Finishing Vertically in Austin

That was my main goal for Austin this past weekend.  

A full report to come - had to hit the ground running (ha) upon my return from the long weekend. 

I had to dig really deep to get this one.

Under the Weather

I've been sick since Saturday.  First the sore throat, then the sneezing and nose blowing.  Now the full blown coughing.  I leave for Austin in 3 days and I'm officially worried. Heading to the doc this afternoon to see if there's anything I can do to speed this thing along.

I'm winded going up the stairs.....that doesn't bode well for 13.1 miles of running on Sunday.

Hoping for a speedy recovery!

Countdown to Austin

Well, here we go.....the countdown is on to half marathon day in Austin. 

February 19th is the big day.  I'm excited to travel with a fun group of people to the race!  I've definitely encountered some issues while training for this one, but overall I think I'll be just fine.  I'm working through some aches and pains but hope for at least a 20 minute faster time than my last half.  I can easily do it if I can keep my focus and run my own race. 

The weather is going to be a factor. When I left yesterday morning for my long run, it was 29 degrees outside. I've been running with an extra layer on (temps are usually in the upper 60's, low 70's in Austin), so we'll see what happens! 

Here's to a fun trip, great race....and experiencing Texas! 

Tuesday night giggle

I just ran across this photo from Christmas this year....this was such a fun evening.  Watching adults build gingerbread birdhouses, craftsman homes, and in one case, an outhouse, was hysterical. You can definitely tell a lot about people's personalities based on the style in which they decorate.

Hmmm.....not sure what this says about my personality.....Type A with whimsy?

 

My goal was to use every kind of candy on the table.....I was very successful.

The cute gingerbread birdhouse just vacated the dining room.  I figured since the holidays were over, it needed a more appropriate resting place.  I'll be planning my decor for next year's decorating party.

Snow!

I'm ok with the names people are calling Seattleites - snow wimps, etc.  We don't get it that often - that's not our fault.  Sheesh!

Fortunately (or unfortunately) I've trekked to the office the last few days.  Of course, it's been with the assistance of a co-worker picking me up in a 4WD Jeep. It's been adventurous.  :-)  Early, early mornings to make sure our properties are being de-iced, plowed and safe for tenants to come to work.  By the look of the garage and parking lots - there were about 7 people working on our campus yesterday.  In order to avoid gnarly freeways - yesterday afternoon ended a little early to take part in a group gathering at a warm spot with good drinks in Ballard.  bitterroot - a small, quaint little restaurant with a back bar that's even smaller - but has tasty, creative beverages.  That was way more festive than sitting in our office in Bellevue. Thank goodness for 4WD.

Here's the view from my deck this morning - it's an ice skating rink on my street.  I've watched cars and buses inch along....and several pedestrians slide along the sidewalk.

Today, I'll be working from Command Control - aka- the dining room table.  I wish I had a furry friend to keep my feet warm. 

We don't joke about the Yeti

Saturday's group run was at Tiger Mountain - read: trail run.  Normally this would launch me into a PTSD moment (Cougar Mountain Trail Run ), but I'm trying to embrace trail running and agreed to give it a go.  It was only a 6 mile loop, first three being a gentle decent then the last three being an angry climb.  (or maybe it was just me that was going to be angry since it was up, up and more up). 

It was a really peaceful morning, kind of cloudy, great temperature. We started on a road then veered onto a railroad grade trail (nice and wide).  I had a good pace going, alternating running with a couple of people then pulling ahead by myself.    I was feeling great, breathing was good, legs felt strong.... as we got more into the woods, I started thinking of what you're supposed to do if you see a cougar (get big and loud), or a bear (small, silent and hope for the best). This area is known for being a bit Wild Kingdom-esque.  It was just about then that I heard some other people in our group getting closer.  As Mark ran past, he grabbed me and said.....better be on the lookout for Sasquatch.  GULP.  Holy cow, I didn't event think about the possibilities of YETI! 

Now...I know this sounds ridiculous, but one of my completely irrational fears (I have a few), is being in the woods and encountering a yeti. Stop laughing.....it's true. A few minutes later and in the deep woods alone, I started to hear things. I would stop, see if I could tell if it was higher or lower on the food chain than me....then keep going...picking up the pace each time.  Up, up, up I went, trotting along at a good clip.  Then I came upon a flat area that looked like this.... 

A perfect place for a yeti to hide.

Moral of the story is:  Do not joke about the yeti.  I don't ever want to have an up close encounter, thank you very much.

