Cheers!

This was our theme song for the weekend.  Play it while you read the post, then maybe you can feel like you were there with us and my ramblings won't seem so crazy! 

So this blog post has very little to do with running- but if you are interested in how to have an amazing girl weekend that involves a lot of laughing, chatting, walking and consuming of delicious food than look no further!

My girlfriends and I have been planning this "girl trip" for several months now and between all of our crazy schedules we settled on October 19th-21st in Portland. So we booked a hotel right downtown and decided to have one dressy go out night and then do a lot of shopping/eating/walking the rest of the time. It was perfect.

Sarah, Jaime, Kendra and me in our hotel lobby

We ate sushi, frozen yogurt, pumpkin pancakes, cheese plates, burgers, halibut, duck and fancy desserts. And truffles. And doughnuts. Oh, and pineapple fried rice and fresh spring rolls from a food cart at 2:30am. I think I need to run 50 miles to burn it all off but it was totally worth every bite!! Oh, and a chocolate dipped macaroon. Better make it 55 miles.

Mmmmm....beer

We shopped at the mall, the Portland open market and stores like Nike, Lush, Powell's book store, Paper Source and Prana. We parked the car when we arrived on Friday and never got in it again until we left on Sunday so we walked A LOT!!

Right across from our hotel.  By the way- don't drink that water. 

Here is a list of the places we went that I really enjoyed and suggest you visit if you are ever in Portland:

*Breakfast- Mother's Bistro (http://www.mothersbistro.com/) -we waited a very long time for a table on Saturday but it was worth it. I had pumpkin pancakes and chicken sausage links and a Bloody Mary (which was really, really good). The girls all enjoyed their food as well, no complaints other than the long wait.  Eat here and make your belly happy.

*Shopping- The Portland open market on Saturday was really nice. It is HUGE and has a lot of neat things to buy. I almost bought a duck tape wallet, but I did buy peacock earrings and some warm gloves that I LOVE. Also- go to Powell's book store. It is an independently owned bookstore that fills an entire city block (there are maps available!). I could have spent the day there. http://www.powells.com/

My fancy friends- Kendra, Sarah, me and Jaime

*Dinner- We had a really nice dinner at the Heathman Hotel. Sound familiar? We didn't see Fifty Shades there much to our dismay!! It is a classic french inspired restaurant -the presentation was really nice and the food was fantastic. After our meals we shared a cheese plate and then we each chose a different dessert so we could taste them all. It is pricey but overall I would say if you want to splurge on a meal you would not regret it here. http://portland.heathmanhotel.com/restaurants/restaurant-menus.aspx

My dinner at the Heathman.  Halibut, leeks and fingerling potatoes. 

*Entertainment- We decided to go see this show http://www.darcellexv.com/ on Saturday night and it was hilarious! We called and reserved a spot and they said to arrive by 10pm for the 10:30pm show and after a taxi incident we arrived at 10:05pm to be informed that we needed to wait in line they only take reservations up until 10pm. So make sure to get there very early!!! We still had decent seats but I would have been mad if we didn't get in to see the show. We stayed for the male centerfold show at midnight but to be honest it wasn't really much of a "show". Mostly the guys just took off their clothes and then went into the audience to give out touchy feely lap dances. Not really my scene! I was not really paying attention and suddenly one of the guys was right on me dancing and so I tucked my dollar bill in his undies and Kendra was just sitting by me chuckling knowing how uncomfortable I was. Then he moved on to her and it was my turn to laugh at her! Ha that was probably the best part for me. We left soon after that. So watch the Darcelle show, but I would say the centerfolds are not really worth it. Good thing we didn't pay extra for that part!

The cast of the Darcelle show.  I think the lady with the legs must be a runner!

