run run kitkat

Goodbye Blogger

2008-10-28T18:05:00.001-07:00

runrunkitkat is packing up and leaving Blogger.

This move kinda came on sooner than I'd planned, but no need to fear, I'm not ending my blog.

We have our own website that we're in the process of updating post-wedding. It will eventually include a 'todd & katie blog', and in order to streamline things, my personal blog is joining the website. You know, keep the family together and happy. Plus, my blog gets a new look, something I've been wanting to do for quite awhile.

So this is my last post at runrunkitkat.blogspot.com. I'm not leaving with any party or sendoff, just plain and simple, keep on following me at my new site and you won't even notice anything has changed.

Be sure to add http://toddandkatie.com/katiesblog/ to your daily blog readings!

Adieu! See you soon!

Flashback Monday Funday

2008-10-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

As I was running by the UW football stadium on Saturday morning, the air was permeated with the smells of bacon and the enthusiastic cheers and laughs of college students who sacrificed sleep for tailgating time.

It made me nostalgic for my days of college football tailgating. While I don't miss it so much that I want to be out drinking beer and eating burgers with them, it did make me remember all the great memories I made with friends and fellow Wildcat fans during my 4.5 years at K-State. Tailgating was an important part of my college days-- behavior I'll never go back to-- but something I have such fond memories of.

I especially recalled the morning several of us woke up at 4:30 am (unheard of for normal college students) to walk to the stadium and wait for an hour behind the barricades......sprint to the stadium gates.....stampede down the stairs to get prime spots....and then wait another 2 or 3 hours for the live broadcast of ESPN's College Gameday from Manhattan, KS to begin. (yeah, this was back when our team was ranked in the Top 10...not so much the case in recent years)

I'm pretty sure my friends and I never got on tv, but who cares? We were part of a faithful following of crazy fans who devoted our Saturdays to supporting our team.

I went back through my photo albums for some good memories.

Freshman year tailgating before the 2000 Big 12 Championship vs. OU.

I was a cheerleader at heart. But I was too tall and about 30 pounds too heavy to make the real squad.

Junior year tailgating with girlfriends.

One of my senior years :) with my brother in his notorious I Eta Pi gameday apparel.

Hard to believe some of those were 8 years ago.

Eat 'em up, beat 'em up, K-S-U!

We make a great pair

2008-10-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

I get to enjoy a 10 mile run on a lovely fall day.

He gets to sleep in until 10:30.

I decided to go back to my old 'stomping ground'. Its been awhile since I've ran the Lake Union Loop and up through UW on the Burke Gilman trail. It was nice, the sun came out and all the vibrant leaves made for a colorful start to the day.

We're off to tour several apartments today. Should be fun.

The other girl

2008-10-21T17:50:00.000-07:00

You know those little things you avoid talking about because bringing up that subject always ends in disagreements? (ie: I don't talk to my husband for hours...yep, that's me, totally passive-agressive)

That 800 pound gorilla sitting in the room?

The thing that you can't seem to discuss without getting frustrated?

*hand raised real high*

Yeah.

We have one subject that we tiptoe around.

Her name is Silvia.

Todd talks about her every once in awhile, shows pictures of them when they were younger, smiles as he remembers all the wonderful times they had together. She was there for him in high school and college, he even moved her to Seattle when he got a job up here. She was perhaps his first love. I think our best man's toast was more about her than me.

In the years that we dated, Todd started spending less time with her, and she eventually just sat by and stayed mostly out of the way. Never made a move to win back the title of his favorite girl.

But I know she's still around. Sometimes he even reminds me just how close Silvia and I are in his ranking of favorite things. Thankfully I always rank just a wee bit above her.

Oh yeah, Silvia is a car.

You may think "Its just a car, why get so irrational over it?" Ah, yes, excellent question.

But to fully explain this, I'd have to go back in time to when my Dad began collecting his cars (no time for that- it would take an entire book to tell about all of his cars). And then my brother followed in his footsteps. I've seen the stress it causes my mother and sister-in-law. I never wanted that for myself.

But sometimes, things work out in ways you never wished for. I fell in love with a man who loves cars. Just like the other two favorite men in my life.

*sigh*

I suppose I could learn to love Silvia if I'd have the chance to actually go for a ride in her or drive her somewhere, but instead she has been locked in a storage unit for the past several years. Gathering mold. Going nowhere. She has no seats. No battery. And her rent is not cheap. I liken it to flushing your money down the toilet every month. What is the use in having a car that doesn't run? Why not get rid of it? Touchy subject indeed.

This past weekend, much to my delight, we put Silvia on a trailer and hauled her off to Idaho where she can be close to her grandparents.

We can go visit her whenever we want, which makes Todd happy. And we're paying 75% less each month for storage, which makes me happy. Perhaps we can put that money to good use and get her some parts.

And sell her. Muahahahahaaa!

I kid, I kid. I know how much he loves her. And as long as he loves me more, I'm fine if they stay friends and keep in touch every once in awhile..

War.....what is it good for?

2008-10-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

I have recently become a huge fan of this website. Can't remember how I discovered it, but it's a slight addiction right now.

Kitten War

Even if you don't like kittens so much (*cough* jamie), you have to admit this is pretty cute. I do feel bad having to make one of the kittens a 'loser', but like the site states "all our kittens are winners really...".

I even submitted a picture of our beloved Miles McCool (may he rest in peace), but either it's still pending approval or the judges have decided he isn't 'kitten' enough.

After all, he was maybe 12 (he never would reveal his real age to us) when the picture was taken, so that would qualify him more for the ElderlyCats War if they had a website for that.

He's still a winner in my heart. Look at that ornery face. Even in his last days he was a playful, happy dude.

Vote for Miles McCool in 2008!
[That's the most political you'll ever hear me be]

the number for today is 7.

2008-10-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

Now that I have a little extra free time on my hands....no wedding planning or projects to fuss over, no full-time job to be bored at all day...I've taken this opportunity to get back to my love of training for races.

The annual Seattle Marathon is coming up quickly at the end of November, and since I enjoyed the 1/2 marathon last year, I really wanted to run it again this year. This will be my 7th half marathon, but the first one that I'll be running a 2nd time. My training won't be as gradual as I would like since I just basically started training about 8.5 weeks out, but I'll make it work as long as it doesn't kill my legs.

So far, so good.

This past weekend was sunny and lovely, we got to drive the convertible with the top down 2 days in a row!–- A rare statement for October in Seattle.

But I especially took advantage of the wonderful fall weather to do a long run yesterday afternoon. I'd planned on going 6 but decided to just push it a little further and run to meet up with Todd at a coffee shop he was going to be doing some work at. I like to call it the 'lake-to-sound-to-steep steps-to coffee' run.

It ended up being 7.7 miles, surprisingly at an 8:28 pace. And that was including all the annoying stop lights along the way and the painfully steep stairclimb through Pike Place market you see there right before mile 7.

Ugh.

But those stairs are so worth it after running along my new favorite spot. This is the second run I've taken down through the Olympic Sculpture park and along the Puget Sound through Myrtle Edwards and Elliot Bay parks.

It humbles and amazes me each time–- that we live in such a beautiful city and yet are just a quick run away from nature's grandeur. The sun was hovering just above the Olympic mountains and lit up the water like fire. It makes a long run so much easier when you can watch the boats sail by and the waves crash on the rocks. I wish I'd had my camera.

I finished up at Uptown Espresso where Todd was, then we walked home, stopping at the grocery store for a couple items so I could make tacos for dinner. What a great way to finish out a lovely weekend.

a glimmer of hope

2008-10-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

If there's one thing I never understood about my husband (hmmm...still feels a little weird calling him that), it is his odd eating preferences. Or, mostly his dislikes. Seafood, tomatoes, mushrooms, feta cheese, etc....and STRAWBERRIES!??!

*GASP!*

I'm the strawberry girl, after all! My birth announcements were strawberries that said 'its strawberry season and we picked a sweet one'.

awwwwwww.....how cute is that?

They've always been my #1 favorite food, and to find out recently that he's "not too fond of strawberries" was a major shock to my system and everything I've ever believed. God really led me to marry this man??

But learning his eating habits, I've realized how fortunate I was growing up.

My grandpa and dad would take us fishing and we'd clean and fry up that day's catch. Catching a fish with caviar (not the fancy expensive type, mind you, this was pond fish) was a special treat and my brother and I would fight over the little yellow egg packets. My grandparents were all farmers and gardeners so fresh veggies and fruits were what we ate on a daily basis. We prepped for the winters by canning and freezing the summer's produce.

At the time, I thought it was such a pain to have to pick the corn, shuck the corn, clean the corn, cook the corn, can the corn, freeze the corn....now I miss that.

My mom always did such a great job of fixing meals with a wide variety of ingredients and flavors, giving us a varied, well developed flavor palate. Plus, if I didn't eat my food, my brother would scarf it down and there was no peanut butter and jelly sandwich waiting for me instead.

Back to my original point....my seafood disliking husband. This has been an ongoing struggle for me since we've lived in the same city and I've been cooking for us. We are blessed to live in one of the best places to get fresh seafood in the world. Even so, we don't frequent many seafood restaurants, except on special occasions or when friends/family come to town.

I make this sacrifice in hopes that some day he'll realize he loves seafood. I leave my sushi eating to going out with friends. Besides, I can find some decent seafood in restaurants where he can have his chicken and beef. It's not always so easy the other way around.

I've been limited on what I cook for dinners. No tomato based products either (this is equally as difficult....i LOVE my parents' garden grow cherry tomatoes, those things are like candy to me).

Well yesterday I didn't feel like having chicken again. Didn't want to walk to the grocery store in the rain. But I did have some frozen Tilapia I'd picked up at Trader Joe's awhile back. I'd mostly intended to save it for when we're not able to eat dinner together, then I'd make it for myself.

Should I make fish? This was my dilemma for awhile and when he called me, I tiptoed around how to tell him I was thinking of making fish for dinner.

"I'm wondering if you..."
"What if I make, um..."

Oh for goodness sakes, he's your husband, he can eat it or make his own food!

"Is it okay if I make fish for dinner tonight?"

"Yeah hun, that sounds good."

What a sweetheart :) I love him.

I made fish. It was delicious. And he even said he liked it.

There's a bright glimmer of hope even in the darkest places....

A New Leaf

2008-10-08T13:55:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to blog everyday since we've returned from our honeymoon, but obviously, have failed to do so. I have too much to blog about, but I'm torn between what I want to blog about. And torn between where I want my blog to go. What started solely as a running blog became a random update site on my new experiences living halfway across the country from friends and family. And frankly, I think my mom is the only family member who even reads it! Thanks mom, love ya.

So I'm looking to do something different with this blog.

Maybe change the name. Definitely change the look at some point. Blog more frequently for sure. Maybe focus on blogging about more varied, intimate details of my daily life.

I read A LOT of blogs out there, so I have a tremendous amount of inspiration (which also shows me where i'm seriously lacking in having an interesting blog).

I keep up on my friends' blogs, wedding blogs, design blogs, photography, travel, culinary, spiritual, financial.....it's funny how my blogrolls have grown as my life has changed. I read only a couple running blogs now and have started reading more food and finance blogs as an attempt to be a good wife and set up a budget for our family.

But I'm first and foremost drawn to the wedding and design blogs b/c I consider that a form of research for work.

Yes, if I didn't officially previously mention it, I quit my 9-5 job at an ad agency to pursue my passion of having my own customized stationery design business. So I'm not sure if that's where I'll take this blog right now, or start a new one specifically for that, but I'm thinking all these things through while I get back into the groove of blogging about my new married life.

stay tuned....

MARRIED!

2008-09-15T22:20:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to announce that we're married!!

Everything went fabulously and I could not have imagined a more awesome day. I'll get around to posting more pictures later, but for now, I'll focus on enjoying our honeymoon in San Francisco (I already had a yummy In-n-Out burger and strawberry milk shake...MMMM!).

4 states down....4 to go.

2008-09-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming....check, check, check, check.

We made it to Spearfish, South Dakota late last night and found a hotel room to crash at. After 13 hours of driving (or, riding, in my case) and 800 miles, I was eager to get some good sleep and realign my back.

Highlights from the day of driving include, but are not limited to:
-Crossing the Clark Fork river 15 times.
-Winning another bet against our friend Erin for not seeing any signs for hamburgers for over 30 miles.
-75 mph speed limits!
-Getting to listen to the K-State football game while driving through Montana State country, the team we were playing and eventually beat 69-10. It's not often that K-State games are broadcast out in Seattle, so that was a pleasant surprise.
-Being a couple weeks too late to attend the Testicle Festival in Montana. Thank goodness!

We're getting ready to hit the road again and make it through South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska and 7 miles into Kansas, where I'll finally feel like we're 'home'.

Goldie's Last Hurrah

2008-09-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

I write this from the front seat of my car, Goldie. Just for safety's concern, I should clarify that I'm in the passenger seat, NOT the driver's seat.

Todd, Goldie, my dress Bella, and I are making the long haul back to Kansas City for our wedding (also our luggage and about 5 boxes of wedding stuff). Yes, my dress has a name--she has a personality all her own and she's taking up most of the back seat.

Our road trip will be a quick one, as we're eager to get back and get things ready and rollin'. We left Seattle this afternoon and are currently driving to Todd's parents' house in Idaho where we'll have yummy greek food for dinner and spend the night.

Tomorrow we'll drive through to Rapid City, South Dakota and then Sunday we'll drive to my parents' house in small town northeast Kansas and then rolling into Kansas City on Monday. I'm excited that we are able to include stops at both parents' and spend a little bit of time with them before things get too excitingly hectic.

Should be fun. I'll probably post more during this trip than I have the past month :) Enjoy.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

2008-08-28T15:19:00.000-07:00

These past couple of weeks have left me with very minimal time to do any worthwhile blogging, but I figured I'd leave an update now, lest I don't get around to it any other time within the next week.

Someone once told me that 3 of the biggest changes you'll experience in a lifetime are:
1. Getting Married
2. Moving
3. Starting a new Job

Well, I'm doing all 3 of those (kinda) within the next two weeks. I'm not STARTing a new job, but I am quitting my current job and figuring out what to do next with my occupational life.

Tonight, we're moving my stuff out of my apartment and into Todd's. I am sad about this, as I've loved living in my Eastlake studio the past year. It was the only year in my life that I lived completely by myself. No parents or siblings or roommates. (not saying I liked it MORE than living with others, it was just different) The location was perfect to jump on several of my favorite running routes, and I was just a 3 block walk to Lake Union. I'll miss it.

But its bittersweet, as I'm moving my things to start my married life together with Todd. For that, I'm uberly excited and it makes moving a little less painful.

As one can imagine, it's a little stressful around these parts, but thankfully work is not busy any more since I'm phasing myself out of there, so I get to do the majority of my wedding communcation during work hours :)

Just looking forward to getting everything finalized and seeing our family and friends together for our wedding!

One Month

2008-08-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

The real countdown is on.

30 days until the wedding. One month.

Which means 22 days until we load up the car and drive back to Kansas. Oddly enough, I'm really looking forward to that part. I think it will be a great pre-wedding stress reliever, driving through beautiful Washington, Idaho, Montana,Wyoming...South Dakota...Iowa...Nebraska...well, the beautiful scenery kinda starts to dwindle halfway through the trip but still, I'm looking forward to it. At least we won't be driving a 17 foot UHaul pulling a car trailer, like we did on my move to Seattle last year.

No UHaul = faster driving, the ability to listen to music of our choice, less gas (not to mention, having to physically squeeze the gas pump handle while the truck filled up for 10 minutes) and not feeling like the engine is going to explode going down the mountain roads.

In the meantime, I keep running, packing up my apartment, and trying to enjoy this time while its here.

Best News of My Day!

2008-08-08T16:16:00.000-07:00

How I have not heard about this sooner, I don't know, but my friend Aubrey sent me this link today. Rock 'n Roll Marathon is coming to Seattle!

Next June. I'm marking it on my calendar now.

I'm extremely excited because ever since Rock 'n Roll San Diego, I've always wanted to run another RNR marathon to redeem myself from the shin injury. Right now, I'll aim for the full marathon, but if Aubrey runs the half, I might join her in that. Regardless, this makes me very happy.

crunched

2008-08-05T17:02:00.000-07:00

Time keeps on ticking ticking ticking....

Lately, I’ve found it difficult to find any time to do anything that I really need to do. My to-do list grows everyday and I can’t seem to get anything checked off. 39 days until our wedding, which means 31 days until we drive back to KS, which means I need more than 24 hours in a day.

I’m trying to focus on keeping myself healthy, getting rest, not getting stressed out, but it’s getting more difficult every day. I’m not happy at my job, so I’m stressed about what to do next. I’m maxed out with planning, but I should enjoy this time since it only happens once. I found myself recently succumbing to everything and sobbing my way down the street. I hate it when I’m in a weird funk. It’s not fair to Todd and it’s not healthy for me.

