Running into 2012

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I have run 34 miles so far in 2012—pretty good considering it’s the 5th and two of those runs were done at 6,000 feet in the mountains. I’m sure you’re sick of my complaining by now, so FINE…I’ll quit my whining about altitude.

Contrarily, I’d actually like to commend altitude in this post—as it not only aided in intensifying my training, but it made my 12 miler today exceptionally fast.

I like to call tonight’s run “Moonlight Runata.” No, it did not include the brilliance of Beethoven on my iPod (thought I must download soon!), but it was illuminated by a bright moon shining in the clear(!) Seattle sky. I started around sunset, and by the time I was done the stars were out and night had taken over. I finished the 12.14 total miles in 96 minutes, which averages to just under 8 minute miles. I am psyched, for sure, however it was pretty difficult and reminded me that if I ever want to BQ, I’ll have to continue that pace for oh just another 14 miles.

Why Boston, WHY???

Anyway, I thought I’d include in this post my New Year’s Day run, because it was definitely memorable and I am hopeful it represented how the rest of my year will play out.

Obviously I wasn’t feeling awesome when I woke up New Year’s Day. That was a given. However, I knew I wanted to run, and despite the warmth of the bed and the pain in my skull reminding me why whiskey should not follow beer, I headed out.

In a nutshell, it sucked. I felt like hell, and despite the beautiful Colorado sunshine and sparkling snow covering the ground, I frankly did not give a damn—I just wanted it to be over.

My subconscious, however, that knew I wanted to run (and in fact needed to run) somehow trumped my miserable “please-oh-please-make-this-stop” mentality. It was as if my body knew that starting my year in its true form—as a runner—was more important than temporary pain.

{Side note: I really wasn’t hungover, 3 drinks doesn’t give you a hangover, just a dehydrated headache and desire for bagels instead of miles.}

As I continued along, I decided I wasn’t going to die and thought, “You’ve made it this far—how about start the New Year with a half marathon?” And so, my runner-self took over my wahh-poor-me self and decided to give 2012 a 13 mile “WHAT UP.”

I never really felt fantastic during this run; in fact, I can’t really remember the last time I felt so poorly during a long run. However, despite my sour mindset, I ended the run feeling accomplished and psyched with the fact that I started 2012 in a way I love.

To finish off New Year’s Day, as mentioned in my pre-New Year’s post, I went to see the Lakers play the Nuggets with my dad in Denver. My Dad has been a Lakers fan his whole life, and consequentially I am a huge fan as well. (Yea yea yea, be a hater…I’ll defend to the death.) It was my first actual game, and the fact that I got to go with my Dad—AND it was against the Nuggets—made the whole experience awesome.

Blue Moon, rooting for Kobe, and hanging with Dad. Excellent New Year's Day.

And yea… whatever the might have maybe not won—doesn’t really matter. I guess.

So, with a 13.1 start, a 9 mile hilly beast, and a speedy 12 miler along my favorite peninsula, 2012 has been a great year for running—and here’s to hoping that the rest of this year is filled with many running highlights.

Question: Do you have any running goals for this year?

Hill Hell: A Necessary Evil

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Let’s talk about altitude, shall we?

Before the holidays, I discussed my hesitation to run on my Colorado vacation due to the vast elevation difference from my lovely sea-side Seattle stomping grounds. Fortunately, despite some burning lungs and a mildly slower pace, I was able to keep up on running while on my trip, and I’m excited to carry around some fatty RBC at sea level for at least a few days.

The times I noticed the elevation difference the most was on the hills I climbed during the Colorado runs. If you ever need a good kick in the ego, I highly suggest running up a long, steep street at 6,000 feet above sea level. Oh yes, you will surely find some humility fast. However, after all the heaving and hauling up those monsters, I will admit that despite their mental and physical challenges, hills are not only helpful, but essential to developing as a runner.

I admittedly follow a running routine that is somewhat hill free: I run on a sea wall around a flat peninsula and purposefully avoid the scary hills in our neighborhood. However, per my New Year’s goal to face my fears head on, I am going to be much more intentional about incorporating hill work.

Thus, I present you with the hell I faced this morning:

"Hello Robyn, prepare for me to crush your legs to pieces."

I think the universe knew that I was getting overly ambitious about my altitude-adjusting lungs, so it said , “Ha! Watch this.” Needless to say, that last 500 ft. climb that was seemingly never-ending was done in walk-run fashion, and when I did run it was really just to make the torture go by faster. The kind of exertion we face on hills and the tiring effect they have is incredibly indicative, though, of just how substantial they are to our training.

I already feel like mileage-wise, my cardio shape is pretty good, however if a huge hill is able to wipe that endurance down so quickly, I can only imagine what incorporating these beasts more routinely would do to my training.

{Also, this hill was at mountain altitude, so its difficulty wasn’t entirely due to my wimpiness}

The other thing about hills is that they are incredibly mental. When you start upon a hill you know will be challenging, it is essential to both pep talk yourself and maintain a calm focus. Something I do when climbing a killer hill is I’ll choose a lamp post, bush, street sign, or whatever’s up ahead of me and I’ll tell myself, “Okay, just make it up to that point,” and I’ll look down and keep trucking. Once I reach that mini goal point, I’ll repeat the same thing with a point further ahead. I think it works as both a mental distraction and as a means of dividing a huge goal (the whole hill) into smaller, manageable goals. I also like to repeat the phrase, “Up and over,” in my head as I’m climbing, as it keeps me focused on the fact that once I’m at the top, I’ll be done and my lead legs will be relieved.

Running hills is also a very metaphorical, and we can actually learn a lot from transferring the process of climbing a hill to overcoming other sorts of barriers in our lives. Sometimes we have to walk, sometimes we have to stop and recollect ourselves, but the only way to truly get over something, overcome an obstacle, or regain control when we feel powerless is to just keep on climbing. At times it can feel like we’re barely moving and all we want to do is quit; if we continue to move on, however, slowly but surely we will make it back to the top.

