Thinking Out Loud: New Things for the Blog + Seattle Living
Happy almost Friday! Today I will be linking up with Running with Spoons’ Thinking Out Loud.
I’ll discuss this more later in the post, but part of this is remodeling the blog a little bit! No huge changes, but more so trying to engage more with the blog community, offer insights and share my experiences in marathon training, and of course keep bringing you workouts and recipes!
1. The coffee is Seattle is SO rich and smooth. There are these charming little drive-thru coffee shops about every couple blocks (at least all around the Eastside/Bothell/Redmond/Mill Creek) and every one we try has phenomenal coffee. I usually don’t drink coffee after lunch (probably because I have consumed half a pot by 10 AM), but here I’m gladly stopping for an afternoon pick-me-up of hot black coffee. It’s going to become a problem, especially because the best one yet was right on the route home from my running trail.
2. Is it bad that I’m already starting to put together my 2016 race calendar? I’m thinking of making 2016 a year of half marathons, unless I don’t qualify for Boston at Portland, in which case I would probably try again at the Eugene Marathon. But I’m smitten with all the possible Washington and Oregon races. I am definitely running the Lake Sammamish Half in early March and the Bend Half Marathon in late April and I’m sure I’ll add more races. I could literally train on the course for the Lake Sam Half, which would be ideal for getting that sub-1:40 half I am aiming for. The Bend Half would not be PR-attempt races (hello, elevation!) but part of me just wants to race a bit for fun after focusing on PRs for a while. I just want to run with the mountains in the background, and the Bend Half is exactly that. Even the medals have mountains on them. Also, the same travel bug I had when I studied abroad is back. I want to see every sight there is to see in the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain region with Ryan. We have to remind ourselves that we don’t have to go everywhere right away because we permanently live here.
3. I am excited for Portland Marathon training to begin next week. Ryan is going to ride his bike along with me for long runs, I’ll get to explore plenty of the trails, and honestly the higher mileage really appeals to me right now. Added bonus: the weather here for my training will be practically identical to race day weather: cool and cloudy. Oh, and I won’t have to train through any miserable 85 degrees and 99% humidity at 7AM days like I would have if we still lived in Valpo.
4. I’m cheating on my treadmill with one at my apartment gym. After nearly three years of enjoying my NordicTrack treadmill, I had some great runs on the fancy ones at our gym. All the reasons I usually balk at gym treadmills—too short belts, too many people nearby, time limits, the gym being far away, not being able to get to the gym because of snow, and the cost of gym memberships—are negated by an uncrowded gym that’s never crowded, included in our rent, open 24/7 and only a minute walk from our apartment. Ryan and I may just put my treadmill into storage for the duration of our time here and utilize the space for probably another bookshelf. It’s not like we’re going to be literally snowed into our apartment for months as we were the past couple years.
5. I purchased my first pair of hiking boots this week—these Vasque Women’s Breeze 2.0 GTX Hiking Boot
6. I’m envisioning a gradual restructuring of content on my blog. Instead of devoting Mondays to my Life Lately + Weekly Recap posts, I’ll be introducing Marathon Mondays next week, in which I’ll recap my training and focus on a marathon training-related topic (nutrition, training tips, mental training, gear, etc). Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays will be running science, workout, nutrition, and recipe type posts. Thursdays I will be linking up (as I am in this post) with Running With Spoon’s Thinking Out Loud as my life lately/more personal post. Saturday will still be Reads and Recipes, and hopefully on Sundays I can start linking up with Mommy Run Fast’s weekly meal planning post.
7. Nuun recently released an all-natural carbohydrate and electrolyte tablet that you add to your regular Nuun for some extra fueling. Since my commute to my trail is about 20 minutes (depending on Seattle traffic, which is no joke—it takes Ryan 50 minutes to drive 18 miles in the mornings!), I’ve quickly realized that I will need a immediate source of carbs for after my run to replace my glycogen stores during that precious time window of 30 minutes after a run. This is perfect, since I can keep a tube of Nuun and a tube of Plus for Nuun in my car and drink them on my way home. Also, ordering this is the perfect excuse to purchase some watermelon Nuun while it’s still in stock!
8. I’m experiencing mild melancholy over the fact that there’s no more Supernatural or Grimm for the next few months. Now that How I Met Your Mother and Parks & Rec are over and Dr. Who takes the longest mid-season breaks ever, Supernatural and Grimm were really the only (new) shows we were watching. And can we talk about cliffhangers? Um, both of those shows got really dark really quick (okay, Supernatural is always dark, but those of you who watched the finale will know exactly what I mean) and now we have to wait until October to find out what happens! At the very least, can Netflix release a new season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt to placate me?
What’s on your mind this Thursday?
What TV shows do you watch?
How early in advance do you start picking out races?
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19 Responses
Usually I pick out races really far in advance but this year has been totally different for me! The only one I did I signed up for at the last minute and I have nothing else on agenda. Its kinda nice, although I do get the urge to sign up for all the races.