*Dessert- Kendra talked about Papa Hadyn and their desserts so much we had to stop in and get something when we walked by. I wanted one of everything but I chose a chocolate dipped macaroon and it was amazing. Holy yum. Go eat dessert here http://www.papahaydn.com/ you will not be disappointed. And if you love chocolate half as much as I do, do yourself a favor and stop by one of the many Moonstruck Chocolate Co. cafe's and have a truffle. They also have drinking chocolate and many other amazing chocolate things to eat. http://www.moonstruckchocolate.com/ . We also went to Voodoo Doughnut on the way out of town -I am not a huge fan of doughnuts but I admit these are pretty creative and tasty. I ate a chocolate one that was dipped in crushed butterfingers. Maybe I need to run closer 100 miles to burn all of this off...

We may have re-enacted a little Gangnam Style in our elevator

Almost but not quite the same...

*If you are hungry at 2am then I recommend walking really far in the rain to wherever the food trucks are.  Totally worth it, and you get to meet fun people like Michael from Poland who made Sarah some french fries and a Gyro and watch really drunk people wander by several times in search of their hotel.  The food trucks are open during the daytime too, but we learned they stay open until 4-6am for the bar folks!  They literally made fried rice for me while I watched them, and rolled up my fresh tofu spring rolls.  Good stuff.

I was laughing so hard that I was crying here.  Good times with some silly friends. 
I recommend bringing a friend with a long arm -thanks Jaime!!  Push the button!

It was nice to get away from everyday life for a few days though. No long run to do, no kids to feed, no work, no bills, no chores! It was a nice way to recharge and spend time with friends I have know most of my life. I met Kendra when we were about 7, Jaime when we were 11 and Sarah and I met when we were about 16. I am thankful for good, lifelong friends. Cheers!

Defiance 30K Recap

Ready for my 30K!

Saturday morning my alarm went off around 5am so I could get some breakfast in me before I started getting nervous.  I ate a blueberry bagel with some berry preserves and drank a glass of water before getting dressed- a peek outside told me it was raining but that didn't really suprise me.  At 6am I ate a cliff bar but by the last bite I was forcing it down so I threw my banana in my race bag and decided I could eat it while I waited for the race to start.  I decided to leave around 6:30am to make sure I got a good parking spot and have plenty of time to get myself ready to run.  I packed enough stuff so that if the world ended while I was running I could survive for about 3 weeks.  Seriously, I had extra clothes, tons of fuel and water, protein bars, coats and shoes plus garbage bags and my trusty banana (which I never did eat!).

The fuel!

The one thing I didn't bring that I wish I had?  My snuggie.  That would have been nice and cozy while I sat in my car freezing to death waiting for the race to start!  So since I live 2 miles from the start line I was way too early but it was nice to slowly get myself together and not stress about anything for that last hour before the race.  The rain was pretty solid off and on and I finally decided to get out of the car and use the bathroom and figure out where I would leave my drop bag.  While in line for the bathroom suddenly Nicole and Lindsay walked by and said hi.  Nicole was running the 15K (she was supposed to run the 50K but is coming back from an injury) and Lindsay really was running the 50K!  Lindsay did an awesome job and Nicole supported her by running the final lap with her.  Read their reports HERE and HERE if you want to hear some other perspectives on this race and the different distance options. 

I said hi to several people I knew, and then found my friend Zach.  I threw my drop bag down near his on a picnic table covered in plastic, reluctantly threw my jacket inside of it and went to get in line for the start gun.  Zach was running the 30K and his friend David was running the 50K so I decided to start out with them even though I figured they would be faster than me.  The race starts on a straight paved sidewalk, then goes up a large wooden staircase before heading into the trails.  I kept up with them for about a mile or so, but I knew if I stayed with them I would push myself too hard in the first few uphill miles and my race would suck.  I know my pace and it is the opposite of fast on those trails.  Slow and steady was my goal, so I just eased up and soon they were gone from sight but I didn't mind. 

I just finished my first trip up Achille's Hill and then back down!

Around the rhodedendron garden I was suddenly next to Steve from my Ragnar team so we chatted for a bit and then he was pulling ahead of me as well.  Then all of a sudden there were runners coming straight at us and telling us to "turn around, we were going the wrong way!" and I was like "are they serious?".  Yes, a group of 20-30 of us (including Steve but not Zach, Nicole or Lindsay) had indeed missed a turn and were going in the wrong direction.  Turns out somebody had flipped a sign around on the course- by the time I got back on track it was probably about an extra 2 miles.  I would really like to have a chat with that person. 

