My Running History

I am an avid runner who likes to run and has run in most weather conditions. I grew up in Tokyo, Japan where it seemed to rain quite frequently during the fall and spring. I ran all of my best cross country races in the rain and still love to go out on a misty cool morning for a run. This blog is intended to be a record of my thoughts both running and non running related as I experience them on my runs. Sometimes I think the clearest when I run and although it is sometimes hard to put into words the things I feel on my runs, I need a place to store those thoughts so I can refer back to them for motivation and guidance. I am not a professional runner but a very experienced one at that. My method and style of running may not be the best for every runner but it works for me. I don't claim to know everything about running but I do know a few things. Those few things have helped me for over 20 years of my life. This is a record of a very important part of my life---My Life as a Runner!

A little history of my running career:

I have been running competitvely for 20 years. My first real competitive race was a 3K cross country course when I was 12 years old. It was then that I realized I had a talent for running. It was also at this point that I was introduced to the man who would eventually be my coach and who would change my views of running forever. Coach Vig (Chris Vigeland) as I called him was a runner himself who ran competitively as a young boy. He grew up near Eugene, OR and even met the famous Prefontaine (the movie based off of this famous runner was partially filmed at my coaches's lake home in Eugene). Coach Vig's motto for runnning was based around the 3D's: Dedication, Determination, and Discipline. That motto has greatly helped me in my running and in every other aspect of my life. He always expected greatness from me and because of that I always gave 100%. During my later cross country years I was introduced to another great man who became my second coach--Bob Poulson. He was also an avid runner and continues to run today. Bob accompanied me on many of my long cross country runs. It seemed I was a little slower than the fastest guys but faster than all the girls so I ran by myself most of the time. He not only kept me company but pushed me hard so that I could get the best workout possible. I am grateful to these two men and for all they did to help me be the runner I am today.

Over the course of my schooling I competed in many cross country and track meets. I was able to secure the Kanto Plains (Tokyo, Japan American Region) league record for the cross country course (13:04 3K extremely hilly course) when I was a Freshman in High school (1992), the mile league record (5:30) when I was a Sophmore (1994), and the 2 mile league record (11:54) when I was a Junior (1995).

I also competed in the Far East Cross Country Tournament in Seoul, Korea as a Freshman (1992) and Junior (1994) in high school. I was able to finally break 20 minutes in the 5K and helped my team to come away with a first place team finish. I was able to get second place for the girls 5K race my Freshman year and 3rd place for the girls 5K race my Junior year.

Since then all of my league records have been broken. I ended up holding the league record for cross country for over 14 years which was longer than any other record was held. It was only broken two years ago by 5 seconds. Luckily the girl who broke my record went to a different school so I still hold my school record for cross country.

When I left for collage I was a little burned out and took most of my Freshman year in college off of running. At the request of my older brother who could see through my laziness, I started running with an excellent running club. It was from there that I became a real long distance runner and started training for my first marathon. I have run four marathons:

Nashville, TN in April 2000(3:38:00)
Richmond, VA in November 2004 (3:29:47)
Boston, MA in April 2005 (3:34:59)
Phoenix, AZ in January 2007 (3:24:10)

I have run around 6 (maybe more) half marathons but don't seem to have recorded those times as well. I ran the Provo River Half Marthon twice and in August 2000 got a time of around 1:30:00 (not sure on the specifics of the seconds). I also ran the Moab River Half Marathon twice. I ran another half marathon in Pennsylvania with Mike in March 2005 in preparation for the Boston Marathon but only managed to get around 1:34:00. My last half marathon was run in Seattle, WA in June 2009 with a time of 1:32:19.

This year I am training to run a cross country series in a neighboring town called Steilacoom. I will be running a 10K the end of January, 15 K in February, and 20 K in March. I will also be running the Wenatchee Half Marathon in April hoping to finally break 1:30:00. I love running because of the challenge. It also keeps me extremely fit which is good on those days I just can't stay away from sweets. Running to me is more than staying in good shape though. It is about a time that is all mine where I can feel at peace with myself and the world around me!