Fits and Starts

So this last month or so has been really nutty.  Really nutty.  In fact, I'm not sure how time has flown by so quickly.  We have either been super busy or not doing anything at all.  No in between.  No sense of balance.  Just living it up or being up for nothing.

The push towards the summer really ramped up at both of our jobs.  Cliff's days got a lot longer and after work he frequently went to training to become an instructor for the Spencer Butte Challenge Course this summer.  On top of that he taught Saturday school, volunteered like mad at the climbing wall, and succeeded at keeping a nice workout schedule (lifting weight at the gym, running, and climbing).

The summer is really busy working in Parks and Rec.  I think this is true especially in Oregon as we have all of 12 (well maybe 10) guaranteed weeks of non-rainey weather all year so people make the most of their summers.  With this said, I start to get a little crazy this time of year. I work a lot of non-regular hours.  Plus I've been taking a Spanish class.  Additionally, up until last week, I had been swimming two to three times a week, doing stuff in the gym once a week, and I started jogging  again once a week.  I ran the Bark in the Park 5K and felt horribly slow but it was only a few seconds off my PR from last year.  Cliff and I set out to be healthier when we moved.  By gosh, it looks like we might be doing it.

 Along with all of this awesomeness of doing things comes the need to do absolutely nothing.  Seriously.  I have been napping a whole lot recently again.  I mostly blame it on my terrible allergies. I can't enjoy a sunny morning outside without ending up in a Benadryn coma for the rest of the beautiful afternoon.  There is a fair amount of sleeping going on.  While I sleep, Cliff does a lot of reading about things on the internet to decompress.  When we fall into our times of nothingness, nothing gets in our way of doing nothing.  No dish pile can get too high.  No laundry bag can get too full.  Nothing.  Which brings me to our brief dance with Netflix.

Arrested Development is one of the best shows ever made.  Hands down.  Cliff and I own all three seasons and watch them on a regular basis as it is nice to have something funny playing in the background of doing boring things like cleaning, rowing, or doing work at home.  So I think it might be an understatement to say that I was excited about the new season coming out on Netflix after so many years of being off the air.  To prepare for the event, Cliff and I downloaded our free month trial.  Kathy and Jill decided to come down for a viewing slumber party.  Think costumes, banners (like in the show), and an entirely themed menu that featured items eaten on the show (candy beans, frozen bananas, juice, Skip's Scrambles, ice cream sandwiches, club food, bangers, margaritas, etc.) .  It was glorious.  We moved the TV closer to our computer so that we could connect the two to stream the episodes on a full screen.  We did nothing but eat, drink, and eat some more for one whole day as we marathoned our way through the 15 new episodes.  Like I said, it was glorious.

But then all of the new episodes were watched.  Kathy and Jill had gone home.  It was just Cliff and I left with another two weeks of free Netflix and a whole lot of TV available to be watched. We causally decided to leave the TV in it's temporarily inconvenient spot so that we could check out a documentary or two.   This turned into three or eight more documentaries followed by binging on Dr. Who (don't even get me started on how much I love that show).  For those two weeks I substituted my allergy napping for being a couch zombie.

It was a sad yet wonderful night when I selected to cancel our free subscription.  I won't lie.  We were totally temped to pay the $8 and keep on going to finish Dr. Who and watch SciFi/documentaries/crappy TLC shows but we knew that we needed to stop.  Like I mentioned before, there are only 12 (actually 10) weeks of solid weather in Oregon and we weren't going to spend them inside in front of a TV ramshackley wired to our computer.  No sir.  We are going to live!

Otherwise, we have tired to make the most of our weekends.  I spent five hours yard saleing at a huge community garage sale (think over 150 houses) with co-workers a few weeks ago.  I learned how to haggle from a pro and came away with a mini Weber grill, air popper, two lawn chairs, four shirts, three glasses, an iphone case, a DVD of Anchorman, and a bag of fresh caramel kettle corn for only $16.  Victory.  We've also hit up Saturday Market, tried out a new hip coffee bar called The Barn Light, ran a 5K, made two new batches of sauerkraut, climbed, frolicked with Rudy, replanted the garden, BBQ'ed with friends,  processed 20-24 lbs of fresh strawberries, went to an Emerald's game, and found time to play cornhole (I'm terrible by the way) with our neighbors.  Oh and we finally managed to get all of our laundry taken care of.  Not a dirty piece of fabric in the entire house. 

