Category Archives: Weekend

Green Positivity

{No, this is not a post about eco-friendly things or sustainability}

Greetings friends. How were your weekends? How was Monday?

My weekend was filled to the brim with fun activities, and while I was jealous of all the people who were racing—I have to say that this was a weekend for the books. St. Patrick’s Day, particularly, was highly enjoyable—mostly due to the effort put forth by my boyfriend who, while not Irish, is a big fan of any day devoted to beer and shenanigans.

We were traditional, we were green, we were festive. Allow me to share with you our dedication to this holiday…

Green pancakes!

In keeping with his new found affection for making pancakes, BF made the decision that Saturday’s batch would celebrate St. Patty’s as well. Unfortunately, the idea only came to him with two pancakes left to make. Thought that counts though!

Green smoothie!

I had to sneak some form of health into at least one part of the day 😉

Green people!

No pinching for us! This was also taken in a bar at 4 pm. We take these holidays seriously…also, BF’s shirt is highly entertaining, if you can read it.

Another St. Patty’s treat for the day…

Spring breakers break-ing for beer.

My sister and her boyfriend Grayson stopped by on their way to California for Spring Break to celebrate some green-filled festivities. It was wonderful to see them both, and I’m excited to see them AGAIN this Thursday for more adventures. More on that later. Thanks for coming, guys!

Green eats! Well, not really...but traditional!

So I’ve never done the whole “corned beef and cabbage” thing for St. Patty’s Day (in fact I never even had heard of it), but BF has and decided to introduce me to the tradition. It was also the first time we got to use our new crock pot, which obviously was an exciting endeavor. And, you can’t eat a traditional Irish meal without…

Guinness!

Survey says? Good choice Irish peeps! I’m not a huge red meat person, but this stuff was definitely good, and even the cabbage was to my liking. BF was quite proud of his work with this meal, and rightfully so!

Needless to say, St. Patty’s Day was a win in this household. Any holiday revolving around beer I can really get behind.

Also, because this post is already super picture-happy, this is how I spent my Friday night:

Hotel room? Robes? Wine? Check, check, and quadruple check!

When it comes to celebrating a birthday, no one does lavish quite like my lovely friend Kawika. Which is why he hosted a wine tasting in a super swanky hotel room in an even swankier downtown Seattle hotel. There were reds, there were whites, there was prosecco, and there was cake. A High School Musical 3 cake. Good times were had by all, although I think it would be hard to find someone who wouldn’t enjoy themselves in such a situation.

So, as you can see, a fun weekend indeed. However, there was one glaring absence from Saturday and Sunday: running.

If you’ve read this blog for more than just this post, you know that my weekend reports are normally overwhelmed with long-run talk. Many of you are probably happy for this new change of pace, and I don’t blame you. The fact is: bad knee=no long run. In fact, no running in general—because this bursitis took over my abilities to train, and condemned my activities to spinning and swimming. Both of which felt fantastic on my inflamed knee, and they are very bonafied cross-training activities.

However, when you are supposed to be peaking in training mileage and can’t run more than a few paces without knee pain, this set-back becomes more than discouraging. Which is why, yesterday, I went to see an orthopedic doc for some answers and solutions.

Truly, I was terrified for this appointment. I was going to post yesterday, but I was too afraid that talking about the upcoming doc visit would only heighten my nerves—so I held off until I had some answers. X-rays, lots of talking(by me), and a cortisone injection later—I am feeling an enormous amount of relief.

This appointment went just about as good as I could have hoped for. X-rays showed that nothing is wrong with my knee besides this bursitis/tendonitis—which was my biggest fear. A lot of the time, bursitis is caused by another injury such as a tendon or ligament tear—which would have sidelined me much longer. Luckily, this was not the case—and the doctor only had to yell at me about stretching more. Noted doc, no problem-o. And when he said, “I see no reason why I shouldn’t give you a cortisone injection to speed up the healing process,” I had to hide my excitement—because this is what I was secretly hoping for.

So, with this fancy medicine deflating the crap out of my knee and a little more rest time—I should be good to run (hopefully!) on Friday. So very relieved, and while I’m still wary, I’m feeling positive that I’ll be able to keep training aggressively until taper time.

Also, when I rolled up my pants to show Doc my knee, he took one look at my calves and said, “Wow, you are a runner, huh?”

I blushed.

