Tag Archives: Seattle

Cocoon of Cross-Training

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I had the full intention of writing a post today about how I’m feeling lazy, I’m cheating on running too often, and how I’m complaining but I shouldn’t be complaining because my life could be worse and blah blah blahhh.

However, the sun came out, my productivity has been stellar, and just like that my writing has switched gears.

Mostly.

I will admit that I have been cheating on running a bit too much recently, and while cross-training is great— it isn’t necessarily beneficial to increase the XT while decreasing the miles when marathon training. I think my problem is that I’m not actually following a strict running schedule for this bout of training, so I’m taking advantage of the mornings where I’d rather be inside than tromping around in the cold rain.

It’s silly really. I love running, and once I stop being such a baby and get my butt on the road I am always happier than when I decide to sit on a spin bike instead. However, the ability to constantly check the weather report and the promise of a hot and sweaty spin session from my favorite instructor seems to have derailed my undying love for the run.

You see, I live in Seattle. You knew that, and if not…let me fill you in on some of the facts I face on a day to day basis:

-It is dark

-It is rainy

-It is windy

-It is humid

(These are mostly only true for the winter months, but that’s where we’re at, so go with it)

These four factors make my strong willed runner self curl up in a pathetic “I don’t wanna!” fetal position. Okay, I’m exaggerating. I do normally (wo)man up and hit the road, but not without an internal grumble fest every time the temperature is below 40 and there is the potential for a little rain.

These past two weeks I’ve been really bad about it, and I’ve been swapping a few runs for a spin class/stair stepper workout that I (admittedly) love. It’s hard workout, I’m dripping by the end of it, and I can always tell myself that “it’s good cross training.” I also like that with spin, I don’t really have to will myself any further than getting on the bike seat. Once the class starts, I don’t really have to think and I just follow Jeoff’s militaristic screaming encouraging instructions.

However, I’m getting to the point where the only way I’m going to really up my mileage and get into serious marathon mode is by foregoing a bit of my cocoon of cross training. Sure, it is really good to alternate running with some other activities, but not necessarily when those activities are starting to replace runs. I think part of this has to do with the brain games my mind plays on me. If I know I have a 20 mile run on the weekend, I don’t want any part of me to dread doing it, so I save up my “running energy” in order to ensure that I can commit to the long run 100%.

Again, silly. I’m always happiest when I’m running more often. I think I get scared though that there will be a feeling of apathy toward running that I can’t shake. I love to thoroughly enjoy every run I go on, so I think I set myself up to make sure I’m anxious and ready to run every time. This is probably a good strategy for a non-training routine, however it’s time to get down to business.

So, to my mindless spin bike, my sweaty stair stepper, and my calming pool, I need to put you guys aside a bit. I’ll still hang out with you every so often, however running and I need to spend more  quality time with one another if my goals for Eugene are going to happen.

In other news, Lent starts today, and while I’m not Catholic—BF is, and he’s committing to do what I consider the impossible: He’s giving up sweets.

I think the only thing harder for me to give up than sweets would be giving up peanut butter, and I think this yearly practice of Lent just reminds me to hold on even tighter to the things I love. So much for sacrifice, huh? But I don’t like to think of the things I love as vices. I do have self-control, and there have been periods of time when I’ve given up these things for the sake of my health, so I know it’s do-able. Also, BF’s lack of sweets consumption will lower my own just by default, based on the fact that I have zero willpower when someone says, “Let’s get dessert” as my all-knowing, loving boyfriend often does.

So, I’ll look forward to when BF and I can once again go on late-night fro yo dates. But until then…

Girl Scouts are the February equivalent of Santa

Sorry babe. I guess I’ll have to make this a solo mission.

I hope you have a great Wednesday! Remember, tomorrow’s Thursday, which pretty much means it’s the weekend. Right? Good.

Questions: Do you worry about getting in a running rut? What types of cross training do you like to do? What is your favorite kind of Girl Scout Cookie?

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

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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?

Impromptu 25k Race Recap

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Hello! Welcome to Monday…I’m not sure about you, but it definitely feels like a Monday to me. Starbucks debuted Valentine’s Day cups though, so that’s helping.

Dear world, if you slap holiday-themed decoration on everyday items, I will love it and I will purchase it.

