Author: Liz Derstine
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A Weekend With Kara
Early October was a whirlwind between racing in the Chicago Marathon, playing my first Pink Feathers show in Portland, and attending Kara Goucher’s Podium Retreat in Tucson, Arizona. I’m still willing myself to write about Chicago (it was rough), so I’m kicking off with a recap of the retreat! This was my second year attending…
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Giving Myself Grace
The miles have begun to dwindle down in my preparation for the Chicago Marathon. As I build up to important races, I like to hone in on certain words or mantras. In the past they’ve centered around being brave, fierce, and relentless- very much of the “I am woman, hear me roar” variety. This time,…
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Drawing on Heroes, Art, and Imagination
Last weekend I ran the 2016 Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon. It was my first time running it since it was established in 2011 and afterward I couldn’t believe what I had been missing all these years. It was by far one of the prettiest courses I’d ever experienced and one of the most challenging…
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When I Woke
Yesterday morning I woke up in that blurry line between dream and reality, when it’s not quite clear which is which. I had just received an offer for a job I’d be perfect for, with three years worth of pay upfront. The number was written down on a note and slid across the table to…
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Duking it Out at Doukenie
Last weekend I flew across the country to Virginia to hang out with my sister and friends, enjoy a weekend of fine dining and wine, and oh, race the VA Wine Country Half Marathon! Leading up to this race I had some of the best running weeks of my life. I ran some of my fastest intervals on…
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The Lilac Bloomsday Run: An Epic Journey of Ordinary Heroes
On Sunday, May 1st I raced in the Lilac Bloomsday Run, a 12K that’s been held annually in Spokane, Washington since 1977. The race was created by Don Kardong, who while on a training run with a buddy likened running a race to an odyssey, an epic journey. He charted a course that would be…
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Fields, Flowers, and Alpacas: A Corvallis Half Recap
This past weekend I raced in the Corvallis Half Marathon. I had mentioned to my coach Greg that I was interested in trying some new races this year and this was the first one he suggested. I’m so glad he did! I had never been to Corvallis, which is home to Oregon State University and located…
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A Song of Wind and Rain
Let’s be real. Who in their right mind races a hilly 9.3 miles at the crack of down in the cold, wind, and rain as a rust buster out of winter training year after year? It’s a Portland thing, apparently. Last weekend I raced the Shamrock 15K Challenge for the fifth time since moving to…
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Tales of a Slacker
Back in grade school, my classmates and I got to pick an instrument we wanted to learn and play in the school band. I chose the flute because I thought it looked the most delicate and pretty. The sounds it made as I was learning how to play? Not so delicate or pretty. I was…
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Venturing into the Hills
And just like that, it’s 2016! I resumed running after a long hiatus at the end of December which made for a perfect transition into the new year. It turned out I had actually cracked a rib from excessive coughing (pneumonia, the gift that keeps on giving!). Bad news for my rib as it will…
Mercury on the Run 