Monthly Archives: April 2012

Sharing the Miles and Marathon Week!

Good morning!

To all of you who raced this weekend, all I can say is, “WOW.”

Based on my Twitter feed, Google Reader, and Facebook, this weekend was uber full of some super impressive races, PRs, and general love for running. For everyone who ran Eugene, there wasn’t a report I heard that wasn’t super inspiring and impressive, and although a big part of me wishes that I was running into Hayward yesterday morning, I know my time will come in (less than!) 6 days. All the race reports and running-love made me so so excited to race this weekend, and I just wish I didn’t have to spend 6 days in nerve-wracking anticipation.

Actually, 5 days, 20 hours, and 33 minutes, if we’re being precise which obviously I am not.

Through all the absorption and admiration going on with so many fellow lady runners out there, my race-week excitement is full speed ahead. All I’m thinking about is race strategy, time goals, Body Glide, carbs, proper bib pinning, and a dynamite playlist. All these thoughts go through my head, and then they just repeat themselves in a slightly more detailed, fleshed out version. (You know, as if I didn’t already think about running enough.) It’s a scary place to be, but all-in-all I am just feeling psyched.

I trust my training, no doubt, but at this point I’m really trying to fine-tune my mental game. I know that if there’s one thing in which I have an advantage, it’s my ability to push through the hard parts. I think it’s a combination of being super stubborn and super competitive, but whatever it is— it typically works toward my advantage when the miles get tough. It’s what gave me three sub-8 minute miles at the end of my first marathon, and it’s what I’m hoping will carry me along the hilly Tacoma course.

I can’t wait.

Well, I’m going to have to, but fortunately there are some fun things happening along the way!

For starters, my birthday is tomorrow, which is definitely fun to have on race week. Although I would like to celebrate with a long sweaty run, I’ll have to dial it back to a shorter one—but it’s all worth it in the name of proper tapering. Also, today I’ll be going to my first practice for the Girls on the Run organization, which I’m really excited for.

GOTR is a non-profit that gives elementary school girls the opportunity to train for a 5k with an older “running buddy.” Their mission states: “We inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.”

Good stuff, obviously something I am in full support of, and I can’t wait to meet my new 5th grade friend today 🙂

And in a completely appropriate yet unplanned transition, I want to share with you the Runner’s World quote of the day from Friday, which really spoke to me. I totally didn’t actually see that transition coming, it just worked out. Isn’t that nice? Good job coincidental blog structuring.

“Running is not, as it so often seems, only about what you did in your last race or about how many miles you ran last week. It is, in a much more important way, about community, about appreciating all the miles run by other runners, too.”

Now, I know that quote is dripping with Kumbaya cheesiness, but it really is true, and it’s one of the reasons I wanted to join the world of running bloggers in the first place. I think it’s really easy to get consumed in our own training regimens, our own goals, and our own routines (weird I know…humans, self-consumed creatures?!). And although these levels of focus are fine, I’ve found that reaching beyond my own running schedule and learning about the lives of other runners has been one of the most enriching and inspiring aspects of this sport. It’s why I get so giddy and excited by reading race reports of bloggers that I follow: following their training schedules and their progress is so intriguing and inspiring, and it helps the rest of us step outside of our own routines.

I really love this “sharing” nature that most every runner seems to have. Almost all the runners I’ve come across, both in my real life and around the virtual-running world, are always willing to talk about running and exchange as much information as possible with other runners. It seems simplistic, of course runners love talking about running, but what I really love is just how interested and encouraging the running community can be. A lot of people in the blogging community have never even met each other in real life, and yet everyone is so excitedly amped about each other’s running reports.

And sure, strangers exchanging enthusiastic, “Kill it!”s and “So proud of you!”s throughout cyber space may seem a bit strange, but as a runner—I really think it stems from one root commonality we all share: a pure, unconditional love of this sport.

Running does something to us that cannot be matched in any other vacinity. It takes us to our happy place, the place where we can shed all the other skins and hats we wear in favor of being totally and completely ourselves. Once we discover this existential love for running, it cannot be broken, and we become completely enamored. The only outlet for this love, besides writing poetic/creepily obsessive blog posts and sending up love and praise to the run gods above, is to talk about it with other people who feel the same way.

A love for running is a tie that binds no matter who we are, and I love this about runners. I love that despite how super competitive and consumed with our own goals we become, we are almost equally willing to share enthusiasm, encouragement, and advice to all other runners out there—no matter what level they’re at.

So, with that said, all of you out there whom I have been able to share my trials and victories with surrounding this sport, I thank you so very much for your support. And those of you who have shared your journeys with me—thank you for inspiring me every single day. I have loved sharing all your miles right along with you. Blogging and reading other blogs, books, and articles by other runners has given me so much more love and respect for this sport. And the best part? I feel like it’s just the beginning.

And in case you didn’t think I woke up this morning thinking, “RACE WEEK, RACE WEEK, RACE WEEK,” let’s take a look at what I subconsciously put on to wear today:

I woke up approximately 6 minutes before taking this, so please accept my "I'd rather be horizontal" sleepy eyes.

PSYCHED. Tacoma, get ready.

Did you race this weekend? How did it go? Or, why is it you think runners perpetually geek-out over long runs, Nuun, and race numbers together?

Friday Favorites: Naughty Books and Cheeseburgers

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Hello beautiful people.

How’s it going? Thanks for your thoughts on yesterday’s manifesto on lady issues. Clearly, it’s something I feel strongly about, but there are definitely multiple sides to the issue. I think the most important takeaway is to remember that everyone is fighting a hard battle, and we should all be on the front lines of attack for our fellow gal pals.

But moving on.

Welcome to Friday! I hope your week has been splendid, and you’re getting all Spring-fevery with all the flowers, racing, and sunshine in the air. Had my previous agenda not been changed, I would be gearing up to hit the road tomorrow for Oregon for the Eugene Marathon. And I admit…I’m a little bit sad this isn’t the case. Am I glad I got an extra week of training? Definitely…especially in terms of letting my knee get better. But, I was/am really hoping to do this race—and I’m getting sad with all the emails I’m still receiving about the expo and my virtual race packet.

Oh well, next year Eugene.

As for now, I’m easing into the depths of taperdom. That’s an actual place, I’ll have you know, and it involves a lot of sleep, a lot of eating, and a lot of on-again off-again nervous stomach. I’m wavering back and forth between feeling really amped and really nauseated—which is normal, except that it’s still over a week away and the real taper anxious energy hasn’t even started yet. Be warned, if you come across my path next Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, I might scream at you in a fit of unused-endorphins-induced rage. I apologize in advance for any violent Tweets, blog posts, comments, or general anxious energy I throw into the universe.

Okay, it might not be that bad. But when you put together a unhealthfully competitive person, a hilly marathon, and the potential for a PR—you get a groveling, weepy, bagel-stuffed Bird.

BF, all I can say is I’m glad you’re also racing so if you need to run away from me you have an excuse.

Truthfully, I am feeling pretty good about how things are shaping up. My knee started hurting again a bit, which is annoying, but it seems that as long as I do a lot of hamstring stretching and knee icing, I’m keeping it mostly at bay. At this point though, I’ll be racing no matter what— inflamed bursa or not.

Enough of this banter though, Friday Favorites is the name of the game today, and onward we go!

iPod Shuffle

I recently made the switch to this little baby from my old nano for running, and I cannot believe I hadn’t done so earlier. The nano was fine, but the ease in not having it strapped to my arm and having the cord dangling and flailing about it infinitely more enjoyable. Also, since I’ve been going back and forth between music-running and non-music-running, this makes the transition much easier.

Gossip Girl

CHUCK AND BLAIR FOREVERRRR

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.

Yes I still watch Gossip Girl, and yes I still love it.

Do I get really pissed at the characters as if they’re people I actually know? You betcha. I’m right there along with the high-school girls who gather together on Monday nights for a “OMG SO SCANDALOUS!” viewing session.

In case you used to watch, and have since given up due to never-ending story lines and Serena being annoying (I don’t blame you), allow me to give you a few snipits of info for what’s currently going down in the “Upper East Side.”