I had a good ole sleep-in day today—7:15 am feels like heaven recently, and I find that quite humorous. I was zonked last night though, and some quality REM was necessary—especially after the long run I cranked out earlier. Despite feeling a bit sore and tired, though, this run was positively great, and I finished feeling very confident in my training.

Let me back track a bit though: I was scheduled to do 18 miles yesterday, which to me is when the real work begins. I’m confident up to about 16 or so miles, but after that it feels like unchartered territory. My first 18 miler last time I was training (which was the furthest I’d ever run at that point in time) was a doozy, and I can remember walking verryyy slowly for the rest of the day afterwards.

So, on Saturday as I was preparing to top off gorge on my fuel supply carbs and cookies, BF discovered that there was an ultra event being held tomorrow…10 minutes from our house…on the exact course I would be following for my own run. Oh, and it was free.

DUH. I was in.

The race was called the Fat Ass 50k (cue irony), and there was the option of doing a 25k, a 50k, or (for the bravest of the brave) a 75k. Obviously I signed up for the 25k (15.52 miles) and planned on just tacking on some miles at the end to reach my scheduled workout.

Now, this by no means was an “official” event. No bibs, no timing chips, no mile markers. There was, however, a fuel station at the halfway point, and plenty of chow and water at the finish, which in my opinion completely made this official. Any run where I receive free Gatorade and fig newtons is completely sanctioned in my mind. It also kind of added to the “ultra” feel of it all. Based on my research of these crazy-person events, they really work with the bare minimum in terms of race support. Runners normally supply their own fuel, there is hardly any finisher recognition, and close to no one even knows the events are even going on. That’s kind of how this race felt, and I loved it: People who just love to run, gathered together for some Sunday morning splendor.

So, 8 am rolls around, and about 75 or so runners are bouncing up and down for warmth, just gunning for the “Ready, Set, Go!” I was having too much fun people watching to focus on being cold. I always read about ultra runners, so it was quite a giddy feeling to be lined up at a start line with them. I would say it was pretty evenly split between those running the 50k and those running the 25k, which was comforting—although I was shocked at the ages of many of the 50k’ers. I was without a doubt the youngest by at least ten years, and there were a lot of 50k runners, clad in their “Marathon Maniacs” jerseys, who were definitely over 60. I was so impressed, inspired, and happy at the thought that running can be accessible to anyone who chooses to take it on.

This was the start line. The start of a spectacular day.

Off we went, and despite the fact that I insisted I would simply be running a casual run, the same as I would if I were alone, the race atmosphere had me all pumped up. My uber-competitiveness got the best of me, and pretty early on I got it in my head that I wanted to   compete. I held onto a 7th or so position for the first 8 miles or so, and I knew that I was the first female—which frankly felt pretty great. I also felt very strong; I was really hydrated and somehow all my fueling and stretching clicked together in symmetry. I was all by myself for the rest of the race, enjoying the weather (45 degrees and SUN) and smiling at everyone I saw. Although the “race course” was the same route I take all the time, somehow it felt and looked different when put in the context of competition.

I finished in 2:03 ish (according to my trusty Timex) which I was definitely happy with. I was the first female to finish…which I suppose means I won? Exciting!

wooo!

I logged my time with the Race Director (who, by the way, was wearing pajama pants with beer steins on them and yellow Crocs), and headed back out for 2.5 (slightly slower) miles to complete 18 for the day.

The whole run (the race part and the after part) was awesome, and I loved the impromptu randomness of it all. Racing made 18 miles go by much quicker (both literally and mentally) and it was really fun to run with some of Seattle’s distance fanatics. My kind of people.

BF finished 12.5 miles himself, and we reconvened after our respective long-runs for Sunday morning bagels and coffee. I would also like to note that BF paid for such bagels as he lost a bet Friday night in which a certain Los Angeles basketball team beat a certain Denver team at their home court. Yea, it happened.

LAL

In the afternoon, we took our homemade appetizers(a task we took very seriously) to a friend’s house for Superbowl  festivities. Neither of us were very partial to either team, however I admittedly love Tom Brady and was sad to see the Pats lose. No matter, I was more concentrated on eating as many various appetizer things as possible, and I definitely came out victorious in that endeavour.

A thing of beauty.

It was a lovely Sunday, and after completing that race/getting 18 miles under my belt, I’m feeling really geared up for my long runs to come.

