Poulsbo Beer Run: +2, please

After dealing with the slight depression I felt after having to drop out of the North Olympic DIscovery Marathon, and then feeling the highs that have come with recuperating, I decided that it's time for me to get back out on the road to manage all these feelings. Yeah...it makes sense. We're rolling with it.

Tonight, I successfully ran 6.5 miles, which is the longest distance I've covered since the 8 miles I did at the marathon. There was hardly a squeak from ye olde knee, so I feel like this is a huge success story. Granted, it wasn't 8 miles, but seeing as how I've been running 11 out of the past 12 days (and pain-free, might I add) I believe that if there was going to be pain at all, it would have already taken me down.


To celebrate this milestone, I did something selfish. I forced my sister to run (or, stagger/swagger/crawl) this fancy race: Poulsbo's Hopstock Beer Run. It's 4 miles total, but you stop at 3 different breweries along the way for beers and breaks, which will nicely chop up the mileage. I think my knee can handle this kind of race.

When I first informed my sister of our plans, she was hesitant. She's not a runner, she would be the slowest person there, she would make a drunken fool out of herself (oh wait, that was my worry). It took a mere 3 seconds for me to reassure her that this is a beer run, and that "run" is most likely (100%) not the accurate description for what this whole event will consist of.

Unless it's to the bathroom. Or the pretzel guy. Those sort of runs will definitely be in the books.

And they used to be such sweet, charming girls...

the weekly rundown

Since marathon training is currently over and I've been dealing with this stinkin' injury, I haven't been posting my workouts of the week lately. This has bummed me out, not only because it means I haven't been running but because they're my favorite posts to pull together.

So, I decided it's time to bring them back, rundown style. My physical therapist has me running very consistently now (bless her heart), so it makes even more since now that I have some actual logging to do. They have all been pain-free, too, which sort of just makes me want to scream "weak hips don't rule your life" from the top of Mount Rainier. At least not anymore.

Sunday: 1 mile, 8:27 pace
Monday: 2.84 miles, 9:04 pace
Tuesday: 2 miles, 9:00 pace
Wednesday: 2 miles, 9:06 pace
Thursday: 3 miles, 8:55 pace
Saturday: 3 miles, 8:57 pace

All my runs have been much slower than what I'm used to, which is just fine. I realize I'm coming off both an injury and a long period of severely decreased mileage, so I remind myself that this is the safe way to creep my miles back up.

And of course it feels damn good to be running again.

Sidenote: The picture above was taken Saturday morning while I was at breakfast with a friend. It's a little secret treasure of a cafe, all tucked away on the Puget Sound where it takes a good 30 minute drive to reach. I got 2 incredibly large pancakes (all gone) and my friend got the seafood omelete = to die for.

If you live anywhere in the Seattle area, you really should grab your honey, your homie, or your hound and make a fun morning of coming out for this breakfast. It's a beautiful drive, and there's a state park right down the way. Your taste buds will thank you...your thighs probably won't, but who cares about them, anyway?

Have a great Monday!

on why physical therapy does a body good

I admit that I was a little skeptical on going to physical therapy when it was prescribed to me. Why? I'm really not sure. Maybe because it's something new to me and I feel like why partake in something that I've lived without these past 27.5 years? And to be honest, it made me feel weak, which I wasn't expecting. I WAS weak - my knee was screaming like a mother at me - and yet, I couldn't come to terms with that fact that I was injured.

Sure, I got by those first 27.5 years...but these past 4 months of knee pain? Yeah, I can do without that. And if (since) I want to continue pounding pavement these next 3 decades, I decided it was time to really get down to serious, real-runner business and figure out this body of mine.

And I am so glad I did. Because my physical therapist? Is the bomb. I've only been twice and already I feel like a new, better runner.

At my first appointment, she had me show her the strength-training exercises I do at home. Now, that was a tad embarrassing given that I've done a little number called "The Mini-Skirt Workout" since it came out in, ohhh, 2009. (Maybe. Maybe it was actually 2007. The fact is, it works! Mini-skirts are like magnets to these thighs.)

As soon as I got to the lunge part, she was like WHOA, girl, there you go. That's your problem. Your knees are sneaking inward, when they should be going in a straight line downwards.

