Day 60

Hi friends - good day today. Very productive at work, ate well all day - even cooked a healthy dinner - finally got to go back to zumba and see Sarah (yay!) after two weeks, then capped off the night with another episode of Downton Abbey. Love that show!

Remember how my ankles and shins were burning during my run yesterday? Well the pain hasn't exactly gone away. My right knee ached on and off all day, and I can tell the tendons by both ankles are tight and angry. I have to run 6 miles tomorrow morning and I'm very nervous that it won't feel so good. To try to ease the pain, I spent the night icing.

Bum knee

Sad my knee hurts... but this smoothy is delicious!

Good thing we have a giant bag of frozen vegetables! Wish me luck on my run tomorrow morning... :-/

Day 59

I woke up this morning at what felt like 4:00am. Ugh. I thought I'd be exhausted all day, but surprisingly, I managed pretty well. Work was fairly uneventful, although I was excited to bring some of my new treasures to work.

Lunch bag from dad and new travel mug!

I know they seem like dorky treasures, but they make me think of home, so I like them. Rebecca came in during the afternoon and gave me the BEST half birthday present ever. Ok, it's the only half birthday present I've ever received, but I loved it!

World's smallest cupcake

After work Andy and I went for our 4 mile run, and Katie joined as well! I was so glad Katie ran with me... not only was it nice to see her, but my ankles and shins felt like they were on fire the whole time, so talking to her was a good distraction. The training program called for something a little different this time. At the end of our 4 miles, we were supposed to do 4 strides - basically building up speed over 100 meters and then holding an all out sprint for 5 seconds... thankfully you are supposed to walk for a bit in between each stride to recover. I was averaging a 6:30/mile pace on my strides. I was impressed, but also realized that if I ran that speed for 26.2 miles, I'd pretty much be in last place at the Olympics. Now there's a thought!

One last update on marathon news - airline tickets have been bought for both of my parents and myself!! Thank you Mom!

Total Miles Run: 175.85
Total Weight Change: -2.7 (about where I was when I left for vacation)

Day 58

I know I know.... another late post. Here's your Tuesday update (I'll keep it brief because there's not much to report).

Woke up at 5:30am - got ready/finished packing - said goodbye to Mom (sad but I will see her in less than 8 weeks so that made it easier) - panicked on drive to the airport (got stuck behind school buses) - panicked checking in (tight on time) - victory dance when my bag weighed 49.5 pounds (I am a master packer) - said goodbye to dad (sad but I will also see him in less than 8 weeks) - made it through security - bought a yogurt - boarded plane - called Rebecca to sing Happy Birthday to her (easy for me to remember as her birthday is my half birthday as well) - said goodbye to the beautiful West Coast.

Until next time mountains!

My flights went smoothly. No delays. No smelly/obnoxious/babies were next to me. Andy picked me up at the airport, we went out to dinner, then to the grocery store, then did a little unpacking, and then watched Downton Abbey. Not a bad first night back - although I must admit, after 6 years, it still does not feel like "home." I'm not sure it ever will.

Day 57

Happy Labor Day! Today marked the first day of the second half of training - 8 weeks down, 8 weeks to go. Typically I would only rest one day after a long run, which means I should have gone for a run today, but... Andy flew back in the early afternoon and then my parents and I spent the rest of the day completing my "to do list" before leaving. Since I fly out early early tomorrow, well... I don't think I'll probably run again until Wednesday, but that's ok. I will still get all of my mileage in this week, and my body will probably be thankful for a few rest days, especially since my sleep schedule is about to be waaaay out of whack.

So what was on my list of things to do before I fly back?

Phad Prik King for lunch - 3 Stars!!

Shopping at Nordstrom!!!

Frozen Yogurt at Red Mango!!!!

Not a bad way to spend my last day home. :-) Time to finish packing! With all of my new treasures, it will be quite the challenge.

Day 56

By the time I got home from Nicole's wedding, I was deliriously tired, so I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting. :-) Without further ado, here is my Sunday update!

Once again, I felt pretty good when I woke up in the morning (post long run). My quads felt a little heavy, but that was really it. I'm still amazed that I am not in worse shape after these long runs. *knock on wood*

In order to get to the venue in time for hair and makeup, I had to leave the house around 9:00am. On the way, I found out from Nicole that one of the hair and makeup ladies was sick and couldn't make it. I would have freaked out if I was her, but she was her usual positive relaxed self. Thankfully Jam (the lady that practiced doing Nicole's hair) was still able to come. I hope she treated herself to an awesome lunch, because she banged out 6 people's hair and makeup all in a row without even taking a bathroom break.

Jam working her magic

Right Side

Left Side

Time to get married!

Once we were all ready it was time for a few pictures, and then the ceremony! I was surprised at how nervous I was beforehand, but there was no reason to be. Everything went how it was supposed to, and Matt and Nicole wrote their own vows, which was very sweet. With the ceremony over, it was time to party! The drinks were great, the food was great, the music was great... everyone seemed to have a great time. My favorite part was dancing to Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Jump On It" with Nicole, haha. It brought back memories of the hip hop class we took together many years ago. :-)

Andy and Babs

My Mom and Dad were there too!

Congratulations Nicole! You were a beautiful bride and your wedding was fantastic. Thank you for letting me be part of your special day! Have fun at Disney World!!!

