Week 5 Complete! Total Weekly Miles=19-21 miles

GOODBYE TO FEBRUARY! Welcome MARCH!
Hopefully we will be able to run in warmer temperatures and better running conditions...hurry up Spring!

 -posted by Mirna

Brrrr.......FREEZE!

Andrea and Mirna were the only brave ones (or crazy, maybe?) who attempted the long Saturday run outdoors. We woke up to -1 degree temperatures, so with hat, gloves, extra layers, and scarves in place, we began our run. Our training schedule only called for 8 miles, but since we are doing 12 miles next week, we decided to be overachievers and complete 10 miles instead.

Marathon Mama Bandits (Mirna and Andrea)

 We saw less than a handful of brave souls outside running, so it ended up being a fairly quiet run. Since there is still lots of snow and patches of ice on the road we treaded carefully up around the south hill. Thankfully cars were kind to us and drove slowly and far out from us as most of our run ended up being on the road.

Our Spokane Treadmill

It probably took a good 2 miles to warm up, overall it wasn't as bad as anticipated. So 10 miles completed today! Much better than the "dreadmill!" It did warm up to 5 degrees by the time we finished.

-posted by Mirna

Holy Cow! - Or Should I Say Moose?!

I woke up Wednesday and looked out the window to determine my running fate for that morning...Hooray! Dry and no snow yet so it will be an outside run!! I dressed quickly and set out for my first mid-week 5-miler. I am 2 miles into my run and minding my own business when about 1/2 block ahead of me is our local resident moose staring right at me! Holy crap, now what?! My neighbor had warned me to be alert for the moose and I always keep my eyes and ears open but now that it was right in front of me, what the heck should I do? I quickly ran up to the end of another street and turned his direction to see if he was still there. Yes, he was, and he had also turned and was watching me. All I could think of was to get out of there. But if I run, will he chase me - you know, like the running of the bulls? I didn't want to encourage him but needed to get out of this dead end area. Thankfully, when I got back to where I first saw him, he was gone. Whew - though now I was on high alert - where the heck had he gone? The last 3 miles I tried to get through quickly. On the last mile home had another brief scare (a truck pulled up to me slowly, stopped and put down the passenger window and some guy tried to talk to me. I'll post more on this as part of a "safety post" another day.) Anyway, made it home safe and sound, though a little shaken. Needless to say, and due to the snow, I was happy to run on the treadmill for my 3-miler on Thursday - I can't believe I even thought that! Some day I'll post a photo of my moose friend - I'll have to find one I have previously taken.

~ posted by Andrea

Top 10 Reasons Why I Run by Bethany

Finishing the 2nd leg of the Spokane Marathon Relay 2010

10)  Cheap & Easy: While I love doing the tris, I love the fact that for running all I need are my shoes.  I don’t need goggles, swim cap, earplugs, nose plugs, a bike, helmet, clipless pedals, special shoes, patch kit, pump, the list goes on and on…  I am tired just thinking of all of the things I have to do to prep my bike and everything I need bring with me for a ride or a swim.

9) Shirts: Why lie. But they have to be dry wick and they have to be cute!

8) The Finish Line: It is the most amazing feeling in the world to finish your first running race or triathlon. I never thought I would compete in a triathlon and run a marathon. I just thought I wasn’t a runner. It is amazing what you can accomplish when you start to believe in yourself. I am happy to say that this is flowing into my personal and professional life as well.

7) Healthy Weight: Yay for muscles! I want to be an Athleta model!

6) Peace & Quiet: While I usually like running with friends, I still enjoy the occasional run on my own. Often I choose to leave the I pod at home and just listen to the sounds all around me. It is amazing what sights and sounds I have seen and heard; it is like nature is putting on a show just for me. There was a time when I lived and breathed nature: camping, fishing, and hiking deep in the woods to find adventure. One thing that a lot of people don’t know about me is that if I could choose another life I would probably be a hermit living in the woods or on a beach somewhere (preferably Kauai) but then reality hits and I know I wouldn’t even last a day; I have a tough time killing spiders, let alone wild game for dinner (yes, I am one of those freaks that carries spiders and bugs outside).

5) Strong, Beautiful, & Healthy: Running makes me feel all three of these things. It makes me want to be a better person in all areas of my life.

4) Goals & Sense of Accomplishment: Setting goals and reaching them – even if when it seems nearly impossible - this is what keeps me going most days, especially right now when I feel like every training counts!

3) Friends: What would I do without my runner friends?!!! The most amazing and inspiring women I have ever met in my life! Most of them are busy working moms that still find time to fit in their training, even if it means getting up at "the butt crack of dawn"! – quote from Mirna

Leavenworth Half Marathon October 2010

2) Food & Drink: Dark Chocolate, Kona Brewing Co. Pipeline Porter, Starbuck’s Cinnamon Dolce Latte, Wine, and GOOD food.

And the number one reason I run…

1) ENDORPHINS: Definitely my drug of choice. Sanity. Health. Well-being. Not only for me, but for my family as well. They don’t have to deal with a grouchy mom and I am setting a good example for my little guy – he already runs his "laps" around the house each night! And my husband will be competing in his first race (besides Bloomsday, of course) this summer: The Warrior Dash.