The oh-so-accurate diagnosis? Weak hips. Which I really should have known, since my hips are constantly telling me they're weak and my hips don't lie. She also magically determined that my right tibalis anterior (ohh, fancy name) was "stuck" so to speak, and that it needs to be worked out a little more.

She gave me exercises for both my hips and for me tibalis, and va-voom, 5 days in and I feel great, albeit sore. It's weird to feel my muscles and form shifting after just a few short days of trying a new routine. It's sort of weird to imagine all the different things the body secretly does underneath all this skin and stuff we carry around. And with that, how easy it is to modify those by certaian exercises - who knew ankle circle could un-stick a stubborn tibalis?

My physical therapist-gone-goddess  has me steadily increasing my mileage (so long as it doesn't hurt anything), by instructing me to run one mile/day for three days, then two miles/day the next three days, then three miles/day the next three days, etc. If my knee does start acting up like the attention-seeking child it is, then I am to divide that day's mileage in half and run that. Pretty doable, I say!

I hereby dedicate this lovely Tuesday to weak hips! Oh, and for coming in third (cough, out of four teams) in Beer Olympics 2013 this weekend. Now there is an athletic accolade worth boasting about.

Cheers for beers!

thoughtsday :: 6.6.2013

1. First and foremost, can we all just agree that these shorts are the bomb? I don't know if it's the reusable grocery bag material or the serious creases, but I need to buy these in bulk like Hanes socks.

I sported those at the doctor's office yesterday, where I got an actual diagnosis for this knee biz. After having zero pain with all the pulling, pushing, (hit it! Bop it!), the doctor seemed pleased to say that it's just inflammation. SCORE.

I'm going to have two weeks of physical therapy, followed by another doctor's visit, followed by rest, followed by...run? Yeah, let's hope so.

2. In the meantime, I'm trying to adhere somewhat to the "anti-inflammatory diet" to try and heal up from the inside out. This has involved a large amount of smoothies, cherry juice, almonds, and dark chocolate.

Yes, there's a hunk of life-changing bread in there. Carb me up, baby.

Something you might already know that I wish I had known when green smoothies were first born into the universe as nature's cure-all: tart cherry juice 100% cancels out all vegetable taste, making your smoothie taste like dessert, and sometimes almost too sweet. The first time I got a little heavy-handed with it and ended up not using any milk, which was a little too much for me. I get mine at Trader Joe's every week and drink it pretty much every day.

3.  I'm the co-co-chair of a little event my friends (AKA my fellow co-chairs) and I are hosting on Saturday called BEER OLYMPICS. So what if this makes me sound like I'm still a sophomore in college - there's beer and sports and sun involved! Bring on the debauchery!

Oh, and I plan on bringing this little guy to really get the party going. There's nothing like a good fruity shark to get everyone wanting that W.

Courtesy of Taste of Home

What do you typically put in your smoothies to make them oh-so-delectable?

North Olympic Discovery (cough, Disappointment) Marathon Recap

First off, let me warn you that this post will be brief and succinct due to the fact that I'm still in mopey, frustrated phase of "failing."

I had to drop out at mile 8 of the marathon yesterday, due to another flare up of "runner's knee." It was (and still is) really discouraging, and I'm angry with myself for letting me get so worked up about it. As my sweet husband said, there's nothing you can do about injuries. I mentally prepared myself for a potential disaster, but there was definitely a feeling of denial that I could still be dealing with this knee of mine.

With the obvious knee issues being the poignant source of my frustration about having to quit, it was also incredibly annoying that I had such a good pace and felt great in every other aspect. I was going about 7:50/mile, kept a good eye on my form, and it was a beautiful day. Seriously, 68 degrees and gloriously sunny. It was one of those times that I felt like I could go on forever. With someone else's knee.

The past 20 hours have been filled with me trying not to mope, making the best of the situation (meaning going out for two lunches and having a nice walk in the sun) and reminding myself that there are always worse things. In this case, much worse.