The hope is that things are evening out.  I'm starting to hit my stride at work and am preparing for an exciting event season.  School is out and Cliff has a full time job for next year!  He is already working as a co-instructor for the Challenge Course and enjoying spending time with other outdoorsey cool folks.  Nice weather is here and we are enjoying out new lawn chairs and Weber grill. We are even planning on going camping this weekend with friends.  Summer is fabulous here.  We just need to figure out how to properly enjoy it.

Successful Eugene Weekend

Like most of the rest of the country, we are starting to see some serious signs of spring.  We are getting more prolonged sun (three days in fact) as opposed to just a few minutes of sun breaks every now and then.  The flowers and trees are blooming.  And people are wearing summer beach clothes despite the fact that it is only 70 degrees.  Everyone at work on Friday was talking a good game about weekend plans and I am happy to say that this weekend I/we delivered.

Saturday was a pretty big day in Eugene as it was the one that every Ducks fan has been dreaming of since the end of the Fiesta Bowl.  The Spring Game.  Part of the stadium area is under construction (some emergency exit paths) and because of this Autzen could only hold a little over 37,000 yesterday.  The game was free but you did need to bring three cans of food for FOOD for Lane County (AMAZING organization by the way you should check them out).  I went with my boss, her husband, and two year old kiddo.  We got a seat in the shade and all was well in the world.  People seemed so content  just to be back in Autzen.  It was the first time that the town saw what the Ducks looked like without Chip Kelly.  Offense played defense and it was a good time.  Plus there was lots of talk about the uniforms as...you know...it is Oregon football after all.

After the game Cliff and I went to Red Robin and redeemed our free rewards card burger!  That's right.  We eat there enough to get a free burger every six-eight months.  On the way home I heard something coming from our car.  I had to pull over on the side of the road as it sounded/felt bad.  Sure enough we had an extremely flat tire.  Really flat.  We have my Dad to thank for saving our sanity as we used an amazing gift he gave us- a portable air compressor that works by plugging into your cigarette lighter.  We pumped that puppy back up and drove to the Honda dealership where they patched it and got us on our way in less than 30 minutes.  Cliff and I were impressed how we dealt with the whole situation like adults.  No stress.  Clear thoughts.  Boom.  On the road.  Thanks Dad!

End of successful day number one.

This morning we got up at 6:00am to head down to cheer on runners for the Eugene Marathon/Half Marathon.  After everything that happened in Boston two weeks ago, I knew that I needed to be there to show my support and general faith in humanity.  We knew a few people running in the race so we came up with a solid plan to cheer folks on at the 2 mile mark then move to Hayward Field to see the finishes.   I think it is safe to say that I cried for most of the 3 hours that we cheered folks on.  I can't help it.  I love this type of thing.  

Go Alex!

Over the last two weeks I have really struggled with what happened in Boston.  My heart and mind still can't wrap around it.  I lived there for four incredibly formative years.  I walked those streets on a daily basis.  Marathon Monday is magical.  I love that city and I love the people who live there.   Marathon Monday was our favorite day and so many of my warm fuzzy memories of college and the city are attached to this celebratory event.  Since I couldn't be there to grieve with friends and colleagues, I wanted to show my support by going to my new city's marathon and being apart of the love and the joy.

2006 photo of the Boston Marathon by Steve Lewis

I love that the race ended at Hayward Field.  It is holy ground for track and field folks so I can imagine how amazing it would feel to run on the track, in front of cheering fans in the the stands, and to finish the race.  We got there early so we got cowbells (awesome).  We sat there and made lots of noise for hours.  Even Cliff!  It felt so good.  So many people were sporting their Boston Strong apparel (the shirts were created by Emerson students by the way).  Those who ran the Boston Marathon wore their bibs on their backs.  Runners sported black ribbons.  People crossed the finish line with their hands to their hearts.  The whole event was about the power of the running community.  People held hands as the finished together.  We saw several little kids triumphantly crossing the finish line.  Several ran the entire distance holding American flags.  One man pushed his disabled son in a cart the whole way.   In those final stretched we saw hard working faces, lamaze breathing, tears, and lots of smiles.  My heart was full of love and happiness.

