Our Wilsonville Sole Sisters

by Carissa

When we came up with the blog name Sole Sisters we by no means thought we were the first to trademark it.  We did get lucky enough to have a custom, hand-drawn logo from a fellow Sole Sister.  How cool is that?  We were recently pleasantly surprised to learn of another trio of women right here in the Portland Metro using the same name to encourage and unite women through exercise.  

Sole Sisters Jules, Lisa and Ann founded the Queen of the High Roads half marathon in Wilsonville.  The  annual race will be held on May 18th and is only $30 to register!  Groups of women in Wilsonville, Sherwood, and Tigard will begin training for the race on Saturday, February 2nd.  If that isn't fun enough, this week on Wednesday, January 30th, at 6:30 p.m. there will be a kick-off event at Road Runner Sports in Tualatin.

We encourage you to check out their website here.  If you live locally, grab a Sole Sister and come get involved in this great event.  You'll need to RSVP for Wednesday on the Sole Sisters Wilsonville website.  We hope to see you there.

Running through life... together,

Carissa

Back to Basics - Preparing for a Half Marathon

Me with my kids before my first half marathon - June 2007

When I ran my first half marathon I was unprepared on every level.  I found out I was running the race twelve hours before the gun went off.  I was undertrained (hadn't run more than six consecutive miles in my life), didn't know a thing about racing or fueling my body, and had no idea how I would make it to the finish line.  What I did have was an old pair of tennis shoes, a big brother who filled my brain with How To's, and a boatload of determination.  By the grace of God, I finished that race.

This Sunday I'll toe the line of my twelfth half marathon.  But I won't be alone.  A whole team of women from my neighborhood will line up with me, united by our love for our friend Krista who we lost to cancer almost a year ago.  Most of these women will be covering 13.1 miles for the first time in a race and I am so excited to cheer them to the finish.

As race day approaches, I've fielded several questions from my friends about how to prepare for the race.  It made me realize that a back-to-the-basics post on preparing for a half marathon might be beneficial.  I don't like research and I am no expert.  What I share has been gleaned from trial and error over the last five years of running and from picking the brains of more experienced runners.  Please take it with a grain of salt.  With that said, here's a list of things I recommend doing before you run your first half marathon.

Rollin’ In The Deep - - Foam Roller Love & Other Advice From An Injury Prone Runner

By Tanya

Me and my beloved foam roller

There is no doubt that running has provided me with numerous health benefits, however there is also no denying that running has been tough on my body.

I have read that when running, the average runner strikes the ground with seven to eight times the force of his or her body weight. No matter how much you weigh that’s a lot of stress for your muscles, tendons, joints and bones to endure!

Almost every runner will tell you that aches and pains are par for the course especially when you first start out, increase your workouts, or challenge yourself with a new goal or routine.  As you continue to run and push your body to new limits it is almost inevitable that at some point you will sustain some type of injury.