Veronica Mars for President

Oh hello!  How are you?  Whatcha been up to?  Here's the short version of what's been going on around here lately:

1.  Veronica Mars.
I had barely heard of this show and I can't even remember what made me finally watch an episode. After one episode, I wasn't a fan and I was ready to stop. But after two episodes, I was intrigued, and after 3, I was hooked. And now, after the first season, I'm about ready to proclaim it one of the best seasons of TV ever (except for season 3 of Lost, of course).

Speaking of Lost, weren't we surprised to come across this in season 2 of Veronica Mars!

Notice anything?!?!

So far season 2 isn't rockin' it as much for me, but I'll still keep at it until the end.

2.  Frozen.
Speaking of Kristen Bell, Lindsay, Robyn, and I recently unleashed our inner 9 year-olds and went to see Frozen. I know the whole world (and I think both L and R) loves that movie, but I thought it was just okay. Kristen Bell did rock it though and I'll definitely be downloading a few songs.

Honestly, I think I was most bothered by the incredibly tiny waists of the two main characters, princess Anna and princess Elsa (Veronica Mars and Elphaba, respectively). Brave seemed like we were on the right track to producing more realistic, self-reliant role models for our kids. And the story line gets it right, which is great.  

But the teeny tiny waists and the huge eyes and the dainty arms - they're just plain ridiculous.  Or, maybe I'm just jealous?

3.  Snow!
We got some snow! After complaining that Portland stole all our snow it ended up perfectly - we got a lovely little snow day Sunday morning without being trapped at home or missing school (though a 2 hour delay would've been grand!  But no thank you to more make-up days).

I was able to get in a perfectly lovely peaceful pristine 5 mile run in the morning - it's wonderful when the only footprints are your own! But man is running in the snow hard.

 
Baby J wasn't too impressed with sledding, sadly, but he seemed to think the snowman was okay.

 
4.   Fitbit!  Or... not.
I got a fitbit! But, then, I returned it a week later.

Since Christmas I've been kind of ogling over them and I finally got one last weekend. It was cool knowing how many steps I take especially while working (it's a big range, from 2,500 one day to 7,500 another day!) and tracking my sleep at night. But, like I thought might be the case, in the end I think it's just an overpriced gadget that I don't need.

If it tracked my heart rate also I think that would be amazing and I would totally have kept it though. So fitbit, you should do that.

5. Baby J turned 7 months! 
He is not even remotely close to crawling or pulling himself up like some other baby prodigies I know, which worries me, but I'm sure he'll get there in his own time. Hopefully?

 Check out those baby leg rolls!

What have YOU been up to lately??

Seattle St. Patty's Day Dash Race Recap

First, my best bud Leandrea ran the Georgia Half Marathon on Sunday - go read her race recap and congratulate her!

Second, Mom vs. Marathon got a 5k PR after months of really dedicated Run Less Run Faster training - go read her race report and congratulate her too!

Now onto MY race report!  On Saturday morning I ran the Seattle St. Patty's Day Dash.  I had REALLY wanted to do a St. Patty's Day race (though I was leaning towards Tacoma since I haven't done that one before and so many other bloggers were doing that one) but I really didn't want to spend the money since I'm already registered for so many expensive races this year.  But then a race entry just fell into my lap, so I leapt at it!  Thank you Jordanne and Kevin!

So you guessed it.  I went all out costume-wise.  Shocking right?  By this time you might have realized that my new thing IS racing in costume.  Let's be honest, it's THE way to go.  So I painted my nails for the first time in over a year (not an exaggeration), busted out my brand new shamrock-themed RazzyRoo headband I won from Tall Mom on the Run (Thanks Tall Mom!), and made myself a tutu.  I made this tutu half as short as my Disney Princess one and avoided all the nonsense of tulle between my legs (TWSS).  A $3 Wal-Mart tee and some Dollar Tree accessories pulled the outfit all together.

  

Remember when I talked about my weather delusions?  Yeaahhhhhh.  They're still there.  It was pretty miserable before and after the race (pouring, snowing, pouring again, you get the picture), though during the actual race it was actually quite nice, just drizzling.  I was definitely regretting wearing a skirt instead of tights until we started running.  Then I regretted it again as soon as we stopped running.  You just can't please me!

Jordanne and her brother's lovely girlfriend Amy did this race too (a few others planned to do it but slept instead!).  Here's the "before" picture:

 

This race is weird because it's a "nearly 4 mile jaunt".  Yep, that's official talk from the website.  Garmin said it was 3.72 miles.  This was also the most congested race I ever remember doing.  For the first half of the race we were running as fast as possible in all the congestion, seriously.  I'm just glad no one tripped or was trampled!  I did get a few compliments on my rockin' shoes and my tutu.  