I did learn one thing today and that is that I maybe shouldn't sit that close to a finish line ever again.  We saw quite a bit of puking, heaving, and general first aid issues.  For anyone who knows me, this is a big deal as I am phobic about you know what.  So let me be clear when I say I'm proud of how I kept my act together today as we saw quite a bit of vomit.  After the first runner got sick it became several folks jobs to run up to people after the race and give them a plastic bag to puke into.  I would die if that had to be my volunteer job.  They even had a special kind of bag for it.  See.  Oh my gosh.  The stress.

It was so sad to see people's legs/feet giving out on them so close to the end.  We saw a girl go down about 150 yards from the finish line.  A fellow runner stopped, not worried about her own time so close to the end) and help to carry/walk the injured gal across the line.  We saw quite a few people collapse upon crossing the line.  There were lots of quickly moving wheelchairs.  So emotional!  I could never be an EMT, nurse, or doctor.  I thank those solid stomached people for doing lots of good in the world.

Afterwards, Cliff and I went climbing.  Since it was sunny out no one was in the gym.  We had the whole wall to ourselves and Cliff took full advantage as he probably went up about 15 times.  I worked my first 5.8 (with lots of rests) but I'm considering it a victory.  

Rudy also got to play outside this weekend.  He isn't a big fan of the rain or mud so the winters involve lots of fetch in the house.  Rudy loves days like today when he gets to run around as we chuck tennis balls all over the yard.  (He is so stinknin' cute that he deserves two photos.)

I should also mention that because I have been outside for the past two days my allergies are ridiculous.  I'm pretty heavily medicated everyday in order for my body to combat all of the allergens that live in the world; so it is a sad, sad day when even decongestants, antihistamines, and nasal steroids can't save me from the itchy, red, inflamed, wheezy, grossness that is my life.  My face has in fact been red, blotchy, and kinda swollen all day.  It wasn't a surprise when I face planted into the couch earlier today to take an epic nap.  In fact, a Benadryl is calling me now...

End of successful day number two. 

Biggest Loser 5K/15K RunWalk

A few weeks ago a team from my work participated in the Biggest Loser 5K/15K RunWalk.  Apparently Biggest Loser has a group of former contestants that travel all around the country and promote these races.  It was a pretty big deal as it brought 1,700 plus their families to our facility to participate in a variety of wellness activities.  My work sponsored a team of about 25 of us.  We showed up decked out in out "Live It!" staff shirts to run, jog, or walk the 3.1 miles. 

Well, let me just say that it has been a really long time since I have ran.  I mean, a really long time.  Cliff and I ran all the time last year as we were both unemployed and looking for something to keep us from going crazy.  Since starting work, Cliff has been climbing a lot, I have been swimming regularly, and we both have not spent our fitness time running.  In fact, the last time I ran anything more than 3 minutes on the treadmill was back in June for the Moonlight Five.  No worries as I threw myself back into the saddle at the Biggest Loser run.  I had high/low expectations for myself.  I was hoping that I would be at the same level as I was last year based on all of the swimming I've been doing BUT I knew that I probably wouldn't be as I have not run in 10 months. 

Cliff was awesome as he came along to cheer on our group and document with photos.  He also signed up to belay at the climbing wall after the race to get folks interested in coming back to do it again.  There were so many people there.  According to the bibs there were over 1,700 walkers/runners.  The best part was the amount of first time runners/walkers.  Dan and Jackie from Biggest Loser 5 (the mother son duo) were there to start the race and cheer people on.  They asked the crowd at the starting line to raise their hands if this was their first race.  SO MANY HANDS WENT UP.  I saw people pushing walkers.  I even saw one amazing man walking and pulling his oxygen tank.  It was such an amazing thing to experience as all of us participating in the race cheering for others as we saw them on the route.  Tears.  I was emotional the whole time. 

