I'm Running A Marathon

First of all, friends, meet my fundraising page :
http://pages.teamintraining.org/oswim/eugene11/koldani

And don't laugh - I am already out on the mean streets of Portland several days a week kickin' ass and tearing up the pavement! A full 26.2 miles still seems a long way off, but I'm killing 8, 9, 10 and feeling really good. So with the 6ish months I have left before my May 1st event I think I will be more than ready.

I'm devoting my blog (which frankly was doomed to failure from the get go) to my training and fundraising and ultimately my completion of this event. I will then check back in from Virginia Beach, where I plan to go lie in the warm sand and celebrate Cinco de (Drink-o) Mayo with my sister when it's all over with.

My last blog post was about losing my Uncle Jeff. This past summer was hard - I spent a good deal of it grappling with my own mortality, grieving for my aunt and cousins, grieving for myself and trying to figure out a way to "make it better." I wrote then that I wanted to run this marathon. I put it out there in writing because I was afraid I wouldn't do it if I didn't broadcast it to the world (meaning all 7 of my blog followers). But I never lost interest. And a couple weeks ago I finally, officially, joined the NW Team in Training, slapped my $50 registration fee on the counter, and started tracking my miles.

Oh - and I went on an ill-advised gear binge, but I find buying fancy-pants schwag the best way to stay motivated in athletic endeavors. I am now the proud owner and wearer of a great pair of running tights, several ridiculously expensive pairs of running socks, and a smattering of sweat wicking tops with ranging sleeve lengths. I also have my eye on a really sweet cold weather running hoodie by Salomon. It's $110. And I forfeited Christmas presents in exchange for a plane ticket home. So this will probably round out the aforementioned gear binge.

http://www.rei.com/product/801532

I feel fairly entitled to this spree as the entirety of my training will be in the cold, wet months. Today's run was a particularly wet and cold one - a six mile out and back from my house to NE Fremont and back again.

Oh, and another reason I feel okay about buying that Salomon hoodie - it's white. And I read in all the magazines that one should wear light colored clothing when running outdoors in the dark (which 9 times out of 10 is what I do), but riddle me this all you gear designing geniuses - why is all running gear BLACK!?

Okay - so to sum all of this up, give me money. Also, feel free to buy me stuff that I can run in. And don't try to be cute and buy me hot pink running tights. There is a limit to my desperation and I draw it at all things pink.

In a Nutshell:

I am currently suffering from a really bad stomach ache due to the giant mocha I downed while sitting here in Crema, my coffee shop of choice, writing this post.

Listening to all Punch Brothers, all the time. I pretend to have diverse tastes in music, but I really listen to bluegrass pretty exclusively.

But I don't listen to music when I'm running. I am a bad-ass, through and through.

You might fancy
I sure do.