National Running Day June 6th and Portland Track Festival

Calling all Portlanders and Tualatonians! (Those who live in or around the cities of Portland or Tualatin, Oregon)  Come on over to Lewis and Clark college on Friday the 9^th and Saturday the 10^th to cheer on some great athletes at the Portland Track Festival! Just to name a few of my favorite big names that will be there: Katie McGregor – multiple time National Champion and World Championships participant; and Carrie Tollefson – 2004 Olympian; and me of course!

 I will be running the 10,000m again on Friday night, June 9^th.  The third time this season is going to be the charm – the time of 32:45 is going down!  (Just to recap – the 10K in Boston went well; I ran 33:11 for second place)

I am particularly excited about this race because it will be a homecoming of sorts for me.  I went to high school at Tualatin High School, just 10 miles down the road from the Lewis and Clark College. I have spent many hours running in Tryon Creek State Park which is a great park to run in located right next to the school. I have many nostalgic memories of running with Brent “Mac” MacDermot and Taylor “White Bread” Hallvik , as well as my high school besties Lindsay Hallvik, Mallory Freed, Colleen Godfrey and Amanda Bateman Evans – just to name a few.  Mac and Taylor have already promised to come and cheer, if anyone else wants to join in it would be most appreciated!

When I hit the time of 32:45 (the trials “A” qualifying standard) it is going to be an extremely exciting moment. Not only will it be a confirmation of all the hard work that I have put in, but it will also qualify me for sure for the Olympic Team Trials in Eugene two weeks later – another place I have special memories associated with because I won 6 Oregon State High School Championships titles there. Not to mention all of the history associated with the many running greats who have called Eugene home. Needless to say June is shaping up to be a very exciting month.

ALSO - Don't forget that June 6th is National Running Day. Visit www.runningday.org or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/runningday. Join in on National Running Day as the country takes strides towards leading healthier, fitter lives. Taking part is easy. Just wear your running shoes, grab a friend and go! 

I RUN...because I can't imagine life without it! 

Tell me and the world why you run?!?

I hope to see you all there on the 9^th and down in Eugene for the trials.

Godspeed

~Meghan

MinneSNOWta - You betcha!

I have gotten a little off of my schedule in the last two weeks, but now I am back! In the last two weeks a couple of significant events have occurred in my training. Firstly, I completed my first almost-marathon, a 26 mile training run. It was a combination of good, bad and ugly.

I went into the run with the idea that I would treat it just like race day, the only difference being that it wouldn’t be at race pace. So I got up in the morning and ate a bagel with cream cheese and a banana, and spent the rest of the morning drinking the fluids that I plan on using during the OTMarathon. The only problem was that after I ate my breakfast I had to go to work for about 3 hours before doing my run. So I ate my breakfast at 9am and then left work to go do my run at 12:30. The first part of the run was fine, but once I got to about 18-20 miles I started to get the feeling that my head was floating away from my body, like a kite on a string. I was conscious that I was still running, but I felt like I was floating. I shook my head a few times and was able to focus again, but the rest of the run was really long. I think my problem was that I had not consumed enough calories for the run, and I had only taken one Hammer Gel with me, which was not enough. I guess I learned that lesson the hard way.

The second event that occurred during the past week and a half is that it finally decided to snow here in minneSNOWta, which officially marks the end of doing workouts outside. So yesterday, while it sleeted miserably outside I made my merry way to Life Time Fitness in Eden Prairie and jumped on a treadmill to do a 20 mile run. Life Time’s facilities are really fantastic and top notch, so it was the best possible alternative to running outside. I cranked the treadmill up and put it at 1% grade, to compensate for the fact that I am running on a treadmill not the ground, and settled in at 6:53 pace. The first 15 miles passed by quickly enough because I was watching the Michigan V. Nebraska game – quick shout out to my friend Katie McGregor, GO BIG BLUE!  It wasn’t much of a game as Michigan crushed the Corn Huskers 45 to 17, but hey, it kept my mind from spelling out M-O-N-O-T-O-N-Y with every stride.  The last 5 miles which I ran at close to my threshold pace – aka 5:45 min/mile – were a test of my mental fortitude…but I guess I need some of that during my training for a marathon.

Emily Brown and me dressed as presents, participating in the Life Time Fitness Reindeer Run 2010.  It is is hard to run when you can't use your arms! 

My fitness continues to progress and I am excited to see what the next two weeks will hold as I prepare to run in the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving day and the Rock’n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon on Dec. 4^th.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Make it a good one and don’t forget to get your run in before you eat Turkey, because although it is just a wives’ tale that the tryptophan found in Turkey makes you sleepy, I know there is something about a Thanksgiving Feast that makes you not want to get in a run after it.