I do somehow manage to keep finding time for my gym classes and my running. It’s the best stress reliever I have. I’ve built my way back up to 5 miles, though at this point, I have no goals of running any races before October. There is a 10K in nearby Woodinville wine country in 2 weeks that I would like to do, but it’s also the morning that our friends are throwing us a couples’ shower. So I pick the shower fun over the 10K run, of course!

This past weekend I wrangled Todd into going with me to watch the Blue Angels perform. We took the bus to the Mt. Baker neighborhood above the I-90 tunnel and had some great views over the performance over Lake Washington. At some points, they even flew so close to use you could see the pilots (I think one winked at me). It was awesome! We caught some of the Sunday show while we were doing some shopping in SODO, so it was neat to get a different vantage point. I want to be an acrobatic pilot now.
Can’t wait until they’re back at SeaFair next year!

Say Cheeeeeese!

2008-07-23T15:09:00.001-07:00

I realize I mentioned several times that I would follow up a couple of my posts with pictures. Well, I lost my camera USB cord and just found it last night, so here’s a recap of some of my summer so far, in pictures.

Todd with his parents- riding the Seattle Streetcar

Todd with my parents— our wooden boat ride on Lake Union

Me- sailing the ship. (this is the only picture where I'm not eating my hair.)

Aye Aye, captain!

A view of my apartment from Lake Union (or near proximity of my place)

my pieced-together panoramic view of GasWorks Park

My awesome birthday present from Todd, a Mac Mini. I named him Cooper. And pretty birthday flowers from my NY friend Kaddie.

Kayaking fun!

Followed by some yummy mexican food at Agua Verde cafe

Agua Verde Paddle Club

Oddly, in all these photos it is cloudy. I think it's because they're from June, which was an oddly cool/cloudy month. Apparently I don't carry my camera on sunny days....oh, and I guess it didn't help that I had no more storage space left on my memory stick.

Additionally....I ran 3 miles Monday and 3.5 miles this morning with no foot problems.
We're heading back to Kansas early tomorrow morning for several bridal showers and final wedding vendor meetings. Should be lots of fun, though I'm kinda dreading the heat!

Two months

2008-07-21T16:32:00.000-07:00

We have passed the two month countdown to the wedding. It’s starting to get real. And very busy.

Thankfully, the invitations are out of my hands now, and I’m excited to say that I’ve already finished one project for someone after they saw the invitations I made. A PAID project, I should add. I like to think of this as a small stepping stone on my path to someday having my own design business.

I hate it when I go too long without blogging. There’s too much to try and have a full recap and nothing seems as special as it was when it recently happened. So, I’ll just pick up with this past weekend and move forward from here.

Having my longest running hiatus since my stress fracture, I was beginning to think I was slowly morphing my way into being one of those people who don’t run. It was a frightening thought. But I didn’t want to further injure myself, so I waited. And waited. I learned to love the boxing and strength training classes at my gym, but still felt guilty being inside when the summer in Seattle is so perfect.

Saturday, after 5 weeks of waiting, I ran. I ended up going about 2.5 miles and my foot did not hurt. Congratulations, self.

Saturday was also the annual Microsoft Company picnic, so Todd and I caught a bus to the campus and hopped on a charter bus to the picnic site at the base of Mount Si. This is no picnic site like you’d find in a park. This is acres upon acres of free games and food and entertainment. It turned out to be a great day and while we had fun, it’s probably our last company picnic for several years.

Sunday was fun day. After church we took a drive in the convertible to my favorite cherry stand by Snoqualmie. $1 per basket! Yummy yummy cherries. $7 later I was a happy girl.

But by far, the best part of the day was the slip-n-slide soiree hosted by our friends Ryan and Aubrey. There were about 15 of us frolicking around enjoying the sunny day. But this was no ordinary slide, this was a surf-n-slide, with a small surfboard you were ‘supposed’ to slide on. While that didn’t fare too well for most of us, we found other ways to entertain ourselves and finished the day with some tasty bbq. Oh, to be young and carefree again……

Missing Miles

2008-06-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

This post is hard to write while I sit at work, but I don't want to wait, lest I end up not blogging at all. While the title could be interpreted as my 10 day absence from running, that's not the 'miles' i'm writing about.

This is:

Miles McCool Harris.

Todd adopted Miles from a rescue shelter about 4 years ago. They were constant companions, and when Todd decided to make the big leap and move to Seattle, Miles went along too. I first met Miles via ichat when Todd and I started dating long distance. We would wave at each other, and then he'd dart off into his favorite paper bag like a bolt of lightning. We finally met feet-to-whiskers 2 years ago and I like to think that he immediately took a liking to me. (perhaps he just was glad to have a female around)

I knew how much Miles meant to Todd, so when I eventually moved to Seattle and spent a couple of unemployed months staying with them, I learned to put aside my dislike of cat hair everywhere and the occasional vomit cleanup. They welcomed me with open arms (and paws) and we became a family. Miles and I spent every day together. He'd welcome me home from a run and lick the salty sweat off my forehead. He gladly helped me job search, perching on my shoulder like a parrot.

And he even did pilates with me...he liked it so much that he felt the need to use my mat as his own mat/bed/scratch pad. I knew we'd be buddies for life when I woke up in the middle of the night and found him sitting on my chest, watching me sleep. It became a comforting nightly ritual.

This past December, Miles started showing signs of sickness and the vet diagnosed him with kidney failure and feline AIDS. And to our surprise, apparently he was much older than we'd thought. For the past six months, Miles was on a strict kidney food diet, several medications, and we (eventually just Todd) gave him a subcutaneous electrolyte drip several times a week.

Despite these setbacks, his health seemed to improve and he was living out his ninth life to the fullest. This cat had more toys and blankets than I have shoes and purses. He had full run of the apartment.

But it’s so quiet there now.

Yesterday, we took Miles to the vet, knowing that we wouldn't be bringing him back home. I've never had to watch a family pet put to sleep. Growing up, our pets got ran over by tractors, trucks, disappeared into the night or ran off to another farm. Yesterday was just plain awful. You try telling yourself its for the best, don't be selfish and keep him around if he's in pain. We did the right thing. But it's hard.

No more Miles sitting on the window sill staring out at the Space Needle. No Miles to come greet us when we walk in the door, with his meowing that seemed to say "i've missed you, i'm so glad you're here, pet me." No Miles to sit on my face while I sleep at night, or sprawl out on my legs as if they're his own territory. No Miles to whisper secrets into my ears or hold a semi-intelligent conversation with (believe me, he could talk). No Miles to tear around the apartment at the speed of light. No more games of hide-n-seek. No Miles to get his head stuck in a water glass and make a sloppy mess.

It's cleaner in the apartment now. But I don't like it one bit.

I miss Miles.

Fight it

2008-06-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

plantar fasciitis. ugh.

It started hurting last Friday, but already by Saturday I was itching to go for a long run. I figured I’d just step out for a mile or two and see how it felt. The first four miles were me running on my right forefoot, avoiding pressure on the heel. Yes, I ‘tested it out’ for FOUR miles...but it didn’t hurt while I was running so I kept going. And then, factor in the lovely day and pain free running, I decided to go another four miles and bump up my total to eight.

Part of this decision had to do with me having my bridal gown fitting that evening. But part of me wanted to keep increasing my long run mileage.

That I did.

And come Sunday morning, I was majorly regretting it. (one would think that with all the lower extremity running injuries I’ve had, I would learn sooner rather than later that it takes rest to heal....unless you know how stubborn I am. Then it makes perfect sense why I ran.)

Although, I don’t think that running two miles or eight miles would’ve made much of a difference in the pain level. It flat out hurt. I stood on one foot or leaned on Todd during church and scooted around on a shopping cart at Target, but most of the day was spent trying to avoid putting any pressure on it.

And no, I haven’t gone to the doctor. I told myself that I would not run on it the rest of the week, then I’d see how it is on Saturday.

While I feel like my 8 mile long run is now a waste, I do want my foot to heal so I decided to experience some new alternative workouts to running. I went to yoga and kickbox/bootcamp classes this week that made my muscles the sorest they’ve been in a long time. Love that feeling!

Now, it's up to me to decide whether or not to restrain myself from running this weekend.....but it's supposed to be really nice out....must. fight. the. urge.

Weather wonders

2008-06-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

It's June here, and when the rest of the country seems to be sweating their way through summer temps, us Seattleites have been pulling out our already-boxed-up-until-next-winter sweaters and finding ways to convince ourselves the sun will come out tomorrow. or the next day. or the next. or maybe in July.

I was on my lunch break, sitting on a bench reading a book when a strange light shone down on me, creating an odd warming sensation on my head. It seems so long since I've felt this presence, it took me several seconds to realize....the SUN!

The sun is out and it's a good day in Seattle.

On a less sunny note....my alma mater was hit by a tornado last night. The city (ok, more like 'large town') of Manhattan, Kansas, and the Kansas State University campus suffered an extensive blow. Storm damage on campus alone is believed to excede $20 million.

from wibw.com

I'm thankful that it is summer semester and not as many students are in town, but looking at the pictures I have seen posted online, I can only be saddened that the place I called home for 4 (and 1/2) years is now in shambles. While they're resilient and they'll rebuild, I'm sure thoughts and prayers would be appreciated. And if you'd like to help with a donation: K-State Tornado Relief

Numbers

2008-06-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

100.

100 days. Yesterday marked 100 days until our wedding. While I’m not yet freaking out, I am much more aware of all the overwhelming things I need to do in 100 days. Well, 99 days now. and counting. Oh goodness.

26.

Shout out to J-Gib, my Gemini twin. Today is her 26th birthday. Saturday is my 26th birthday. Two years ago we celebrated our ‘Sweet Sixteen and a half’ birthdays together. I think everyone, except for the two of us, was confused as to why we called it that. Uh…16+(1/2 of 16)=24. We thought it was clever.

I was on crutches and painkillers as a result of my marathon shin fracture debacle, but I’ll always cherish that birthday. Hopping around like a disabled princess, yet surrounded by friends.

10

10 hours of driving in Todd's car is not comfortable. I felt like a crumpled up piece of paper by the time I got out of the car. We made a 'quick' 5-hour drive to Idaho for his Uncle Ken's memorial service and had to turn around and get back to Seattle without much time to rest. But I'm glad we went, I only met Ken two years ago, but there was never a dull moment when in his presence. We'll miss Uncle Ken and his great sense of humor (and homemade wine). It helped me reflect on my own friends and family who've left us all too early, but as someone perfectly stated it yesterday, we experience these hardships so that we can come to know God and appreciate the life he's blessed us with. Amen to that.

Todd bought me 2 pounds of cherries, 3 pounds of apricots, 1 cantaloupe, 5 apples and 1 bundle of asparagus at one of the roadside fruitstands that dot the landscape in Middle-Washington. I should do something great and make a pie or cobbler, but likely will just end up snacking on them and giving myself a tummyache. Totally worth it!

busybusy bee

2008-06-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

Busy busy bee....that's me.
June is here! Without a doubt, my favorite month of the year.

It's the transition from spring to summer— when the days are long and the cool breeze blows in through the open windows while I'm sleeping. It's prime-time strawberry season. My #1 favorite berry. Yes, that's correct, I have an entire list of my favorite berry rankings. Perhaps I'll share that with you someday. And of course, it's my birthday month! No additional explanation for excitement needed there.

As I mentioned in my last post, it's been a busy couple of weeks, with my friend Cat and my parents all visiting back-to-back.

Some favorite highlights of mine include our multi-restaurant 'sushi crawl', going kayaking in Portage Bay, Espresso martinis at Chandler's, my first Mariners' game (and my annual eating of a hot dog), sailing in a 19th century wooden boat on Lake Union and having both Todd and my parents in town to meet for the first time. And that's only the short list— I'll try to round up some pictures to post later.

I love having visitors— showing them my beloved adopted city and even experiencing new things myself— but I'm in serious need of some 'katie time'. I need to enjoy it while I can before wedding prep chaos takes over.

Then I'll be crazy bee. I'm sure all around me are looking forward to that. MuahahaHAHAHAAA!!

Cheese & Cat

2008-05-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

There comes a point in one person’s life when they can’t possible eat any more cheese.

This happened to me Saturday at the Cheese Festival. But what was I to do? There was a plethora of cheese for the sampling....bleus, feta, cheddar, goat, brie, camembert, chevre, gouda, fontina, mozzarella, stilton, swiss....ah, the list could go on and on, and those are just the more common names I remember ingesting. I can’t even remember what my favorite one was called, because I was herded on to the next cheese station before I could take note.

The downside of the Cheese Festival
1. Hordes of people packed together scrounging for free cheese in the 85 degree heat. Sweaty claustrophia.
2. My stomach couldn’t even make it through two tents. I missed out on at least 4 others.
3. Sunburn. Red. Pain.

The upside of the Cheese Festival
1. Mmmm....cheese.
2. Enjoying the vibrant Seattle culinary scene with Todd, Aubrey & Ryan.
3. Pike Place Market on a sunny day is one of my favorite places to be.

Despite our gluttony on cheese, we still made a dessert stop at our favorite cheesecake shop, The Confectional. I restrained myself from a yummy individual cheesecake and had a delicious caramel cheesecake truffle instead. I convinced myself (fairly easily) that the entire day's cheese overload was deserved after my morning 5-mile run.

My best friend Catherine is coming today for a six day visit! I’m so excited and I don’t want to be stuck at work right now, but at least I have a four day weekend to spend with her. I’m not sure what all we’ll do in addition to the touristy stuff, but there’s sure to be sushi and wine and a wedding dress fitting and a jog or two along the lake together.

new kicks

2008-05-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

Behold, my shiny new Adrenalines.

I took them for their first run last night and I have no complaints. They felt great, looked great, and had the right amount of support and cushioning. While my heel didn't give me any problems, my knee did start hurting after two miles, I think that's just because I took some time off and probably should've done a shorter, slower run. But it was so gorgeous out so I wanted to get in at least a three mile run. And I was kinda crunched for time so I had to run faster. This is somewhat logical thinking, right?

I ran to Gas Works park via Eastlake/Burke Gilman trail. Lots of people were out running, playing frisbee, taking engagement photos, flying kites, doing some weird trapeze artistry.......

It's my favorite park in Seattle, set on a hill at the north end of Lake Union where there used to be a gas manufacturing plant. With a picturesque view of downtown, its a great place to watch the sailboats and seaplanes come and go.

I stopped there briefly to enjoy the view, then looped back to Trader Joe's to conclude my 'grocery run', where I discovered a new favorite treat— the Pinachio cookie, made with pistachios and white chocolate chunks. MMMMmm!

Tomorrow is the Seattle Cheese Festival, we're hoping to meet up with some friends and partake in some yummy cheese and wine.

undetermined

2008-05-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

I’ve been away for awhile. Not so much physically away, but more so mentally.

We had some layoffs at my company, which cut my department in half and left me with twice the workload. The last two weeks were unbearably crazy, but thankfully this week has slowed down and allowed me time to breathe.

I reorganized my cube, hung some engagement photos, traded in my office chair for an exercise ball (I’ve only fallen over once), and adopted a couple of plants.

I feel as though I’m in dire need of a vacation. Not just a lazy weekend or a random day off of work, a REAL vacation. With complete freedom to do whatever I want to do and not worry about deadlines and to-do lists.

We went to Idaho last weekend to visit Todd’s parents, and for the next three weeks, we have a steady stream of friends/family visiting. (which I LOVE, don’t get me wrong. I’d even love more people to visit Seattle!)

It’s just that I think I’m fed up with my job and ready to be done with it and do something I enjoy. Still trying to figure out what that will be.

My running seems to have taken a vacation though. I’ve had a sore heel for over a week. And I'm doing my best to go against my normal way of dealing with injuries—which is to keep on running anyways— and give it some decent rest to heal before I start 'training' for some undetermined summer race.

In good news, my co-worker’s girlfriend works at Brooks Running headquarters and got me some new shoes with a sweet discount, plus she threw in two pairs of free shorts. I love free swag.

With the lovely weather today and through this weekend, I’m hoping to get in some pain-free runs. Oooh, and maybe go kayaking! Have a picnic! Something fun in the sun. With sunscreen, of course. I don't mind the recent cloudy, cool Seattle weather, but it's always exciting to see the sun come out to play.

Goin' to Kansas City

2008-04-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

Kansas City, here I come!

We're off to our homeland before the sun even rises, catching a 4:30am bus to the airport. Ugh. Who planned that?

Oh yeah, I did.

