Run Down

After the week I had the previous week and then my "long" run last weekend, I was sure I was spreading myself a little too thin. I felt uninspired, tired and just generally unmotivated. I was sleep-deprived, stressed over work and not feeling myself. Massive amounts of coffee just was not making a difference.

Another extremely busy week and I about hit my breaking point. I decided to take Friday off. I of course did not go to bed early and did not sleep in, so it ended up being a wasted effort to relax. Steph had me go with her to an exercise class at the Y and it nearly killed me. I am hoping it is the lack of sleep that caused me to feel sick and weak at the end of the 45 minutes, but I am not sure. As I type this, my legs are a little sore still.

I did get some decent sleep (for once) last night, but I am still not feeling myself. Here it is a beautiful sunny day and I don't feel like heading out on a run. I almost wish it were a rainy day out - then I'd almost have a legitimate excuse for not doing anything outside. I think if I get moving and do something I'll feel better. I hate not accomplishing anything. It is a little early to really do much official yard work, but there is enough to keep me busy outside to get prepared. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the things that need done this year. The list is endless, so I won't bother going into details.

This does not bode well for my training for an undeclared half marathon this spring... I have until May for any of the races I was looking at and my training was a little ahead, but still... I have lost some momentum and I don't like it. Perhaps it is the fact that I have not signed up for a specific race, but I'm not sure.

Any words of inspiration from anyone out there would be helpful.

Finally...

At what seemed like an eternity, the "Official" Run 4 Everett website and race registration is now open and ready! If this wasn't so important to us, we may have just scrapped the idea. Getting a race started is not as easy as I thought it would have been. Finding the right race director is key - we learned the hard way, but thankfully early in the process. Sponsorships have been on both ends of the spectrum. Some came wonderfully easy, others have not.

So if anyone is reading this, and you are looking for a race to do in August -- the 20th more specifically, we have a race for you. Go to run4everett.com and browse around and feel free to sign up. It is a first year event, but we are working hard to make it a fun day for all who attend. IF you cannot attend, but wish to help, there is also a link to donate directly to Kate Cares - the organization we are trying to raise money for.

Thanks and hope to see you there!

The Running Community

I've always felt the running community was a tight-knit group. I just took that as gospel. While working with Steph to pull together Run 4 Everett for August, we have met some truly amazing people, who are dedicated to running and, quite honestly, being good people. Unfortunately, we've met some posers too. The one's who claim to be about the sport, but in fact, are in it for the quick buck it seems. My faith in the running community has been wavering...

We met a guy yesterday who's been a runner probably over 40 years. Knows the sport, loves the sport and is just an all-around great guy (at least that is my first impression, and no one usually comes across that way to me who isn't genuine). We met to go over t-shirt type, logo design and we came out of the meeting with so much more. He is a wealth of knowledge (not to mention connections). Probably not 30 minutes after we left, he had contacted a running store we have been trying to talk to weeks and we got a response from them not 30 minutes after that! They've offered to donate gift cards  for the raffle and/or race awards... This one small gesture alone has me believing in the running community again. Thanks Marty!

Coffee, Tea or Me

Anyone who knows me knows that I live much of my life around coffee.

Let me  rephrase that.

"good" coffee.

After all, life's too short for bad coffee. I will be the first to admit, I am a snob when it comes to coffee. I used to drink whatever just to get through long nights in studio at college. Then is carried over when I began work. But as I have moved on in my life, my love of coffee has grown and my palette has become more sophisticated. I have a friend form Seattle to thank for this by the way...

I believe my interest really grew back in 2005 on a trip to Key West. While there we stopped at a coffee roaster (Baby's Coffee), actually not just any coffee roaster, but the southernmost coffee roaster in the United States. Long story short, I was getting a lot of my coffee from there for quite some time. Roasted in small batches, always whole bean, it was something I looked forward to at Christmas time when I'd get a few pounds... it never seemed to last long enough though.

Since then, I've ventured into local roasts here and when on vacation I ALWAYS try to find a local roaster to taste their creations. Most of the time I am not disappointed.

Not too long ago I was introduced to tea. Maybe that's not quite right - I've had tea before, but mostly it was a drink for when I was under the weather with a cold or flu. I think some of the lackluster image of it stemmed from that, but it never gave me the same satisfaction as a good cup of coffee.

Until a couple of months ago.

Steph got me a cup of tea in the middle of the afternoon as a "pick me up"and I'll admit I was slightly disappointed when she said it was tea (hoping for a coffee), but when I tried it, I was pleasantly surprised. It was an amazing taste and on top of that, it had an awesome level of caffeine in it. I later found out it was a blend -- chai / mate with as much caffeine as a cup of coffee -- that sold me. I ended up going back to the tea store and getting some as an alternative to coffee (shudder the thought). I am still quite the die hard coffee drinker, but having an option isn't too bad.

I did have a bit of a disappointing day yesterday when I broke one of my beloved coffee mugs that I've had since college -- from the same Seattle friend. It had an image with "just say no to decaf" saying on it. It served me well every weekend for 16 years. It will be sadly missed as it was a nice large mug with a big handle. I have plenty of others to fall back on, but it won't be the same...

On a running note, I got out for a 15k today. It was a little sloppy with some slushy spots along the way, but overall felt great, hit a lot of hills and still managed an 8:58/mile average. Looking forward to the trail run series that starts next month. I now feel ready for them as well as a half marathon. I think I've decided on the Geist Half Marathon for this spring. I have two days to sign up before prices go up, so guess I had better get to it...

Now, time for a cup of coffee. Until then keep on running.

Daughter / Daddy Weekend

For me, the weekend started out on Friday evening with a Father/daughter dance at our local Y. Lilli got dress up in her flower girl dress (to be used in April) - we figured might as well get as much use out of it as we can. Just as we were ready to leave, she decided that her hair wasn't right and had to brush it.

For ten minutes.

I patiently waited, being the good father that I am. When she was ready we headed out arriving about 10 minutes after the event started, which turned out to be good timing. They were playing some Kenny G and Michael Bolton at first, which didn't leave me very hopeful for the evening. We got some punch and a cookie and cupcake and Lilli proceeded to devour hers... then again, so did I.

Once the "good" music started we began to dance. Lilli jumped up and down and twirled around with all her might. She was having a blast. About 30 minutes into dancing, Lilli decided that I was no longer fun to dance with and turned around and danced by herself, as well as other people - including her tumbling class instructor. At least I was at least able to take more photos and video of her. We left about 20 minutes before it was to wrap up, but it was getting late and Lilli was showing signs of slowing down (slightly).

She woke up this morning in a good mood, actually coming into the bedroom saying, "it's morning". So I got up and made coffee and got breakfast for Lilli. Then I decided to go for a run today since it really was going to be the nicer of both days this weekend (though not nearly as warm as it was earlier this week). Upon mentioning my intentions for my run, Lilli wanted to join me. So I loaded up the jog stroller, snacks, water and a blanket for Lilli and we headed over to a popular running/biking path. The goal was for 8 miles and I wasn't sure if she would last or not since 5 miles had been our longest run together ever. But I ran an out and back route, so it would force us to run the whole distance. Surprisingly, she didn't complain, she just enjoyed the people and dog watching. I ran at an average 8:53/mile pace while pushing her in the jog stroller. I'd say that was pretty darn good. When we were done with our run, she and I stretched - in fact, she made me stretch longer than I would normally - such a good girl.

Afterwards, we headed to lunch at Jason's Deli (one of my new fav places to eat). And we celebrated the good run with a little ice cream.

Not sure what our plans are for tomorrow, but it's been a great weekend so far...