A last minute race would take some of the stress and pressure off! And you did so well at your last minute race – maybe there will be more in the future soon 🙂
Picking out races is a no go for me because who the hell knows what type of shape I’ll be in! The earliest I do it is a few months in advance, except for Boston, obvs. I’m glad to hear that you are settling in so well to Seattle life! And I can’t wait to see what you decide to do with the blog!
Thank you! I think the approach of waiting a few months is such a level-headed and mature approach – I definitely can get way to carried away. And OMG YOU WILL BE A BOSTON FINISHER IN ONE YEAR’S TIME!
This comment is going to be super random, but here it goes:
Eeek! I am so excited for the coffee in Seattle and your hiking boots are super cute! While I don’t watch Grimm or Supernatural, I’ve seen almost all of the episodes because my boyfriend is obsessed and is constantly watching them 🙂 Parenthood is my latest favorite (6 years late!)
Super random is great 🙂 Thank you – cute was definitely a deciding factor once I realized the boots were comfortable and practical! Everyone has been raving about Parenthood – makes me want to give it a try!
Hi! I’m new here! I’m just getting back into running after a nearly two year hiatus, and I’ve been trying to find more Seattle-area running bloggers in order to get ideas for trail runs and such. Where are you in the Seattle area? I’m in the Greenlake/Ravenna Park/UW area.
Hi, Amy! I live on the eastside of Lake Washington, in the Bothell/Mill Creek area. If you need trail suggestions, I’ve had good luck so far with the River Sammamish Trail (from Bothell Landing Park to Marymoor Park in Redmond) and the Burke-Gilman Trail. Both are paved bike trails that are safe and scenic. Thanks for reading!
Hi Laura! Welcome to the beautiful PNW!!! I was born & raised here. 🙂 I love that you are already planning out 2016. I thought I was the only one. 🙂 I thought I would give my unsolicted opinion on some of my favorite races in the area (some half’s)…..Hot Chocolate (March), Tacoma City Half-Marathon (May), Portland RnR Half-Marathon (May…ran for the first time this year & would definitely do it again), Seattle RnR (June), Labor Day Half-Marathon (Labor Day, of course….course goes in & out of Marymoor….FLAT!!!), Leavenworth Half-Marathon (October…this will be my first year), Vancouver BC RnR Half-Marathon (October). I also ran the Mercer Island Half-Marathon (March) this year….I would maybe consider doing it again. You run around the island.
Welcome to the area…happy to hear you are enjoying things so far. 🙂
Thank you so much, Amy! I’m glad to know I’m not the only one planning for next year’s race, and thank you so much for the suggestions! The Labor Day Half sounds especially fun – we’ve already been to Marymoor on our bikes and to take our dog Charlie to play, and it’s such a fun park! Maybe we can meet up if we’re ever at the same race – it would be great to meet other Seattle runners 🙂
YES!!! I would love to meet up with other runners, as well!! I can tell from your posts that you are faster than myself therefore not sure if we would be able to run together. I can usually consistently keep about an 8:40-8:50ish/mile pace…
Shoot me an email if you ever want to meet for coffee or a run! With my marathon training plan (which starts Monday-eeek!) I’ll be doing some of my runs at about a 8:50-9:30/mile pace, since the Hansons plan is very strict on pacing.
Hey! I live just across the border in BC and we go down to Whidbey Island in the summer. They have a marathon there—have you ever run it? Is it trails? Roads? Out and back? I’m curious!
I like to plan my marathons a few months in advance. Anything shorter and I don’t need too much planning. I’m jealous of all the hiking you will get to do!
After this marathon I want to stay in half marathon shape so I could race one without much planning. All the hiking out here is almost surreal – whenever we wanted to hike in Indiana it was either going to the Indiana Dunes or driving all the way to Turkey Run!
Some races I plan out about a year in advance and others can be more last minute. I love the beginning on new training cycles! That’s so nice that Ryan is going to bike with you on long runs, it shows so much support on his part and will be nice (and safer) to have his company. And I couldn’t agree more about ordering Nuun plus and stocking up on some watermelon – I keep reminding myself that I need to place an order!
Ryan really does so much to support my running! And the more summer weather we get, the more watermelon Nuun I want 🙂
Hey Lady! How have you liked these hiking boots? I’m quickly learning I need something other than my running shoes 🙂
I still LOVE my hiking boots! No black toenails or blisters, even after Gothic Basin. I got them at the REI in Lynnwood, and I know the one in Seattle (which is probably closest to you) has them – I have the Vasque Breeze 2.0. Ryan just got a pair of Vasque Talus boots and love them. At REI they’ll fit you, have you test it on mini little “hills” in their store, and get you in the right pair – seriously an amazing service and if you’re a member you can return them no problem even after a several wears if they don’t work. Mine are ideal for day hikes – not too heavy, but enough to get good traction and protect your feet.
Where have you been going hiking at? How’s Seattle treating you?