Also, I changed my expected finish time for the Eugene Marathon, to 10 minutes lower than I originally signed up for. Assuming that it didn’t totally jinx me…I’m feeling good about the decision, and it’s helping motivate in a big way.

Hope your weekends were good, cheers!

Question: What do you care most about for the Superbowl? The game? The commercials? The food?

Naked Running and other Happy Things

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This morning, I ran naked.

Except that I was wearing clothes, unfortunately.

Actually, I think running naked would be uncomfortable…both physically and socially.

Anyways, I did run sans watch and iPod, and I realized that it may have been the first time I’ve ever done this. Even though I’ve been growing accustom to running without music, I always know the start and stop times of my runs, at the very least. Obviously wearing a watch is essential to training properly in terms of gauging speed and splits and such. However, there is added pressure when wearing a watch—and this morning I found that it can be quite freeing to do some runs without knowledge of time.

I wasn’t too set on running this morning: My legs have been tired recently, I had a very poor performance on yesterday’s run, and I was kinda blah about the idea of running. However, building my mileage right now for Eugene is necessary, and I knew that a slow, short run-around would actually make my legs less stiff. The lack of strictness to this run is what inspired me to throw aside my watch and iPod, and just like that…off I went, naked, into the sunrise.

And it was beautiful; Seattle has been taken over by sunshine (I know, RIGHT?) and although I didn’t feel too fast, it was nice to just be. I also saw two lab puppies, which inevitably helps any situation go from 0 to perfect instantly.

I love puppies, I need one.

Anyways, let’s get to talking about our favorite things, shall we?

– berry veggie Naked juice

I am definitely a smoothie-at-home kind of person, but sometimes it’s quite nice to just buy a pre-made blend of fruits and veggies. This (new?) Naked juice is just the ticket, and I love it. If you don’t like beets or beet juice, I recommend staying away from this concoction, but if so I definitely suggest giving it a try. There’s also not as much sugar in it as other juices, which I appreciate because I prefer my added sugar to come from cookies, not from juice.

See? Like this big beauty.

-Neon Sports Bras

Yes, I realize this is a picture of my boobs. Sorry about that.

Yes, you are looking at that picture correctly. My shorts bra STAINED my shirt via profuse sweating. If that isn’t cool, I don’t know what is. It’s also disgusting, sure, but like…have you ever seen this happen before?? Remember yesterday how I told you I was super dehydrated from excessive sweat during spin? Here is my proof.

I’m reallllyyy hoping that my shirt isn’t permanently stained, but for right now I’ve determined that not only is this my favorite sports bra, its my favorite piece of clothing. It’s bad ass, and it tells my other clothes whats up.

– Optimistic Forecasts

Is this real life???

See that right there??? That’s SIX days of sunshine predicted for the Pacific Northwest. Not only sunshine, but temperatures that don’t warrant wearing two pairs of wool socks and devoting my paycheck to the heating bill.

LOVE IT.

Sure, it might not pan out exactly as predicted, but I enjoy feeling excited for our weather.

– Scramble with Friends

I’m. Obsessed.

If you have the ability to download this game (it’s free), and you feel the need to procrastinate an excessive amount, I insist you get this game. It’s just like Boggle, but online and less noisy.

Find me, I’ll play you.

– Single-Tone Hair

Awkward self-portrait in the car...but no longer two-tone! And look! Sun!

I have been on a bit of a hair-maintenance hiatus since August, and although I can typically withstand a few months of root-grow out, enough was enough.

I was starting to look a bit like I belonged on People of Walmart, therefore I gave in and finally returned to my pretending-to-be-a-blonde hairdo. And I love it, and fineeee….I guess I don’t need to wear a baseball cap every day of the week.

 

That’s all for Friday Favorites! I’m starting to think I’ll compile a master list of all the random favorite things I recount every week…I feel it would make me happy to read. And happiness is good. Speaking of, if you are looking for a good pick-me-up, I highly recommend this video:

Questions:

Do you ever run/workout without a watch or iPod?

What are some of your favorite things?

 

I Try to Only Talk About Running…

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…but then I get all existential and philosophical about life. I can’t help it, and I blame running. You see, running is a sport, indeed, but it’s also my therapy, my quiet space, and my drawing board. That’s why my posts seem to read like a self-help book sometimes, and I’m sorry about that.