I was pretty pleased as I ran the entire time.  I guess according to my time you could say that I jogged the entire time.  I don't care as I was able to keep it up for 3.1 miles after not running for so long.  I guess the swimming is paying off as my cardiovascular ability has improved.  But sadly my legs and body had forgotten what to do.  I was soooooo sore the next two days.  My body was confused as to what had happened.  I pretty much had to fall into every chair I tried to sit in.  Pretty hilarious but well worth it as look how victorious I was....

After the race I happily ate my little cutie, banana, and cheese bagel.  We listed to Dan from the Biggest Loser sing some country music and then we got our photo with him.  Really nice guy and he is doing great at keeping the weight off.  Five people from my work placed in their age group (nice!) and one of those folks won the whole race.  Way to represent.

 

It was a really great event and I am so happy that we got to be apart of it.  Everyone was so happy and excited.  Biggest Loser sold all sorts of mech including some pretty inspirational t-shirts.  Once again, tears.  I sadly can't help myself.  I love it when people feel proud.

Cliff and I think we might participate in a few 5Ks every year just to have something to help keep us in better running shape.  I think I am going to do Bark in the Park next month which benefits the local humane society (plus Rudy would get a fun bandana).  My work has a Summer Solstice Dash and Bash 5K coming up on the summer solstice (aka June 21st).  I will be behind the scenes so I won't be able to run but Cliff will do that one again (he placed in his age group last year).  Who knows what we will end up doing.  We are just pretty excited that we are getting out there. 

TrackTown 12

The Track and Field Olympic Trials have once again arrived in Eugene, Oregon.  For ten days track and field athletes gather at Hayward Field to compete to represent the US in London.  Track and field is a big deal here in Eugene.  I mean, after all we are considered Track Town USA.

Yesterday was the second day of competition and included the second day of the decathlon,  qualifying rounds of shot put, javelin, hurdles, triple jump, high jump, 800 meters, 400 meters, and the finals of women's 100 meters and 110 meter hurdles.  You can see the schedule here.  It was a great day to be at the trials.

We took advantage of the free (posh) shuttle service and arrived bright and early.  The first event started at 9:30am and to tell you the truth I was a bit surprised as there weren't a whole lot of folks at the track.  Before the first event, Cliff and I walked around the stadium, explored the festival area, and got some free goodies.  We got samples of Chobani yogurt (full size cups) and Safeway brand milk (Cliff got mocha cappuccino and I got straight up chocolate).  Side note: holy cow, I forgot how amazing chocolate milk is!  We actually got the milk because we ran on human sized hamster wheels.  The wheels helped to power the electricity (TV, music, a cellphone charging station, etc.) in the Safeway tent. 

We visited the youth area and answered Olympic trivia (well tried to anyway) and got buttons and pins.  We even got to pose as decathletes Ashton Eaton (Go Ducks!) and Trey Hardee.  But more on them later.

It has been kinda rainy the past few weeks.  In my mind the rain should be long gone.  Well, its not.  It was cool yesterday (around 60 degrees) with showers on and off all day.  No worries.  We are Oregonians.  We came prepared.  We each had on a few layers, a hat, sunglasses, and a raincoat.  We even brought plastic trash bags to keep our legs dry.  I had an awesome system of putting my bag under my coat to keep it dry and me warm.  Cliff thought it made me look pregnant.  I thought it was a good system.

It was so cool to watch all of the events.  I always enjoy watching track and field at the Olympics but to see it in real life really makes you realize how strong and fast these folks are.  It is nuts.  We were in the 4th row so we were close to the field and could easily see the competitors.  Their coaches lined the wall in front of our seats and were yelling feedback and suggestions to their athletes as the competitions went on.  The crowd was really small all through the morning events.  That seems weird to me.  Our tickets got us nine hours of events.  By gosh we were going to see it all!  So where were the other folks? 

Prepare yourself as I am just going to post a ton of photos of the events.  We were close but you still might need to look at the photo closely to see what I am actually trying to capture.  I wish I were a better photographer.  As you look through these just remember that these are my good shots!