I had to, in order to get the most out of our short visit, packed with wedding vendor meetings, a couple's communication class at the church, tux/bridesmaid dress fittings, and squeezing in as much time as possible with family and a few friends.

That's the bad thing about going back home. I love making the trip, but it's impossible to see everybody I want to, or even try to see everyone with all the other items to check off the to-do list. And this time more than any previous, it seems like there's a gazillion to-do items.

It's a weird mix of fun and stress, but I'm excited for it and wouldn't want to spend the next four days any other way.

My brother said we can play Nerf gun war :-)

Happy Earth Day!

2008-04-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

Since moving to Seattle, I’ve become more eco- friendly, sometimes without even making a conscious effort to do so. Compared to the Midwest, it seems people here are much more concerned about the environment and aware of taking measures to protect it.
It's easy to see why Seattle is in the top 10 Greenest Cities in the U.S.

I love it. Living here encourages me to take advantage of the beautiful outdoors, eat locally grown and/or organic foods, take public transporation, recycle, etc. I don’t even drive my car (Goldie) but once a week to bible study. Maybe twice a week if necessary, but sometimes Goldie sits undriven so long, I forget where I parked her.

I love being able to walk or ride the bus practically everywhere. Maybe I enjoy it because I was deprived of that option before. I love the bus. Or, as we prefer to call it....BOOSE!! (pronounced like goose)

My preferred method of grocery shopping involves me running to Trader Joe’s— with my cloth shopping bags rolled up and tucked under my arm like a football player—and catching a ride on the bus back home.

I realize in many places it’s difficult, maybe even impossible to walk to the store or work, but there are so many alternatives that you can do to be kind to Mother Earth.
-Reduce your shower time in order to save water
-Use non-disposable cups, plates, utensils and avoid using paper napkins/towels
-Get some reusable grocery bags, and if possible, tell store clerks you can do without a bag. Plastic bags are evil!
-Recycle, recycle, recycle
-Shop at your local farmer's market and buy locally grown produce that wasn't trucked in from clear across the country

It’s simple. Start small. We all have a long way to go, but even by changing just one small thing, you can help.

no clever title here

2008-04-15T10:13:00.001-07:00

1. NASC: I've gone 1 week of being artificial sweetener-free and I gotta say, it hasn't been difficult at all. With my main grocery stores being Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, that practically eliminates any chance of me purchasing products made with artificial sweeteners. The majority of items they carry are made with no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives, no MSG and no added Trans Fats. What did I ever do without a Trader Joe's??? I ate fake food, that's what.

2. Running: Last week was a great week for running, I put in 20 miles. 3 miles on the treadmill, 5.5 miles (around Lake Union, then to Trader Joe's for groceries), 3 miles on Thursday morning, and 8.7 miles on Friday evening since the weather was so nice. I figured I would do my long run on Friday instead of Saturday since we had a busy day planned.

Check out that early hill climb. The elevation chart doesn't even do it justice. It was a killer on my quads, but I knew it would be all downhill after mile 2 so that helped ease the pain.

3. Say Cheese: Saturday we met with our friends Chris and Laurie for a six-hour engagement photo excursion (with a break for Thai food in there somewhere). They have a professional-grade camera and were willing to put up with our nonsense so we took advantage of the lovely spring day and went to a few of Seattle's best locations for photo ops.
(I'll post some more pictures later when I get a chance)

Chris also had two tickets for a harbor cruise that they couldn't use, so Todd and I sailed off at 9 pm and spent three hours cruising around the Puget Sound with a bunch of 40-50 year olds. It was a great evening but we were both so wiped out from the day that we were ready to jump ship after an hour and go to sleep. Still, it was fun to go on a nighttime cruise and we spent some time just talking and entertaining ourselves with a game of who-knows-who best. I don't remember who won. Let's just say it was a tie.

Oh, the Glee!

2008-04-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

Day 3 of my 'no artificial sweetener challenge' (NASC)

My biggest fear with NASC was that I wouldn't be able to go without gum.

I'm a gum addict.

I chew gum when I finish a meal or coffee drink. I chew when I'm bored or don't have any food handy. I chew when I workout. When I run. Practically the only time I don't chew is when I'm sleeping. That just seems too dangerous.

My favorite gum is Extra Polar Ice. I keep a stash of it on hand and make sure I have a pack in every purse or gym bag I carry. I frequently find gum in my bathroom, makeup bag, coat pockets, coffee table, shoes....it's like a special surprise everytime I find a forgotten pack.

So I went cold turkey. No gum. Ugh.

But wait! Just when I thought all hope was lost, (ok not even 24 hours had passed) I found this.

Imagine my glee (pun totally intended) when I discovered Glee.

It's all natural, no preservatives, or artificial flavors or sweeteners. Natural means that they use chicle, derived from the sap of a certain tree in Central America, which in turn, helps sustain the rain forest. Glee is good for everyone!

My only gripe with it is that the flavor doesn't last long, but it is good to chew following a meal. At least I won't have stinky breath. And I'm helping the rain forest, which isn't something you do by chewing Extra gum.

I'm not so sweet anymore

2008-04-07T10:44:00.000-07:00

I'm giving myself a new challenge. It's part mental, part health-related.

I've decided to go a month without ingesting any artifical sweeteners. I've been known to carry around packets of Splenda with me, but I've been cutting back on my intake recently. And when I had some in my coffee yesterday, I realized what people mean when they say it leaves a 'chemical-like' taste. Plus, with all the possible medical side effects, I figure I might as well cut myself off now.

This means no diet soft drinks, no Splenda in my coffee.

In fact, I found a list of possible 'no' foods: Soft drinks, vitamin & herb supplements, yogurt, instant breakfasts, candy, breath mints, cereals, sugar-free chewing gum, cocoa mixes, coffee beverages, instant breakfasts, gelatin desserts, frozen desserts, juice beverages, laxatives, milk drinks, shake mixes, tabletop sweeteners, tea beverages, instant teas and coffees, topping mixes, wine coolers, etc.

Hmmm...perhaps I haven't thought this fully through. I'm fine with no diet soda and no Splenda, but....No gum?!! No sugar-free Jell-O? No more of my favorite yogurt?

I do like that this presents a definite challenge for me. I'll just have to be more aware of what I buy and I'll have to eat the real versions of certain foods. Because when you think about it, artificial sweeteners just make our foods fake. Not how God intended it.

I started my challenge today and I'm aiming for one month of non-sweetener life*. This could either be a good month— improving my health, eating more natural foods, etc. Or, this could be a bad month— bad breath, crankiness, weight gain....this list goes on and on.

I'm hoping it's the former.

*This does not include meals I can't control: eating out at restaurants and/or not knowing what specific ingredients are in foods.

Peep Fiction

2008-03-21T13:19:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, an office memo went out about the annual Peeps contest, so I sent out a request for ideas to my always ingenious Non-Blonde girls. They're four of my close friends from college that helped me through many a late night working on last-minute advertising projects. Now that we're all geographically separated with jobs and grad school, we resort to daily emails to keep each other entertained and bounce ideas off of one another.

They gave me some creative suggestions, and last night I rounded up supplies then Todd and I worked until early morning getting our project perfected. I've never had so much fun with cherry jelly.

Presenting.....'Peep Fiction'

My new favorite thing

2008-03-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

I went to REI last night to buy Todd a new Nalgene water bottle since he's on a 'no soda' rule and I thought I'd make it easy on him so he could keep one at home and one at work. While there, I found my new favorite thing.

Introducing......my SIGG.

(only mine has the twist top, not the cap top)

SIGGs have many appeals, including:

1. The aluminum design is eco-friendly and doesn't leave a 'plasticy' taste. In fact, I think it makes the tap water taste better (that's probably all in my head though). And with recent studies claiming that plastic bottles can potentially leak toxins into their contents, I figure I'll do my best to avoid that risk.

2. Very cool graphic art exteriors and various lids to choose from.
(here are just a few)

3. They're made in Switzerland, and I'M made in Switzerland! Ok, technically, I wasn't MADE in Switzerland, but my maternal ancestors were, which makes me 1/2 Swiss.
I love all things Swiss...Swiss Cheese, Swiss Chocolate, Swiss Army knives, Swiss watches, Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa (although this isn't actually made by the Swiss, it's made by Nebraskans). And most importantly, the Swiss' neutrality during World Wars. Gotta respect that.

This is where I segue into my lifelong dream to travel to Switzerland....ever since I was little and my grandparents would talk about their ancestral land, I've wanted to go there and stay at a chalet and eat cheese and chocolate and play an alpenhorn while frolicking in the Alps in some lederhosen with my hair braided like Heidi. Someday, somehow I'll fulfill that dream. And I'll be sure to have my trusty SIGG by my side.

....she was a showgirl

2008-03-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've posted about our Thursday Night Dinner Club outings, but with guests in town and conflicting schedules, we took a short hiatus. Well, we're back and we've gradually morphed into Friday Night Dinner Club– due to 50% of the club wanting to watch 'Lost' now that new episodes are airing (we are the other 50%). As a result, a fairly unanimous decision was made to change TNDC to FNDC (and by 'fairly unanimous', i mean that Aubrey and I made an executive decision without consulting Ryan and Todd).

This week's FNDC took us to Lola, a Greek-inspired restaurant that uses locally grown ingredients. Normally, it would be a bit out of our price range but being married to/dating Microsoft employees does have its occasional advantages– this time in the form of the Prime Card, which gives you a 'Buy one entree, get the second free' deal at numerous area restaurants, Lola being one of them. It's practically our only chance to eating fancy.

The Oregon Pinot Gris was yummy, and since Greek food is practically my favorite cuisine, I figured anything I ordered would be excellent. Lamb, hummus, feta, olives, scallops...those are like the best foods ever! I LOVE lamb and don't ever order steak (or even eat it more than maybe once a month), but the Washington Hanger Steak reeled me in and boy was it succulent! I would totally go back again, but I'm not sure that Todd would if it weren't for the Prime Card savings, since most of the menu is lamb, goat and seafood dishes. It's my ongoing struggle to get him to branch out and try foods other than chicken, cheese and coffee.

The one downside to eating at Lola? For the entire evening and most of the following day, I had Barry Manilow's Copacabana lyrics dancing through my head....

Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl
With yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there....

And now hopefully you have it in your head too. You're welcome. :)

Blingaring

2008-03-06T12:51:00.000-08:00

A little backstory:
When Todd proposed, he did so with a simple solitaire ring, and my first thought was "This is nothing like the design I had told him I liked, but oh well, it's still pretty". He explained that my 'real ring' was still being custom made so we went to the jewelry store to see what my ring would look like. And last week, I finally got the final product.....drumroll please.......

....*drumming sound*.....

He did well......very well.

just keep swimming....just keep swimming

2008-03-04T13:57:00.000-08:00

The engagement shock has worn off and I've turned into part-time, full-blown wedding planner extraordinaire (that's only somewhat of a contradiction). It's been one month and I have the church, reception venue, caterer and DJ all booked. My dress is bought and waiting for me in a secured vault at the seamstress.

The wedding planning is coming along quite swimmingly. The marathon planning, on the other hand.....that is swimming along like a cement block in Lake Union.

This is where I'm all out of whack— I haven't been able to balance the two very well. My running has suffered in the name of invitation designing and reception idea brainstorming. Tell you what— it's a good thing I am my own designer, because the bill for my hourly labor spent so far would be more than I spend on rent for the year.

And while I've been told "that's okay, you should enjoy this time of your life since it only happens once", I can't wholeheartedly agree with that. I NEED running. I NEED the escape, the fresh air, the energized feeling, the lack of guilt when I eat 4 Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs. Seriously, what do they put in those things to make them so tasty and addicting?!?

So I've decided that while I have my 'Handy Dandy Little Wedding Planner Organizer' binder thingy, I need to get my 'You Are Going Running and There Will Be No Excuses' schedule thingy planned out so I stay focused on keeping myself (and everyone around me) sane.

My hand feels weird

2008-02-15T11:18:00.000-08:00

Ah yes, the most exciting news of my year so far and I haven't even blogged about it yet. (but thanks to Mouse for prompting me too)

I'M GETTING MARRIED!

I'm still getting used to the whole 'engaged' thing and I'm not one of those people who announce it from the rooftops, so perhaps that's the reason why it has taken me nearly 2 weeks to blog about.

February 2nd started out as any normal Saturday....the sun was out and the city was bustling. I went for a late morning run while Todd went to the coffee shop. We walked downtown for a late lunch and then went to Pike Place Market, walked around for a bit and headed down to the Waterfront Park on Elliot Bay. He led me to a nice quiet spot and asked me to marry him.

I was so caught by surprise that the first thing I managed to say was "Are you serious?" A little voice inside my head was telling me "for goodness sakes make sure you tell him 'yes'!"

And so I said yes. I immediately called my parents (who didn't answer), so I called my brother who told us to go buy a disposable camera since neither of us had our cameras with us. The nearest store just happened to be Pirates Plunder, and even though I begged to get an eye patch, we just bought the camera and went back to the park for some snapshots.

With planning for a wedding sure to keep me preoccupied for the next seven months, I'm not sure if I'll have time to train for/run the Eugene Marathon. I know I'll definitely need something to ease my stress, but I don't think I'll be able to focus as much as desired on months-long training. Besides, I only get to be engaged once so I want to savor that as much as possible. I can always run Eugene another year.

Split second decision

2008-02-01T16:55:00.000-08:00

I told myself that come Feb 1st, I would start training for a half marathon (MAYBE a full marathon). And prior to ten mintues ago, I'd put about zero thought into what race I would aim for. So being that today is Feb 1st, I said "hey girl, you make a decision. You make a decision before you leave work today. Or else..."

Not sure what the 'or else' entails, but I obeyed my own orders and have decided...DUM DUM DUM....

Eugene, here I come!

May 4th. That's a good three months away, so if I'm really feeling ambitious and confident that my legs will not fail me, perhaps I'll aim for the full marathon. No promises though, that's not something I can decide before I leave work today. Because I'm leaving now, so everyone have a great weekend!

sushi to the rescue

2008-01-23T13:22:00.000-08:00

Todd joined me on my Saturday run for about 1/2 mile. It was nice having him run along and he even mentioned running again so at least he doesn't hate it. I ended up going 4 miles along Lake Union and then spent most of the weekend just bumming around.

I didn't come to any decision on a spring marathon. I actually didn't do any thinking about that. I had a proposition to move to a different department at work so i spent quite a bit of time stressing about that, which did nothing to ease the pain of a lump on my neck, so i spent quite a bit of time stressing about that also, which just made last weekend uber stressy.

(I ended up deciding to stay at my current position and have a doctor appointment next week to check on my neck. It's been feeling much better today and the swelling has gone down, but I think its best to be safe.)

After a dismal start to my week, Todd showed up at my work with a bouquet of pretty pink tulips and then took me out to eat at I Love Sushi. It was a fantastic surprise and made my day five bazillion times better.

I hadn't been out for sushi since being back in KC in September. (weird, right? considering Seattle is more of a sushi hotspot than KC) I used to go out for sushi with my roommate Catherine several times a month, but Todd doesn't like sushi so my consumption here has been practically nonexistent. I've been having sushi withdrawal, so this was just what I needed to cheer me up.

I ate and ate and ate until my belly almost burst....mmmmmMMM!

my start to 2008

2008-01-17T13:39:00.000-08:00

Once again, it's been awhile since i've posted a blog update. But in my defense, I did have something typed up on Jan 2, I just never published it. And now, it doesn't make much sense to use it, so i deleted it and am starting anew. So my first blog of 2008.....

I've taken a couple weeks to relax from running and have only ran a couple miles once or twice a week whenever it's convenient for me. I feel kinda weird doing that now, being that it's that time of year when everybody and their dog makes a New Year's resolution to start exercising more and lose weight. And here I am, purposely slacking off. But after my (nearly) back-to-back half marathons last month, I felt I owed my body some time to be lazy.

While it's been somewhat nice not feeling obligated to work out, I'm raring to get back into a more structured running schedule and focus on a spring race (or two). I'm thinking about running Whidbey Island in April or Eugene, Oregon in May. I just need to decide if I'm going to stick with the half marathon, or finally take the extra step *pun intended* and do a full marathon.

I have a big weekend ahead, full of decision making....about marathons, about my job future...oh and Todd has offered to run with me for a 1/2 mile on my Saturday morning run. This is HUGE, and i'm really excited that he's willing to share in my enjoyment of running. Whether or not HE enjoys it, well, that's still to be determined.

Recap from the Big D

2007-12-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

Pop Quiz:

Dallas was _________.
a. a nice change from Seattle's weather
b. sunny and warm
c. cold

The correct answer is C. Dallas was cold.

Who would've thought? I packed my bags Friday night based on the forecast that it will be warm and humid, with a chance of rain.

WRONG.

