All is quiet ...

Because I haven't been running (sad!).

Last week I went for a run over lunch on Thursday. When I left, it was sunny. About two and a half miles in, it started raining. Well, pouring. Sideways. And blowing. I had two miles back to the office, in the cold rain (and had left in shorts and a thin shirt). So not only was I running faster than normal, I was probably also paying less attention to my form. Of course, my knee was really bothering me at the end of that run.

The next day, bam! Head cold. So now, my knee hurts (even when I'm walking) and my head is all stuffy. With my poor body screaming that loudly, I had to stop, and haven't run for a week. Tomorrow is the first run, 4.5 miles. I missed a long run, so I'll go seven miles on Saturday, but next weekend have to run 9. I don't like the idea of a two-mile jump, but I don't really have an option. And besides, the most I'll run before the half marathon is 10, so that will be a 3.1 mile jump. Might as well get a little practice in, huh?

In the meantime, I've been doing a lot of squats and hip strengthening exercises at home, to help keep my knee where it's supposed to be when I run. I'm going to have quads of steel. (ha).

Rain, rain, go away

I passed on my regular Wednesday afternoon run, mostly because by the time I got home it was pouring outside. After a week of being able to run in some slightly warmer sunshine, going back to the cold rain is hard to do.

To my delight, the sun was shining when I left my office around 12:30 for my 4.5 miles. It stayed out for about 2.5 of those 4.5 miles. Then, just as I was realizing I took a wrong turn somewhere in Medina (where, by the way, I saw two cop cars in three blocks ... man that city-neighborhood-thing has a lot of police busy keeping riff-raff out), it started sprinkling. About 5 minutes later, it started raining. Then, just as I was starting the last mile of my run, it started raining sideways.

I felt bad for all the suits that had left their office to walk to lunch sans umbrella and had to return in that downpour, because by the time I was back at my office, I was dripping wet. And cold—it was not a warm rain. That's what our locker rooms with unlimited hot water are for, right?

I did better than my time on Monday, but I think that was a combination of wanting to be out of the rain and the cold weather numbing my knee, which once again hurts. Though not as badly as it did after my Monday run.

Saturday brings seven miles. Bum-bum-buuum.

Tater-tot-touille

Midwest meets French peasant food.

Months ago, we tried a ratatouille recipe from this cookbook. It's basically a bunch of slow-cooked vegetables. The book suggests serving it over rice or something similar. Traditionally, ratatouille is cooked on the stove top then baked in the oven, like a casserole. Thus the idea for baking it with tater tots on top came about. Everything is better with tater tots!

We've now made this twice.

 As for my run today, I was still tired from the race and all the walking I did on Saturday. My legs felt really heavy and my knee was hurting, but I finished my 4.5 miles ... eventually. Along the way, a lovely bird dive-bombed me. First of the year. For a minute I thought I was in the clear. I wish I could see myself getting dive-bombed, because I have a feeling it's really funny.

Now a day of rest. On Wednesday, another run, this time with my sister, who will be in town. Hope we get another sunny day for the run. Today was beautiful.

8:50?!?

My husband says I'm officially a runner now that I've completed my first race.

We both were up early to head to the race. Nothing like getting up before 7 on a Saturday. The UW Bothell 5k race was kind of strange—there are two points where you go down and back, so you're passing places you've already run; the start and first half of the race are on relatively narrow paths so there is jostling and bottlenecking; and the final half mile goes up this killer hill (and this is coming from someone who runs hills on every run due to where our house is located). BUT, it was pretty, the sun was shining, and we got a free (really really) purple T-shirt.

We ended up starting near the front of the pack, just because that was where we were waiting before the race started. Due to this, my first mile was finished in 8:50. I had to look at my watch about three times. I don't think I've ever run a mile that fast before. Of course, that pace didn't stay, but I ended up with a time of 31:57, an average pace of 10:18, 12 seconds faster than the 10:30 pace I had as my goal. My husband (I'll brag for him here) did it in 21 minutes. So proud!