Devan joined me for a few minutes

So after that little episode I was trying to convince myself that 2 extra miles wasn't that big of a deal.  Even though I knew it was actually pretty significant.  And I could probably kiss my time goal goodbye.  But there wasn't anything I could do but keep on running so that is what I did!  I fueled with gels every 40 minutes or so and refilled my water at the aid station.  I passed a couple of walkers on a very narrow trail.  I saw a couple of runner's bite the dust.  I speed walked as fast as possible up Achille's Hill, and tried to make up time running back down (that was fun!).  Will and Devan found me down past the dog park and snapped some photos.  I chatted with a lady named Heidi that runs the Bee Hive massage at the YMCA for the last few miles before we headed back down to the Start/Finish line.

Speaking of heading back down to the starting area- so Nellie's Gnarly Descent was the last part of the course I was unsure of.  Basically you head off of the main road and hike down, down, down a cliff and there is a rope for you to hold onto for part of it so you don't die fall and hurt yourself.  The first trip down it wasn't too bad actually and I managed to be rather graceful.  Once at the bottom I hustled towards the timing matts and logged a stellar time of 2:15:56 and my garmin told me I had ran 12.6 miles (should have been 10.3) so I figure I had managed to add 2.3 miles to my first lap. 

See ya!

I used the bathroom really quick and like an idiot skipped past the aid station and didn't refill my water bottles.  I was keeping up with my fueling and I actually felt really good at that point still.  And then came the stairs, and the hills- those hills in the first couple miles are just never ending!  I know the exact point it finally levels off and every time I turn that corner it is like my heart stops beating out of my chest and I can breath!  This time there were volunteers standing in the pathway making sure we went the right way which was awesome.  No need to tack on any more miles thank you very much!  About a mile before I reached the aid station at Fort Nisqually I ran out of water completely.  Not a good sign, and I had been rationing my water after I realized I hadn't topped off so I was actually quite thirsty. 

Once I reached the aid station I refilled both water bottles and drank quite a bit.  I was feeling kind of yucky at that point- a little bit dizzy and a tad nauseated so I was grazing on a couple of chips and a piece of watermelon hoping it would magically make me feel better.  I had 5 miles to go and I think my garmin said I was close to 18 miles at that point.  I set off back down the hill and a few miles later I looked at my watch because it beeped at me that the battery was low and I noticed that it was on pause- and it still said 18 miles!  Great.  I must have bumped it at the aid station or stopped it out of habit and not realized it. 

The last mile of that race was the longest mile EVER in my life.  I could see the time on my watch and I knew if I hurried I could still possibly make it in under 4 hours and 15 minutes but it would be close.  Once I hit the road I tried to match pace with this guy in front of me, allowing him to pull me along until the climb back down to Owen's beach.  This time the descent was a little more difficult.  The dirt was looser and my legs were jello- I took a long miss-step at one point and by some miracle my left quad actually held me up.  There was a guy standing just below and he said "good save!" and I was like "I am just glad my legs still work!" cause that would have been a fine way to end my 30K by rolling down to the finish line!

The beautiful finish line

I finally broke free of the trail and headed out onto the pavement toward the beautiful sight of the finish line using every ounce of energy I had left.  I could hear Zach and Nicole cheering me on and that was so awesome and encouraging- thanks guys!  My time for lap 2 was 1:54:10 making my total time for the "30K" 4:10:07.  I still beat my C goal!  Zach took one look at my feet and declared me "too clean"- I guess I am a tidy runner.  My shoes were muddy around the bottom and I had a ton of dirt inside my shoes but my calf sleeves were clean.  Interesting.  I wandered around a bit and threw my gear in the car and grabbed a sandwich.  I sat with Nicole for a few minutes while she waited for Lindsay to come through on her second lap and then they both set off for one more loop.  I headed home so I could go watch my daughter play soccer at 1:30pm before finally settling down in my recliner and not moving for the remainder of the day!

My "too clean" legs and feet!

DONE!!