The pole vault was really impressive.  It was starting to rain and yet the decathletes were still flinging themselves four and five meters into the air.  I snuck closer to the field so I could get a better photo of Trey Hardee getting ready to go.  Ashton Eaton won this event hands down and it helped to set him up to break the world record for the decathlon. 

Then the javelin throw started.  First we saw the javelin specialists go and then the decathletes.  On one attempt, Trey Hardee's javelin split in half as it was flying through the air.  He got to throw it again and was really happy with the results.  Apparently he just had elbow surgery about nine months ago and is amazed with his progress.  I was able to get one photo of Ashton Eaton getting ready to throw. 

 

Then it really started to rain.  I mean it was actually coming down.  Everyone in the stands pulled out their ponchos and we all just sat there watching.   At this point there was quite a bit happening on the field: the shot put, the decathlon javelin throw, the women's triple jump, and the high jump had just started.

The rain got so bad that they had to suspend events for about 20 minutes.  I'm glad as it did not look safe out there.  They had a ton of volunteers out their with leaf blowers and rolling squeegees trying to dry everything out. Cliff, Kelly (our friend), and I were all cold and wet.  Our clothes were for the most part still dry except for where our garbage bags had failed us.  I felt like a turtle.

We all were cold so we decided to get up and walk around the stadium and check out the Nike tents.  On the way I got to meet Puddles!  Awesome, right?

We ate some more free yogurt and watched the men's 800 meter heats on the large TV in the festival area.  We had sufficiently warmed up and were ready to settle back into our seats for the remaining two hours of events.  We got to see the men's 400.  LaShawn Merritt ran it in 44.78.  Nuts. 

We saw a preliminary of the men's 100 meter dash.  We also got to see the finals of the women's 100 meter dash (with this too close to call photo finish for third).  The final women's 110 meter hurdles.  The sun came out for the final 45 minutes of the day.  It was really nice.  Hayward Field really is a great venue. 

Ok, now is where I proclaim my admiration for decathletes.  Since Ashton Eaton is a Duck, we have seen quite a bit of coverage about the decathlon leading up to the games.  Apparently, decathletes are a very close knit group and they are friendly with one another.  I can understand this as they compete and stand around together for two whole days at each meet.  The guys yesterday have probably been competing with one another for years.  They would yell encouraging words at one another, help to get the rhythmic clap going for certain events, and provide an excited slap on the arm or hug when the other did well.   The final event of the decathlon was the 1500 meter run.  There was lots of pressure on Ashton Eaton. He had broken several world records over the past two days.  He had won six of the nine events and he was poised to potentially break the world record for the decathlon.  All he needed to do was shave two seconds off his best time (no pressure, right?).  The announcer kept saying this over the loud speaker.  So much pressure!  All of the other competitors were congratulating him on his amazing performance so far and you could tell they wanted to be there to see the world record broken by one of their friends.  Two guys in the pack were really great runners so they were going to be pacers for Ashton so that he could see how fast he would need to go to beat his time, win, and break the world record.  Ashton Eaton ran third until the last lap when you could see that he totally gave it his all to catch up with his pacers.  He passed the first guy with no problem but then something completely amazing happened.  The guy who was in the lead turned around to wave and cheer him past so that he could make his time.  I almost lost it.  Not only did we get to see the new crowning of the world greatest athlete but we also got to see some of the world's greatest sportsmanship.  I was incredibly proud.

After the event, all of the decathletes take a victory lap (as they made it through two days, ten events, and a whole lot of rain!).  Dan O'Brien (1996 gold metal decathlete) and Bruce Jenner (1976 gold metal decathlete) were both there to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the decathlon.  It was so impressive.  Really, you can't help but be inspired by these guys. 

Ashton Eaton had a chance to run around a bit by himself sporting a big smile and his American flag.  Side note:  he is engaged to fellow Duck and Canadian Brianne Theisen.  Brianne Theisen is currently the Canadian collegiate heptathlete with the highest score so far this year.  She will also be going to the Olympics in London. Amazing.  I bet they eat real healthy at home.  

After the events were over 99% of the people filed out of the stands.  A few of us stuck around to see the medal ceremonies for the decathlon and the women's 110 meter hurdles.  They couldn't do the ceremony for the women's 100 meter dash because at that point they still could not determine who got third (now we know that they both got third as they absolutely tied).  When the athletes arrived at the podiums, they had changed out of their regular competition outfits and into their new team USA jump suits.  Once again, I almost lost it.  So much pride. 