Mr. and Mrs. Hovland!

Day 55

I woke up this morning earlier than anticipated, which I didn't appreciate since I had a very difficult time falling asleep. I probably only got about 5 hours of sleep - less than ideal going into a long run. On top of that, my stomach didn't feel so great... not a big surprise considering what I ate the day before. Needless to say, I was very nervous for my 13.1 miles this morning.

We headed out to Green Lake again - as frustrating as the people were, it was relatively flat, and being near water and bathrooms is always a comforting feeling. Before I got started I made one last trip to the bathroom (I went three times again... must be my lucky number). Then Andy and I were off... and that's about the last time I saw him because he left me in the dust.

I'm bringing up the rear

The people proved to be less of a problem on this trip to Green Lake, but mostly because I knew what to expect and stuck to the outside lane. I made it about 12 miles until.... a little boy (I'm guessing about 5 years old) was riding his tiny bike in a totally erratic fashion and was on a crash course straight for my legs. Did I stop? No. Did I jump out of the way? No. I put my hand on his shoulder and I pushed him over. That's right. I pushed a kid on his bike hard enough that he fell to the ground. And I kept running. Don't mess with a girl on her long run!

Between my stomach not feeling well, being tired, and then being left behind and having to run on my own....well.... I pretty much had a 13.1 mile pity party. I know it is ridiculous. It isn't a competition. And I even ran really well (for me), averaging a 10:03/mile pace. That's the fastest I've ever run that distance! Regardless, I had a tough time feeling happy. I just felt like a big fat slow loser the entire time. Plus, once I stopped, my stomach started cramping and I had a hard time even standing up straight.

My whining aside, Andy did an amazing job. He ran 15 miles super fast - well under 10 minute miles, and it didn't even seem to phase him one bit. Way to go Brown Pants!

Still smiling after 15 miles

Once we got home from the run, I rushed to shower and get ready - side note: the chafing situation has improved! I've learned where Body Glide is needed and think I might have gotten it right this time. Anyway, it was a quick turn around and then I was back in downtown Seattle for manicures with Nicole and the other bridesmaids. The color Nicole picked was called "Pippa." Perfect!!!!

Bride to be!

Tonight was the last night that my parents, Andy, and I would all be together with free time, so we headed to The Ram for dinner - an old favorite from my UW days, and then to yet another casino. I think I used all my luck during my run (by not having an accident in my pants) because the casino did not treat me well.

Tomorrow is Nicole's wedding! I will try to update in a timely manner, but I have a feeling it will be a veeeeery late night, so no promises.

Total Miles Run: 171.54
Total Weight Change: -4.0

Day 54

Today's post is being brought to you by baddies. :-( I woke up this morning and weighed, like I always do, and was up a pound. Obviously after eating a big delicious dinner the night before, the number is not likely to drop - so I wasn't surprised, but the disappointment still set in. Bring on the baddies!

With our long run tomorrow, Andy and I had a running rest day, but still wanted to do something active. The weather was perfect so we headed to Alki Beach. We started our day at the beach with a stop at Tully's (I used to be a Tully's barista). I had a delicious latte and chocolate dipped biscotti (baddie number 1). Then it was time to get our fitness on.

Wheel Fun... hardy har har

What better way to cross train than riding bikes? Ok, swimming would be good too, but Puget Sound is pretty cold. Of course, we could have rented normal looking bikes, but why do that when you can get one of these...

Deuce Coupe

With the power of our biking skills combined we were flying! We definitely covered several miles on that thing, and the view the entire time was pretty awesome.

View of Downtown Seattle from Alki Beach

We worked up an appetite while biking, so we decided to hit this little Mexican restaurant on the beach.

Chips and salsa by the beach...excellent

The menu featured Yucatan-style Mexican food and everything looked really interesting, but the second I laid eyes on the stacked butternut squash enchilada, I was sold.

More (delicious) baddies

It wouldn't be a trip to the beach without an ice cream cone, so that happened too (baddie number 3). But all baddies aside, I had a lot of fun on our trip to Alki. It was a great way to spend a vacation day!

At night, Andy and I were off again, this time to Bellevue for a surprise pre-wedding dinner for Nicole. Turns out she knew all along! We had dinner at this really cool restaurant/wine bar and even had our own little alcove in the restaurant. It was the perfect way to spend time catching up with Nicole. And of course it didn't hurt that these bad boys were on the menu...

Little peanut butter donuts with jam dipping sauce

It was a lucky thing that I stopped eating for two seconds to even take a picture. Those little guys were deeeelicious! And by now I've completely lost track of all of the day's baddies.

Nichi-san and Barbie-san

Nicole looked so beautiful! I, on the other hand, was cursed with lack of packing foresight. At least I'm in Washington where anything goes!

Tomorrow morning is my long run - I'm scheduled to do 13.1 (half marathon) while Andy plans to do 15 (he wasn't able to do it last weekend because he was in New Mexico - with the heat, I'm not sure it's even safe to run more than 15 minutes there). We are going to go back to Green Lake. I'm going to know that path like the back of my hand by the time I finish tomorrow. I will admit, I'm very nervous about how I will feel during the long run because I certainly did not eat well at all today. While I'm sitting here typing this feeling very full and tired... well... I just wish I could sleep in and not run at all. Hopefully next week I will take better care of myself before the long run. Let this be a lesson future self!!