I absolutely loved everything about this race.  It was very different from a road race- the runners were much friendlier and easygoing.  There was just a different attitude in general.  I loved that we all just left our bags out on tables trusting that nobody would mess with them.  I loved chatting with random people along the way and being surrounded by nature the entire time.  I never felt dread during this race and I never wished it was over.  Those things are important to me- I do not want to spend money and time on something that I don't enjoy.  I distinctly remember reminding myself in those last 5 miles to relax and enjoy my race- the race that I spent the last 2 1/2 months training for.  And that is what I did.  Best race ever.  If you are interested in a trail race or an ultra in the Seattle/Tacoma area- THIS is the one you should do!!  I will be back next year.  Thank you Tacoma City Marathon Association for making me proud to live and race in Tacoma.     

In Twelve Hours

In twelve hours...

I will be at the starting line of my first ever 30K trail race!  I am so ready to get the show on the road, I have taken my taper to the extreme this week and done ZERO running.  None.  I ran 8 miles last Friday and then life happened this week and a run just never happened.  I did one random session of P90X2 Yoga and some foam rolling on Tuesday and then I worked an extra shift on Wednesday and went to see Pitch Perfect with some friends that night instead of running.  So I am nice and tapered- my muscles should be ready to go in the morning!

And I have been carb loading all week too.  Skinny rules -what skinny rules?  White rice, white pasta, potatoes, bagels...a cookie here and there.  And M&M's.  Oh and a cupcake- but it was my birthday so that doesn't count right?  My diet has been carbolicious but I am ready to get back to my healthier eating next week.  After I consume the thousands of calories I am about to burn.  In twelve hours.

Blue Nike tech tee, Running Skirts skirtcamp camo athletic skirt, Zensah calf sleeves

I have my outfit laid out- I altered it just a bit since Fall has decided to arrive in a hurry.  The weather is supposed to be rather rainy- how ironic that the last time it rained was the day of my last race.  It poured on the first day of Ragnar in July and I don't think it has rained since.  I don't mind running in the rain- I  actually prefer the rain over heat and wind.  Kind of like that time I trained for a marathon in 40 and 50 degree weather and then on race day it was 70 and I wanted to die.  This is the opposite so I am hoping it works in my favor!  I trained in the warm weather and now I will run while it's cool and wet so it should feel easier right?

I helped out at packet pickup today at the brand new Fleet Feet store that opened up in the Proctor district in Tacoma.  It is so nice inside and I am really excited to have a running store so close to me- it is literally across the street from the school my kids attend.  Dangerous.  I was given a tour of the new Tacoma City Marathon Association office upstairs and the building is really nice.  They are also selling Skirt Sports and Oiselle clothing.  You should go check it out if you are in the area.

I have been playing with my fueling during training and I find that I feel much better if I take a gel or half of a pack of chews every 35-40 minutes or so.  I tried 45 minutes and it was too long and my energy starts to drop.  I also ate a kid size cliff bar during my 16 and 18 milers and my stomach was just fine.  I ate a honey stinger waffle one time and that did NOT go over well but I should probably have eaten bites of it instead of the whole thing.  So I am debating bringing a cut up cliff bar so I can eat a bite here and there if I want it. 

I am assuming the race will take me 4 hours but I really have no time goal in mind.  If I could finish in 3 hours 50 minutes I would be impressed and if it takes more than 4 hours 15 minutes I will be a bit disappointed.  The total distance works out to 20.6 trail miles with each loop being 10.3 miles.  The only time I have ever ran farther than this was at my marathon a year and a half ago!  I will keep you all posted sometime in the next few days.     

Trail Running Rambles

View from the Salmon Beach area of the Defiance 30K course. 
That is the Narrows Bridge in the distance.

Well the time has almost arrived- in 15 days I will be tackling my big 30K trail race (race details HERE)!  I have been so focused on this race since Ragnar that I have not even entertained the idea of signing up for any other races.  Seriously, friends have been racing and posting pictures at events and I am just oddly content to quietly cheer them on from work or my couch.  I was a little sad to miss out on the local You Go Girl Half Marathon since I had done it for the last 2 years, but honestly I just didn't have the desire to do it. 

