Currently {September 2016}

Currently {September 2016}

Hi there! First off, I apologize if you had problems commenting on yesterday’s post. WordPress needed an update, which immediately resolved the issue. Of course, living on the West Coast, by the time I woke up and realized the blog needed an update, it was already well into the morning for many of you! That’s the one downside of living in Seattle – even when you wake up at 5 AM, people in the rest of the country have been up for hours!

Other than that, let’s catch up with life lately!

Currently, I’m…

Celebrating:

September is an exciting month for us: we celebrated my birthday on Labor Day weekend and next week is both our two year wedding anniversary and Ryan’s birthday! 

Currently {September 2016}

Reading:

The Martian. My sister gave me books for my birthday and this was one of them. I love the Matt Damon movie adaptation of this book and I’m already enjoying it.

To be honest, I lost my taste for fiction for a while. I studied literature as one of my majors in undergraduate, and after analyzing enough fiction I temporarily lost my ability to read a book without thinking about literary theory, symbolism, and all that fun stuff. I’ve resolved to get back into reading fiction, and new books (rather than the ones I’ve already read several times) are what I need. 

Drinking: 

Fall is the quintessential beer season for me. Granted, I drink craft beer year-round, but there’s something extra delicious about a crisp beer in front of a fireplace on a cool fall day. I shared a similar photo on Monday, but this is pretty much what fall weekends will look like when we’re not running or hiking!

Currently {September 2016}

I go through phases and right now my favorite treat is Redhook beer, especially their pale ale, ESB, or IPA. The hoppier, the better. Their brewery is located in the wine valley, so you can smell it wafting down the trails even in the morning. 

And yes, that is a little bit of a puggle tail in the bottom of the photo! Charlie may love to run and hike, but he is also the definition of a lap dog.  

Eating: 

I am obsessed with falafel right now. Currently, baked falafel is my favorite vegetarian dinner. It’s so satisfying and simple to make. I started making it with soaked dried chickpeas (rather than canned ones) which made the texture even more like falafel from a restaurant or Whole Foods bar. 

Currently {September 2016}

And yes, that is a whole russet potato worth of baked fries. All that running, Pilates, and hiking has revved my appetite! 

I also made sauerkraut for the first time in months last week. Have you ever made homemade sauerkraut? It’s simple to make, tastes so good, and provides all those probiotics we need for healthy digestive systems. 

Hiking: 

Fall means cool temperatures in Seattle – which means chilly temperatures in the mountains. I love fall hiking: the cold, crisp air of the mountains, the changing colors of the trees (except the evergreens), and the less crowded trails. As with running, several hour long hikes just feel even better in the fall! 

Currently {September 2016}

Working Out:

My Pilatesology subscription gives me access to hundreds of Pilates videos and I’ve been trying a new one each time I do Pilates. The advanced workouts have definitely elevated my Pilates practice to a new level! 

The deeper I get into marathon training, the more I mentally and physically crave low-impact cross-training like Pilates. It’s effective without being too wearing on the body. I’m still keeping up with my goal of lifting weight at least once a week, but the more I run, the better Pilates feels over other strength workouts.

Wearing: 

As a Runkeeper Ambassador, I received some gear from their partner brand, Asics. One piece I received was an Asics Lux Hoodie and it’s already a cool weather staple in my wardrobe. It’s soft and cozy and it even has a small pocket on the bottom front hem for keys and IDs. I actually haven’t worn it for running yet, because I like it so much for everyday wear and I don’t want to stink it up with sweat. 

Currently {September 2016}

If you use Runkeeper, you will receive special discounts on the gear in their store with new accomplishments in your running! It’s a win-win because it encourages you to train hard and then you get a discount on some awesome gear. 

Remembering:

To foam roll! I feel it if I skip foam rolling for a week during marathon training. My calves will morph into a bundle of knots without extra TLC – which then leads to achy feet.

Traveling:

At the end of this month, I’ll be taking my first trip to New England and meet many of my blogging friends at the Rise.Run.Retreat. I’m excited to visit Vermont, especially in the fall when the leaves are supposed to be so vivid! 

Linking up for Thinking Out Loud

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30 Responses

  1. So many great and exciting things!! I absolutely LOVED The Martian and actually listened to it as an audio book in my car 🙂
    Two things I desperately want to do with you – hike and eat! But, I guess I have to “settle” for spending a weekend and running a half.

    1. Do it! They have a 10 day trial that lets you try some of the videos, plus free videos on YouTube. It’s so much more affordable than going to a studio and they know how to make mat workouts hard and effective.

    1. It’s such a good workout! That’s why I love Pilatesology – you can do the videos from home and they are very attentive to form. Much easier to get into that way than trying to attend an expensive studio class.

  2. You’ve got a lot of good stuff happening in your life this month! I don’t totally love hoppy beer, but I’d drink anything if it was beside you and Charlie on that deck in the sunshine!

    1. Thank you! September is always a busy in the best way month for us. And yes you would be more than welcome to share a beer with Ryan, Charlie, and I! Charlie could sit on your lap and give you his puggle nose kisses. 🙂

  3. I really like that hoodie. I wish I could wear a hoodie right now. I’m just looking longingly at my yoga pants and jeans and pumpkin spice candles while it is still 90 degrees in SC :(. I know I will be thankful in January when it’s like, 40-50, though.