I made a doctor's appointment with a local sports medicine provider, and will do what needs to be done to fully recuperate. While I have 7 weeks until Ragnar, I highly doubt this issue will be resolved by then. And I will come to terms with that, hopefully sooner than later. What I really need to do is stop being so stubborn and commit to the fact that I'm injured and that appropriate steps need to be taken in order to properly heal.

Nope, no fun. But here are some pretty shots I took yesterday in the first 8 miles - I'll get miles 9-26 another year. ;)

the day before a marathon

Before my first marathon, I was surprised to feel all the emotions that come with the preparation of running 26.2 miles. My nerves were shaking, my adrenaline was pumping, I had dreams about running the course that was etched into my mind...I didn't expect this. It's just running. It had been a daily activity for the past 18 weeks.

And now, I'm getting those same feelings. The excitement surrounding the packet pick-up, the finish line events, even waking up at 5:45am on a Sunday. All of these things with the common denominator of running four hours (crossing fingers I get less than that tomorrow) straight! It's a crazy time we live in.

I spent Friday trying to drink every last bit of water in my line of sight. The problem is...I strongly cannot stand drinking water. The only exceptions to this statement are when I just ran a bunch of miles and feel like I will die without it right then and there, or when it's all frozen in cube-form and floating in my cocktail.

So, to honor my body and try to show it a little respect for the upcoming torture I'm going to put it through (I'm only saying torture because I haven't ran more than 6 miles in 7 weeks. It might freak out on me a little), I bought 3 different kinds of coconut water: peach mango, pineapple, and orange. Peach mango was definitely my favey, with orange coming in second and pineapple being a far behind "yeaaah, maybe never again."

The said thing is, as much as I love fruit, I love chocolate much more, which is why chocolate coconut water will always beat all other flavors. No contest.

I've also been loading up on lentils, fruits, veggies and Mexican food so my energy stores can be in tip-top shape come tomorrow. There have also been some chocolate squares in there as well, no duh.

The above e-mail I sent to myself and Scott to make sure we're both on the same page. The race is about an hour away and we won't have time to get over there today to pick up my race packet, so I want to make sure we get there nice and early to get all my ducks in a row (line? How does that saying go?).

And yes, McDonald's coffee is an absolute must, with its badass $1 any size price.

As I've mentioned, my #1 goal is to finish this race, free of pain. With my training being so rudely interrupted I don't have any PR hopes. All I want is for this knee of mine to behave so I can enjoy the b-a-a-Utiful trail that connects Sequim to Port Angeles. Oh, and to celebrate over a hearty carby meal with my people!

Have a great weekend!

thoughtsday :: 5.30.13

Happy Thursday, friends! I just returned from a two (yes, 2) mile run. I had 5 miles on the calendar for today, but one mile in I could tell my legs were d-e-a-d. Turns out, my body lost some fitness after not running for 7 weeks - who would think?

On a serious note, it is a little disheartening realizing this when I'm supposed to run a marathon in 3 days. I'm going to take it easy these next couple days and hopefully these leggies of mine will be fresh and ready for 26.2 miles come Sunday.

Onto some thoughts!

1. "Running the Sahara" is one of the most inspiring documentaties I've ever seen. I started watching it halfway through at a hotel, got sucked into it the hour I watched it, and then had to checkout of the room before I watched the end. The suspense! As soon as I got home I looked it up on Netflix, where it was available. I definitely recommend it.

2. Well, now that we're discussing inspiring documentaries, Nicole over at Pumps and Iron has a post today listing my other three favorite movies. These were the main influences for me changing to a vegan diet, and carried a lot of weight with me. If you want to ball your eyes out (not that I did or anything...), watch Vegucated.

3. Now that we're finished discussing documentaries (sorry, that was an executive decision), I want to hear where you guys eat meals. At your kitchen table? Chained to your desk? On the couch?

Recently, I've been feeling guilty about how mindless I eat most of my meals. Breakfast and lunch are mostly consumed while I'm on the computer, either at home or work. Dinner is always in the living room while watching TV. When Scott and I were first married, we ate dinner at the kitchen table about half the time, but these days it's a formal black tie event if a table is involved.

