20 July 2011

Running Topless and Breaking Things

So I am a little bit behind on blogging lately, so either I need to do 4 posts in a row or just one big crazy one.  Lucky you- it is going to be one big crazy one!  So here is a run down of the last week, with lots of pictures and not very many words.
The girls had to go a second time- they didn't get soaked enough the first time I guess!
Last Wednesday Devan finally cashed in on her birthday present from her Aunt Jaime (my bff), which was a fun day/night of doing whatever she wanted to do- and she could bring a friend as well.  So Jaime, myself, Devan and her chosen friend (Kara) headed to Wild Waves for an afternoon of BFF fun!  We totally lucked out because the weather forecast was for rain, but we ended up with great weather and a fairly empty water park!  After that we headed to Southcenter for some quick shopping and then to The Cheesecake Factory for some dinner.  Good thing I had run 5 miles that morning and walked around Wild Waves for 6 hours- I think I earned half a piece of cheesecake!  Jaime and I shared the mango key lime and it was fantastic.

The girls LOVED those water slides
Those grins and sparkly eyes say it all- what a fun day!!!
The next morning I was scheduled to run 8 miles, so even though Devan had stayed the night at Jaime's I still had Niko at the house with me.  So off I trudged to the treadmill room- I put it on a 2% incline and proceeded to sweat my butt off for the next 77 minutes.  I actually took my shirt off about 15 minutes into the run just to see how it felt- pretty darn good!  Niko came in at one point and said "oh, you are sweating again" - at least he didn't tell me I should put my shirt back on haha.  Maybe my new goal should be to look good running without a shirt on in public.  I do not have proof that it doesn't look good- I just know that I am not comfortable doing that right now.  Hopefully sometime in the near future though! 

Friday I drove up to Road Runner Sports in Kent.  After searching all over at other stores for the Saucony Kinvara 2's I finally found the exact one's I wanted there.  I also bought Will a pair of New Balance Minimus Road's so he could have a second style of shoe for his running as well (he has been using the Vibram five fingers). 

Meet the newest addition to my running shoe family- the Kinvara 2!  Aren't they cute?
Saturday morning we were in the car and heading down to Eugene at 7:30am to drop the kids off with Will's mom for 8 days!  We were meeting halfway since she lives in Medford, and there are quite a few other relatives down there as well so they are in good hands.  Devan was sad to see us go, but Niko just looked at her and said "what, are you going to miss them?"  Boys and girls- so different!  It was a REALLY long day of being couped up in a car, so we were happy so go for a run when we got back home (11 hours later)! 

We both put on our new running shoes and headed out for an awesome 7 miler over the Narrows Bridge around 6:45pm.  I wanted to run together so I had to slow my pace quite a bit, which felt strange!  I used the time to focus on my form (especially in the new shoes) and also to help Will with his.  He was running on his tip toes and looked like a total goof- and yes, I told him that!  The way he was striding just seemed to be using so much unnecessary energy.  It looked a bit better towards the end of the run.  It is nice having a running partner though, and it was perfect after such a long drive.

This week has been strange without the kids in the house.  I have been able to do all of my runs outside which is nice- and also at whatever time I feel like going!  I ran for the second time in my Kinvara's today (my last training run before Ragnar) and I think they are going to be great shoes.  The heel drop in them is only 4mm so it is exactly the same as the NB Minimus Roads I am used to, the only difference is there is a bit more cushioning in them.  I am hoping this doesn't start to bother my knees, but at the first sign I will definitely stop wearing them.
Our team logo Mandy created.  We are getting tech shirts with this on them to wear!  I think it turned out great, thanks Mandy!
Tomorrow we will head up to Blaine to prepare for the Ragnar Relay on Friday morning!  Our team name is "How the West Was Run" and our assigned start time is 6:30am.  I am really excited- this is going to be such a fun experience!  I made some muffins this morning as well as another batch of pb protein bars.  We have purchased lots of crazy things like cowboy hats, pom poms and noise makers to cheer our teammates on, and aside from packing I think we are READY!  If you are on facebook and would like to track the progress/craziness of our team head to our team page and hit "like"!
How the west was run- ragnar relay northwest passage facebook page

Our Ragnar Van- thanks Ray for letting us borrow it.  Hopefully we won't stink it up too much :)
I made the protein bars in my mini muffin pans this time- 42 of them, each at 150 calories/7 grams of protein/15 grams of carbs- and no cutting required!!!
Oh, and I almost forgot.  Guess what I did on Sunday afternoon????  I broke something rather important- I know I did it because the kids are gone so I can't blame them :)  I set my laptop on the arm of the couch and it slid right over the edge and landed with a thud.  Here is the result: 
That is my Garmin USB ANT plug that transfers data from my Garmin to the computer.  OOPS!  So $36 later Amazon is shipping me a new one.  Lovely.

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