A New PR, girlfriend time, good laughs, shopping, good food, hometown celebrity & a potty accident (no - there were no children there)!!

Inaugural Eugene Women's half marathon, girl time, shopping, laughs, tears, reading from one of my favorite mom running authors SBS of Run Like a Mother, good food.......what more could a mom, wife, friend, runner ask for?

So, first - I am a week late on this post that I have been so excited about. Partly because of the crazy start of school, but mostly because I have been dealing with a nasty virus on my computer for a couple months now and it finally took over my computer. The hijacking of my husbands computer only keeps me up on e-mail and an occasional facebook message. I am now the proud owner of a new Mac book & I am in love!!! So - I am back to posting about my running and otherwise happenings in my life.

Now onto the the Eugene Women's Half......What a great event for several reasons but mostly because of these beautiful faces....



As I posted before Julie and I are following the same Advanced Training as Sarah of Run Like a Mother & this race was written perfectly into it. I was excited to see where I was at in my training, as a half marathon finishing time can be a good indicator of what you canplan to do for your marathon. Well, I set a new PR!! The plan that has been kicking my rear end is working. Thank you to SBS for sharing her plan with other runner mom's and thank you to Andrew Kastor, coach of High Sierra Striders in Mammoth Lakes, CA. for writing the plan for her. My previous time at Race for the Roses was 1:46:42 and here are my Eugene stats:

Ashley Shaddy
bib number: 1397
age: 35
gender: F
location: Vancouver, WA
overall place: 54 out of 1558
division place: 12 out of 265
gender place: 54 out of 1558
time: 1:42:45
pace: 7:51

I pushed hard for that time, but felt good...... except for finishing with wet shorts. Yes, I had a potty accident. Not the run down your leg and fill your shoes kind of accident, but I certainly finished with wet shorts. I was fine until mile 11 - when I had already passed all the opportunities to empty my bladder. I suddenly HAD TO GO - but told myself -"You only have 2 miles, you can make it." I always like to try and pick it up a little the last mile and FINISH STRONG.....so at mile 12 as my legs and arms went into a faster gear my bladder began to remind me that I have carried 2 babies in this body. As I could hear & see the finish nearing, I could also feel the evidence of my weak bladder in my shorts. All I can say is NEVER say NEVER - because I can remember having a conversation with Julie about marathon running and whether I could pee myself & I told her I didn't think I ever could. So, I guess I can & I did....should have brought the Go Girl that Julie bought me as a joke. The funnest part was telling Julie right after she crossed the finish line - she folded over laughing so hard that I am surprised a medic didn't come check on her. So, if my pants look a little padded for Portland Marathon - then I sporting a depends....hmmmm.....actually I may have to consider that. Isn't it in to have a Kardashian looking booty anyway?

Julie (see her report here) also set a PR, Meredith had a run with an incredible story, Amy had a great run, Lindsay finished her first race EVER - way to go, & my sweet friend Lisa who planned to run but was injured - was the most unselfish & motivating cheerleader!!!

Other than a great event with a beautiful course, great volunteers and spectators (THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!), I had an amazing weekend with some incredible women that I have already been blessed enough to call friends and a few that I was blessed enough to know better. It can do so much for a mom to get away with her girlfriends to relax, to finish a conversation, to laugh, sit and drink a cup of coffee (I mean sit there and drink ALL of it - how often do we do that!!), shop without kiddos, eat good food.......it is just refreshing to get a moment to breathe & spend time with people who are willing to share themselves - the good and the bad.

A few highlights and a few of my favorite things from the weekend:

When we got into town we went to Cafe Yumm & that name fits it perfectly. It is a perfect combination of a asian & mexican rice and bean bowl. Hard to explain, but SO good. I loved it so much that Elsie & I drove to the location in Beaverton last week for a Yum Bowl and I left with a craving fulfilled, a big bottle of Yum sauce so I can duplicate at home & a new fan as Elsie said "I like Yum bowls with enthusiasm!" She hears enthusiasm in her mommy's voice often when I speak of food.

If you are a mom and run or want to run ...you need to own Run Like a Mother -

It is a fun read & very motivating. We attended a reading that Sarah was doing when we went to pick up our race packets - it is always great to hear from a seasoned runner who has little kiddos running around as well & knows the obstacles of fitting a run or a training schedule into our mommy worlds. We took a picture with our local celebrity (at least in our little world- haha).




We did some shopping at the packet pick up area in the Fifth Street Market - super cute! Great kitchen store called Hartwick's - attached to a great little shop that makes YUMMY coffee.

We had a GREAT carb loading dinner at a newer restaurant called Osteria Sfizio. Super great girl's night or date night spot if you are in the area. They had homemade Ginger Soda that was so delicious!!

After the race - we not only got mimosas but we got to have a free mini spa treatment from the Aveda spa nearby and I found my favorite product that I have found in a while. I know this has nothing to do with running, but as much as I love running gear - I love other fun product to:



My hair has seriously never felt softer. Put it on when wet, dry hair and have your hubbie run his fingers through your beautiful soft hair or just enjoy it your self (the only area we mom's like to celebrate being SOFT).

Last, but not least - found a super cute pair of Mommy flats at a super cute shoe boutique Miss Meers.

So, great friends, good times and great run......thank you God for keeping me moving and giving me beautiful experiences and people to take on my journey.