Favorite Thing to Make and 15 Cities Amazing Running Routes

I saw this article and I’m always excited to see the insider locations so I had to look through it.  You can find it at http://greatist.com/move, there’s some other fun stuff there too.  It is really the best because my favorite Marin route AND my favorite Seattle route when I lived there (and when I visit) were both on the list!  So now I know the credibility of runmazingness (new word) I really want to try the ones listed from other cities!  If you’ve been to the other cities let me know.  So the Marin route listed, was of course, The Dipsea!! My favorite, although I don’t really run that one.  The Seattle one was Greenlake, which is a gorgeous loop around a lake there, with a really nice and well maintained paved and dirt (side by side) path, water fountains, cute dogs, etc.  Basically, if you live in Seattle and run or walk, you go to Greenlake.  Literally.  It’s that amazing and popular.

 

I’ve finally been getting back on track with running.  Slowly.  Very.  It’s kind of been sad how slow I am running and has added to my not wanting to go because I know it won’t be a solid run.  But I’m working on it.  I even made a deal with a friend to meet next Sunday for a 9 mile run.  That will be the longest I’ve run in about 2 months so it’s good that we’re meeting so I have to do it.

On a totally different note, or maybe not hmmmm…. I’ve been cooking a lot lately, and new stuff.  Ill eventually put some more stuff on here, but for now, here’s my new fave.

It’s kind of like apple crumble but way healthier.  First I threw some almonds and sunflower seeds in the magic bullet for a few seconds to chop them up, then I cut up a few dates (in retrospect I should’ve thrown them in as well, next time I will).

Then I mixed that combo with plain quick oats and a little bit of maple syrup.

Then of course the delicious Fuji apples.

Then I mixed everything together and added some lemon and cinnamon.  I like it better mixed in then set on top like the traditional style but that is of course an option.  I cooked it for only about 15 minutes at around 300, I just wanted to get it to soften up a bit without cooking out all the nutrients.  It was so so SO good.  So good that I have since finished it and made another batch (and finished it).

How’s your summer running going?

It is Really Hard to Run Every Day

So I made a goal for myself to run everyday.  Nothing crazy, just a mile on the days I really don’t want to go.  Well I admit, I totally failed at the goal.  I have read about a lot of people who have done this and I always thought it wouldn’t be that hard.  So now I have to admit that it really is.  I am going to try again.  This time I am going to change it, make it a bit shorter so in the end is easier to see, and go for a full week, all 7 days, then go from there.

Instead of running like I was supposed to, I have made some de-lish food and went on my favorite hike with some good friends, so let’s focus on that.

Yesterday, 5 of us set out to do the Dipsea, specifically the Double Dipsea.  It goes from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach, then back again, and to do so you have to go up and over a little mountain, twice.  It’s a total of 15 miles, It was hard and we are all sore today, but here’s some of the highlights.

The awesome group!

We have fun no matter what we’re doing 🙂

A view on the way out, lots of fog still over the Pacific.

The view as we head down to Stinson Beach.

Looking back up the stairs once we were all done!

My favorite shot.  We called it the “roadkill” shot.  This photo was inspired by…. the exact way we all felt at the end!  It actually felt really great to lay down.  Even on the road.

This is my favorite hike ever, but it really is a tough one.  I’m afraid my friends will be hesitant next time I ask them to go on a hike.

Slightly Better Than Baby Food?

In my never ending search to find the perfect food that won’t make my stomach hurt, give me side aches, etc.  I recently tried These smooshy power bar fruit thingies.  I first had the blueberry banana version and I felt pretty great on my run shortly after!  So I got some other kinds and felt great again.  Then when REI started their sale last week I went in to grab more and saw these Peter Rabbit Organic smooshies (if Gu can be the name of a sports thing, then I dub these officially smooshies).  I read the ingredients in the Power Bar version and realized they are really just fruit and not organic and the Peter Rabbits were on sale for less so….. why not?

It was a little embarrassing when the cashier was like “you must have a bunch of kids!” because I was buying literally 25 Peter Rabbit smooshies.  Then I realized they say on the package that they are good for anyone over 6 months old.  Ok so now I’m buying baby food to eat.  But why is that?  They are the same as the Power Bar option, plus, score, organic!  How come I’m an athlete when I buy the Power Bar version and clearly buying for babies with the other?  Branding is the reason.  Branding is so weirdly ingrained in us.

Well bottom line is that I don’t care!! I will from now on be buying organic smooshy baby food because it’s awesome right before a run.  Also it’s kind of delicious.  Babies are smart to eat this food.  Too bad they can’t go on a run after.

Summer Running Clothes, What to Wear?

 

 

 

I am very much a running capris person, but I also live in California and I’m horrible at getting up early to run when it’s cool out so I have to go out of my comfort zone and wear shorts to run.

Shorts always bother me in ways capris don’t.  They ride up, rub on your legs with EVERY step which makes my legs itchy and uncomfortable.  They are just not ideal.  So I decided to try a few different things this summer and review each as I wear them.  To start here’s my line-up of stuff to try:

Let’s start with the dreaded shorts.  I found a few styles on sale on Brooks’ website so I decided to start there.  The first pair are short.  Really short.  There is no chance I will wear these for anything other than a super hot day run.  And even then….. I am going to be thinking about them a lot while I’m wearing them I think.  They are the D’Lite 2.5″ shorts from Brooks.