My next 5k is going to be under 30 minutes.

Funny note about the T-shirt. They're UW Bothell shirts, of course, but the logo is a big, white W on a purple shirt that says Bothell under it. If I cross out the Bothell, its pretty much the same logo as my alma mater, Winona State. Heh. I need a purple sharpie ...

Race day No. 1

It's less than two days away. I'm running a whopping 5k on Saturday morning. Very excited, however, as this is the first "official" race I've ever participated in. As in, I paid money to go run for three miles. At least my money is going toward scholarships for college students at UW Bothell.

The best time I've logged on my training runs thus far is a 10:44-minute mile pace on a 3.5 mile run last month. So, with an slightly shorter distance, and the energy of a race, maybe I can duck under that mark. 10:30, anyone?

Tomorrow is a rest day, and this week I've been loading on protein, since I feel like I haven't been eating enough. Hopefully this all helps boost my energy, which has been lagging this week despite the beautiful weather Seattle is having. C'mon, tofu, help me wake up!

Woot!

Ran another four miles today. My goal was to beat my time from Monday, since I was running the same route, and to my surprise, I not only beat my time, but ended up running 11-minute miles. Only one more minute to knock off before I hit the time I'd love to be running.

The UW Bothell 5k is on Saturday. We'll see how fast I can run that one. I really don't know anything about the race, so any hills will be a surprise.

Next week training amps up again, two 4.5 mile runs and seven miles on the weekend. I'm only about six weeks out from the big race.

Barefoot running creeps up again

It's so trendy right now.

I ran into my neighbor the other day (the sun will do that), and he was wearing some FiveFingers. He informed me they are really hard to get in Seattle, since barefoot running is now the trendy thing.

I wonder if its popular just because its trendy or because its helpful for those of us with knee/foot/ankle issues. I'm sure some of it is trend, yes, but I just read another interesting article about barefoot running, and this one also talks about wearing shoes with less cushion as a way to possibly prevent injuries. That's interesting because my dear husband swears the cheap shoes he picks up at a Big 5 or Sports Authority are easier on his knees over the long term than the more expensive ones purchased at the local running store.

I've never run in cheap shoes. I didn't start running until college, and at the time I thought a person needed good shoes. So I always had decent running shoes. When I started going farther, I went to a running store and was fitted for shoes—even running on a treadmill while they filmed my feet to see if I over or under pronate.

Currently when I run, as long as I don't get too tired and am careful to keep my form, I don't have issues with my knees. But as soon as I start to get tired and my form goes, the knee pain starts up. Maybe less cushion would be the answer because I'd be forced to run properly.

Or I can just keep reading online articles that contradict each other while using my exerband to strengthen my hip muscles.

Grill time

Beautiful day again today. It was even warmer than yesterday, and the sun has been out in full force all day. There was yard work completed, but more importantly, we put together the boxes that are going to make up our gardens! Hopefully we can get them filled this week and buy some plants next weekend.

One of our errands today was to refill the propane tank because its finally time to grill for dinner. And grill we did. Pork chops for the husband, and for both of us, two different packets of goodness. One: lentils, sweet potatoes, red bell pepper, green beans, raisins with an Indian-curry-ish spice mix, topped with some papaya chutney after it cooks on the grill. Two: baked teriyaki tofu, pineapple, red and green bell pepper, green onion and a coconut milk sweet-and-sour sauce. This one was topped with basil, mint and hickory-smoked almonds after it was cooked.

SO GOOD. Looked like summer, tasted like summer, and full of vitamins, minerals, protein and all that good stuff. I love it when new recipes turn out.

Slow and steady ...

Six miles this morning. Luckily the sun is out and its finally starting to warm up. I got to run in shorts and a tank top, plus a hat and sunglasses. Beautiful running weather.

I was only at a 12 minute/mile pace, but the goal is to finish the race, not run it in a certain time. This time. The next race goal will be to beat the previous, but I don't want to get ahead of myself.