Shanna and I after the Seattle Rock N Roll Half Marathon June 2010

My Treadmill: The Las Vegas Strip

Enjoying my "treadmill"

I'm turning the big 3-0 this year in May, thus why I've personally chosen to run a full marathon. Therefore this past weekend I met two of my best girlfriends in Las Vegas for an early 30th birthday celebration.

However, I needed to make sure I stayed on track with my training program. I did 3 separate runs (3 miles, 9 miles, 3 miles) before I left for Vegas. I finished my last run, a 5 mile run, in beautiful Las Vegas. Although I missed running the long run with my marathon mamas, it felt so great to run outdoors in sunny Las Vegas.

The 50+ degree weather sure beat the frigid temperatures of Spokane of 26 degrees.
(See previous post).~Posted by Mirna

A Good End to Week 4 - Total Weekly Miles = 20

Bethany, Andrea, and Sarah (with new friends Ashley and Smoke!)

We ended week 4 of our journey today - wrapping up the week with a 9 mile run on the Fish Lake Trail again. Some of our mamas were out of town this weekend but Bethany, Andrea, and Sarah met up and though a little chilly at 26 degrees, it was another beautiful, sunny run on the trail! And actually, we think we ended up running 10 miles - after mile 4 on the way out on the trail, we never did see mile 4.5 and at approximately 11 minutes past the mile 4 marker, we figured we were now at mile 5 and we better turn around! Everyone felt great and we had a great pace and conversation going - we probably could have kept running even further. But the day called and we were done and off to start our weekends!

We missed our friends Mirna, Ashley, and Wendy (who was fighting a cold) - and sadly, they all had to do their long runs alone this week. We look forward to having everyone together again for our run next Saturday.

(Oh, and thank you to the nice man who took our photo at the trail head - as you can see, we held on to his dogs Ashley and Smoke while he snapped the picture - thankfully he showed up, the photo is much better than the one we tried to take on own!)

 - posted by Andrea

8 Reasons to Run With a Partner | Active.com

Read this post and just had to put it on our blog (Mirna)

8 Reasons to Run With a Partner | Active.com

1. You've heard it before, but it's so true: There's nothing like good conversation to make a run fly by.
2. A partner can help troubleshoot your running form. Have him or her look at your stride and point out what you're doing wrong.
3. Partner running is safer. Particularly for women and during nighttime running, you're much less likely to encounter trouble if you have company.
4. Partners are good pacesetters. If you have a hard day planned, call Speedy. He or she will keep you honest. Likewise, if you want to be sure to run easy, set a running date with Slowpoke.
5. A partner is the perfect pick-me-up when you're bored with your running. Or with life, for that matter. If nothing else, you'll have someone to blab to about your problems.
6. If you're apt to miss running days for no good reason, a running partner will help. You won't want to disappoint a friend by being a no-show.
7. If you're tired of the same old running routes, a partner is sure to know some different ones.
8. Partners make great alarm clocks. If you've always wanted to do more morning runs, find a morning person to run with. Added benefit: You'll be better acclimated to those a.m. races once you've done some a.m. training.


Running with the Spokane Marathon Mamas is just way more fun than running alone!

...Down to 2 for the 5K...PARTNERS IN PAIN (literally!)

A Personal Record for Mirna and Andrea

Partners in Pain 5k 02/13/11
Time Completed: 27:50
Average Speed: 8:58 min/mile
Temperature: 45 degrees

Andrea and I had an awesome race this morning! It was supposed to be our recovery run, but the sun was shining, the weather perfect, and the crowd motivating. So we decided to just run a good race! It definitely was not "conversation-pace" and we focused on tackling the 5k.

We ran a 5k three weeks earlier, but today we improved our time by almost 2 and a half minutes! I just love running outdoors; it beats running on the treadmill any day! The race began at the West Central community center, through the West Central neighborhood, along the Spokane River. There were a couple of small hills, but nothing like High Drive, which we often run up during our Saturday runs. I ran this 5k last year, but it was much warmer this year and the roads clearer.

Andrea and Mirna 02/13/11 Partners in Pain 5k



Deer Park Frostbite 5K 01/22/11
Time Competed: 30:12
Average Speed: 9:45 min/mile
Temperature: 22 Degrees (brrr!)

The weekend before we officially began our Marathon Training Program, we participated in the Deer Park Frost Bite 5K. It was sunny, but very cold! There was still patches of ice and snow on the roads, so we had to be careful in our footing and foot placement. It was motivating to kick off our Marathon Training Program with this race. The race did have one long uphill around mile 2, but we made up for it with one long downhill at the end.



Mirna, Andrea, and Ashley Deer Park 5k


Thank you ladies for motivating and inspiring Me!

(Andrea-Thank you for a great race today! Looking forward to more fun runs...and personal bests!)

