Sick

When I was a little nauseas after the race on Sunday, and exhausted the rest of the day, I figured it was par for the course after running 13 miles in the cold rain.

I was wrong.

Hello, stomach flu. I haven't seen you for about 15 years. I guess it was time we got together again.

I can't remember the last time I slept so much. One day I slept until 9am, and then went to bed at 9:30pm. It was so nice.

Thank goodness the worst of it is over. I still feel a little icky once in awhile, and haven't been hungry since Sunday. But as long as I'm not spending all day laying on the bathroom floor I'm a happy girl!

I feel so "off" not exercising every day but right now I get winded going up the stairs.

Do you try to run when you are sick? Or do you wait it out?

Rock n Roll Portland Half-Marathon

Today was the inaugural Rock n Roll Portland Half-Marathon. Hubs and I registered for this on May 1st last year, the day registration opened. I did not expect to spend 5 months injured so my training did not go exactly as planned, but we figured we would just do it for fun. We both have other races coming up so we didn't want to go too hard.

We started out good, then hit a 3-mile hill that kind of took it out of us. And it started raining and didn't stop. So much for a 25% chance of rain weather.com! 2 hours and 24 minutes later, we were done! After the race they had Einstein Bros bagels which were delicious! And chocolate milk. And we got like 7 Snickers marathon bars. We were soaked from the rain and freezing cold! So we didn't stick around long.

We were a little miserable during the race but overall it was a fun day. My first race with hubs in over a year! And my first race period since last October. It was good to get back in the game, and honestly I should just be happy I was able to run it after everything my right leg has dealt me this year. So I'm not going to dwell on the what-ifs and should-haves.

And...it was my 10th half-marathon! I can't believe that. Running has changed my life in so many ways, I never thought I would be someone that would run 10 half-marathons.

One of my friends ran the race also and pulled her groin at mile 9. I felt so bad for her! We are planning on doing another one together in a few months. She caught the bug!

Now I am off to eat Mexican food and chocolate cake. Yes, I use race days as an excuse to eat whatever I want. Life is for living people!

Packet pick-up

Ready to go!

Hubs on the waterfront before the race

Let's get this show on the road!

I can never take a centered self-portrait of us, sorry hubs

Hubs after the race

Yay so glad to be done!

Freezing cold in the parking garage

Do you like my space blanket sarong? I think it is the next big thing

Donut holes!!!!

Running Bliss!

This past week we have been on vacation in California (San Fran/Napa) and Oregon (Eugene). It was a crazy week! The best part was all of the running we got to do; due to our conflicting work schedules we are never able to run together so it was heaven getting in some awesome runs with hubs!

Overlooking the running path behind our hotel

Excited to run in the beautiful California sunshine! Unaware of how hot/tired/sweaty I would be 7 miles later :)

Running next to the Willamette River in Eugene

Before our long run! Huddling for warmth :)

Hayward Field, University of Oregon - our Alma Mater

Two weeks till Rock n Roll Portland...it will be our first race together in over a year, I am so excited! Hubs will be starting a new position tomorrow and will have weekends off, we are making all sorts of race plans for the summer :)

Do you like to race with your spouse/significant other? I love it!

Foodie Pen Pals Post

Last month I joined Foodie Pen Pals, created by Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean. My pen pal this month was Katie at Happy Lini. If you aren't familar with Foodie Pen Pals, each month bloggers and readers are matched up and send a foodie package to their pen pal, then blog about it on the 30th. So today is the day!

A few days ago I received a sunshiny package from San Diego, full of delicious goodies...

First up, chocolate peanut caramels. I am a sucker for anything chocolate and these are delicious!

Followed by dried mango slices...I haven't had these since our vacation in Hawaii and I love them!

Ginger mints - I've never had these, but I love ginger candy so I am excited to try them.

My husband has claimed this next food as his - pale ale honey mustard. He loves it!

A selection of luna bars! I am definitely a luna girl so these are pefect. I don't know this picture is smaller than the others.

 Strawberry lemonade, yum! (And unpictured regular lemonade). This will be perfect as it starts to heat up, strawberry lemonade is a summertime staple around here.

Thank you Katie! I love my foodie package and am looking forward to eating everything in it (as long as my husband doesn't get to it first ;)

If you want to join Foodie Pen Pals, head on over to Lindsay's blog here and sign-up!

6 Months From Today

I will be making a big check mark on my bucket list!

Silver Lining

Like about 100,000 other people, I did not get into the NYC Marathon. But, I am looking on the bright side - I probably wouldn't be able to do an ultra on 10/27 if I was running a marathon on 11/4. So, I am taking this as a sign that I am meant to do the ultra this year instead. And I'm ok with that. Hubby said he would do it with me, if I do the 50k. I am trying to convince him the 50 miler is a better option. We'll see who wins.

I will leave you with random pictures from our vacation that I just found on the computer.

Lombard Street

Jelly Belly version of Harry Potter

Changing table in the bathroom of the Budweiser Factory. This just seems wrong.

Happy Wednesday!

10 Miles, a Fashion Statement, and Fake Samoas

Today was my first double-digit run since taking time off. I was cautiously optimistic, and it ended up going pretty well. The first 2/3rds of the run was good, and the last 1/3rd was character building. You know those types of runs. I am a little OCD and didn't want to stop at 1 hour and 50-some minutes, so I kept going to make it 2 hours exactly, 10.52 miles.

I don't know why this picture is so small...just one of life's mysteries I guess.

I usually only eat a Power Bar before long runs, I don't like to run on a full stomach, so after my run I sat on the couch in my pjs eating my new favorite cereal - cinnamon Cheerios!

Ignore the sweaty post-run hair. I was doing yard work after this so I didn't see the point in washing it. Now that I have done said yard work, I still haven't washed it. We'll see what happens.

I love this cereal because it tastes so good that it feels like you are eating something "bad," but actually it is really healthy. Very low fat and 5g of fiber per serving! Yes I sound like a commercial for cheerios now, but I can't help it. I would eat them every day if I wasn't afraid of becoming addicted. So I save them for Sundays only.

After indulging in cheerios and an episode of Dance Moms Miami (I have no shame), I went outside to do some weeding. I really did not feel like it but I promised myself I could come in after 1 hour. I am pretty sore from TRX on Friday. Like maybe the sorest I have ever been from a workout. So I figured an hour was good. It was hot out so I put on an old pair of capris, but I kept my compression socks on since my calves have been so tight lately. I know I looked super cool with my baggy capris, faded race t-shirt, compression socks, and sweaty post-run ponytail. Clearly I am a style icon.

This is fashionable, right?

Now it is my favorite time of day - bad movie/couch/treat time! Usually I go for chick flicks since hubby is at work, but today FX is having a disaster movie marathon and I could not pass it up. I have an embarassing affinity for disaster movies. I am back in PJs, diet coke to my left, and these amazing cookies to my right.

My very favorite Girl Scout cookies are Samoas, and for years I was so sad that I could only enjoy them for a few weeks each year. I saw these in the grocery store a few weeks ago and thought they looked suspiciously similar to my beloved Samoas. Turns out they are basically the same thing! So these have become a regular in my post-long-run/cheat-day rotation.

What workouts did you do this weekend?

Do you have a favorite Girl Scout cookie? I also used to love Lemon Chalets, but they don't make them anymore. I was a little heartbroken when I found out.