This week ended up being kind of a protein-loading week. Hopefully it helps put some more muscles on, because I'm at the point where my muscles get tired long before I can start to challenge my cardio fitness.

Next week is the 5k race. Easy after today's six miles. Maybe I can hit my 10 minute/mile goal in the short race ...

Barefoot=hippie ...

Once again, signs point to me being a hippie. 

I still think I'm going to try the Vibram Five Fingers, just to see if it gets rid of some of my knee issues. As he says in the article, speed is not my goal.

The candyman can

I have had this song in my head for far too long today. I'm not really sure where it came from; I haven't watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in a couple of years. Maybe it was the sunshine?

I lucked out this week—my second short run of the week was today and not only was the sun shining, but also it was 60 degrees outside. Downright balmy this time of year. I really needed the nice weather. I had a grueling cardio/strength class during lunch today, so I wasn't feeling like running. My quads were (and still are) begging to be left alone. But with the sun out, how can I skip a run? So I put in my four miles (in shorts!) and hopefully when I wake up in the morning I can still walk. Tomorrow's workout includes 30 minutes on a bike; my poor quads. Hopefully today's run helped get the lactic acid out from all the squats earlier in the day.

The run went great, as they usually do during a nice-weather spell. I even managed to hit a handful of lights on the walk signal all in a row. It's hard to go more than a mile in Seattle without having to stop for a light, so this was a welcome change. I doubt there are any stoplights during the half marathon.

Saturday brings six miles. Hope this nice weather returns Saturday morning. Hear that, Seattle weather gods? I need sunshine!

Portland

Portland, looking toward the Pearl District (I think) from a drawbridge (we were waiting for the drawbridge to lower).

The hubby and I were in Portland last weekend for two and a half days (about). We had a lot of fun, and I learned that if you're vegan, Portland is a great place to be. There were more food options than I've ever seen before, so we basically ate our way through the city. And some of the best options we couldn't even hit, since they were food carts that are open weekdays. Too bad, really. We'll have to go back in the middle of the week.

Woooooo, wooooooooooooo!

We took the Amtrak train down, and were staying right downtown at the Ace Hotel (very cool hotel, if you're ever in town).

Every room is different, with the artwork directly on the walls. This was the "together" room, since the wall opposite the hands said "together."

Portland has fantastic public transit, but really, its a small city, and especially in the downtown area, a person can walk everywhere. Friday night we just grabbed some snacky food at the restaurant attached to the hotel, Clyde Common. This place is one of the it places in Portland, because it was busy every night we were there, including Sunday night. Even the hotel lobby was busy, as it's attached to a Stumptown Coffee (sorry, not a coffee drinker, so we didn't go there and thus I have no opinion). Clyde Common has some awesome pimenton popcorn (pimenton, I've learned, is Spanish paprika) and good drinks. It was an early night, as the next day we both had our long runs of the week to do.

Saturday brought wind and off/on sun/rain. I ran five miles through the downtown/Old Town/Chinatown/Pearl District, including a short run down the riverfront where they have a big park. It was a pretty good run—Portland, compared to Seattle, is really, really flat. So it was also a pretty fast run (fast for me).

We headed to the Saturday Market after our runs, where I had a fantastic tofu scramble from a vendor there. Tofu scramble! It's really hard to find that in a restaurant here, much less a street vendor. I could barely eat the whole plate, it was so much food (for $6!).

Home of the tofu scramble, and the scramble before I devoured it.

We found a beautiful drawing at the Market, too, that the artist, Sienna Morris, is shipping up here. She does really neat work, drawing things using only the numbers on a clock. It's this interesting take on pointillism.

After the market I wanted to check out a vegan bakery that is really popular in Portland called Sweatpea Bakery. I believe it's in the East Burnside neighborhood, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Sugar coma ... so good ...