While I was glad to not be running in warm and humid weather, I wasn't *quite* prepared for 40 degree temps. In hindsight, I probably should've packed some old gloves and a long sleeve shirt to wear before the race. And some warm pants would've been nice too.

But despite the weather surprise, it turned out to be a great race and a fun weekend with my cousins Leann, Ryan and his wife, Lindsay.

The course was flat and fast, the scenery was good and the crowds were impressive considering the 'not-so-pleasant-to-be-standing-outside-for-hours' weather. Ryan made an excellent running partner and pushed me at a faster pace than I normally run, but it felt great (up until the last mile).

The most exhilarating part of the race was running through downtown Dallas at Mile 12, the band was playing, the fans were cheering and the announcer shouted "Go Katie! You rock! One more mile!" My legs moved faster, my eyes teared up, and I pumped my fist in glee. But....that last 1.1 mile was the LONGEST ever. I kept trudging on though because I didn't want to slow Ryan down. (we talked after the race and he felt the same way about not wanting to slow me down. talk about good silent motivation!)

And when it was all over, we both walked away with a PR of 1:47:19! (This even despite our back-of-the-pack start and a 10:00 first mile.)

To top it all off, Leann and Lindsay (who ran the full marathon) both qualified for Boston!

I'll have more pictures to post soon, but now I'm just wrapping things up and heading back to Kansas City for a good ol' family Christmas time! Let's just pray the ice doesn't interfere with our fun.

Heading to the big D

2007-12-07T16:59:00.000-08:00

I get to enjoy a lovely evening by myself doing laundry and tucking myself into bed by 9 pm. It's a super early start for me tomorrow with a 7 am flight and since I'm confined by the bus schedules at such an early hour, my only chance to get there in time is to take the 4:15 bus. If I miss that bus.....well.....I'll be spending my weekend in chilly Seattle instead of deep in the heart of Texas.
I'm super excited for the weekend, although this will be the fastest cross country trip I've ever made. But it will be nice to spend time with my cousins and the weather looks like it won't be *too* bad:

It's my cousin Ryan's first half marathon and our plan is to run it together, so I'm really looking forward to having an entertaining run.

More details on the flip side!

rain, rain, go away

2007-12-03T16:47:00.000-08:00

Up until this past weekend I was beginning to doubt those who say Seattle has a wet winter. November was a relatively dry month and more than once I made the comment- "I was expecting Seattle to be much more rainy".

I eat my words.

Saturday brought a few inches of snow, but Sunday's rain and warmer temps washed it all away. I guess it just decided to keep on raining. And raining. And raining...... Over 3 inches of rain have fallen since midnight creating mudslides and widespread flooding.

I guess on days like this, I'm especially thankful that I ride the bus*.

*I should probably note that I waited 30 minutes for my bus this morning, only to find out that it had flooded driving through a tunnel before my stop, I got splashed by a tidal wave from a car driving by, and my jeans still haven't thoroughly dried, and my umbrella is so wimpy I have to keep it opened up with one hand.

It's probably time I get myself a pair of rain boots.

Oooh looky here

2007-11-27T16:59:00.000-08:00

My Seattle Half Marathon official time:
01:51:14.5

And apparently my timing chip didn't register at the start, so I like to think that my chip time is actually around 1:50:45. Still not quite a PR, but given that this course was hilly and my PR time was on an uber flat course, I feel really good about my 'I think I'm just going to go out easy and enjoy this race' time.

The legs are still sore, but I secretly delight in the pain, knowing that I pushed my body through a grueling challenge. Ok, 'grueling' might be a bit too extreme of a word...

Go go Seattle run

2007-11-25T17:53:00.000-08:00

Alright, I know i've been blogless for awhile....but instead of recapping the past six weeks, let's move forward and save some time.

This morning I ran the Seattle Half Marathon and while I haven't seen my official time, the clock showed 1:52:05 when I crossed the finish, so I'm happy with that. I found out a little too late that my battery was low on my Garmin, so I just left it turned off. And I actually finished faster than I had anticipated, since my original plan was to just go out and have a nice morning run. And you know how it goes when your adrenaline gets pumping.
(Plus, I had made Todd get up early to come support me so I knew he was waiting for me at the finish line and I tried my best to minimize his time standing around wondering when I was going to be done.)

While the November weather can be miserable, today was the ideal day for running. Sunny and in the low 40s at the start, I was pleasantly surprised with such a beautiful day to run. Overall the run was two thumbs up, with the exception of a few not-so-kind hills, especially a killer hill around mile 8. I can already tell that my quads are going to be angry at me for the next week. But they better shut up and deal with it soon, because I'm heading to Dallas in two weeks to run the White Rock Half Marathon with some of my cousins.

No time to take off from running, and besides, I gotta have some good motivation so I can eat Christmas cookies and mom's delicious caramels. mmmMM!

Running through an Autumn Wonderland

2007-10-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

I've found that's it's pretty easy to enjoy life in Seattle, especially during my favorite time of year. It's time to dig out the sweaters and scarves, keep an umbrella handy at all times, and marvel at the rich colors of the foliage. Autumn arrived earlier here than I was used to in the Midwest. While we were snuggling in our fleece with 50 degree days, they soaked up the 90 degree heat in Kansas. But I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Last night I couldn't wait to leave work so I could go for a run in the cool evening air. I put on some shorts but the clouds threatened rain (no surprise there), so I grabbed a jacket from the closet. That proved to be a not-so-smart idea, as I created an upper body sauna with my Dri-fit shirt underneath wicking moisture away from my body and the jacket trapping the moisture in. No matter though, I didn't notice until I was finished and my jacket was soaked inside. Besides, I found my new favorite 4 mile running route, and the scenery was more than enough to distract me from any sauna action going on.

Feeling ambitious, I headed east from my apartment (I normally start out north or south since east and west = steep hills) up through Capitol Hill and into Interlaken Park. Basing my path only on looking at a map, I wasn't quite sure where the road would take me and the trees hanging over the street were getting denser, the woods were getting quieter and the sky was getting darker. The scene was slightly eerie and except for a few bicyclists whizzing by with their headlights on, I was out there by myself. I wouldn't say I was scared, but it made me run a little bit faster than i had planned to, and it was exhilarating.

The eerie silence was a pleasant escape from the busy streets of downtown, the black asphalt glistened from the day's rain, and it felt like I was running through a portrait, joined by the bright yellow, orange, and red leaves falling all around me and blanketing the ground. It was mezmerizing. And when I emerged from the park and joined up with the street sidewalk, I was sad that part of my run was over. But it was almost dark, and I knew I needed to head back home before i got lost.

That was the most enjoyable 4 mile run ever and I think i'll go back and do it again tonight. Perhaps when I have more daylight time on the weekends, I'll extend the run east through the trails of the Arboretum.

For my mother's sake, I should probably mention that I always run with my pepper spray in hand, ready to strike at any moment on anyone who dares interrupt my run.

Also Duely noted: yesterday I registered for the Seattle Half Marathon, which is at the end of November. I already feel like I'm ready for it, since i've been maintaining my mileage. I ran an 8-miler this past weekend and when my friends Matt & Kristin came to visit the weekend prior, I joined them on a 10-miler since Kristin is training with Team in Training for the Rock 'n Roll Arizona marathon.

And I will attempt to do better at posting more frequent blogs for those who remain interested in my life :)

i couldn't think of a title

2007-09-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

I should blog. I really should blog.

That's what i've been thinking for the past several weeks. Problem is, with moving and enjoying my last days of unemployment and traveling and entertaining visitors (and not having internet at my apartment yet), I wasn't very focused on typing up the details of my life on my computer.

So this is my 'I am still alive and still happy out here in this corner of the country' blog.

I moved into my own apartment about two weeks ago and while it's hard going from seeing Todd everyday to only seeing him about 4 days a week, i'm really enjoying living by myself in the city. I found a small studio in the quaint little Eastlake neighborhood, just a short bus ride to work and downtown, and a short jog to the Burke Gilman trail.

And I finally started my new job this week, and so far, so good. I think it will be a pretty exciting and interesting job (talk about beginner's optimism, eh?) and I'm really excited about working with the accounts they assigned me to. And since the weather was nice this past week, I just walked the 2 miles home from work. Plus, my walk takes me along Lake Union, so it makes for a nice scenic walk.

I took a week off from running during my move transition, but with starting a new job, I needed to get back in my running routine. I did some 2, 4, 3 & 6 mile runs this week and need to refocus myself so that I can be ready for the Seattle Half Marathon in late November.

hopefully i can keep up with my blogs from now on so i don't have to cram a whole month's worth of life into a couple paragraphs.

oh, and wasn't that a great K-State win over Texas? and now we're ranked #24! plus, the Chiefs & Seahawks won today too, and Oklahoma lost yesterday,...a great weekend all around.

Blog of Randomness

2007-09-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

Last saturday we bid adieu to the summer and arrived at Elliot Marina in the morning to set sail with our skipper Dominic across the Puget Sound. He taught us a few things about sailing, and we dined on baked brie, hummus, olive tapenade, Coronas and a couple bottles of our favorite Chateau Ste. Michelle wine. The weather could not have been better as we dropped anchor off the shore of Blake Island to soak up some sun and eat lunch. I even got to try my hand as Captain of the boat l as we sailed back to Seattle! If only we could do this every weekend. *sigh*

Following my 'i got myself a job' news of last week, I spent a rainy Tuesday looking for apartments close to my work by South Lake Union. And I just received news yesterday that my application passed and I get to move into my Eastlake studio mid-month! I'm finally feeling like my life is in order again, and I'm excited not to be living out of my suitcases and having 90% of my belongings in storage.

On the downside, I'll be further away from Todd and the East Lake Sammamish running trail that i've grown to love. Good news is that my apartment is about a 1/2 mile away from another popular trail in Seattle, the 27 mile long Burke Gilman trail.

This week's Thursday night dinner club was at Marrakesh. I'd never eaten Moroccan food before, but oh my, it was good...and very filling. We were all seated on cushions and dinner included two appetizers, and five duck, chicken and lamb entrees, followed by dessert and tea. Best of all, no utensils, so you eat with your hands and share with everyone at the table. Apparently they have belly dancers too, but we had an early reservation and missed out on that fun.

Taking advantage of the sunny weather yesterday, I went to Bridle Trails to do another trail run. There are three marked trails of varying distances, so i ran each trail once, for a total of 6.5 miles. I felt like the hills were easier on me than my last venture out there, so I'll just keeping working my way up to running 10 miles on those trails. It definitely takes a lot more energy out of the body than running the same distance on flat ground. uh, yeah....Duh.

I left feeling invigorated from the rigorous workout, although I'm not sure if that had anything to do with me being painfully sick later in the evening and hunched over a trash can.

And I'm back in the game...

2007-08-31T19:05:00.000-07:00

First news first....

I GOT MYSELF A JOB!!
*pat* *pat* on the back for me.

I was at the point where I was beginning to think my life would consist of interviews and more interviews, followed by more interviews, but no paycheck. Thankfully though, my prayers have been answered and I apparently wooed everyone over at the Ad Agency I will be working for. I'm really excited for this new endeavor, and while I don't start for 3 more weeks, that gives me ample time to find an apartment downtown and just relax.

Second in news today....playing a little catch up since my last blog...Last weekend we enjoyed a church camping trip at Lincoln Rock State Park near Wenatchee, about two hours east of Seattle. And on the way back home we acquired some yummy just-picked peaches and pears, along with a couple bottles of wine from a local winery. yum yum.

I've really kicked up my running mileage the past two weeks since I have a couple of fall/winter races on my mind (to be officially blogged about later). Mostly some 4 milers, but I even did a hilly 5 miles during the 'heat wave' that came through this week. And by 'heat wave', I mean 85 degrees. I think my tolerance for unbearable Kansas heat has left of my system because those 5 miles were a struggle at my normal pace, I had to slow down and just enjoy the evening. And I threw in a 6 miler with speed intervals, just to spice things up a bit.

And tomorrow I get to go sailing around the Puget Sound on a 39 ft sloop, sure to be the highlight of my weekend.

Have a great Labor Day weekend, y'all!!

Tour de Seattle

2007-08-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

Whew!!! i've finally had time to sit down and recap where i've been for the past week. i got two new tires on my car, was able to pick it up in time to meet my parents at the airport and set out on a fun-filled week with them. i feel like the time passed so quickly, but i was able to show them so many things that i love about seattle. We did the obvious: Space Needle, Pike Place Market, ride the ferry to Bainbridge Island, etc. But I was glad that being a semi-resident, I was able to take them places most tourists don't get to go.

We enjoyed a picnic at Gas Works Park, where my dad was able to watch all the seaplanes take off and land. The Todd gave them a tour of the Microsoft campus, and we spent several hours at the ship locks and salmon ladders, which was really quite interesting. We walked a lot and took the bus as much as possible, except for Friday when we were headed to the Museum of Flight.

This is where my plans changed....much to my surprise and total obliviousness, my brother and sister-in-law flew into Seattle for the weekend. I was totally surprised and confused, but I finally got ahold of things and we picked them up and headed out for another round of Seattle sightseeing. We went back to Pike Place, rode the ferry, and Todd met us out for dinner and we all went up the Space Needle that evening. It was really great having my entire family here, even though at times there were six of us piled in my car and I had to deviate from my planned schedules.

Saturday we ventured out to Snoqualmie Falls where us kids did a small hike and then took a tour of Columbia Winery.

The weather turned rainy so we enjoyed an evening at the hotel with wine and Scrabble fun. I wish they could've stayed longer, but I'm glad we were able to spend time together and I could show them around the area. And it was nice, having their familiar faces, because every once in a while I do get a little homesick.

Consequently, I took a week off from running since I was playing chauffeur and did an ample amount of walking. But it was enjoyable to get back out for a 4 mile run yesterday. I think I'll do a short run along the Lake Sammamish trail this evening.

Weekend Getaway

2007-08-13T22:54:00.000-07:00

It's not like I needed a vacation from a job, but I welcomed the vacation from searching for a job. Friday morning we headed to Idaho to spend the weekend at Todd's parent's new house in the Post Falls/Lake Coeur d' Alene area, about 4 hours east of here, just across the Washington border. After 3 hours of driving, we decided to take a pitstop at the Latah Creek winery in Spokane Valley for a free wine tasting.....and then we left there with 3 bottles of fruity goodness. (note: I did most of the tasting since I was just the passenger)

Saturday morning I was able to get in a 3 mile run down by the river, but after the previous night's delicious, yet very garlicky Greek dinner, my stomach just didn't have the gusto to do much more than that. We all drove about 45 minutes north to the quaint little town of Sandpoint, ID where they were having an arts festival along Lake Pond Oreille. I never knew Idaho was such a vacation destination, but after spending some time at their mountain lakes, it's easy to see why.

Who would ever guess this is in Idaho?!?

On the way back to Seattle on Sunday afternoon, we stopped in Spokane to walk around the riverfront area and took a gondola ride above the waterfalls.

It's looking to be a very busy week, I have a couple interviews and my parents are flying into Seattle for a 5 day visit. I'm super excited to show them around. But just my luck, my tire has severe damage and i have to take it into the shop tomorrow, manage to find my way downtown on the bus in time for my interview and hopefully meet up with my parents sans car. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Good night.

Into the woods

2007-08-09T20:58:00.001-07:00

Last night (wednesday) we joined a group of our friends for an outdoor showing of Back to the Future at Marymoor Park in Redmond. We got there early to grab some lawn space and played some bocce ball and bingo. I even packed a picnic dinner for us :)

Thankfully, someone brought extra sleeping bags, because once it got dark, the temperatures dropped to the low 50s. But even with a chilly nose and my coffee all gone, it was lots of fun watching the movie out in the wide open with a crowd of people.

Today I decided to have my first experience with some Pacific Northwest trail running. Being a newbie, I didn't want to go to some forest deep in the woods unprepared, so I headed to the next best place....Bridle Trails State Park.

Bridle Trails is a 482 acre forested park located within the city of Redmond with more than 28 miles of trails for running and horseback riding. I figured, even if I did get lost, I'm pretty sure I could find my way to a busy street. But once I was wound my way deep amongst the tall fir trees, I could have easily been out in the forest miles away from civilization.

I ran a 3.5 mile loop with a few steep hills, then decided that I enjoyed it so much, I picked a 1.6 mile designated loop and galloped on. This just might be my new favorite Seattle running spot. It was so peaceful and since it was during the late afternoon, I only came across 2 people and their dog, 1 scientist picking some mushrooms, and 1 lady on a horse. Which means there was only one negative to running here: make sure you watch out for horse manure.

We're headed off to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho for the weekend to visit Todd's parents so that should be lots of fun!

Faces in Odd Places

2007-08-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

I took advantage of the cool weather and went for a longer run yesterday afternoon. I headed north along Lake Sammamish for about 4 miles, then turned around and headed back.

