Life Lately {April 2016}

Life Lately April 2016

Thursdays are a welcome respite in the middle of the week. Don’t mistake me, I love the weekends, but Thursdays feel like almost the weekend since I decided to have Thursday’s as my rest/active recovery/puggle run day. In terms of blogging, I eagerly anticipate them because Thursdays are just a day to think out loud. So let’s catch up on life lately!

Life Lately April 2016

West Coast spring loving. Spring was never my favorite season back in the Midwest; it meant allergies and weather than swung between snow one day, 75 degrees the next, then back to temperatures in the 30s. What a difference a change in geography makes! I love West Coast spring: the vibrant flowers everywhere, how green everything is, the allergy free fresh air, and gloriously mild temperatures. Never mind that I squint like crazy whenever that strange yellow thing appears in the sky (see photo above) or have to bundle up still because 50 degrees feels cold still after a mild winter. That Patagonia fleece? It’s my daily wardrobe staple. I have a size up so I can layer hoodies under it and stay warm on chilly and rainy spring days. 

Life Lately April 2016

Investing in prehab. As I increase my running mileage and we embark on longer and steeper hikes, I pulled out my old resistance band and started doing the ankle exercises I learned in PT six years ago. I’d rather spend 5 minutes a few days a week strengthening my ankles than having to take a few days (or worse) off later down the road. 

California-dreaming. I’ve been dropping not-so-subtle hints to Ryan about wanting to go to California this year, and because he’s the best husband ever Ryan has started planning a summer trip for us to one of the national parks in northern CA. We’re already dreaming of running and hiking on those trails through the beautiful Redwood National Forest. 

Ryan’s brother recently moved to Colorado (he works in a state park, how awesome is a job like that?) and so Ryan and I both are eager for a trip into beautiful, mountainous Colorado soon. Just take me to anywhere with mountains, mmmk? Living on the West Coast has opened up so many more opportunities for Ryan and I to travel, especially to places of natural beauty. Back when we lived in Indiana, a 9 hour car trip (how long it takes us to get to CA) would land us in Kansas or Arkansas. I need someone to pinch me to remind me this is real life.

Life Lately April 2016

Snowy hiking. Believe it or not, despite warm temperatures in Seattle, snow still lingers in the mountains. We thankfully have not needed our microspikes in weeks, since the snow is fairly packed down, but Mount Washington was the only hike we did recently without snow again.

Speaking of Mount Washington, all three of us (even Charlie loved it, probably because all the hikers stopped to pet him) would repeat Mount Washington in a heartbeat. The scenery at the top was unbeatable; we had never seen Mount Rainer so clearly! 

Life Lately April 2016

Lazy cooking. My favorite meal right now is one where the oven does most of the work. Our meals rotate between chicken and backed potatoes, brown rice bowls, and vegetarian meals such as lentils and omelets-meals that fuel training, feature seasonal and sustainable ingredients, and are easy to make. Lately we enjoyed this short grain brown rice oven risotto recipe, with feta or goat cheese instead of parmesan (less lactose, more flavor) and roasted eggplant and mushrooms. So insanely easy, so incredibly delicious – you don’t even miss the meat. 

Tea time. When I was compiling my Master Your Fueling and Hydration e-Course (which is now open for continual enrollment!), I read a study that suggested caffeine after a hard workout improves the rate at which your muscles reabsorb glycogen. As much as I LOVE coffee, I sometimes can’t stomach it after a hard workout (and, to be honest, I’ve usually already had two cups by the time I even head out the door to go run), so Earl Grey tea with a squeeze of lemon has become my post-workout drink of choice, along with my usual bowl of oats. Let me tell you, a hot cup of tea after a chilly and rainy run is so comforting and satisfying!