I figure that it will change and we'll adapt to different habits once kids are in the picture, but right now it's what works for us. It's so tempting to multi-task, especially in the morning when there's a "rush rush rush" sense, to just eat breakfast and check e-mail all at the same time. I definitely want to make meals "family time" once there are littles running around, but it's funny how that principal gets brushed off when it's just two of us since we already catch up with each other so much throughout the day.

Are you going for a run today?

What documentary have you seen that made you change your ways?

weekend happenings :: 5.27.13

First off, Happy Memorial Day! I extend the biggest thank you to our nation's military for their unending support and selflessness to defend the United States. 

It's been awhile since I've done a "weekend what's up" post, but here it is!

Friday evening Portland fun! My boy planned us a secret trip to Portland, where he surprised with a concert to see a band I've been wanting to watch for-ev-er, Bloc Party. We also had to visit the best restaurant in the land of anywhere, Nicholas Restaurant. Their pita bread is the size of your head AND my head AND a toddler's head together. I used half for my dinner and the remaining half became my breakfast the nest morning.

Instagram: brittawebb

 Sunday my college roommate came to visit and we ventured to Fort Worden State Park. It's an old military camp that has bunkers that were used to house soldiers. Very interesting indeed!

Today we walked around downtown Poulsbo and got extremely full off delicious Mexican food. I scored some bargain black flats that I'm super excited about because it means I can throw out the other black flats I've had for 5.5 years that smell and are falling apart at the seams. Score.

I need to be honest and say that the majority of my time this evening has been spend in b-e-d. Watching Arrested Development, season 4, that I've been awaiting months for. We've made it the first 5 episodes and while the first couple were a bit slow, they hit their stride and have gotten many a laugh out of me. You'll have to let me know what you think of them.

Have a great start to your week!

SIX. MILES. (!!)

I really hope that this isn't a premature statement...but I believe this "runner's knee" situation has finally left the building. After keeping a close eye on my knee the past 7 weeks and having two pain-free 3 mile runs last week, I decided it was time to really get out there and see what it had in it. My plan was to go six miles, but obviously stop, turn around, and walk home if it flared up.

Good news. It didn't!

On Wednesday I ran 6 gorgeous, sunny, ache-free miles. It felt great, to say the least. I hadn't realized how much I missed stretching my legs like that and zoning out into my own thoughts. For the first three miles, I tried to listen to Joy the Baker's podcast but found my brain was too busy to really listen to it (which I still need to do since I can't miss one episode because her and Tracy are so dang hilAIRious). So on went my tunes for the second half.

After basically taking 7 weeks off from running, I was more than willing to take it verrrry slow, which turned out to be harder than it sounds. I kept wanting to speed up, then reprimand myself, then turbo it agian, and so on.

This morning (ahem, at fivefreakingthirty) I churned out another 3-miler verrrry slooooowly. I had tree trunks for legs. Granted, I had not had coffee yet but I'm guessing it will take awhile for my fitness level to creep back up to where I was before that whole knee thang. Too bad I don't believe "awhile" reads "one week," since that when my marathon is.

I've put some thought into whether I should or should not attempt the marathon, and I decided...what the hell. I paid for it, my injury has fleed (I hope), and I want a t-shirt and snacks. The worse that happens is my knee pain flares up, I have an asthma attack and/or there's an earthquake that sucks us all into a giant hole. So yeah...I'm going.

In the meantime, I believe that proper marathon fueling is to visit the great state of Oregon two weekends in a row for wine-binging, doughnut-eating, and staying out waaay past my bedtime. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

look at me now

I'm getting some run in (singing to the tune of this song). After putting in some diligent work these past few weeks to kick this runner's knee biz-nass into my past, I couldn't be more surprised to see that it might have actually paid off!

I went on two pain-free runs Friday and Saturday. Both were only 3 miles long and I averaged a 10-minute mile, which I didn't find the least bit discouraging. It felt so good to get out again, and you had better believe I did not take a single step for granted. I kept a close, obsessive eye on my knee to make sure it wasn't starting to feel sore, but it held out both times. I took Sunday off to make sure I didn't over do it (and to make sure I had plenty of time to be, let's face it, lazy) but I plan on slowly getting back into my mileage from this point.