Mirna and Andrea at Race for the Cure CDA 09/26/10

---Posted by Mirna

Three Down...and Down to Three! Total Weekly Miles=18

                                      (Mirna, Andrea, and Bethany)

                             A BEAUTIFUL SATURDAY RUN 02/12/11

Three gals met this morning for the 8 mile long run. We have finished week 3! Due to other commitments, vacations, work, etc. we had only 3 ladies this morning. However with the same amount of enthusiasm as 6, we tackled the 8 miles on the Fish Lake Trail. We celebrated our accomplishment with a post-race victory *drink! 

*Tall Skinny Caramel Macchiatos from the local Blue Ox Espresso Stand 

around the corner from where we ran

Finally! A post from Andrea...

Here's what you have all been waiting for...a post from Andrea! :)

The last two weeks have been great - been keeping up with the training calendar and running outside as much as possible - no treadmill for me if I can help it! It was so icy outside this morning though; I saw my neighbor a few hours later and she said she was inside her house watching me "test the street" as I headed out. Parts of my run were great and part of the time I thought I was crazy and should just head back home to the treadmill. But I stayed with it - even actually had to do some skating down one of the hills as I couldn't even take steps!

I have been thinking of the top 10 reasons why I run and while some of them may be subject to change, here is what they are as of today:

1 - It's a REAL workout! I can always feel it after I am done; my body knows I pushed it. Nothing like your feet against the road.
2 - I want to be a great role model for my two daughters. They get excited about races that I do and they like to do races as well when we find kids running or biking events. I want them to always be interested in physical fitness and since they already mimic me, I would say they are off to a good start!
3 - For some reason, I love my sweaty clothes! Just proof again that I had a great workout.
4 - It's a social outlet for me. I don't have a ton of adult interaction throughout my week so it is a great social activity for me to join my running friends and have some conversations. My running friends keep me motivated - I am proud to run with them!
5 - LOVE my running shoes. They are super comfy and supportive and helped me recover from some pretty severe shin splints last year. Overall, the most comfortable shoes to wear ever are running shoes - especially those that are too worn to even run in anymore. You can frequently catch me in my old, ripped-out running shoes out and about town!
6 - It's fun to wear your race shirt after an event. It's a little badge that "you did it!" and I am always proud to show off the new shirt. It is a small reward for my efforts!
7 - I love the excitement at the start and end of a race. Nothing like stepping across the start line with your adrenaline pumping and the anticipation of the route ahead - and then of course, nothing like crossing the finish line. Enough said.
8 - The diversity of running is motivating to me. It's interesting to people watch at events and to see folks "of age" or with some type of disability that are out there. If they can do it, so can the rest of us.
9 - Running is great for maintaining or losing weight (ok, the losing part would work better if I didn't like food so much!) I am not a stick and don't look like a runner but maybe if I manage my food intake a little better I would lose those last few lbs - for now, it definitely helps me to maintain!
10 - It is the only time I get to listen to my music non-interrupted! I can plug into my ipod, listen to Lady GaGa (yes, Mirna, just as bad as Britney!) and any of the other dance music I have downloaded. A lot of people would like the peace and quiet - I wish I could play my music even louder (have to keep it low for safety-sake.) Anyway, LOVE to listen to my ipod!!

There they are, in no particular order, the reasons why I like to run.

Week 2 Complete! Total Miles Ran=17

Saturday 02/05/11: Beautiful morning along Fish Lake Trail. We ran a total of 7 miles today. We had a couple of ladies join us this week, Sarah and Paula. We hope we have others continue to join us as we increase the mileage!

Week 2 complete-so far, so good...

(Sarah, Mirna, Andrea, Ashley, Paula, and Bethany)

Early Morning Run (by Ashley)

I am not a morning person.  I never have been, and I'm afraid I never will be.  However, with this marathon training, my training buddies and I have chosen Saturday mornings at 7:00 to be our weekly long run time. There is nothing right about getting up at 6:00 am on a Saturday, but I am learning to do so.  I have always wanted to be that mom who gets up before the rest of the house comes to life, sneaks out to get in a morning run, and returns just in time for a solitary cup of chai tea before the morning chaos begins.

However.......... I am not that mom.



Instead, my idea of a morning run would begin about 9:30 or 10:00 after I have had a chance to wake up, eat breakfast, check my email, send the girls off to school, dink around the house for a bit,  check my email again, dink around the house some more, and then head out once the mood strikes.  The problem with this line of thinking though is that the "mood" doesn't always strike, and then I spend the rest of the day trying to talk myself into an afternoon run or an early evening run, meanwhile, the day just keeps slipping away from me and a run may not end up happening at all.  Thank goodness for my running buddies though because now on these early morning runs, I just have to get up and go.  I don't have time to wake up.  I don't have time to check my email.  I don't have time to dink around the house.  And I definitely don't have time for the "mood" to strike.

But, guess what..... it always does.

And when we arrived this morning at the trail and I saw the beautiful sunrise, I thought to myself, "this morning stuff isn't all that bad".  So who knows, I might just get hooked on this morning run thing and try it all by myself one of these days!  That's what a real runner would do!