December 1, 2014
November 30, 2014
Givings and NaNoWriMo
Where did we leave off?
Little did I know that I was training for the 2014 Seattle Half Marathon during these runs... Cliffhanger!
In the meantime, I've been spending a lot of time with family and friends.
Phew! Next I'll be sure to update the decision to run the Seattle Half Marathon on a whim...
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| Birthday run! |
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| 11/19/2014 |
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| Funny that this run was literally almost the exact same time as the previous one! |
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| Thanksgiving run! |
Little did I know that I was training for the 2014 Seattle Half Marathon during these runs... Cliffhanger!
In the meantime, I've been spending a lot of time with family and friends.
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| I turned 26! |
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| 5 days later, so did JW! |
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| We hosted Thanksgiving... |
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| As well as Friendsgiving! |
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| I also won NaNoWriMo and wrote over 50,000 words this month! |
November 12, 2014
Volunteering and Cold Weather Running
Over the weekend, I volunteered for the Mud & Chocolate Run. They host a 4.5 mile trail run on Saturday, and a half marathon trail run on Sunday. I was looking for local volunteer opportunities and saw that they were in need of some, and I'm so glad I found them!
This boutique race is organized by NRG Running, and their founders, Jon and Nina, are the nicest and most laid back runners/race organizers I have met! They also host boutique race The Rain Run, and Nina told met they get some people who fly in just for that race!
For the 4.5 Mile run, there were 97 runners and I helped out at the finish line, passing out chocolate medals and bars to the finishers. For the half marathon, I was stationed at the check-in table, handing out t-shirts to those who had preordered them, and selling t-shirts to those who wanted some.
I'm so glad I picked Saturday to help out at the finish line and Sunday to be under the tent, because of course the first day it was bright, sunny, and beautiful - and Sunday it started to pour! I felt so bad for the trail runners, haha. Fortunately we all got chocolate in the end!
In other news... brrr it's getting so cold out now! Here are my runs since I last posted:
And then, it really started to get cold.
Though it's been getting steadily colder in the mornings and not getting much warmer in the afternoons, when the sun is shining (contrary to popular belief, it's out a lot!) it's BEAUTIFUL.
Running in the cold is hard, but I kind of like it! It starts to feel nice and refreshing after about a mile.
Do you like mild weather or cold weather runs?
This boutique race is organized by NRG Running, and their founders, Jon and Nina, are the nicest and most laid back runners/race organizers I have met! They also host boutique race The Rain Run, and Nina told met they get some people who fly in just for that race!
For the 4.5 Mile run, there were 97 runners and I helped out at the finish line, passing out chocolate medals and bars to the finishers. For the half marathon, I was stationed at the check-in table, handing out t-shirts to those who had preordered them, and selling t-shirts to those who wanted some.
I'm so glad I picked Saturday to help out at the finish line and Sunday to be under the tent, because of course the first day it was bright, sunny, and beautiful - and Sunday it started to pour! I felt so bad for the trail runners, haha. Fortunately we all got chocolate in the end!
In other news... brrr it's getting so cold out now! Here are my runs since I last posted:
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| 46 Degrees |
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| At least it was beautiful, too! |
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| 43 Degrees |
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| 40 Degrees... eep! |
Running in the cold is hard, but I kind of like it! It starts to feel nice and refreshing after about a mile.
Do you like mild weather or cold weather runs?
November 2, 2014
What I've Been Up To Lately
Man, I've really fallen off the wagon with this blog. I mean, considering this is a running blog and not much running has been going on..
So, what have I been up to? Well, I'm still trying to keep up my mileage by increasing it by percentage.
October 20:
October 23:
October 25 (in Austin, in 80 degree weather! Woof!):
We were there for the weekend to witness one of my best friends from high school get married!
Back in Bellevue, I used Mapmyrun because Nike+ kept crashing (and I kind of love how it shows splits!):
On Halloween, I ran my last run of October:
I went to a Halloween party, as Wednesday Addams (JW was Ace Ventura!):
I even made little witches' brooms (pretzels with string cheese) and "pumpkins" (oranges with celery sticks)!
