Another (beautiful) day, another run

Woohoo, I've managed to run 4 times this week!

The past few days have been absolutely gorgeous running weather - sunny and 40-45. Yesterday I ran along the boardwalk next to the beach at Redondo, and this morning I ran along the trails at the Weyerhauser headquarters. It was nice to get out and run in the sunshine and have some change of scenery!

Unfortunately, though, the weather forecast looks to be getting pretty gloomy after today. Which is okay, because I'll be stuck at work Monday-Thursday anyways. I am going to try and go for a swim at the gym before work tomorrow and see how that goes. It'll suck to get out of bed that early, but it'll be a good start to the day and nice to already have my workout done by the time I go into work!

This next week will be pretty busy between work, happy hours, New Year's Eve, DBF getting back, and a family trip to Morton to visit relatives from Dad's side of the family, but the Eugene Marathon is 4 months from next Saturday, so I am bound and determined to keep squeezing in the miles however I can!

Today I am curled up in my snuggie watching the UW-USF basketball game, and then will head over to best friend's for a little bit tonight, and hopefully go to bed early and get this next week off to a good start!

Happy Holidays!

I know it's a little late for a Merry Christmas post, but I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

I had a good time hanging out with the extended family yesterday and eating way too much. I also drank my first red wine and got some good presents! A snuggie, a few cute dresses and sweaters, a Sounders scarf, new socks (always a necessity!), two coffee mugs, a few bowls and glasses for the new apartment I'm hoping to find soon, a calendar, a purse, gloves, umbrella... lots of useful things. I also used gift cards to buy a new pair of jeans and an awesome purple dress for New Year's Eve. Incidentally, the mall the day after Christmas SUCKS - it took us 45 minutes to get into the mall from the freeway and another 40 minutes to get out of the parking lot. Sheesh.

I am looking forward to another 4 day week next week! Still no New Year's eve plans, but hopefully will come up with something excellent. It will be good to see DBF back.

This morning I had a great 3 miler on the boardwalk at Redondo - the weather has been absolutely gorgeous the last few days. I am hoping to get a good run in tomorrow before hopefully hanging out at best friend's house for a bit. Gotta enjoy the good weather while it lasts and burn off all those Christmas calories, sheesh!

Next week's running should look like this:

Monday - 30 min swim
Tuesday - 3 mile run
Wednesday - 5 mile run
Thursday - 30 min swim, 30 min spin
Friday - 4 mile tempo run
Saturday - Off
Sunday - 8 mile run
Total - 20 miles

I ran!

Yes, that's right, I actually dragged myself to the gym after work today!

I didn't have much time as I wanted to make it home in time to watch at least most of the Husky basketball game, but I got in a good 2 mile run and an excellent 1/2 mile swim. It's funny, when I was on swim team I only ever swam breaststroke and backstroke, so that's basically all I ever swam until this past summer when we started training for Danskin.

The first time I tried to do crawlstroke it just felt awkward and hard compared to breaststroke, but over the course of triathlon training this summer I got my time down to 18 minutes for the half mile and got a lot more comfortable swimming crawlstroke. I've been working on my form lately, particularly learning to breath on both sides. I'd only ever breathed on one side before, so it was really awkward to breathe on the other side at first (a lot of water was inhaled!) but now it's feeling smooth and strong.

In the spirit of getting back into the swing of things, here is my goal for the rest of the week:

Wednesday - 3 miles
Thursday - 4 miles + swim
Friday - 3 miles
Saturday - Skiing?
Sunday - 6-7 miles

Wish me luck!

Christmas Party report & other news

So I originally only agreed to go to my firm's Christmas party last Friday because I felt obligated to as "the new girl" (you know, networking and all that good stuff). I just felt it wouldn't be so enjoyable because DBF is in NY and couldn't be there, and I am usually pretty shy and don't really enjoy social situations like that, especially when I don't know anyone. I figured I'd be home by 8:30 at the latest (the party started at 6:30).

A few of us went down to McCormick's for a few beers after work, and then we headed over to the party. It was at the Rainier Club, which is super fancy (like live jazz and waiters in tuxes carrying around trays of caviar and wine fancy). I actually had a really good time meeting new people and talking more to people that I've seen around the office but not really had a chance to talk to. Dinner was at 7:30, and I was apparently the entertainment of the table because I'm such a picky eater - I had my first shrimp (eww) and my first salmon (ok) and steak in brown sugar glaze (yumm). The office manager brought her son as her "date" and he ended up being 23 and fun to hang out with. It was nice having someone close to my own age to talk to.

We also got Christmas bonuses and spiffy BLG water bottles. Around 10:30 everyone left the Rainier Club and about 10 of us headed over to Sip, the new wine bar on 5th Avenue. It was a pretty sweet bar, lots of little lounge areas with comfy couches and chairs and $14 glasses of wine - luckily it was their late happy hour so my bank account wasn't too upset by this new development. I got a ride home from Jennifer (the office manager) and ended up getting home around 1 AM. It was super fun for someone who planned on leaving at 8!
I wore this dress to the party:

People seemed to like it, and I love getting dressed up!

In other news:

- I'm not sure how I failed to mention this before (or maybe I just don't remember mentioning it), but Locker is back for 2010!!! Thank you Jake! Dawgs are going to be good next year!

- B-ball Dawgs bounced back from that loss to Georgetown last weekend with a nice game at Portland on Saturday... hopefully they can keep it up against Texas A&M tomorrow!

-I am going to try skiing (sometime hopefully soon) in hopes that it will not be as... crash-inspiring for me as snowboarding was!

- Hoping to get back on track with the running and gym-going this week - it's hard because I'm still adjusting to working the 8-5 schedule so I'm super tired by the time I get home, but it should be easier this week because DBF is home in NY for the holidays. I am going to the Tavern to hang out with best friend on Wednesday, so I might try running before work in the AM if I can manage that... we'll see!

- Also had fun making peanut butter cookies with kisses in them and peppermint bark with mint and white chocolate with my marathoning buddy last night. We also watched Wizard of Oz and Ratatouille (sp???) and decided that we want to get chinchillas when we "grow up" (he's 27 and I'm 22, thus the quotes).

Fly by

Maybe if I post on my blog that I am going to the gym to run and swim, I will.

I will, I will, I will!

I will also try not to consistently eat all the junk food lying around this office. Free junk food may be my downfall!

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday. My goal for the weekend is to run a whole two days in a row! *gasp* I just need to get better at time management and get back in a routine!

2010 races

This is just a tentative list, but I figured since I ran my last race of 2009 yesterday it's time to start planning for next year!

January
Resolution Run 5K

February
Valentine 5K

March
St. Patrick's Day Dash (3.4)
Mercer Island 1/2 Marathon

May
Eugene Marathon
Beat the Bridge 8K
Sammamish Sprint Tri (?)

June
Seattle Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon

July
Torchlight 8K
Seafair Sprint Tri

August
Danksin Sprint Tri

September
Black Diamond 1/2 Ironman Tri

October
Dawg Dash 10K

November
Seattle Marathon

December
Jingle Bell Run 5K

If you have any other suggestions let me know!