So, generally, I’m feeling positive. I know I wasn’t totally expressive about my anxiety about this minor injury, but I was feeling very apprehensive for the fate of my Eugene Marathon dreams (ask BF, he will always vouch for my freak-out modes). The meds and the clear x-rays definitely lifted a weight off my shoulders, and I’m feeling ready to take on the rest of training. The time off also really made me anxious and excited to run, which is always refreshing.

Happy first day of spring! Race season has definitely started, and I’d like to offer a big congrats to everyone who’s either preparing, tapering, or recovering—you are a rock star!

And now…because who isn’t tired of hearing(reading) me talk…how was your St. Patrick’s Day? Weekend? Are you currently training for a spring race?

Fuel Failing, Personal Nights, and Ranting about Target

2 Replies

Hello!

How’s it going? How was your weekend? Personally, I felt like it went a wee bit too quickly, but otherwise it was highly enjoyable.

I completed my second 20 mile run in two weeks on Saturday, and although conditions weren’t necessarily ideal, overall it went well and I finished a bit faster than last week.

I felt a general lack of fueling surrounding this run, and it took it’s toll a bit. In a very literal sense, my car was SO low on gas getting to my starting point down by the water, so that troubled my brain throughout the run.

“What if I run out of gas on the way home and I have to walk and I can’t walk because I will have just run 20 miles and then my legs will break and OMG OMG OMG.”

It’s amazing how we can distract ourselves with irrational thoughts, isn’t it?

Anyways, I also knew right off the bat that I hadn’t food-fueled well enough the night before. I had a bad stomach ache all day Friday, and so I wasn’t feeling too keen on a big carb-load that night. It took it’s toll though, because I woke up hungry, and although I ate a bit before going out I was feeling pretty empty earlier than anyone wants to on a 20 mile run. This also added to why my Gatorade supply (which was meager to begin with) diminished quicker than normal. You see, I’m not very responsible when it comes to fueling during a run, and I only bring water or a sports drink if my run is above 15 or so mile. Bad. However, I do think this helps my resilience to needing a ton of water/electrolyte replacement—on a normal day. Right? That makes total sense. This run was proved otherwise, though, and my liquid energy was consumed in flash.

And to add insult to an already fuel-less run, my iPod died around mile 13. On a normal run, this would have been no problem, and I would have gotten all existential and credited the universe with wanting me to pay more attention to my surroundings. Remember that hippy-dippy post?

But on long runs, the iPod is a bit necessary—both for motivation and distraction. However, I focused on the lovely scenery (I saw TWO bald eagles!) and I tried to maintain a consistent pace. My energy waves came in spurts, and although my legs were barking by the end, my last mile was 8 minutes flat, which I was very happy with.

{Admittedly, I think I was just happy to be done}

Anyways, total time was 2:47 for 20.24 miles. Approximately 8:15 miles…and given the fuel deprivation I would say I’m very pleased with this, especially after 20 miles last Sunday and 13 miles last Thursday.

Dear legs, thank you. You guys are the best.

Also, I would like to pay homage to my decision to take a rest day on Friday. It paid off big time, and I felt so much better than I know I would have during this beast of a run. I wish I could say that I was a stellar smart and prepared athlete who intentionally took that day off in lieu of the big weekend ahead, but truthfully it was an impromptu decision and happened to be the right one.

What’s the lesson? Scheduled rest days are good. Our bodies like them.

Along those lines, I’m starting to rethink my normal routine in terms of pre and post long run day regimen. I used to always take my rest days (or do an easy swim) the day after a long run, however I’ve recently been introduced to this concept of a “shake out” or “recovery” run, which I’m becoming a HUGE fan of. The idea is that you do a shorter, slow run the day after a long run to, quite literally, shake out your legs and get some blood flowing to your sore muscles. I’ve done this twice now, and I’m a big fan. I really like the excuse for some slow, leisurely running, and I do think it’s helping me recover faster.

And speaking of recovery, my favorite kind of recovery—the kind that requires ample food consumption and couch sitting—was it optimal form on Saturday night. BF attended poker night with some of his co-workers, and while I could have planned a fabulous Seattle nightlife outing with my friends, I knew I wouldn’t make it until 10 pm—therefore a Robyn Personal Night was in order.

I am very much someone who enjoys their own company, almost as much as the company of others. Don’t get me wrong—I love being around people, but there are sometimes when I relish being by myself for a night. And yes, I was the child who ~~sang to themselves~~ played alone on the playground and didn’t give a second thought about it. I really like to think I’ve gained some sociability since then, but nights like Saturday night indicate otherwise.