Dan sucks, he really needs to cut his hair, and his pretentiousness has gone up about 1000%. He wrote a NYT bestseller and then basically cried when it went to number 11. GET OVER YOURSELF DAN.

Blair and Chuck aren’t together, and I hate it. They writers know this is all anyone cares about anymore, therefore they are intent on making it not happen, thus ensuring I will continue to watch vying for the next big pent-up sex scene between these two.

Serena really really sucks, which seems to be the case since the first season ended.

Jenny is off the show, so is Vanessa.

Elizabeth Hurley is a guest star this season, which is kind of weird. She and Nate hook up, which obviously I’m jealous of, but the age separation is a bit much. She’s hot, but there’s really only so much you can cover up with makeup and way-too-tight dresses, Liz.

That’s all that matters, which obviously is very little. And yet, my DVR continues to record this show, and I continue to cuddle up with anticipation to watch it.

Maybe I’ll grow up someday, but not now.

xoxo

50 Shades of Grey

I realize I’m way behind the ball on this one, but I do have a funny little thing that happened when I innocently—promise!—decided to start this book.

As I was perusing my Nook’s suggested reads, I came across this book and the title was super familiar. I knew this book was all the buzz among people my age, and obviously it was selling like hot-cakes, so I decided to go for it. Why not? It’s probably decent—and the title sounds like it could be some interesting modern writing, hey…maybe even some innovative prose and highlight-worthy lines.

WRONG.

This is a sex book. I started reading, and while it wasn’t the most cryptic or advanced writing, it was interesting enough. The further along I went, I quickly realized that it was actually the hot-and-heavy, explicitly detailed bedroom scenes that made this book so popular. This is definitely the kind of book I would have hidden from mom—just like Forever by Judy Blume. Did anyone read that?! I credit that book for teaching my 11-year-old self about what sex actually entailed. None of Judy’s other books are like that, and let me tell you—I read that naughty little paperback cover-to-cover at least 5 times.

Moving back to the point, obviously I’m going to finish the 50 Shades of Grey series.

Red Robin

Anyone who says they don’t like Red Robin is lying to themselves. And if you are, in fact, one of these Red Robin naysayers, you probably shouldn’t be reading my blog—and you should instead be in confession for blasphemy.

Was that inappropriate?

Oh well, most of this post has been about gossipy teens and dirty sex books, so let’s just continue along that thread.

Now back to the burgers. It is safe to say that I never actually order a burger at a restaurant except for Red Robin. Also, I probably only ever go once or twice a year, because let’s face it—it takes about that long to digest a meal from RR. But oh do I love those few and far between excursions I do get to take.

Red Robin has been a family favorite ever since they plopped themselves down in the center of Colorado Springs (my hometown), and I can remember the sheer joy of hearing we’d get to go their for dinner.

In reality, the food is good, not incredible, but it’s the whole atmosphere that makes RR the Happiest Place On Earth II (obv Disneyland is number 1, do you know me at all?). The bottomless freckled lemonade, the balloons, the french fry baskets, and the super annoying but addicting “Happy Birthday” jingle they sing no less than 10 times per trip are what make Red Robin an amusement park of a restaurant.

____

Okay, we’re done for this week…I hope I didn’t frighten you too much with my tapering, over-the-top GG coverage, and adoration of RR bacon cheeseburgers.

I’d like to say GOOD LUCK!! to everyone racing in Eugene, and Big Sur, and everywhere else this weekend. I know you all will crush it, and remember to run your race and enjoy every minute of it!

TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE THINGS! Or, tell me something from your childhood—either a book, a movie, a tv show, etc.—that made you feel “grown up.”

Have a great weekend!

My Year Without a Scale

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I’m going to do something that I normally really dislike doing. It’s something that I very actively and purposefully try and not talk about both on my blog and in real life, and there are a number of reasons why. This topic-that-shall-not-be-named revolves around an issue that we, namely females, inevitably think about all too often, whether we like to our not.

What we weigh, how we look, and the changes we think “need” to be made to our bodies.

As runners, these are issues we face in a somewhat different way than the average female. Fortunately, I think most of us know that we need proper fuel, and we understand that our bodies are only going to work most effectively if they are fed and fed often. However, at the same time, we want to maintain a lean, strong physique so that our speed and endurance stays high. So, although our activity level typically allows us to concentrate a bit less on being uber-healthy all the time, and more on extra pasta consumption, we are still faced daily with “body thoughts.”

And to be frank, I really don’t like body thoughts, and I don’t like that this topic seems to be all girls talk about when they get together.

I will 100%, totally admit to being victim of the looming thoughts of what if I gain weight, what if my jeans look tight, or if I should really have another piece of candy. I’m not going to pretend that I’m somehow past all these tendencies, and in fact I’m far from them. However, this does not mean that I think we, as women, should be incessantly, communally discussing these things.

I think constant body talk between women is one of the most toxic scenarios we can engage in, and it’s a slippery slope to go from simple talk about workouts and favorites foods into diets we “should” be doing and why we’re somehow not up to par with the perfect arms, the perfect stomach…you get it. I think it’s way too easy for women to get caught up in these discussions (myself included) because unfortunately we are hardwired (Thanks, every women’s magazine on the market) to think them each and every day, and when we’re offered an outlet to free these thoughts—we jump at them. Conversations of substance and self-fulfillment are completely drowned by our tendency to jump on “What I Ate Today” talk, and personally I very actively avoid fostering these conversations.

I have been around them, I have vehemently participated in them, and I have realized that I no longer want to be around them. This is one of the biggest reasons I don’t tend to talk about these things on my blog, and I try and surround myself with people who would rather talk about margaritas and fro-yo than diets and losing 5 pounds.

I haven’t always been this way though, and I do still contradict myself. But I am making very purposeful strides in surrounding myself with people, both in real life and in my virtual readings, that focus on all the great things going on instead of all the things they wish they could change.

So, with all that said, I’m going to delve a bit into this topic I dislike so very much. But I promise, it will have a dignifying ending and it will be chalk-full of lessons I’ve learned myself and I think other people could benefit from as well.

Yesterday marked a one-year anniversary, and one that I am quite proud of. It has been exactly one year since I have stepped on a scale. That seems NUTS to me! I’ve never been super intent on weighing myself, however I can guarantee I have never gone this long in my life without any precise knowledge of what I weigh. Well, in my post-pubescent life I suppose. I remember the last time I was on a scale so precisely because it was at a doctor’s appointment for my hip injury, and I can conscientiously remember at that time thinking, “If I hate getting on the scale, why do I always look at it when I’m at the doctor?”

Now, in no way am I shaming anyone who likes to keep tabs on what they weigh. For a lot of people I think it has some good accountability effects, and it helps keep their fitness goals in check. However, I am willing to bet that there are very few females out there who have a “healthy” relationship with the scale. One number off from where we’d “like” the reading to be can throw us into a panic attack about what we’re doing wrong, what we should be doing more (or less) of, and essentially all the reasons why we are failures. We step on the scale hoping for justification, either a number at or below what we imagine to be “ideal,” because if that number appears we feel justified and successful.

Again, there’s nothing wrong with feeling a sense of success if you are actively trying to lose weight and there’s a certain number you want to scale to read. However, for the rest of us, those of us who eat healthy enough, exercise frequently, and try and maintain an at-least somewhat healthy lifestyle, I think the scale can be your absolute worst enemy.

If you are proactively living a healthy life, why should you need some number to define that success? If you feel healthy, if you feel good, then that should absolutely suffice as a means of self-satisfaction. Scales are completely variable, and the number can be altered by any assortment of factors; how much water you’ve recently drank, when your last meal was, when you last went to the bathroom, how much sodium you have in you, etc., etc. I could weigh myself on two back-to-back days and the scale may say something entirely different depending on the number of chips and guac I ate, or simply the clothing I’m wearing.