This is the course.  I mapped it out and carried one with me in
my pocket during my run.  I still got lost.

That, and the fact that up until last weekend I was a little bit nervous about how I would perform on race day.  I mean 30K is no joke, and the fact that it is all on trails makes it that much more challenging!  So I have been out on those trails every single Friday, spending hours just running and running and running to make sure that I am ready.  Since I last blogged I did go out and run 16 miles.  And then last Friday I attempted to follow the race course and ran 18 miles!!  I got lost and off course several times but I think I get the idea- and the race director promised me that the course would be well marked. 

I started my run here at Owen's Beach 

Yes, I know the race director for the Tacoma City Marathon Association- he happens to be a customer of mine and an extremely nice guy.  He is also one of the founders of the Marathon Maniacs- he is maniac number 3 Tony Phillippi.  I was chatting with him a couple of weeks ago and he encouraged me to get in an 18 mile training run and now that I have I am very thankful that I took his advice.  I feel very ready to run this race, and I know that I may be slow out there but I have what it takes to enjoy my run and be proud of my training. 

I thought these trees were really pretty.  I was also pretty sure I was completely lost at this
 moment but- suprise! I actually wasn't lost at this point.

When I signed up for this race it was an early birthday present to myself - my birthday is October 8th and the race is October 13th.  Other women buy themselves jewelry, I buy myself hours of running alone out on dirt trails.  Yep, never claimed to be normal!  Anyways, it will be my first race in my new age bracket since I am turning 35 I will be grouped with the 35-39 year olds.  I have no clue if that will help me, hinder me or make no difference whatsoever but I will find out soon enough!  HA!

I loved running through here, although it was really secluded and I had no
idea where I was or if I was going the right way!

My 18 mile run went really well.  It took me 3.5 hours to finish, which sounds like a really long time but remember that running on trails with rocks/loose dirt and HILLS galore (steep up and steep down) your pace is typically a couple of minutes slower.  Factor in that I have only done a handful of runs ever (and on pavement) over the 14 mile mark and my pace is just pretty slow out there.  I have learned to just turn that function off on my garmin because I don't care about pace when I am running 18 miles on trails- what matters more to me is that I am staying hydrated and fueled and enjoying myself. 

I popped out here not once, but TWICE! 
Definitely not in the right spot.  Oops.

I have learned that I love running the trails.  I love that there aren't any cars.  I love that there are trees and deer and nature sounds and chipmunks.  It is peaceful and my mind stays busy the entire time because the second I stop paying attention I get lost.  Oh, who am I fooling- that happens whether I am paying attention or not but I just don't care if I get lost anymore because when you are running 18 miles you have time to get lost and find your way again.  I love that I can run for hours without music and I don't miss it.  I love that when I get home and take off my shoes and socks it looks like I was actually running barefoot because my feet are caked in dirt.  Ok, I don't really love that part but it makes me feel like a bad ass.

Had to add one nice cheesy photo of me in for good measure!

This is how my run went- you can see I kind of went in the right direction. 
And you can see the lovely elevation chart as well!

I did go for a run down on the nice, flat, paved waterfront yesterday just to be sure there was some speed left in these legs of mine.  I managed to do 5.5 miles at an average pace of 8:53  so it is still in there somewhere!

Crunchy leaves- I think Fall has arrived! 
Don't tell anyone but it is my FAVORITE season.

         

30K Training Update

Right now I am 3 long runs and a taper week away from my big 30K trail run on October 13th.  So what has my training looked like over the last month?  I created a "training plan" of sorts for myself and this is how it went- I sure hope what I am doing is enough!

