My "Thankful" List. What are you thankful for?

If anyone has reason to be thankful, it is I. It’s true that now is my least favorite year (barren trees, freezing temperatures and snow as I write!), and it’s true that I’ve exchanged time on my beloved Bellingham trails for the stationary bike and water running while I let my foot heal, BUT still… what a life I have. I live in a great community with a loving man and two flat nosed little dogs who think I’m the cat’s meow. I have the most stellar set of friends any woman has ever had. And this year, I not only finished my quest to hit the ground running on every continent, but I lived out a dream to complete and publish a book!

So even as I lament having to exercise my body inside of buildings instead of outside in the elements (as unaccommodating as they have been this week), I have to put my thankfulness firmly out into the universe. Here is a list of what I’m thankful for today – from the basic to the minute:

* A warm home, enough food and a clean bed – not everyone has this, you know
* The luck to live in a country where I, as a woman, have rights and many, many choices in my life – not everyone has this, either
* Every person who has cheered me in a race, shown up at a reading or commented on my blog – I needed you and you were there – thank you
* Every glass of good red wine I have ever tasted, but especially those made in Washington State
* Sports bras
* Hair coloring
* Arizona in the winter
* Books – and publishers (especially Seal Press!)
* Cheese
* A healthy body, my current struggle notwithstanding
* My partner, Bill, who daily lives up to his promise to stay in the fray with me, even when it is less than pleasant.

What does your list look like? Have a great weekend as you think about it.

Holiday Gift Ideas

Well, the holidays are upon us, once again. Thursday is Thanksgiving! One of the things I love about being a runner is guilt-free eating. So, first of all, happy Turkey day, and may you find a multitude of things to be grateful about.

Admittedly, I’ve not been on the trails lately because of the plantar fasciitis I’ve been fighting and have, thus, been “water running” (which isn’t really running at all) and peddling on the stationary bike at the gym. Still, my runner’s heart is out there with all of you.

I’m making my holiday gift list just as you are, too.

So I’d like to offer my top 6 ideas for the runner in your life – particularly the back-of-the-pack runner who spends more than the average number of hours on the course.
1. Present a piece of Tarma running jewelry to her to show your support. Last year Bill have me a necklace with a pendant of a running girl inside of circle (looks like a peace sign), and I’ve gotten countless compliments on it.

2. Put a box of her favorite energy gel in her stocking. These nasty tasting, but absolutely essential running supplies are not expensive, but they can add up. There’s nothing worse than getting ready for a long run and discovering that you’re out of café latte or red raspberry gel. Get her a month’s supply. Remember, she needs approximately one gel packet for every hour of running.

3. For the compassionate minded runner in your life, take the “26.2 Challenge” by donating to the Hall Steps Foundation. With a $26.00 donation you can help Olympian marathoner, Ryan Hall, and his wife, Sara, bring clean water to the world. My husband, Bill, recently went to hear Ryan and Sara speak and this year, we’re donating.

4. Alternatively, if you’re inclined to give a donation in your runner’s name, consider contributing to Girls on the Run, an amazing international organization that promotes self-respect and healthy living for elementary school age girls. I volunteered to be a running buddy with the local group a few years ago, and now I’m sold on them. They do GREAT work!

5. Give an iTunes gift card to keep your favorite runner in hours of hoppin’, inspiring music. And if she doesn’t have an iPod Shuffle, why not spring for that, too?

6. Last (for now) but not least, don’t forget to give your favorite runner a copy of Second Wind: One Woman’s Midlife Quest to Run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents by yours truly. I’m a slow poke marathoner who has experienced the life-changing power of the marathon as a metaphor for all of life. She’ll appreciate being encouraged by my story and my admiration for all runners, no matter their pace.

So this is a start. Don’t be shy, add to my list and I’ll update it over the next month to give you more ideas. Have a great week.

Three Cheers for the NYC Marathon Winners!

Yesterday I watched the televised (and delayed) coverage of the New York City Marathon. What I love about watching the NYC Marathon on TV is that you get to see ALL the action. A split screen keeps the viewer up to the minute on leaders in both the men’s and the women’s races, and then every so often the video cuts to the average runners, the folks like you and me. I was struck again this year at how the front runners look like they’re breezing along with hardly any effort (at under 5 minutes a mile), while the other bazillion participants look like their fighting hard for every step, especially near the finish.

I’m not a big fan of televised sports – never have been. I don’t even watch the Super Bowl for the half-time show; I go to the movies that day. But running is different, of course, because of I’m one of them. This year I actually found myself yelling at the TV. As you may remember, I met Meb Keflezighi, American marathoner, earlier this year after the Seattle Rock N Roll Half Marathon. He autographed my race number and congratulated me on finishing my goal to run the marathon distance on all seven continents. Naturally, I was cheering for him as the leaders in the men’s race sped through the course. At a certain moment, though, long after the midpoint yesterday, Meb grimaced and there was a sudden change in his gait. He wasn’t limping, exactly, just not sailing anymore, and he dropped toward the back of the front – if that makes sense. He ended up coming in sixth at 2:11:38. The winner is a fellow from Ethiopia who was running his first marathon! Gebre Gebrmariam came in at 2:08:14. I can’t even drive to Seattle in that time on a busy Friday afternoon. Congrats to Gebre.

Also running her first marathon, was Shalane Flanagan from Boulder, Colorado. I found myself screaming at the television, “Come on Shalane! You can do it,” when she slipped back to third place late in the race. Edna Kiplagat from Kenya had pulled ahead and was clearly going to win the race but Shalane and Mary Keitany (Kenya) were battling it out for second. Nothing against Mary, mind you, but to be running her first marathon and coming so close to winning, Shalane just HAD to come in second, from my point of view. And she did. She pulled ahead of Mary and came in at 2:28:40, 20 seconds behind Edna and 21 seconds in front of Mary. Yay for Shalane!!!

The great runners I watched on TV yesterday are like gods and goddesses to me. They’re freaks of nature who add a whole hell of a lot of training to their already perfect physiques and make their bodies perform miracles. Far from discouraging me, watching their magic inspires me. I want to breathe the same air and run the same courses they run – and it doesn’t matter to me how far behind them I come in. I can see in their strides what human beings can do when all the circumstances and motivation align.