{The number of chips and guac I consume in a sitting can most often be defined as “all of them,” if you need some clarity}

The point is, the scale tricks you, and you are a much more reliable source of information regarding your current state of self-content. Many people think that numbers on a scale are more tangible and specific than, say, the way our clothes fit or—gasp—how we feel about ourselves. Thanks Cosmo, Women’s Health, Shape, and every other “credible” health news source for constantly berating us with this memo. I believe that it is the thought that you are only as good as the number on the scale that has completely given numbers and scales all the power, and I think this mentality is completely backward.

I remember when I was in my mid-to-late teens I would sometimes ask my mom how I looked, if I looked like I’d gained or lost weight, etc. Now, there were definitely times when the real answer was, “Robyn, you are a freshman in college and you’ve been living off alcohol and dorm pizza for a semester, what did you expect?” But, my mother, bless her, did not say this. In response to my pleads for if I looked like I had gained weight, she replied, “Well, how do you feel?”

And this is the question I still ask myself, as an alternative to stepping on a scale—and it has become a much healthier and freeing way to live. When I finish a long run, and I’m caked in sweat and salt and desperate for a huge bagel, am I thinking about what the scale says?

Hell the F no.

I feel fantastic, I feel accomplished, and I feel healthy—all completely independent of whatever number the scale would say if I stepped on it. By deciding to not weigh myself, I have started to regain the power over my self-satisfaction and established a valuable understanding of how to be my own judge.

Are there times when I’m curious what I weigh? Sure. Having gone through two marathon training cycles, I am marginally interested to see if there’s been any affect. But that interest is rooted in the part of me that still subscribes to Women’s Health and thinks about how I could probably afford to stop eating desserts every night. Instead, I prefer to think about it like this:

I have legs that can run 26.2 miles in a row

I have arms that can do more push-ups that any Barbie-arm girl could ever think of.

I have a stomach that always enjoys cookies, beer, and bread baskets.

I have feet that look like a car ran over them, and all semblance of pedicured toes has been gone for years. But it’s because they’ve spent hours stuffed in running shoes, pounding on the ground, and carrying whatever-it-is I weigh up and down hills, through the snow and rain, and over hundreds of miles.

And guess what? I love these things about myself. I love them more than any “ideal” number on a scale could ever say, and whenever I start to think that there’s a certain standard I’m unable to reach, I remind myself that the body I do have is the one that has given me so many more rewards and accomplishments than I could have every hoped for.

My year without a scale has also been a year when I became a marathoner, when I started to rid myself of toxic conversations and acquaintances, when I started a blog, and when I realized that if I eat healthy, stay active, and focus on the positive—why should a certain number of pounds matter? I don’t think this is a coincidence. I think that by letting the scale rest in the metaphorical cobwebs, I have begun to unlearn the self-deprecating habits that unfortunately hold almost every female in our society captive.

It is this new mentality that has made me very adverse to discussions and blog posts regarding weight loss, weight gain, and body talk in general. Again, I’m not immune to it and I probably have at least one “I wish this was different…” thought every day. But, by ridding myself of the scale and focusing on what my body can do as opposed to what it’s not doing, or looking like, I feel much more free and in control.

So, what is the underlying point to all this? Well, I’m not telling you to stop weighing yourself or to throw your scale in the dumpster (although such a move would be epicly super-female-empowering-movie-esque, and you should send me a picture). But, I am encouraging all my lady friends, relatives, and readers out there to concentrate more on all the things we do have going for us, as opposed to all the things we wish was different. Because this much I know is true: The way you “think” you should be is frequently not your opinion at all; it’s the opinion we have been forced to believe with every goddamn ad, magazine, movie, tv show, and photo out there. If you are living a healthy life, you are exactly the way you’re supposed to be, and that is absolutely something to be fist-pumping proud of.

Sometimes I get really You Go Girl about things, and this is one of them. If you disagree with some of the things I’ve said, that’s totally fine—I realize a lot of these thoughts are my opinion and you’re welcome to think differently. But, no matter what you believe, allow me to please encourage you to think about how you measure your self-worth. More likely than not, you’re going to discover the unfortunate reality that we rely very heavily on pop-culture “information” as our instruction book for self esteem. This isn’t right, and I think we owe it to ourselves to regain the power in the battle each of us faces every day. Because we do have that power, and it’s our’s for the taking if we choose to redirect our energy and attention in more constructive and positive lights.

Have you ever broken up with the scale? Do you think there’s any value in them? Is there anything to be gained by discussing our body issues with our female friends? This is the only time I’ll ever ask these types of questions, so speak loudly!

“Tri” Weekend and Celebrating the Earth

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Hello!

I hope you had a great weekend and I hope your week has started off swimmingly. I could be mistaken, but it seems as if everyone is a little bit high on a “it’s getting warmer and sunnier and therefore life is good” kind of mood, meaning there is general cheer in the air. The onset of summer is always an enjoyable time of year, and when you’ve been down-trodden with rain and gloom for several months as we have in the PNW, a little dose of sunshine can go a longgg way.

Case in point: This past weekend.

I normally have a generally good time on the weekend, based on the increase in food consumption, the decrease in computer time, and the amount of running I get to do. However, I can boldly say that I don’t know if I’ve had a better time overall on the weekend as I did this last Saturday and Sunday. Everything was generally perfect, therefore I am going to tell you about it.

Exercise-wise, I was able to do a “tri-series” of sorts over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Essentially, this means lots of swimming on Friday, lots of spinning of Saturday, and lots of running on Sunday. It was highly enjoyable to mix up my workouts, and I love being able to focus a lot of energy on one solo activity at a time.

I find that when I front load a heavy-exercise weekend with some swimming, everything feels better. As you know, I believe swimming is magic, and my body always seems to enjoy the time spent in the pool.

Although, I will admit, I have a difficult time not getting a tad paranoid when I’m doing laps and the “family area” is filled with 50 toddlers learning to dog paddle. I’m not an uber germ-a-phode or a clean freak, but the thought of swimming in tons of urine is really dampering to the whole experience. I think I’m going to tell my children that if you pee in the pool it comes out bright orange and everyone can see it. This should scare them out of it, right?

Anyways, I don’t normally do a heavy spin day before a long run, but since this week’s LR was only 16 miles, I decided to go for it. And despite my quads feeling a bit tired yesterday at the end of those 16 miles, overall I felt great, and I loved spreading my sweat through tons of different activities.

Also, who am I? I just said “only 16 miles.” Okay, 16 miles is still a long run. Fact. BUT, after 22 last weekend, 16 feels a lot more accessible…particularly when it’s done in 60 degree sunny weather on an all-flat course.

Which brings me to the vitamin-D filled glory that was this weekend.

People, I know we’re not supposed to talk about weather in blogging. But when you have not one, but TWO 70 degree days in Seattle, WA it is a BIG DEAL.

I took full advantage of the splendor, and it was nothing short of fantastic.

Aside from the aforementioned endorphin filled activities, allow me to show you some more highlights.

my backyard

While BF did man things on Saturday, I decided to take full advantage of this beautiful land I live in and took myself to the beach. I spent a solid 2 hours with an ice coffee, an Anne Lamott book, and the sun basking in water-front glory. I actually fell asleep laying against some driftwood, and it was heaven. There are few things more calming to me than being by the water, and given the fact that I was already in a post-spinning/caffeinated state of elation, this whole set up was my essence of perfection.

This also happened on Saturday, which is always a party.

See that “Now Open” sign? Yes, TJ’s has come to West Seattle, a mere 7 or so minute drive from my house. Do I talk too much about grocery stores? Yes. Positively. I will own every ounce of that statement. BUT any TJ’s fan out there will agree with me on the general happiness increase that goes hand-in-hand with your proximity to a store.

I think I could get an award for my excitement for the little things in life. I’m not sure if this is a good thing, or it means that I shoot too low in terms of my expectations, but no matter. I love you Trader Joe’s and your cheap almonds and whole wheat pizza dough.

Sunday had the promise of all-day sun, and BF and I were ready to take full advantage. Oh, and take it we did. Not only did we take it, but we took every single hour of the day and squeezed as much sunshine-filled activity out of them as we possibly could.