Aug 12th-19th: 6 mile run, 8 mile run, 9 mile run (trails) = 23 miles
Aug 20th-26th: 6 mile run, 4 mile run (on sand), 10 mile run = 20 miles
Aug 27th-Sept 2nd: 10 mile run (treadmill), 5 mile run, 12 mile run (trails) = 27 miles
Sept 3rd-9th:  5 mile run, 8 mile run, 14 mile run (trails) = 27 miles
Sept 10th-16th: 5 mile run, 6 mile run (tomorrow), 14 mile run (plan for Friday- trails) = 25 miles

This is where I parked last week- main trail head for all 3 trails

I am absolutely in love with running on trails, especially the trail system at Point Defiance.  It is so nice to have miles and miles of beautiful nature where you can still feel safe, have access to restrooms and your car if necessary and an added bonus for me is that it is literally only 2 miles from my house.  How have I taken 2 1/2 years to discover this amazing place to run when it is in my backyard?? 

I went on one of my usual routes the other day down to Wright Park and found that I was rather irritated waiting at stoplights and dodging cars/bikes/strollers/dogs.  Plus one reason I enjoy running is to be alone with my thoughts and just have some inner quiet time.  Between my kids, my husband and my job I am usually talking ALL DAY LONG and it is nice to just have quiet surrounding me for a change.  In fact I rarely take music with me on my runs anymore.  Crazy I know, but I am actually quite content with my own brain to entertain myself! 

They make it look so simple...and check out those elevation charts!

So last Friday I ran 14 miles down at Point Defiance, all of it on the trails.  Once again I had a grand plan: do the triangle trail twice, the circle once, and the square once- that added up nicely to about 14 miles and it would allow me to loop past my car every 4 or so miles so I didn't have to carry my fuel or water with me.  I headed out on the triangle trail and after a while I realized I had taken a wrong turn and was unsure which way to go.  Eventually I hopped onto the circle trail and followed it back out to my car but by then I was almost to 5 miles and I was thirsty and annoyed.  Why do I get lost on that trail every time?  I should have been back to my car at 3.5 miles!  I finally have the other 2 trails memorized and I know my way around pretty well- or so I thought! 

Ready for the trails!

Change of plans, I didn't want to risk getting lost again when it was so hot out and I was determined to keep my hands free and not carry water.  So I went around the outer square trail twice, then finished with a mile or so down the circle trail and back to make 14 miles.  I don't think I fueled properly during this run- it was warmer than I realized and even though I was shaded from the sun the air was still very hot and there wasn't much of a breeze.  I ate 3 shot blocks after 5 miles and drank about 4 ounces of water.  Then around mile 9 I was really hungry- like my belly was actually growling- so I sat in my car for a few minutes and ate a kid's cliff bar (honey oat), ate one shot block and drank some orange nuun.  I was hoping that would all sit ok as I started running again, and to my surprise it was just fine. 

Don't look down!!

I probably should have carried water for those last 5 miles, plus brought those last 2 pieces of shot block but I was intending to stop by the car one last time.  However, when I got close to my car I thought I might lose my desire to finish the 14 miles if I stopped for a minute so I just headed down the trail to finish the last 1.5 miles.  I finished around 1:30 in the afternoon and I was hot, thirsty and completely worn out.  I ate a protein bar, downed my nuun and headed home to get cleaned up.  It took me 2 hours and 33 minutes to run 14 miles of trails- not bad, and my pace is slowly improving out there.  The last time I ran a half marathon was in June.  And the last time I ran farther than that was almost a year ago!

My feet were SO dirty! 

That night I ended up with an awful headache that would not go away and I fell fast asleep on the couch at 8:30pm.  I would say that my run was a success but my fueling/recovery were not!  So I am going to repeat the 14 mile run this week and make it my goal to fuel better and recover better- and I have recruited a running buddy to meet up with me for part of the run.  However- part of me wants to aim for 16 miles instead of 14.  That part of me that doesn't like to fail and wants to always be prepared thinks I should run farther than I did last week. 

I have until Friday to figure it out.  What do you think I should do?  Run 14 again or aim for 16 instead? 

Anyone out there training for something amazing?  How is it going? 

Who is running You Go Girl this weekend?  I am a little sad to miss it this year but the timing just didn't work out for me.  Good luck to those of you running- Alyssa, Mel, Meredith- and others I am probably forgetting!   

A Nomination

So while I was on vacation the lovely Allyson at (so not) Super Runner Mom nominated my blog for an award -actually 2, the Versatile Blogger Award and the Liebster Award but I am just going to follow the rules for the Liebster.  Thanks for thinking of me Allyson!