Jingle Bell Run Race Report

Background/training - Not much, I've basically been taking it easy since the Seattle Marathon. I have almost 5 months before the Eugene Marathon, so I thought it'd be ok to give my legs a bit of a refresher after two marathons two months apart. I planned on running this easy just to stretch my legs and get a nice fun run in.

The race - Took the light rail up from Tukwila to downtown Seattle with my cousin, Mom, and Mom's friend (who all walked the race). We had just enough time to pick up our packets and shirts and head out to the start line. It was overcast but warmer than last year (37ish). There were about 12,000 people there, which makes it the biggest Jingle Bell run in the US.

Mile 1 - This mile is uphill for the first half and downhill for the second half. I ran it at an easy pace, around 10:40ish, just passing people. A woman walking with a stroller (in the "timed runners" wave) clipped my heels and then was like "well that's what you get for running in front of a stroller". *sigh* Some people are just oblivious!

Mile 2 - This mile was mostly flat through the tunnel to the I-5 express lanes. I love this part of the race because everyone always sings Jingle Bells while we run through the tunnel. I just focused on passing and swerving in and out of people and ran it in about 10:25ish.

Mile 3 - I decided around here that I wanted to at least beat my post-Portland Dawg Dash time (33:36) and picked up the pace a little. We came back out of the express lanes and up a short steep hill, which I made it halfway up before my legs said "NO" and I took a short walk break. Then it was around the corner and downhill to the finish, where I managed a nice long finishing kick. Mile 3 was my fastest mile of the race.

Final time - 32:06 - definitely not a PR but a good minute and a half faster than Dawg Dash and about similar effort, so I am ok with it.

Post-race/reflections - After the race I went to Starbucks and got a peppermint mocha to go with my bagel and banana (yum) while I waited for the others to finish. When they did, DBF picked us up and we all went to brunch at Mecca, a cute restaurant/bar place on Queen Anne that has excellent food. Then we took the light rail back to our cars at Tukwila and on the drive home, the first snowflakes of the winter started falling! That means it's snowed on the day of the Jingle Bell Run each of the last three years, which is pretty impressive given how little it snows here.

I intended to do the Jingle Bell as a fun run, and that's what it was. It sort of feels like a nice easy victory lap after marathon season!

Getting chilly out!

Just got back from my first post-marathon run and it is a chilly 33 (feels like 26) degrees out. That, my friends, is pretty chilly for Seattle! The next few days are supposed to be somewhere between 20 and 30 degrees before it finally starts to warm up a little towards the weekend. Time to bust out the additional layers for running!

I did an easy 3 this afternoon, and only wore tights and my Seattle Marathon shirt - brrrr. It felt like being thrown face first into an ice bath! My legs were numb, but no particularly soreness or stiffness at all. Can't wait to start easing back into the mileage next week! My project for next week (besides getting an oil change and getting done with Xmas cards) is to look for a gym in Seattle that is more convenient to where I work now, reasonably priced, and has a pool!

This week has been so busy that it feels like it's been more like a month since the marathon! Sheesh. Looking forward to a nice early bedtime tonight after finally watching New Moon, and then working on Xmas cards during the Husky basketball game.

Husky football ended the season on a great note yesterday with a 42-10 whooping of #19 Cal. That was definitely the best Husky football I've ever seen (I didn't start watching it until I started school there in 2005) - they played great on both sides of the ball and everything just went their way and was fabulously executed, it was so fun to watch! If only we'd won one of those three close games we lost and gone to a bowl game.... but hopefully next year! Dear Jake - ONE MORE YEAR!!! Stay at UW, make a Heisman run and take us to a major bowl game, and THEN go to the NFL and make tons more money actually starting instead of sitting on a bench!

I think that's about it for now... hope everyone had a great weekend!

Rest week

This post coming to you from the 48th floor of the Columbia Tower...

I must say, it is a bit weird to be looking DOWN at the Space Needle. Although it's so foggy today that you can barely see the ground from up here, the last few days it has been so beautiful watching the sun rise near Mt. Rainier and watching it set over Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.

It's definitely been a bit of an adjustment to start waking up at 5:30-6:30 every morning and working from 8:30-5 at a real job, but so far so good! All of the people have been really nice (there are about 35 in the office total) and (knock on wood) nothing has been too difficult so far!

I got an ORCA card, which means I get to ride buses/trains/ferries/etc for free, which is awesome. Also can't wait until I get my first paycheck! ;)

Running related - I have been so busy this week that it's a good thing I wasn't planning on running until the weekend again anyways! I did get a nice swim in on Tuesday night, which felt really good and helped stretched out my quads. It's supposed to be cold but sunny all weekend, so I'm going to try and squeeze in a run on Sunday and then figure out some way to get back into the swing of it next week.

Having a gym down in FW and no daylight after work is going to make it tough, but if I'm creative I'm sure I'll be able to figure something out - it'll be so much more convenient once I am able to move up to Seattle though!

Randomness

Yes, the marathon was the crowning event of the weekend, but I still have a few other updates!!

First off, Apple Cup! Huskies win 30-0! Went to the extended family tailgate before the game with my brother. It was cold and windy and I was the only one without a beer, but it was still fun to see everyone. It was a fun game to watch, too - I don't think I've seen the Huskies win that much since I started watching Husky football (in 2005). Go Dawgs!

Job related - One of my friends was really interested in the job I'm leaving, and she interviewed today and was hired! So I get to spend tomorrow (my last day) training her. That makes me feel a lot better about leaving, as I put in that extra effort to find my boss someone to replace me and make the transition as easy for him as possible. Now I am getting excited to start the new job on Wednesday! I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing, but hopefully I'll have a better idea after my first day!

Also, I'm not sure if I mentioned this previously, but I applied for and got a full ride scholarship for the rest of the paralegal program!! That saves me about $4,000 right there!

Throwing in one running-related bit here - I've decided to go for a PR in Eugene in May, and just signed up! My legs have still felt remarkably good post marathon - I can walk fairly decently and I can even go down the stairs facing forwards! Will probably go for a swim tomorrow or the next day and then ease back into running this weekend - already can't wait!

Finally, please keep the friends and family of the police officers shot in Lakewood in your thoughts and prayers. It has been a very sad few months for police officers here in WA.

Seattle Marathon race report

Wow, this year has gone quickly... It was only a year ago that I ran my first marathon ever!! Now I am back with a race report for my second Seattle Marathon and third marathon total!

Background/training - I took a week off after the Portland Marathon and gradually built back up the mileage again. I didn't do too many long runs (a 16 and an 18) but my weekly mileage was higher and more consistent. I also didn't manage to fit in as much hill training as I would have liked, although I did get some more tempo runs in.

The race - I met up with T at the starting line (saw a few other people that I know too, Dan and Brad!). It was misting at the start but seemed like it was just going to be a dry, overcast day (aka perfect running weather). Everyone lined up, and off we went!

Miles 1 & 2 - Running through downtown under the monorail. The first mile was gradual downhill, and although the pace felt good, I think it was a little fast (11:10). We slowed down a bit for the second mile and just enjoyed talking and running. T wanted to go faster, but I told him that on this course, we'd end up passing a lot of the people who were passing us now later on in the race.