And then I got pooped on.  I was just standing there watching the podium ceremonies when I looked down and realized that a little bird left me a present.  When did he have time to do it?  I had a plastic bag over my lap 90% of the day to protect me from rain.  Well done little birdie.  Well done.

You can check out the rest of the results of the day here.  Best: Time: Ever.

Moonlight Five

Last night was the Moonlight Five race in Springfield.  Cliff found the race when I was back in Virginia for my Dad's surgery and it was no brainier of a race as 100% of the proceeds go to the Stroke Center at  RiverBend Sacred Heart Center.  Perfect idea.  

The five mile race started at 9:30pm and consisted of close to 700 people (with glow in the dark accessories) running through streets and paths illuminated by luminaries.  Sadly we didn't get any photos of the paths but you can see a sample picture on their website.

Brie signed up for the race and came down early yesterday afternoon.  Both her and Cliff were super excited and antsy so they got dressed and were ready to run by 7:00pm.  I bought extra glow necklaces and brackets from the Dollar Tree so we were prepared.  Brie sported orange, Cliff was in yellow (his favorite color), and I was decked out in blue as a homage to Dad and his love for Old Dominion (I also wore all the extra bracelets). As you can see I was obviously excited to be glowing. 

It was a first five mile race for all of us.  Both Cliff and Brie have been consistently running over the past few weeks and even I have managed to run more recently.  Brie wanted to run it under 52 minutes, Cliff wanted to run it under 40 minutes, and I was praying to make it under an hour and ten minutes.  My longest single run ever came in a little over four miles so I was nervous about keeping a decent pace for five miles.  I just wanted to finish and feel good about myself.

There was a larger turnout than anticipated and folks were excited to run.  We each ran separately and we all did awesome!  Cliff ran a 39:19 and came in 81st out of 672 people (AWESOME!).  Apparently he felt like he was going to puke all of mile four as he drank water and it didn't go so well.  No worries...he muscled through.  Brie ran under her 52 minute goal and ran the entire way which is a personal best for her (SWEET!).  As for me, I was unstoppable last night.  I ran all five miles without stopping at all and I finished in 59:13.  I seriously was on top of the world.  They had a photographer at the chute snapping photos as folks finished and I'm excited/a little terrified about seeing mine.  I probably looked like a ecstatic crazed person.  I was so freaking happy!  I'm still slow...but I'm getting better...and that is fantastic.

Highlights of my run include:

• Running next to two ladies who kept playing Dog Days Are Over by Florence + The Machine over and over again on a mini boombox.  They clapped when there was clapping and they ran faster to the lyrics "Run fast for your mother and fast for your father.  Run for your children for your sisters and brothers."  I won't lie.  I teared up a bit.  I did just now even thinking about it.  I'm not sure if it was just used as a motivational tool (it's fun and has a good beat) or if they were actually running for family members.  I know I was.  Maybe that's why I got a little misty eyed.
• I ran by an older lady for a lot of the race.  She would run and pass me.  Then she would walk and I would pass her.  Repeat for two miles.  It was fun.  I was proud of both of us.
• I got to see Cliff as he was rounding the bend to go towards the finish line.  I could pick him out by his glowing yellow crown and gait.  I was excited to cheer him on as I hauled my tired butt towards the three and a half mile mark.
• We ran past the Yogi Tea factory.  I didn't know it was there.  I love Yogi Tea!  So, that was kinda cool. 

Honestly, it was just a really fun night. We hung out for a little while after the race to stretch, see if they were going to post times, and listen to the sweet DJ.  I love events that have a DJ.  Nothing makes me happier than seeing people dance freely to YMCA and Don't Stop Believing.  Let's be honest.  I sometimes tear up to people dancing to DJs.  It just makes me so happy. Brie was by far the most animated out of us and was stretching and dancing.

 

We all came home and prepared to crash.  There was more stretching, showering, and Cliff even made midnight scrambled eggs.  I don't even remember getting in bed last night.  I must have hit the sheets and passed out.  Good times.  I look forward to doing the race again next year. 

