Mile Markers 11/9/2015 – 11/15/2015

Mile Markers: Washington Wine Country Running

I want to express my deepest sympathies and most heartfelt prayers for the victims and families of victims of the attacks in Paris and Beruit this week. 

There’s a line from the end of the mystic Julian of Norwich’s writing, which T. S. Eliot quotes in his Four Quartets: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all matter of thing shall be well.” In the times of worst tragedy, we must cling to faith, hope, and love.

On a lighter note, I registered for my 2016 marathon this week! I’m super excited about this one for multiple reasons: it’s a popular BQ course, it’s within driving distance so we don’t have to stay in a hotel, and I managed to squeeze in when they re-opened registration (since it’s a fast marathon out here, unlike the Seattle Marathon, it sells out super early). I’ll be running the Jack and Jill Marathon in North Bend, WA in July! June and July marathons are popular in the PNW (Vancouver, Foot Traffic Flat) since the weather is mild year-round, especially in the mountains, and June and July are the least rainy months. Originally, I was considering the Vancouver USA Marathon (Vancouver is right over the Washington border from Portland), but it didn’t quite allow enough recovery and training time from the Lake Sammamish Half, which is my goal spring race. 

We also booked a trip to LONDON for January as a Christmas gift to ourselves! I traveled to London during my time abroad five years ago and Ryan has never visited Europe, so we are very excited for this trip!

Monday: 3 mile easy run on the treadmill, 1-5% incline, 8:19/mile average pace

I decided to run in the evening with Ryan rather than in the morning because I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my mom before she left. It was fun to run with Ryan on the treadmills – we haven’t run together since we moved to Bothell. I began at 7.0 mph and increased my pace by 0.1 mph every 5 minutes until I hit 3 miles with a 5% hill for the last tenth of every mile. I cooled down with some MYRTLs.

Tuesday: AM: 8 mile easy run; PM: 25 minutes toning ring Pilates

Nothing remarkable about my run, although I don’t think I’ll ever become bored with the scenery on the trails out here. One of the multi-use paths I run on cuts through the wineries on the East side and it just feels like I’m out in the countryside (which, when my mom lived in Bellevue in the 80s, was truly the countryside). 

Mile Markers: Washington Wine Country Running

I used my Pilates toning ring (also called the magic circle but that name sounds so creepy to me) for the first time in a long time. I felt all those important little stabilizer muscles in my hips, glutes, legs, and core burn, which reminds me just how important Pilates is for strong running. 

Wednesday: 7 mile fartlek run on the treadmill, 0.5%-1.5%

I did the long version of the fartlek countdown workout I shared a couple weeks ago. After a warm-up, I began at half marathon pace (current based on my 10K PR this summer, not goal pace) for the first and longest interval and then did 15K, 10K, 5K, and mile pace. Ryan was home for Veteran’s Day, so we saw Spectre which we really enjoyed.

Thursday: 4 miles easy with Charlie, 9:09/mile average pace, followed by 20 minutes of Pilates

Sometimes running with Charlie feels like more of a workout than it is. This is how a typical run with Charlie goes: We start running and then stop within the first tenth of a mile for him to poop (no matter how long we walk beforehand). Charlie tries to sprint the first mile and I get a core workout as he zigzags back and forth in front of me.  Every time a bicycle passes, Charlie attempts to race the cyclist. Charlie’s beagle nose catches whiff of the scent of other dogs and spends the next mile with his nose to the ground. If he sees another dog, he tries to lay down right in the middle of the trail until that dog passes. 

Mile Markers: Autumn Running

When we got home, I did two 10-minute Pilates videos (this and this video) while Charlie brought all of his toys to my mat and got in my way kept me company. 

Friday: AM: 7 miles easy on the treadmill, 0.5-2% incline, 8:57/mile pace; PM: 25 minutes kettlebell

We were forecasted to get rain and harsh winds. I enjoy running in the rain, but the wind is a completely different story, and just forget about it when it’s the rain and wind. In reality, the winds did not seem to be as bad as forecasted, but I stuck with the treadmill. For the first 4 miles all I could think about is finishing my run, but then all of my muscles loosened up so I kept going until I hit 7. 

Saturday: 1.25 mile hike

It was raining on Saturday and many of the hiking trails had snow from last weekend, so we opted for a short hike at Mirror Lake in the Snoqualmie region. We hiked about 5/8 of a mile until the “small stream” across the trail turned out to be a large and rushing stream that would have been difficult to cross, so we called it a day and turned around. Instead, we picnicked at the trail head and then went to Snoqualmie Fall. More on this later in the week!

Mile Markers: Mirror Lake Hiking

Sunday: Rest Day

29 mile run | 1.25 miles hiked | 3 supplemental workouts

[Tweet “Mile Markers: Rainy Running and Hiking in the PNW via @thisrunrecipes #fitfluential #thatpnwlife #sweatpink”]

Questions of the Day:
Have you signed up for any 2016 races yet?
How was your week in training? Did anyone race this week?
What did you do this weekend? 

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26 Responses

  1. That is so exciting that you are signed up for a marathon! I haven’t even started to think about 2016 races yet, I still need to get through this one first! And that is awesome that you will be visiting London- I studied abroad there in college!

  2. The only 2016 race I am signed up for is Boston. Other than that, I’d like to do a tri in the late summer/early fall any perhaps another marathon… or two 🙂 we shall see! Still taking time off of running after NYC, and really trying to regroup before I start training again. Body definitely deserves some hard core rest 🙂 Fabulous week of training!!

  3. Loved London and would go back in a heartbeat if timing and finances easily allowed. Have fun!!

    I have a few races already planned for 2016 (Hot Chocolate 15k and 2 half-marathons). I need to figure out a early fall half that I would like to run. I have run the Labor Day half the past 4 years, but am thinking about changing it up and maybe going for the Sun River half (also Labor Day weekend)….decisions, decisions, decisions. 🙂

    Have a great day, Laura.

    1. Thank you! I loved it too when I visited, and we’ve been wanting to visit for years now and finally things allowed for it. It sounds like you’ve got some great races lined up for 2016! The Sun River half looks beautiful – either way you’ll have a fun race to run! 🙂

  4. I’ve never been to Europe and Andrew was born in Belfast so going to GB has always been something we look forward to doing one day! So cool that you guys are heading over there. Great news about your race plans for 2016 too. I haven’t signed up for anything yet (other than Andrew’s marathon in Phoenix) but I’m definitely shopping around.

    1. I hope you two get to go to GB and Scotland soon! I’ve been to Edinburgh and loved it – we’re considering taking a day up to Scotland during our trip since Ryan is part Scottish. I’m excited to see what marathons you’ll pick for 2016!

  5. A trip and a marathon to look forward to, so exciting!! I haven’t been to Europe either but I hear London is so nice! I have a half coming up in January in Central Park but other than that, don’t know what other races I will be running so far. I may avoid the half marathons once Spring arrives because it gets too warm here for my liking. But not sure yet!

    1. Thank you! Central Park will be so fun and pretty for a half, I bet! Spring can be awfully warm for racing, I agree – hopefully you find some before the weather gets too hot!

    1. How funny! We hike near North Bend a lot and stop there for coffee after our hikes frequently – such an adorable town! That’s good to hear that it’s beautiful in the summer! And how exciting you’ll be visiting there! 🙂

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