I've been having some iffy running days lately but this definitely put me back on the upswing.

Holiday Wrap Up

The holiday season flew by....starting with Tree Lighting and ending with the Resolution Run (or watch as the case was this time...5Ks just aren't my favorite):

Westlake Center's Tree Lighting -1st time in 6 years that I got to just show up and enjoy.  :-)

Oh Christmas Tree!  New tree this year....I loved it.

 Volunteered at the Holiday Carousel benefiting Treehouse! A fun night volunteering with a wonderful group of ladies, and watching the cutest littles get so excited to ride on this

Seattle holiday tradition.

Dessert at the December CREW luncheon at the WAC - how cute was this? 

I didn't want to ruin the cuteness but I had to take a little bite out of the snowman.

 This bottle of wine was so worth staying out late after the

BOMA holiday party to socialize with some new peeps.

 The Silver Bells carolers performing at the

holiday party we threw for the office tenants at one of my properties.

The best house at Olympic Manor during our Holiday Lights run....too bad I didn't get a pic of me running with the christmas lights wrapped all around me (and blinking).

A new ornament this year....a reminder to travel often.

 Wrapped up a great December in Medford with the parents. 

So thankful to get to spend quality time with them.

Into the groove

It's hard getting back into the swing of things.....all I want to do is lay down in a grassy field and look at this: 

Back to reality.

Welcome 2012!

Looking forward to an amazing year of fun and adventure!  First adventure of the year will be the Nookachamps run in Mt. Vernon in a couple of weeks.  Sounds chilly!  The Austin half marathon is a little over a month away so I better get crackin' on speeding up this caboose.

2012 was ushered in with a glass of Veuve

and my bum firmly planted on the couch (wearing my NYE jammies).

2011 Recap

A quick recap before I turn off the computer for the weekend!

Places visited outside of Seattle:
Phoenix, AZ
Medford, OR
Prosser, WA
Lake Chelan, WA
Quincy/Ephrata/George, WA
Philadelphia, PA
Portland, OR
Corvallis, OR
San Francisco, CA
Vancouver, BC
San Juan Island, WA
Salt Lake City, UT
Park City, UT

Overall a pretty quiet travel year, concentrating on friends and family.

Races/Events:
Resolution Run - Seattle
Captain Jacks - Kirkland
Vancouver Half Marathon - Vancouver, BC
Cottage Lake Tri - Redmond
Ragnar NW Passage - Western Washington
Danskin - Seattle
Warrior Dash - Portland
Pumpkin Push - Seattle

Spent the year concentrating on running, getting used to my new bike and swimming in a wetsuit.  Looking forward to 2012!

Happy New Year!!!

Valley of the Parentals

I'm flying south tomorrow to spend Christmas with the parentals.  I'm excited to get to the Mothership, eat some good food, hang out with Papa Felix and Mama Mary.  I'm ready for a break and to be mothered and fathered for a few days.

I'm sure the weekend will be filled with good wine, seeing good friends, chilly morning runs and a little tax free shopping.

Pics to follow from Holidays in Southern Oregon.

Merry Christmas!!!

Little Demons

I run.  I think too much when I run.  It's amazing what goes through your mind when your pounding out mile after mile.  Normally, I keep the little devils in check since I normally have a great running buddy....who is temporarily injured... but Saturday they got out and I had a tough run.  On the agenda was 8 miles with the CL team....a great route from Greenlake over the U Bridge, up into Capitol Hill and a glorious decent into downtown and Pike Place Market....then back around Lake Union to car.   :-) 
After a week of gluttonous Christmas parties, Saturday morning was the telltale of my week....puffy eyes, puffy everything.  This was going to be one of those days. 

Around mile 2 they (my mind demons) started in on me.....feeling every extra ounce of weight gained during the week.  They urged me to walk and I kept fighting them off.  Around mile 3 I lost the battle....walked for a little while, regained my composure and flicked them off my shoulder.  Stopped for water at the 3 mile checkpoint, didn't really talk to CL and just kept moving.  I knew one way or another I could get the miles in....probably at a good run/walk pace.

At 3.5 I completely lost my marbles....almost hyperventilating because I let the little buggers get to me again and started crying.  WHY?!  Yeah, I have no clue.  I really don't.  I wasn't in pain, I was frustrated that I couldn't shrug them off.  At one point I even shouted....PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!  I'm hoping no one else heard me.  :-)

Just as I got myself together, Sjohn and Maddie dog came by....we had a great chat, she said some motivating words and I started to feel much better.  That's when the blister started.

