Gourmet Runner

What's four months between friends, right? The last post I wrote was back in December, when I discussed the fact that Tim and I moved from Georgia to Seattle. The Pacific Northwest is beautiful, it has the best running weather, and there were bumper sticks with bleeding-heart liberal slogans on the back of every Eco-friendly car. I was in love. Except things don't ever work out quite that simply, do they? Long story still pretty long (sorry about that), I am writing this post from Central Florida. A few months ago, from our apartment in Bellevue, Washington, Tim spotted his dream house. He has long been into Usonian-style homes a la Frank Lloyd Wright, and this random, run-down, 1950s house in the middle of nowhere, Florida, was perfect. But it was in Florida. And we JUST moved from Georgia to Washington. To top it all off, Tim started a new mid-century modern furniture company: Trystcraft ! If you like MCM style, Danish lounge chairs and high-end pieces from the likes of ...

The last time I posted, I subtly mentioned, "moving to Washington" among a bunch of race recaps. I wanted to expand a little, but we were in the middle of selling our house in Georgia and spilling the details online seemed inappropriate. So...yes, Tim and I sold our house in Georgia. The one we moved from Hong Kong to build. The one that taught us both how to use table saws and grout tile and put together IKEA furniture. (Just kidding. No one ever actually learns how to do that last one. It's a gamble every time.) #nofilter #justkidding #somanyfilters It absolutely was our dream house, and I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to tackle such a big project together. Tim discovered that he loves designing and carpentry , which are two things he never would have really had the chance to do much of in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, there just wasn't a whole lot for us in Georgia. We had friendly neighbors and plenty of space, but the long drives to ge...

Trying to recap a single race in a standard blog post is tough, but trying to recap eight months of races at once? Nearly impossible. Thankfully, I have forgotten most of the details about the races I've completed since March, which you'll appreciate since it cuts down on the reading. If my calculations are correct (they probably aren't), I ran 6 races between March and October. These varied from a one-mile race with a field of eight to a full 26.2 on trails, and they took place in Georgia, Tennessee and Washington. 1 Mile: Market Street Mile, Chattanooga, TN, June 2013 (6:48) I don't know why I thought this was a good idea. "I hate 5ks, but what could be better than running for less time and wanting to puke even more? Yes! A one-mile race!" It was actually kind of fun because they did it in heats, so I was only racing against other women between 20-29. I, uh, lost. I don't remember what place I took - out of 8 - but I distinctly remember it being to...

Although I like to pretend that you have all been waiting around with bated breath, the reality is that many of you might not have noticed that I have stepped away from blogging for...wow, has it really been eight months? Crazy. In that time my work has ramped up big time (don't worry, I still get to write from home in my pajamas), I have had the chance to run some great races and I even moved, with husband and three cats in tow, to the Pacific Northwest. So, what brought me out of my self-induced blogging retirement? Ragnar Relay Las Vegas . This was my second chance to run a relay (first being Hood to Coast 2012), and it was every bit as fantastic as I had hoped. Unfortunately, that isn't because I secretly love being cold and cramped in a van for 30 hours. It is because I like being surrounded by awesome people who want to eat, breath and sleep (or not sleep) running. If you aren't familiar with the typical relay set-up, it involves a team of 12 running 36 legs, wh...

On Thursday night, I ran a small 2-mile race that was just about 30 minutes from home - the Dalton St. Patrick's Day 2-Miler. And, uh...I really don't know how to make a post out of a 2-mile race. I ran hard, and it was over quickly. The end. I guess I'll elaborate, because otherwise there really is no point to this blog, is there? It was a weird race time - 6:30 p.m. I had a pretty regular day of work beforehand, and ate normally but avoided veggies for the day, just in case. Then I pestered my husband and made him get up, go outside and take a series of pictures to prove that I dressed up for a race. He loved it. He really loves when I make him take pictures of me for the Internet. It's his favorite pastime. I got to the race, registered on the spot and met a friend of mine to run the course as a warm-up. I think we ran the two miles at about a 10:30 pace, taking it really easy, but we did throw in a few 10-second strides at a faster pace. The race take...

Life has a funny way of forcing you to slow down, doesn't it? I ran a half-marathon PR in September, a marathon PR in November and then another marathon PR in February. When I write it all out like that, an injury doesn't just seem possible, it seems probable . The last couple of weeks have involved some IT band pain and some slight knee pain, but every day it gets better. The key (anecdotally, I'm no doctor) seems to be the magic of the foam roller. I know not what kind of sorcery is contained in that foam cylinder, but I love it. My cats like to stretch with me :) I was supposed to run a 12-hour race on Saturday, but I knew that doing so would be a terrible idea. Instead, I worked out hungover on a hotel elliptical for 20 minutes. That's the same as running for 12 hours, right? Right. Thankfully, I never had a chance to be sad about the DNS (did not start), because Tim and I ended up having a fantastic weekend. On Friday night, we went to an all-German birt...

There goes my comeback. Pretty sure last week's post was full of unicorn gum drops and happy vibes post-PR, and I may have mentioned a few upcoming races where, obviously, I was going to kick ass and take names. I may have to rethink my strategy. Last week's total running mileage? Six miles. SIX. Not 60. SIX. So, what happened? I came down with a bad case of cocky runner . You ever heard of that? Symptoms include overconfidence, a refusal to abide by the scientific laws of recovery and a distinct lack of stretching and foam-rolling. I got cocky runner BAD, you guys. After my marathon two weeks ago, I did some active recovery - 15 minutes or so of biking or elliptical, took a full rest day and then ran 4 miles on Wednesday. That, my friends, is mistake number one. I felt okay, did some minor cross-training, and then ran 12 miles on Saturday. Mistake number two. I felt fine, but sometimes I forget that the consequences of stupidity are often delayed. It's a classic...