As I stated earlier, the day started with a 16 miler, completed averaging 8:20 miles (very happy about that) and the biggest blister I’ve ever gotten in my life. With two toenails on their death bed and now this beauty covering my entire pinky toe, I think it’s safe to say I’m ready to be done with training and get this marathon show on the road. I’m in a bit of a pickle because I think my old shoes are the reason for all my foot ailments, however my new shoes make my knee hurt, so it’s really just a debacle between which pain I’d prefer.

Post runs (BF did 10 miles), we walked to our typical bagel spot. Walking in shorts and flip-flops mind you. THIS IS A BIG DEAL.

Blueberry w/cream cheese and strawberry jam. Perfection.

Bagels should be an essential food group.

Afterwards, we decided to take on an endeavor we’ve only talked about hypothetically in the past: Planting a vegetable garden.

You see, we live in a big house that was turned into 5 separate units, and with the whole “living in a real neighborhood in a real house” scenario comes a 24 sq. ft patch of garden with which we can “do whatever we want,” according to our landlord. We both liked the idea of a vegetable garden, however it required not only the soil and the plants, but we needed to remove all the weeds and various shrubbery that had taken over our plot of garden.

As you can imagine, it was easy to procrastinate taking on this activity.

But not yesterday, when being outside was required, and we had a day to do whatever we chose.

So off to the hardware store it was, and we loaded up on all the things you need to be a green-thumb person. Okay, it was actually more like this:

Me: “Oh! Spinach!”

Me: “Ohhh!! Strawberries! Kale!”

BF: “How about….”

Me: “OHH!! PRETTY FLOWERS!”

Bf: “Check this out..”

Me: “Can we get a big chocolate cookie after this?”

Eventually, we made it out with a large variety of vegetables and a few flowers to plant.

Hooray gardening!! Also, those are my running clothes I'm still wearing. It's fine.

I got my cookie too, don’t worry. So did BF.

Also, in a very “we are a semi-adult couple who lives in a semi-adult home” move, we bought PATIO FURNITURE which was on sale. Again with the little things people. Until yesterday, when BF got all handy-man and set up our new table and chairs, the sole piece of furniture on our porch was a little, lone rocking chair. Now, we can do all kinds of fun things out there, including eat dinner, play cards, and make fun of all the people of segway tours that “drive” by our house.

Seriously. WALK.

Anyways, once arriving home and setting up our new sitting area, we got to work on the garden.

You pour the soil BF, I'll document.

After some pulling, clipping, digging, and planting, we had a final product!

Gardening!! Earth Day!! Not going to Safeway for vegetables every day!!

Into the newly poured soil went: spinach, snow peas, kale, strawberries, beets, chard, mint, basil, rosemary, radishes, and flowers. I’m PSYCHED. Now, let’s just see if this actually produces anything…

To celebrate our “manual labor” we headed to the park down the street to play some catch/whiffle ball. Note: It is not easy to play whiffle ball with two people, though it is highly entertaining, and perhaps more entertaining to the people watching.

It was actually after all these activities that I realized it was Earth Day, which made everything so highly appropriate.

I love the sun. I love running. I productive days. I love convincing BF to buy cookies with me.

Did you know these things?

I’m sorry if you’re tired of reading about me getting excited over and over about the exact same things all the time, but what can I say? I’m easy to please and I know what I like.

So, that’s all for now. If you made it all this way through my weekend recap, both thank you and I hope you had a great weekend as well. Today begins the less than two week countdown to marathon day, which will be on May 6. I’ve technically begun tapering, but as you can tell by my recap of exercise this past weekend, the real tapering is yet to come. I’m probably going to turn into a crazy, “I HAVE EVERY FEELING IN THE WORLD” person, and so I can almost guarantee some frightening/entertaining posts in these next couple of weeks.

NOW YOU! Tell me about your Earth Day, your weekend, your long run, your favorite grocery store, your simple pleasures, or ALL OF THESE THINGS! I enjoy comments.

Friday Favorites: Musical Guilt

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Let’s briefly recap why I’m glad it’s Friday, shall we?

Well okay, you don’t really have an opinion, because this is my blog. So like, either keep reading or don’t?

I hope you’re still there…

ANYWAYS. This journey toward why this Friday couldn’t come at a better time started bright and early on Monday morning. That’s right, this has been a whole week of Friday buildup. I awoke to a text from BF at 6:15 am (he gets to work at 5:30, it’s intense, you can feel sad for him) and all it said was, “Um…I have your keys.”

In some lazy Sunday night stupor, I had decided to leave my keys inside his car, therefore leaving myself stranded at home. I work from home, so it wasn’t totally catastrophic, but since I normally work from a coffee shop every day in order to avoid sitting on the couch in pajamas all day eating while working, my normal day was somewhat derailed. So my week started in a stranded-all-day-on-the-couch state of blah. Yes I know, why should I complain about this? Well, let me just tell you that you never want to leave the house more than when you HAVE NO WAY OF ESCAPE. It was claustrophobic, and I got nervous.

Yes, I could have walked somewhere, whatever. But I did need to work. And my bike doesn’t have air in its tires, at least I don’t think it does. I’ve ridden it probably 3 times since I bought it last July. Good investment, Robyn.

Moving on. Since then, every single day of this week has felt like a Thursday night. You know, when you’re pumped because the next day’s Friday and you can begin looking at the weekend forecast and plan your weekend Target and Trader Joe’s adventures? I love Thursday nights. But NOT when they are actually a Tuesday afternoon pretending to be Thursday and laughing in your face when you realize you are actually three days away from the weekend.

Fast forward to today, because this whole “why I’m all anxious and thrown off” endeavor is taking too long.

I realized this morning that I had left my computer cord in the outlet at the Starbucks I worked at yesterday. I have forgotten my computer cord all of two times in my life, and this time just happened to occur when I worked from a Starbucks that was far from my home. And my computer was dead. Awesome.

Time wasted, and I felt like I was walking around with “FAIL” tattooed on my forehead.

So with all that random banter over with, I welcome you to the REALITY of it being Friday and my forgetful/distracted week coming to a close.

I’m getting back into Friday Favorites this week, after a brief hiatus last week. Woooo lists of happy things!

This week, I’ve decided to theme the Favorites list according to my own personal music preferences, because recently there’s rarely an hour in my day where I’m not listening to some Pandora, iTunes, Spotify playlist. I like the feeling of sound-tracking my life, even when that soundtrack includes the same songs over and over again.

Now, part of this post about my music comes with a serious disclaimer, and it’s one that I’ve had to internalize for myself.

You know how everyone has a guilty pleasure song or artist that they try and hide within the rest of their “normal” music? It’s the one you never want people to see on your iPod, and heaven forbid it comes on when someone else is listening to your music. Yea, ok. We’ve all got one. Me though? All my music choices are like that.

Okay, maybe not ALL, but A LOT of the music I listen to is definitely on most people’s “no one can know I like this” list, and especially my running music. Am I ashamed? Not really, I know what I like and I’m going to listen to it. But am I slightly embarassed? A little. Several of my music choices are those that 14 year old girls croon to while sharing headphones with their best friend outside of Forever 21 at the mall.

However, I know that a lot of people out there are actually in agreement when it comes to some of these selections. Fact: Every single person, no matter who they are, can find a Glee song they like. There are so many! How could you not? And so, without much further ado (because there has already been a shit ton of “ado”…what does “ado” even mean?), I give you my current musical selections. Some are “normal,” some should be reserved for pre-teen karaoke sleepovers, and some are completely random.

Maroon 5

I need to come out of the “they’re so overplayed and not that talented” closet and admit that I have and will always love Maroon 5. I know a lot of their songs sound the same, and sure they might have a Nickleback-esque to them, but I don’t really care. Ever since “She Will Be Loved” spoke to my 16-year-old hopeless romantic heart, I always find myself enjoying Maroon 5 songs. I’m not huge on “Moves Like Jagger” fan, because the whole context just seems weird, but otherwise it’s pretty safe to say that I always have a Maroon 5 song stuffed somewhere in my musical repertoire.

