Our New Digs

Its is official, we are homeowners in WA!  We have been toying with the idea of buying for awhile, but, we were hesitant since we still have the house in MI.  But, after two years in our apartment we decided it was time to at least start looking.  Looking quickly turned into putting an offer in on a home we couldn't believe we could even consider.  Below are a few pictures, please ignore the mess, we are still moving. 

I don't know what we like better, the door or the sweet cut-out that lets in a ton of light.

I

Smooth moves

In high school I acquired the nickname 'ox'.  Generally I think of a ox as a beast of burden, an animal capable of pushing though most anything carrying a heavy load.  However, I would be lying if I didn't tell you why I think I really got called this, I think it had something to do with my ability to fall down and/or run into things.  How this relates to an ox I am not entirely sure, but I do know in high school I had a knack for klutziness. 

Fast forward 10+ years.  I feel confident saying that my post high school years brought with it significantly less crashes.  Don't get me wrong, I still would bite it (hard) at times, but the general klutz in me was better. 

As I mentioned before I have started running with the Oly trail runners on Thursday's.  They meet for an easy 45 minute jaunt though the local park in town and go to the Fishbowl afterwards for some beer and stories.    Since I started trail running about a year ago I have taken 2 spills, both during these group runs.  Today as I was headed down some slick wooden stairs my feet flew out from under me and I hit the ground, hard.  Thankfully I didn't take out the woman in front of me, but I did managed to kick her on my way down - sorry Kris! 

My posterior took the brunt of this fall...

Capitol Peak 50 Mile

What is a blog if not a device to toot your own horn?  So toot I will, I completed my first 50 mile Ultra Saturday and I am insanely proud of myself!  Now that we have that out of the way...

Saturday was the Capitol Peak 55k/50 mile, a race that takes place in Capitol Forest, my home trail turf.  I signed-up a few months backing thinking it would make a great first 50 miler since it is close to home and I am familiar with the trail system.

I spent the three weeks between Yakima and Capitol Peak not doing much running due to sore knees.  Leading up to it I was feeling okay about attempting it but Matt was somewhat skeptical, he wasn't sure my lack of running was going to lead to a good end.  None the less, he was supportive of my choice to go ahead and give it a try.  I figured what was the worse that would happen, I would have to drop?

Saturday morning I woke-up at 4:30 to get there in time for the 6am start.  At the start I met up with Julie and Wayne and prepared for a long day of perpetual motion.   I had no idea what to expect, all I knew is I had a long day ahead of me full of a lot of unknowns: a) how would I handle the distance, b) how should I handle nutrition, and c) would I finish before the cut-off, just to name a few of the thoughts running through my head.

Myself, Wayne and Julie at the start.
photo credit: Julie

I didn't have too long to contemplate these things, John (RD) gave a quick rundown on what to expect and then we were off.  I can honestly say that my body seemed blissfully unaware of what I was doing for the first 10 miles.  Usually these are the hardest miles for me, but not Saturday, honestly none of the miles felt that hard.  I am amazed by how well I felt though the entire run.  I finished in 11:18 and save for some stomach issues that lasted about 4 miles (mile 40-44ish) I felt pretty good.

The course was fantastic, mostly single-track though Capitol Forest.  However, I have to say the best part was the aid stations and not for the food.  I finally crawled out of my shell and have started meeting people in Olympia, specifically the running community and they are a great group of people.  Many of these people were manning the various aid stations and it was really nice to have someone cheer for me as I came though.  Talk about a great pick-me-up!  

If finishing my first 50 miler wasn't good enough, a great day was topped off by winning new pair of shoes!

My new kicks