"You ran....on purpose??"

Holy heat wave Seattle!

Well, summer is here all right....we hit 94 degrees in Seattle! To be fair, it was 91 degrees when I went on my run. I was set on getting at least 5 miles in, and I really didnt think it would be that big of a deal while at work. Yeah, I was wrong.

That was one of the most difficult runs ever! I made it my 4 miles at a 10:00 pace, but it wasn't pretty with the hills. For kicks, I decided to run another mile, thinking I could run back through a few sprinklers on my way. Within FEET of reaching the sprinklers someone turned them off! So much for my cool down.....it must have been there to tempt me :)

Anyways, when I got back from my run (dazed and confused, haha) a woman was walking through the front doors. She looked at me and said:
 
"You ran? In this heat......on purpose?"

I smiled and said yes, and she looked at me like I was crazy. Getting a few miles in isnt that crazy, is it??

Happy heat stroke running!

Well, hello summer!

In true PacNW fashion, summer has finally arrived AFTER the 4th of July. Most of you who are from around Seattle know this, but for all of you who are not, we rarely, rarely get hot weather before July. Then BAM, summer arrives just in time! Literally, we might hit 95 degrees tomorrow! A week ago Monday, it was a lovely 60 degrees, and it might have dipped into the 50's during the day.  Im not kidding....

Check the time....its 10:00 PM!

I decided to finally get a good run in since the RnR half, yet the weather was not cooperating. I ran 6 miles at about a 9:30/mile pace. The heat just takes it out of me. I did pause a few times to take the follwing pictures:

Hello, Seattle!

Rat-cows on the loose....

Sunset over the Olympic Mts

Love the awesome sunset......and no, that wasn't enhanced! Ill spare you all the self portrait this time....85 degrees at night wasn't a pretty picture :) We'll see how many I can get in in tomorrow's heat! Here's hoping to more than 10 miles this week, why wont the weather cooperate?? Recaps to come...I didn't forget!

Happy hot running!

A good excuse this time....

Bad blogger again, but I have an excuse this time...

I just started a new job last week! :)

Needless to say, this past week was my worst running week so far. I only logged 10.1 miles, which is way below my usual 25-30. I guess starting a new position, going to a wedding, a bridal shower and having a certain vampire-related movie debut at midnight one day last week took up all of my time. My hip was a little sore after the Seattle RnR Half, so I think I might have needed the days off. Im hoping to get back into it tomorrow and log those miles! Also, a recap to come tomorrow too...

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July….it is always one of my favorite holidays!

Another new half PR?

Yep, another new half marathon PR at the Seattle Rock N Roll Half this morning!

1:55:59!

Recap to come tomorrow...Im too exhausted to type it all tonight. Hope everyone had a great race, it was my favorite so far!

Seattle RnR Expo & Bloggy Dinner

INSANELY busy last 3 days....I can't even begin! Lets just say that the Seattle Rock N Roll Half is almost here and snuck up on me! The expo was the last 2 days, and I have to say it was amazing! Not only is this the largest race I have run in (about 35,000-40,000 people!) but it is the most well organized event to date:

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Health & Fitness Expo sets the stage for an exciting marathon weekend! For two days, over 100 exhibitors will offer free samples, showcase the latest in running gear, sports apparel, health & nutritional information and much more.

Literally, they were not kidding! There was TONS of freebies, discounts and samples to be had by everyone. I particularly loved the Sports Beans booth (which my other Step-Sis was working) and the GU booths. I also enjoyed the random free samples of fresh kiwi and the Fage yoghurt stand. Yum!

Not only was there plenty of free swag, but there were great discount too. I was able to snag a 24 pack of GU for $20, including tax! There were all flavors and sizes and types (GU, Chomps, Brew...) but this is the best deal I have found anywhere. Also Sports Authority had some awesome deals on discounted new running gear. I should have picked up a few Under Armour shirts....

This event was HUGE and very well organized. Although this race differed from others in that you had to bring a signed waver form AND i.d. **and they will NOT let you take someone else's bib!** the lines were organized by corral number and the lines were short. After you picked up your bib and D-tag, there was another line as an option to upgrade to the full marathon, or change your corral number (which I did, to finish earlier...more details to come on the reason!) It was really simple to do, and there were no questions asked. My kind of packet pickup!

 Bib with D-tag attached

After we received our tech shirts, there was instructions on how to put on the D-tag and plenty of people to answer questions. After this area, we were ushered into a large Brooks RnR memoribilia area. I have never seen so many items to purchase for a race! Plenty of options for men and women's shirts, tanks, shorts, pants, jackets, hats, socks, keychains, etc. I mean, they had everything and more that you could think of. I was impressed, and actually bought another Brooks Seattle RnR tech shirt (pic to come!)

There was even an area to win free Brooks swag too. Unfortunately I was horrible at the ball-toss game, but the rest was fun and free.

All in all, it was a great expo. Just check out all that I went away with:

Yes please!

After the expo I met up with other awesome bloggy ladies at the Spaghetti Factory to carbo-load before the race. I am so happy that I was able to meet up with a few local familiar faces and even a few bloggers from across the US!

Bloggy runners!

Seriously an awesome night! A HUGE thanks to Mel for setting up the evening. I don't know how she does it all! :) I cant wait to run with all of you ladies tomorrow!

Night and good luck ladies! (and thanks to Kerrie for the picture!!)

Wow, 100th post!

Wow, wow, wow.....

Where did the time go? I never would have thought that I would EVER have a blog, let alone post 100 times! So far it has been an interesting journey, and I love all the bloggy friends I have made and even met. Thanks for making the past 6 months so rewarding :)

Lovely view at the park....so what if I was the only one laying out!!

I went for a final long run yesterday before the Rock N Roll Half this weekend. I decided to put in some miles at a slow pace just to get my mileage up. I ended up running 10 miles including hills at a 9:47 pace. It was 78 degrees during the run! As you know, I am not good with heat, so I think that also made me run at a much slower pace.

 Sunny colors for the sunny solstace weather!

Randomly during the run I spotted a 4-leaf clover! I decided to grab it on my second loop, and when I stopped to pick it, I found 2 other 4-leaf clovers right next to it! I really do have a special talent for finding clovers. The last time I found a 4-leaf clover I ran a sub 2 hour half at Kirkland. Here's hoping for good luck again on the race this weekend!

I just got back from the Seattle Rock N Roll expo, and I have a ton of info to post. I'm off for a quick run around the neighborhood, but will post soon. I hope everyone is enjoying the sunny Pacific Northwest weather.....I am loving it! It seems that summer FINALLY decided to show itself here!

Happy running!

Image found here

RIP Bug...

Yuck, it finally happened....

A bug flew into my eye while running! I should also preface this post by saying that I am horribly scared of any creepy, crawly creature, expecially bugs and spiders.

Well, I should say that actually 3 perished while on my run, but the first was definately the worst. I dont know how this hasnt happened to me before, but I sure paid for it on this run!

While running 6.2 around a local park, I was cruising along at a good sub-9/mile pace when something hit my eye. I quickly stopped and started blinking, but I could see it was HUGE. Since I hate bugs and are terrified of them, I frantically started clawing at my eye to get the thing out. Literally about 3 minutes later I felt it and tried to get it out with my finger (so gross!) but only a small portion of the bug came out! Without getting too graphic and grossing myself out more, pieces of the bug kept coming out of my eye during the rest of my run.

If you cannot tell already, sadly, the bug did not make it.

I guess there are just not too many bugs to fly in my face in the city. And that I am extremely thankful for!

Sorry for the gross post. Happy (bug free) running!