Anyway, we walked in and most people were having lunch, but as we'd eaten at the Market, we got instead a lemon bar, a Charlie Brown bar (this was the hubbys, as it was mostly peanut butter—ew) and a slice of cookies and cream cake, all vegan. Hubby also got a bowl of tomato-basil soup that was really good. I was in it for the sweets though. Best lemon bar I've ever had, pre- or post-vegan.

Turns out, the bakery is in a vegan mall, so next door we found Herbivore, the clothing company (I got a couple awesome t-shirts) and down from that, a vegan grocery store that we didn't go in (too much food from the bakery). Around the corner was a place called Bartleby's, a neat little letterpress/card shop. I think there were some other stores in there, too, that weren't open on Saturdays.

With the long run done, we could go out on Saturday night, but walking back downtown I tweaked my knee somehow, and so was gimping the rest of the night, putting a bit of a damper on our plans. Before dinner, I took the hubby to Powell's Books, where we wandered (slowly) around until we were hungry.

On the left, found at Powell's Books--this is our life. On the right, the hubby with one of his favorite author's signatures on one of the sig walls.

Dinner was at this Peruvian place called Andina, which was really cool because they not only have a special vegetarian menu with at least five different things that can be made vegan (this is so rare in a restaurant, I'll take just five options) but also they had a gluten-free menu. Finally a place that understands friends with all different diets want to go out and have a fun dinner. This was another popular spot, because we got one of the last tables at the bar, and it was just after 5 when we walked in. The hubby got some meat, I had a really good quinoa and mushroom ... thing. I don't remember what it was, but it was good. I also tried their vegan sorbet, blood orange and cilantro, but that really wasn't the best. Too much cilantro, not enough orange, and too sweet all around. Oh well. I had already eaten some cake and a lemon bar earlier.

We stopped back at Clyde Common after dinner and had another drink and some more of that popcorn (I need to find Spanish paprika...) before we were done for the night. My poor knee was really angry with me.

After sleeping all night, the next day my knee was fine. It's the strangest thing. Sunday we stood in line for like 45 minutes to try Voodoo Doughnuts, another Portland institution.

Found in Voodoo Doughnuts. Zombie doughnuts!

They have a long list of vegan doughnuts, which was really nice. I tried a cake glazed and a raised Gay Bar (cream-filled bar with white frosting and a rainbow of Fruit Loops on top). The hubby got one cake and one raised doughnut, too (non vegan) and we both decided the cake doughnuts weren't that good. The raised were much better, but I still prefer Mighty-O in Seattle. Mighty-O does glazes on top instead of frosting, and for me, the frosting was too much.

After the Voodoo experience, we bussed up to Mississippi Avenue and just walked up and down, checking out that neighborhood. It had a ton of quirky stores. We stopped at The Laughing Planet Cafe, where they have lots of vegan options—and fantastic guacamole.

Thoughtfully enjoying my Laughing Planet food.

I had some mushroom-barley soup, which was fantastic, and a vegan Caesar salad, which wasn't as good as the one I make at home. For dinner, we were still on Mississippi, so we tried the Mississippi Pizza Pub (another Portland institution according to some magazines), where we hit happy hour. $1.75 slices, and they always have a vegan pizza on! It's pesto based and was really good. Giant chunks of vegetables, including kalamata olives and artichoke hearts, which I love on pizza. And, the slices are huge. I guess this place has live music almost every night, and once a week they do an adult spelling bee. There is also a kids' spelling bee hosted on Saturday afternoons.

We headed back to Seattle on Monday, stuffed to the brim. Eating so much probably explains why my run tonight wasn't so great. I just felt really HEAVY. My legs were heavy from all the walking over the weekend, plus I had all that extra food (and sugar) in my system. I was also nervous about my knee, since it was so troublesome over the weekend. I did four miles, though, and it went fine. I could definitely tell I hadn't had my Monday yoga class, though. Now, it's back to normal. Only two more months until the half!

Thanks Portland!