Another Suitcase In Another Hall

As the year ends, we, type A runners, start counting and recounting numbers, piling them up and calling them the stats of the year. Well, I ain't no different.

• Total mileage 567 over 8 months of running (May-Dec).
  
• Participated in 24 races (eighteen 5K; four 10K; one 12K; one Half)
  
• Got a nice 5K PR of 27:27
• Got a "for sure" 10K and Half Marathon PR, as it was the first time I officially ran the distances (1:00:31 and 2:23:21 respectively)
  
• Got two 1st places in my division (5K) hurray!, two second places, one third, and placed nicely in most of the rest 5K. At longer distances (i.e. 10K, 12K and Half) I placed in the middle of the pack.
  
• Didn't run a Marathon

My favorite 2009 running pictures are shown here. One, above, was in the Fall Classic in Monroe. The photographer really captured my state. It was my hardest 5K race, to the point I thought I was going to DNF. Following Pre's words I ran with everything I had: "If I am still standing at the end of the race, hit me with a board and knock me down, because that means I didn't run hard enough". I almost collapsed at the finish line, interestingly, it was not my best race. The second picture, below, my Half marathon medal, with our beautiful city icon in the background, Seattle's Space Needle. Awesome picture taken by my daughter in law, photographer Shelly K. Moreno


On the personal side, this was the toughest year of my life. I started and finished cancer treatment, and lost one of the most important persons in my life, the father of my children. Still, I needed to move on. At 52 years of age, I really discovered that tomorrow we may not be around. Though I lost my father 16 years ago, I discovered, with Luis' passing, what death really meant. So those 24 races were my escape to somewhere, to the infinity, to freedom, to acknowledgment of what life is. I breathe, I see, I feel, I sense, I walk, I run. Therefore, I race. No matter the weather conditions, from hot muggy days, to freezing temperatures, I race simply because I can. I am alive.

To give a twist to the year to come, I decided to place Another Suitcase In Another Hall: To change marathon season, marathon venue and marathon plan. I officially registered for a Spring Marathon at Eugene, OR, the mecca of running, and my training will be based on Arthur Lydiard's methodology...

Thanks to my runner-blogger friends for a year of sharing, looking forward to more adventures together. Special thanks to Craig.
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The last two races of the year:

12/12/09 - Christmas Rush 10K, Kent, WA: 1:02:02

















































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12/20/09 - 12Ks of Christmas, Kirkland, WA - 1:15:39
Division 33/76 - Overall Female 406/744 - Overall 785/1180

Great HILLY race. I did better than expected.