Miles 3 & 4 - Up and onto I-90. We passed a guy wearing a 30 pound Army backpack... yikes.

Miles 5-7 - Over the floating bridge and back. It was fun going out and seeing lots of the faster runners coming back - I saw Spencer and Brad already coming back on the bridge, and ran into Betsy for a minute as well. Once we turned around, the wind kicked up a little bit and I felt like I was running in mud, which was a little frustrating.

Miles 8-11 - Was pretty tired from battling the wind on the bridge, so we slowed down about 30 seconds a mile to regroup. My feet were starting to get a little tired and I was thinking that I really didn't want to keep going. However, I knew T would never let me quit, so I just stopped thinking about it!

Miles 12-14 - Saw my mom and uncle as we ran into the entrance to Seward Park, which was great. I took a gel at the first aid station and it really helped. We picked up the pace a little bit and ran strong. We decided that after mile 13.1, we'd take walk breaks at every mile marker. When we ran by mom and uncle again after exiting the park, my blister toe was starting to feel a little tender, so I sat down on the side of the road with them and attempted to put Blister Bandaids on. My feet were so sweaty that they wouldn't really stay on my toes, at which point I was like "crap... if this blister acts up I will never finish with still 12 miles to go!". But I put my sock and shoe back on and continued on. It hurt for about the next quarter mile, but then apparently was squashed into submission and felt fine. Whew!

Miles 15-20 - Legs were starting to get a little tight at this point, but still felt good - way better than during Portland at this point. We were running strongly during this point just going from mile marker to mile marker, and starting to pass a lot of people. We even passed someone that we saw coming out of Seward Park as we were going in (meaning they had been 2-3 miles ahead of us at that point).

Mile 20 - This is the mile that includes the infamous Galer and Madison hills (ugh!). We walked up Galer street (I managed to run it last year but given my lack of hill training this year I really wasn't feeling it) and then ran-walked up Madison.

Mile 21 - Definitely (sort of) appreciated the downhill during this point. A really chatty girl started running with us and babbling something about dogs in marathons... T talked to her but I was mostly just trying to keep my legs together on the downhill. She took off when we took a walk break on the first steep part of Interlaken.

Mile 22 - T and I actually ran this entire mile at a good clip. I think I mostly just wanted to be out of the winding around and around section of the course, and it was only gradual uphill, so it was tolerable. We were quite pleased when we made it to the mile 23 marker and had run strong since the 22 marker!

Mile 23/24 - Made it up out of Interlaken on this section. Artic Blast (from RW) was there cheering at the top of the hill on Roanoake, which was much appreciated. Then it was over the freeway and a nice gradual downhill to the mile 24 marker. T and I were commenting on how excited we got over seeing Porta Potties (all the mile markers are attached to Porta Potties).

Mile 25 - Under the freeway again and up a nice long hill to the Lakeview overpass. It wasn't a very steep hill, and we managed to run-walk it, but by this point our legs were definitely tightening up. We were still managing to pass a lot of people who were walking, which was cheerful.

Mile 26 - I feel like this is the worst mile of the Seattle Marathon. Right after the mile 25 marker, we turned the corner and went down several blocks of steep downhill, ouch. Then ran-walked up a gradual hill, down another hill, and walked up the last steep hill under Highway 99. We saw the Mile 26 marker and T took off sprinting for the finish. I kicked it in too, but still finished about 10 seconds behind him. I ran strongly across the field at Memorial Stadium and crossed the finish line feeling strong. DBF was there and it was great to see him!

Final time - 5:25:35. We ran a fairly big positive split, but that's probably because of the walk breaks we added in at every mile. I was definitely pleased with how T and I were able to keep pushing each other through the last few miles.

Rest of the day - T went home with his GF and DBF and I went to get nice juicy burgers and fries. Then I ate a pint of Ben & Jerry's (while in a bubble bath!), and DBF and I curled up on the couch in our pajamas drinking wine, eating pizza, and watching TV. I was impressed at how perky I was feeling right after finishing - for the whole hour or two after the marathon I could walk almost normally. I even managed to go up stairs at QFC and go down the stairs facing forwards! My legs got a little more sore later in the night, but definitely not as bad as they were after Portland!

Reflections - I was surprised at how strongly we were able to keep pushing in the later miles. I'm sure the walk breaks helped, but we ran quite strongly in between them, and I walked a lot less during this race than I did during Portland and maybe even Seattle last year. It wasn't a PR, but it was great to be able to run with T for his first marathon. I'd never run one with someone before and it was awesome to have someone to talk to and commiserate with and help push each other. I'd been really worried about pacing before (he's usually a minute or two a mile faster than me) but it was never an issue and everything worked out great! I can't wait for my next one. I am sort of half debating doing the First Call on Jan. 1 to get Marathon Maniac status, but the other half is wanting to take some time off and build up lots of good miles and go for a big PR at Eugene in May. I guess I'll see how quickly my legs recover!

Sorry that was so long, thanks for reading (or at least skimming!!). Pictures will come when they are up!

Finally Friday

Got to sleep in a little bit this morning and woke up to a cold but beautiful sunny day! I love the days in Seattle when the leaves have turned all golden and brown and the sun is shining... Mmm.

Got to see best friend today, that was fun - we are already midway through the third season of Dexter. It is quite intriguing, although there are moments in this season that are sort of slow and not really attention-grabbing, which is a bit different from the first season (which was suspense after suspense!). It just shows that you have to have an open mind - I saw the first 2 or 3 episodes of it and was like "I hate it, do I have to watch it?? Why are we watching it?" and by the 4th episode I was like "so... what happens next? Can we watch the next one?" Haha. That's my little non-running related tidbit for the day.

Yesterday I went for an early morning run in the light rain along the running/walking path through the park nearby (it's about a .4 mile trail). I did the first mile at an easy pace, then did 5 loops in 4:33, 4:27, 4:23, 4:16, and 4:00 for a bit of speedwork, and then ran another easy mile.

My legs felt a bit tired from yesterday's fast running, but I still had a great easy run in the sunshine along the Burke-Gilman trail. Once I got convinced myself to slow down a bit, it felt good to loosen up and stretch my legs out.

Went to the marathon expo tonight - I didn't realize the Westin was quite so far away from the start of the race (which was where I parked), so I ended up walking 20 minutes each way to get to the expo, but oh well. I got my number, chip, and shirt and then wandered around the expo with my mom and my brother for a little bit.

The shirts are an interesting color this year - sort of a teal color. I think it's quite pretty, but very girly - can't see many of the guy runners wearing them around!

I stocked up on BodyGlide and GU, finally got a 26.2 bumper sticker, and got a cute shirt that says "No run = cranky + moody". So true... my mom took one look at it and was like "you need that shirt"! Haha. So tonight is eating pasta, drinking water, eating bananas, and relaxing.

Tomorrow is the Apple Cup, and then potentially pizza and/or pasta for carb loading and then hopefully early to bed at DBF's (he lives like 5 minutes from the start of the race, which will be wonderful!).