So we started and then we finished!  There was a big long hill in there too.  

Splits of: 10:50 (seriously, this is as fast as we could go), 9:51, 9:38, 9:17

Total Time: 36:58   Average Pace: 9:57

This was the farthest Amy has run yet so we were really proud of her!  I was totally peer pressuring her the entire way to join us for a half marathon. :-)  You know me...!

And of course we had to celebrate our accomplishments in the warm and toasty Red Hook beer tent.  Races: Making it acceptable to drink beer at 9:00am since 1950.  I don't think it would go over so well if I just cracked a beer at 9am on my couch, but running 4 miles in a tutu makes it not only acceptable but encouraged!

It started snowing while we were in the beer garden.  Don't even get me started on my hatred for Seattle weather again.  There was Irish music in there, and then everyone started these building competitions with the empty cups.  Somehow it was quite exciting at the time.  Seriously, people were cheering and booing.  I can see now how you might not be so riveted by this story.

Thumbs up for a fun morning!

Did you do a St. Patrick's Day race?  How far did you run and how did you do?  Did you dress up?!

I Have Weather Delusions

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!  Right now I am off rocking my green tutu at the Seattle St. Patrick's Day Dash!  Wish me luck!

I am also probably getting rained on.  Which leads me to today's rant.  Come back tomorrow for my normally peppy attitude / pictures of adorable puppies like Cooper.  Because right about now I am beyond sick of Seattle weather.  The never-ending rain, gray, wind, dreariness, is too much to take sometimes.  I literally dream of beautiful sunny days, blue skies, warm weather, and summer.  WHEN WILL IT BE HERE?  Seriously, look at this weather forecast.

On Tuesday it was freaking SNOWING outside and I was NOT amused.  I am just SO sick of it and it is freaking mid-March people, can we PLEASE get some spring-ish weather.  

See, snow.  Not a lot, but annoying for March nevertheless.

Sometimes the weather makes me feel like defying it, like I'll show you terrible sideways rain, I'm going to do summer activities anyway.  I have major weather delusions.  Last weekend, for example, I had big plans that I wasn't going to let get ruined by the weather.  A big bike ride and then JMan and I would go golfing ($7 super twilight rates can't be beat!).  It was drizzling a little out, but what's a little rain, right?  Well my bike tire ended up being flat and it took 2 hours to fix it because fixing it is no easy feat (there's no quick release - total side story), and when I finally took it out for a quick spin around the neighborhood to test it out, I realized my incredible delusion.  I was instantly MISERABLE, as anyone would be biking in a rainstorm.

Maybe if I had "Bicycle Rain Protection" I COULD overcome the rain!  source

It. Was. FREEZING.  Obviously the bike made the wind and rain worse, but it was whipping my face, and I was practically shaking in cold.  You can guess what happened next.  No bike ride.  No golfing. 

Other days the terrible weather makes me feel S.A.D. (seasonal affect disorder anyone?) and I pretty much just curl into a ball of grouchiness and watch The Bachelor for 3 hours straight while eating a whole box of tagalongs.  Then I'm mad at myself for wasting my life on such terrible TV and the grouchiness intensifies.  It's a vicious cycle I tell you.  

 

source

WHEN IS SUMMER GOING TO GET HERE????  I'm ready.  I'm also ready to move somewhere warmer and drier, preferably southern California or Hawaii.

source

I'm bored of indoor winter activities.  I want to run, bike, golf, tennis, etc. outside in the sunshine.  I want to drink pina coladas and set up the slip n' slide.  I want to grill on the BBQ, play croquet in the backyard, and make smores in the fire pit.  I want daylight to last until 9pm and to worry about fitting in my run before it gets too hot instead of worrying about fitting it in before it's dark.  I want to float down the river on an air mattress (because I'm classy like that). 

 I want it to be like this every day. 

Does anyone else have winter delusions?  Suffer from SAD?  Ready for summer?

 

 Maybe this tiny pig wearing galoshes will makes you feel a little bit better.  How could it not?  It's SO adorable! source 

I Needed That

Another fail Sunday morning: met up with Jordanne and Lisa at Soos Creek Trail and the trail was still super icy and sloppy, and after about a .1 jaunt (and one peeing in the woods, of course, stupid bathrooms being locked!), we quickly determined that at least without the snow trax, it was too icy and dangerous for running.  I really wanted it to work out but they both seemed to want to go home, so we sadly parted ways all too quickly! I headed to the gym and busted out 3 quick miles on the indoor track (hate that thing) in 25:30 (pretty good, but it was on a pancake flat track and I was trying to go hard, and this was pretty much my maximum possible time allowed to still making it to my class on time!).  Then I headed to an hour of Centergy (it's a pilates yoga fusion that's usually quite a good workout and exactly what I need: lots of abs and hip opening).