Oh, by the way we are scientists.  We did an experiment with placing half of the glow necklaces in the freezer last night to see if it really does help them live longer.  The results are in...it does!  In fact I'm wearing three as a crown right now as I type this.  I'm glowing and I'm a happy camper. 

Here is a bonus photo.  Guess who is wearing all of the necklaces?

Day 2: New Shoes

After seven years I finally had to retire my old sneakers.  Back in 2005, Mom and I each got a pair of brand new Nike Free shoes.  They were coolest thing around and they didn't make my knees hurt.  For the last year or so mine were in pretty bad shape but I couldn't imagine trading them in when I only used them every now and then.  Well, I am proud to say that since the first of the year I have been exercising three to five times a week and my shoes were showing it.  On their final hike up Spencer my foot actually split through the side of the shoe.  There was no turning back; I needed new ones.  To say goodbye I took them to the Nike store to be recycled.  Check out Reuse-A-Shoe for more information as it is pretty cool.

We went back to Eugene Running Company. They put me on the treadmill and watched my gait to see what type of shoe I needed.  I ended up with the girl version of Cliff's new Brooks.  I was a little nervous as my feet hurt on my first run but I think they were just getting use to having some structure (seriously look at the old ones).  Since then I have run in them several times and there have been no issues.  Cliff and I are starting to run multiple times each week on the roads/hills around the cottage.  Cliff is shooting for 12 miles this week and I am going to try to be right there with them.

New shoes are pretty great.  Definite good thing.

Pre's Trail

Did you know that running is big here in Eugene?  One of the many names for Eugene is Track Town USA.  Here are a few reasons why:  Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman developed what would become Nike shoes while with the University.  I'm sure you all know the story of the ruined wife's waffle iron.  The University of Oregon's Hayward Field is hallowed ground for Track and Field athletes. The Olympic Track and Field trials are routinely held here and in fact we will see world class athletes entering the area again this June for the event. Track Town Pizza is the best pizza in town (well that is beside the point but they honor all the greats with photos and posters).  There are tons of running clubs and events.  Miles upon miles of beautiful trails.  Being outside and being physically active are valued by the community.  In general, runners are everywhere.

It is hard to live in a town that is so passionate about running and not get motivated.  When we lived here before we really enjoyed running in Alton Baker Park.  There is a four mile set of running trails in the park named after Steve Prefontaine (or Pre).  Pre was a running star from Oregon that ran tack for the University in the early '70s.  At one point he held seven American records for middle-long distance events.  He is a big name around these parts and you will often see folks with his face on their t-shirts or on a poster/mural of him in local businesses.

Before he died he worked with Eugene and Springfield to create high quality running trails in Alton Baker Park (a.k.a Pre's Trail).  The trails run along the Willamette River, through grassy areas, by a small mill race, past a duck pond, by Autzen Stadium, and a happening dog park. The park is popular so you will always see people in their spandex running, walking with dogs, or strolling with a metal detector (I saw one yesterday!); but it is big enough that you don't feel like you are surrounded.  It is wonderful.   When remembering things I loved about the area I would always think back on jogging/walking on the trails. 

We went to the park yesterday because it was beautiful out.   I jogged about 2 1/2 miles and Cliff ran a little over 4 miles.  While watching others run by me I realized that I am probably one of the world's slowest and most awkward looking runners.  Oddly I'm not sad about that.  Instead I'm kinda excited about getting back out there again as I am just one of many unique Track Town residents.  If you can't run funny here then you can't run funny anywhere.

Physical Challenge

Cliff and I have decided that we are going to make a prolonged, conscious effort to be healthier.  When we lived here before we were far more active.  For a few months in 2007 we swam over a mile four days a week, ran (varying distances) one or two days a week, and generally did more walking ad riding of bikes. Well now that we are back we are trying to create our new healthier lifestyle.  It has been pretty easy so far as we have had a blast doing one or two hikes each week.  This week I feel that we kicked it up a notch.