Wishing for turkey Wednesday

As most of you probably know (and are probably sick of hearing about), I've had some upheaval in my work life yesterday afternoon and today. It has been super stressful, but I feel like I've already discussed it to death, so no more on that here.

I was super stressed when I got home from work last night, so Mom convinced me to skip the gym and go eat pizza and go shopping for new work clothes. She bought me two cute dresses, two sweaters, a shirt, and a pink sweater dress that goes over black leggings and black ballet flats. So cute!

On the other hand, that means I definitely need to hit the gym tonight. Once I actually get there I'm sure it will be good and help me de-stress. I'm planning on 5 or 6 (to make up for yesterday's) with the middle 3 @ MP, and then an easy swim after.

Aside from that, still drinking water and checking the weather (so far so good). I am attempting to keep myself distracted from all the other stressful stuff by thinking about running, so hopefully it'll work out!

Other than that... just continuing to help clean up and get ready for Thanksgiving. I might go up to Trivia tonight, but that is doubtful. I am being pretty lame this week socially!

Tapering Tuesday

On the menu for tonight is 3 easy miles and an easy swim. I am sooo tempted to make it 4 miles, or at least 3.5. 3 doesn't even seem like it counts as a run anymore!

I've started checking weather.com and accuweather on a daily basis now, and so far the forecast for Sunday is cloudy/mostly cloudy with a high of 47/48 and only 10% chance of precipitation. Keeping my fingers crossed that stays that way!

I have a bit of a stuffy nose this morning, so I'm continuing to chug vitamin C and water and maybe even buy some garlic to ward of any colds or flu this week!

Got an interesting pep talk from my best friend last night regarding the marathon. He said he didn't understand why people would run them just to finish. I'm sure his point of view would be offensive to some people, but it actually made me think about things and it was quite motivating. I mean, yes, I've trained for the marathon (and pretty well lately, knock on wood), but I certainly could be training a lot harder. So, why am I not? Sure, it would take more time, but I could also be better at time management. It seems that I've committed myself to finishing marathons, but not yet to RACING them or taking huge chunks off my time. It was just an interesting conversation, and it made me motivated to continue building my base and also focusing a lot on speedwork and getting faster after the Seattle Marathon.

But, first things first, I'm supposed to be tapering now, so I'll do that, have a great marathon, and then get back to work after a short break. I also plan on continuing to cross train (swim/bike) as well as adding in strength training and hopefully yoga (assuming I don't kill myself the first time I try it - klutzy and inflexible doesn't really sound like a great recipe for yoga, but I've heard such great things about it that I think it's worth a try!).

Other than that, just working and trying to get things ready for Thanksgiving (yum!).

Marathon week Monday

Luckily my blister from the last post seems to have cooperated nicely (knock on wood!). I ran a hilly treadmill run on Thursday (3 miles) and a great 5 mile tempo run around Green Lake on Friday night. It was so windy during that run that there were whitecaps on the lake!

Took Saturday off, and then ran 9 with T yesterday on the Burke Gilman. It went a lot better than last time, which was a relief. We still sped up a bit too much during the second half, but it'll be easier to control that getting splits every mile. I'm not used to having someone to talk to while I run, so it definitely made the hour and a half fly by quicker than normal.

Going for an easy swim tonight at the gym, and then a few more easy runs this week before the marathon! Going to the expo on Friday and the Apple Cup on Saturday - I'm glad that's a 12:30 game and not a night game!

Dear blister - please go away!

I think I must have wrapped my blister-prone toe wrong last night, as the seam of the Bandaid dug into the skin between that toe and the next toe. Needless to say, ouch. I had to stop twice during my treadmill run to take the shoe off and try and coax it into submission. Please send "calm down" vibes to my poor toes!

I am planning on another ("hilly") treadmill run tonight and then a run around Green Lake tomorrow, so I really hope it starts cooperating soon.

I think during marathon week I'll try to do a blog post every day (not that there are tons of people sitting around begging for updates haha!) just for fun.

Sunday is attempt #2 at a long run with T - I think we'll do 8-10 sloppy miles on the Burke Gilman. Then it's off to Qwest Field for the MLS Cup. I really hope the rain holds off that day so I don't end up with the flu before the marathon!

Tidbits

In non-running related news:

- I got a full scholarship for the rest of the paralegal program. There were 3 available, and I applied and got one. That saves me about $3,000 over the next 6 months!

- Grandma is out of the hospital and hopefully back to normal.

- Black Crowes concert at the Showbox last night was fun. They sounded really good live! (minus the migraine headache I started to get during the last hour or so... bad timing! Rock concerts and migraines don't mix!)

- I cannot wait until Thanksgiving! Turkey, mashed potatoes, buttery dinner rolls, fresh broccoli and carrots, pumpkin pies (oh wait, I don't like pumpkin pies... oh well!), ice cream, wine... (oh wait, marathon 3 days later... that'll be fine right?) and football! Mmmm.

- Also, Trivia Night at Mick's (although difficult and expensive - $10 for Trivia??) was fun. Delicious food (rosemary chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies) and good scotch!

- Sports tidbits:
- Tyrone Willingham is in line for a coaching job at San Jose State. Why? The WAC must really not care about football (either that or they've totally conceded to Boise State).
- Nick Holt is on the list of potential head coaches for UNLV... hope that one doesn't end up happening!
- UCLA basketball loses to Cal State Fullerton in 2 OT at home... was that just a fluke or are they really pulling a USC/Notre Dame/Michigan/Oklahoma move?
- Speaking of which... bye bye USC, ND, Michigan, and OK! Just hoping that Oregon doesn't make it to the Rose Bowl. Thank you Stanford for keeping them from any hope of an NC!
- Brady Quinn fined $10,000 for his illegal hit in the MNF game... on top of his already awful performance. Ouch.
- Apple Cup prediction - if UW doesn't win, there will be hell to pay.

Taper time!

I finished my last long run over the marathon course (down Interlaken, Madison, and Galer to Lake Washington boulevard and then back up over all the hills - along with TONS of other people also intelligently running the course ahead of time) yesterday, so now it's time to taper! (Again!)

It was a fantastic run, despite being cold and wet. I got to the end and never really got tired. My legs weren't sore yesterday and they're not sore today. I made it up Galer street without a problem (although I HATE going up Madison right after it). I'm glad I ran Interlaken again, because it gets so demoralizing to keep winding around and around on that pedestrian trail thinking you're almost there when you're not!!

It's 3:50 PM and it looks like night time out... eww. Forecast for the next few days is cold, rain, and wind. Ick. Think I'll stick to the treadmill until the wind dies down at least. Looks like we won't be quite as lucky weather-wise for the marathon this year as last year and the year before!

My plan for this week is off, 4, 5 (tempo), off, 4 (hills), off, and 10 on Sunday. I am so looking forward to eating tons of mashed potatoes, turkey, and dinner rolls next week!

Sounds like my running buddy T's ankle is all healed up, so he'll be running the marathon with me. It'll be interesting, I'll have to focus insanely hard on keeping my (much slower) pace instead of getting caught up in too quick of a pace during the early miles! That's even more important than usual given the nice little pile of hills at the end!