Articles here and here discuss how to safely resume running after taking time off from an injury. It seems like 40% of your previous weekly mileage is the proper number to resume at, so I am going to finish off the week at 20 miles. It's going to be tough to hang back on speed, but I need to remember it's alllll good and running the pace I used to will only make the return worse.

Jenae had a post on how much fitness is possibly lost when taking time off, and I have to admit it's a little intimidating. However, I have done a pretty OK job of strength-training and walking while being down and out, so hopefully my body doesn't completely hate me. Only time (and a few runs) will tell.

to the moms!

You guys knock it out of the park. I hope you went through the day feeling appreciated for all that you do, day after day. Granted, you should feel that every day, but I know getting something in return for such a full-time job was most likely not why you became a mom.

Today was a highly lazy day that consisted of church, mom time, and (of course) food. It was my last day of teaching sunday school until September, which was a little bittersweet. I'm glad I'll be able to see my kiddos regularly at church or else it would be a sad day to see they had all grown 6 inches over the summer and missing every one of them.

We hung out at my in-laws for lunch, catching up and hanging out. My parents was the last stop on the agenda, where there was a dog bath, dinner and movie-watching. Have you guys seen "Coming to America"? I hadn't even heard of it until today, and was laughing 2 seconds into it. If you haven't seen it, you need to know that there's a hamburger phone appearance, which should be all the reason you need to check it out.

And there you have it! I'll be back tomorrow to share a very exciting running update, which is a rarity these days.

(I feel like I should clarify that when I say "running," I don't mean to the fridge/mailbox/washing machine, because that pretty much sums of the past 5 weeks for me.) 



a wednesday walk-about

I was born in Bremerton.

It is the town where I grew up playing twilight summer softball with the neighbor kids. It is the town where my friends and I, in typical Junior High fashion, would scour the local Safeway for the just right hair color ("you're going amber? Ballsy.") It is the town I skipped out of without a second glance as I left for college. It is the town that welcomed be back with open arms when I returned after carelessly abandoning it for four years and two continents.

It is also the town that I have slowly come to realize will be my home's home for quite a long time. This epiphany was strange for me when it first arrived because for some reason, I always envisioned myself settling down somewhere else. I'm not sure why. I mean, does anyone ever think to themselves "I am going to grow up here and then grow up here some more and then do some more growing here and then die here"?

But yes, we will be here in our home for a nice long while. My husband, you think he's married to yours truly, but in all actuality he's more married to this town. Which, thankfully for him, brought him to me. He has a story for every business (past and current), hedge and street pole that he likes to hash out with his friends whenever the slightest of an opportunity is presented.

And after today's neighborhood walk-about, I'm at ease with this whole growing-roots thing. I've lived in this house for three years now, which is a comforting feeling after moving six times in five years. And in those three years, I never once turned right at the bottom of our cement stairs and went alllll the way down and explored the neighborhoods beyond. I've never had any friends down thataway, and there are no stores. Just houses, and old cars, and new mail boxes, and so much character.

Today packed a punch of 66 degrees, and was perfect for such a stroll. Here's a little peek:

 

I have to admit...

...I'm a little unsure of discuss in this space that's typically reserved for all things running, when I'm not doing any of that these days.

Scratch that, I DID manage to run from the front door of work to my car. Any spectators most likely believed this to be due to me, well, leaving work...but it was more just my legs needing to feel some sort of stertching and freedom. Short distances like this don't hurt it, but give it a mile and the pain starts to set in.

I've tried running once a week since this runner's knee set in, and each time the disappointment sinks even lower. Being injured sucks. It makes me realize how much I took running for granted when it worked for my body. Never again!

How about I do a little photo montage of what's been preoccypying my time as of late. Warning: none of it is altogether excisting, but pictures are cool.

Rhubarb (fresh from the yard!) and apple cobbler. Sans ice cream. I recommend ice ceream.

Local Natives at The Neptune - awesome show. Please go see them!

Seattle's Pizza Pi

talent show TALENT

sunny softball games

strength training for the injured

Since getting injured with the dreaded runner's knee, I've had plenty of time to work on my strength. After doing a lot of research, it appears that the blame for such a nasty condition can be places on over-training, increasing mileage too quickly, and weak hammies/glutes/hips.