Allow me to give you a glimpse into what my perfect home-alone setting looks like:

Pajamas on before dinner

A Beecher’s grilled cheese and tomato basil soup {This is the best grilled cheese you will ever eat. If you don’t believe me, come to Seattle and I will buy you one myself.}

Bridesmaids

Blue Moon Spring Ale

US Weekly

A big sugar cookie

These ingredients, topping off a day spent at Target and Trader Joe’s, just about sums up my perfect Saturday. Lame? Totally. But I’m not ashamed. And the word “spent” above is very much pun intended. I went into Target to exchange a shirt for a different size.

That’s. It.

So what did I walk out with? The better fitting shirt…oh and a new dress, a new necklace (the dress needed a friend), another new shirt, bobby pins, and sport headbands.

DAMNIT TARGET.

It’s okay, this is why the Bull’s Eye Boutique made Friday Favorites a few weeks ago, and will continue to so long as it’s within my driving range.

I would just like to say that my receipt was $48.57, meaning I successfully defeated the infamous $50 minimum rule when leaving Target. Therefore I essentially won, and Target pretty much gave me all my new wonderful things. Oh, you’ve never heard of that rule? It’s real, and if you don’t believe me…next time you go to Target for one item, check out YOUR receipt once you walk out of the store.

So there you have it peeps. My idea of a perfect Saturday and an unplanned rant about Target and how it owns my soul.

This is cutback week, meaning my long run won’t be quite as daunting, which honestly I’m a little relieved about. I’ll see you before then, though, and I hope you had a merry weekend of your own.

Tell me about your weekend! What would your version of a Personal Night look like? Did you watch the Oscars? Did you do a long run? Do you have a horrible addiction to a chain store?

20 Miles, Witnessing a Murder, and All My Dreams Coming True.

4 Replies

Yesterday morning at 8:04 am I started on a run. And not just any run, a long run. And not just any long run, a 20-mile long run. So, with my Gatorade-filled hand held bottle in hand, off I went…and two hours fifty minutes later, my face was covered in salty sweat and my legs were achy.

But I felt great.

This run was very encouraging, and despite the fact that I had to wake-up early on a Sunday and spend nearly three hours running, I really enjoyed it the whole time. The route, which was somewhat tricky to orchestrate, had a couple of out-and-backs which got a little tedious. Overall, though, it was scenic and pleasant as ever. There were also two golden doodles spotted on the route, and I have made the executive decision that I will own one of these fluffy bundles of love at some point in my life.

These big kahuna runs take ample prep work, both on the front end and back end, and I’m happy to say I would call it an overall success. (Prep work, also see: Eating half a loaf of bread.) I averaged 8:20 miles very comfortably, and although I started to feel it around mile 14 or so my legs are feeling pretty decent today. Planning on a 5-6 mile recovery trot this afternoon.

I was completely ZONKED last night though, and it took approximately 2 minutes for me to go from awake to a deep sleep once I hit the my pillow. I love that feeling though of running completely wiping me out, it’s kind of neat to see direct effects of hard work.

In other news, I witnessed a murder yesterday. A murder on the high seas, to be exact. And while I do have this hope that someday I will be at a crime scene that Dexter appears at to do a blood splatter analysis, this crime scene was definitely still cool.

While rounding the corner of the peninsula circa mile 10 or so, I saw a scuffle of seagulls in the water. They were all losing their seagull minds, and as I looked closer I saw a huge tail flop out of the water among the swarm of birds. Obviously I was going to watch at this point, and I’m glad I did. All of a sudden a HUGE sea lion head popped out of the water with a wing hanging out of it’s mouth! It was nuts…I didn’t even know that sea lions were interested in eating seagulls (don’t you think they’d be all gamey and tough?) but this beast was out for the kill. I think all the other seagulls were trying to rescue their victim friend. Alas,’twas too late.

Moving on.

Some BIG NEWS.

You guys, I can’t even begin to describe my excitement for what I’m about to tell you. I’ll give you a hint, it looks a little something like this:

An Irrelevant photo, but an EXCITED photo!

So, I am proud to announce that on Labor Day weekend this year, I will be running 13.1 miles through the magical world of DISNEYLAND!! Yes, indeed, I forked over more of my paycheck for this dream-come-true event which could quite possibly be the pinnacle culmination of all things I love in life. Seriously, I’m wondering if anything will ever live up to this. Doing a Disney race was part of the Running Wish List last December, therefore I’m glad to be on the right track to making some of those ambitions come true.

