WOW, TWO TAGS!

Gee, I've gotten popular all of a sudden.



Jeff and Flo have both tagged me, but with the same tag, so I only have to answer once :-)

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

Hmm, well. Let me think. When was 10 years ago? 1998? Oh, wow. I guess that was when I was raising money for TNT and tapering for the actual marathon, the Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon in Anchorage, AK. I was in my second year back to serious running after a 4-year hiatus (nursing school sucked the life out of me.) I was enjoying running again and trying to give it a purpose by raising money for the Leukemia Society. Plus, I wanted to go to Alaska.

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

Best: I would say my second marathon, Marine Corps Marathon in 1987. I'd had a miserable first marathon (same one, the year before) and thought that couldn't be what marathoning was like or people wouldn't do it. However, I didn't expect to be able to get off work and hadn't trained for a marathon. I was running about 10 miles a week. Steve and I found out maybe 3 weeks before the marathon we'd be able to go, and we registered (you could register last-minute in those days.) I planned to run half, since I hadn't trained. But at the half I thought, well, one more mile, and then one more, and then one more, and finished in 4:29:xx, nearly an hour and a half faster than my previous one, with no training. I was exuberant!!!

Worst: In terms of how it felt? Well. That would have to be the Hatfield McCoy Marathon in July 2006. I hurt like hell all over, especially my feet. (The race scenario was fun.) Or else the marathon part of Ironman Florida, November 2006. Or the Vermont City Marathon, May 2007. Or the Austin Marathon, February 2008. Any of those 4 would vie for top spot. In combination, they resulted in my decision not to run marathons anymore.

3. Why do you run?

That depends on how things are going. When I'm in a groove and excited about races, I run because I'm driven. When I'm in a rut and wishing I hadn't registered, I run because I have to. Right now I'm in a rut. But I have a friend who likes to run with me and she's salvaging it for me.

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

Best: Every runner is an experiment of one. Worst: Run high-mileage weeks and a 26-mile training run to train for a marathon.

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

Although I'm adamantly pro-life and anti-abortion, I think abortion must be kept legal for the safety of women and the integrity of the medical profession.

OK, I tag (any of these who are already tagged, consider it a double-tag like me):

Nancy, Loping LouBob, Vickie, Shawn, Skatemom.

Here's how to play: Visit 5 blogs and leave invitations to play, referring others back to your blog for more details. On your own blog, list the five questions and your own answers to them. Also, let the person who has tagged you know when you're done.