I got Tagged! My friend Katie who writes an absolutely hysterical blog got me. So here goes.

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

Let's see, I would run from the car to the house if it was raining, maybe run a block to catch the dog if he got out (maybe), I would run if chased by mountain lions/bears/strange men wielding knives. Get the picture? Running wasn't on my radar screen at all. My fat ass was doing a whole lot of drinking and couch sitting in 1998.

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

I would have to say my best was my first trail race The Fall Fell 7 miler on October 21st 2007. It was my first race and I was really freaked out, but everyone was nice and I felt great and had such a good time, I was high for weeks after it. I was so smitten with trail running after that!
Since I've only been running for 10 months, I haven't really had a chance to have a really bad experience YET. At this point I would have to say that the 20 mile run when I bonked was the worst... I hadn't eaten or drank enough and the last 3 miles were pretty miserable.

3- Why do you run?

Running started out as a wild thought... Husband & I were driving across Illinois on our way to a family reunion in Wisconsin when out of nowhere I thought "I want to run a marathon with Dad" I have no idea where it came from... I had been getting back into shape by doing lots of Pilates & walking but running hadn't been on the menu. So I called Dad and told him what I wanted to do and he agreed, so I started running.... and took to it like a fish to water. It was like coming home. I have played soccer, lacrosse, ice hockey, raced bikes, (road, mtn & cyclocross) but for the first time I was doing something that made me laugh with pure joy while doing it. It just truly makes me happy.

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

I've been pretty damn lucky to have the best advice givers around me, between my Dad who has 30+ years of running experience and the Trail Nerds who are very kind to newbies, I don't know that I've been given bad advice. The advice that I probably use the most is " Start Slow!" and it's true.. it's much more fun to pass people near the end of a race than be passed.

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

This one has really got me stumped, I'm a really open person and I'll chat your ear off if you let me so I'm not sure if I could surprise anyone! I don't think many people know I was a forest firefighter for a couple of years and I would kill to do it again.

Now I'm supposed to tag 5 other people so these are the people whose answers I'd really like to read:

Bad Ben

Dad

Kim

Trail Zombie

Davidray

Here are the rules guidelines:
If you have been tagged, you will find your name at the end of this post. You should then, copy the rules (or your version of them), and the set of questions onto your blog post, provide your own answers, and then tag 5 new people.

Just to be sure that everyone tagged knows they have been invited to play, go to their blogs and leave them a special comment letting them know, and refer them to your blog for details.

One more thing, once they've answered the questions on their own blog, they should come back to yours to tell you.