The middle pair are decently long and that waistband seems to keep them from riding too much.  Also I’m hoping that the seams aren’t too chafey ( I make up words when there is not the proper word already in existence).  They are the D’Lite 4″ shorts from Brooks.

The last pair are spandex (cringe) but I figure if I just tell myself they’re short capris it won’t be too bad.  The reason I want to try them is that I’m hoping they will have the benefits of capris, less moving/chafing, with the benefit of shorts, not so warm.  First I just have to actually wear them for a run then I’ll let you know.  They are the Infiniti 7″ short tight III.

On to tops.  This is my favorite thing I’ve found so far.  Again by Brooks.  I found the two on the right on a good sale from REI outlet online so you can check that out if you like them.  They are SUPER light weight and the material is weirdly cold.  Almost like it is re-cooling itself.  That is not true of course but I love them.  The only downside is they are slightly see-through, but for those not comfortable in just a sports bra like me, and needs the lightest possible shirt made, this is the one.

Here you can see the sheerness:

And one more option.  I hit up Old Navy because they sometimes have some good stuff for good prices and in fact they did!  I think all of these were around $15.

The first is a kind of running singlet, it is super lightweight and loose fitting making it very comfy.  The 2 on the right have built in bras and then are really light and loose as well.  They are also really flattering on and super cute.  The only issue I have with those is that there is only one strap option to clip my IPod onto and it doesn’t like the thickness of them.  Although occasionally adjusting my IPod is a small price to pay for a super cute, super inexpensive, great running shirt.  I just wouldn’t use it for a race.

That’s the round up of the new stuff to try, I will be back to report how they are!

What do you wear to run in the summer?

Uninvited Trail Guest

 

The thing about this Brooks pic, is that I wish I could just do exactly that, and sometimes it has felt like I have done that which is awesome.  The last couple of weeks have been hard though, both with work and family stuff going on so keep the sleeping and the dessert and replace the running with working and stress and you’ve got my last 2-3 weeks.  We opened a business we have been working on, there was a close family member who passed away and a quite serious health issue that just got confirmed with a quite close family member (which I’m not quite ready to talk about yet), and then of course also my commercial painting job to keep up with, which I honestly haven’t been able to.  It’s been a lot!

 

So the few times I’ve made it out for a run have been absolutely wonderful.  Tonight was my first run in a few days and it felt extremely wonderful.  There was one unexpected visitor on the trail though which I’m not too happy about.  My greatest fear in life are snakes.  I don’t want to be anywhere near them ever, at all, no matter what.  I don’t even want to look at them through glass at the zoo.  HATE them.   There is actually a great story my mom tells (who is the same as me and can’t stand them) where she pet a snake at some kind of zoo in front of me to show me it wasn’t scary in hopes that I would’t have the same affliction she has.  Well, it didn’t work, and knowing she feels the same way I do about them, I can’t believe she did that.  I don’t think I could for anyone.

Anyways, this was not a little snake, it was a few feet long, and I don’t know what kind it was and I’m kind of freaking out.  I will probably research it as soon as I’m done writing this.  I have to say, for all of Nor Cal’s amazing attributes, the two almost deal breakers for me are poison oak and poisonous snakes.  Seattle doesn’t have either.  Also, this snake was slithering right along my normal route.  The reason I say a few feet is that I could see upwards of 2 feet and it was still partially covered in the bushes so I don’t actually know where it ended.  I actually cut my run short because I was going to have to run right back by there and it was getting dark and I was kind of freaking out.  I don’t know how I will ever do my normal route again without being nervous in that area!  No joke, this is the path I run on 97% of times that I run.  Also a lot in the dark and almost always alone.

I wish I had a video of how I looked when I spotted it.  I don’t think I’ve ever run so fast!

Anyways, I am working on getting back on track with painting, writing, and running.  I hope everyone is well and enjoying life!

The Dipsea Stairs

The Dipsea stairs are somewhat infamous at least in Marin and they are one of my favorite places to do a workout, as well as being connected to the rest of the dip sea trail which is by far my favorite hike.  The stairs are no joke.  It is set after set of stairs.   According to Wikipedia there are 688.  I should count next time.

So, I thought it would be fun to do a little photo set of all the different stairs as I made my way up.  Here is the first section, after the initial few steps there that are pavement, it turns to wood steps that are open between and there is water running below them, it’s really pretty.

 

Once at the top it veers left a bit.

Then goes up this little stone section which is a bit tedious but really pretty.

Then you have a section with nicely spaced wooden stairs, the stair spacing changes at each section and some are better than others, I like this part.

And the last part!!  This part is the best because it has little badges all the way up that have people’s names, dedications, and motivation to make it to the top from the people who helped build this part.  It’s really fun to read while you go up.

Before the stairs I did a quick little 3 miles just to get loosened up.  I have hardly run at all since the half marathon so I needed to get out there.  Don’t worry about the sideways view, I promise I run upright although all photos taken while running seem to have this same lean…

 

And then a yummy salad with my favorite dressing, I really like olives.  I can never find a salad bowl big enough so I’m always trying weird containers like tupperware to make it fit.  Also made a little garlic bread and had some peach yogurt as “dessert” (the quotes are needed because who am I fooling, that’s not a real dessert).

Do you have a favorite hike?

Are there any stair sets where you are that everyone trains on?

How much do you run the week after a race? (why is that part not included on my training guides?)