Since hindsight is 20/20 and I can't do much about the first two, I've decided to take the third point and run (figuratively) with it. Here's what my muscles have been up to, which is no way, shape or form "boot camp," but these exercises definitely kicks my booty so it has to be doing some good.

1. As mentioned before, I downloaded an app called SworkIt, which is the neatest. I try to complete at least 10 minutes of a workout before and again after work. It can also be a good warm-up for any other kind of cardio or exercise because it seems to gradually get my heart rate up.

2. The Fitnessista's tabata workouts.These suckers are gut-busting, muscle-soring monsters that get your heart rate and sweat glands going in a matter of 4 minutes. I love doing one before work because it totally energizes me and gets me pumped for the day. Even on Mondays, whaaaa?

3. I've also tried to be a good little runner and complete sciatic nerve stretches, such as these. Stretches could not get any more boring, but I know it can do some good for this cranky body.

4. Walking! Which can be really depressing when you're used to cranking up the pace and zipping around town doing 7 mph instead of 2, but it's been surprisingly nice to just slow down and take note of the world. Also, this weather with this view isn't too shabby:

Do you have any good exercise app recommendations?

I KNEEd this runner's knee to disappear

I apologize for being so quiet lately, but I don't have much running to discuss when there isn't much of it going on in my real life. I took two weeks off, hoping that would decrease the pain and inflammation so that I could run more than 50 feet without wanting to cry fat baby tears. I did attempt a 3 mile run yesterday on my "2 weeks of boring" anniversary and made it a whole 2.2 miles without any pain. And then it kicked in and I got to walk the rest of the way home.

It's really easy to get upset about not being able to do the one form of physical exercise I rely on - not only to stay in shape, but to stay sane. It also doesn't help that I have a marathon on June 2nd that I was really hoping to PR on.

But then, when I start to think those thoughts, I think about how selfish that sounds and how one week ago there were people who were injured and killed who will never run again. Perspective helps.

So for now, I am going to soak up this week's glorious Seattle sunshine (sunny and mid-60's all week!) and bask in the fact that I have my family, my health, and even my stupid knee that will (hopefully) end up working for me again.

What are your injury-coping mechanisms?

Grief and Goodness

Like many of you, I have found myself in tears the past few days. What happened at the treasured Boston marathon was a giant robbery. Some lost their lives, their limbs, their spirit, and their dream. It's a day that will be engrained in many minds forever, and will be replayed over and over for so many of the people who were there to witness the senseless act.

I've been doing my share of reading the countless articles that continue to pop up, and many offer some solace in such a dark time. As Patton Oswald said, "We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We'd have eaten ourselves alive long ago." Amen to that. When those bombs went off, people were running to them to offer any sort of assistance they were able to. Competitors, after putting their physical limits to the test for four hours, continued to the hospital after crossing the finish line. Decisions like these came naturally to those heroes. There was no second-guessing.

In times like these, it's incredibly comforting to me to think about how many good, honest people there are in this world who are "the helpers," as Mr. Rogers says. Personally, it's easy for me to get caught up in an overwhelming sadness that makes me just want to give in to tears and grief. I need to remind myself of the positive humanity that exist in the world and not let it get beat down by all the negativity and violence.

Here are some articles that have struck a cord with me:

The People Who Watch Marathons

The Boston Marathon: All My Tears, All My Love

The Helpers

By a Spectator

Keep on loving,
Brittani

straight up debauchery

Happy Thursday, friends! I will be MIA until next week while the hus and I are splashing around in Palm Springs and dancing our boo-tays off at Coachella. This is the third time we've taken the venture together, and I can honestly say it just keep getting more and more FUN.

We are meeting up with our good friends tonight who have the cutest 1 year old daughter that we haven't gotten to spend much time with, so it will be fantastic to visit with them. Then Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will consist of morning pool time followed by afternoon/evening/buttcrack of midnight Coachella time - all in 96 degree heat! I sweat just anticipating it.

SeaTac snacks. You can keep your $3 granola bar.