This post, furthermore, which was supposed to be all about my awesome start to marathon training, turned into a combination of thoughts on running and happiness. Which, at least to me, somehow always go hand-in-hand.

But I digress….moving on:

There’s something magical about good days.

Yesterday was a good day, and I loved it. Let me tell you why.

I’ll preface it with something I realized yesterday, as things were going swimmingly, and it’s something I need to recognize more in my own life.

It’s important for us to pay attention when things are going good. And I mean really, really pay attention. Whether our good moods are due to the events and people around us, or simply because our stars have aligned correctly, I’ve found that taking notes on why we’re feeling so good fills us with a feeling of gratitude.

And gratitude, in my opinion, influences everything for the better: It shines a light on all the good things going on in our lives, while simultaneously taking power away from the not-so-good things. When we’re appreciative of the things we have, the things we don’t have seem to become less important, and we can focus our energy instead on all the positives around us. And when you start looking, there are a lot of positives.

In other words, acknowledging just one good thing can be infectious…and I credit this practice to why yesterday was so darn good.

I started out the day clad in rain-ready running gear, which was a very good decision as it rained the entire run and continued to rain, oh, the whole day after. Love you Seattle, love you.

The rain didn’t matter on this run though, as it was as close to perfect of a run as I can hope for.

I felt strong, calm, and completely balanced in terms of my energy. I normally feel alright from miles 1-3, great from 4-8, and then meh from 9-10 on my normal Tuesday runs, however yesterday I felt fantastic the entire time. Also, I ran dead even 8-minute splits, which I was psyched about. I’m not going to say out loud that I might be secretly training to run 8:10 miles for 26.2 miles in the hope that a certain race in a certain town might accept me to run in 2013, but if I were—this run would make me feel more confident about such a goal.

Afterward, I lifted and foam rolled and basked in the quintessential essence of a runner’s high.

Moving on, I continued to let this great start to my day weave its way into my morning: I had a fantastic breakfast, I worked productively, I smiled at everyone, and all that other flowers and sunshiney stuff that happens when you’re in a great mood.

I practiced yoga at my lunch break with my favorite instructor, and to my elation was able to hold a hand stand for TEN SECONDS. This never happens. Normally I’m just kicking back and forth on my mat whenever handstand time comes around, however the magic of the day infused itself in my shoulders and I was able to hold it. I was PUMPED, and the instructor winked at me after I came down.

{giddy}

I rode the wave of gratitude for these small tokens of affirmation, and the rest of my day continued to be all-around wonderful.

When I got home, BF had made cookies again (twice in a week!), and we made dinner together and watched a riveting episode of Dexter. Please understand the joy of walking up to your front door and, without even opening it, smelling freshly baked cookies inside.

Yes, I picked the right guy.

Except I’m getting concerned his chocolate chip cookies might compete with mine….and therefore we might have an issue…

So there you have it. As I look back, nothing was spectacular about the day: Babies weren’t born (well, they were somewhere, but I did not see them therefore it doesn’t count), I didn’t win the lottery, and no one knocked on my door with a basket full of golden retriever puppies. In fact, my day was 100% normal: I ran, I worked, I yoga’ed, I hung out with BF, and I watched Dexter slice up people’s cheeks(it’s a good thing, trust me.) However, these are all the things that make me happy on a day-to-day basis, and yesterday I feel like I was able to fully appreciate what each of them brings to my life.

It’s the little things, truly, and I’m learning more every day that being present isn’t just for yoga class or meditation—it’s for every day. The beautiful thing about the present is that it’s always there, waiting for you the look up say hello to it.

 

 

 

State of Emergency

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In case you don’t live in Seattle, or you haven’t read anything on Yahoo, Weather.com, or any other news source, the PNW is facing some insane weather conditions. Schools have been closed for two days (looking like it will be three), ice and snow have been falling from the sky—yes I said ice—, and power outages are happening all over. So far, so good here. Still have power, no car calamities, and BF has been working from home for the past two days. Having a WFH buddy has been fun.

To those of you new to this blog…BF is the secret identity name of my boyfriend.

BF, I know you've been around me for 48 hours straight, but hopefully you still like me.