I wasn't quite to 8 miles, so I kept going, when I ran past this outdoor art gallery:

It's Fence Art by Jim, and while there is plenty of nature and large lake houses to look at while running on this trail, these artworks add a nice, unexpected surprise.

my movie review

2007-08-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

I skipped my Saturday morning longer run as we joined the throng of other Bourne fans and saw Bourne Ultimatum instead. (I'm not really training for anything right now anyways, and this movie was top priority of the day)

Although I really liked the 2nd installment, Bourne Supremacy, I think this 3rd one might be my favorite. In fact, we're thinking of going to see it again this week. If you haven't seen it yet, you're missing out. And Even if you haven't seen the first two movies, the action scenes and smartness of the movie keep you on the edge of your seat.

It's a cloudy, cool 63 degree day here, perfect for a run and far different than the hothot humid summers I'm used to back in Kansas. I'm a big fan of this fall-ish weather.

Purple Dinner

2007-08-03T10:30:00.000-07:00

Last night was the inaugural Thursday Night Dinner Club.
ok, so I just came up with that name myself and haven't verified it with the other members. Todd met Ryan at Microsoft and over the past year whenever I came out to visit, I got to know Ryan and his wife Aubrey better. I really like them and it's helped make my transition to Seattle much easier having them around.
Anyway, this week's restaurant of choice was Purple Cafe & Wine Bar.

Purple has 3 locations in the Seattle area: Downtown Seattle, Woodinville, and Kirkland. We chose the Kirkland location, which had a nice patio outside to enjoy the cool evening.

Ryan perused the wine book and selected a bottle of Troken Riesling and baked brie appetizer to share. I need to figure out how to make it at home, because it was oh, so delicious, as was my blackened salmon sandwich with mango chutney. Purple has an extensive wine selection, and you can get cheese and wine flights too. The downtown location has a tasting bar, to sample multiple appetizers for cheaper prices, which i'd like to check out sometime.

I'm on the lookout now for next week's dinner location. It's probably going to be a more casual (ie: cheaper) dining spot.

I'm super excited for this weekend though, because do you know what movie comes out? I think we're planning on going to see it tomorrow. Matt Damon is a stud.

Me and the Giant Picnic

2007-07-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

The weekend got off to a busy start, Todd was 'working' out of the office on Friday, so we took the convertible to the University District to eat at Pita Pit. MMmmmm... I hadn't tasted their pita deliciousness since i was back in college a couple years ago, and it was well worth the drive.

I went for a 5 mile run Saturday morning, knowing that I was going to be attending the largest picnic known to mankind*. We drove to the Microsoft campus and got on the charter bus headed for the company picnic (this was just 1 of about 45 buses they were shuttling around throughout the day), which was located out east about 20 miles at Mountain Meadows Farm near the base of Mount Si.

[*that is not a factual statement, but if it's not the largest, i'm pretty sure it's one of the top 5 largest]

I have no way to accurately describe the scene, but imagine a town of about 10,000 people having a carnival where everything is free (and this was just 1 of the 3 possible days of attendance). Food, games, massages, casino, music, more food, beer & wine, clowns, puzzles (it IS Microsoft, afterall).
Here are a few pics of the day:

Hanging out with some Microsoft friends...

There were games for all ages...

The food tents stretched on and on...

Mmmmm...i heart gyros..

It was a fun couple of hours, then we caught a bus back to campus, and went out in Bellevue with our friends Ryan and Aubrey to see HAIRSPRAY and then enjoyed some sushi and dessert to cap off the evening.

Sunday was much more relaxing, but the week ahead looks busy. Tonight is trivia night at Celtic Bayou, Tuesday i have another interview and a bbq with a small church group in the evening, and Thursday is our weekly dinner with Ryan and Aubrey. We're on a new quest to try out a different restaurant every week. This means no room for me to slack off in my exercising :)

A New Look

2007-07-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

i figure since i moved to a new city, i would give my blog a new simpler look.

yesterday i hopped on the bus in Redmond and headed to Seattle to meet Todd, since he was working at a coffee shop in Capitol Hill instead of his office. we figured it would be a nice little 'date' night since it was a beautiful sunny evening.

He even suggested we go get some sushi (well, ME get some sushi, since he's not fond of seafood). We walked around by the waterfront and headed back through downtown when we passed by the Cheesecake Factory. If you know Todd, you know that nobody loves their cheesecake like he does, so being the awesome girlfriend that i am, i suggested we eat there instead of getting sushi. Quite the sacrifice for me, since this town is full of unique eateries.

still, i need to find someone for sushi dates. i could make that part of my next mission:
• Find me a great sushi place to replace my love for Kona Grill in KC.

but for now, i need to get out and soak up the sunshine. it makes it awfully easy to run when this is your playground

I DID IT!

2007-07-25T10:44:00.001-07:00

No, sadly, i did not find a job.

But just as exciting to me....i ran up the entire Inglewood Hill smack dab in the middle of my 5 miler. Without stopping.

Ever since i gave myself the challenge to run the entire hill, i was just anxious to get it done with. No matter how hard my heart was beating. No matter how dead tired my quads were. No matter how bad i wanted to stop and log roll all the way down.

I kept on pushing myself, and a 600 ft elevation rise and over 1/2 mile later, i jumped around like an energy sapped Rocky when i reached the top. It was a successful start to the week.

I had an interview at a marketing firm yesterday that i really enjoyed, but i'm thinking that i don't have quite enough experience as they would prefer. And today I have an interview for a contract job that i already know is not something i would enjoy.

So, i keep on looking. The gorgeous weather makes me want to play outside instead of job searching.

Blogless in Seattle

2007-07-21T14:36:00.001-07:00

I was out running this morning and figured it's long past time that i get around to posting a blog. Obviously it's been too long when i have trouble remembering my password to log on here. But i can't go much longer without blogging, b/c i have people out there who are trying to track my every move, and it's hard for them to do that when i don't give them any indication of what i'm up to.

So since i arrived out here about 2 1/2 weeks ago, here's a recap:

1. I am still jobless. You know, being unemployed is fun for awhile, until you stop getting paychecks and have to dig into your savings. I've had a few interviews, and have more lined up for this next week, so at least i'm being proactive and not just waiting for someone to come offer me a job (which would be awesome if things worked that way).

2. While being jobless and pinching pennies has its disadvantages, it leaves a wide open slot for doing whatever i what, whenever it want. Namely, going for runs whenever i so desire, instead of waking up at dawn to do so.

3. On a related note...i heart Washington. For many reasons. But mostly because i can go run at high noon and not die from heat and humidity after 1/2 mile. The weather is just great, and despite their record high temps last week (lower 90s....pish posh), it's not an unbearable heat like back in Kansas.

4. On the downside, it's a bit hillier here than in kansas. You may think- 'Duh, captain obvious', but kansas is much hillier than people give it credit for. But i'm talking 12% grade, 3/4 mile long hills here. Last week i gave myself the challenge of running up Inglewood Hill. I started up it after running 3 miles, and had to catch my breath half way up. What was i thinking??? Not one to give up, i've made it my new goal to run up the entire hill without stopping for a breather.

Inglewood Hill link (use Internet Explorer or Firefox)

5. Oh yeah, i did not end up doing the Seafair Half Marathon like i had planned to. Mostly because, i didn't feel like ponying up the $75 entrance fee when i'm jobless, but also because i hadn't been able to get any good longer distance runs in over 10 miles. I thought about doing the 5K, but that also had an entrance fee, and honestly....my ego told me that a 5K would be too easy. That's the problem with being a long distance runner. You convince yourself that you're too good for the shorter distances. It's dumb, i know, and i need to get that idea out of my head. So i'm keeping my eyes open for some 5Ks and 10Ks coming up this summer but looking ahead to November for the Seattle Marathon.

Ok, well all that recapping made me hungry. We're heading downtown to Bite of Seattle, where a plethora of food and wine awaits.

what a long strange trip it's been...

2007-07-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

2,000 miles, 9 states, and a bazillion tanks of gas later....we made it to Seattle.

i'll post more later, but just for those keeping tabs on me, i have safely arrived in the northwest. and it is hot here.

it's 'GO TIME'

2007-06-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

the day is finally here!!! everything i own is in a box to the left....to the left..to the left....

the U-Haul is all packed. i've said my goodbyes. i've cried some tears (only thanks to the U-Haul company's poor reservation system). and we are westward bound early in the morning, after breakfast with my parents and brother. i still don't think it's hit me yet, and i forecast that somewhere between Sioux Falls and Rapid City, i'll become a soppy mess of waterworks.

i'll do my best to post updates, but who knows where we'll stay. perhaps the back of the truck. just move a couple boxes and crash on the couches.

farewell KC, you've been good to me. oh, so good. no need to fear, i will not forget you and the good times and great friends you've given me.

the clock is ticking down

2007-06-20T15:42:00.000-07:00

there i go again....not blogging.

it just seems like i've been too busy. i do feel bad for not keeping everyone up-to-date on my life, i promise to do better. here's a recap of the past several weeks:

i turned the big 25, and it was bittersweet spending it with my family and friends, knowing that it was my last birthday here in KC.

my time here is dwindling down, and i've reserved a U-Haul, notified by Starbucks manager, and am slowly getting everything packed into boxes. i move to Seattle in 9 days!! EEEEEEK!! i'm scared. i'm excited. i'm ecstatic. i'm sad. i don't think it's really hit me yet, i kinda still think it's just another visit and that i'll return again. (well, i will return 2 weeks after i move, but just for a weekend wedding) i still have a lot of preparation to do, the house is in disarray, and i can't even think straight.

between weddings, work, packing, i have managed to do some running. not as much as i would like, but i'm at least keeping an 8 mile base. i'd still like to do the SeaFair Half Marathon the weekend after i arrive in Seattle, but we'll see what transpires between now and then.

i'm more concerned about finding a job AND place to live, than i am about training for a race. i'm sure i'll have plenty of time once i get settled in out there to focus on training, when i'm homesick and missing all my family and friends. (i'm going to go cry now)

i am, in fact, still alive

2007-05-31T07:58:00.001-07:00

i told myself that i wouldn't let an entire month go by without blogging anything, so being the procrastinator that i am...i'm cutting it close and finally blogging before the month ends.

i'd apologize for being a bad blogger, but the truth is, i'm not sorry. i've been busy and blogging wasn't ranking too high on my 'must-do' list.

and since i don't have much time today, i'm just here to give a quick rundown of my last month.

runningwise, i've been doing mostly 6 or 8 milers two or three times a week, sprinkle in a 3 or 4 miler and maybe a 10 if i feel like it. i've either been out of town, or working on saturday mornings, so i really miss seeing my Saturday morning running buddies :(

and just as i was thinking about training for the SeaFair marathon in Seattle (instead of the half marathon), my running took a sidenote when i got really sick for a couple of days. the sick where every single muscle fiber in your entire body hurts, and you can't eat, can't sleep, can't do anything except lay on the floor and cry. it was absolutely awful. i've had back problems since a high school car accident, and the vertebrae i injured is linked to the stomach, which is linked to my head, which is linked to my muscles. and basically, all of those shut down.

but i'm better now (i think).

i took a trip to Seattle for some fun with the Todd, and it makes me really excited to move out there.

packing up my stuff and getting ready to move is exhausting. and i went home to my parents farm for Memorial Day and was able to see some of my cousins i hadn't seen since my grandma's funeral last year. and lately i've been working so much that i feel like i live at Starbucks. and i've been getting ready for my friend's wedding this weekend, finishing up designing the wedding programs, etc. (and making sure i fit into my bridesmaid's dress).

other than all that...not much is going on :)

one last thing: Happy Running to everyone running Rock n Roll San Diego this weekend!!!!! can't believe that was a year ago when i suffered through that :) i do wish i were doing it again this year, though.

Oklahoma, you're OK!

2007-05-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

Actually, better than just OK. The weekend in Oklahoma City far exceeded my expectations. It was GREAT.

Going in to the half marathon, my only goal was to finish under 2:00. I wore my GPS, but didn't even look at it once during the race. The primary concern was to just have fun and enjoy all that Oklahoma City had to offer us. We ran at a comfortable pace, singing songs, dancing (as much as you can while running) along with the music and just having a grand old time.

Finish time-- 1:57:24

I was certainly glad i did the half, because shortly after we finished, the temperature skyrocketed, leaving us concerned for our friends out on the marathon course dealing with the heat. But they all did great, and there's nothing quite like being rewarded for running a marathon than with a fresh-from-the-grill Carl's Jr Cheeseburger. mmmmmm.

And the main reason I enjoyed the weekend....running in remembrance of the 168 victims of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Before the race, the running crowd of 15,000 reflected during 168 seconds of silence. And we started off running past the Memorial. It was extra motivating during the run to see the 168 banners that lined the course, displaying the names of the innocent lives lost and seeing all the 'In Honor Of' signs on runners during the race.

Afterwards, we took some time to visit the Memorial and pay respect to the 168 victims. I'm really glad that I was able to finally visit the Memorial and get a better sense of Oklahoma's spirit of survival.

I admit, i've never been a fan of anyone who calls themself a Sooner (bad past experience at a KSU/OU football game).

My opinion has been completely changed.

The city was welcoming and had a clean, vibrant downtown area. There was also a Festival of the Arts going on Saturday evening that we went to. The supporters all along the race course were amazing and i've already deemed this as my favorite half marathon. I'd love to return in the future, maybe even run the full marathon.

Thanks OKC, you were great.

just me and the boys

2007-04-27T16:14:00.000-07:00

it's that time again.

half marathon time.

only this is probably the least prepared i've ever been for a half. i've ran 8 milers on the weekends and mostly 4 and 6 milers during the week, but i haven't ran anything over 8 since the Olathe Half a month ago.

oh, i have no doubt that i'll finish....but if i finish under 2:00 i'll be happy. my endurance is not up to its par and i've convinced myself i'm out there more to enjoy Oklahoma City than to try and run a PR.

other than some slight apprehension, it should be an excellent weekend. just me and the boys.

have i mentioned that i'll be traveling in a van with 5 guys? and sharing a hotel room with josh? yeah, well i am. and i'm pretty excited about it.

as long as they all shower afterwards.

me and a van full of smelly guys is not my idea of a good time.

this day

2007-04-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

this day...April 19...i'm not a fan of it at all. and i feel that more so than any other day of the year it always brings up a mixture of emotions for me.

most notable to many people is that 12 years ago the Oklahoma City bombings occurred and i can remember where i was, what i was doing, and how incomprehensible it was. i was in 7th grade social studies class when we were told about the bombing and watched in disbelief as the events of the day unfolded.

this is one of the main reasons why i really wanted to take part in the Oklahoma City Memorial (Half) Marathon next weekend. and in some small way, it's a chance for me to honor the victims and their families.

but this day...April 19...cemented itself as one of the worst days of my life when i was a senior in high school. i don't talk about it much, many of my close friends don't even know this part of my life. but every year it's an unavoidable sorrow that hangs over my head. and with the recent events at Virginia Tech and all of the bomb threats around this area lately, i can't help but weep.

my senior class was exactly one month away from graduation, we had just had our senior prom 'Heaven Awaits', and our close knit group of 88 students were loving life and looking forward to that last month before we all said our goodbyes and headed off on our separate ways.

but this day...April 19, 1999... this day would forever change us.

every year, the senior class would help participate in the city-wide cleanup. as part of our community service, we would assist the city workers in picking up unwanted large items that people put out on their curbs. it was a day to be excused from classes, get out and enjoy the weather, and goof off as we drove around town looking for garbage.

this day....it's still as vivid as the day it happened.....a group of about 8 of my friends had split into two trucks as we drove around and we were headed back to the dropoff spot to unload. we had to find spots to sit amongst the trash in the truck beds and i was in the lead truck, facing backwards, waving to the girls in the truck behind us.

we were driving down Main Street, they were sitting in their truck bed also, atop mattresses, chairs, boxes....Tara waved back and giggled.

and then the wind blew.

the gust caught the edge of the mattress she was sitting on. she was just a little girl and the wind flipped that mattress, knocking her off onto the pavement like a ragdoll. her boyfriend was sitting next to me, and we noticed that nobody in her truck had seen her fall, so we pointed and yelled that they wait for her to hop back on the truck.

but she didn't get up.

she never got up.

they life flighted her to Topeka, and we were sent back to school where we waited all afternoon to hear good news. it never came.

It didn't make sense. The truck was only going 20 mph, she only fell 4 feet. she was doing community service...one month from graduation...she was headed to college to be a teacher just like her mom.

Tara never woke up. She died that afternoon and our lives were forever changed.

