch the ankle band to my ankle.



            It was a great day...I really enjoyed being on a team...especially a team of women. :)

Finished the race & sporting my new bling! :)