Lots of Abs  

Lots of Hip Opening

Afterwards, I followed it up with another dump run with JMan to remove the tree debris, a big lunch, and a quick nap, but since my daylight hours were quickly waning I headed out to try to get in a "real" run.  As I mentioned before, this week was much too much "sometimes" running and I was in desperate need of a really good run.  WIN!  A great run.  I was able to get 7 miles in before it was dark (the last mile was a little too dark for my taste but I really wanted to get to 10 for the day, yes I know this doesn't count as a long run but I'll pretend like it does!).  There was some obstacle-coursing with the ice and downed trees / branches, but overall I felt great!

First Run: 3 miles, 25:30, AP: 8:30
Second Run: 7 miles, 1:02, AP: 8:56
Second Run Splits: 9:16, 9:14, 8:48, 8:48, 8:59, 8:33, 8:52

What did you do this weekend?  How far did you run?

An Ode to My Dad

My dad is the best. Who else would drive 3 hours each way and arrive with a chainsaw in tow (chainsaws are sold out everywhere in Seattle right now!) to help save our appendages?   He's the best.

This is my Dad.  He's a really, REALLY good sport!

That's my Dad again.  He made all those hats for everyone for Christmas!  Isn't he amazing?

Lisa is also the best for loaning us her amazing Swedish gas-powered chainsaw. Without her and my dad we would not have accomplished this.  It only took one full Saturday of exhausting hard work (but it is fun to chop things!), two huge loads to the dump (and $80 in dump fees), two chainsaws, 3 people, 3 Quizno's sandwiches, 2 massive bruises on my shins, and many aching muscles, to remove all of this:

The view from our yard.

The view from the neighbor's yard.

We still have all of our appendages, no one was seriously injured, and both fences remain intact!  I'll call that a WIN!  And our yard is back to looking like crap like usual great (it's normal to have half a tree in your yard, right?):

So the obligatory winter storm is over.  We had fun, we suffered, and it appears we've recovered. We still haven't learned any lessons about preparing for power outages.  We're idiots.  Commence summer, stat.

THANKS FOR BEING THE BEST DAD, 

AND FOR BEING THE BEST, DAD!

source

Who else has a fabulous father?  I bet he's not as fabulous as mine.  Anyone else on clean-up duty after the storm this weekend?

Too Much "Sometimes"

1. I'm really working on the "sometimes" part of Ricole Runs this week and I don't like it! With the new plan I only get to run 3 days a week anyway, but with a really terrible (and ridiculously short!) treadmill run on Wednesday, Monday is my only good run this week. This morning I looked outside and the streets and sidewalks are so disgustingly sloppy with slush that I decided to take my chances it will be gone by tomorrow. I need a good run this weekend!

2. In other workout news, yesterday I swam 50 laps (2,500 yards, or about 1.35 miles), a new distance record for me! I may not be getting faster or killing any fewer of my precious few brain cells, but I do feel like I'm getting a bit stronger at it. I could have kept going. The real reason for going to the community center though = they had power! We lost power all day yesterday (sure makes you thankful for electricity) thanks to all the falling trees (like the one in my backyard).

3. In other other workout news, today I rode the bike trainer for 45 minutes. It was super boring and unimpressive, but I wanted to do something, and it was the least of the evils (and the most convenient).

4. My dad is coming today to help us chainsaw the tree without killing ourselves or causing more damage! Isn't he the best? I think so. So check back in later to make sure we still have all of our appendages.

What are you up to on this lovely Saturday? How far are you running this weekend?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Done With You, Storm

Our trees are falling into neighbors' houses, our powers out, our pets HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!

We're done with you now storm. Leave us alone.

Cooper didn't like that joke very much.

Another Snow Day!

After waiting not so patiently last night around 10pm I finally got what I'd been craving: the text that said Thursday would be another snow day.  Yesterday I had ideas of cleaning the whole house and getting a lot of chores done, but instead I played in the snow all day instead. :-)  So I better get to those chores asap!

Yesterday JMan unexpectedly got to leave work at 12pm, which was the best news EVER because it meant we got to play in the snow before it was dark out.  Yes, we were the only adults (without kids) playing in the snow at the park.  Yes, haven't I mentioned before I'm 12 years old?

Cooper had the best day of his life.  Seriously. 

