What to say, what to say...
Let's start with the who, what, where.
The who: is me, Holly, and my various running and fitness enthusiast friends and family. I started running 3 years ago to increase my stamina and fitness level so I could become a better hockey player. It worked, I became faster and better. But then something strange happened, running started to become something... not just something I did to enhance my skating. I started to not just think of myself as a hockey player, but, also maybe a runner. The first race I ever ran was the Shamrock Run in Portland Oregon with my good friend Ebbie. We started out together not being able to run a mile, but, here we were running 3 whole miles, non-stop! We had committed ourselves to something and had followed through. Running across my first finish line was the best feeling ever. After that I continued to run 10-15 miles a week, plus, played on 2 hockey teams in the local adult league. By the Fall I was thinking it might be fun to run another race. So, I called my seester, Lisa, to see what she would recommend. Lisa, to me, is a real runner. She has been running for as long as I can remember and has, I don't know how many, races under her belt. Who better to ask? She enthusiastically stated that she and I were going to register and hopefully be a couple of the chosen few to run the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco the following October. Well, we got in and I started training for my first 1/2 marathon. Training... that was an interesting experience, I knew a big fat nothing about training. I found a training program on runnersworld.com and started following it. The first snag I hit was when I got up to running about 7-8 miles I found myself struggling near the end of my run, so I asked the world's best chiropractor and ultra marathoner Dr. Drake Tollenaar for some advice. He asked me what I was drinking and using for fuel. Fuel? I told him I had only been drinking water, so he wrote me out a list of sports drinks and snacks he liked. All I can say is, wow, what a difference, and continued running and fueling on my merry way. NWM was amazing, anyone who has ever done it knows what I'm talking about. The Expotique, entertainment at every mile, and best of all... firemen in tuxedos handing out little blue and white Tiffany's boxes with necklaces in them. The swag doesn't get any better than that. But, the best part of all, was when I crossed that finish line... for the first time in my life I felt like a real runner.
The What: A website to share information, favorite websites, and adventures in running... and hockey :)
The Where: The beautiful Pacific Northwest, of course!