    I too was an English major in college and I think that makes me like fiction less. I’m more into reading biographies/autobiographies and running or sports books lately. Besides that, keeping up with crimes such as the JonBenet Ramsey case that’s been featured on TV so much lately. I guess this makes me weird wondering what makes people tick like that and reading about the evidence and what happened and developing little theories.

    1. So interesting that another English major is the same way on fiction! I love running books or nonfiction books. What’s funny is that I studied history in grad school and history books still have an appeal to me – but I guess I was never analyzing the book itself, just using the content as a basis for research.

  4. I have a lot to say! First, I love that wedding picture. Love. Beautiful. I always roast a whole big giant potato and it always looks like so much but it’s only one potato – it goes so far! I haven’t been reading a thing, I hate the tech updates and problems and I am very into sauerkraut right now. I buy the organic one from whole foods but I should try making my own.

    1. Thank you! That’s my favorite one! You should try making your own sauerkraut! It’s so easy. You shred the cabbage with a food processor, add a tablespoon of salt, massage it for a couple minutes until it releases liquid and shrinks, then put it in a mason jar, seal it tight, and put it somewhere warm for about 5 days. Then once it’s done, store it in the fridge! The bacteria from the fermentation process prevent any botulism.

  5. I’ve been doing regular stretching and rolling with the lacrosse ball but hadn’t used my foam roller in awhile until I remembered last night! Hello IT bands! Haha.

    I love the incentives offered by Runkeeper to get discounts on gear. That is totally good motivation for me!

  6. I am so excited for you to be making the trip to Rise.Run.Retreat!!!

    And falafel…I think I need to try this. Do you have any easy starter/basic recipes you could share?

    Currently…I am in major packing mode. Pick up keys on Sunday, move the following weekend!

    1. That’s so exciting that you’re moving! Where are you moving to? As for falafel, I use the one from How Sweet Eats (google How Sweet Eats Baked Falafel). I’ve made it several times and it always turns out well!

  7. I need to remember to do a little bit of foam rolling too, actually. My knees have been giving me some issues, so I think my legs need a good roll. And I know what you mean about feeling like you’re so far behind other people in the country. I’m only an hour ahead of you, but I feel like I’m constantly thinking/planning in EST.

    1. A good roll of the IT band and hamstrings really does wonders for the knees. And yes – I feel like I always have to think about Eastern time! It throws me off then sometimes during the day.

  8. That retreat trip sounds lovely! I love New England in the fall. And I’m totally with you on fall hiking! It’s epic right now in Alaska and I’m doing as much of it as I can before the snow starts up!

    1. Thank you! I’m very excited to see New England in the Fall since everyone raves about it. And yes, enjoy those fall hikes! Soon it’ll be November and there will be snow!

  9. When I was in Hawaii I was 6 hours behind east coast time, and it was so weird! When I woke up at 5am (because I never really adjusted to being able to sleep in) it was already 11am here and I had about 50 E-mails!
    Love your wedding picture! And I am also looking forward to enjoying refreshing craft beers this fall:)

    1. I bet that was such a weird shift! When we went to London it was 8 hours ahead and I couldn’t get used to it. The big time changes like that on vacation can really mess not just with sleep, but with scheduling and staying in touch. And thank you!

  10. I haven’t been reading anything but school and blogging articles for a while 🙁 I miss it so much! I love falfel too! It’s so good especially in a pita with hummus and tahini. Now I might have to go get one…

  11. That Rise Run Repeat event sounds really fun! 🙂 And happy Anniversary, birthday, and birthday to your husband! 🙂 It sounds like a month full of wonderful memories.

    I always really love how you share all the places you go running and hiking; you search out the most beautiful places there in Seattle. 🙂 Falafel is really good; I’ve made it once or twice, and I need to make it more. It really spices up chickpeas.

  12. Currently eating all the tomatoes until our tomato plants freeze (we’ve actually already had a freeze, but they somehow survived). Also lacto-fermented pickles so garlicky they could ward of vampires.

    Just finished reading Twelve Kings in Sharakhai – probably my favorite book of the last few months. I feel like The Martian was one of the few books were the movie is actually better – it was a good quick read but not something I’d reread.

    1. Lacto-fermented pickles sound amazing! I want to give pickling a try. So far I’m enjoying the Martian, although it makes me want to watch the movie again – such a good movie!

  13. Hi! I just found your blog through Salty Running. Question about Pilatesology. Is it good for someone who’s never been to a Pilates class? I was training for my first full in Nov and now have to defer my entry to next year due to injury. I’m thinking pilates might be good to put in my rotation. I’m so bad about cross training and strength training. Does Pilates count as both, lol 🙂

    1. Hi Mina – thanks for reading! While nothing quite compares to the instruction on form you get in an in-person Pilates class, Pilatesology is an excellent (and affordable) resource for doing Pilates. They have several videos on form and a wide selection of beginners, intermediate, and advanced videos (something like 800 workouts!). I think it’s a great place to start – cheaper than a class and easy to do from the comfort of your own home. Pilates is great for preventing injury as well as strengthening key muscle groups (especially the glutes, hips, hamstrings, back, and core). Especially during marathon training, I’d count it as both strength training and crosstraining/mobility work.

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