What I've Been Up To

Amongst all this crazy Hood to Coast business I haven't related to you the VERY EXCITING things that have been happening with me lately.  I know you've been dying to know too. 

1) A baby rabbit (we named Chopper Junior - don't ask), got spooked and ran from us directly into a trap - getting caught in between a rock and a hard place quite literally. 

Don't worry - we rescued him.

2)  We went to Emerald Downs, the local horse-racing arena.  It was a gorgeous day, and I love horses, so it was win-win-win. 

Look at that mountain!

Unfortunately, that win-win-win attitude didn't translate into any of my horses' minds.  I did not win a single $.  Though since I only bet approximately $6 (I've never been much of a gambler) I suppose I didn't lose much.

3)  (This happened before the great cat runaway incident of 2012!)  I thought I was getting a steal of a great deal by buying this cat carrier for $5 at a garage sale.  The cat no longer tolerates just being shoved in the cardboard box we brought him home in (it has air holes!  Don't look at me like that...) so his last vet visit was canceled at the last minute after we couldn't haul him there.  So when I found this I was ecstatic.

At least until I got it home and tried to put him inside.  Uh... guess I underestimated his size.  By a lot. 

He also didn't tolerate being shoved inside this either.  

4)  We went slip n' sliding in the backyard.

I SWEAR we only left the slip n' slide out there for a day or two, but this happened nearly immediately:

And now our backyard looks awesome.  Whoops.

5)  We recently discovered this AMAZING place that just opened in Bellevue called Total Wine.  It is SERIOUSLY a grocery store full of every beer, wine, and liquor in the WORLD.  It. ROCKS.  

I love trying new beers (which I think you've already gathered) so it took me a long time to make my selection - but this is finally what I settled on:

I had been looking for the Rogue Voodoo Donut beer EVERYWHERE (including at the real live Rogue in Newport!) so I was really excited to find it.  It was good and you could definitely taste the maple and you could kind of taste the bacon - but it's not something you'd want to drink a lot of.  I was kind of tired of it after half a glass, though it was interesting and I'm glad we got it. 

I love Wailua Wheat so that was an oldie but a goodie, and the Pumpkin Cider was delicious. 

6)  I won a Nuun swimcap in a Facebook giveaway!  I was seriously excited about that.  Now I just need to get my hands on the Nuun cycling jersey I have my eye on...

And that's about it.  Can you believe all these exciting things going on in my life?  Ha.

What's new and exciting in YOUR life??

BrewFest

This weekend we headed down to Oregon for the famous Oregon BrewFest.  We were supposed to go camping with my family but it was a long drive and everyone wasn't going to be there when we could go and blah blah blah we didn't end up going at the last minute.  So BrewFest happened at the last minute instead. 

BrewFest, in "theory", is my dream.  I LOVE tasting beers, especially delicious craft beers that have wonderful sounding names with words like cherry in them.  Yes, there was a cherry beer. 

 

Who can spy the creeper?

In practice though, I kind of thought BrewFest sucked.  It was ridiculously RIDICULOUSLY busy.  So in theory, you use 1 token to get a "taste" of all the different beers that you want to try.  IN THEORY. 

In reality though, the wait is so ridiculously long for all of the beers that you just pick the shortest line (instead of the kind you actually want to try) and then you just get a full beer instead of a taste because waiting in that claustrophobic line sucked so much you don't want to do it again any time soon.  And then that full beer you randomly chose doesn't taste so great and is a huge disappointment.

 

This kind of gives you a picture of how busy it was.

Whoa I sound like Debbie Downer over here again!  But you get the picture.  In theory, it could have been a blast.  And it was still fun, don't get me wrong, I wasn't pouting in the corner the whole time!  It just could have been a lot better if there'd been a) a million less people, or b) a lot more room and lot more beer lines. 

One major highlight was getting to meet up with Laura for a bit!  We didn't take a picture though - blogger fail.  But here's what we look like:

 Her husband didn't seem too pleased by our desire to rehash every second of Ragnar.  SORRY!!  :-)

Have you ever been to a BrewFest type event?  Do you enjoy tasting beer?  What's your favorite beer of all time?  Mine is definitely Blue Moon Spiced Amber Ale (winter seasonal).

Beaching it Up in Style

This weekend was a blast and a half and I’m so sad it’s over!  It would have been more fun if I wasn’t so swamped with work but I still had a great time and it was exactly what I needed.  Well except for the 10 hours of driving and a sewer leak issue, but that’s a disgusting story for another day. 

This weekend we headed to Lincoln City for the lovely 3 day weekend, though I was nervous about terrible weather since it has just been straight-up pouring here all week, including the drive there which was a torrential downpour (I heard we nearly broke the all time record with over an inch of rain in less than AN HOUR) and thunder / lightning the whole way.  But the weather cleared up and although it wasn’t exactly sunny and warm, it didn’t rain and it cooperated enough for some good beach trips and nearly 4 hours of running on Saturday.