This all being said, I do need some accountability when it comes to my promise to run more hills. If you’re out there and can keep an eye on me, please do—but I am going to make a conscious effort to not let those beastly steep monsters scare me away from developing my strength as a runner.

Question: How do you feel about hills, both literal and metaphorical? Any mantras that you think work well for getting through a tough climb?

 

 

Bests, Worsts, and Scary Things.

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So yesterday’s post got a little serious—I know, I’m sorry for my susceptibility to getting all  existential in my writing (the English major in me lives on).

Anyway, if you read yesterday’s post, you know that I think we should take advantage of the New Year, and I personally intend to use the opportunity to highlight some of my goals.

I use the term goals instead of resolutions because most of them have already been in existence for a little while. My specific running goals were detailed in my running wish list, and I’m planning on prioritizing those throughout this year’s races and training. I do have an overarching resolution, however, that I feel encompasses several areas in my life—both running and otherwise.

But first, I’ll being with a quick New Year’s recap. BF and I spent the evening visiting with some of our friends from high school, and it was low key but all-around a good time. We all went to the fancy shmancy hotel in our hometown and pretended to be upper-crust socialites that can afford $10 drinks and lavish suites. Hint: We can’t. Instead, we lounged in the overly-manicured hotel bar/lobby/hang out area and shared our best and worsts of 2011.

If you’re interested, I would say that I had 2 Bests of 2011. Yea, yea I know it’s cheating, but ties are allowed in your own list-making rules.

But I’ll start with my Worst of 2011, because I like ending on a good note. The worst part of 2011 was being injured for 3 months, completely unable to run and even walk correctly. I had full-fledged gimp status from March to June, and let’s just say in the beginning I was not happy about it. I cried, I was angry, I was lost. In the end, though, this worst turned into a very important lesson for me, and the harshness of the situation turned out to be bittersweet. I am now a more careful, smart, and balanced runner—and it took a humbling and disabling experience for me to reach these new understandings about running. So yea, it was a worst, but fortunately I was able to make the most out of a crappy situation.

The beginning of the end. Days before the death of my hip flexor.

Now onto happy things:

My first Best of 2011 was officially moving into a place with BF. Sure, we started living together toward the end of 2010, however in July 2011 we signed an official lease together, bought furniture together, the whole real-world-relationship shebang. It was great and a true highlight.

Look! We are Seattle residents!

The other Best somewhat goes without saying—running my first marathon.

You've probably never seen this photo before, right?

Two years ago, I would have laughed in your face if you asked if I could run a marathon, or even a half-marathon for that matter. Even months before signing up, I felt that a marathon was for the “other” runners, and I was content with the 13.1 distance. However, after recovering from my injury, I realized that only sticking with the 13.1 distance was really playing it safe. I knew I could go further, and I knew that if I worked at it enough I could build to doing a full marathon. Also, I knew that following a strict, regimented schedule would help me from overdoing it and abusing my running as I had been before.

So I went for it, and it was amazing. The training was intense, as were the nerves and apprehension leading into the race, but there has not been anything more rewarding in my life than seeing the “Mile 26” marker and mustering all my strength to sprint to the finish line.

So what’s next?

Well, inspired from the marathon and my overarching quest toward expanding my horizons, I’ve decided that this year will be all about alleviating the things that scare me.

No, I won’t be re-watching The Ring or visiting graveyards, however I will be facing head-on the things in my life that I either avoid, shy away from, or simply ignore based on the fact that they are hard or daunting. I find that too often there are things in my life that I settle with simply based on the fact that they are comfortable and easy. A simple example would be driving my car down the massive hill by my house because running up it at the end of my run is simply too hard.

A bigger example would be deciding to spend my entire weekend at home instead of calling my friends and making plans, because sitting on my couch and perfecting my hermit status is easier than mustering up the energy to go out.

{Dexter, you do not help with this habit}

The fact is, in each of these examples, I know myself and I know that taking the harder, less-convenient option is almost always much more rewarding. When I complete a long, brutal hill, I feel much more satisfied in my run overall. When I actually go out with my friends (whom, mind you, I adore) and spend some quality social time, I am a much more well-rounded person and frankly happier overall.

When we are able to identify the things in our lives that we do based on comfort and routine, we can recognize that there is an element of apprehension and curiosity missing. And understandably, because facing the unknown as opposed to the familiar is typically the much easier choice. However, when we acknowledge our fears and purposefully face them, we are given a rejuvenating sense of accomplishment. These fears can be monumental or miniscule, however opting for the more challenging course gives us the opportunity to expand our experiences beyond that which is comfortable. Comfort is good, however we cannot grow or learn without reaching beyond our safe zones.

I look at this “resolution” to face the things that scare me as more of an overall mind shift. I might be able to get up and get sweaty every morning, but when it comes to laziness and taking the easy way out I am also a master. I want to get rid of this mentality; I know myself well enough to know that sticking to the mundane, simple routines of life do not stimulate my need for new experiences. I know that if I can be intentional about facing the things that I’m scared of, I will begin to establish a greater understanding of my strengths, my weaknesses, and my overall potential.

2012, fearlessness is the name of the game.

Gah, got serious again. Something about the New Year is getting to me apparently. If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading, and I highly encourage you to think about the things you’re afraid of and how you can overcome them. Because I guarantee—you can.

Question: What scares you? 

 

Hello, Twenty-Twelve.

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Welcome to 2012! I realize it’s really just another Sunday, but for me the 1st of the year always seems to feel like the beginning of something. Call it my personal susceptibility to general holiday hoopla, however I feel that there is something a bit more substantial to New Year’s Day than any regular Hallmark money maker.

And let’s get real here, just how many New Year’s cards can they really sell?

To me, New Year’s Day and the onset of a new year in general symbolizes more than champagne hangovers, fireworks, and crooning Auld Lang Syne. There is something very tangible and concrete to me about the passing of one year into another; whether we want to relish in the year we’ve had or run as fast as we can into a new beginning, there is an overarching sense of opportunity in the air. I love the word opportunity—it holds within in so much potential for growth, excitement, and new experiences.