I made a sweet snowman.  But I was too lazy to go home to get it a face. 

And we threw snowballs for Cooper to catch / eat.  Then he threw up.  A lot.  Enjoy, kids! 

We sledded down this sweet hill that someone had added a skateboard jump to!

It was a great great day!

Yesterday I also ran 3 miles on the treadmill - I did 2 400's at 8.0mph (7:30) and 5 .1's at 8.0 during the 2nd and 3rd mile.  I hate hate hate HATE the treadmill so I broke my rule of striving for workouts of at least 6 miles (since I only get 3 running workouts a week under the new plan), also my shins were kind of bothering me which was worrisome.  Stupid treadmill.  Afterwards I walked 2 more miles.  Why does the treadmill suck so bad?

Of to do chores!  Probably.  I definitely won't have a Pan Am marathon.  Chores for sure.  

What's your favorite snow-day activity?  What's your favorite TV show that I don't watch but should?  I need entertainment ideas.  

Adventure Recaps: Cosmic Tubing

The snow is here!  It's a snow day for me today, and JMan gets to leave at noon (why they even had him drive in today seems awfully silly) so we have a big day of sledding ahead of us this afternoon.

Cool picture of my trash can.  I don't know how much snow that is but it's more than  Seattle normally sees!  4 inches?

In workout news, I swam 41 laps (2,050 yards) last night.  A new distance record!  Not much else to say about that.

So it's time to recap a weekend adventure!  This weekend we decided to try out cosmic tubing at Mt. Hood: on weekend nights they bust out the music, black lights, and strobe lights (think cosmic bowling).  A bunch of us headed up the mountain and enjoyed some Christmas cheer (what, it's January and too late to be drinking Christmas-themed drinks?  I doubt it) and racing down the mountain.  Granted, it would have been a lot more fun if the hill had been steeper / longer (TWSS), but it was still a blast.

The tubing hill

Yup.  I made that.  No big deal. 

Skiing is definitely an adventure in my near future. 

JMan and I at the lodge.  It was bitterly cold and my cheeks show it!

 

Ever tried cosmic tubing?  What should I do with my fabulous free time today?!

A Fail and a Win: What a Difference 2 Days Make

After the terrible run of January 14, 2012, I was in need of a confidence boost. This run did not disappoint.  But let's back-up to the fail part of this post, shall we? Lisa and I planned to meet at 10am to hopefully bust out 10 miles.  If you know the Seattle area at all, you know that we rarely, if ever, get snow.  So when it happens (which it has!) everyone is worried about it.

It snowed here!  A Festivus Miracle.  Cooper highly enjoys the snow. 

So while we both hummed and hawed over the driving situation, the actual running situation was the last thing from our minds.  So when I arrived at her apartment and began walking to meet her, and immediately fell approximately 1.2 million times in less than 5 minutes, I knew this was a horrible, horrible idea.  In true optimistic spirit, we trudged about a half mile or so (in which I managed to somehow step in a frozen puddle, break through the ice, and proceed immediate frostbite on my poor toes) before we finally admitted defeat.  I drove home and found my perfect couch indentation waiting for me and the coffee still hot.

On the way home I stopped at Costco and picked up some "snow trax", which I had been eyeing for weeks but somehow always convinced myself that I "didn't really need them" since it so rarely snows here.  Too bad we hadn't each had these this morning!

Those are my sweet Saucony Mirage's wearing some bling. Snow trax = the poor man's yak trax?  $14.99 for two pair at Costco.

Flashforward a few hours (after getting some Once Upon a Time indulgences) and I decided to try out the snow trax.  I did one neighborhood loop with them but realized the sun had melted much of the iciness so I came home and dropped off the snow trax, as well as my hat, gloves, over-sweats, and sweatshirt.  I wanted to do 5 miles but since I still felt good at 5 I decided I would go on for as long as felt good for.  I felt great!  What a change from 2 days ago when my legs felt like lead and I wanted to die!  This run. was. fabulous.  Fabulous fabulous.  Lovely snow views, lots of kids out sledding and building snowmen, I felt great, I did not fall, etc.  I made it 10 miles!  I felt very tired in the 10th mile (thus the slow-down) but by then I knew I had to make it to double digits.

The view on my run.  Isn't it peaceful and lovely?

Total Time: 1:32:48    Average Pace: 9:17
Splits: 10:17, 10:12 (cautious while wearing the snow trax in these miles), 9:04, 9:15, 9:18, 8:51, 9:03, 8:57, 8:28, 9:22

Win!

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Do you run in the snow?  How do you manage it?   Do you watch Once Upon a Time?