Who wants to pay us to be models for advertisements?

Activities included:

1.  Beaching it up.  We all know how much Cooper loves the beach, and let’s face it, we mostly go there to indulge him.  So it was absolutely necessary he get tons of playing time – with dips in the surf, sprinting around like a mad man, digging random holes, etc.  He highly enjoyed himself.

2.  Some extremely competitive tennis.  JMan and I are the only ones who really play tennis but I saw some serious potential in people! 

There's JMan trying to pull out the between the legs shot.  Spoiler alert: he failed!

3.  Casino-ing it up.  I actually barely partook in this.  I fell asleep instead of going on the first night, only went for a little bit on the 2^nd night, and worked instead of going on the 3^rd night.  There is a SWEET dance club there that has some pretty hilarious people-watching though, which I definitely need to make more time for on future trips.  I was also devastated to find out I missed out on COSMIC BINGO!  Next time, next time.

4.  Running!  Didn’t I already mention my nearly 4 hour run on Saturday!  Well I added another hour on Monday, running a lovely 6.5 miles on the beach with Cooper (running with him off-leash on the beach is seriously one of my most favorite activities in the world). 

5.  Beer Tasting!  Duh!  Rogue Brewery in Newport is a must-see, and I enjoyed my little 4-sampler pack that included, in order of my preference: 1) Hazelnut Brown (remains my favorite of Rogue’s beers), 2) Orange Honey Wheat, 3) Chipotle Ale (spicy!), and 4) Tracktown Brown (I had to get this in honor of my long run!). 

6.  Salt Water Taffy Eating.  A trip to Depoe Bay to one of the best little candy shops around, Ainslee’s is always a requirement.  Hello, you can’t go to the beach without enjoying a little Salt Water Taffy.  Okay, you might also need some caramel corn.  And okay, that chocolate dipped twinkie must be tried!  It’s okay because I just ran 22 miles? 

7.  Bon-firing.  Boom.  JMan made that fire all by himself and he was quite proud. 

 

8.  Working.  Sadly, work majorly got in the way of my fun this weekend and I felt like a bit of a party pooper.  As I mentioned earlier I’ve been swamped lately.  I’m at the peak of my data collection for my dissertation and the next few weeks may be the busiest of my existence, which is unfortunate timing because there are lots of fun events going on plus the peak of marathon training!  I’m a poor planner, what can I say.  So if my blogging is less than par in the next few weeks, you now know why! 

What's your favorite beach activity?  How well do you deal with stress?

Seattle RnR Training Week #9

Wow, week 9 already?  Just 5 weeks to go!  One more big long run and then it's taper time baby!  The weather has FINALLY gotten nice in Seattle (in fact it's FANTASTIC) and I tried to enjoy it as much as possible this week.

Monday - You already know about my glorious 10 mile trail run at Pt. Defiance Park

 

Tuesday - 18.88 miles biking in 1:15 at Cedar River Trail = so lovely

 

Wednesday - Too busy, remember?  I ate my first watermelon of the season instead.  It was AMAZING.  And did you know cutting watermelon is dangerous?  Well for me, at least, it sure is.

Thursday - Another non-confidence-boosting run.  1.8 miles at Girls on the Run Practice and another 4.2 around the neighborhood when I got back.  I didn't feel great, that's for sure.

Friday - 90 minute tennis match - the last of the regular season (except we made it to the playoffs - woot woot!)  Good thing I didn't know we needed to win 4-1 (I thought we just needed to win) because I would have been WAY more worried when I nearly lost.  Won the first set easily 6-1 but then she turned into Steffi Graf on the changeover and I was suddenly down 3-0 and then 4-1.  But I came back to win 6-1, 6-4.

Saturday - Pretty much the best day of my LIFE, aka the Girls On The Run 5k.  This deserves an entire post in and of itself, but you MUST get involved with Girls On The Run if you can - at least be a running buddy for the fall season.  YOU WON'T REGRET IT! 

The girls were SO incredibly excited to get their medals!

Sunday - A very difficult Portland Rock n Roll Half Marathon in 1:47:50.  Plus 2 miles warm-up for a total of 15.14 miles.  Recap to come tomorrow.  Here's a preview:

Total running miles this week of 31.14 miles.  Not bad, though kind of abnormally inflated because last week's longest run was on Monday. 

Also accomplished this week included BBQ-ing steaks coupled with my latest Blue Moon find was a necessity.  Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat = Good, not great.  Spring is better, Winter is still the best.

How was your weekend?  How were your workouts last week?  What's new with you?

Tennis, Road Trips, Birthdays, & Hooligans

Hey, did you check out my Nuun Hood to Coast Application yet?!  If not, please do!  Now back to today's post - good post name right?  I'm extremely creative.  My weekend wasn't incredibly exciting, but I'll recap it all the same, because that's what I do - tell boring stories. 

