Ode to Seattle Fall Weather

I'm not one to love on Seattle's weather.  The rain, the dreariness, oh man don't even get me started.  And I did feel a little cheated out of a "true" summer this year - with not many truly hot days to enjoy.  But I seriously take back most of my animosity thanks to this FABULOUS Fall we've been having.  Seriously, it doesn't get much better than this.  Day after day of 70+ degree weather, perfect blue skies and sunny days, oh it's lovely alright.  And unless I'm wrong (which is quite possible!) the last time we had measurable rainfall was sometime in July. 

Cooper loves this weather too.

And I enjoyed this weather all week!  I had a good week of workouts - I haven't been as proud of a week in a LONG time.  So let me brag about it a bit. 

Monday - 6 lovely miles in the sunshine I was just describing

Tuesday - Met Lisa and Jordanne for a running reunion, our first in FOREVER, and pumped out another 6 miles

Wednesday - Wednesdays are my proclaimed rest days this fall - too busy to ever think otherwise, so why try?

Thursday - I had a happy hour planned with a few colleagues, so running after a margarita and some fries was less than ideal, but I got 3 miles done just as the sky was darkening.

Friday - 30 boring minutes on the elliptical

Saturday - 12 (yes, TWELVE!) miles on the trail with Karla, Kerrie, Lindsay, and Alma!  It was AWESOME.  It was super chilly when we started at 7:30am but was a gorgeous day - but didn't take my long sleeve off until mile 10. 

I had Karla for 2 miles, Kerrie and Alma for 7 miles, Lindsay for 8, and then I pumped out 4 on my own.  The most I have done in a WHILE. 

The trail!  I'm pretty ecstatic about the new panorama feature on the iPhone. 

Sunday - After working for a bit, I rewarded myself (on ANOTHER wonderfully gorgeous day) with a biking trip on the trail - and I busted out 30 miles in 2 hours even!  A distance record on the bike for me (I think)!  

So yeah - 27 miles of running, 30 miles of biking, and 3 miles on the elliptical.  I'm going to call that a solid win for me this week.  :-)  

How was your weekend?  What did you do?  Did you race?  PR? 

Watching the Fireworks in Style

So the 4th of July was pretty much the best day ever.

Not only did I start it out with the 1st Annual 4th of July Mimosa 10k Fun Run, but then we proceeded to get on a BOAT to watch the fireworks.

That's a sparkler, in case you live under a rock. 

Watching the fireworks on a boat is definitely DEFINITELY the preferred method.  I will no longer ever be satisfied by watching them from land. 

Yes, I am a professional photographer.  Thanks for asking. 

And did I mention that SUMMER FINALLY came to Seattle - and we were hit with the most gorgeous sunny day ever? 

 Seriously a perfect day.

The day was perfect at least until I came home and remembered that Cooper is a freak / nervous Nelly and tore a hole in the carpet in fear of the fireworks.  Fireworks and thunderstorms happen so rarely that I always forget about this little quirk of his.  Goodbye hallway carpet.

 But how could you ever stay mad at this face?!

What did YOU do on the 4th?  Are you loving summer weather or what?!?!

Could it Be? Is it Spring?!

What's funny (hiillarrrioussss) about this post is that I wrote it on Monday, after two fabulously sunny weekends in a row.  Then it proceeded to pour rain for the rest of the week.  I had not one, not two, but THREE sloppy rainy wet disgusting runs this week.  That's 100% of my runs, for those of you not too good at math.  So don't let this optimistic post fool you, I'm still skeptical.  But I'll still post it anyway even though  it seems the sun is cheating on me.

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I've had several hints that spring may actually be coming (or be here in fact!) but I've been too scared to acknowledge them until now.  The weather has hurt me badly in the past, and I'm not sure if I'm ready to trust again yet. 

But as I go about my day, I see little hints that are difficult to ignore:

 

Could it be?  Is it finally truly spring?  Have I made it through my weather delusions?!  Is it almost time for fun in the sun all summer long again?  I sure hope so. 

   

Don't let me down this time weather.  You can do it.  I believe in you.

I am SO ready for summer and summer activities like this: 

So, weigh in.  Is it spring?  For REAL?!  Will I make it through the SAD and to the other side?  Can I banish my weather delusions for good?