Work has been going pretty well lately - just busy, and there are a ton of little things that I have to learn. It will probably take me ages and ages to get all the nuances down. But I'm trying!

Off to Trivia Night at Mick's later tonight - I've never been to their trivia night, but I love the restaurant, so hopefully the trivia will be excellent too!

Hello November (and hello treadie!)

Apparently we are not as lucky this year as last year, with sun/clouds and warm temperatures up until December. Today and yesterday have been dark, rainy, windy, and cold, and the 10 day forecast doesn't look much different. Time to bust out the running tights and running jacket!

Normally this weather wouldn't be enough to make me hit the treadmill, but now that Daylight Savings Time has come around, it's dark when I get off work and I won't run by myself in the dark! I've been managing to survive the treadie so far this week, but tonight I'm going to go run around Green Lake for 6. The outer loops should still be pretty crowded at 5 or 6, and they're right along main/busy roads, so I feel more comfortable with that than anywhere else at night. Then Sunday I'm doing 16 on the Burke Gilman, for a total of 30 miles this week. I'm doing a two week taper for Seattle, so here is what's up for next week:

M - Swim
T - 4 miles
W - 7 miles (hills)
Th - Swim
F - 5 (tempo)
S - Off
S - 20 (marathon course)
Total - 36

And then the two weeks after that will be taper time! Can't wait.

As for non-running, I have a midterm in paralegal class this weekend, so I'll feel better once that is over with! I'm excited for college basketball to start soon!

Chica has a job! (and other news)

Yep, some brilliant person finally decided to hire me! I'm now a part time office manager (22 hours a week, hopefully going to full time before too awfully long) in Tukwila, and I start tomorrow! Yay! I love that it's normal working hours (M-F 12-4:30), no evenings or weekends, and I get my own desk that I get to sit down at! I know that seems like a little thing, but all of my previous jobs I've had to stand for 8 hour shifts at a time!

Running related -

Job is very helpful in getting new running shoes - my current ones have almost 400 miles on them and are getting a little worn down, and I was worried about how I was going to afford new ones before Seattle next month - they are so expensive! But that's where my first paycheck will go (well, there and into much needed savings!).

As far as this week's running, I'm planning on -

Mon - Off
Tues - 4 miles + swim
Weds - 6 miles (hills)
Thurs - Swim/bike (depending on weather... so probably swim!)
Fri - 3-4 miles
Sat - 16 miles on the Seattle Marathon course
Sun - Off

Not sure what I am doing as far as Halloween, either. I have a costume in mind but haven't had too much time to go actually looking for it! I'll be glad when it's over just so the temptation of Reese's Pumpkins are off the shelves... Oy, I can't even count how many of those I've eaten already and Halloween isn't even til Saturday!

Much looking forward to heading to The Garage for some drinks/bowling/pool tomorrow night to celebrate my first day of work!

Dawg "Dash" 5K Race Report

Background - So I wasn't really planning on doing this race given that Portland was only two weeks ago and I had a 10 mile "long run" scheduled for this weekend. But DBF and two of his friends were running it, I was going to go cheer, and then decided I'd feel left out (and it was only $15!) so I decided to run it anyways. My legs were tired from yesterday's run (which ended up being hillier than planned) and we were up late late late (and drinking!) last night for the Husky game.

The Race - Dawg Dash is a literal term! People were allowed to bring their dogs and there were so many different kinds!!! (There were around 1500 people there, mostly in the 5K, so that's a lot of dogs!)

I had planned on starting out slowly, but I started fast and just tried to stay in a rhythm until around mile 2.

Mile 1 was flat and then uphill (and upstairs) with only a little bit of flat the rest of the mile. There were some logjams on the narrower uphill parts, which slowed us down a bit. Around 10ish for this mile and it still felt fast. *sigh*

Mile 2 was still uphill the whole way, and involved all the stairs on campus (well not all of the stairs on campus, but you know...). I pushed through it but my knee started tightening up a little bit once I hit the 2 mile mark at 21:03.

Mile 3 was mostly downhill back to the stadium and a lot of it was gravel, which was nice. My knee gave out a little running down the stairs back towards the stadium, but once we came around the corner and actually when into the stadium I sprinted the rest of the way to the finish (passing about 20 people). Maybe not the smartest idea but my friends and dbf were all there (already done!) and I was a little frustrated at how slow my time was for the effort. Final time 33:21. *sigh*

Reflections - So yes, I'm a little frustrated with my time - I feel like running that slowly shouldn't be pushing it at all - it's 40 seconds a mile slower than my half marathon PR! I'm trying to give myself a break because a) it was a hilly/stair-ey course, b) I was tired, and c) the marathon was only two weeks ago. It is good motivation to get more speedwork done though!

Signed up for Seattle

Finally got around to it! Did my first post-Portland runs yesterday and today and everything feels great. Time to get back into the swing of things next week!!!

Life Update

Phew... Now that Portland is over with, it's back to the grind. I sent out 40 more resumes today (not joking), and I have yet another interview (my 8th in the last month or so) on Thursday. Apparently my resume is good and I interview really well, but guess what? Everyone wants someone with "experience" and with the economy the way it is, there are plenty of people with "experience" out there! I guess I'll just have to keep trying, somebody will like me eventually right? I certainly hope so (and so does my bank account!).

I started the second quarter of the paralegal program last week. Haven't done much yet but so far so good. The class is "Litigation Basics", so it's a lot of material to cover in 10 weeks - but very important!

As far as running goes, there are less than 8 weeks until the Seattle Marathon (November 29). My quads are still sore, but I can walk somewhat normally now and nothing specific is hurting/injured, so that's great! It's such great weather out, I want to go running again! However, it's supposed to stay nice for a while, so I'll take it easy for a few days.

Huskies play Arizona at home this weekend - looking for a good W!! Go Dawgs!

Portland Marathon Race Report

Short Version - Finished in 5:42, 30 minutes slower than Seattle last year - hamstrings started cramping at mile 8 but didn't slow down too much until I pulled one at mile 20ish and had to walk most of the last 5K.

Long Version - I wasn't trying to PR at Portland, was just using it as a long training run for Seattle in November. For various reasons my training wasn't very good - my longest long run was 3 1/2 hours, so additional motivation to take it easy.

Saturday night met up with a bunch of people from the forum for dinner @ Pastini's - yum! Hopefully someone got pictures of that!I was staying at my aunt's house just outside of Portland - it was handy because it was really close to the train, so we just took that everywhere. Saturday night she apparently decided to go out and not tell us, leaving us sitting in the car in her driveway until 10 PM... I wasn't very pleased with that!

Sunday morning I woke up and was glad that it stopped raining by the time we got on the train to downtown. We (and a bunch of other runners) got on the wrong train, but luckily made it downtown with plenty of time to spare. I met up with Brad (LuvPre) and his friend who luckily were nice enough to let us use their hotel bathroom instead of the porta potties!It was still dark when we started, but got light pretty quickly.