Certainly, I wholly believe that if you are in need of a change or if you’re looking for a reason to improve upon your life, there is no time like the present. I don’t think there’s any reason really to wait until the “New Year’s excuse” comes around to make life-altering decisions. Unfortunately, looking for an excuse to make a change doesn’t necessarily yield to best results in my experience. However, despite the fact that I believe self-improvement can and should exist all year, that does not negate the fact that the transition from one year into another presents us with a great chance for reflection.

Because of the concreteness of a year, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8760 hours, however you choose to measure it, the ability to partition our triumphs, struggles, and everything in between seems to be easier.

I don’t look at New Year’s in the sense of, “Okay, now that there is a new calendar to put up—everything in my life is going to magically change for the better.” However, I do believe that the New Year indicates that there is a page turning, whether we’d like it to our not, and it begs the question, how will we respond?

Certainly, change happens year round, but when we are able to look in retrospect at the year behind us, I find that deciphering the lessons and experiences we’ve had becomes more accessible. Therefore, we have a beautiful opportunity to take what we’ve learned and allocate it toward the year in front of us.

I encourage you to look at the best parts of 2011, and take the time to pick apart exactly why those parts were so good. If we can look at memorable circumstances in their entirety, as in the events before, during, and after, we can become that much closer to defining exactly what we need in our lives to be happy.

The same thing goes for the opposite. If there was a part of 2011 that wasn’t so good, try and figure out what contributing factors existed that made the time less favorable. Certainly, unplanned bad things happen without warning, and we should look at what we learned from those unfortunate circumstances and figure out how we can handle the next obstacle. However (and I’m saying this from personal experience) there are also bad times that weren’t tied to any one particular event. Certainly, I found little things at the time to blame, but ultimately I know that there was a conglomeration of little mishaps that led me into a negative space. Looking back, I know that those bad times were due to some circumstantial reasons, but also due to reasons within my control. By recognizing these self-inflicted short-comings, I can be wary of them in the upcoming year and hopefully avoid them by being more proactive.

All in all, I believe in the power of New Year’s. Resolutions can be cheesy, and often times they fade in time, but I truly think there is something progressive and important about our ability to consider changes. Turning the page into a new year forces us to consider what could be; new goals to accomplish, habits to break and make, and general nuances of everyday life that can be tweaked to better our day-to-day happiness. A resolution can be as monumental as completing your list of 14ers to climb, or as simple as adding a piece of fruit to your diet every day, but no matter what suits you—I leave you with one piece of wisdom: It’s a lot easier to act your way into a new way of thinking, than to think your way into a new way of acting.

{thanks for that one, Mom 🙂 }

In other words, instead of concentrating all your resolution-energy on thinking about how to go about it, how your life will be better because of it, and how many people you can tell about it, just do it. I’m not intending to get all Nike-simplistic about this, but the fact of the matter is even if you’re apprehensive or unsure about your resolution becoming a reality—your time will be much more worthwhile if it’s spent living the way you’d like to as opposed to worrying or planning how to do it.

Your resolution is to run half-marathon this year? Instead of worrying about how you’ll ever run 13.1 miles when you haven’t run in years, how about you channel that energy in putting on running shoes and going out for just 20 minutes? You can walk, run, skip, whatever—but the fact is that you will undoubtedly spend that amount of time (if not more) stressing about whether or not you can do it.

{Aren’t I super creative with my resolution examples?}

Here’s a secret: You can do just about anything. I believe that whole heartedly. The real question is not whether you can or you can’t, but will you? There’s a reason why “when there’s a will there’s a way” is such a popular motivation quote. Sure, mantras are cheesy, but this one is absolutely true in my opinion—and when we focus more on our inherent will to make something happen as opposed to our potential for failure, our goals become more under our control. If you want something bad enough, and if you understand that the best rewards necessitate discipline, then there should be nothing stopping you from taking action.

Please know that these are words that I have to tell myself every day. I often times doubt myself, question my goals, and deliberate for days, weeks, months over the things I want in my life; in no way am I preaching a method of living that I’ve mastered.

No, not even close.

I do, however, encourage you to consider acting instead of merely thinking or wishing. Certainly, we will fall short of our goals from time to time, whether big or small. However, we will never accomplish anything without trying. I have found that there is greater reward in trying and failing as opposed to letting fear get in the way of even trying at all. We learn from our failures, and we build resilience to handle just about anything we’re faced with.

Let this mentality help drive you toward your big goals—traveling to new places, finishing a marathon, or learning a different language—but also in smaller, day-to-day goals: Going to a yoga class, organizing your desk, or even finishing a chapter in a book. Celebrating our small scale accomplishments helps give us a sense of self-fulfillment, which slowly but surely will help build our confidence in our potential on a grand scale.

Happy 2012! I’ll be sharing my own personal resolutions tomorrow, and I hope everyone has had a relaxing, happy holiday season.

What are your resolutions or goals for this upcoming year? Do you think resolutions are cheesy or worthwhile?

Returning from My Nest

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Greetings!

Serious apologies for my absence, I’ve been in vacation mode big time– which fortunately comes with a lot of fun activities but unfortunately loosens my diligence to blogging.

However, I’m here with a recap some of the fun things that have happened over the past week, including some favorites (per standard Friday procedure.)

Lucky enough for me, my favorites for this week tie in nicely to some info on the happenings in snow-covered Colorado, where I’ve been spending the past holiday week.

As I’ve mentioned, BF and I took an early flight out of Seattle on the 24th, and we’ve currently been stowing away in our respective homes in Colorado Springs since. It’s been lovely here so far, and I love having some leisurely time with my family.

I have fortunately (and somewhat miraculously) been able to maintain my running while here, and although the altitude has definitely stretched my lungs to their capacity, I’m grateful that my physical condition is good enough to work around the compromising elevation. I’ve run 4 times since I’ve been here, the longest run being 12 miles, and I’m looking forward to building up some powerful red blood cells that can gulp oxygen like a beer-bonging frat boy.

So, in order to make this week-overdo post at least somewhat manageable in terms of length, I’m going to try and condense my trip recap and my Friday favorites into one glorious sequence. Prepare yourself, because I don’t really know how this will turn out…

I’ll try, though.

