Reunited + March in review

Starting off with the positive...

I ran tonight for the first time since the St. Patrick's Day Dash!! (*gulp*) I just did an outer loop of Green Lake (around 5K) but it felt so good to be back out there! Of course I felt all fat and stiff and slow, and my joints were all creaking like the old girl that I am (it feels that way sometimes!!) but my legs in general felt pretty good and it was just so relaxing! The weather was beautiful and the cherry trees were blossoming!

I am going to go run at Alki after work tomorrow, and then on the Burke-Gilman before Easter Brunch on Saturday morning. Hooray for finally being able to run without coughing up a lung!!

Month in Review:

Days sick: 30...!
Days called in sick to work: 2
Runs: 2
Total mileage: 6.8
Swims: 0
Bike rides: 0
Visits to the gym: 0
Junk food consumed: Way way too much!
Pounds gained: Probably at least 5 (I'm afraid to look)

On the bright side... lots of room for improvement?? I think part of why running tonight felt so good is that I've felt like such a lazy slug slacker the past month! I am ready for April to begin!!!

One more picture thread...

I've gotten in the habit of sending friends daily puppy pictures to bring a smile to their faces, so I thought I'd post a few of my favorites here so you all can smile too :)

Some of my favorite places to run, eat, or just be...

I have decided to make a picture tribute thread to Seattle and all (or a lot, at least) of the places I love about it! Seattle Tourism Board, if you ever need help promoting our beautiful city... you know where to find me!!

Husky Stadium and the beautiful UW campus!

Snow Lake is a beautiful hike that's just off I-90, not far from Seattle - it's tough with loose rocks but the lake is so beautiful!

Mt. Si is a pretty easy hike with rocks to climb at the top that is also just off I-90!

This is the view from Pike Place Market on the Seattle waterfront

The inner trail at Green Lake

View from the outer trail at Green Lake

Yes, I actually like where I work... how could anyone not like working in the Columbia Tower? (Unless, of course, a plane hits it or a 9.0 earthquake... but hopefully neither of those will happen!)

Especially with views like this!

And this! It is fun to watch the weather patterns come in across the Sound and Elliot Bay.

This is sunset over Seattle from Alki Point!

And this is sunset over the Sound from the west side of Alki.

This is the trail that runs around the point at Seward Park.

Also Seward Park! I spent so much time swimming, biking and running here last summer!

I just thought this was a really pretty picture of Seattle!

Same with this one... how cool is that?

I love running through Ravenna Park in the snow... such a winter wonderland and so peaceful!

And it's nice and shady in the summer too!

Pegasus Pizza is definitely my favorite pizza in Seattle!!!

Myrtle Edwards Park between downtown Seattle and Queen Anne!

Mrytle Edwards again... I stumbled on it randomly on one of my first runs from Queen Anne and I love it!

Sunset @ Myrtle Edwards

Another sunset at Myrtle Edwards!

My new home away from home on Friday and Saturday nights!

This place has the most amazing breakfast... yum!

Matthew's Beach... right along the Burke-Gilman which makes it a perfect place to hop in the lake and cool off after a hot summer run!

Leschi neighborhood... Seattle Marathon runs through here!

This is where we watched the Blue Angels fly during Seafair last summer (Leschi again)

Lake Washington Boulevard... Seattle Marathon, Seattle Rock N Roll, and the Danskin Triathlon all come along this road.

View from Kerry Park, which is just up a few super steep blocks from my apartment!

The Grateful Bread bakery... best bagels in Seattle by far, and they have Caffe Vita coffee... how could you go wrong?

Golden Gardens is an awesome place for barbecues in the summertime!

The Burke-Gilman is my home away from home during marathon training... I do most of my long runs on it and have never come even close to running out of trail!

The Burke-Gilman as it goes by Gasworks Park.

I hope you enjoyed my picture tour!

Updated Race List (again)

This one taking into account my recent crappy illness...

May 2 - Eugene 1/2 Marathon (maybe)
May 16 - Beat the Bridge 8K
June 19 - Cottage Lake Super Sprint Tri
June 26 - Seattle Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon
July 24 - Seafair Sprint Tri
July 31 - Torchlight 8K
Aug 15 - Danskin Sprint Tri
Aug 22 - Lake Meridian Olympic Distance Tri
Sept 11 - Cottage Lake Super Sprint Tri #2 (maybe)
Sept 25 - Black Diamond Long Course/1/2 Ironman triathlon
Nov 28 - Seattle Marathon

I hope this never happens again...

I first got sick on February 18... it is now March 29 and I still have a little bit of a lingering cough that comes and goes in phases. I've done a few runs in that time period, but not many, and none for the last week or two. It is so frustrating - all I want to do is go on a nice long run, a nice long swim, a nice long bike ride, etc...!

Now that I have taken so much time off I have probably lost so much fitness, which makes me sad... it's like basically starting over from ground zero. It also means that I probably won't make a spring marathon this year... *sigh* I guess I will just focus on building up a good, solid base and getting faster at shorter distances (and triathlons) for spring and summer, and then hopefully destroy my old marathon PR in the fall. I know that once spring (and the Rock N Roll marathon) comes around I will be wishing that I was doing a 26.2... but sometimes life gets in the way, what can you do?

So here is my plan for this week:

Monday - 3 + swim @ gym
Tuesday - 3
Wednesday - Spin/swim @ gym
Thursday - 4 + yoga
Friday - Off
Saturday - 4
Sunday - 5-6

It's not very structured yet but I will have to figure out how I want to balance things when I start adding more mileage.

In other news... the part time job at the Tavern is going really well so far. It's been a lot of fun and it's a nice change of pace from sitting at a desk all day! Fridays are tiring from working 8-4:30 and then 5-10 or 11, but so far so good!

Hopefully I will be able to update the blog more often now that (knock on wood) I should be able to start getting back into the swing of things finally!

Sweet 16 baby!!!!!!

Let the madness continue!!! Dawgs destroy #3 seed New Mexico 82-64! They have really stepped it up and been incredible the past month or so - 14 wins out of the last 16 games, 11 in a row, 8 (I think?) in a row on the road, they've won every single "must win" game they had to. They've stomped on good teams and fought back from being 15 down against good teams to come back and win games. West Virginia or Missouri better watch out!! Here are a few pics that I think sum up the game quite nicely...




I particularly like the last one, where all the Lobos are standing and watching Quincy dunk on them yet again!



GO HUSKIES!!!!!!