Here are my splits from the race:
10 Km:
1:14:27 Pace: 11:59
8.9 Mi:
1:47:11 Pace: 12:03
Half:
2:39:38 Pace: 12:11
17.5 Mi:
3:35:02 Pace: 12:18
20 Mi:
4:07:42 Pace: 12:24
21.1 Mi:
4:22:56 Pace: 12:28

26.2 Mi:

5:42:23 Pace: 13:04

My only real goal was to get under 6 hours, so I was fine with that... The first 8 miles went pretty smoothly, and then on the industrial out and back section my hamstrings started cramping up pretty badly. Needless to say, I was a little worried and wondering how I'd run 18 more miles if I was already cramping. Not sure why it happened, either, I didn't go out toooo fast and I was plenty hydrated. The weather was perfect, cool and overcast, so it definitely wasn't that.

I managed to push on and stay close to pace (despite taking walk breaks for two minutes out of every mile) until around mile 20, where I took a bad step and my right hamstring just completely locked up (thus the 15 min mile 20!).

I managed to shuffle to mile 22/23, and then ended up having to walk most of the last 5K. I think that last 3 miles was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I managed to walk/shuffle/drag myself to the finish line.

I'm a little disappointed with the way the last few miles went, but given the cramping and the not-as-good training I was glad to be able to run strongly until that point and then to be able to finish. Now it's time to rest up this week, get my hammy all healed up, and get back out on the roads to get ready for Seattle on Nov. 29!

Waiting for the race to start

This is my mile 25.5 shuffle!

This is kind of how I'm walking today....

I know you're not supposed to sit down, but I just couldn't resist!

Yay Starbucks! (+ medal, rose, and baby tree!)

Borrowing Grandma's walker for a stretch break on the drive home...

Late Cottage Lake Tri Race Report

Yes, yes, the triathlon was 2 weeks ago and I'm just now getting around to writing the report... Will add pictures next week when I get back from Portland!

Background/training - Signed up for the Danksin tri with my Mom because she wanted to do one. I wasn't super excited about it (especially since I hadn't biked since junior high), but I got a $5 garage sale bike, fixed it up for $100, and did the triathlon with her. It ended up being super fun - I really really love open water swimming, and I can tolerate the biking now - but I wanted to go faster, so I signed up for the Cottage Lake Super Sprint tri (1/4 mile swim, 9.6 mile bike, and 1.6 mile run) on September 19.

Swim - It was pouring rain when we got in the water for the swim. I started off a little rough just because it was so crowded and it took me a little bit to get into a rhythm, but then I settled down and started passing people throughout the rest of the course. I definitely didn't go all out, but it was a decent swim. Finished in 9:25.6 for 1/4 mile. Not really pleased with that time but it was second in my age group... *shrugs*

T1 - Went right by where my bike was racked (whoops) but found it again quick enough, put on my running stuff and ran out to the parking lot to get on the bike. T1 took me 2:07 despite losing the bike, first in my age group.

Bike - It was pouring even harder by the time I got on the bike - I didn't even use my towel after the swim part cuz everything (including the towel) was already soaked. The bike course was 2 loops around a mostly flat square with two big steep hills in the middle. I made it up the first steep hill uneventfully (although going super slowly and panting like crazy, haha), but on the second hill my chain slipped. Luckily, there was a super nice guy right behind me that stopped and helped me fix it, because I had no idea what to do with it otherwise! So that added a minute or two to my bike time, but it definitely could have been worse... The rest of the ride went uneventfully despite all the rain, thank goodness. Bike time was 38:56, third in my age group (which I'll take given the chain issue, but I still need to work on it!)

T2 - My mom somehow missed my bike finish even though she was standing 5 feet away... haha. Missed the rack AGAIN going in to drop my bike off, but then all I had to do was take off my helmet and run. T2 time was 42 seconds, second in my age group.

Run - The 1.6 mile run course was pretty flat for the most part, and luckily the rain had let up a little by then, although the damage was already done as I was soaked! My quads were super tight for the first half mile, but then gradually began to loosen up and I ran the whole run part just fine. I didn't push the pace at all (shakes head at self), and finished the run part in 15:09, with a pace of 9:29 per mile - not bad for not really feeling like I was pushing at all.

Total Time - 1:06:21, third in my age group. I wanted to get sub 1:00, but maybe next year when I have more training/less rain/no chain issues. It was super fun despite the wetness!

One week to Portland

I know it's been ages since I've posted anything on here, but what can I say... life has been pretty crazy.

Portland Marathon is in one week. I'm not tapering - I don't feel like I've run enough mileage to necessitate a taper, especially since I'm planning on taking the race nice and slowly.

Weather report looks good so far.

This is the plan for this week -

Sunday - Bike ride, easy 3 mile run

Monday - 15-18 miles

Tuesday - Swim

Wednesday - 4 miles easy

Thursday - Off

Friday - 3 miles easy

Saturday - Off

Sunday - Portland

Panicked Portland update

Yikes, guys - the Portland Marathon was 5 weeks from Sunday! I am kind of overwhelmed by that right now, I've been focusing on other things so much that it just sort of snuck up on me. I still haven't even done a 20 miler yet! (Planning to fix that on Thursday). I think I'm going to do a 2 week taper and do it as a long training run, and then work to PR at Seattle. Still... eek! Time to get off the couch!

I also finally signed up for the Cottage Lake triathlon on September 19. That was pretty expensive also ($80ish) so that should give me some additional motivation for speedwork/cross-training/etc.

Will find out about the job situation on Friday... I'm not too optimistic at the moment, but keep your fingers crossed, and if neither of them worked out, at least it was good interviewing experience!

I'm starting to get settled in and unpacked down here in Federal Way... I miss my U District, but I am soooo thankful to have Sophie so I am not stuck down here all the time!

Quickie update

Back from vacations, which were fun/relaxing/mostly uneventful.

Mostly done with paralegal classes, just have one more assignment to turn in and then I'm free until September 30!

Have two job interviews tomorrow, one at an espresso bar and the other as an office assistant.

Getting back on track running-wise after vacation - skipping the SJ&J half as I'm broke, and doing Cottage Lake triathlon and Portland Marathon as my next two races.

More later!

Baby's first car

That's right, I bought my first car yesterday!!! It's a 2002 gold Oldsmobile Alero, used but looks like new (only has 50K miles on it) and it's super fun to drive! I named her Sophie and I loooove her!

Danskin pictures!

There are tons of them on Facebook (and we haven't even gotten the offical ones yet!) but I thought I'd put some of my favorites on here anyways...


Me and my friend Emily before the swim start




Mom and I after we finished the swim




Mom and I heading for the finish line!

Mom and I after the race!

Training buddies... Joy, Mom, Beth, Emily and me before the swim

One of our practice swims at Seward Park... Lake Washington is pretty chilly on cloudy mornings! (I'm the one in the hot pink swimsuit!)

Joy is finishing the race, and I am right behind her cheering on Mom (who I think is behind Joy somewhere!)

Almost time to hit the road...