Cliff (who is the more active out of the two of us) has started rowing regularly again and is planning on doing the Concept2 holiday challenge which is rowing 100,000-200,000 meters from November 24th- December 24th.  He is trying to talk me into do the challenge as well.  I think I have put maybe 30,000 miles on the rower since it became apart of the family last October so 100,000 seems crazy.  But there are incentives.  Not only could I get an iron-on decal and Cliff could get a pin but for every kilometer rowed Concept2 donates money to the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund, American Red Cross Disaster Relief (International), and Unicef- Emergency Relief Program in the hopes of helping those who had the world rocked by Hurricane Irene.  Pretty cool, right?  Concept2's goal is to raise and donate $30,000 this year.   My plan....if I can manage to row 5,000 meters each day for 20 days then I will make it.  This is going to be pretty difficult as after 3,000 meters I am ready to give up and lay on the floor.  Oh well....we shall see.

In addition to rowing Cliff and I have been running. Cliff has had spurts of running over the past few years.  Each summer he would run along the William and Mary trails and meet me back at my office for a quick hello, a place to change clothes, and an occasional freeze pop (we always had them).  Some days he would run eight to ten miles in the swampy Williamsburg heat and humidity.  Nuts.  While at the elementary school he participated in the Boys and Girls running clubs.  He ran two days each week with the kids and did 5Ks with them.  He really enjoyed it and I can tell he misses it.  I have seen and heard stories about folks discovering that they enjoy running out of the blue and I have seen evidence with both Cliff and Brie.  I want to catch the running love bug so I am going to give it an honest try...plus I like running along the fuzzy trees.

So, as advertised, we have been running up to and on the Blanton Ridge Trailhead.  This week I have gone out twice. The first outing I ran (ok..jogged might be the more accurate word) with Cliff to the trailhead and then ran/walked along the 1.8 mile trail while Cliff ran ahead. Our plan was to meet up on the trail and then run back together.  I surprised the heck out of Cliff and myself by making it almost all the way to the end of the trail before Cliff caught me while he was coming back.  Cliff thinks that I might have had some sort of breakthrough as I did not complain at all (I'm normally pretty miserable to exercise with) and I was able to cover some serious distance....running!  I was pretty proud of myself.  Today I went out and ran to the trailhead and back.  Cliff continued on the trail with his new running shoes!  That is right.  Cliff bought his first pair of athletic shoes in 10 years.  Oddly enough we bought his last pair together on one of our first dates (exciting date...right?).  While he was out running last night a physical therapist critiqued his gait and was able to pick out Cliff's past injuries.  Since we want to run more it made sense to go out and get some shoes (don't judge Stephen). We went to the Eugene Running Company which was rated one of the top three running stores in the Northwest.  We figure since we live in Track Town USA that these folks should know what they are doing.  It only took about 15 minutes and Cliff had found his shoes.  In the car on the way home he looked shocked.  He has been trying to find a comfortable running shoe for years and they were able to put him in a pair in 15 minutes.  He put them to the test today and said that they felt great.  He has a month to run with them and if he is not happy then he can return them.  From what I can tell I think they might be sticking around as he looked pretty happy.

While Cliff has been out running or doing long rows, I have been hitting up the Wii Fit again. I love that thing.  You get to exercise in the privacy of your own home in your pajamas.  It is wonderful.  It is also pretty fun as Stephen and Nicole designed their own Miis on our system so their little animated faces appear along with animated Cliff and Rudy as I am hula hooping, doing kung-fu, and other fun games.  I think all of our Miis look pretty accurate.  Can you guess who is who? I bet you can. Anyway so far I have done it three days in a row and I am feeling good about it. 

I took a photo of us this morning to show you guys how serious we are about our pursuit of better health.  It was kinda cold so we are both decked out with nerdy ear warmers.  I think this photo pretty accurately describes how we feel about the endeavor.  Cliff looks overly excited to get done with the photo taking and get out on the trails and I look nervous.  Pretty accurate indeed.

Ok I've got to go now as we are making apple crisp for dinner.  Apple crisp is definitely apart of our healthier lifestyle.  I'm ok with that.


Also, I wanted to say thanks to Mom, Shane, and Aunt Pam for becoming followers of the blog.  You guys make me so happy!