And the best part? BF is running it too!!!

Three of my favorite things in the world all coming together into one magical day. I can’t wait. Well, actually I’m going to have to wait…192 days to be exact. BUT I’m not sure if I’ve ever been more excited about a race. Forget a quality finishing time, I’m going to be too distracted by princesses and Mickey to focus on PR-ing.

BF and I at Disneyland 4 years ago. Don't worry Goofy, we'll be back soon!

So there you have it. Despite a sea life murder and some persnickety weather, this weekend was delightful. I hope your weekend was good, and hopefully you are enjoying a day off today. I am not, so please enjoy it even more for me!

And to leave you with a final note of something that made me smile yesterday:

Smart man that Voltaire.

Be happy. And have a wonderful start to your week!

WHAT DID YOU DO THIS WEEKEND?

Bestie Weekend

1 Reply

Hello all you beautiful people out there.

How’s it going?

I feel like most everyone is really ready to get this whole February show on the road and say “Adios!” to winter. Wait, winter’s still here for almost two more months? Dang. Well, hooray for global warming? Inappropriate?

I digress, let’s talk about running.

This past weekend, as I told you about on Friday, I went to Spokane to see my best friend Anna. We had a totally stellar time, and to paraphrase our weekend I’ll give you some buzz words:

Zumba, Nordy’s Rack, sushi, tequila, drag queens, tequila, Beauty and the Beast

If that right there doesn’t sound like a good time, then I don’t know what does. Allow me to fill you in on some details:

Saturday morning, I forced out 6.5 miles as a means of slightly remedying the fact that I would miss my long run on Sunday. Afterwards, we went to ZUMBA at Anna’s gym—and although I was slightly horrified that I would look like a flailing octopus(think about it…), it turned out to be super fun and not all that difficult. There were well over 100 people there, and as a first timer I felt like I was able to mostly keep up. Also, it was a breather! I was pretty winded fairly quickly, and it was a great workout for your shoulders and quads. The best part? Loud music + ample people watching= very fast class. The hour went by in a flash.

Highly recommended.

That night, Anna was performing with other law students in a drag show as dancers. Obviously, a good time was inevitable. And, as I stated earlier, although I’m marathon training and my weekends are normally devoted to hours of running—some priorities took over in this scenario. When your best friend is a booty shaking back-up dancer for some lovely drag queens in a gay bar, there is no question where your devotions lie. And hence…tequila. It was an awesome night, and I have a new found respect for the Spokane drag pros as well as the Gonzaga Law females. These ladies could be your attorney some day people…I, for one, look forward to it.

There's a lot of sparkles and cleavage up on that stage.

besties

Obviously, when you drink a lot of tequila, the best idea the next morning is to go watch dancing teapots and candle sticks sparkle on stage. Beauty and the Beast on Broadway it was!

Anna, who is mega awesome and knows my childhood fantasies oh-so-well, bought us tickets as an early birthday present for me. Just to fill you in, Beauty and the Beast is my all-time favorite Disney movie, and I would probably trade an arm to be a Broadway star. Therefore, BandtheB ON STAGE epitomizes entertainment.

And it did not disappoint; the show was positively fabulous—Belle was exquisite, the set was spectacular, and I can guarantee every single ~~23-year-old~~ little girl in the room was more than pleased.

I might have bought a souvenir.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend, and I wish it could have lasted longer. I left feeling very thankful to have such incredible people, like Anna, in my life and generally filled with a serene sense of being content.

Yesterday morning, I awoke to the sound of silence—aka no rain! Also, this:

January 30th baby!

I love when I can wear shorts without question, and temperature isn’t an issue. It was also fun to be running on a Monday; because I almost always do long runs on Sundays, Mondays are typically an off-day…and I really liked starting off the week with some dark, quiet running time. I finished 11.6 miles in 93 minutes, about 8 minute miles on the dot. Very happy about this, and I’m definitely feeling more confident in my speed.

Speaking of, I gave in and will be starting speed work…like, on a track…next week. It’s funny that this feels like a new concept for me, since I spent oh 6 years as a track runner, however something about having the marathon as the end goal as opposed of 300 meters of hurdles feels more intense.

‘Tis all for today! And because I really love all you readers out there…

Tell me one thing your excited for. It can be a Spring Break trip or merely the delicious lunch you packed…anything!

Run Birdie Run

…because it's the only way to fly.