Yesterday, as we awoke and the roads had been laden with ice and snow, I decided that it was a great excuse to take a day off from exercise. I haven’t taken a day off in a while, and so it was the perfect set up to laze around inside. And laze we did. Apart from a short walk at the end of the day and two trips to Starbucks, we stayed in our little home all day. Mac and cheese included.

By the time we were up this morning, I was getting a bit restless. I hadn’t run outside since Saturday…and normally when I take a day off I am up and ready to go the next day ASAP. That doesn’t work so well when ice has coated the snow. Gym was not open, clearly. Literally, there was a layer of ice ON TOP of the several inches of snow, and you needed to break through it in order to clear any of it away. Cleaning our cars off was neat. Driving was even neater.

The best part? Frozen rain fell all morning; little pelts of freezing misery, which made the whole melting thing really difficult.

We are in a State of Emergency, as declared by the state, and the National Guard has been called.

So, what did I decide to do this afternoon?

A run is the best idea during an ice storm.

So, some of you may think I’m a fool and crazy. And that means you’re very smart, I am.

No one should feel the need the run on top of snow and ice, with a headwind, with mini icicles blowing in their face. If this doesn’t sound appealing to you, then I applaud you for being sane.

I am not sane, and I was in my own State of Emergency. This run, however, was awesome.

I didn’t realize how bad my cabin fever had been until I started putting on my running clothes. I hadn’t run outside since Saturday, and so I was really antsy to feel that wind in my face and get some miles behind me. Also, as I officially declared that marathon training had commenced on Tuesday, it was a bit paralyzing to have my wonderful running path stolen from me by Mother Nature.

Screw you, Mother Nature, I say.

(Not really, I’m sure she’s an  awesome lady and snow is actually really pretty when it doesn’t inhibit my ability to run.)

But seriously, I decided to act on my habitual, compulsive defiance of obvious variables and go for it. I bundled in an ear warmer, billed hat (most key element), half-zip, long socks, tights, and gloves (second most key element) and I went on my somewhat-apprehensive-but-kind-of-excited merry way.

2 forms of head gear are better than one

And truly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. The snow was compacted enough (thanks fellow West Seattle snow strollers!) that I didn’t really sink into it, and there was enough ice pellets/snow on top of the compacted snow to add some traction. I had to watch my step pretty carefully, and there were points where I had to keep my head down completely so as to avoid getting ice bullets in my eyes, but overall it worked out perfectly fine.

The end of my run was a trek up the hill by our house, which if you haven’t heard, is a  monster of a climb. At this point, it was snowing pretty significantly—and let me tell you about how much fun it is to run up a mega steep incline with non-compacted snow to slosh through.

Hint: it’s not.

So despite the slowww going at the end, I finished 12.75 miles (a bit more than I normally intend to do on Thursdays), and I was thoroughly infused with a sparkly feeling of adventure and accomplishment.

post-run giddiness/shivering

It’s really quite liberating to defy all the norms of inhibiting weather and go out and face it head on. I loved this run, not just because it was necessary and made me feel better about beginning marathon training, but because it helped me remember that running is so accessible—no matter the conditions. Sure, I was slower than normal and had frozen sweat/snot on my face the whole time (hot, yes), but I felt incredibly free—of both my cabin fever and the restraints that we so often let get us down.

 

Currently, BF is planning on working from home again tomorrow, and he made the impulsive decision to bake us some cookies.

APPROVE

Wait, you thought I dated him for his looks, humor, and charm?

Nah.

…kidding

…am I?

 

Hope everyone in Seattle is safe and warm, and everyone who’s not here…enjoy your ice-free sky. Bad weather really makes you not take things for granted, such has a windshield that doesn’t take HALF AN HOUR to chip/scrap/defrost.

Question: What’s your favorite snow day activity?

 

Magnuson Series MLK 10k Relay

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So, Saturday’s race was really, really effing cold.

The combination of snow/rain/wind/frigid temps made running perhaps the least desirable thing for any rational person to go and partake in. BF and I, however, are not rational and decided that despite it all—we would uphold our race day commitment.

The Magnuson Series is a set of races held every month in Magnuson Park, Seattle. The park is 3.1 miles around, therefore each month on race day you can choose to run a 5, 10, or 15k depending on your preference. It’s a great idea, a good course, and an easy way to keep up your racing mojo every month.