Taylor Swift

If you’ve read this blog before, this comes as no surprise. I freaking love Taylor Swift. Unlike Maroon 5, I actually don’t think there is one T Swift song I don’t like. The scale of my fondness for her songs goes something like, “Fun and Catchy” to “OMG THIS WAS WRITTEN ABOUT MY LIFE.” I love her, I have Pandora station of her, and I’m a glitter covered t-shirt away from posting a YouTube “I Heart Taylor” video.

Kidding.

BUT I do love her. My sister and I saw her concert and it was everything your high school self wanted it to be.

Glee Music

Now, I am actually a bit pickier about my Glee selections than you might guess. I really only like about 30% of them (not to be way-too precise or anything), and I typically preference the songs from musicals, the mash ups, and the big belting one-woman-show numbers. BUT, when I do find a gem of a Glee song, I hang onto it with all my might. I still regularly play songs from old seasons while on my runs, and I admittedly find myself favoring them over the original versions. “Faithfully” from the Season 2 finale anyone?

Glee is great to run to though, and I think it’s hard to stay in a bad mood when a group of beautiful and famous 20-somethings pretending to be loser teenagers are singing to you.

Lana Del Rey

This one isn’t a guilty pleasure choice, and she’s actually been overwhelming my playlists recently. I like running to Lana, she makes me feel all “don’t-give-a-crap-bad-girl” about things, because obviously that’s exactly the kind of person I am. I love her voice, her lyrics, and her general style.

Britney, Kelly Clarkson, and Rihanna

I figured these three could be lumped together, because I think everyone has at least a small spatter of these three somewhere in their music collection. They never seem to get looked over, no matter how many new playlists I make or musical phases I go through. In an exercise sense, you can’t really get better than these three for some pump-you-up girl jams that are loud and fast. And the “S&M” remix with RiRi AND Brit? Don’t even get me started.

Croony, Sappy Country Music

There isn’t a particular artist for this one, but it’s a music guilty pleasure I’ve been victim to ever since I discovered Tim McGraw and Keith Urban as a boyfriend-less high school freshman. I’m not huge into country music, but there’s a variety of super cheesy, over-the-top love songs (normally by men) that ignite my desire to belt loudly in the shower. Examples include, “Love Your Love the Most,” “Then,” “Making Memories of Us,” and “It’s Your Love.”

BF, please don’t read this post. And if you do, please stay with me. I promise I’ll never make you listen to Brad Paisley.

The soundtracks to Wicked, Spring Awakening, Les Mis, and Hairspray

I really really sometimes wish that I could go back in time and be a choir/theater/glee club person instead of a softball/basketball/track person. Well, that’s not really true, but I do have a very strong feeling that there is another universe in which I am a Broadway star who can sing like Barbara and dance like Beyonce (yes, interesting combo…just go with it). Something about musicals speaks to me, and I find it highly entertaining to listen to shows all the way through, imagining I’m the lead.

Drama queen? NEVER.

I also believe very confidently that there is an alternate universe in which I’m a 6’8″ NBA star, just to give you some perspective on the variety of my hallucinations imagination.

Anyways, I love songs from musicals, and I have a dream of running an entire race to the Les Miserable soundtrack. It would be epic, except for the times I’m weeping when Fantine dies and sings to Cosette. Damn you Victor Hugo and Schönberg for tugging at my heart strings EVERY TIME.

So, in addition to some Jason Mraz (new album is SO GOOD), O.A.R., and Sarah Barielles, this is essentially the core of my musical choices, both while running and not.

If you’re still reading and not shaking your head while thinking, “Wow Robyn, maybe you should try growing up or something,” I hope you enjoyed my musical admissions.

The fact of the matter is I love essentially every kind of music. I can find a favorite tune in any and all genres, it just so happens that the songs I keep on repeat are stereo-typically a little “cheesy.”

I hold my head high though, and when you see me mouthing the lyrics to “Circle of Life” while pounding down the sidewalk during sunrise, you’ll know I’m in my happy place.

LONG LIVE MUFASA!

NOW YOU! Let’s hear it, what’s your musical guilty pleasure?

Bubbles and Balloons

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Good afternoon!

I need to begin this post with a big, enthusiastic “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” shout out to my little sister, Corey. She is turning 22 today, and so happy and proud of the beautiful and exceptional person she’s become.

Happy Birthday CB! I love you!

Yes, you might be thinking that I’m the one that’s two years younger…but alas, I will accept my permanently-16-years-old look and let Corey be the tall and lovely birthday girl.

Today’s post was inspired, in fact, by an idea that Corey introduced me too about handling stress and alleviating worries.

My life is a bit of a jumble right now, and stress has been getting the better of me. Everything that’s going on is definitely exciting, but with multiple layers of things to get done, people to see, and life to live, I’ve been feeling the wear and tear of chronic “go! go! go!” mode. Last night, particularly, I was having one of those, “Every single thought that ever existed is in my head right now and I must think through them ALL!” kind of brain warp, and sleep was out of the question. I couldn’t turn my brain off (you know how that goes) and as soon as I realized I was in this sleepless mode, I started to panic—which in turn jumbles my nerves into a frenzy even more. I am sure you all can relate to this feeling when you’re trying to fall asleep, and it really sucks. You somehow talk yourself out of sleeping, and the later it gets the more worried you become about the 145,972,239 consequences of your insomnia.

{Note: Aside from some small under-eye bags and a slight tired feeling, the consequences are never as bad as we expect.}

So, there was this not-so-awesome party in my head, and in order to turn away from all these random stressful thoughts, I tried an exercise that Corey taught me a while ago.

You see, Corey has a much more upfront and practical relationship with her feelings than I do, and it’s always been a strength for her. So, while I get hysterical and let the tiniest little things get me all riled up and crazy, Corey remains calm (which yes, drove me crazy growing up……and might still) and rationalizes everything down in a cool, collected manner.

So, as stated previously, she taught me about something she does when things aren’t going swimmingly—no matter if it’s an issue with a friend, school, boyfriend, job, etc. She goes into her room, allows herself to really be with and think about the things/person that’s bothering her for approximately 5 minutes. She doesn’t hide from the stress, she invites it in the door and sits with it the same way you would an awkward ex at a coffee shop or a creepy cousin at a family reunion. Once she’s addressed the stressor, she figuratively puts whatever the source is in a “bubble” from which it can’t escape, and she lets it be. For her, this process allows the stress to be acknowledged, but not overwhelm her schedule or mood.

I myself prefer writing, running, and screaming, but since none of these were readily available in my comforter cocoon of restlessness last night, I decided to take on the bubble approach. I thought very specifically about the things that were stressing me out, in detail, and I imagined them floating off in their own individual bubbles. I got about 4 bubbles out of me, and I don’t remember anything after that—because I immediately fell asleep.

Bubble success! Until….cue morning.

I woke up before my alarm in a tizzy of stressful thoughts. “I have this and this and this to do and these people to email and OMG I have to run right now but I’m not rested enough so it’s gonna suck and blah blah blah blah.” Does this happen to you? It’s not a pleasant way to wake up, and I sort of scorned the bubble process. It felt as if instead of creating boyant, airy bubbles that would float my stress away into the universe, I had actually created balloons; and not the fun birthday balloons, but the sunken, slightly deflated monster-big balloons that stick around for months no matter how long you wait them out.

If you are wondering, by the way, if my balloon from Valentine’s Day(which I LOVE, BF!) is still afloat in our dining room, yes it is. It’s time for it to go, but it won’t die.

So there I was, jolted awake by the rustle of big, floppy, stress-filled balloons that were planning on hanging around as long as possible. “Hey Robyn, we want to hang out with you forever!” is what it felt like they were saying, and although I was irritated at my inability to rid myself of all my thoughts—I did have another weapon, running.

So, despite my late night and early morning, I geared up, ate my handful of cereal, and set off on my run—with each and every stress balloon tied to my arms and wrists.

If you can’t beat it, run with it. And that’s what I did. I got through approximately 1 minute and 20 seconds of a song when I hurriedly removed my headphones and ran in the stillness and quiet. I needed to be with my thoughts, my balloons, and not drown them out with the crooning of T-Swift and Glee.