Basically I've been cruising along and have really been surprised by how quickly time is passing. I mean, November? Hi. Long time no see. But still, wow. Can't believe you're here now. It's definitely fall now.
November also brings NaNoWriMo, the 50,000 word novel-in-a-month challenge of which I've made multiple attempts and always failed. It started yesterday and I realized within the first hour of working on my novel idea that it just wasn't going to work. Haha! I'll spend the next few days thinking of something else, but if nothing sticks, then I'll just try again next year. I'll crank out a novel one of these days. :)
So, what have I been up to? Well, I'm still trying to keep up my mileage by increasing it by percentage.
October 20:
October 23:
October 25 (in Austin, in 80 degree weather! Woof!):
We were there for the weekend to witness one of my best friends from high school get married!
Back in Bellevue, I used Mapmyrun because Nike+ kept crashing (and I kind of love how it shows splits!):
I went to a Halloween party, as Wednesday Addams (JW was Ace Ventura!):
Basically I've been cruising along and have really been surprised by how quickly time is passing. I mean, November? Hi. Long time no see. But still, wow. Can't believe you're here now. It's definitely fall now.
November also brings NaNoWriMo, the 50,000 word novel-in-a-month challenge of which I've made multiple attempts and always failed. It started yesterday and I realized within the first hour of working on my novel idea that it just wasn't going to work. Haha! I'll spend the next few days thinking of something else, but if nothing sticks, then I'll just try again next year. I'll crank out a novel one of these days. :)
November 1, 2014
October 20, 2014
Increasing Mileage by Percentage
Hello there! I've been really trying not to overdo it in the running department, though I've surprisingly kept up my running pretty frequent since I last posted!
Running
October 13
This run felt wonderful- 58 degrees was really perfect and I wasn't worried about how slow I was going at all. I started listening to podcasts instead of Harry Potter and I think it's been a welcome change! Harry Potter rocks, don't get me wrong, but listening to it all the time gets a little monotonous!
I felt AMAZING during this run, as you can see by my paces! I just felt like I could fly. I loved that I stayed under 10 min/mile the whole time!
When I started this run, I was originally going to make it a 3 mile run. But it was so beautiful outside (62!!) that I just couldn't convince myself to stop. So, I just ran the extra .5 miles down my out-and-back path to make it an even 4 miles. However, I could tell that my body was fatigued (ended on a 12 minute/mile pace.. yikes) but again, I was just so happy it was sunny outside!
October 19
This run was after a weekend of debauchery, pictured below:
I went to two different shows to see two different friends perform, and then went to parties afterwards - basically, I ate too many sweets and drank a bit too much wine (how can a person resist cookies and wine, though??) so I didn't feel that great on Sunday. But, I forced myself to get outside for a run and felt a little better.
We go to Austin this weekend to attend the wedding of JW's college roommate (and high school friend as well!), and I couldn't be more excited! The high is supposed to be in the mid 80s, and though the Pacific Northwest weather has been more than forgiving, I'm ready for some good ol' Texas HEAT.
Increasing Mileage by Percentage
I'm really focusing on keeping my running under a 20% increase (ideally a 10% increase) from the week before, and I'm doing well so far!
Week of the Bellingham Half Marathon - 15.1 Miles
10/5 - 10/11 - 7 Miles (had to recover!)
10/12 - 10/18 - 13 Miles (a little more than intended - an 86% increase)
10/19 - 10/25 - projected 14 miles (an 8% increase), to get back on track.
So, sure, I should have run a bit more the week after the Bellingham Half Marathon, but I just didn't feel like it.. so I made up for it in the week after that, with 13 miles total. I know the 10% rule really only applies when you run 20+ miles a week, but I figured it's a good starting off point now that I don't have a set goal in mind in terms of racing.
Congratulations to my sister-in-law, who ran her first half marathon with the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco!!
Holds a special place in my heart, since on this day last year, I ran my first marathon with Nike Women. Lots of feelings about that, that I'll maybe talk about later this week.
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