As part of a stocking-stuffer Christmas gift, BF signed us up for a 10k relay team, meaning that each of us would run a 5k, and then they would total our times together.

We arrived dressed in somewhat wintery running gear (which means instead of shorts and a t-shirt I was wearing a long-sleeved tech jersey), and we soon discovered that starting a race next to a lake when the wind is whipping in a big snow storm is somewhat equivalent to the definition of misery. We sat in the car until the last possible second, got out for a quick warm up jog, and positioned ourselves at the start line.

ready to run!

The race couldn’t have started soon enough. My toes, fingers, and ears were all freezing cold, and I had to have my hat strapped on super tight just to prevent it from coming off in the wind. I really had no clue how fast I was going during the first mile, as I was so distracted by the cold conditions, but when we got to the Mile 1 marker and I saw 6:59 on my watch, I was pumped. Doing the race at 7 minute miles was my goal, although I wasn’t saying it out loud. As I reached the second mile marker, I was still hovering around 14:00, though the pace had slowed down a tad. At the end, I ended up finishing unofficially around 21:57, which in 5k terms means I was running 7:05 minute miles.

New PR!

Not long after I grabbed a water cup and tried to regain control of my winded/frozen lungs, I saw BF finish strongly with a 24:49, giving the “Grizzly Birds” (our obviously awesome team name) a 10k finish time of 46:46!

We both agreed the course was good, the weather sucked, and we’d definitely be doing these races again soon.

Doing 5ks are a great way to practice speed, and I highly encourage everyone, of all racing levels, to sign up for one whenever they can. I know I’ll be bulking up my marathon training with plenty of shorter races, as they’re great practice for racing strategy and general racing atmosphere.

Question: What are the worst conditions you’ve ever run or raced in?

Friday (the 13th!) Faves

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I’m not really superstitious, so the fact that it’s Friday the 13th isn’t too significant for me. However, if something totally nut-so, crazy were to happen…I probably wouldn’t think it’s a coincidence. That’s why I’m glad that race day for this week happens to be tomorrow and not today.

BF and I will be tag-teaming a 10k tomorrow morning as a part of the monthly Magnuson Series races at Magnuson Park in Seattle. We’ll both run at the same time (each do a 5k) and then our times will be added together. I’m pretty excited, as I haven’t run a 5k since August, and I think it will be fun to do it in a relay-like style.

Race recap to follow!

GOOD NEWS. Nordstroms is super awesome, and they exchanged my claustrophobic shoes without question (despite the fact that they’ve been worn through rain, snow, dirt, etc. for about a month). I love good return policies.

I had to pay the additional amount for the upgraded version of my shoes, but it was a small price to pay for having happy feet. I’m really hoping these new shoes help relieve my plantar faciitis/tendonitis/annoying pangs in my feet.

Which brings me to…

Friday Faves:

1) Purple Asics 2170s

too much???

Okay, so these shoes have some serious amounts of pink and purple on them. There really was no choice of the matter; I knew these were the shoes I needed, and didn’t want to experiment with others.

With that said, I haven’t decided yet if I super duper love the fact that they scream “I AM A FEMALE,” or if I think it’s too much for me. I like the color pink, don’t get me wrong, but not in that “everything I buy must be pink, purple, or have hearts on it” kind of way.

For now though, I am liking the flashiness, and I especially like the fact that these little gems are treating my feet oh-so-good.

2) Puffy Coat

I am WARM in my freezing cold house! Hallelujah!

I swear to you, I don’t think I have ever actually been warm until I first put on this fluffy ball of heaven. My Mom and Kate have worn these uber puffy North Face coats for years, and they bestowed me with one of my very own for Christmas this year.

Thanks ladies!

Anyway, I am addicted to wearing this coat. I leave it on for all hours of the day, and I only take it off to go to bed. You think I’m kidding, but I’m not. I have even brushed my teeth and washed my face before bed while still wearing this coat. It’s divine.

Do I have circulation issues, you ask? Probably.

3) Thai food

noodles and tofu and broccoli and mmmmm

This is definitely not anything new, but I needed to pay homage to my everlasting love of thai food. It is really hard to find bad thai food, and luckily living in Seattle ensures that there will be thai restaurants—both hole in the wall and gourmet—on just about every other block.

