group mentality aka rocket fuel

Now I've never been a morning person, I more like a late-ish morning person... which is almost worst the not being a morning person at all. My silly body wants just 30 minutes more sleep then I want to give it- It's like I'm chronically late to my own party and I'm the only one to blame. So. Obvious lessons of is whine feast include the following 1. Go to bed earlier 2. Stop being a lazy slug and run in the morning 3. Motivate yourself to not be lazy by spending time around people who are not lazy.

Group mentality is a powerful thing... It's the driving force behind things like pot smoking or maybe eating one-too-many pieces of pizza because you wanna throw the box out. Looking back at the list, group mentality may seem like it sinks good intentions rather than boosts them however this weekend helped reiterate just the opposite.

Leaving Portland and heading into the woods of Leavenworth Washington with friends for a weekend getaway proved not only relaxing but enlightening. Some groups of 20 & 30 somethings would spend their Memorial Day weekend with activities such as beer games with ping-pong balls, grilling massive amounts of meat and sleeping until the start of Happy Hour the next day, my weekend unfolded very differently.

Don't get me wrong, we still corked a few bottles of wine and ate meat in excess however we also still worked toward our goals and trained for our upcoming races. We ran, biked, hiked, ate well and talked through our training issues, all the while laughing and enjoying each other’s company. The group mentality in this case was to get your ass outta bed and hit the pavement... the mentality to enjoy the surroundings you see in front of you and live the life you wanna lead. I could have so easily snoozed all weekend... and with hot dog in hand, played beer pong in excess... Instead I met people who understood my love of athletics and my training schedule and pushed me on. My 7+ mile run turned into an almost 10+ simply by a friend asking for a running buddy. After that run, the group hiked... so my ass when too... sore legs and all.



Moral: Groups (the right ones) can be more like rocket fuel.. they can help blast your past your lazy voice that's in your head and make your that much better.

wednesday motivation

My creative juices are spent. I'm fried. I need a little extra something to get me out the door and on the road tonight.

This was it.

impromptu photo shoot

In need of web art? The HTC/PTC office was today and so guess who got picked to be the model? Yup. Me.

Was I nervous? Sort of, I mean I don't generally get photographed when I run. Actually the closest thing I've come to seeing myself in action is when I run past a bank of storefronts and glare into the wall of windows reminding myself to straighten up, relax the hands and land gracefully. A coworker pointed out this picture once to me and I find it to be VERY true.

Anywho, my coworker and I hit the streets of PDX today to photograph me running. The result? Maybe the best photo's I've seen of myself EVER. . . See for yourself but I really think I am channeling my inner-Nike ad

who am i?

Greetings from Portland Oregon!

My name is Adrienne and I'm 28 years old and am from Cleveland Ohio. From my day's as a little adrienne, I dreamed of being a doctor.

The intensity, the dedication. . . I thought for sure that's what I was meant to do with my life. I went to college at Marquette University (good old milwaukee, wisconsin) and upon graduation, started work in medical research and eventually pathology here in Portland Oregon. When I left the Midwest and started my life here in Oregon, everything changed. The smell of the air here was intoxicating. My mom told me I would hate the nine months of rain I would endure each year, but after the first winter I couldn't understand how I had lasted my entire life in snow and bitter cold. Aside from nature, I quickly discovered the lifestyle here was drastically different from what I had been used too. Raised on midwest cooking and Wisconsin style drinking, the college years left me with an amazing education but also an extra 30+ pounds.

I was overweight, unhealthy and living in a community that worshiped veggie burgers and vegan cooking (boy was I a fish out of water). I needed to start somewhere so I took advantage of the high school track I lived across the street from and started on my journey. My first steps were painful, and to be honest- embarrassing. I had been a high school varsity athlete that worked hard to stay fit.... did the pursuit of good grades and my lack of willpower set me this far back? Super slow running turned into not so slow running. I decided to put off buying a car for almost 2 years after moving to Portland so that I could take advantage of my newly found love of movement and run or walk everywhere.

My coworkers at the hospital decided to do a Hood To Coast Relay team and ask me to join up. I was nervous, my last experience with running was grade school track. Nerves however were not an excuse to NOT to do it. And so it came and went. It was an experience unlike any other I had before. It reminded me of my childhood and the comradery of the team sports I knew and loved. But it did something much more. No matter how fast I moved during the race, no matter what my time. . . it was faster then if I would have done nothing and kept myself bigger and unhappy. To me, that race represented days of training; of feeling uncomfortable and sore and broken. It was my gift to myself I had been waiting years to give.



After completing my second HTC Relay, I wrote a letter to the event saying how amazing the experience was and asked how I could help. Nearly three have passed and I am now the Marketing Director for Hood & Portland To Coast Relays and their new event venture, Better Series. Those reasons I mentioned before about wanting to be a doctor (the intensity, the dedication) . . . I feel all that and more doing this job. I absolutely love putting on running and walking events and providing others with the same life-changing experience I had.



As for my 40+ pounds?They are long gone. I run, do triathlons, cycling, snowboard, hike and camp. I'm not the best runner, not by a long shot...I still however try my best and improve every year. This blog is about my path, my past and my future. It's about where I am and where I want to go, I hope you enjoy the ride.