There is a picture of Tara at prom, beaming from ear to ear, standing under the words 'Heaven Awaits'...and it makes me smile.

this day. April 19. it's a day of remembrance.

new toys

2007-04-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

i like to prove myself wrong....
the thought of running in the snow on saturday morning actually exhilarated me, so on friday night i set my alarm for 6 am on saturday morning and made the sleety early morning drive out to Independence.

and i'm glad i did. we ran on a crushed gravel trail and there was some puddle hopping required. but after a while, it was pretty pointless to try and avoid them so i just splashed my way through the 8 miles. the rain/sleet dissipated after the first couple miles, and it turned out to be a nice, peaceful early morning jog.

plus, i got myself some new running stuff with our TNT alumni discount: Nike Tempo track shorts, Asics Hera running gloves, and some mmmm....Espresso Love Gu.

and finally spring has returned to its rightful owner!!

yesterday the temps were back in the 60s, so my roommate and i went on a bike ride. we stopped by Bike America on the way to the trail and i bought myself a Giro Transfer bike helmet so i wouldn't have to keep borrowing hers.

i don't have to work today so i'm heading out to enjoy the sweet, sweet sunshiney day. first to the gym, then out for another bike ride and run this afternoon.

April's a Fool

2007-04-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

Oh, that April....she's such a jokester.

The forecast for tomorrow morning:

This weather has just been hampering my running style. Since the Olathe Half almost two weeks ago, i've logged a total of 7 running miles. I took last week off from running and made myself run 3 & 4 miles on the treadmill this week.

April needs to get her act together and warm up. I have another half marathon in 15 days and need to get some longer runs in. The snow tomorrow morning will probably keep me from doing the 7 am run, especially since it's scheduled on a trail 30 minutes away. I'll have to motivate myself to get my running in by myself.

And I finally registered for the Oklahoma City Half this morning, so i can't back out now. Gotta deal with this wintery weather and get my butt running. I can handle another treadmill run for today...off to the gym i go!

Greener pastures

2007-04-05T11:47:00.000-07:00

A pleasant surprise after the half marathon

1st place in my age group!! I definitely wasn't expecting that, but my confidence sure is boosted because of it.

So today is my last day here at GlynnDevins Marketing. I'm a wee bit sad to leave some of my co-workers who've become my close friends over the past two years. But the joy of leaving this job that I have disliked for so long FAR outweighs any sadness. And I'm excited to just work at Starbucks and hang out with family and friends during this intermittent time before I move to Seattle.

It's definitely overdue that I leave here, I feel like I lost a lot of my intelligence and ambition while I worked here. Although, I do have to note that this is the place I met Josh, who has played a most integral role in my running life. So for that, I am happy. But lately, everytime I sit down at my desk, my head starts pounding, my eyes get spotty, and I get dizzy. This place is making me sick.

Time to move on to greener pastures.

Is it happy hour time yet?!!

low expectations

2007-03-31T17:54:00.000-07:00

My quest for sleep is still ongoing....

Todd was scheduled to fly in to town on Thursday evening, but due to delayed flights in Seattle, de-icing in Denver, and a diversion to Omaha, he finally arrived early Friday morning around 2 a.m. Combine that with a 5:30 alarm this morning for the half marathon, and an early rise tomorrow to get him to the airport for an 8 a.m. flight, i am not getting caught up on my beauty sleep.

Since last night was a pre-race meal, I had to be careful about where we went out to eat. Not being a huge fan of pasta, I suggested that we get somewhere for sushi. We went to Kyoto japanese steakhouse and i ordered chicken teriyaki with assorted sushi. Protein, veggies, rice....that's a solid combination for raceday nutrition. Unless....the assorted sushi ends up being assorted sashimi (the raw fish on rice) instead of the rolls like i was expecting.

Oh well, its fish and rice, that's still good stuff...so i ate it. And then i felt tummyachey afterwards.

Yet another reason my sleep was not too pleasant.

But by the time we got to the start, i was feeling good. The forecast called for 60% chance of rain, and it was a bit chilly waiting for the gun, but once the race began, i was glad i opted to wear shorts and a sleeveless top. Stupid Kansas mugginess. And stupid Kansas wind (at least it was at our backs for the last 4 miles).

The course was actually decent, hardly any hills and the hills that were present were just tiny ones.
The things I didn't like about the race were:
1. Running the 5K, 15K, and half marathoners all together. At the beginning, this messed with my pace b/c being mixed in with runners who are all going different distances, my competitive nature took over so i was running a faster pace to keep up. I told myself to slow down after the first half mile, b/c i still had over 12 miles to go, not 2 miles.
2. The out-and-back part around the Great Mall of the Great Plains was windy and long. Thankfully, i had Todd and my brother out there cheering for me and the way that part of the course was set up, I got to run by them 3 times. And i also got to see my pal Courtney as we were crossing paths on the loop, she's always a bundle of cheer and super supportive.
3. The finish was uphill. No other explanation needed.

But overall, i liked this half marathon quite a bit, it definitely helped that i had a great support staff out there cheering me on. (THANK YOU guys)

i went into the race just aiming for a sub-2 hour, not feeling quite as ready as I have been for my prior half marathons. And oh what a pleasant surprise when i got myself a little thing we like to call....a PR! see what happens when you have low expectations?

1:47:52 (at 13.1 miles on my Garmin). the finish line registered at 13.4 miles and i haven't seen the official time posted yet, but it will still be a PR regardless.

woe is me.

2007-03-26T21:59:00.000-07:00

sleep is definitely NOT overrated.

i can get by with 5 or 6 hours of sleep. i cannot get by with 3 hours of sleep. especially if i have to run the next morning.

such was the case this past friday night. i worked at Starbucks until midnight, then I went home to find a party at my house with loud people, loud music, and no chance at all of getting any good sleep. i knew of this party happening beforehand, so it wasn't just a random surprise, but combine that with being woke up a couple hours later by the bar-goers, it just once more reinforced my desire to live by myself. roommate-free.

i am a person who needs space.
i need quiet time.
i need my sleep. even if it's only the average 6 hours i get on a regular weekday.

i managed to drag myself out of bed at 5:15, planning on running 10 miles. i was struggling to run 8. it was a very non-energetic, non-pleasant run, and very humid.

i guess it was fine i only ran 8 though, since the Olathe half marathon is this saturday, so i was actually on schedule for 'tapering'. but still.....sleeeeeeeeep. good sleep would've been nice.

the weather has been so nice (despite the humidity and gusty winds) so yesterday i decided to dust off my bike and take it for a spring spin. i rode 4 miles from my house, where i hopped on the Indian/Tomahawk Creek trails and biked on them for 15 miles before riding the 4 miles back home.

23 miles total. and a very sore bum today.

here's some pics i took during my ride.
me and my awesome helmet head and a springy creekside pic of my $15 bike:

Catching Up

2007-03-15T20:15:00.000-07:00

i'm so far behind on my blogging...let me do a quick summary....

I was on a running rampage last week. I enjoyed my 12 miler on sunday so much that i did 6 miles tuesday and 8 thursday on that same route.

In other news, last week i was offered a job at Starbucks. My friends say they've never heard someone so excited to quit their full-time job and get a part-time one. Clearly a sign that I hated my job. Actually, hate (present tense) my job since i'm still working there for 3 more weeks.

Saturday morning was a scheduled 14 miler starting at 7 am, but i had to be to a Starbucks Experience workshop at 9 so i started my run at 6 instead. The time crunch made me run faster than i wanted and i was only able to run 12 in order to go home, shower, and make it to the workshop on time. Despite spending 5 hours inside on a lovely saturday, the Starbucks class was pretty fun.

but the best part of saturday was another get-together at Paul & Brita's with Team in Training friends. When Brita was going through chemo, her friends brought her some wigs...some CRAZY looking wigs. perfect for Guitar Hero and Karaoke. This is Courtney and I rockin' the wigs and playing Sweet Child O' Mine. I don't want to brag, but i looked pretty hot with a mullet.

and another of us just looking, um......'special'.

All By Myself

2007-03-07T12:55:00.000-08:00

i missed the team run on saturday morning because i was still in Mississippi. And since i had the Olathe Half Marathon coming up in 4 weeks, i knew i needed to get my mileage in. It was supposed to be an 'easy' day of just 6 miles, so i wasn't too dreadful of having to run by myself.

i decided to take advantage of the nice warm(er) spring weather on sunday afternoon and do my 6 miler. i ran my usual path down Mission Road to 71st St, but decided to mix it up a bit and run ALL THE WAY to Missouri. (ok, it's really not that impressive since i live less than a mile from the Kansas/Missouri border). But for no apparent reason, I always run on the Kansas side. Not today.

I was feeling good. I think I'll run 8 miles instead of six.

I ran down Ward Parkway and i kept going. and going. and going. Until suddenly i was at 51st Street on the edge of the Plaza and had no more sidewalk and too much traffic to run on the street. i turned around and headed back. I would've finished at 10 miles if i went straight home, but the weather was so nice and i didn't want to stop so i ran around the Mission Hills area a couple more miles.

12 miles. ALL BY MYSELF.

actually i think it was more like 12.5, but who's counting? (i am)

I'm totally good-to-go for the Olathe Half, and i ran 6 miles last night down the same route. It's a hillier route than i normally run, but i think i like it. Just as our high school cross country mantra said: Hills are our friends.

My trip to Mississippi was fabulous, hopefully i'll get around to writing a recap of that sometime soon.

I could get used to this

2007-02-26T07:21:00.000-08:00

I'm on a new work schedule where i only work Mon-Thurs, and have fridays off. It's a pretty sweet deal. So friday morning I made my regular trip to the gym to lift weights, only this week I got to go at 10:30 am instead of 5:45 am. And since I didn't have anything else to do, I decided I might as well get on the treadmill and, hey why not, do my weekly treadmill test.

Experience has taught me that mid-morning is not my best time of the day to run, i'm usually more sluggish than early morning or evening. So i ran 2 miles instead of 3. And i nearly threw up.

2 miles....14:56. Definitely could not have gone another mile at that pace and still manage to hold my breakfast in.

I stopped at Starbucks on my way home and saw a sign for an open invitation for interviews to be a barista at a new store. It's not like i'm doing anything else today....I filled out an application and went in for an interview. They liked me so much (or so I tell myself) I had a second interview immediately following. We'll see what happens next, but i would be totally ecstatic to make capuccinos all day instead of doing what i do now. It might shake up my moving plans a little bit, but I'll worry about that when I need to.

Saturday morning started out rainy, rainy and even more rainy. Other than my hands being frozen the first 3 miles, it was a great morning to run. I ended up going 10 miles, so I guess i'm right on schedule for the Olathe half marathon in a month. I still need to register though. *making mental note*

I'm off work all this week because Wednesday I'm heading to Biloxi, Mississippi to help rebuild homes with my parents and people from their church. But for now, i'm heading to the gym to work my arms....good prep for banging a hammer.

Only a true friend....

2007-02-19T20:42:00.000-08:00

...pays money to have you run with them.

I've never had anyone pay me to workout, but that's what happened on my dreadmill date with josh. apparently my 24Hr gym membership only allows me to go to my gym, so he was kind enough to take care of my $5 cover charge at his gym.

saturday morning....no way was i getting up to run in the morning when i heard the winds and temps were going to be downright ridiculous. so i slept in a little bit and went to the gym to hop back on the treadmill, where i ran into fellow TNTer Courtney. apparently only the true crazies were out running in the frosty morning.

i wasn't sure how far i was going to run. after all, the gym was busy and i can only make myself run on that revolving conveyor belt for so long. i ran six miles and stopped, because people were waiting in line. and then i walked around and hopped on the next one that opened up and ran another two. eight miles total.

but the true excitement of the weekend (other than me getting my taxes done ALL BY MYSELF--with a nice refund), was the TNT Mardi Gras pub crawl, put on by none other than kevin the rockstar. you can't go wrong with this equation:

school bus + jello shots & beer + good friends = FUN.

TNT family portrait: Courtney, Me, Kevin & Josh

Weekly Treadmill Challenge

2007-02-15T07:12:00.001-08:00

In following with my post from last week about the treadmill time limit, last night i participated in my Weekly Treadmill Challenge:

2.6 miles in 20:00
3 miles 23:20

Ideally, i should be improving from week to week but that didn't happen. I blame that on the candy i ate during the day.

Stupid candy. Why must there be a bowl filled with sugary goodness staring at me from across the hall? My favorite is the bite-size Midnight Milky Way. mmmm...fluffy nougat and creamy caramel coated in decadent dark chocolate.

But its okay to eat those because dark chocolate has been proven to be healthy.

It's a scientific fact.
I read it in a book.

Tonight I have a dreadmill date with Josh. He's inviting me to his gym since their treadmills don't have time restraints. 5 miles. I hope he doesn't expect to race, because I'm going to have another Milky Way now.

i'm not bitter.

2007-02-14T13:02:00.000-08:00

I don't like the so-called 'Valentines Day' for many reasons, but i won't go into details. I just think it's a ridiculous 'holiday'.

And no....it's not that i'm bitter or jealous. I have no need to be, i'm in a wonderful relationship. I've hated 'Valentine's Day' for many years. My friends and I started referring to it as 'Half February Day' in college because of its commercial ridiculousness. And we still send each other Happy HFD wishes.

I'm not Jewish, but I liken this day to how a Jew may feel about Christmas. Sure, all the hubbub and hoopla is around you, but you just treat it like any other day. So its just another Wednesday for me. I'll go to the gym....make dinner...and probably watch tv while i work on designing some wedding invitations for a friend.

So have a Happy Half February day, and in celebration maybe watch Half Baked, Half Nelson, Two and a Half Men...there are just so many choices. It's mindblowing.

sun run fun

2007-02-10T15:35:00.001-08:00

I've been told that it rains in Seattle. But everytime i come here, i apparently scare it away. Maybe, just maybe, i'll get lucky before i leave tomorrow and i'll be convinced of its rainy reputation.

Yesterday and today though, it's like the weather we don't usually get in Kansas until March or April. And it makes for awesome running. (unless you overdress b/c you're used to freezing temps) Still, i went for a 4 mile run this morning in the sunshine and pine-scented Washington air.

We took the bus downtown yesterday to walk around the Capitol Hill area and scope out the neighborhood. It ended up being about a 3 mile walk through the Montlake area with some gorgeous views and very hilly streets. This is a view overlooking Lake Union towards Queen Anne hill.

Supersonics game tonight!

swift kicks.

2007-02-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

there's a silly 20-minute treadmill rule at my gym right now. it's only between 4-8pm, but i still don't like it (mainly b/c nobody obeys it). i ran 5 on tuesday so i wasn't planning on running last night too, but i saw a treadmill open up, so i hopped right on it.

and like the bright pink paper noted, i only had 20 minutes, so i had to crank it up. it's like a challenge against myself to see how far, how fast i can go in 20 minutes.

and (shhh, don't tell) i ended up being 'that person' who disobeys the time restriction rule. but only by 3 minutes. not like the girl next to me who stayed on for 40 minutes (RUDE). but i just really wanted to hit 3 miles.

3 miles...22:30. i think i hit about 2.75 miles at the 20 minute mark.
i'm going to make this a weekly challenge for myself.

i also figured it was about time to get myself some new shoes since i bought my last ones back in September before the KC half marathon. These were highly recommended by josh and i got them for a great price online. Asics GT-2110.

so i took them out for a run tonight. i like them. and they're pretty. i just planned on a 3 miler, but ended up going 4 since i'm not quite sure if i'll run this weekend. i'll try to squeeze something in, but i'm going to Seattle, so i'll have to motivate myself instead of running with the TNT group. hopefully it'll be a smooth-sailing trip, unlike last time.

deep thoughts

2007-02-06T11:08:00.000-08:00

Deep Thoughts, by Me.

I feel like an entirely different person compared to this time last year. I was just going through the motions of life like a normal 23-year old.
Limited Responsibilites....check. Partying with friends....check. Single and ready to mingle....check. Earning a *meager* salary...check.

But there was something missing. Several things missing, actually. Problem was, I didn't quite know what they were and I wasn't sure where to find them. But one thing I DID know, was that I felt like there had to be something more. Something to make me happy.

This past weekend marked the one year anniversary of a very special (I might even go so far to call it 'life changing') event. It was my first training run with Team in Training. It's hard to express how awesome of an experience the whole thing was, but if you've been a part of TNT, you already know. And, despite my marathon being the most physically, emotionally, and painfully challenging thing i've ever done, I still had an absolutely fantastic time.

It certainly helps having such a great bunch of people to run with and that's definitely one of the things I'll miss the most when I move to Seattle.

I'm sorry...what? Move?

