Q & A—part 3

Margot asked: What is one running goal you most want to achieve? I REALLY want to qualify for Boston. Because of my advanced age, my qualifying time is much more achievable than for younger women.  I tried for my “perfect storm” in October of 2010, but had a bad race.  I am trying again this October.  My goal for last year is the same—sub 3:50.  I will be moving up in age groups soon and even with the new Boston qualifying times, a 3:50 would give me a five minute buffer.

In addition, I will run a 50K one of these days.  I had planned to run one last summer, but I had budget and scheduling issues.

Jess asked: What do you look forward to most following a hard training run? It is usually something cold and sweet.  I LOVE Otter Pops right after a run (I have packed them in a cooler for the group before) or an ice cold Pepsi.

Favorite running outfit? I don’t really have one favorite outfit.  I am pretty cheap when it comes to running clothes and my outfits are a collection of clearance items, gifts and C9 from Target. Half the time I wear race shirts and whatever shorts are clean.  After participating and teaching Body Back, I am in probably the best shape of my life. I am getting more and more comfortable showing my shape.  I just started rockin’ the booty shorts and love how comfy they are. My current favorite has been my Roadrunner Velocity Compression Shorts and my Roadrunner Every Day Tank in neon yellow/green.  However, I am beginning to think that my cammo Running Skirt with pink Roadrunner tank might become my favorite.
Favorite mileage? The half marathon is my favorite. I am even a Half Fanatic(#1205)! It is long enough to be an accomplishment, but not so long that it overtakes your training. My running fitness goal has been to be in half marathon shape no matter what I am training for, which means running at least 8-10 miles on the weekend.  This has come in handy as I have been able to do several last minute half marathons over the past year or so. For random runs, I still like the longer distances. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like I get into much of a groove until mile 7 or 8. It seems like most of my bad runs are under six miles.

Tricia asked the all-important question: What's your favorite kind of beer? Maybe I should have included this with the Hood to Coast-related questions. I have already told Tricia that I would buy her a beer for sending me my running skirt. Hopefully, this question means that I have a teammate who likes beer.   Having my roots in Oregon, I am a fan of micro brewery craft beers. Everywhere you look in Oregon, there is a small brewery with yummy beer. My taste in beer depends on my mood.  I usually like Irish red ale, since they rarely have a distinct hops flavor (I’m not a big fan of “hoppy” beer).  Sometimes, especially in the summer, I like the fruit or wheat or Belgian White beer.  I have never been a fan of strong porters, IPA’s or stouts (although there is an oatmeal stout that I had once that was pretty good.)  hee hee….more info on my beer tastes than you expected, eh?

Lindsay asked: what is your ideal number of blog posts per week? (for you to write, or what you think others should post max)  I have no idea what ideal is, but I sometimes struggle to do one per week, which is far from ideal.  I would love to post 3-4 times a week.  I take a long time to compose blog posts, so I just don’t have time to do that.  I feel that posting every day is a bit of overkill and I have a hard time following anyone that posts that often. 

How many now-real-life friends have you met through blogging? (real life as in met up with).  I am a big fan of meeting people on the internet.  I have met five people I got to know from blogs.  I have met Alice, Penny, Alissa, Jill, Aron, Irene and LB.  LB and I met accidentally at the beach one day. I have also met Danica a couple of times.  Does talking on the phone count as real life friend? Terri and I have spoken to on the phone, texted etc and interact on Facebook regularly.  Before I ever knew what blogging was, I was involved in a couple online message board communities. I have friends who I consider very close that I met while trying to get pregnant nine years ago with my first child as well as a couple I met while pregnant with my second. I no longer participate in message boards, but we all stay well connected through Facebook.  I am sure after Hood to Coast, I will be able to update that list.  I am already becoming friends with a few of my teammates.

Ideal place to go on vacation? I love the Caribbean. The water is warm and crystal clear and the weather is balmy. I want to repeat the best vacation I ever had, which was chartering a sailboat called Cat Maudy. The captain and his wife spoiled my husband and I to a fantastic week of sailing around the Virgin Islands.  It was incredibly relaxing, and we could snorkel, swim, explore as much as we wanted. We met with them at the beginning of our voyage and decided on the itinerary and they knew our likes and dislikes in terms of food, drink etc.  We didn’t have to make another decision for the rest of the week.  It was incredible.

What activity would you do (money is not an issue).  I would have to say travel. Almost everything on my “bucket list” have to do with things in other parts of the world. I want to hike the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu. I want to do a trek in the Himalayas. I want to cycle through Europe. I want to go to the Olympics and the World Cup (wherever they might be). I would also like to run along the Great Wall of China (that marathon/half marathon looks awesome!)

Did you enjoy high school? I did. I participated in a lot of things in high school (student government, speech team, drama club, newspaper), yet had plenty of time to hang out with friends.  However, I am not a “glory days” kind of gal.  I don’t look back at high school with melancholy thinking about the “best days of my life.” I grew a lot in high school and enjoyed it, but would not want to go back.  Ever.

Thanks for playing!  I hope you were able to learn a little bit about me.

Happy Running…