• The weekend started out with a Friday night tennis match.  Whew that was exhausting.  It was by far the most grueling match I've had so far.  1 hour and 40 minutes later and I was thoroughly spent and completely drenched in sweat.  My opponent had an amazing serve / overhead combo and I truly didn't expect to win but somehow I managed to barely squeak out another win 6-3, 6-4.  

 Cooper was impressed with my skills.  He said, "Good job Mom."

• After the tennis match, despite getting home around 9pm, we headed down to Portland.  Ugh, that 3-hour drive so late at night is always a bad idea.  Soooo tired by the time we got there.

 

You remember this peanut butter on crack?  I devoured a bunch of this upon our arrival. You must try it if you still haven't.

• On Saturday we birthday-ed it up with our nephew.  He turned the big 3!  And he is freaking adorable.  Possibly the most adorable, happiest child in the world.  I adore him and wish we got to hang out with him more.  We got him a sweet dump truck that he loved and also a huge bubble maker thing that was really for us.  A few hours later, plus a few humongous bubbles, some frisbee, softball, and hula-hooping later, and our nephew, our three nieces, and ourselves were definitely exhausted.  

Look at that amazingly ginormous bubble!

 

JMan told me not to post this picture.  Like a good wife I did it anyway.  The world deserves to see his hula-hooping skills!

• Then we decided to drive back home.  I had no idea that would happen but was really ecstatic because it meant I would have running buddies for my long run.  But I already talked about that.

• Remember how two weekends ago someone broke into our car?  Well THIS weekend some hooligans egged that same car.  What a waste of a dozen eggs.  Don't they know eggs are pretty much my favorite food?  Lisa - forget everything you just read (I am trying to convince her to move to our neighborhood and talks of crime probably doesn't help my cause!). 

Then this happened: Blue Moon Spring Blonde Wheat Ale.  Not as good as Blue Moon Spiced Amber Ale (but nothing is), but definitely worth a looksie.  I was a good little carb-loader for Sunday's run.  Oh, beer's not a good carb source you say?  Blasphemy.

• We watched Tower Heist.  It was okay.  Not amazing but also not NOT entertaining (I love double negatives).  Several extremely poor series of special effects and some unbelievable nonsense at the end that I won't spoil for you, but it otherwise passed the time. 

• And finally, we finished my Nuun Hood to Coast application!  In case you can't tell I'm really REALLY excited about it.  Filming it was a blast and quite ridiculous.  I owe JMan a huge HUGE HUGE HUGE THANK YOU!!!  JMan is my ultimate partner in crime, always a great sport, and the #1 ultimate most fabulous director, producer, and editor of all things movie-making.  I could not have made the application without him!  I also owe him and Cooper a big THANK YOU for all of their impressive actor-work.  Don't you think Hollywood is calling their names?!

And that was my weekend!  Another lovely weekend down the drain.

How was your weekend?  What did you do?  Seen any good movies lately that I should watch?  

National Peanut Butter Day! My favorite day.

Can you see that?!  This is a picture of Big Papa, but Big Papa's Wife is on my left shin and they have a couple of babies running around on both legs.  This is evidence that chain-sawing is not only hard work, but it's dangerous!  So is hauling logs around the yard, which is actually what did this damage, not the scapegoat chainsaw.  Poor chainsaw, getting a bad rap.

In other news, it's National Peanut Butter Day!  If you haven't heard, peanut butter is my absolute favorite food and I could easily eat an entire jar if left unattended.  Anything made out of peanut butter (especially if chocolate is also involved) is delicious and wonderful.  So to celebrate this day I will take one for the team and have peanut butter with every meal.  Peanut butter in my oatmeal this morning made it all that more delicious. 

In other deliciousness-related news, Runner's World came out with this article that is pretty much trying to ruin my life.  They investigate if having a beer after a run (such as that which occurs at many races) hinders your performance or not.  The celebratory beer (at 10 in the morning, no less) is the reason half the runners get up at the crack of dawn to run races!  Why take that joy away from them?  Lucky for me, females in the study (with a tiny sample size of 10) actually performed BETTER after having a celebratory beer (poor men, they performed worse).  So cheers to that!  But no more research Runner's World, please, in case you find conflicting evidence.

The best beer in America.  If only I could buy JUST this and not the dumb sampler pack.  If you haven't  had it, get some.

Yesterday I swam 2,500 yards (50 laps).  I didn't drown (though there was gasping and flailing, as usual), so it was fairly uneventful.  I hate how I smell like a pool the rest of the day even if I take a shower after swimming.  

This is disgusting.  But funny at the same time.

Has anyone figured out how NOT to smell like a pool after swimming?  I would greatly like to learn your tactics.  Please share.  And have you tried Blue Moon Spiced Amber Ale yet?!