Elements of Erin 337

Back in January when everyone was making New Year's resolutions, I really hadn't figured out my training goals for 2010.  I think this was the first year in quite a few that I didn't have at least one resolution. I still don't have a resolution for 2010 but I do have a running goal. I am going to run a 4 hour marathon at the BMO Vancouver Marathon  in May.  The last time I ran this marathon was in 2002 when I ran about 4:40.  Since then, my marathon PR is 4:24:54 at the Florida Marathon in December 2009.  This was a hilly run and I feel like I can better the time.  Of course, bettering the time by 24 minutes is a lofty goal. After scouring the Internets to find a suitable marathon plan, I decided to hire a local coach to help me achieve my goal.  I am now being coached by Calvin Gehlen of Finish Line Coaching .  Calvin coaches quite a few of T he SAA members and is our official run coach.  If you are on Twitter, Calvin tweets as...

Olympic Caudron in BC Place at the Opening Ceremonies Originally uploaded by erinlesleylee I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Opening Ceremonies at the the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. This photo was taken with a Blackberry but I thought it was pretty amazing. The energy in the stadium was awesome!

It has certainly been an exciting past few weeks.  We took a trip to Phoenix, AZ to run the Rock N Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon, I started a fantastic new job and the Olympics came to town.  There has been no shortage of things to do, just a shortage of time (what else is new?). Below are photos of Tim and I in the finishing area of the Phoenix, AZ Marathon and 1/2 Marathon.  Overall is was a great trip and a great race.  I didn't get a PR but managed to have a great time on the course and in the city.  We were only there from Friday to Sunday and we stayed in downtown Phoenix so there wasn't much to do except get ready to run.  We did find a restaurant gem that I will recommend.  We traveled most of Friday to arrive in Phoenix around 6pm.  I booked a reservation at Nine 05 with my Open Table iPhone app (I love this app!)  It was a great place for outdoor dining.  Highly recommend it.    Tim ran the marathon in an amazing...