Friday Favorites!

1) Ice Skating

Mommy and me.

We went ice skating two days after Christmas, and despite the fact that it’s slightly horrifying when you first step on the ice, it turned out to be super fun. I realized that there aren’t too many activities that you participate in as a child that can be equally as enjoyable as an adult.

I highly recommend participating in something you used to do but somehow fell away from. Sure, it’s a little scary and the likelihood of falling on your ass and embarrassing yourself in front of a ton of speed-skating-triple-axel-doing 5 year olds is somewhat high, however there is something refreshing about returning to basics and reminding yourself of a long lost fun time.

2) Miniature Fruit

I must write a book about this cutie. It will be called, "The Littlest Tangerine."

So this doesn’t entirely describe much about my trip, however I’ve consumed about 100 of these little babies (thanks to multiple shipments from my grandparents in California), and they are spectacular.

I love little, cute fruit, and whenever I have the option of miniature versus regular sized anything, the tiny things almost always win.

3) Running-Themed Gifts

Best ornament ever! Running shoes that strangely look very similar to mine.

This year, my family rocked it and gave me several gifts related to running. It started out with my lovely running shoes ornament, which is spectacular, but I also received socks, energy gummies, a gorgeous long sleeved tech shirt, AND a “26.2” sticker! I have been too nervous for whatever reason to buy one for myself, so I was PUMPED to be bestowed with a lovely pink one bought by my stepmom (who has also run full marathons).

The gifts helped remind me that running is an ongoing work in progress. It doesn’t just exist for warm weather, training season, or racing– but it exists wherever and whenever we want it to, which is frankly an awesome thing. I love knowing that wherever I am, so long as I have my beloved Asics, I can lace up and return to the quiet, happy place that running provides me.

4) Beauty and the Beast- RETURNING!

Midnight showing? Ohh yes.

So, if you haven’t already heard, Beauty and the Beast is the best Disney movie of all time, and Belle is not only the most independent and educated princess out there– but she’s also the prettiest. No discussion on this matter, sorry.

Anyways, my beloved favorite Disney movie is coming BACK to the big screen. It’s in 3D this time, which I guess is cool if you’re into 3D, but frankly I’m just pumped that I get to make a date night out of going to the movie theater and seeing this timeless classic

I recommend you go too.

5) My Dog

Beauty sleep.

If I’m being perfectly honest here, I haven’t always gotten along with our dog. She’s manipulative, hysterical, and frankly does anything she can to get her way…and in the past we’ve clashed big time. However, now that I don’t see her as often and our interaction is limited, I have found this sneaky little pseudo-lab to be a bundle of love.

I think it’s partially due to the fact that the rest of my family practically considers her to be a fourth child, however I do love coming home and knowing that this pup will never change…and that we will still love her for it.

A little creepy, a little cute, a lot of love.

 

I do have a lot more updating to do on my trip, and I’ll be sure to flesh out more details later on. However, for now I’m enjoying staying in the moment and not letting my consistent desire to chronicle my life override my ability to actually live it.

In a nutshell, I’m loving being with my family, this holiday season has been truly wonderful, and I’m looking forward to basking in the hope and promise that a new year brings along with it.

2012 is going to be great, I can feel it.

Resolutions and more vacation highlights are soon to come! Right now, I’m going to concentrate on soaking up my mile high vacay (literally) and abusing the dessert-after-every-meal holiday excuse until the very last second.

It’s getting bad people, but I’m not stopping.

Also, I’m going to the Lakers vs. Nuggets game on New Years Day. Dear Denver, please don’t kick me out..I can’t help my passion for the purple and gold.

Yes, there it is for the world to see… I’m a Lakers fan through and through.

Tell me about your holiday celebrations! Any annoying dogs you got to cuddle with or fun shaped ornaments you received?

My Yoga Secret and Friday Favorites

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Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

Yes, a bit excessive, but isn’t that what the season’s about? Excessive spending, excessive cookies, excessive light displays? Whatever, I love it all. Well, not so much the spending, but giving gifts is wonderful and if that means a measly bank account then so be it.

If you haven’t gathered yet, I’m a nut about Christmas—and although I get sad when the actual day comes (indicating that the season is, sigh, over)—THIS year my Christmas celebrations are spread out all the way to December 30. So as far as I’m concerned, we’re just getting started!

This morning I paid some much needed attention to my arms in my leisurely, long workout. I feel like I pay so much exercise-related attention to my legs most of the time—because, you know, I’m a runner—therefore my arms get sad that they are merely used as banisters for my watch and iPod. Poor arms—fear not, I will give you some love!

Okay, done with the personification. But seriously, I did some serious arm work today—and I know I’ll be feeling it on my morning airport excursion tomorrow when I get to haul two heavy bags around with me because I refuse to pay to check a bag.

After a nice sweaty spin class, I did a weight circuit for my major arm muscles, including biceps, triceps, pectorals, and shoulders. I also threw in some ab work, because obviously:

1 sit-up=1 cookie.

Did you know that? It’s science.

Afterward, I made my way into the crowded pool for some quality lap swimming. I haven’t swam in a while, and a Spin’n’Swim day was necessary. Again, the arms were given proper attention, and I doubt that they will feel unacknowledged come tomorrow.

I’ve also managed to get my butt to yoga for the past THREE days in a row, which has been fantastic. I’ll let you in on a little secret about yoga and me—I really only go to the Level 1/Beginner classes. I’m decent at yoga thanks to some natural flexibility, however whenever I go to a more advanced class I find myself way too focused on being competitive and getting down on myself for not being able to do certain poses well.

I realize this negates the entire intention of yoga, but I know my crazy competitive self well  enough to know that an hour of yoga, at least for me, is better spent when I can focus on staying present, breathing deeply, and getting the most out of the poses/stretches.

I love the peace and calm yoga gives me, which is my primary intention in going, however my secondary intention is to relieve my running muscles as much as possible with simpler poses that require less frustration and more “Ahhh.” Therefore, I stick to the more beginner classes, and luckily I have two instructors at my gym who I LOVE and they both teach classes that are technically beginner but still result in a meditative yet strengthening session.