BF and I have ventured to many a thai location, and we’ve found that the places that have no sign out front, completely inaccurate spelling on the menus, and cats roaming around on the inside are actually some of the best thai food you can find. Except that one time BF found a piece of raw chicken in his takeout.

That wasn’t too cool.

4) “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson

This song seriously ROCKS. Seriously you guys, if you need an instant confidence boost or a quick boost of motivation, I recommend blasting this song. Dance too if you need to. My spin instructor Jeoff just added this to his playlist, and it is super motivating. I highly recommend adding it your workout/running/dance/happiness playlist ASAP.

A special shot out to Leanne in regards to this song. She knows why.

 

That’s all for today! Hope your Friday was great and your holiday weekend is splendid.

Question: What are your favorite things this week?

 

Running with Friends and My First Personal Ad

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I know I’ve said it before, but I’m really really really over the whole dark-til-8am thing.

It has been taking every single bit of my willpower to hoist myself out of bed at 6am, and that’s after getting plenty of sleep. It might be a version of that seasonal mood disorder, but instead of getting down about the weather I’m just down about the darkness.

This is somewhat strange to me, though, as the dark to me is very solitary in a comforting way. I love running in the dark (although starting off isn’t always fun), and once I get going I love the feeling that I am alone in the quietness of the early morning. It’s different in the Summer when the sun is shining overhead on my early runs, although it may be the same time that in the Winter I feel completely alone.

I know feeling alone might ordinally evoke a feeling of sadness, but for me it’s kind of the opposite. No, I’m not emo, depressed, or completely socially inept—only slightly—,but I’ve always been the kind of person that likes to be by themselves. When I was younger, I preferred to entertain myself as opposed to playing with friends or having sleepovers or whatever was normal for younger girls. I was a bit of a loner, and it was completely fine with me. Today, I still enjoy being alone, although I have managed to accumulate some people that I love spending lots of time with.

{If you are thinking I’m a huge weirdo at this point, it’s okay—you probably should.}

I think the fact that I like being alone is one of the reasons I love running so much. I’m accountable to no one, and I have the unique opportunity to count on no one but myself for strength and guidance. Additionally, running alone activates a certain automated calm within my brain; it’s as if my consciousness has adapted to recognize the act of running as one in which it must let go of lingering thoughts and concentrate on the present moment.

With that said, I am both puzzled and curious about the runners who run together. I can count on two hands the number of runs in my running career I have done with someone else, and although those people are great friends and runners, I honestly can’t remember actually enjoying those runs. I’m sure it’s due in part to the fact that I wasn’t used to it, however I think it’s also just the nature of who I am and the running habits I’ve developed.

My question, then, is why do some runners prefer to be alone, and why do some prefer to be with friends?

Is it simply in our personalities? As in, I’m somewhat anti-social, therefore I prefer antisocial running?

Or is it more in the way we learned to run; if you started your running career with another person, are you drawn to the group-running setup?

I ask these questions because I am, truly, very interested in pursuing some more social interaction in my running. I have heard and read several stories about the power of having a running buddy, and I can only imagine the kinship that comes from sharing miles together. There are running groups in my neighborhood, however whenever I think, “Okay, this week you’ll go,” I shy away from it for the sake of my solitary runs. I think it’s one of those things I need to admit is on my “I’m scared to do this” list and just suck it up and go for it. I did make a New Year’s declaration to banish the things that scare me, didn’t I?

I have this dream of finding a few people that I can do my long runs with, sign up for marathons with, and make cookies and drink wine with while gushing about how much we love running and each other. Sure it’s romanticized, but I can’t help but think that friends who run together have an exceptional bond that’s rare and lasts a lifetime. So this is my personal ad:

If you’re in the Seattle area and think the best way to spend your Sunday morning is to run for 10+ miles and you’re therefore somewhat insane, pretty please contact me for a run date? I promise to provide gorgeous scenery, a stellar recovery breakfast, and an odorless presence. Just kidding! I’ll smell a lot. But so will you, so we can still be friends.

 

In relation to this topic, I AM excited to say that I have a running/friendship combo coming in the form of a relay race this weekend. BF signed us up to relay a 10k race, and while it won’t exactly be running together—it is closer to group running, right? Our team name is Grizzly Bird, and I’m still hoping to convince him to make shirts with me…

Hope everyone’s week is going well so far!

Question: Do you prefer to run alone or with a friend?

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.