Mile 4 was the pick up point for some folks.  As I ran up the hill I saw CL.  She was standing waiting for me with water.  I stopped, lamented about my burning tootsie, shed one last little tear of defeat for the day.....and got in the car.  Saturday wasn't my day.  Not every run is going to be a breeze....if it were, everyone would be doing Ironman and marathons.

Post note:  I ran last night.  I kicked ass.  It was a great run around the Olympic Manor neighborhood....full of holiday lights and cheer!  Take that little demons.  I'm banishing you from my mind....and I'm donating the brand new shoes that have been causing this blister.  2 times wearing the shoes, 2 times getting a f'ing blister.

At least this was the view from the run.....

photo credit: A.Kerkof

Lists

Started my list of athletic based goals for 2012....in preparation for the big 'un.....Vineman 2013.  :-)

Nookachamps 10K - January
Austin Half Marathon - February
Vancouver Half Marathon - May
Trip to Napa to ride the Vineman course - June
Olympic Tri on the coast - July
Ragnar - July
Grand Columbian Olympic Tri - September

That's a good start to the list.  :-)

Frolicking at the Farmers Market

Ran some last minute pre-trip Christmas errands in Ballard this afternoon...hitting up my usual spots, farmers market, Savour, other fun shops along old Ballard ave.  On the list was ornaments, wild boar salami, some veggies, and a partridge in a pear tree (or 1 quail...preferably frozen...for papa Felix).  As I was meandering down at toward the end of the market, there was dancing and general merriment going on.....it was a Norwegian dance troupe! I stopped to watch the older folks dancing around to their heritage music.....that's when I noticed that the dances and costumes were strangely familiar.....to the BASQUES!  It was cute seeing the dedication this group of people has to their heritage.  Do you see the similarities?  :-)

Norwegians

Basques

Similar, non?  :-)

Wasn't successful at my usual places....I think too many people have discovered the tastiness of the wild boar.  I'll have to dig deep into my list of secret places to find the goods before I leave on Thursday.

Treehouse Tea

Ooof, it's definitely that time of year....going from one festivus to another, shopping and trying to experience all of the holiday cheer.  Not everyone is as fortunate as I am, so I've chosen to support Treehouse, an organization that helps foster children and their foster families.  Over the last few years, I've attended the annual Treehouse Tea at the Norcliffe Mansion.  It's a hoot of an event....about a hundred women decked out in the perfect hat having high tea in a beautiful home in Seattle.  The woman who hosts the event has an outrageous collection of hats and it's so interesting to see what everyone chooses for their chapeau.

More details on Treehouse on a different post.....but I thought these were a few fun pics to post.

Photo Card

Mod Merry Ornaments Christmas

Shop our unique collection of photo Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Better late than never!  Just ordered my Christmas cards!

Warning Sugary Goodness Treats

Check out the neat Christmas goodies I got from http://www.warningsugarygoodness.com/ ! 

The crackers are going to be a fun gift for my Girl Scouts and I'll use the place cards for the holiday gathering the girls are having at my house this week! 

Check out http://www.warningsugarygoodness.com/ - there's so much fun stuff on the website....always great recommendations on yummy places to find goodies.

Ephrata Fun

October was a big blur, but I did spend one fun weekend at the Becker Compound in Ephrata.  We trekked over Friday afternoon then the rest of the group trickled in the next morning. 

I generally have the same reaction, at about the same location each time I drive over to Eastern Washington.  It's usually somewhere close to Ellensburg where I proclaim how dry it is over there.  I can actually feel my skin tightening and frantically reach for the hand creme and chapstick.

I am also amazed by how many windmills have gone up in the last few years.  There's something eerily fascinating about them.  I could do a post on all the photos I've taken on the drives over....I'm mesmerized by them.  Kooky, I know.  I think that's part of my charm.  :-)

It's always a great time in E.WA - we spend a lot of time hanging out.  Going for walks through the yard, down the road or into the barn to feed Harley.

 I love it when we all get together - it's the large family I never knew I wanted (says the only child). Usually there's at least 8 of us, plus kids. I cherish the time spent with my good girlfriends and their husbands and super cute kids. Maybe a MAS commune is a good idea after all. :-)

Pre-birthday weekend at Vashon

Being with my friend Janet is like being with the mayor of any town.  She knows everyone and shakes hands and kisses babies like she's running for office.  You can always guarantee a good time will be had when you're with her. 