Yeah, so i figure if i tell enough people that i'm planning on moving this spring, then there's no backing out of it. It's just another thing that i gotta do in my life. But when the right person comes along, you gotta do what you gotta do. I can't let this one slip away. And it's hard being in a long distance relationship. VERY hard. I probably enjoy flying more than the next person, but after awhile it is just too financially and emotionally draining to keep on doing this. I have so much more respect and admiration for those in the military who go months, even years without seeing each other.

More on this subject later, but for now i'm off to go run in the balmy 50 degree weather!! It'll be gone tomorrow so I might as well enjoy while i can.

not too shabby

2007-01-29T06:35:00.001-08:00

An excellent weekend to recap...

For the first Saturday in a long time, i got to sleep in. And yes, 8:30a.m. is considered sleeping in for me. With my recent hamstring problems, and a 10K on sunday, I skipped out on the morning run and decided to test out the hamstring that afternoon. I was a bit apprehensive, since i hadn't ran since Tuesday and BRRRRRR...it was freezing and super windy outside. But my leg felt good, so i ended up going 5 miles to reassure myself i'd be fine for the 6 on sunday.

Saturday night couldn't have been more fun. Brita, my Team in Training honored patient for the San Diego marathon, and her husband Paul, invited me and several other teammates over to their house for sushi, karaoke, and some Playstation Guitar Hero.

With all of our karaoke, dancing and video game guitar skills, i think we could start our own band. A cover band of course, since none of us are songwriters, but i'm not gonna lie....we'd be a hot commodity for junior high dances and retirement community entertainment.

I love my teammates, and it's awesome that our passion for running and our desire to help others is what brought us all together in the first place. But from there, we've became great friends, and they're such a strong support system, almost like a second family.

I had to ditch out on the party a bit early, since i was set to run the Groundhog 10K the next morning. I picked Josh up around 8:15 and we headed to the caves. I had no idea what to expect, except that it's all underground in the storage tunnels and warmer than outside.

It's hard to describe to someone who's never been there, but it was a very interesting place to run in. I liked that it was warm, flat, and asphalt. I did not like that the air was musty, the scenery is limited to giant concrete pillars and flourescent lights, and it feels like you're running in circles. Basically, it looked like this for 6.2 miles:

I went into the race with a goal of 52:00, and walked away from my first 10K in 50:32. Not too shabby. AND...i placed 8th overall in my age division, which really makes me feel good about myself. Here I am with Josh and fellow TNT alum Randy, looking very similar to a stoplight:

i pulled my hammy

2007-01-24T09:22:00.000-08:00

i thought really hard about when the last time i pulled a muscle was....and i couldn't remember. i think it's been that long. like maybe back in high school. and it's not like i ever stretch before i run. i just walk out my front door, or show up at the park, and go. and i seldom stretch after i run.

i've always secretly thought stretching was overrated, and since i never pulled anything, i never made it a point to stretch.

but i pulled my hamstring this morning.
and it hurt.

was i running? nope.
playing softball? nope.
doing some strenuous biking? nope.

i was at the gym.
doing bicep curls.
and i pulled my hamstring.

somehow that seems to go against the laws of physics.

you may be thinking: how does one pull a muscle in the leg, when they're only moving their arms?

it's simple, really. a caveman could do it. i was standing up and using the dumbbell bar, doing my 3rd set of bicep curls. like i'd done the past two times, i dropped forward to put the bar on the floor.

should've bent my legs. even just a bit.
instead....RRRRrrrrriiiiiiipp. (you know the feeling.)
apparently i like to think i'm more flexible than i really am.

thankfully, i ran monday and tuesday nights so i was planning on taking tonight off. i think this is a sign that i need to start doing pilates again.

donde es el bano?

2007-01-18T19:16:00.000-08:00

so i ended up taking like a week off from running. Whoopsie. it was kinda by accident, kinda by result of the weather and icy-ness. but i like to think that the miles of walking around Seattle count towards my mileage. in like a weird small percentage way compared to running.

my flight was cancelled on sunday, which was cool with me since i got an extra day to spend in Seattle. and i spent the next day flying, along with 4 hours at the Cincinatti airport, thanks to another delayed flight. needless to say, it was not the smoothest trip of traveling i've ever had. but i grew up around airplanes and everything aviation, so inconveniences like those don't bother me. in fact, i love being in airports and i think soon, i could write a book of reviews on U.S. airports. hmmm...perhaps there's a future career there for me.....

back to kansas. grrr. brrrr. more ice. lots of ice.

but i actually got up this morning and ran before work. amidst the snow. and lots of ice. but it was fine. i did not fall. and fortunately, i did not get hit by a car while i was running on Mission Road forced off the sidewalks due to gobs of ice chunks and ice rink-like surfaces. seriously, cities of Prairie Village and Leawood...can you please do something to clear those at least partially off?? unfortunately, i got stomach cramps (ie: really needed a bathroom) around mile 3 so i hurried home and called it quits at 3.5 miles.

treacherous traveling

2007-01-12T10:10:00.000-08:00

i ran 6 miles on Tuesday evening, and i felt great. I was 'that girl'. Running in the 20 degree weather, in shorts. I set out only planning to run 4, but the weather made for great running so i kept on going. i was trying to get a feel for my 10K pace, and then out of the blue, my Garmin battery died somewhere around mile 3. bummer. i think i probably finished about 50:00.

now, off to my trip to Seattle.....this is a long story, but then again, so was my day.

i got up at 5:15am wednesday morning to go to the gym since i knew i wouldn't have time after work, since my flight to Seattle left at 8pm. if i would've known what lay ahead of me, i probably would've slept longer.

i'd been watching the Weather Channel during the flight and they kept mentioning the snow and ice in the Pacific Northwest, so i knew the conditions were not ideal. but we landed safely in Seattle, where i got a voicemail from Todd saying that he drove two blocks from his apt and couldn't make it any further up the hill. great. he'd called rental car companies, nobody had any 4 wheel drive cars available, he called limos, shuttles and nobody had availability to pick me up. it was almost midnight, i was exhausted, dehydrated and my cell phone battery was dead. i just stood in the airport and cried.

luckily, my luggage finally got there and i was able to charge my phone and call him back. i really didn't want to have to stay in a hotel, so my last option was to see if any taxis would drive me out to his apartment in Sammamish, which is normally a 30-45 minute drive. i went to the taxi pick-up area and got in line behind about 70 other people, where i waited for about 45 minutes. i talked to a couple who were headed to Issaquah, a town near Sammamish, so we planned to get a cab together.

all the police officers there told us to just get a hotel, the roads off of the interstates were horrible and we'd probably end up getting stranded since our destinations were in very hilly/mountainous areas. i just wanted to go to sleep and the other couple was determined to get home. a taxi pulled up and out stepped a driver whom i could barely even understand and who didn't even know where Issaquah and Sammamish were. luckily, the other couple said they'd direct him.

We left the airport around 1 am (think 3am kansas time). there were hundreds of cars deserted along the roads, people just couldn't go any further and left them there. thank God this taxi had good tires, luggage weighing down the back, and a taxi driver determined to get us home. we got to Issaquah, and i was left to direct the cabbie the last 5 miles. we kept going and every hill we made it up, i just thought 'thats one less hill i'll have to walk my luggage up when this car stops'. fortunately, we finally arrived where Todd was waiting for me. i've never been happier to see him. so $80 and a nearly 2 hour cab ride, i was safe. poor cabbie though, he had no clue where he was so we gave him the best directions possible and wished him luck.

i got to bed around 3:00, so basically i had been up for 24 hours. it was definitely one of the scariest travel epsiodes i've ever had, but i made it here. and other than the ice and inability to drive anywhere, it's really pretty. with the help of two good samaritans, we finally got Todd's car back home. but we're riding the bus everywhere now.

my first 2007 post

2007-01-08T20:58:00.000-08:00

And I'm back!! (for the two or so people who were concerned about my whereabouts)

I took an unplanned, yet very much needed blogging sabbatical while I ran through the holidays, attempted to organize my life, and ponder what lies ahead in the wonderful year of 2007. While 2006 was one of my best years (i might even go out on a limb and say it was THE best year), i'm hopeful that this coming year will be just as great, if not better.

And to kick off the running year, my company is a sponsor of the Groundhog Run on the 28th, so that means i have a free ticket to run. I was debating over whether to play it safe with the 5K, or run my first ever 10K in the above avg. temperature, claustrophobia, and noise of a completely underground run.

And I, being so easily persuaded by fellow runners, let Josh convince me that the 5K was (not his exact words) wimpy. So, a 10K it is. And the underground-ness of it all makes me both excited and apprehensive. Six miles is no problem at all, but i don't have any prior 10K finish times to go off of, so during my 8 miler on Saturday, i focused on figuring out my 10K pace. I think I'll shoot for 53:00.

I don't really have any new year's resolutions, just some new plans for the new year. Perhaps i'll blog those later, but for now i need to finish doing my laundry so i can pack and fly myself away to Seattle on Wednesday. Yipeeeee!

Feliz Navidad

2006-12-22T09:36:00.000-08:00

yes, my blogging heart is still beating...very faintly.

with holiday festivities, a visit from The Todd, Christmas shopping, and running, i just haven't had much time to do any noteworthy blogging. yes, despite all the business, i refuse to let my running go the wayside and its has been great. now that i'm not training for anything, i'm just enjoying some relaxed, easy runs and it's awesome.

i suppose once life settles down, i'll get around to posting something 'slightly' more entertaining for you.

as for now, i'm heading for an 8 mile holiday run with Josh, and then home to the parents' house. and in a battle against Mom's holiday cookies, caramels, etc. i have some much anticipated runs scheduled with old friends while i'm back home.

until later, have a very Merry Christmas!!!

Wittiness is overrated

2006-12-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

no time to think of something witty to write. so i'll sum up the time since my last blog in a few elementary points:
1. me run. feel good. brrr.
2. have Frosty the Snowman in my head for 5 miles. grrr.
3. Christmas parties every day this weekend. fun.
4. Kevin's off to Vegas, Josh is doing Dallas. run.

That's about it. Good luck to everyone running this weekend. Odds are i will only manage to squeeze in a 4 miler....if i'm lucky.

'Tis the Season

2006-11-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

At Last,the Holiday Season is upon us! I've been waiting about 330 days for this. It's my favorite time of year and it pretty much took all my energy to wait until after Thanksgiving to put up Christmas decorations and turn on the Christmas carols.

Thanksgiving was a bit odd for me this year. It was the first time in 24 years where I wasn't home with my family on Thanksgiving morning, and it was sad. Instead, good ol' Josh and I decided to meet up that morning and go for a run in the awesome autumn weather. What was supposed to be eight miles ended up being six, thanks to stupid me, who ate only a half hour before i ran and had some tummy issues. Nonetheless, the six miles went great and i earned myself a guilt-free conscience for eating T-Day dinner.

The Todd flew in that afternoon and we spent the evening at his parents' house for dinner and cards (which i was totally awesome at). Friday was an early 2 hour drive home to my parents' house for family Thanksgiving, and introducing Todd to small town Kansas Holiday Festivities. It was great to be home (despite the fact that i got booted out of my room to the pullout couch in the basement- oh, the sacrifices one makes...), but time flew by too fast and we headed back to KC on Saturday since he had to fly out that afternoon.

My running was put to the side this past weekend, but i have still managed to make it to the gym at 5:45 am to do some cross training. yeah for me. Perhaps i'll take advantage of this last day of nice weather and go for a run before the winter chill moves in until March.

As Clark Griswold so eloquently stated, "Tis the Season to be Merry"

One of these days...

2006-11-21T14:18:00.000-08:00

i will learn how to set my alarm clock correctly.

I woke up on saturday morning with the sun shining through the window. Huh, that's weird, usually when i get up at 5:15am it's not sunny. And then my brain finally caught up. AAAAAAAAARGH! It's 7:30 and i missed the group run.

Not a big deal that i missed it, except for the fact that i enjoy going to see friends, and it's just easier to run 10 miles with them instead of by myself. Thanksfully, my roommate was making an early morning trip to the gym, so i tagged along and (still don't know why i keep doing this) ran 6 miles on the treadmill.

I ran 4 miles on the treadmill on Wednesday and 3 on Thursday. Seriously, i've never enjoyed treadmill running, but lately it just seems to be easier than bundling up and running outside in the dark.

So, the highlight of my weekend (obviously the lowlight was K-State's pathetic loss to KU) was the Chiefs game with Josh and tailgating with Kevin, who is by far the master of the tailgating universe. We had a decent win, good weather, and great fun.

kitkatbar

2006-11-16T13:42:00.000-08:00

I'm still in a post vacay funk, just a tad bit lazy. Well, that and i also got a flu shot today and so i'm feeling a little bit lethargic.

Chicago was fun-o. It was so great to see my friends again, as well as enjoy the weekend with The Todd. He flew into KC from seattle on thursday night, then we hopped on another plane together and headed to chi-town. Whoever thought of that idea is pretty smart (me). That way we had a full 3 days to enjoy before leaving on monday.

We didn't really do anything too noteworthy, just some shopping, eating and hanging out together. Matt & kristin live just a block from Wrigley field, so it was nice to just hang out in the Wrigley/Boystown/Lincoln Park area.

We spent quite a bit of time on Michigan ave., braved the chilly weather at Navy Pier, went to the Bentley dealership 3 times (i guess that's the trade-off we get for dragging the guys around while we shop), and watched K-State beat Texas! That just capped off a spectacular weekend. And as a bonus, kristin had discovered a drag queen lounge near their place that was named after me which she'd managed to keep as a secret until i visited.

And yes, i did in fact get some great running in on saturday. I wasn't really planning on it (although i always seem to automatically pack my running gear anyways) but matt was going for a run along the lake, so i joined in. And despite the cold wind, it felt good and was nice to hang out with him. We ran about 5 miles at a 9 min pace on Lakeshore Dr.

And i haven't ran since chicago, but i plan to run tonight at the gym. There's nothing wrong with a few days off, right? Especially when i'm not training for any certain 'thon. Besides, it's nearing the end of our sand flag football season, so i'm focusing on that. (ha). Just so i keep my base by doing a few 3-5 milers, i'll be ready to rock'n roll when the time comes.

And just a few more pics from the weekend:

High Five

2006-11-09T13:41:00.000-08:00

Well Fans, I'm getting ready to head to Chicago for the weekend to see friends from college. I have a slight problem with always cutting it a little too close on my airport arrival times, so i'm jetting out of work shortly to beat the traffic.

it's been a kinda crazy week in katieland, i enjoyed catching up with friends at dinner on Tuesday night, then we went to see Borat. hilarious. that's all, just go see it for yourself.

surprisingly, i've been doing really great at going to the gym in the mornings. i managed to do it 3 out of 4 days this week. and honestly, i would've made it 4 out of 5 if i wouldn't be going on vacation. and once again, i chose to run a 4 and 2 miler on the treadmill. i think i like it because it gets my metabolism nice and fired up in the morning.

i've also acquired myself somewhat of a personal running coach. my roommate Catherine and I have set up a nice deal where i run, and she bikes alongside me (or behind me, or wherever she needs to be to shield me from traffic). We usually try to do it once a week, and last night we did a 4 miler. It really helps to have someone whizzing along, nipping at your heels and trying to hold a conversation with. Pretty much after mile 3, she's only allowed to ask me Yes/No questions. Even though i was dead tired at the end, i managed to hold a 8:10 pace on the hilly route.

that's all the time we have for now, i'm off to the windy city.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

2006-11-07T06:21:00.000-08:00

After numerous requests to see my totally sweet blood blister, i've posted a picture here.

I did some research online and read that you should not drain a blood blister. So i reluctantly obeyed, put a bandage on it, and went on with my normal life. I helped my brother and sis-in-law move into their new house on Sunday and we took advantage of their nice backyard and threw the football around.

And when i came inside to take my shoes off, i discovered that my sock was EWWWwwwwww.......not so white anymore. More like a pinkish color from the blood and blister fluid (whatever that's made of). I was pretty excited, it had taken care of itself and released the pressure without any pain.

Now it's pretty much healed. I just have some more scar tissue decorating my foot. Who needs tattoos when you can have cool battlescars like these?

running love

2006-11-05T17:43:00.000-08:00

Well that decision wasn't really too hard.

My Gobbler Grind Half Marathon is officially not going to happen. Chiefs vs. Raiders was too exciting to pass up. But I think I'll set my sights to run a half in February-ish.

