Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon 2014

May 18th - Portland Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon - aways a great event! With loud bands every two miles, you're surrounded by music!

I love this event! Portland events are always nice (I love the area!) and having live music is such a plus!

I decided long before the race that I wasn't going to push myself and end up hurt. I'm actually tired of being hurt - Imagine that! If I were properly training, pushing would be expected but since I'm not, I was out to enjoy the WALK and that's exactly what I did. Finishing in a certain amount of time was not part of my day's agenda. Enjoying myself and finishing was all that mattered. As a result, I had a GREAT time even in the POURING DOWN RAIN! :)

The day before the event was the expo and really, even though you go to pick up your bibs, the expo is ALL ABOUT SHOPPING! heh heh!  Nanette and I really like that part! You can find some good deals, new ideas, plenty of supplements and of course, new additions to your wardrobe. This year we found rain jackets that we had to have because it was expected to rain (big surprise there, huh?) and because the color was awesome! I've never purchased a jacket with writing on it specific to a race but this one was a "must have". As it turned out, it was well worth the money - such a great jacket! We also bought some headbands - a first for me to wear... the jury is still out on whether or not I liked it... but fun, nonetheless.

When we showed up on race day, it was raining! (Real shocker!) There were over 7000 people doing the half and thousands more doing the 10k! It's a HUGE event! We lined up in our corral and waited ... and waited ... for our corral to get to the starting line, which was in excess of 30 minutes AFTER the race officially started. There are that many people. Amazingly, after going a couple of miles, the crowd thins out and you can comfortably do your own thing without worry about tripping over each other.  Sounds crazy, and it is at times, but it works.

Nanette was feeling good and out to run her race so she went on ahead right after crossing the start line.  My friend Cindy and I held back and walked. We walked the entire event (just jogged down a couple of hills) and really enjoyed our visit.  I haven't seen Cindy in quite awhile so it was nice to catch up. We had 13.1 miles to do so! :)

The rain tapered off and for most of the walk and we were dry. It was cool and great walking weather. Then, all of a sudden, with two miles left to go, it DUMPED on us! Seriously, it P-O-U-R-E-D. We were SOAKED and we were LAUGHING and we were HAVING A GOOD TIME! We didn't hurry our pace and didn't worry... we just continued on our merry way.

Nanette met us at the finish line (she finished over 30 minutes ahead of us!). Cindy's husband was also there... he meets Cindy at the finish line of almost EVERY event she does! So sweet! Nanette finished in 2:54:09 - 13:18 per mile and Cindy and I finished in 3:29:27 - 15:59 per mile.

The rain stopped almost as soon as we did. Naturally!  haha 

I really enjoyed sharing the day with my friends!  It felt good to smile and be active again, rain and all. :)

Nanette and I went to the beer garden, listened to the music for awhile and then went off to have a good meal (and another beer!) at Rock Bottom Brewery.

Lookin' lovely, I know!  haha

Cheers!!

It was a GREAT DAY!  And... I suffered NO PAIN! ;)

Fiesta 5k Ole! Seattle

On Saturday, May 3rd, I went to Seattle and participated in the Fiesta 5k Ole! event with my sister-in-law, Edith, and my nephew, Geronimo. It was a lot of fun! Obviously the real reason to go up north was to see family but hey, throw in a running event and it's a weekend bonus!

Not only was the running/walking event going on but there was also a Taco Truck Challenge! With taco trucks lined up on both sides of the street, there was plenty to eat and obviously a real reason for the Husbands to come see us at the finish line! (Can't get them to show up at our events without the lure of food!)

Edith, Geronimo and I showed up with plenty of time to spare before the race - we were worried about parking. There were over 1200 people there in all kinds of outfits, mustasches, and sombreos! How do people run in that stuff?! With that many people and such a short distance, you were always within the crowd. It was a lot of fun though and I actually learned that I really like the 5k event. You run/walk your 3.1 miles and BAM!, it's over!

Me being me (slow!) and Seattle being Seattle (hilly!), I finished the event in 38:01 averaging 12:16 per mile. Edith and Gero stayed with me but no doubt could have finished a lot faster had they gone on ahead! I had to walk the hills (three big ones) and was able to jog the rest. As short as it was and as much as I enjoyed it with Edith and Gero, I was happy when it was over. I'm completely out of shape, weigh too much, and haven't had my head in the game this year.

My brother-in-law, Gustavo, and Ray were at the finish line cheering us on... and waiting to eat! :) They sampled and ate from a few different trucks but the crowd was thick and getting food took quiet a while.  Me... I stuck with the "boring" and had a grilled cheese tortilla! (but it was good!) One thing I tried and LOVED was habanero lemonade!  Hot, spicy and AWESOME! Sounds weird, I know, but if you like HOT, it's really, really GOOD!

I think Edith and I will make this a yearly thing - good excuse to get together and a fun little event!

Edith, next year I promise to go a little faster...  ;)

Edith - looking good!

Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival 2014

I went to my very first Tulip Festival on April 26th. I have to admit, when asked to go, I thought... What the heck do people go see a field of tulips for?! Now I know! And I'll be going again next year!

After several months of hiding out at home and being a recluse, I finally made plans to see two special friends of mine - Kathie and Cathie. It had been months between our last visit and communication (solely my fault) and it was time to catch up. We agreed to meet for coffee at Bridgeport Village (awesome shopping center!) and ride together to the tulip festival. We sat with our coffees for awhile, chatting about our lives, jobs, kids, etc. It was so nice reconnecting!

Off we went to the festival at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm.  It was AMAZING! Never have I seen so many flowers and colors in my life! Row after row, field after field... TULIPS were everywhere! We (mostly Kathie - we left her in charge of the photos) took a kazillion pictures - burned through two cell phone batteries - and we still didn't capture it all! There are literally hundreds of types of tulips and each has it's own special color, texture and characteristics.  Wow!

After enjoying the tulips, we went back to the Bridgeport Village and enjoyed more conversation, dinner and drinks at Pastini. Yummmm. It was a wonderful day and I'm so happy I ventured out to go some place different and most of all, to see my friends!  It was a GREAT day!

If I post ALL of the pictures we took on here, you'll definitely go TuLiP-CrAzY so let me TRY to narrow it down.  P.S. It was WINDY thus the WILD HAIR on my head! ;)