Okay, enough about chaturangas and weight lifting. Let’s get to Friday Favorites!

1) Pintrest

I love pretty things.

If you have a Pintrest account, I really don’t need to say anything more—because I know you understand.

If you don’t have an account, I don’t know if I should encourage you to join or vehemently warn you against it.

This site is SO ADDICTING.

In a nutshell, it’s a collection of nicely categorized pictures from all around the internet— all of which are totally gorgeous. You can easily spend an hour gawking at all the lovely images of nature, home decor, craft ideas, food, and literally everything in life you can think of that’s wonderful. It’s almost a better time waster than TV, and seriously you can get hooked easily. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

2) Love Actually

I can watch this movie year round, but I make it a point to watch it as close to Christmas as possible. No matter the circumstances going on in my life, no matter my mood, this movie will always brighten me up.

Also, Colin Firth.

3) Soy Mistos

Runner's World + misto= good day

{Disclaimer: a misto is the Starbucks way of saying “cafe au lait”}

Thanks to my coworker Leanne, this has been my Starbucks drink of choice for nearly a year now, and I am still never sick of them.

I needed to pay some tribute to this lovely combination of brewed coffee, steamed milk, and cheaper-than-other-specialty-drinks cup of love that gets me through my days.

4) A Very Special Christmas

This classic Christmas CD is the holiday tune-age that I’ve been listening to before I even knew what Christmas was.

Wait, that never existed!

You get the point—this special CD has been heard in my home during the holidays for as long as I can remember. It has currently been saturating my need for Christmas music this past week, and whenever I hear that first familiar sound of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” I get all warm and tingly as I’m transported back to my eight-year-old self, hoping only for a pair of sparkly shoes and a Jasmine Barbie doll under the tree.

Actually, I really don’t feel like I’ve grown up much since then—sparkly shoes would still be awesome.

5) MY BUMPER STICKERS!

photo repeat...shameless

As I wrote in yesterday’s post, BF won the super duper boyfriend award by getting me these custom blog bumper stickers.

Kidding, he always gets that award! But does he…? 😉

Seriously though, I’m giddy about these.

Will they make my blog the most popular site since Lolcats? No, but it doesn’t matter.

Because although these will more than likely only adorn my own possessions and the cars of family members who I will beg and plead to promote me will lovingly slap them on their bumpers, they symbolize a great deal of support and encouragement from BF.

And I love that. In all honesty, this blog offers me an opportunity the write about the things that I love. If tons of people read it, awesome! But if no one does, it doesn’t really matter because I have this space for some solitary reflection and me-time. Sure, I’d love to have a lot of readers—but for now, I’m loving the daily chances to develop myself as a writer.

These bumper stickers can be daily reminders to me of the importance of support and encouragement, from the people I love and for myself—because truly, you are your most influential and important cheerleader.

I hope everyone has had a great end of their week, and you’re getting nestled into a sweets-and-liquor-filled holiday celebration! Have any favorites you’d like to share? Let’s hear ’em!

 

The Best Run of December and Gift Exchange

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I have an incredibly high level of excitement for the content going into this post, so bear with me and forgive my likely excessive use of exclamation points and ALL CAPS.

No time to mess around with silly anecdotes on life, let’s get down to business.

First of all, BF and I exchanged our Christmas gifts last night (we needed to celebrate early because we’ll both be getting on a plane on Saturday). The night was wonderful, complete with stockings, chocolate, great gifts and a dinner made by me. Little did BF know, I was secretly planning a mini carbo load for my long run this morning. I think the loaf of bread for two might have given me away…

Anyways, I’ll talk about our gift exchange in a bit, but first I need to detail why this morning’s run was simply—magical.

I wanted to get in a good long run before my lungs must submit to choking on the thin Colorado air (read Altitude Apprehension for more details), and so I made the switch from Sunday to Thursday for this week.

I was on the road around 6:20. The sky was completely dark, however it was incredibly clear, calm and silent. I took out my headphones almost immediately and basked in the stillness of the morning. The stars were shining brightly above, and the water was still except for the splash on the shoreline.

I was completely immersed in how beautiful it was, and I allowed my concentration to only focus on the run itself. I saw so many Christmas lights along the way, which was perhaps the best tour de lights I’ve ever taken.

By the time I reached the end of the run, I’d made it 17.43 miles—a bit further than intended— and the sky was blue and the sun was shining! Not quite what comes to mind when you think about Seattle in December. My legs were tired, but my mood was soaring—and I got a good kick realizing that I feel my absolute best when my face is covered in sweat salt and my calves are tight from the miles they’ve covered. It might sound strange, but truly—the sweat, exhaust, and, yes, smell after a long run is my happiest state.

 

Okay, moving onto the probably much more interesting part of this post—Christmas presents!

BF and I both did a good job this year if I do say so myself, and we now have more stocking candy than two people should ever have within reach. But don’t worry, we got it covered.

My stocking consisted of a pedometer(which I’ve wanted to play with for SO long!), tons of chocolate, a cookie monster shirt (he knows my true self), and a race registration! BF signed us up to relay a 10k race in January, and the best part is our team name:

Grizzly Bird

He is really a keeper folks.

Lindt truffles and a big blue Cookie Monster shirt. Happy camper

For BF, I got him a book called I Used to Know That (he thinks it will help him with nightly Jeopardy—PSH!), the Stick, and a running watch! He uses his cell phone timer to time his runs, therefore I thought it was time for an upgrade.

check out that Iron Man! oh and the watch is nice too.

YOU GUYS. You are not going to believe what BF got me.

Okay, well, both of my presents were so totally awesome—but this one is very very special to share with you:

BUMPER STICKERS!!!

Talk about supportive!! BF made these Run Birdie Run bumper stickers as one of my gifts, and I’m seriously PSYCHED. There are 6 of each, and {hopefully} more will need to be made someday! I’m trying to restrain myself from using them up by plastering them on everything I own, but I think for starters my car will wear one of these beauties.

