Life Lately: August 2016

Hi, everyone! 

First off, I apologize for any loading, commenting, or other issues you may have encountered here recently. I’m experiencing some hosting issues – hopefully everything will be resolved shortly. 

What’s been going on in your life lately? Here’s a peek into life lately over here at This Runner’s Recipes:

Backpacking at Naches Peak

This past weekend, Ryan and I met up with two friends who were visiting Seattle and went backpacking and camping just outside Mount Rainier National Park. We hiked the Naches Peak Loop to Dewey Lake, where we camped overnight not far from the water.

The fields in Mount Rainier National Park were sprinkled with vibrant wildflowers, so even though we couldn’t seen the mountain (actually, it’s a volcano), the entire 3.5 mile hike to Dewey Lake was breathtaking. 

Naches Peak Loop

Ryan is fairly certain a black bear nosed around through our campsite in the middle of the night. He woke up to hear huffing near our tent in the middle of the night, which likely could have been a bear.

That’s why backpacking safety is important. We had bear mace in our tent and strung our food up in bear bags. Most black bears will not harm you unless you get between a mama and her cubs.
As with running, fear of the worst case scenario should not prevent you from doing an activity, especially if you are prudent and proactive in taking the right steps for your safety.

It was a chilly 40 degrees in the morning and we enjoyed coffee and oatmeal by the lake before hiking back. The cold is well worth views like this and I’ll take it over 80+ degree heat any day. 

Dewey Lake

Also, I learned that even 90 minutes in the sun will singe my fair skin at 5700 feet elevation. My shoulders are still bright red and peeling, several days and many applications of aloe later. 

The Olympics

The marathon is my favorite Olympic event, but swimming comes in at a close second. Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky, Katinka Hosszu, and many others are incredible athletes. Although can we talk about how ridiculous Ryan Lochte’s hair looks? 

In running, I’m excited for the marathon, 10K, and 5K. My current favorites are Shalane Flanagan, Amy Cragg, Meb, Molly Huddle, and Bernard Lagat. 

I Need to Do Yoga Again

Don’t ask my why, but over the past year or so I’ve had an aversion to yoga. When I do try to do yoga, I get 5 minutes into a video and I just want to be done. I used to enjoy it and even would sneak yoga moves into the Pilates class I taught in college, but recently I just cannot bring myself to do it. That is, until my right hamstring and calf continually got angry at me and a downward dog helped keep me running (literally). 

I did try these yoga stretches from Sage Roundtree after Pilates, which made my tight muscles feel a little bit better. Now I just need to be consistent, but it’s worth the time and effort because I’m enjoying marathon training so much right now. 

Sports Nutrition

Stridebox kindly sent me their August box to try, and I squealed like a teenager upon opening the box and finding all sorts of sports nutrition products I had been curious about. I read about BeetBoost Beet + Tart Cherry powder a few months ago and have been wanting to try it since then since research demonstrates the positive effect beets and cherries can have on recovery. 

Stride Box

Ryan and I are also always looking for good hiking and backpacking snacks. I make homemade granola bars but as we’ve both increased our running mileage we’ve found that we need more snacks – especially when backpacking. That extra 25 pounds makes a difference! I’m excited to try RX Bars on our next long hike, since so many people rave about them and I love how simple the ingredients are. 

[Tweet “Life Lately: Olympics, Backpacking, and Sports Nutrition via @thisrunrecipes #rio2016 @stridebox #runchat”]

Linking up with Thinking out Loud

What yoga videos or at-home yoga sequences do you recommend?
Who are your favorite athletes in the Rio Olympics?
Are you traveling anywhere this month?

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21 Responses

  1. I can’t believe you think a bear was outside your tent! Good thing you guys know what you are doing.
    I am excited to watch some running too. Swimming and gymnastics are also fun to watch.
    Your stride box looks really great! I have sort of fallen out of the yoga routine. Every once in a awhile I will pull up a video- usually from Fightmaster yoga.

    1. I know! Black bears are usually harmless unless you get between a mama and her cubs, or if they’ve been fed by humans before. Ryan actually wanted to see one the whole trip – they are so cute!

  2. I still can’t get over being out there with the bears! glad you guys were fine and had a blast! you know I like the yoga for runners series. I can send you the link again to Michele’s post which really breaks down the best yoga routines for runners at all different levels so you don’t have to do the searching and trial/error.

    1. And yet we still haven’t actually seen a bear! Although we did see an elk run out along the road, which was exciting. I am checking out Michele’s yoga post now, thank you!

  3. I’m doing a 24 hour turn around to DC this weekend, and then I hope having a few weekends of just chill time to myself and Alex. I love my friends, but I’m ready for some unwinding time. I am going to try to get back into yoga and see if it helps my hip. Again, doesn’t hurt when I run, but simple things aggravate it. Maybe yoga is the ticket for me as well!

  4. The pictures from your hike are breathtaking 🙂
    The Olympics are so amazing and I love watching swimming, gymnastics, diving, soccer, and the track events. Glad you are doing great these days!

  5. I’m excited to watch the Olympic marathons too. Don’t forget Desi Linden! She is one of my favorite American runners and I think she has the potential to be a real dark horse in Rio.

    For me, yoga is one of those things it’s just easier to do when I go to actual classes. It just wouldn’t be the same if I tried to do it at home, I would never be motivated. Plus I think I would get distracted too easily! Running is the thing I need to do on my own but for other things, I really thrive on the structure and environment of going to an actual class.

    1. Oh yes – I can’t forget Desi! See, that’s what dealing with technology problems does to me, it rattles my brain and makes me forget things. Getting distracted is definitely a problem I have with yoga, but for some reason I get even more distracted in classes – maybe because they last so much longer than yoga at home.

  6. Those photos are beautiful. I’ve had black bears poke around in my campsite. There’s nothing quite like waking up to the unmistakable grunt and huff of a bear near your tent. *shudder*

  7. So I’m coming your way next week for vacation, and you mentioned temperatures in the 40s. I don’t have clothes for weather like that so I’m hoping the forecasts I see for mid-70s as the highs are right. I need to pack and I’m excited that our AIRBNB is located near Fleet Feet Seattle so maybe there are places to run nearby if I want to.

    I agree with trying yoga again… I go through phases with yoga. It does help me relax and de-stress, but it’s hard to make time for it when I’m training. Some of the videos online are great because they’re short enough to do that, like 20-30 minutes. But I just can’t always do 60-90 minutes of yoga in a class setting when I already have to run that long most days when training!

    1. The 40s was in the mountains – here the temperature in the mornings is usually mid-50s, which will still probably feel chilly! The low humidity is the best part that I think you’ll like about our weather.
      There are a bunch of good places to run! I think Fleet Feet is near the 520 Connector route and then Lake Union, Green Lake, and Lake Washington all have running paths.

  8. That hiking looks beautiful! I need to get some bear spray asap. I am travelling to Prince Edward Island – Eastern end of Canada – this weekend! I try and do some form of yoga weekly… child’s pose, pigeon pose, downward dog and any hip openers are my favourites.

    1. Oh yes do get some! If anything bear spray is excellent for the peace of mind that it provides. Have fun on your trip to Prince Edward Island – I saw some of your photos on Instagram already and they are beautiful!!

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