Oh Yes, It's Tag Time....AGAIN!

I've been tagged by Phil and Derek on their blogs, so I will try to keep it going (no promises here, sorry).

Here are the rules and my reply is just below.


Tagging is easy. Just copy the following onto your post.
The rules of the game are posted at the start of your blog post.
In this case, I'm asking you 5 questions about running.
Each player answers the 5 questions on their own blog.
At the end of your post you tag 5 other people and post their names.
Go to their blogs and leave a comment on their blogs telling them they've been tagged and to look at your blog for details.
When they've answered the questions on their own blog, they come back to yours to tell you. Got that?
Here goes.

1. How would you describe your running 10 years ago?

Ten years ago I was not running at all. I ran cross country and track in high school, way back in the early 80's, but never continued running in college since I was too busy working and taking classes. I really got into cycling for a number of years and did a few races. In 2001 I decided it was time to start running again and challenge myself to finish a marathon, which I did in October of 2002. 2002 I also got my first taste of trail running at the Afton Trail 25K race. After the marathon, I took some time off to let my plantars fascitis (sp?) heal up and never got back into running until about a year ago. A few months before turning 40, I made a decision to start running once again, with the goal of finishing the 50K distance of the Afton Trail run, which btw, is in a week. Coincidentally, my brother started running again at the same time and we both decided to start training for and running ultras.

2. What is your best and worst run/race experience?

My best race experience was the Ice Age 50-miler this past May. I was smiling from start to finish and really enjoyed running on the trails for 10+ hours. The whole experience was fun, relaxing, and rewarding.

My worst experience was the Conference Cross Country Championships my senior year. I had a hamstring strain and ended up finishing almost dead last. It was a really disappointing way to finish my senior season, especially having been one of the top 5 runners on the team.

3. Why do you run?

Running is a big stress-reliever for me. In addition, running ultras also challenges me both physically and mentally. With ultras there's always a good chance you might not finish, and to me, that's appealing.

4. What is the best or worst piece of advice you've been given about running?

The best advice was from my high school coach, Rod Vick. He once said, "Let yourself run fast, don't make yourself run fast." In other words, it's easier to run fast when you are loose and relaxed. Don't tense up and strain. I think the other good piece of advice I got was to not run the steep hills during ultras. For me, it was hard to conceive of not running an entire race. But, following this advice during my first 50-miler got me to the finish line in good shape.

5. Tell us something surprising about yourself that not many people would know.

Although I'm an engineer, I don't have a degree in engineering. I do have a BA in both journalism and speech communications. I'm also pretty good at Guitar Hero 2 and 3. I've beaten almost every song on Hard and over half of them on Expert. I'd probably be even better if I didn't spend so much time running. Ha ha!