So I ran, clad in balloons, and with each exhale and footstep, I was able to speak directly to each of the things that were bothering me. My form of power, the thing that makes me feel that I can overcome obstacles, is my running—and today it let me exercise that power. Without too much effort or frustration, I was able to slowly rationalize and work through all the things that my brain had so tightly jumbled. It was similar to unraveling a giant lump of tangled necklaces; looping my way through each tangle and kink until I could release each individual string.

The string, in this case, not being necklaces—but balloons. Balloons that were full of various stresses that individually, were manageable, but together created a cyclone of burden. Running allowed the best way to calm that cyclone by sorting through each stressor individually until they slowly, one by one, began to relinquish their grips on my wrists and float off into the morning air. The balloons still existed, and I could see them all floating around me, but their load had been lessened and I could run free knowing that I still had power over them.

So, while Corey’s bubble approach may be the higher level of this stress-capturing metaphor, it definitely was applicable toward my own current state of being. Although my bubbles were in the shape of balloons, and they took a bit longer to take flight, I certainly felt that by carrying the balloons on my run with me, instead of leaving them at home for me to come back to, I was able to simulate the feeling of letting go. Running is magical in this regard, and I think when we can take our problems on the road with us instead of pretending they’ll somehow go away, we gain a much greater appreciation for our own control and power.

So, maybe someday I’ll be able to create big, air-thin bubbles that make my stresses float off into the abyss. But for now, the balloons will do. And so long as I can muster the extra energy to bring them along with me on my runs—I’m thinking there’s no way they’ll be able to stay tied on too tightly. And after all, nothing hangs on too long to sweat-covered arms.

Tell me about your beat-the-stress running techniques. Do you let the huffing and puffing and loud music detoxify your clutter-filled brain, or do you run in silence with your stress balloons, releasing them one-by-one?

Ready

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Cadbury Mini Eggs, I’m ready for you to be gone now.

Remember how I’ve been talking nonstop about my obsession with these little gems and essentially all Easter candy since it came on the shelves around oh February 15?

Yea, I’m over it. It was fun while it lasted Mini Eggs, but this has gotten ridiculous. How can I move onto all of my other desserts when your endless bags are hanging around all the time?

FINE. I’ll finish them. But I am admittedly excited for these addictive little chocolates to be out of my house and off the shelves of every check-out line I come across.

Okay, glad we got through that. Hi, how are you?

I hope your weekend was splendid, and your week has started off great. Unless you haven’t seen one news source or been on the internet in the past 24 hours, I’m pretty sure everyone is well aware that the Boston Marathon was the talk of the town yesterday, in all its sweltering hot glory.

I am always impressed by this race and the amazing athletes it draws every year. However, I don’t think I’ve ever been more impressed by the grit and determination during the Boston Marathon more than I was yesterday. The heat added a whole new level of intensity to the already difficult miles ahead, and it forced all the runners to really show off their willpower. I was blown away by the resilience of all the runners, and I think everyone out there proved just why they were worthy of racing this historical route.

It made me even more eager to get my own BQ…..whensoever that may be 🙂

Once again, I am amused at the timing of the Universe and the ways in which it teaches us about ourselves. Of course, I know most things happen based on our own preparation and planning (or lack thereof), but sometimes I can’t help but think there is some cunning trickster (most of the time named Murphy’s Law) working endlessly to ensure that what we think we know isn’t always the case.

That being said, let’s go back to Friday’s post. If you missed out, it was full of reflections as to why marathon training is anything but a walk in the park. It’s challenging, it’s trying, and it does a sure-fire job of teaching us some humbling lessons. My biggest point in the post, and perhaps my greatest realization about my own training, is that running isn’t actually the hard part. Even when the runs are hard, they eventually end, and I know that the effort, no matter how brutal, will eventually land me in a better space, physically.

So, that post happened. And then came Saturday’s training run—22 miles, my last really long run before tapering begins in preparation for May 6th. And, to put it simply, every single one of those miles felt fantastic. I had some luck on my side—the day was pristine, and I had slept in one position through the entire night—but otherwise I was so pleasantly surprised by how great this run felt. My pace was very consistent (avg. 8:25 miles) and I was in one of those “can’t-stop-me-now” rhythms that we always hope for in a run. I didn’t wear my headphones for nearly 15 of the 22 miles, and I had a great time listening to my footsteps, the chirping birds, and the sunshine.

(I know you can’t hear sunshine, but sometimes…it almost feels like you can, you know?)

I practiced race-related things, including really opening it up at the end. In the last 2ish miles, I brought my pace down to half-marathon pace, and it felt really good to visualize and practice pushing it on tired legs. I finished feeling great, and I couldn’t shake the thought that I actually wanted…to run a bit more??

This feeling, along with the success of the final long run, helped me internalize one very confident thought:

I’m ready.

I don’t know if I ever felt this kind of satisfaction about my training during my first marathon (probably because I didn’t know what to expect), but after Saturday I was very decidedly confident in my preparation for race day. This sense of “readiness” triggered a different emotion as well, one that hasn’t left me since it first nestled into my brain this weekend: determination.

All my competitive thoughts have overwhelmed my forethought about Tacoma, and I’m ready to crush it. I’m truthfully not sure about what kind of time to anticipate, and I’m still planning my exact race strategy, but what I do know is that I’m ready to give every little bit I have into this race. I trust my stamina and training, and now I’m really just ready to ignite all my competition and racing instincts.

This is different than how I felt the first time around. Sure, I wanted to do well and I definitely had time goals (I can’t not…it’s a problem), but this upcoming race has me really hungry and filled with ruthless anticipation. It feels good, and hopefully all this psyched/amped/animalistic energy can contain itself and only get stronger over the next two and a half weeks.

Tacoma has now become my prey, and I’m ready to hunt it down.

Be afraid T-town, and readers, please don’t be scared by my predatory remarks.

Today really solidified my “readiness” feelings, and I’m glad because I was a little worried that Saturday was just an affect of the excessively large amount of tortellini and bread I had the night before.

I wanted to get in one last “tempo run” before I really settle into taper mode. Mainly for my own confidence, and not so much for training purposes. Now, my version of a “tempo run” really just means that I want to finish a run in a certain period of time, and whichever pace I choose to divvy out over those miles is up to me. In a nutshell, go fast—and don’t stop going fast.

I went on my normal Tuesday-10-mile route, and ended in 80 minutes flat. Very pleased with it, and my greatest intent with this run was to practice pushing really hard at the end when I was already wiped. So, despite feeling very tired and worked by the end of it all, it was great to again mentally conjure the feeling of pushing through the pain.

This run sealed the deal in terms of training prep, and now I’m excited to coast along the tapering wave.

So, please send along all your stress-free, injury-free tapering thoughts! I, of course, will be back in with more reports along the way. Also, I’m now taking wagers for the remaining lives of my toenails. My 4th toenail on BOTH feet are nearing death…black and beautiful, and I’m thinking it will be a miracle if I make it to the start line on May 6th with both in tact. Attractive stuff over here people.

___

Have a great week!

It’s Not Just the Running

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Breaking news! And don’t forget, you heard it here first:

Training for a marathon is hard.

I know right…crazy talk! I mean seriously, who knew? Alright, not so much new news, whatsoever…in fact this is probably the most simplistic, fact-of-the-matter truth about training for 26.2 miles of running. Even people who have never even thought about running a mile know that there is nothing easy about marathon training, and actually they probably know better than the rest of us. Once you do bridge the gap, though, between beginning to run and training for the big kahuna, you are humbled and forced to recognize the hard-truth about how difficult all those miles, hours, stretching, icing, repeat actually are.

Something I’ve realized toward the end of this training cycle, other than how truly hard it is, is that I think after competing in multiple races and getting better acquainted with the training process—I tend to forget about the grunt work involved.

Going into this training session, I certainly didn’t think it was going to be easy, but I definitely had bit more confidence than when I trained for my first marathon (rightfully so I suppose). I am so used to hard workouts, long runs, and putting in the leg work so-to-speak that I sort of assumed that training is just a way of life for me. Truthfully, I enjoy training. I love the satisfaction of a hard workout, and I love the thought that I’m working toward a very tangible goal. In other words, training really works for me, for the way I like to live each day, which is why I think I may have been a bit overzealous and overconfident when coming into this second marathon training cycle.

