Impromptu Day Off

Oh, hey there! Yes, I've been AWOL for the last week. No, I didn't go on any exciting vacations. But I did come back for another edition of "Friday Five."

In honor of my absence, this week's theme is "Anecdotes from My Training."

1. It's warming up here! This was the forecast when I left for my long run on Saturday:

What'd this mean? I was able to leave the hat at home. I still needed the gloves. But it was much more pleasant than the run in the snow!

2. I ran into some friends along the way. On Saturday, I started my long run by myself, but between miles 6 and 7 (6.25 to be exact), I ran into my friends Jeff and Steve, who were in the midst of their long run. So I ran with them after that. It was a great balance between running by myself to recharge and get me time, and running with others to be social.

I also ran into another friend on Wednesday morning, but that wasn't as exciting because he wasn't running.

3. I explored some new routes. Or rather, I explored one new route (Tryon Creek State Park), and some variations of routes that I've previously run. It's always enjoyable to switch things up!

4. For the first time in about 6 or 7 years (I'm not sure of how long specifically, but it's been a while), I tried swimming laps. I did about 3 laps, but because of the smell of chlorine and the chlorinated water splashing into my ears, I was over it after that. Not to mention that I was already drained beforehand. But I'm still humored by the fact that I can survive running for 3+ hours on land, but can't seem to survive swimming 3+ laps in water. Goal for next time: 4 laps!

5. On Tuesday evening, I developed this craving for pancakes, and decided that they'd be a good breakfast for after my 9M run on Wednesday. Plus, it always helps to have delicious food to look forward to while running. To make my life easier on Wednesday, I made the batter Tuesday night and stuck it in the fridge. It seriously hit the spot! Plus, I had some batter leftover, so I was able to have pancakes again on Thursday!

Sweet and Savory
Left: Basic pancakes with a poached egg
Right: Chocolate chip pancakes with peanut butter

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I ended up with a day off (kind of). My thesis meeting this week was switched from Friday to Thursday, and my other meeting I had scheduled got canceled. All I have scheduled is a 7M tempo run (which I should probably start on), and some homework. And the sun is shining!

Any big Friday/weekend plans?

Over the River And Through the Woods

Remember that time I said, "If you don't like the weather in Portland, wait 10 minutes?"

That couldn't have been more true on my long run.

I woke up to rain outside my window and thought to myself, "Oh joy!" But I got dressed anyway. For a pre-run breakfast, I made myself some oatmeal with almond butter, dried cranberries, a few almonds, and cinnamon, and had a glass of water on the side. Mmmm. I got through part of my warmup routine, but not the whole thing. (I didn't leave myself enough time.)

I met up with my friend Jeff and ran about 1.5 mi to meet up with our friend Peter. (Yes, believe it or not, I run with people sometimes.) It was raining and 39ºF when we left, and because we were planning on running through the Southwest Hills, I commented that because of the altitude change, it might be snowing up in the Hills. Jeff told me that it probably wasn't going to be that cold. Now because a 7 degree temperature difference in one city seems very unlikely, I left it alone.

We met Peter down at the Esplanade (along the water on the East Side), and Peter guided us along (he knew the route). We ran along the waterfront, across the river, and through Downtown before trekking up into the Hills. We got about a mile up Terwilliger Blvd., and what did we meet? SNOW. I couldn't resist saying some variation of "I told you so," and the response I got was, "It's not cold. It's just...snowy." (Since when is 32ºF warm? Or am I the only one north of SF who thinks that 32 is cold?)

A little while later, we escaped the snow and found SUN! (In case you couldn't tell from my other posts, the sun in Portland in the winter is a hot commodity -- pun intended.) We proceeded through the River View Cemetery, which is perched on a hill and, as the name suggests, offers a view of the Willamette River and the East Side. (Why do the dead people need a stunning view? I presume that they already have a better view than any of us have on Earth. At least, assuming that there is a Heaven and these people made it there.)

Once we left the cemetery, we crossed the Sellwood Bridge (Woo for running across a new bridge in Portland!), and ran along the Springwater Corridor for the last few miles of our run.

Source

The path is lined by trees on one side and the river on the other. While this seems very peaceful, it also feels like being in the woods in the Middle of Nowhere. Eventually, we escaped and made it back to the Esplanade. I left them to head to the MAX, because I had a bunch of homework waiting for me at home, and after 16 miles of freezing (practically), mass transit sounded great (and it was). I did some lunges as a cooldown stretch while I waited, and consumed some of the water I brought with me on the run.

Once I got home, I got started on breakfast. Eggs and cheese (though I had them with polenta instead of on a sandwich), coffee (with some warmed chocolate almond milk -- in case anyone's wondering, it's a bomb combo), and a banana. (Three of five things off of the Friday Five -- not bad!)

Now it took my Garmin the entire run from my place to the Esplanade to locate the satellites, so I can't provide any stats on that. But as far as the rest of the run:

Distance: 14.78 mi

Time: 2:06

Pace: 8:31/mi

Faster than my last run of a comparable distance! And that route was flatter too. Improvement? I'd like to think so. I think running with people who run at my speed or a bit faster helped too. My knee only acted up a few times too.

PS Just a reminder that you can subscribe via email! Because who wouldn't love waking up to an email with my anecdotes? ;)

Three Things

Things I've realized over the last 24 hours:

If you look out the window and upon seeing that it's dreary and wet, say to yourself, "Ugh, I don't feel like going outside," just go. It's probably warmer than it looks.

I had this experience yesterday morning. Upon forcing myself out the front door for my run, my immediate reaction was, "Oh, it's not that bad."

If you look out the window and see that it's raining, just wait 15 minutes.


Okay, maybe I learned this one a while ago, but it came up again last night. I was at dinner with a few friends (all native Oregonians), and one of them said, "Ugh, it's raining." I immediately responded, "Just wait 15 minutes." Another friend commented, "Spoken like a true Oregonian."

(Note: This is typically, but not always, the case. One exemption is the 2010 Portland Marathon. I'm pretty sure it didn't stop raining for the entire day.)

Skechers makes running shoes.

Was anyone else aware of this? When did they decide to enter the running shoe market? A friend recently told me that he bought them, and also included a blogger's review of them. Because it's a brand I know next to nothing about, I was happy to be able to read a consumer review.

The shoe is thickest in the mid-foot area to force you to land on the ball of your foot. I have to admit, after reading Chris McDougall's "Born to Run," I'm a bit skeptical of over-engineered shoes (and these seem over-engineered). But that doesn't mean I'm not intrigued.

Another interesting component of these shoes is the non-removable sockliner (so you don't wear socks when you run). Personally, I'm a little grossed out by that concept (the fact that the liner is there and you can't remove it to wash it). But I'm also a little grossed out by not wearing socks with running shoes. (I'm pretty sure I get that one from my mom.) Not to mention the fact that I have Raynaud's (the condition that makes my fingers and toes turn white). Maybe these shoes aren't for me. But if anyone wants to send me a pair to try, I'm open to testing them.