And oddly, once i marked the Gobbler Half off my calendar, my running felt great. Tues, Wed, Fri i ran 4,3,3 ALL on the treadmill.

yep. i CHOSE to run on the treadmill. don't ask me why i ran indoors. it wasn't even that cold here. i apparently was just in a treadmill craze this past week.

but my best running of the week came on Saturday morning. i was only planning on going 6, maybe 8 miles since i hadn't ran 8 miles in 3 weeks. but then i started running with Courtney, Kevin and Becky and the pace was comfortable and i felt (relatively) good, so i went ahead and ran 10 miles with them.

i say it felt 'relatively' good, because the arch of my left foot had a blister flare up again and it was getting a little bit painful at about mile 4. not painful enough to make me stop though, so i kept running. hmm....i MAYBE shouldn't have done that. when i got home and took off my sock, i screamed.

now, my feet have seen some freaky blisters, so it would take a lot to scare me. i got a lot of 'that made me sick' comments when i posted that last picture, so i promise to spare you the grotesqueness of this blister. (unless you ask to see a pic, then i'll share) Bascially, i have a blister on my foot that looks like a heart. A cute, not-so-little heart. It has the same shape....and the same color. Yep, i have THE blood blister of all blood blisters.

talk about a new way to show ones love for running.

i like lists.

2006-10-31T14:33:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween, trick-or-treaters.

I'm not actually celebrating it much this year (aside from eating some goodies), due to several reasons:
1. i went home to see my parents this past weekend while holiday festivities were in full force around here. (sadly, i had to miss out on the TNT pub crawl)
2. i found a dead woodpecker on my Magic 8 Ball costume from last year (long story), and i loaned it to a friend (she didn't seem to mind).
3. there's no way i can top my friend Dustin's costume, i mean, Teen Wolf's outfit:

In running (also currently known as 'non-running') news, i've decided not to do the Gobbler Grind half marathon on Nov. 19th. I have my reasons, so don't call me a wuss:
1. i looked at the course map and although it's mostly on the trail we do our training runs on, i don't think i want to run that for a race.
2. i'm searching for a late winter/early spring half or full to aim for.
3. i've missed my past 2 long distance runs due to:
---- 3a. trip to Dallas
---- 3b. too many martinis at work last friday
4. i'm considering doing the 5K or volunteering, which is just as noteworthy as the 'thons.
5. my friend josh offered me a ticket to the Chiefs vs. Raiders game that same day. I've only been to 1 preseason Chiefs game before, so for me to pass that offer up would just be silly. I have 12 days to make my decision, but i'm 99% sure the half is not happening.

One last bit of absolutely exciting news, my friend Courtney (TNT San Diego alum & all-around cool gal) won an Emmy this past weekend for Best Morning Newscast as the exec producer of KCTV 5's More in the Morning show. AN EMMY!!!! i'm officially friends with an Emmy award winning producer. congrats, courtney!!

lessons learned

2006-10-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

I realized some things tonight during my run.

1. when i don't run, i don't blog.

2. when i don't run my long runs with teammates, it is not a good run.

3. i think it's a good idea that i blog more about non-running activities.

4. my boyfriend is super cool.

So, i haven't blogged for awhile. Why? (See realization #1.) Ok, well that's not completely true, i have been running. But something hasn't been feeling right during my runs. Last week, i got up on friday to run 8 miles before i left for Dallas and despite the cool, sunny morning, after 2 miles I was reading to stop. So i turned around and headed back home. My legs felt as though they were weighted with bricks. 5 ton bricks. I stopped after 4 miles because i was dead tired. Seriously? 4 miles? Why? (See realization #2.)

I headed to The Big D where I met The Todd. Feeling guilty about my 4 mile run the day before (and knowing that i'd be eating wedding cake), i headed to the hotel gym Saturday morning to bike and run on the treadmill. 2 miles. And that was forcing it. I'm not sure what's wrong, i've just been lethargic, my legs don't want to run. I have two (relatively) good legs, why won't they just do their job?

All that whining aside, the weekend was a blast. (See realization #3) The wedding and reception were lovely and done in big Texas style downtown. They had a dance and BBQ later that evening at a ranch in Terrell. Now, i'm not a fan of country music, but I had a rootin' scootin' grand ol' time two-stepping. We spent some time at the JFK memorial on Sunday, then headed to the Galleria for lunch and shopping.

Since todd was feeling a little ill (probably due to my 'ooohing and aahhing' over shoes and purses), and i (shockingly) didn't feel like shopping, we headed to the airport 3 hours early. We spent the rest of the afternoon having escalator races and riding the tram around and around the terminals. fun times indeed. he always makes me laugh and feel like a kid again. (See realization #4) Oh, and he got a new position at Microsoft as a software developer. Which, in my opinion, is like 1,000 times cooler than his previous job as a software tester. I still don't understand 95% of what he does, but that's why having a pretty smile and nodding like you understand, saying 'mmhmm, yeah' is a good tactic.

No need to fear about my crappy runs, i think all it took was some rainy, mild weather and an evening run tonight to rekindle my love with running. 4 miles in 32:40, 8:10 pace. Felt really, really great.

Hello, my name is .......

2006-10-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

I've finally uploaded some pics from the KC Half Marathon.

This one is my fave, because i just look like i'm having the best time. This was at the finish when i saw my friends and was gleeful.

I came, i saw, i conquered........

My awesome brother!

Post-race refueling and glamour-shot pose.

Team in Training teammates Rob, Courtney & Greg

And my roommate with her one-of-a-kind t-shirt. (nevermind that she got my number wrong)

Work is busy, so i'll keep this running update short. Well, actually there's nothing too exciting to talk about. Just a rainy 3 miler, hilly 5 miler, chilly 8 miler and some biking in between. I'm not sure what my running schedule will be like this week, as i'm heading to Dallas on friday and most likely won't feel like running 12 miles in a strange downtown.

In other sporting news, my co-ed sand flag football team had our 2nd game last night and i gave myself a mild concussion colliding with another player's knee. I spent half the night with a migraine, hunched over a trashcan and curled up in pain, until the Tylenol kicked in 4 hours after i took it.

But i seem to be okay now. I just can't seem to remember my name.........

Race Recap

2006-10-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

I finished the race with a smile on my face!! It was a complete opposite feeling compared to my wretched San Diego finish. But then again, a half marathon is far more enjoyable for my body than a full marathon. I think i'll focus on doing more half marathons and put 'run a full marathon' on my "Things I would like to do only ONCE a year" list along with 'shave my legs' and 'pay rent'.

Not that i don't want to run more marathons, but so far my experience with full marathons (in the ONE that i did), hasn't been too pleasant, with that 'minor' injury and what not. I just think half marathons are easier on my body, both in training and during the actual event. And both half marathons i've ran have been awesome experiences and enjoyable times.

Back to my race recap...........

Saturday was an ideal day for running. It started out cool in the morning, but i knew that it would warm up so i shivered at the 50 degree start in a sleeveless top and my new pink shorts. (afterthought: i forgot to put on sunscreen and now my face and shoulders match my pink shorts) It was great to have so many fellow TNTers there for motivation, even though josh and greg said they were running a 9:00 pace and took off, leaving me in the dust after only a short distance. That's okay, i didn't really have a specific goal, except that i wanted to finish in under 2 hours. Of course, I wanted to beat my St. Louis half time, but i wasn't going to worry about it.

The first 2 miles were great, just those stupid hills by Liberty Memorial and then headed downhill to Westport area where i knew my roommate Cat would be waiting to cheer me on. I had packed a sort of emergency kit for her to carry in case i needed anything: sunglasses, Chapstick, Blister bandages, Biofreeze, camera, gum, etc. Luckily, the only thing i needed were sunglasses since we'd be headed directly into the morning sun soon. My shins hadn't felt this great since i don't remember when, and my blisters were causing no pain at all.

I was actually running a little ahead of my pace schedule (which i'd markered onto my forearm the night before), but i picked it up even a bit more as i anticipated seeing my friends Jamie, Jessi and Erin cheering me on at mile 6. Jamie was the only one i saw, so I stopped for a bit to hug her and kept on going. The bands along the course were helpful and while i was expecting more spectators, the first 8 miles seemed to fly by.

But it was at that point that my stomach began to cramp up a bit and i had to walk through the next water stop as we headed up another hill. I really didn't seem to mind this one though as i knew once i got to the top it would be all downhill (literally and figuratively) the last 2.5 miles. The tummy felt a little better and i used the downhill to my advantage, but had to stop again and work the uncomfortableness out at the last water stop with 1 mile left. I figured i'd give myself a little break, then bust it in to the finish.

And that's what i tried to do. But that last mile, as every runner knows, is the LONGEST mile of the race and i wanted to stop so bad.
NO katie, you're almost done. keep going.
Ugggh, my tummy hurts.
NO katie, you can do it. Only 3/4 mile left.
But i think my Gu might come back up.

And that was when i saw my big brother standing along the street. Like the hero he's always been to me, there he was, just when i needed someone the most. I waved my arms and ran over and gave him a huge, sweaty hug. My legs were heavy and i felt like i was dragging, but he said "you're running so fast! you're almost there, i'll meet you at the finish." And with that extra boost of encouragement and motivation, i sped off, rounded the last corner and sailed down the hill, feeling good, feeling strong and most importantly, not in any pain (other than the obvious 'i just ran 13 miles' pain).

I saw Cat cheering for me and i got teary-eyed, mostly because she was wearing a t-shirt with my face really big on it, and then there was Jamie hollering as i ran through the finish. I didn't even see what the clock said. I didn't care. I looked for my brother and when i saw him i was so happy and couldn't stop smiling. It was just incredibly awesome to have people care enough to wake up early and come out and support me. We all hung around at the finish area cheering on other runners for awhile and then they left and i stayed another 3 hours to cheer on fellow TNTers. Everyone did an awesome job that day (josh, kevin, courtney, brent.....and everyone else, but i don't know if they read my blog) and I cannot wait for my next half!

I did end up finishing in less than 2 hours, but upon further review, i did not end up beating my St. Louis time and I'm perfectly okay with that because this was a much better all-around experience. I think i'll still reward myself with a new pair of shoes. Ohhh, maybe some cute boots!! I deserve it.

Official time: 1:56:26. 8:55 pace.

Blister Sisters

2006-10-04T19:51:00.000-07:00

Well, my shins are feeling better. That's the GOOD NEWS. I bought new shoes, and that helped immensely. well, duh....since the ones i was running in had quite a bit of miles logged on them. For Saturday's 8-mile run, the shins were a little sore, but just for the first mile and then the uncomfortableness disappeared. And then....BAD NEWS....at mile 3, i felt a burning, rubbing, chafing sensation on my left foot, in the inner arch. and then, at mile 3.1, i felt a burning, rubbing, chafing sensation on my right foot, in the inner arch.

SERIOUSLY?!?! Blisters?! Ok, i really could've prevented this from happening. All my socks that i usually wear were in the dirty laundry, so i grabbed the first pair of clean socks i saw in my drawer. Very thin, moisture wicking with some weird type of textured material. Bad idea. Basically what happened was that they were rubbing my skin raw.

But i had no bandages with me and i still had over 4 miles left to go. No way was i turning back, not with my half marathon a week away. yes, i could injure myself so that i wouldn't even be able to run, but did i think about that? no. i was concerned with getting my mileage in. Ah yes, behold the mind of a runner.

So, what to do......what to do?

I ran past a tree with shiny, round leaves. "Ah ha! Eureka!" I grabbed a couple leaves, stopped at the 4 mile turnaround point, took off my shoes and socks (OWWWW!), and put them over both Half-Dollar size blisters.

Well, it wasn't the greatest thing I could've done, but i made do with what i had and it at least helped the rubbing stop. good, at least my feet won't be worn down to the bone by the time i finish.

I ran the last 3 miles with Josh and he helped me run a good pace (probably not so good of a pace for him). We even saw some cows, and horses, and donkeys, and llamas. Ya-mas!

Since then, i've been nursing my two HUGE blisters back to health so that i can run the half marathon on saturday. And thanks, mom, for your daily calls of concern and nursing advice. (She also told me "maybe you just shouldn't run". Yeah, ok. Good one. ha.)

My feet aren't pretty, but they're slowing healing and hopefully will be ready for saturday's half.

A letter to my shinemies enemies

2006-09-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

Dear shins,
You're mean. Just plain mean. You are my nemesis. Nemesises. Nemesiseses. whatever.

I looked it up in the dictionary, and the correct plural form is nemeses:

nem·e·ses - noun [nem-uh-seez]

1. something that a person cannot conquer.

2. one that inflicts retribution or vengeance.

3. a source of harm or ruin.

(and yep, they sure hit the nail on the head with that definition.)

Why must you tease me like you do? You have GOT to be the moodiest beings around! You are 100 times worse than a PMSing female deprived of chocolate. One day you are my friend, letting me enjoy my running and making me feel like i am a superstar. But, you deceiving things...the next day you treat me like i am your enemy. You make me wince in pain, cause me to wish i weren't running, and make me feel like a broken down wagon.

You really are my nemeses, just when i am convinced that i have conquered you, you come back with a vengeance and ruin my fun.

I've tried to fight you off, i've covered you in ice, i've knocked you out with painkillers, i've slathered you with Biofreeze. But you won't stop, you won't back down. You won't let me just run.

That's all i ask of you. Just let me run. Let me be alone with my running shoes. It's really not necessary for you to come along for the ride. You're like an annoying backseat driver who won't shut up and plays country music non-stop for the entire cross country road trip and just talks incessantly and blah-di-blah blah blah.... Aarrrrgh!

Just enjoy the ride. How hard can that be? One of these days you're going to realize that i'm not backing down from you. I will defeat you. I'll keep running. I'll fight through the pain. I'll put myself back on crutches again if that's what it takes.

So this is your written warning. I'm giving you a chance to back down quietly without a fight. I'm offering you a 'Get out of Jail Free' card.

Just take this offer and run with it.

Sincerely,
your FRIEND katie

The Best 5 Ever

2006-09-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

I just HAVE to blog about my latest run before i forget the details. Tuesday night i did an 8 mile bike ride and then set out on a 4 mile run. The weather was perfect that evening, the sun was starting to set, and the 68 degree temp felt like fall had finally arrived. I headed down the hill and knew it would be a good run, my shins weren't hurting AT ALL. No pain, no restrain. I picked up the pace and ran on the grass and street as much as the traffic allowed. I've learned that sidewalks are not a force to be reckoned with for me.

I don't know if it was the awesome weather, or the primarily grass running, but when i got to my 2 mile turnaround point I didn't stop. I just kept running. I had no hurry to be back home, so i figured i might as well enjoy the run. I ran through a park where there were little league football teams playing and families out for a stroll and it just made me happy. I just kept running.

And when i say 'running', i mean it.

I was bookin' along at an avg 8:20 pace. I was pretty impressed with myself, considering i still had at least 2 miles left to run. I decided at that point that i would make it a 5 mile run instead of 4, so i turned around at 2.5 and headed back home. 21:40 and i was feeling great, like i could keep running all night.

Please, please let me feel this great for the KC half marathon. Oh, that would be awesome.

I even picked up the pace slightly on my way back and finished one of the best runs i've had in a long, long time. Actually, that was THE BEST 5 mile run i've ever had.

5 miles.......40:55.....8:12 avg pace.

I biked a speedy, hilly 11 miles last night and plan on a 4 mile run tonight, and hopefully i can do a little something tomorrow morning since i won't have time after work. why? because my awesome bf is arriving tomorrow!!!!! i can't wait.

cheesecake pudding

2006-09-11T08:15:00.000-07:00

i think i have trouble keeping up with my blogging for a couple of reasons. The main one being that i prefer my blogs to be entertaining for readers, and lately i just can't come up with anything that i feel would be interesting for others. No words of wisdom, no running revelations, no training triumphs....nothing. Just the same old, same old.

Not that that's a terrible thing, i guess, but it just doesn't create much blog excitement. I need something to inspire me. Something cool to happen. Actually, what i really need is a new job. I'm so bored in my current one, i think my brain is slowly turning to pudding. mmmm, pudding.... i wish i had some cheescake pudding right now.

Good to eat, but not good to have controlling your body. My friend Jessi suggested that i go work at Starbucks and do something fun for awhile, at least until I figure out what i want to do or where i want to go. See, ideally i would start out making lattes at my local Prairie Village Starbucks and then gradually move my way up the corporate ladder. And since i plan on moving to Seattle sometime anyway, i don't think this idea is too crazy. I'd have to make some financial sacrifices for sure, but happiness is more important than material goods 97% of the time. (I don't know for sure what the other 3% involves, but i would imagine it involves a very beautiful Kate Spade purse)

Well, since my blog is mostly about running, i suppose i should blog about running. As mentioned earlier, nothing exciting has happened, so this is just an update on my training for the KC half marathon on Oct. 7th
Since my last post:
9/1 - 3 mi 29:45.....9:55/mi
9/2 - 8 mi 1:14:02.....9:14/mi
9/5 - 2.5 mi 22:12....8:53/mi
9/7 - 4 mi 38:02.....9:30/mi
9/9 - bike 10 mi
9/9 - 10 mi 1:37:30....9:47/mi

The Todd is coming to KC this weekend. I'm pretty thrilled about that.