{shameless plug: if you want one for whatever reason (you like stickers, you like to run, you like birds, you enjoy this blog) please let me know and I will seriously hand deliver it to you}

I ALSO GOT ROLLERBLADES!!

insert childlike giggles when viewing this photo

I warned you about the CAPS, so don’t judge. But seriously, this is an awesome gift especially since we live near 7 miles of flat, paved ocean-view trail AND BF owns his own pair. Alki Beach, you aren’t gonna know what hit you!

Anyways, successful gift exchange, and I’m already excited to eat a few more truffles tonight. Or ten.

I hope everyone is enjoying the heart of the holiday season, and I’ll be back tomorrow for some Friday Favorites!

What are you thankful for this year? What are you most excited to give? What’s the most memorable gift you’ve received? Tell me please, I really enjoy comments.


Altitude Apprehension

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Happy Wednesday.

I apologize for my lack of post yesterday; somehow my brain has been unable to focus on anything aside prowling the internet for the perfect holiday baked goods to create—and yesterday I couldn’t quite conjure up the energy to write about running. Clearly, baked goods research will take a lot out of you.

Good thing I work for a cake magazine.

Anyways, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m traveling to Colorado for a little over a week for the holidays, and I’m going to be faced with a sea-level runner’s worst enemy: high altitude.

And not just any high altitude, mountain altitude, as in—over 6000 feet higher than the drinkable air I’m used to. If you’ve ever gone from low to high altitude, you probably have noticed the effects of thinner air and perhaps some light-headedness. As a runner, these are minor inconveniences compared to the effects altitude has on running.

In a nutshell, running at altitude really blows. I can’t think of a way to be more eloquent, because there really isn’t an easier way to describe it.

It’s kind of like being on a normal run, given a drinking straw, and told to breath through it while running. Even in my most peak physical condition, nothing can humble me quite like altitude can. The problem is that our red blood cells have not adapted to take in the amount of oxygen necessary at such a high elevation, therefore we’re left with these little baby overworked red blood cells that result in us gasping for air.

I got a C in bio by the way, I am not an expert, I’ve just learned and experienced what happens.

The adverse, going from altitude to sea level, is fantastic. Once you acclimate, and your red blood cells multiply to accommodate for the thinner air, you have these fat ole oxygen consumers that, when dropped to sea level, will still be with you for a few days. I love the first run back at sea level after I’ve been in Colorado, it’s a great Superwoman feeling. It doesn’t last long, but it’s awesome.

This is why a lot of Olympic and professional athletes train at high altitude; it’s a means of training your lungs and expanding your VO2 max. Sometimes, people take this concept to the extreme and partake in “blood doping.” If you’ve never heard this term, it’s when athletes will train at altitude and go through autologous transfusion, where they will remove large amounts of the high RBC blood and then reintroduce  that same blood right before a big race/game/etc. There is a lot of debate as to the legality of this practice, and a lot of competitions have banned it. Also, it’s effing nuts.

So no, I do not plan on using my Colorado trip to transfuse my own blood for race purposes, however I do plan on continuing to run while I’m there. Obviously, I know that my mileage won’t be as awesome, and my times certainly won’t be anything impressive, but mark my words running will be on the agenda. In fact, I’ve been signed up for a 10k race at 10 am on New Years Day! Should be fun, and hopefully my lungs can take it. Honestly, my goal will merely be to finish; mostly because of the altitude factor, but also because of the probable marginal hangover factor. And let’s get real, New Year’s Day race directors have to expect this, right?

So despite my fear of choking on the over-a-mile-high air, I plan on doing my best to keep up running in Colorado and bring back some hearty RBC.

What has your experience with altitude been in terms of running/exercise? What do you think about blood doping?

 

12ks of Christmas, “TMH,” and Taper-Fail

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Overstated yet necessary proclamation of the day:

I’m seriously over how dark it is.

I feel the darkness seeping into my overall outlook on life and happiness. No, not really…but kinda, right? I’m done with it…I’m ready for the sun to be up and blaring in my eyes at 5 am again.

Moving on…hello! How’s it going? I feel like everyone is wavering between glaring at a to-do list and planning all the possible sweets they can bake and consume before the Christmas excuse is over. Does this sound like you? If so, YAY WE’RE TWINS! Seriously though, my shopping is about 98% done, and aside from a few loose ends to tie up by the end of the day on Friday, I am ready to get my Christmas in Colorado on.

This weekend, BF and I participated in the 12ks of Christmas race—the first 12k for both of us. Hooray for automatic PRs!

We woke up alert and peppy on Sunday morning and got all decked in our Christmasified race gear:

all races should require costumes

I was really into the candy cane socks (props to BF for selecting them!) and the antlers were wonderful, although they had to come off for the run.

As you might remember from my Running Wish List, my goal for this race was to run the 7.45 miles in under an hour. I was nervous, but I felt like I would be able to pull it off. So although the nerves were there, going into the race I wasn’t entirely focused on the task at hand.

Now, before I go into details of the race, let me preface it all with the final result:

my "Garmin"

Huzzah! This was the time I clocked myself, and in the end my chip time was 56:52. Better than I’d hoped, and I was psyched to see my final stats.

Robyn Broker

bib number:116

overall place:139 out of 1423

division place:10 out of 210

gender place:34 out of 907

time:56:52

pace:7:38
In a nutshell, this was actually perhaps the worst race I’ve ever run. I’m very proud of my time and happy I was able to push through to the end, but I have actually never faced tougher miles than those in this little cutesy Christmas race.If this was the bottom line, then I would say I was delighted with this race. And technically, the final results are the bottom line when it comes to racing. However, for me, numbers aren’t what it’s all about, and unfortunately I’m having a hard time blocking out everything else that came out of this race—as in, everything but the final result.

So, to recap why this race—well, sucked:

– About 100 feet after the start line, we went straight uphill. My brain: “Wait, what? Really? Did I check an elevation chart?” In other words, FREAK OUT. Not that I can’t handle a hill, but a right-off-the-bat surprise hill is seriously not cool.