The Liebster Blog award asks the blogger to do the following:
1. Answer 11 questions posted by the person who nominated you.
2. List 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Nominate 11 blogs.
4. Write 11 questions for the blogs you nominate.
So here goes nothing- the answers to Allyson's questions!

1. What is the oldest piece of clothing in your wardrobe (that you actually wear)?
Probably a khaki skirt that I wear to work from Old Navy.  It is cargo style and I bought it about 8 or 9 years ago but I love it.  Sadly it is starting to wear on the back pockets so this is probably my last summer with it.

2. What is your favorite drink?
Well, lately my favorite is really cold, pure tasting water since I am not supposed to be drinking my calories.  But I really love iced coffee without sweetener and a splash of milk.

3. What's your favorite race distance?
I love half marathons!  It is the perfect distance for me

4. If you could give your teenage self just one piece of advice, what would it be?
Start running!!!  I wish that I had started running in my younger years, but I guess starting at age 32 is better than nothing :)

5. What did you study/major in college?
I double majored at Central Washington University in 4 years, graduating in 2000.  I have BA's in Psychology and Family and Consumer Studies intending to get my master's and become a family therapist.  Halfway through my 4th year I changed my mind but finished my degree's anyways.  Some day I will go back and get a degree I will actually use!

6. Cilantro - love or hate? (I've determined that there is no in between on this issue)
LOVE it, especially in homemade guacamole. 

7. Brandon or Dylan? (Inspired by the Old Navy commercials)
OMG, Dylan all the way!  I had the biggest crush on him forever.  Hmmm...maybe I still do!

8. Have you ever run a relay? If yes, which one? If no, why not?
I have ran the Ragnar Northwest Passage for the last two years as well as the Rainier to Ruston relay last June.  I have been invited to do the Spokane to Sandpoint relay on an all girl ultra team next year- not sure I am quite ready for that but I am tempted!!!

9. How did you celebrate your 21st birthday?
Oh dear.  My roommate and I turned 21 about a week apart in college so we went out together in Ellensburg and our friends fed us drinks all night.  After my friend bought me a prairie fire (tequila and tobasco) I couldn't drink tequila for years.  I got a C on my statistics test the next day, I don't think my professor was too impressed.

10. What movie(s) could you watch over and over again?
I don't watch movies too often.  Lame I know, but I love oldies like Goonies, Dirty Dancing, the Breakfast Club or romantic comedies like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days or The Notebook.  I have watched the Twilight movies a lot.  Oh, and Elf.  I could watch that one over and over again for sure! 

11. How often do you update your blog?

Sometimes frequently.  Sometimes not very often at all.  Pretty much when I have time and something to talk about! 

And my 11 random things:

1.  I worked at a daycare while I was in High School and the kids all called me TT because apparently Tiffany is a mouthful for little kids!

2.  When I was a kid I didn't like peanut butter and now I could pretty much eat it with every meal.  My mom must have been really annoyed that I didn't like it.  I should ask her.

3.  I hate shopping for clothes- like actual day to day clothes.  I am terrible at fashion and tend to just buy boring shirts and simple pants and skirts because I am not creative that way.  And I do not know how to accessorize, nor do I like to wear jewelry.  If I could live in workout/running gear all day I would be happy!

4.  My first car was a 1983 Honda Accord that my dad taught me how to drive since it was a stick shift.  I am always amazed when adults don't know how to drive a 5 speed.

5.  I was in 5th year French when I was a senior in High School.  I can still understand it a bit and would love to visit France.  Or move there.

6.  I love dark beer- porters and stouts especially.  But I can usually only drink one since they are so rich.

7.  When I am an old lady I will eat ice cream every single day.

8.  I wanted to have 4 kids so I could have a big family.  Then I had my first and she was such a pill  delight that I had to reassess.  So 2 is much more reasonable!  My grandmother is one of 10- my great grandparents were saints!!

9.  I have sold Mary Kay, Partylite and Pampered Chef.  I am not very good at running my own business, but I love to host parties!!