The marathon vacation is about to begin! This Thursday we are driving over to McCall, Idaho (8 hour drive... yeesh!) for our family reunion. That should be fun - there is white-water rafting, hiking, etc (maybe even horseback riding???). That goes from Thursday to Sunday, and then on Sunday we are driving from McCall to our beach house on the Washington coast (another 8-10 hour drive). We're staying there for a week (yay!) and then driving back to Seattle, and then the next day my brother is going back to college in Spokane! It'll be fun, hopefully, but I probably won't have time to update this much (might not have internet!). Hopefully I'll have time to get some good miles in, though - Portland really isn't too far away!!

Danskin Sprint Tri report

Background - So Mom signed both of us up for the Danskin triathlon this spring. I had never done one before and while I'd considered it, it wasn't something that I was bouncing off the walls to do. But she was nervous and didn't want to do it by herself, so I said ok - hey, it got her to start running!!! I got a bike for $5 at a garage sale and eventually got it fixed up enough so it's super comfy (for pretty cheap, too). Mom and I went to a bunch of training practices with Team Survivor (a group of women cancer survivors that do triathlons/etc - Mom's friend from school is one and she invited us), which were really fun and really helpful. I discovered that I am pretty good at swimming and I actually love swimming in lakes - I think I spent most of the summer in Lake Washington.

The Race - We woke up at 4:30 in the morning and headed down to Genessee Park (where we'd already racked our bikes on Saturday). It was a beautiful morning, sunny but not hot. We hung out for a little bit and watched the first waves go, and eventually put on all of our swim stuff. Along with Mom's friend Beth, who is on Team Survivor, her coworker Joy was doing it, as well as Beth's daughter Emily. Beth and Emily went at their own pace, but I had promised to stick with Mom and Joy, so that's what I did.

Swim - I thought I was going to have to push Mom off the dock into the lake, because she was freaking out a little bit, but once she got in the water she was ok. There were about a hundred people in our "wave", and the swim never really got less crowded the whole way. I'm surprised I don't have bruises from getting kicked and run into! Seems like Danskin would be a hard swim to PR on just because it's so crowded. I took my goggles off halfway through and just did breaststroke so I could keep track of Mom and Joy (and scope out the cute lifeguards that were on paddleboards all along the course!). About halfway through, there were some big rolling waves coming in, which I love! We finished the swim without incident - the water was warm enough that I actually wanted to stay in instead of getting out and going on to the bike, haha.

Bike - I think the bike part was the most frustrating - when I bike, I like to go fast! So I'd keep going and getting ahead and having to either hit the brakes or get off my bike and wait. It was a pretty course, though, along Lake Washington Boulevard and over I-90. I've always thought biking was my weakest part (just because I haven't done it since like junior high, although I did a lot of it when I was little), but I didn't have a problem with the course at all, not even the hills.

Run - I decided to make myself earn the medal once we started the run portion, because I felt like I'd barely pushed myself all morning. I'd run a little ways, then turn around and run back to Mom and Joy, then run ahead again. Uncle Dan was there riding his bike along the sidewalk and keeping Mom and Joy company, so that was nice. There's only one short but steep hill on the course, and I ran it twice just for fun (didn't see anyone else run up the whole thing). Crossing the finish line was fun, and we met up with everyone in the finisher's area and went to go sign up for next year!

Times - SWIM = 30ish min, BIKE = 60ish min, RUN = 47ish min, total time 2:30:17

Reflections - I want to race one! I guess I underestimated how competitive I can be! The swim was ok because it was so crowded that it would have been difficult to go too far ahead anyways, but the bike and the run I just wanted to go go go! I'm glad I did it with Mom, and I'm super proud of her, but I'm also going to sign up for a super sprint in September and then hopefully some longer ones in the spring, to actually race. Apparently my swim times are really good and I'm sure I can improve biking and running!

Next up - Super Jock N Jill 1/2 Marathon, September 7
Cottage Lake Super Sprint Tri, September 19
Portland Marathon, October 4
Seattle Marathon, November 29

Bye bye U District... :(

I am out of my house in the U District for good on Sunday (well, except I'm sure I'll be back up to visit lots!). Reminded again of how much I hate moving... every time I move, I swear I'll have less stuff, keep things more organized, etc... and then forget about that promise until the next year!

I am at least a little less despondent about moving back to Federal Way because I am going to get a new (well, new used) car soon! So at least I won't be stuck down here cut off from everything... and it's only temporary. On the bright side, that's good motivation to keep looking for a job - on the down side, I have been looking for a while now and NOTHING. *sigh* Me and everyone else in the world, right? Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like my mom, but... who leaves college and looks forward to moving back in with the parents?? I've gotten used to my freedom!

Anyways... the Danksin Triathlon is on Sunday, so that should be fun... hopefully the weather holds up at least decently. I'd feel better if the black clouds would go the other way!

New love

I'm ashamed to admit it, but running has been taking a bit of a backseat in life lately. Which is no good, as I just looked at the date and realized that the Portland Marathon is 2 months from tomorrow!

However, I haven't just been sitting on the couch the whole time (or at all, actually). We had three triathlon practices last week, which adds up to more biking this week since I've done since elementary school! I've also been in the lake literally every day (some days two or three times!). I took a minute off my half mile swim time on Saturday, so that was good. Hopefully all that cross-training will pay off when I jump back into my Portland training.

I've decided to just do Portland for fun and attempt to PR at Seattle - I know that sounds counterproductive, given the hills and the weather... but I will have more time to train for it, and my friend Tim (who I ran Beat the Bridge with) just signed up for the full marathon at Seattle and wants me to run it with him. He says he doesn't care about time, but I know I won't want to slow him down, so hopefully he'll be able to push me along to a PR...

I've also decided to sign up for a triathlon during Portland taper. Before you yell at me, it's a small Super Sprint triathlon (only 1/4 mile swim, 9 mile bike, and 1.5 mile run)!

As far as running, etc goes, here is what's on the menu for this week:


Monday - Swim 30-45 minutes at Matthew's Beach (the lake was really choppy today, I think I swallowed at least half of it...)

Tuesday - Run 6 miles, swim at Matthew's (maybe, not sure if I'll have time for the swim part)

Wednesday - Run 7 miles (hills), swim practice at Seward Park

Thursday - Run 4 miles, swim at Matthew's

Friday - Off

Saturday - Mock triathlon at Seward Park (1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 3.1 mile run)

Sunday - 16 miles

Total - 36 miles

I am so tan right now, and I also have some ridiculous tan lines because I have three different swimsuits I've been wearing!


I am going down to the RJC in Kent tomorrow to get my first CASA case! And we are more than halfway done with the first quarter of paralegal school... where is the summer going???

Career girl (minus the career!)

I know I already posted these on Facebook, but I'll post them here again... went shopping yesterday for some new work-appropriate clothes for my dream job that I hope to get sometime in the near future! We'll see if the power of positive thinking actually works...

The real world...

Wow, I have been insanely busy this week!

I spent 4 hours doing database training for legal researching (the Westlaw program, for those legal minds out there!) on Monday, and then have been out from 7:30 AM to 5 PM doing training for the CASA program.