Janet's family beach house was the sight of the pre-birthday bash.  It was the usual suspects.....janet, chris, me, mark and stacy and the monsters.  Amazing wine, fantastic food and hysterical conversations always happen whenever I'm with these peeps.

On the ferry over we ran into a friend of Janet's from college (of course we did) - he sat down and she started asking how he was, where he was living, etc., etc., and I knew immediately where this was going.  She was trying to wed me off to Ray.  Unfortunately for me, he is dating someone on the island. 

Once in town, we went to the Hardware Store to have a bite to eat - running into another couple Janet knew from our old TCC days.  We ventured to Express Cuisine down the block since we couldn't get into the Hardware Store - it was a big night on Vashon - first friday art walk.  Everyone was out and about.  Communal tables awaited us after ordering from the very nice woman at the counter.  We were joined by a french woman who reminded me of my mother and a very nice gentleman who Janet thought might be her son.  Not two minutes into the conversation we found out they were actually married.  Tres interesting.  After a fantastic meal of duck crepes we went to meet the Amrine's at the grocery.  As we walked in, we ran into Ray again.....and his ladyfriend who seriously looked like she could be my mom.  Welcome to Cougar Island. 

The rest of the weekend was amazing - beautiful sunny skies, a brisk chill in the air that was perfect for our wandering walk on the beaches and through the forest.

 It was very tempting to try to lure this pretty deer home so I could have his antlers for my office. 

 Forest path on the Loop                                                                                       Amrine family photo

A great looking road to ride a bike.                                               Wandering in the woods.

Our next stop was Palouse Winery.  We quickly made friends with Faith and found ourselves helping with the last punch down of the day.  George and Linda the winemakers joined us as well and we got a tour of the back yard and saw the location of the future wine caves.  You can tell that George is a very thoughtful winemaker - his wines were very tasty.

 Ah......the beach.  So relaxing and so much fun for a quick weekend getaway!  Bye beach house, I'll be back soon! 

San Francisco - 2011

It had been a few years since I'd been to SF.  I was excited about the prospect of making new memories in a city that I loved to visit.  The only two big things on the list were to see the church where my parents were married, 41 years ago, and to be at the boat on time for our tour of Alcatraz.  Other than that, the plan was to wander and stumble upon all kinds of great architecture, tasty food and thirst quenching drinks.

Friday night we ended up walking from the hotel in Union Square to the very italian North Beach neighborhood.  Dinner at a small family run restaurant was the perfect way to end a long week.  The food was definitely authentic and the paired wines were very tasty. 

I almost thought I was back in Italy.

We got an early start on Saturday morning, finding breakfast at a cute little Greek place on the way to the St. Dominics.

 The exterior of the cathedral was gorgeous.  It's got Notre Dame's buttresses and the windows and detail work were amazing.

 Here's where Mama Mary walked down the aisle.  Standing here took my breath away.  It was amazing to thing my parents were married in this phenomenal place.  The cathedral was very traditional - it was also huge!  It felt like we were in a church in France or Italy.

 I chuckled a bit as I stood taking this picture.  I remembered a story my dad loves to tell about the priest that married them.  With my dad's limited English and the priest's strong Italian accent - my dad thinks they may not really be married because he couldn't really understand what the priest was saying.

 From there, we shopped a bit in some funky neighborhoods, and then started the trek up a hill, down a hill, up a hill, down a hill....finally arriving at the top of Lombard Street.

We stood at the top for a while then decided to venture down to the bottom.  I can't believe I've not been here before.  From here it was time for a break.  We headed into Chinatown and found some great Dim Sum.

After lunch we headed back up, up, up the hill and many, many stairs to Coit Tower. 

Great history, really great views!

After a festive evening of great wine, amazing food and the best ceviche I've EVER tasted at the Slanted Door, we were up not so early for our boat ride to Alcatraz.  It was a bit of a rush to get out the door and down to the Wharf (and desperately try to find some food to soak up the many glasses of wine consumed the night before).  We boarded the short boat ride to the rock - it was a gray morning, but the boats were out.

The Alcatraz tour was so interesting.  You can wander around the island looking at several of the outbuildings.  Once inside the prison you get an audio tour of the facility with recounts of fights, day to day life, and a very detailed tour of each prison area.

 The showers                                                       Typical cells

 After a few hours on the island, we hopped the boat back to the Wharf for lunch and one last thing on the agenda before heading to the airport.

 A great weekend getaway!!!!