I've decided to switch to the half marathon for Eugene on May 2, and switch to the full marathon for Rock N Roll Seattle at the end of June. I've just had a hard time balancing running and working full time, and this will give me almost two more months to prepare for the marathon. I have already done three marathons, I know I can complete them - I want to actually run one well, and I just don't think I have enough time to fit in enough proper training for Eugene.
That's all for now!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
One more quick update...
Now that I have a job, some extra money (a little bit!!), and a car...
I've decided to look for a horse to lease! I just want someone that I can pay a little bit of money every month to and go riding on weekends, and hopefully a monthly lease would be cheaper than paying for lessons every week. Eventually I'd like to get back into shows and such, but for now I'd be happy just moseying around on a trail every now and then.
I have found a cute little Fjord pony (at 5'3 and 125, I am small enough to still get away with riding most ponies, and Fjords are pretty sturdy) that I can ride as much as I want for $150 a month... there is no arena at the barn apparently but miles and miles of trails!
Here is a pic:
I am heading out there tomorrow morning to look at him!! I will keep you posted on how it goes!
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Update 2/14/2010 - I drove out to Snoqualmie this morning to meet pony (Desmond) and his owner. It only took me about 40 minutes to get there despite getting lost at every possible turn towards the end! It is a small stable that is literally in the middle of miles and miles of trails in the lower foothills of the Cascades, so it is a really pretty area. I got a quick tour of the barn and got to play with Desmond a little bit, and I am going to go back next weekend to take him out on a trail ride and see how that goes. If it is good, I will be able to go over there and ride him or groom him or play with him whenever I want! Yay!
Apartment posters
I just bought some posters to decorate up the apartment a little bit... the first is going on the wall behind my couch, the second is going over my little TV stand, and the third is going on the wall by my door :)
Valentine's Day Dash 5K Race Report
Background - I have been struggling a little bit (ok, a lot) since starting a full time 8-5 job to fit in a decent amount of running/cross-training/anything. It's gotten a bit better lately, but still definitely not any decent or consistent training. I sort of got coralled into doing this race with friends and DBF, and I am glad I did. I didn't actually sign up for it, because a) Green Lake was open to the public so I technically wasn't doing anything wrong and b) I run Green Lake at least once a week, I don't really want to pay $40 to run it.
The race - Was super crowded at the start - around 3,000 people all joined in for a romp around Green Lake, including dogs and several adorable little puppies. I started off a bit too strongly but managed to hold pace fairly decently all the way through. I had decided to treat the race as a tempo run, so I was hoping for somewhere under 34-35 minutes (yes it really bothers me that I have slowed down to the point where THAT is a tempo run. I kind of actually want to go running again today but I am telling myself to save it for tomorrow). The race was half on the inner loop of Green Lake and half on the outer loop, and I managed to stay on the gravel parts the whole way around, which was nice for my knees and other achy old joints. I felt pretty good until around mile 2.5, but managed to stay on pace and have a pretty decent finishing kick. I finished in 32:14, just a few seconds off my pace from the Jingle Bell run. I am ok with it as long as I try not to consider that I ran my first half marathon 10-15 seconds a mile faster than that!! As I said, good motivation to be more consistent and find ways to make running a priority.
DBF and friends and I had an excellent breakfast at Mecca on Queen Anne after the race, and now I am ready for a nap!!
Next up - St. Patrick's Day Dash (~3.4 miles), March 14. Goal - sub 40.
The race - Was super crowded at the start - around 3,000 people all joined in for a romp around Green Lake, including dogs and several adorable little puppies. I started off a bit too strongly but managed to hold pace fairly decently all the way through. I had decided to treat the race as a tempo run, so I was hoping for somewhere under 34-35 minutes (yes it really bothers me that I have slowed down to the point where THAT is a tempo run. I kind of actually want to go running again today but I am telling myself to save it for tomorrow). The race was half on the inner loop of Green Lake and half on the outer loop, and I managed to stay on the gravel parts the whole way around, which was nice for my knees and other achy old joints. I felt pretty good until around mile 2.5, but managed to stay on pace and have a pretty decent finishing kick. I finished in 32:14, just a few seconds off my pace from the Jingle Bell run. I am ok with it as long as I try not to consider that I ran my first half marathon 10-15 seconds a mile faster than that!! As I said, good motivation to be more consistent and find ways to make running a priority.
DBF and friends and I had an excellent breakfast at Mecca on Queen Anne after the race, and now I am ready for a nap!!
Next up - St. Patrick's Day Dash (~3.4 miles), March 14. Goal - sub 40.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Update from a cloud
It has been super foggy today... looking out the window of my office and all I can see are random airplanes flying by (not too close thankfully!!!). You can barely even see the ground!
I have taken a few days off running this week due to some sharp, stabbing chest pain all day yesterday and for a few hours this morning. I am thinking it was possibly a pinched nerve or something, but it hurt, and I didn't really want to try running when every few minutes I was doubled over just sitting there. Very glad that has gone away!