Have a great weekend, and I will meet you back here Tuesday!

what I ate wednesday :: 4.9.13

Since taking a minor break from running, I had thought my appetite might be on a downward slope of how things usually are. This theory proved to be way wrong, given that I ate the rest of my Easter candy in one (short) sitting Monday afternoon. I would say "oops" but it was totally on purpose and tasted phenomenal so whatever.

Below are my eats from a typical Tuesday, without any running. I did do core and arm exercises from my new favorite app, Sworkit, which I have the free version of and loooove it. You tell it what type of workout you want, how much time you have (ranging from 5-60 minutes in 5-10 minute increments) and then it comes up with different exercises that you complete for 30 seconds and then switch. It's a great resource when you want to squeeze in a quick ab workout before heading out to work. Get it, get it!

Breakfast :: 6:30am
Green smoothie (frozen spinach, nanner, pineapple, orange juice, chia seeds, flax meal) and a dirty chai.

Morning Snack :: 9:30am
Two slices of this banana bread that I made, ahem, twice last week.

Lunch :: 12:00pm
A salad monster, complete with tons of veggies and a vegan enchilada.

Afternoon Snack:: 4:00pm
An ORANGE. No picture, so I hope that was a good description for you. ;)


 Dinner :: 6:00pm
Veggie red curry! Funny, I made this my last WIAW post. Curries are kind of a staple.

weekend happenings + an unfortunate turn of events

So this knee pain I've been having an issue with on my past few runs? I'm pretty sure it's not due to any sciatic nerve has I had originally thought. Instead, I had a nice appointment with Google yesterday, who told me that it could actually be runner's knee, which there's a better, more legitimate name for that I"m not about to spell out and get wrong for you guys.

Apparently the cartilage underneath my patella isn't happy with me working it, most likely due to over-training it. Since I started marathon training in January, my weekly mileage has been higher than ever before in my running history. I thought I was being smart about it since I was following a plan, but didn't really stop to think about how it might also  be negatively be affecting my body that isn't used to be working it so hard.

So yesterday on my supposed 16 mile run was my breaking point. I had a little knee pain starting at mile 3, intense knee pain starting at mile 12, and then walked miles 12-14 back home. Walking surprisingly felt fine, which will be nice since I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of it these next few weeks.

My plan right now is to take 2 weeks off for recovery. I'll start back out with easy runs to make sure I don't re-injure it and will hopefully be in tip-top shape by the time this marathon rolls around on June 2nd.

In the meantime, during these (extremely tedious) two weeks you'll be finding me doing these stretches for the nerve (just in case) and work on some strength training. I was happy to find this article on recuperation - the author makes it sound like a pretty simple recovery so here's hoping he's right!

Here's a little tasteroo of what went down this weekend:

Friday night Seattle meetup with a dear friend of mine who recently moved back to Seattle from LA! We went to Boom Noodle in Capitol Hill, did a little window shopping in University Village, and ended out night at Veggie Grill for dessert. Friday night at its best.

I ordered the "Tokyo Ramen" veggie-style from Boom, and while it was delicious, I don't think it met it's $14 price tag. I'm a volume eater, and my heart sort of stopped when the bowl was already half-full when it got to me. The "Chocolate Pudding Parfait" at Veggie Grill, however, was inhaled.

The oh-so-sad Saturday long-run view. This came straight off my 'gram.

 

Saturday afternoon plant sale on Bainbridge Island! What's hilarious is the irony of this - I get injured on a run and am on the prowl for a relaxing afternoon. Instead, I find this plant sale which was at the end of this 1 mile (albeit beautiful) walk. I was searching for veggie plants so when I discovered there weren't any I grabbed the first vibrant plant I saw and went with it. We waited in  line for 30 minutes in the rain for this little guy, and then promptly ran (hobbled, actually) away to fund some lunch.

 Sunday afternoon curtain-creating! With the madre, who knows all things sewing and could make anything out of a needle and thread. I'm sure of it. ;) My sad husband got some sort of stomach virus so I stayed away as much as possible yesterday. We got these curtains done in 5 hours, and I couldn't be more pleased with how they turned out. I'll post a picture once I get them hung!

Have you ever had runner's knee? How do you deal with being injured and taking time off from training or working out?