[To all race directors: Give your runners at least 1/2 mile before you send them uphill]

– Due to my slight panic, I was immediately winded. WTF? I have not been winded since running 400 meter repeats in high school track. I’m talking like wheezy winded—not normal for someone who runs regularly, especially IN THE FIRST MILE.

– Mile marker 1: Look down at my watch to see 8:32 looking back at me.

Not. Good.

First of all, when I do my easy pace long runs I average 8:30 miles…easily. I was feeling like crap at this point and no where near the 8 min/mile average I needed to reach my goal. Brain: “Shit.”

– So despite my oxygen-less lungs and lead legs, I picked up my pace. I was mostly bogged down by my brain at this point: “Why is this happening? You always run on Sunday mornings and never have these problems, what’s wrong with you?” Looking back, my brain was perhaps my biggest barrier in this race. Funny how that organ can immediately overpower all previously conceived notions.

– Mile 2-3, another LONG hill. It was a little funny at this point…not only had I not even considered to look at an elevation map for this little 12k, but it had successfully already been harder than anything I’ve done recently. In an everyday run, it ususally takes me about 3 miles to really hit my feel-good stride, so I was praying this would be the case in this race. And then the hill just kept going…

-After climbing a ways, we finally leveled off, and I began to regain some brain control. There was a water station midway through the race, and although under normal race circumstances I probably wouldn’t have bothered, it was a saving grace in this race. It gave me a brief moment of nerve settling and refocusing my logic. We thankfully hit some big downhills (about time!), and I made up some serious time in my attempts to hurl down those stretches as fast as possible.

-I finally settled down and felt great at mile 5, and although I was still so bewildered at how much of a newbie I felt like, I continued at a strong pace and ran to the finish line feeling pretty good.

{A pro-looking runner man congratulated my ‘strong kick’ at the end. This made me happy.}

I waited for a few minutes at the finish line and then saw BF fly around the corner to finish in 62 minutes, three minutes below his goal time! The first words out of his mouth:

“TMH”

No interpretation needed for me, as I knew he meant, “Too many hills.”

So, despite the TMH and the mental ass kicking, I was and am happy with my time. I did, surprisingly, learn a lot from this race—and I’m actually happy that these lessons came in the form of a small 12k race instead of a half or a full marathon.

Lesson #1) Tapering is not just for long races

I realize I’m going to sound like a huge fool when I admit this, and you’ll probably be all, “No shit you felt like hell Robyn.” Warranted, but I can explain: You see, because I took a day off on Thursday, I decided to do a longer, 13 mile run on Friday. On Saturday, I did my typical double spin class. Therefore, I was really anything but rested. Honestly, I figured that because I always do my mega long runs on Sundays, I could whip out 7.45 without changing my regular routine.

Mistake. Next time, no matter the distance, I’ll take my tapering more seriously—especially if I have a goal time in mind.

Lesson #2) Warm up

Honestly, I’ve never been one of those people running around before races start. I’m not great at warming up, and I’d rather just get going. Warming up sends my nerves a-flutter, and I always would rather save my energy for the race itself. However, that’s not to say that starting a race cold is all fine and dandy. Quite the opposite, in fact. When BF and I stepped into the corral, we had both been standing still in the cold misty rain—with very little movement or even stretching. Problematic.

Rookie mistake. Even if you don’t run around before a race, make sure to at least keeping moving and stretching.

Lesson #3) If you let your brain speak louder than your body, it will always win.

One of my favorite mantras/quotes from an old basketball coach is:

“Your body is a lot stronger than your brain gives it credit for.”

In other words, your brain is the greatest barrier you will face when it comes to challenging and pushing yourself. This goes for people who are just starting to run all the way to Olympic athletes. And in all honesty, I actually hadn’t really felt this truth for a while until this race, and it was humbling. For the most part, I typically feel confident in my abilities to push out a strong performance, but perhaps I need to make sure that I don’t get overconfident in my confidence.

In other words, I need to remember that our brains are funny little devils—and given the opportunity they can easily trump all our better knowledge.

Lesson #4: Learn to strap on head apparel tight enough to run in.

I was seriously jealous of the people who managed to run with their sweet santa hats, antlers, halos, etc. I must learn their tricks!

So there you have it, the story of the 12ks of Christmas. I think the most important thing I realized from this race was that a great finish time doesn’t always mean a great race, and in the same regard a not-so-good finish time doesn’t always mean a bad race. I’m really happy with my final time, but I also would have been happy feeling strong and solid throughout the race—as opposed to feeling like my 6th grade-self who loathed distance running with every spec of my being.

In the end, it was truly a great way to start the final week of Christmas season, and the bagels and coffee afterward were delectable.

BF thinks he looks hungover in this photo, I say he looks like a post-race runner!

Also, I want to say just how incredibly proud and impressed I am with BF’s racing and running ventures. He was never a runner until very recently, and the fact that he has now finished 4 races since July (including a half marathon) is really quite inspiring. I love being able to share running with him, and hopefully we’re just getting started 🙂 I know he’s planning the day he’ll beat me in a race, I say….bring it on boy.

So couple-y. Whatever.

I hope your week has started off magically, and if not I suggest buttery cookies and watching Love Actually.

What lessons have you learned from races that went different than you expected? Have you ever done a race in a costume? If so, and you wore a headpiece, how do you secure it???

Friday Faves and Explaining my Hypocrisy

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Happy Friday to you!

I’m definitely excited to reach the end of the week, however I’m also horrified that come tomorrow Christmas Eve is ONE WEEK away. I’ll be flying with BF to Colorado at 7 am on Christmas Eve morning, where we’ll spend the next 10 or so days hanging in our hometown. I’m really excited, it just seemed to creep up so quickly!

Alright, so obviously Friday Favorites will be presented shortly, however I need to take a brief minute to explain a bit about the conflicting posts that I had this week. On Tuesday I wrote all about being a morning runner; as you might remember I went on and on about the advantages of doing your workout in the morning, and from my high and mighty thrown I advocated how everyone should push their inclination to hit the snooze button aside and strap on some running shoes.