I still enjoy it, I know I’ll be back again fairly soon after I’m done with Tacoma, but I’m realizing in these last few weeks just how brutally and unforgiving-ly hard training for a marathon really is. And perhaps more so, I’m realizing that it’s actually not the running itself that’s so hard.

Sure, the running is the source of all the fatigue and daily number crunching, but I think for me the hardest part of marathon training is the life that surrounds all the running. Obviously, these thoughts have been present at this point in time because I’m nearly three weeks away from race day—however I do feel like have some new insight into the overarching toll that marathon training really takes.

With that said, I thought I’d present you with what I believe are the hardest parts of training, aside from speed work and tempo drills. I know today’s supposed to be Friday Favorites, but this topic just seems too relevant and current to look over. Also, Marathon Monday is next week in Boston, and racing season is in full swing all over the country, therefore marathon talk is inevitable. Favorites will have to wait…perhaps there will be a Weekend Wonders or a Monday Marvels instead?

Moving on, I give you the RunBirdieRun Trials of Marathon Training: Everything Except the Running.

Scheduling

One of the biggest challenges with having such a strict number of miles to reach weekly is there isn’t much room to have, well, any other plans besides running. Specifically with long runs, the planning both before and after essentially takes up a whole weekend. Although this isn’t entirely too inconvenient, it leaves very little room for spontaneous nights out, an extra beer, or going away for the weekend. Sure, sometimes time sacrifices need to be made—I would never give away my life for the sake of marathon training—but that doesn’t mean my social life isn’t hindered when long runs take up three hours every Sunday. And going away for a weekend? I always get stressed about getting in a long run, and although it normally works out somehow it’s annoying to be bugged out by a run when you’re supposed to be enjoying some vacation time.

Sleepiness

I mention this in Tuesday’s post, but marathon training is incredibly taxing on general energy levels. Typically I’m someone who’s pretty upbeat and energized by nature, and I also don’t need much sleep to function at a high level. But with marathon training? It doesn’t feel like I can get enough sleep. I sleep really hard every night, which is a good thing, but I can’t ever really seem to feel really, totally rested. By 2 pm everyday I feel like I’m in a haze and need to take a nap (btw, thanks Nuun for helping alleviate this!). Don’t get me wrong, there’s no more satisfying sleepy feeling than the kind that comes after a long run, but it makes—once again—”real life” a bit more challenging.

Less Options

Now, I think we all know that I would almost always choose running over every other activity. Read: the name of my blog. But, there are days when I would much rather go to a sweaty spin class, go swimming, or you know—just do nothing. While I normally do look forward to my running designated days, there’s less variation and options available during marathon training in terms of a workout routine. I definitely believe in cross training, but I also believe that the most effective way to become a better runner is to run. This goes along with marathon training as well; you run a marathon, therefore the way you are going to get better is to run more. With that said, this leaves little room for error in terms of following a workout/mileage routine.

Food Planning

One of the fun parts about marathon training is the increased food consumption, or at least—I think it is. There’s something really cool about feeling the need for fuel in your body and listening to different cravings. It’s pretty amazing what your body communicates to you when it’s running 50 miles a week. And while I love the extra cookies and pieces of bread, there’s a lot more strategy required to eating than I think most non-marathoners would assume. The basic understanding that you can eat whatever you want, and as much as you want, while training may be true for some people, especially ultra runners, but I have to practice a lot more forethought and planning when it comes to marathon training meals. This is partially due to the fact that I have UC, and digestive issues are a daily battle, but it’s also because I’ve learned that there are things that work and definitely do not work as pre-run or post-run fuel. With that said, meal planning doesn’t come as simply as it does when I’m not marathon training, specifically around long runs.

The Running Accessories (Icing, Stretching, Foam Rolling, Hydrating, etc.)

It is no secret that running is one of the toughest activities on your body. As a runner, your body requires a lot of extra TLC in order to prevent injury and keep your progression smooth and steady. Now, differing opinions aside, we can assume that in order to be safe, stretching, foam rolling, icing, and excessive hydrating/refueling is necessary. It’s not a magic formula, but for the most part you can rest assured that your running will appreciate all of these “accessories.” But the fact of the matter is that all these things take a lot of time, and frankly—sometimes you just don’t want to do them. I can’t tell you how many times I have a checklist going through my head of all the things I need to do both pre- and post run, and it gets exhausting. I’m definitely thankful for my efforts to get them all done, but it’s a lot to keep track of and there are many times when I just rather wouldn’t put a piece of ice on my bare skin three times a day.

The Mental Toughness

Or perhaps I should say, lack thereof. Anyone who has trained for a race, no matter the distance, has experienced a wane and surge in their self confidence regarding their physical shape. There are some days where I can run seemingly forever and feel great about my condition and my prep for race day. Then there are other days when completing just a few miles at a very slow pace feels like hell, and I question how I ever could finish a marathon. Our brain and the effect it has on us is perhaps the biggest hurdle we face when training for a race, specifically a marathon. As runners, we know that running is almost equal parts physical and mental. A run can go two very different ways, all depending on how we approach it mentally. Our brain plays a very active role in our running life even when we’re not running as well, and this is why even weeks before taper begins and race nerves set in—we can through countless emotions and tribulations over the loftiness of our goals.

One of my absolute favorite mantras that was told to my basketball team while running suicides by our coach is, “The body is a lot more powerful than the mind gives it credit for.” I repeat this to myself whenever I’m feeling completely defeated, both while I’m running and when I’m not, as I think it is one of the most absolute truths about athletics, specifically running. Fighting our mental battles, in my opinion, is the absolute hardest part about marathon training—and as the races draw closer and the pesky voices of uncertainty starts to drown out our confidence, our 20 mile runs start to seem like the easiest part of the process.

So, aside from making marathon training sound like an excruciatingly tolling endeavor, what is my point to all this? Well, I have a few points, the first being that it’s important to remember the all-encompassing nature of marathon training. I will be the first person to encourage anyone who wants to take on a marathon. In fact, I’ll be standing at the finish line with your name painted on my stomach and a pom pom shaking in your sweaty face. But, I do think it’s important to remember that marathon training is so much more than just running X amount of miles per week.

I believe that running starts to become the easy part—it’s simple, you know how to do it, and when it’s done, it’s done. It’s all these extra, “bonus!” factors that come from the running that we deal with all the time—and they are what ultimately I think marathon runners should be most prepared for.

I admittedly forgot about these aspects of marathon training. I remembered the weekly big pasta dinners and the epically long weekend runs, and that’s about it. And this makes perfect sense, because I love both of these things. Our brains do this very helpful survival tactic of blocking out troubling or tough memories in favor of the things we would choose to remember instead. However, in the case of marathon training, it can slap you right in the face when you realize the tough stuff that comes along with all the endorphins and baguettes.

Despite it all, though, I think the most important point I would like to make is this:

At the end of it all—weeks, months, and hours of questioning your sanity—it’s all worth it.

If you’ve raced before, specifically a half or a full marathon, you know that there’s no better feeling than crossing a finish line. It leaves you with the most deliciously satisfied feeling in the world; a feeling of pure self-confidence with the goal you just achieved. There’s a reason why runners tear up when they read stories of others’ finish line victories; it’s because we know what it’s like, and there’s nothing else that compares.

And you know what? It feels so damn good because of how hard it is. All those things I listed about how hard marathon training is and how taxing it can be are a big part of why crossing a finish line and being given a medal is such a sense of accomplishment. It’s the best place on Earth, and I can guarantee that no matter how much pain, discouragement, and frustration you may have faced along the way, what you will remember more than anything is the simple fact that you did it.

So, if you’re considering signing up for a marathon (which is AWESOME!), consider all the factors that are going to go into it. It will be a humbling experience, and it’s anything but easy, but if you put in the work it will absolutely pay off in the end.

___

Happy Friday! Have a lovely weekend.