CASA = Court Appointed Special Advocate - it's basically a guardian ad litem, appointed by the court (we got sworn in at Juvenile Court today!) to interview and investigate a case (it can be either a normal family law case or a dependency case, in which there are allegations of child abuse and neglect) and write reports and recommendations to the judge on what we feel is the best course of action for the child.

I'm working with Dependency CASA, so abuse and neglect cases. The training this week, while long, was really well organized and definitely an eye-opening experience! It was also a lot of fun to bond with the other people at training - people of all ages, professions, etc. A few of us went to happy hour at the Garage today to celebrate the last day of training. It'll be nice to have those other CASAs to keep in touch with, because we (obviously) aren't allowed to reveal ANY of the facts or issues about the case to anyone else.

Another issue the CASA training raised for me is that while I do want a kid or two of my own, I definitely want to look into becoming a foster parent somewhere down the line. There is definitely a huge need for it, and while having to part with them once they turn 18 would be hard, it is a way to help more numbers of kids have at least one stable and happy home than would otherwise be possible.

It's definitely been tricky with time management - I still have a lot of paralegal homework left to do tomorrow and Sunday, and I haven't been running as much as I've wanted - it's hard to decide between running at 5 or 6 AM or running when it's almost dark out, and I don't really prefer either... Haha! Hopefully I can put some good miles in this weekend though, and get back on track next week now that CASA "boot camp" is over. I'm actually kind of sad - even though it was tiring and a lot of information, I actually had fun at it.

It's funny, I've always been pretty shy in social settings, and definitely not one to raise my hand in class (like, EVER!). But lately I've noticed myself sort of "coming out of my shell" a bit, willing to jump in and talk to people and plan things and be social and outgoing, and also participate in group discussions, etc. It's just interesting - I'm not quite sure what triggered the change, but it's been fun!

And in other exciting news... I'm going to the Sounders-Chelsea game tomorrow!!!!!!! I am SO excited! My best friend's roommate that he was going with somehow forgot that it was this weekend and planned something else, so now my friend has an extra ticket and I am SO glad he invited me!! I've been wanting to go to a Sounders game since they started, and now I get to go to one of the most exciting ones all summer! I'm a Liverpool fan, but it's just exciting to see a Premier League team coming to the US - soccer is still just on a different level in Europe (in general... I feel like I have to add that qualification given the ridiculously shocking US-Spain upset a few weeks ago!!).

Oh, and I finally checked out my pictures from the Rock N Roll 1/2 - some of them are actually pretty good! I'll try and get them saved/posted sometime when I'm not falling asleep at my computer at 10 PM on a Friday!!

Sweet Sixteen

I think that so far, 16 miles is my favorite long run distance. It's far enough that it feels like an accomplishment, but "short" enough that I can still finish it feeling good and strong!

I woke up at 6 AM this morning and did my 16 miler out and back along the Burke-Gilman trail as the sun was coming up over Lake Washington - SO beautiful! The trail was shady and it wasn't too hot yet, and the time just flew by. I kept waiting to get tired and it never happened!

After I finished the run, I drove over to Matthew's Beach and stretched and then spent the next two hours alternating between swimming lazily around in the lake (the cold water felt really really good!) and napping in the sun. It was awesome!

And I think the swimming/cold water helped keep my legs loose, because I went shopping at Bellevue Square this afternoon with my friend Des and didn't even notice my legs. Hooray!

Also, I had my CASA interview yesterday, and it went really well! So now I have training from 8:30-4:30 Tuesday through Friday of next week - which is a lot, given that it's a volunteer position and therefore unpaid, but I just keep reminding myself that it's a foot in the door and some good legal/social work experience for my resume!

The paralegal program is turning out to be a lot more work than I expected, but so far I am managing to keep up all right - next week might require a little more scheduling with the CASA training!

As for running next week,

Monday - Off
Tuesday - 4 miles
Wednesday - 8 miles (6 @ MP)
Thursday - Swim/bike
Friday - 5 miles (hills)
Saturday - Off
Sunday - 17-18 miles

Come back sunshine!

I don't mind a few overcast days here and there in the summer, as long as they don't stick around too long! Can't wait for the warm sunny weather to return!

We had another open water swim practice at Seward Park tonight, and while the water was a lot smoother than it was last time, it was also a lot colder! I was the only person there without a wetsuit, and for the first few strokes, the water was so cold it took my breath away! Yeesh. But I finally settled into a steady crawlstroke and warmed up eventually, and I was one of the first people in our group to finish even though I was taking it pretty slow and steady and not pushing myself much. :)

I'm planning on a 5 miler tomorrow, 15-16 on Saturday, and then tri practice (swim + 5K run) at Beaver Lake on Sunday. I'll also get my bike out of the shop either this weekend or Monday, so I'll be able to get to work on that too!

I had an interesting 7 miler down in Federal Way yesterday - I was pretty frustrated by the end of it and begging for the Burke-Gilman trail. I guess it's the "familiarity breeds comfort" thing - I love knowing every step, every curve, every dip and hill in the trail. Yesterday's run was a LOT hillier than I expected, and there were too many loooong stoplights, and lots of traffic, and I almost got hit by a car (when I was in a crosswalk with the WALK sign lit... hello??).

I will definitely appreciate where I am now even more for the rest of the summer!

I have an interview at the Regional Justice Center in Kent for the CASA program on Friday morning - and hoping that goes well, training for the program from 8:30-4:30 next Tuesday-Friday. Keep your fingers crossed!

Summer quarter also starts up again at Little Bit this week - can't wait to head out to Woodinville on Friday and see all my buddies again!

Next race is the Torchlight 8K (on July 25) - looking forward to that, as it's the only race (besides Danskin) that I have planned between now and Portland!

July already?

Where did June go??? Can't believe it's already July!

Just a few updates... still on the job hunt, still nothing promising so far. This is frustrating and it sucks, but I guess I have to keep at it until I find something... I need money to support my running habit!

I've had a few good runs this week and everything seems to be recovered nicely from Rock N Roll. I also did an open water swim practice in Lake Washington on Wednesday. I was afraid the water would be cold (I don't have a wetsuit yet), but it was super warm! It was quite windy, so there were lots of waves, but I thought that was fun. I did the half mile distance with no problem at all, and actually kinda wanted to go back out when we were done.

It's funny, when Mom first had the idea of signing up for the Danskin, I didn't really want to - I was sort of thinking "why tri? I just want to run... but I guess I'll do it with her just to make her happy". But after a few swim practices, I'm thinking that it's been really fun so far, and though I'll stick with Mom at Danskin, I might like to try another tri and actually race it! I suppose I should get on the bike riding part... that's my least favorite and so I haven't done much with it!

The paralegal program has been going really well so far - I was sort of worried that it would be really hard, or really boring, or that I'm not smart enough to be in the legal field, but so far it's been really interesting and I'm doing well. Hopefully that keeps up for the rest of the program!

I've also applied to be a volunteer at CASA, to assist guardian ad litems in helping abused and neglected children through the legal system - it should be fun, rewarding, and also good legal experience for a resume!

As for the 4th, a few of us are going to Emerald Downs tonight for the races and fireworks, and Lake Union fireworks tomorrow, and then on Sunday it's back to the Burke-Gilman for long run time!