Something like that, right?

So then yesterday[during a particularly foul mood, could you tell?]I admitted that earlier that day I had neglected my plan for a usual Thursday morning run and went back to sleep instead. Directing contradicting my message about being all go-getter-ish.

Nice Robyn, negate your OWN advice on your own blog. Talk the talk and then immediately not walk[run] the walk?

However, that’s not exactly what happened, and let me explain—because I think explaining this conflict of principles will offer some insight into my own development as a runner.

I’ve advocated on this blog the importance of rest, both for runners and for regular exercisers in general. Rest offers muscle recovery, mental reprieve, and an overall rejuvenation of our motivation. However, I admittedly have a difficult time following this advice, and it finally caught up with me yesterday morning when I ignored my alarm.

Although I’ve become much better at making sure I don’t overdo it in terms of running, I still enjoy doing something active nearly every day. Because I include a lot of variety, I often don’t realize that I haven’t taken a day off in a while. What happens, then, is because I don’t really recognize the fact that I’m burning out, I start to get grumpy about my workouts and less inclined to enjoy them. Yesterday morning, it finally hit me that the easier choice (sleeping in) was actually the better choice for me. And in lots of ways, it actually wasn’t the easier choice. This might sound somewhat elitist or snarky, however it’s actually more difficult for me to choose to take a break than it is to get to the gym or get out for a run.

Frankly, I love the way I feel both physically and mentally when I exercise—and so I see nothing wrong with trying to feel that way all the time. I treat my workouts, both before, during, and after, as an athlete would, meaning I know my limits, I’m fueling and refueling properly, and I’m staying safe. However, part of being a smart athlete is knowing when your body is saying, “Time out here tiger.”

So, in a nutshell, that’s why I completely contradicted my morning running post yesterday. I know I have the capacity the get myself up and run, but reminding myself that I also have the smarts and the control to know when I need a break is equally as important to both this sport and my own mental health.

I was very grateful for the day off yesterday, and today I felt rested and ready to gear up once again.

Running in the morning is great, but so is knowing when rest is more important than a daily workout.

Enough heavy stuff…let’s get to Friday Faves!!

I want to give a quick shout out to my coworker Leanne, who has started doing Friday Favorites on her blog as well. It’s spreading!

Also, this week on Glee, they sang “My Favorite Things” from the Sound of Music, and yes my head was exploding from the overload of my own favorite things all coexisting in one united spectacle. It was awesome.

1) Foam Rollers

"I will hurt you so good."

If you are familiar with this innocent looking tube of foam, you know one thing: This shit HURTS. Seriously, I have to hide my face whenever I use these at my gym, or else people will be all, “Why does that girl look like she’s constipated and about to cry at the same time?”

Not a pretty visual, huh? Yea, it’s not.

So why, you may ask, is this little devil on my favorite list? Well, despite how excruciating it may be, foam rollers actually do wonders for runners. If you can endure it, rolling out your legs after a run does an incredible job of loosening the muscles that get super tight when you’re running. Namely, your IT bands, pirifomis muscles, hamstrings, and hips in general. I find that if I spend just 5 minutes rolling my legs on one of these after a long run, I recover much quicker and I can prevent injuries from developing.

If you’re a distance runner and don’t already use one of these, get on it. The prevention in and of itself will be worth it.

2) Fro-Yo

Art.

Let it be known: I. Love. Fro-Yo.

Specifically, the newest fad of pay-by-weight fro-yo joints where there are several flavors available and endless amounts of toppings to choose from. The best part is that you get to make your OWN, therefore the opportunities for combinations (and quantity) are endless.

Last night, BF was in the mood for sweets(99% of the time it’s the other way around), and so when he mentioned fro-yo, I said, “I actually I love you a little more right now.”

No, I didn’t say that—but I might have thought it.

3) Nicki Minaj

I know she’s uber popular and overplayed right now, but I really cannot get enough of this chick.

I think she’s mega talented and unique, and her songs have me constantly dancing in my seat. In public. Just try her out if you haven’t yet, and not just Super Bass or Fly—but some of her lesser known stuff.

And yes, Mom, I know it’s explicit content.

4) Yoga

You know, just me on the beach, getting my "Tree" on. Damn paparazzi.

Yoga is a new found love of mine, and although it took me a while to actually learn to love it, I simply cannot get enough of it.

[When people say, “It took me a while to learn to love/like something,” it actually means, “I really effing hated/resented it for a long time.”]

There are so many reasons why I love yoga, both mentally and physcially, however I feel that the biggest reason is the sense of presence I get from it. Yoga forces us, whether consciously or not, to focus our attention on the present moment. I think it has a large part to do with the breathing, combined with the need to focus on each isolated movement.

No matter how stressed or distracted I may be, I never leaving a yoga class without feeling at least a little bit better and calmer. Yoga offers me an hour of stillness, which I think so many of us shy away from in our fast-pace world. We never long for the opportunity to be present because so few parts of our day allow us to really experience it. However, I truly believe that if we can connect with the present—independent of whatever else is going on in our busy lives—if even just once a day, we will can reacquaint ourselves with the beautiful things in life we so often take for granted.

Also…

yoga + running legs = ohhhh yaaaa

If you’re a runner, yoga feels fan-flipping-tastic, and it relieves our muscles of the impact they take on during running.

5) Peppermint Bark

For best results (and sustainability) store in freezer!

I always see peppermint bark around grocery stores during the holidays, and instead of shelling out to buy a small bag of it, I decided to make my own instead. I still shelled out a bit, but after making two batches of this seasonal treat—it was worth it.

This stuff has now become my drug of choice for December 2011. Not that I change metaphorical drugs every month, but you get the point.

It’s delicious, it’s pretty, and it makes a great present! I got the recipe from this post on the blog Peanut Butter Fingers, another recent addiction of mine.

There you have it, 5 more Friday Favorites! I hope everyone has a great weekend. BF and I will be racing on Sunday, so I’ll write a recap to post for Monday!

Now…tell me a few of your favorite things!