What do you think is the hardest part about marathon training? What advice would you give about training from your own experience?

[College]town Glory

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It would be a big fat lie to be as bubbly and glitter-filled as I originally thought I was going to be when writing this post. I did have a spectacular long run on the marathon course last Saturday, and everything in life is generally going great, but right now I’m really just feeling tired and spacey.

I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since last Friday night, and although I’m normally fine on less sleep, I think it’s catching up with me. Heavy mileage weeks + waking up every two hours= Grog Fest 2012. So while I certainly have plenty to do work wise and in my own life, all I really want to do is eat Cadbury Mini Eggs while lying on the couch alternating between Friends reruns and napping.

Also, if you are worried about my Cadbury Mini Egg supply, have no fear. The Easter Bunny, who somewhat resembles a strapping, brown-haired 23 year old boy, replenished my supply with TWO big bags. I know you were worried, so no stress there.

So, although I’m wishing that all my clothes would magically turn into sweatshirts and yoga pants, I’ll do my best to recap some of the real-person-good-life happenings as of late.

I know that recapping every. single. weekend long run is the opposite of interesting, and I’ve tried to tone down the detailing recently. BUT Saturday’s excursion down to Tacoma was just too good not to share, and it gave me some great insight into the value of “preview runs.”

Per the advice of a former college friend of mine, I mapped out a 20 mile run through Tacoma that would roughly take me on 14ish miles of the marathon course. The run included parts of Tacoma that I’d never run through before, as well as some of my favorite old spots to trot through. I was really excited to see the spots that I always used to pass by on runs, including a jaunt by my alma mater as well.

This was my run. It was very long.

It was the perfect setup for a long run: I was well fueled, I had a handheld bottle filled with Nuun, the sky was completely clear and sunny, and no matter what I was ending with an oatmeal breakfast with a good friend. Ideal situation, and the run definitely delivered.

There was quite frankly not one forgiving part of this self-designed course. It was rolling hills nearly the entire time, including a few pretty brutal climbs—however this element was key in terms of actual race prep. It felt great to be running in spots that I knew I would see on marathon day, and I liked thinking that I’d be familiar with specific sections that would be harder or easier than others. I practiced an easy pace on the uphills, an aggressive pace on the downhills, and finishing with a strong kick. The last mile or so was the only all downhill part of the run, which was a great simulation for how the actual race ends. Although it’s easy to think that a downhill finish means the last few miles will be easy, I think it’s surprising to see how much the downhill impact actually affects really tired legs.

I finished 20.3 miles in 2:53, which translates roughly to 8:30 average pace. I’ll take it—especially with those monster hills.

Also, NO KNEE PAIN! I love Aleve, and I also love that my knee has decided to start cooperating, specifically on mega runs like this.

An all-around win in my book.

Obviously, this was a necessary end to the day.

re-hydrating

Also, this photo epitomizes BF:

chemistry and beer= BF

Easter Sunday was marginally uneventful, but it was fun. The best part was awaking to an egg hunt that BF designed for me. Both of us get a kick out of child activities as adults, and so I think sending his girlfriend on a search for plastic eggs throughout our tiny house was probably more enjoyable for him than it was for me.

Just kidding babe, I loved it.

Here are some action shots of the hunt:

NOT FAIR. Hiding eggs out of short-person reach is discrimination.

I haz eggz. And an XL sweatshirt that is the epitome of flattering.

Once I cleaned myself out of my somewhat-hungover-disheveled-Easter-morning state, it was time for some chocolate. Because on Easter, you obviously need to consume about 10 servings worth of candy before you eat any actual breakfast.

This is a picture of me eating.

Oh and by “cleaned up,” I mean put my hair in a pony tail and put on mascara. Again with the female habits, I really need a beautician or a babysitter.

Also, here are our baskets. I’m a little afraid for the amount of candy we have in the house…because it’s easily equivalent to at least one isle at the grocery store. My teeth are scared for their lives.

What's that Target? You ran out of candy? Oh, that's because we have it all. Also, cookie monster is appropriate for Easter, obviously.

After a midday nap and lazing around in a candy coma, I finally managed to go on a 7 mile recovery run, done at a perfectly slow pace. I got to see all the families out for a sunny Easter beach stroll, along with all the other “mall people” that show up whenever the sun comes out in Seattle. People watching makes running go by so much faster, and no matter how many “WTF are you doing why would you be running ever?” looks I get from strangers (more than you’d think), I will still give them a huge cheese ball smile in return.

You will witness my sweat and you will LIKE IT people.

And, on one final note…because the fluidity of this post is just about Pulitzer worthy…I give you a look at how dogs make me SO EFFING AWKWARD. Remember how I take pictures of random dogs? Yea, so yesterday this happened.

Oh... and yes, you are looking right into my camera.

I blame BF for this. He loves Newfoundland dogs more than anything in the world, so obviously when I saw this guy on a stroll I needed to attempt to capture it in photo form. But guess what Robyn? Leaning across your car holding your phone up and driving slowly by people will PROBABLY MAKE THEM NOTICE YOU. I played it really cool when I realized the man saw the whole photo thing go down, and by “really cool” I mean I immediately held my phone up acting like I was trying to get reception. We both knew what happened though. Don’t worry nice newfie-owning man, I really only care about having a photo of your dog.

So that’s all. Thanks for listening to my ramblings, as well as my apathy toward the world that has taken over my mood these past few days. And actually, writing all this down has helped remove me a bit from my slump. I’m still going to eat all the Mini Eggs though and feel super embarrassed about the unbelievably low production level of my HTC relay application. I’m really glad I applied, and I really really hope I get in, but for real…there are some stellar videos out there, which you should probably check out, and I think you’ll realize why I’m about 5 minutes away from enrolling in some kind of intro to movie making classes.

I would love to hear some uplifting thoughts from you beautiful people today. Tell me something you are excited about, something you are proud of, or just something that is making your day better.

Nuun HTC Relay Team Application

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Hello Run Birdie Run readers!

So, I’m really excited to share with you my hugely successful 20 miler done this past weekend on the marathon course, as well as some splendidly sugar-filled Easter highlights. However that is going to have to wait until tomorrow…

Today, I so excited to present you with my video application for the Nuun Hood to Coast Relay Team! Nuun is putting together THREE teams of TWELVE women, all bloggers, to compete in the exclusive and infamous Hood to Coast relay race that takes place in August. To apply, you needed to submit footage (picture, video, etc.) of yourself so they can get to know you better and learn why you’d be a great addition to the team.

I am SO excited at the thought of this opportunity. Running 200 miles, relay style, while using a van as a caravan sounds like my definition of fun—smelly clothes, war paint, and all—and I know I would been so incredibly amped and enthusiastic the whole time. Sleep, even in every day life, isn’t really necessary for my ability to function, therefore the minimal sleep and maximum running and energy needed is the least of my worries.

Also, as I’ve mentioned in a previous post, Nuun is one of my new favorite running friends. It doesn’t upset my stomach like every other fueling source in the world does, and it gets me all bubbly and happy inside. The fact that Nuun wants to support female bloggers is so admirable to me, and I would be so excited to represent them in Hood to Coast.

So, with that said, below is my video. I have two things to admit: The first, I am completely technology deficient. There are a lot of spectacular videos out there that other bloggers have made, and while I wish I could have hired someone to help with the application process, I had to work with what I had…so bear with me.The second thing I need to admit is that yes, today is the final day to apply, and no…I actually didn’t procrastinate submitting this. Sure, I wanted to fine tune the details…but the real reason I waited until today was because it’s the 9th and 9 has been my lucky number since Mia Hamm wore it for the U.S. Women’s soccer team. So obviously I wanted to get the universe on my side 🙂

You can also help me with this endeavor! If you feel so inclined, in the comments section below this post write why you think I should be on the team…even if it’s only, “She can survive solely on peanut butter alone,” or, “She already goes a day…or more…without showering.” It’s not necessary, but it would be much appreciated!

Pick me, Nuun! I promise to be the perfect symbiosis of cheerleader and runner. Also, I make some mean chocolate cookies, and I do van art like it’s my job.