BEING a lost runner in Hawaii

I decided to be super adventurous and run into out into the unknown this beautiful, bright and sunny morning in Honolulu. I had my short shorts on, my room key stashed in the back of my hot pink sports bra, and plenty of sunscreen. I headed out excited to conquer new terrain and maybe spot some places to come back and eat at later. I head uphill next to the University of Hawaii, passing main roads, small stores, curvy neighborhoods, and eventually I was lost.

I didn't want to stop though, so I kept on going til I hit another main street and ran along side that until well, my sidewalk got skinnier and skinnier until I realized I was at the merging point of a freeway. That was a little embarrassing.

After asking at least three locals I finally found myself heading back in the right direction. I didn't really mind the detour though, Hawaii has lots to see. I got back just in time to catch breakfast at the cafe, can you believe they stop serving at 8:30 am?!!

I kind of liked being lost though. I don't know how to explain it. I kept on thinking about this youtube video!!! It was kind of liberating.

SO after being on this island for a week I finally got a good 40-ish min run in. Now I finally have something to log on Strands.com hahaha!

Hood to Coast Relay and I

Before I knew there was a whole community of runners out there all over the world, I had never heard of Hood to Coast. Actually I lied, I do remember. Last year a bunch of my coworkers were going to do it, and having no idea what it was but seeing their super cool company-branded gear that they designed just for this event, I asked if I could do it too!! And they said no. Psh. 

I had no idea that this was THE relay. "Mother of all Relays". It is exclusive. Only the most dedicated and crazies dared to do it and, not everyone can participate. In 1998 a cap of 1,000 teams was agreed upon by Hood To Coast and Clatsop County to keep the event safe and enjoyable to all who participate. The limit still exists today, with Hood To Coast filling on "opening day" of registration for the past ten years! You have to be either special or lucky. 197 miles, 12,000 runners. It starts at our own Mt.Hood and ends at the Pacific Ocean in Seaside. When it all came together, I was blown away. It takes more than three hours to drive, and this race takes DAYS to complete, just non-stop running. There are 36 legs that are split up between your team members. Can you imagine running through our mountains, freeways, forests, city, fields, and to the ocean at 3am? Incredible!! 

Anyways, I soon realized that at all the races I go to, everyone knows about the Hood to Coast Relay. People from all over the states, especially from Oregon and the Northwest, everyone who is anyone!! It's pretty cool how these events bring people together for a common purpose, to run. And to check out our amazing scenery :-) 

I am not going to run in Hood to Coast this year. I'm not ready. But we'll see what happens next year. HOWEVER, I do know a lot of people who are. And I do know of a way you can get in for free! Yeah, Strands.com has a couple of spots they are giving away! Quick details:

-They are holding 5 spots to give to a running store with the most followers.

-One spot each for the next top six stores.

-One more spot reserved for anyone that creates a free account on Strands and emails a video, blog , picture, etc. to HTC@strands.com of why they should be selected to run on their HTC team! (This could be…you!)

There are no strings attached, just "follow" a specialty running store in your area on Strands.com, and have your friends follow it too, because the most popular running store on Strands will win 5 spots for Hood to Coast! BAM so there you go, an all expense paid trip to Oregon. Strands is a completely free online training log. Visit http://contest.strands.com for the details! 

Oh oh and the best part is, I live in Oregon. So maybe I’ll be at the race to meet every one!! This is a link to my profile on Strands I’ll be freshly back from Hawaii by then. Can’t wait!! 

Upcoming...

I'm leaving to Hawaii this Saturday! While I am there, I will be outreaching, building ministries, helping the homeless and growing spiritually. I'm pretty excited, although the reality of spending eight weeks in Hawaii hasn't hit me yet. That's such a long time!! What will it be like? Will I keep on running? Will I learn how to surf? Will I lose or gain weight? What kind of foods will I discover? Will I get skin cancer from all the sun?! 

I promise to maintain this blog carefully to document everything! EVERY LITTLE THING. Of course my goal is to stay in shape and make a difference. But I know I will have an amazing summer. :-D

Allergies+Running=Non-existent

The last time I ran was, hmmm. Thursday of Dead week so that makes it..19 days!! WOW over half a month! But I have an excuse, like I always do. :-) This year, I have ALLERGIES!!! UGH. I never had allergies growing up. But I suppose it's  bound to happen sometime or another, because everyone I know seems to have them and I am not one of the lucky few anymore. Good bye my lucky, blessed, allergy-free days. 

I refused to acknowledge them at first and just told everyone I had a cold, but I couldn't stop sneezing and blowing my nose and getting sinus headaches from it...and worse, when I did try allergy pills, it did kind of get better. But it's a horrible feeling, this snotty, stuffed up, congested tornado in my head. During finals week, I hid in either the library or my dark, pollen-free room the whole time. The last thing I feel like doing is running. 

How do people survive I've asked? Pills of course. Tons and tons of pills. Cocktails of pills, pills that people swear by, even the Neti pot. Most of the pills I've tried have either little or no effect, and makes me sleepy. I am tired of popping pills I just want it to go away so I can feel normal and healthy again, so I can feel like running again. 

It's so nice out today too. :-) 

Oh, I bought a pair of cleats the other day, just because they were on sale. Once my allergies magically disappear, I want to try soccer! 

Running in June in Oregon after the Rain

IT SUCKED.  

It rained last night, and it was HOT! I learned previously in my Exercise Sports Science physiology class that today would suck. In humid air, you still sweat like crazy but the sweat has nowhere to go since there is no air gradient and therefore your sweat doesn't get evaporated. The whole point of sweating is to have the sweat evaporated to cool you down. So running in humidity just makes you feel nasty. 

Good thing there aren't many days like this in Oregon!! Usually when it's wet or rainy outside, the air is cool and crisp. I learned to appreciate that today. Usually, it doesn't rain much by the time June comes around. Now I have a newfound appreciation for runners in Florida and Brazil and other places where they have to run in this torture! Living in the northwest has spoiled me. 

Oh well, next time I just know to wear less clothing. I think I'm going to buy a headband. I want the one above. 

I need a picture.

Okay if I'm really going to do this whole running blog thing, I think I need a few things on my blog first. Such as, a picture of me running. No such picture exists on neither my computer nor the internet of ME actually RUNNING. Uh, don't worry. I'll make sure I have one up...soon. If anything maybe I'll grab one of my old bibs and have someone take a picture of me in it, in front of a fan. Jk...that would be lame huh? I don't know when the next race I'm actually running in will be. I go to races like every weekend but I haven't been running at them, just working at them. It's like traveling all over the world...as a flight attendant! 

But I promise I will have one up soon, bib or not. 

Back to the future!!!

Hello again. It's been forever since I've written anything on my blog! I'm amazed that I remembered the URL address :-) Ahh looking back at my entries bring me such warm memories! (probably because it all happened over last summer). 

I constantly embrace new experiences and experiments! I've started a lot of life changing challenges over the past few months during my blog absence, such as seeking God, trying to understand addictions, changing my major, and running. 

While I was refreshing myself in the blogosphere world, I realized that a lot of runners keep blogs. And it helps them to keep on running! I already use an online training log on http://www.strands.com. It lets me write little notes and they have a good looking bar graph of what my week looks like, which is important to me. :-) But having a blog will allow me to talk about a lot of other things as well.

So here is my goal. I am running 5ks now and finishing in at about 28 mins. I would like to cut that down to 25. Then 20. After I do that, I want to start training for a half marathon. I don't care how long it takes me haha I'll decide on my target time after my first half. And then maybe a few more halfs, but eventually I want to run 26.2 miles!!! 

So come along and read about me and my running.