Life Lately April 2016

Podcasting. My obsession with podcasts began back in grad school, when I drove 4 hours each way on the weekends from Ohio to visit Ryan in first Grosse Pointe, Michigan and then northwest Indiana. Now I listen to them when I drive anywhere around here to stay productive in what could be otherwise wasted time

Angela at Happy Fit Mama knows all the good podcasts, so when she gives a recommendation, I download it on my queue. I just finished listening to I’ll Have Another with Lindsey Hein and absolutely loved the interview with Tina Muir. Tina has definitely inspired my approach to focusing on training by perceived effort rather than an arbitrary time goal and I loved hearing her talk about that in relation to the marathon in this interview. Go give it a listen! (And also, huge congrats to Tina who just PR’ed with a 2:37 at the London Marathon!)

Craft beer sipping. Can we just all agree how good a craft beer tastes after a long run? It’s perfection. Some runners have ice cream or cupcakes, but all I want is a crisp and hoppy beer. 

[Tweet “Catch up on mountain views, favorite podcasts, and life lately with @thisrunrecipes #tol #thatpnwlife #sweatpink “]

What’s going on in your life? 
Favorite lazy day recipe?
What podcasts do you listen to?
Where do you want to travel to right now?

 

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28 Responses

  1. I love finding new podcasts too! And we were having a great spring until yesterday when it got cool, cloudy, and rainy and is supposed to stay like this for the next week. Both California and Colorado sound like great places to visit!

    1. Podcasts are so fun to listen to, and there’s an endless variety of them out there! That’s frustrating about the spring weather – our weather just took a similar turn as well and it’s blah and gray again. I think we’re all due for just some nice sunny weather by now!

    1. I’m very excited! Ryan and I want to visit Yosemite as well but that will have to be a longer trip since it still is quite far away from us. Oh yes I understand the dehydration part – I get that also! Oddly tea seems more hydrating, especially with lemon in it.

  2. I woke up yesterday with a scratchy throat that I hoped would go away, but now it hasn’t and i’m like UGH NO TIME FOR THIS! That relates to the tea comment–I’m with you on the tea and warm beverages (also because it is freezing in the gym because we switched to ac too early and it is cold here now!). I would love to travel to Cali right now. Pretty much anywhere warm and pretty. This week is going to be pretty bleary here!

  3. Jealous of your proximity to so many natural wonders! I so want to explore the West Coast and the mountain states. Heading to Denver in September for a wedding long weekend but need to plan a trip up the PCH through to Portland/Seattle soon.

    1. How fun that you get to visit Denver! I really want to go there soon. Seattle and Portland are such fantastic places to visit – there’s so much to do, the food is wonderful, and you can’t beat the views. We could meet up if you’re ever in Seattle!

    1. She’s so kind, talented, and inspiring! I loved seeing all her photos and reading about her London Marathon, and the podcast is interesting to listen to because she recorded it before London.

  4. I’ve been doing more prehab too. Better to take some easy days and skip a speed workout, than end up having to take complete days off later. And foam rolling, stretching… just 5-10 minutes can make a huge difference. The spring looks so beautiful there and makes me want to visit the West Coast someday!

    1. I completely agree! I’m working on making foam rolling more of a priority as well and glad to hear you’re doing the same. You should certainly visit the West Coast! If anything, the cooler temperatures will be a nice break – we don’t really have humidity out here!

  5. I am always on the lookout for new podcasts! I love that you’re planning a california trip! I used to live in Santa Ana, when I was a kid. I went to Disneyland a LOT.

    1. I need to use the crockpot more! I forget about it until dinner time lol. But it is the BEST in summer for making really good meats like pulled pork without having to put in a lot of work!

  6. I’d have to say that my favourite lazy meal is a homemade burrito bowl. I always cook up a huge pot of rice so that I always have some on hand to toss in a bowl with some beans, veggies, salsa, and avocado, and no matter how many times I eat it, I never end up getting sick of it.

  7. Craft beer is a win every time- really for any event, haha. That’s great you are pre-habbing… I still do my PT exercises from an injury last fall at least once a week to hopefully prevent the injury from reoccurring!

  8. I live in seattle also and went to the same tulip field this year! It was beautiful and well worth the entry fee!

    My favorite lazy meal is a quinoa bowl with fried eggs and avocado on top with olive oil and sea salt! Delicious!

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