10.  I have 5 tattoos.  I really want to cover one of them so I have been trying to come up with a design I like. 

11.  I have been wearing glasses/contacts since I was in 7th grade and would love to have Lasik Eye surgery.  I can't even imagine what it would be like to wake up in the morning and be able to see clearly!!

I am not going to nominate 11 blogs- simply because I think most that I follow have already done this or been nominated.  And I am feeling kind of lazy.  So if you want to answer some of Allyson's questions too, leave them in a comment for me!!   

Running at the Beach!

My running shoes are introduced to the beach!

Last weekend my family took a vacation to Longbeach, WA for 6 days- so of course I had to get some running in while I was there!  We rented a small 2 bedroom cabin with a kitchen and back deck about 1/3 of a mile from the beach.  I will post some vacation pictures in a day or two, but for now here is how my 2 runs went! 

This is the direction I was heading- the kites are in the distance.  And apparently my thumb is in
the top corner and I am too lazy to fix it.

On Friday I had convinced my daughter to go run with me on the beach, but the second she found out that the boys were hitting the pool while we were out she ditched me!  Can you believe it?  Haha, I couldn't blame her- she is like a little fish in the water- so I ended up running alone.  I set out for the beach, and headed out through the dunes into the soft sand.  Which is really hard to run in by the way.  I actually think my walking pace and running pace were about the same until I got down onto the harder packed sand! 

The beautiful ocean

But the sun was out and the waves were crashing and there were kites from the kite festival in the distance so I just went to my happy running place and set off down the beach.  I saw tons of birds, lots of dead crabs, some jelly fish, kites and a couple of other runners on my adventure.  After 2 miles I turned around and headed back, and by mile 3 my legs were pretty tired and I was realizing that running 10 miles on the beach was not going to happen the next day!  But my 4 mile run out there was really satisfying and I enjoyed every second of it- even dumping out 2 cups of sand from my shoes at the end! 

I really enjoyed running out there on the beach!

Not that I wouldn't have LOVED to do a long run out there, but the way the sand was slightly sloped was irritating my hamstring and honestly I didn't think my legs could handle running on sand for that long!  So I needed a new plan, and while we were out and about that afternoon I saw a pathway called the Discovery Trail along the boardwalk downtown.  I googled it (of course) and found out that it is an 8.5 mile paved trail that goes from Ilwaco to North Long Beach -perfect!  There is even a half marathon there on September 15th- I may need to add that to my calendar for next year because that path was amazing!



So on Saturday morning I got up and headed out to the highway- I ran 1.5 miles along the side of the road into town to the trail head, then followed the Discovery Trail for 3.5 miles all the was to Seaview, then turned around and headed back.  I stopped about 15 times to take photos and enjoy the views of the kite festival.  I should also mention that I forgot to bring my handheld water bottle and any sort of energy gel with me so I was carrying a plastic water bottle and had brought a pack of Skittles along.  Whatever, I was "roughing" it on this long run lol! 

I saw lots of bikers on the path, and several runners as well

I did stop in the bathroom around mile 4 really quick, and there was a lady in there washing out a shirt in the sink.  She looked at me and said "don't ask.  I dropped my shirt in the honeybucket outside and it's my marathon shirt so I had to save it".  The water was REALLY really blue and I looked at the shirt and it was a half fanatic shirt!  So I asked her if that was what it was and she said yes and we chatted for a little while -turns out she is from Bremerton and we had done a few of the same races.  I don't know if I could have fished a shirt out of a honeybucket, no matter how "clean" it was, rinsed it out and then finished running 2 more miles carrying it though.  What would you have done?

A bronze sculpture of Captain William Clark and a 10 foot long sturgeon

A gray whale skeleton

Overall, that 10 mile run was probably one of my favorite of all time.  The scenery, the sounds, the smells, the weather and I got to eat skittles and not feel guilty about it.  It was awesome.  The only part I didn't like too much was how much my skirt slid down for the first mile, until I got sweaty enough for it to stick to me I guess.  Maybe it is time for some new (smaller?) running skirts!  Hint, hint...my birthday isn't too far away!

Those kites were so cool!