I am debating switching from the Eugene full to the half and from the Rock N Roll half (in June) to the full... I just haven't been able to be as consistent as I want yet, and Eugene is only two and a half months away. I know I can finish a marathon on sub-optimal training (ie Portland), but it wasn't as pleasant and it took me a lot longer to recover. I feel like now that I've completed 3 marathons, I know I can finish them - so I'm sort of hesitant to run one that I know I wouldn't be in great shape for. I'll have to run it by DBF, as I dragged him into the Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon, but I'm not sure it would be an issue as (due to his blaaaaazing speed) we wouldn't be running the 1/2 together anyways. Making that switch would give me almost an extra 2 months of training, and I don't have to decide for Eugene until April 1. I need to look into when/how to switch for Rock N Roll, but I know there are people who did it last year.
I am also, as I mentioned earlier this week, considering taking a second job if it comes available. I know, I know, I've been way busy as it is, but hear me out... this job would be 6-10 PM on Friday and Saturdays at the pizza tavern where two of my best friends work. I am usually there at least 2 nights a week anyways, so might as well get paid for it, right? That, plus free pizza and beer! :)
Still loving living in Seattle - it is SO nice to be able to walk to EVERYTHING I need! I sort of half have internet there (randomly hopping on wireless networks from generous neighbors), so once I manage to procure the cord to my camera I can post some pictures of the place!
I have taken a few days off running this week due to some sharp, stabbing chest pain all day yesterday and for a few hours this morning. I am thinking it was possibly a pinched nerve or something, but it hurt, and I didn't really want to try running when every few minutes I was doubled over just sitting there. Very glad that has gone away!
I am debating switching from the Eugene full to the half and from the Rock N Roll half (in June) to the full... I just haven't been able to be as consistent as I want yet, and Eugene is only two and a half months away. I know I can finish a marathon on sub-optimal training (ie Portland), but it wasn't as pleasant and it took me a lot longer to recover. I feel like now that I've completed 3 marathons, I know I can finish them - so I'm sort of hesitant to run one that I know I wouldn't be in great shape for. I'll have to run it by DBF, as I dragged him into the Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon, but I'm not sure it would be an issue as (due to his blaaaaazing speed) we wouldn't be running the 1/2 together anyways. Making that switch would give me almost an extra 2 months of training, and I don't have to decide for Eugene until April 1. I need to look into when/how to switch for Rock N Roll, but I know there are people who did it last year.
I am also, as I mentioned earlier this week, considering taking a second job if it comes available. I know, I know, I've been way busy as it is, but hear me out... this job would be 6-10 PM on Friday and Saturdays at the pizza tavern where two of my best friends work. I am usually there at least 2 nights a week anyways, so might as well get paid for it, right? That, plus free pizza and beer! :)
Still loving living in Seattle - it is SO nice to be able to walk to EVERYTHING I need! I sort of half have internet there (randomly hopping on wireless networks from generous neighbors), so once I manage to procure the cord to my camera I can post some pictures of the place!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Hello, Seattle
Bonus points if you can name the artist who performs that song!
I am all moved in to my new apartment on lower Queen Anne, and so far so good! I am not quite all the way unpacked/organized yet, but getting there. Moving actually went pretty smoothly this weekend because of all the fantastic people I bribed with beer and pizza to help me! :) I still need to get Comcast Internet set up there, but aside from that and a few other unpacking projects, it is good to go.
It looks really cute (I especially love the bathroom) and all of my furniture fits exactly where I wanted it to go. The bedroom and bathroom are both pretty small, but cozy, and the shower has really good hot water and water pressure. The living room, kitchen, and dining room are super roomy and bright (it's a corner apartment so it has 5 big windows). I actually bought a yoga DVD over the weekend because the living room (even with my furniture in it) is big enough that I can make an idiot out of myself there in the privacy of my own home! :)
It's so nice being close to everything - I am within a few blocks of my bank (with 24 hour ATM), Safeway, Bartell's, Metropolitan Market, a movie theater, several bars, Subway, Taco Bell, KFC, a great breakfast place, and a park (straight UP the hill) that has an amazing view of downtown and Puget Sound. I am also a few blocks from five buses that go downtown - I left my house at 7:45 this morning and made it to work early enough to get Starbucks!
I am hoping to be able to take pictures and put them up later in the week for the curious. For the impatient, here is a picture of the front of the building:
And here is a general area map:
I am all moved in to my new apartment on lower Queen Anne, and so far so good! I am not quite all the way unpacked/organized yet, but getting there. Moving actually went pretty smoothly this weekend because of all the fantastic people I bribed with beer and pizza to help me! :) I still need to get Comcast Internet set up there, but aside from that and a few other unpacking projects, it is good to go.
It looks really cute (I especially love the bathroom) and all of my furniture fits exactly where I wanted it to go. The bedroom and bathroom are both pretty small, but cozy, and the shower has really good hot water and water pressure. The living room, kitchen, and dining room are super roomy and bright (it's a corner apartment so it has 5 big windows). I actually bought a yoga DVD over the weekend because the living room (even with my furniture in it) is big enough that I can make an idiot out of myself there in the privacy of my own home! :)
It's so nice being close to everything - I am within a few blocks of my bank (with 24 hour ATM), Safeway, Bartell's, Metropolitan Market, a movie theater, several bars, Subway, Taco Bell, KFC, a great breakfast place, and a park (straight UP the hill) that has an amazing view of downtown and Puget Sound. I am also a few blocks from five buses that go downtown - I left my house at 7:45 this morning and made it to work early enough to get Starbucks!
I am hoping to be able to take pictures and put them up later in the week for the curious. For the impatient, here is a picture of the front of the building:
And here is a general area map:
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