March, all wrapped up.

I think I blinked and March was gone – but, lots of good things happened in that peculiar month.

St. Patty’s Day 5K got my butt back into race mode, getting second female in 20:08. I ran the hilly course with Kristin and Julie, finally racing again with my loved trio. The race was up in Snoqualmie Ridge, which in my mind was not far off from mini Pleasantville. The cutest little town, but just straight up bizarre.

Winter quarter at UW wrapped up. Finals week turned my brain to mush but my 3.7 quarter GPA was well worth a straining seven day headache. Yes… 3.7! Excuse my bragging moment, I worked hard for that sucker :)

Spring break was the perfect week well spent. Started off as a snow bunny for three days with the fam in Sun Valley - skiing, running, dining, bar hopping, outdoor hot tubbing… embracing the ski bum lifestyle and playing the role of serious dedicated tourists. I captured some gorgeous photos from my birds eye view over the Cascade range on our way there.

Almost a 3 hour flight Seattle to Sun Valley, up and over the Cascade Mountain range.

Sister, Dad, Me.

Then from Sun Valley to Yakima Valley for spring wine tasting with my man! Started out by online booking the “Ho Jo” only to pull up to the hotel (more like motel 69) and tell him we are NOT staying here – booked the Hilton for a spendy $10 more. Lesson learned. 

The first winery we visited: Cultura Wine, Yakima Valley. 

Second winery: Silver Lake Winery. 

Third stop: Portteus Winery, Zillah. 

And my fave of them all: Two Mountain Winery. I bought a bottle of their 2011 Rose, so incredibly good. 

We had so many laughs on this trip, it was such a great time - one of those vacations you never want to end. We ventured out into the wine country and met some of the most humble people and wine makers. Their pace of life is vastly different than city living and it was awesome to experience - slow down my one speed motor brain and unplug for 48 hours. And of course the camera never stopped clicking.

Now, it's April! Back to focusing on running, finally. Time for my body and mind to get back into training mode simply because I haven’t felt fully complete lately. Who knew: avoiding the track slowssss you down.

April 1 started my new training plan – no fools here. Next post will tell the story: new race plan + my next race.

What are you April goals? Are you marathoning for April’s #marathonmonth?

Concept of a 5K

That little race that’s five kilometers long and often called a holiday fun run, community race, or the ever popular “5K” has got me thinking lately. Whether it’s for a charity your company partakes in or a simple excuse to throw on some outrageous costume and run balls to the wall, 5Ks are overly important for our sport because they invite anyone and everyone to the partake in the fun we as runners have all year round.

Memorable 5K with my best running bud Julie... before I knew what the heck a Roga was!

I think this is why I love them so much. It’s a race that can be what ever I want it to be. Full throttle guts out, a slogging start, a pivotal race, the perfect training marker, or the final hump to proving I’m injury free, 5Ks take the cake for me.

My last 5K was on Halloween, a training marker for the Seattle Half that I ran in late November. My sub-20 finish was all I wanted to prove that my training since college was slowly but surely kicking back into gear. After being injured for the month of December and learning to make friends with those I hate (hello operation elliptical), I swallowed my pride, cross trained when I could, began lifting weights and kept a positive attitude as much as my broken little heart could handle.

January marked new training: round 2. For the past few weeks building a base has been back in action, a plan drunkenly mapped out in my training log to the tune of 2 miles here, 8 miles there, and ½ a mile for good measure. You get the picture, I believe they call it inconsistency at its finest.

Sure it feels like square one all over again but sometimes that square just comes at the right time and you don’t even know it. What do I want. Why am I training. What are my goals. What are my miles building up to? It sounds like a hot pot boiling in my brain but in reality, building a new base is bringing me relaxation that I need right now, and I am peacefully okay with it.

This weekend a whole flock of Oiselle birds are coming to our backyard and racing a 5K. Community run, Love em’ or Leave em’, Valentines Day Dash, fun-run, what ever I wanna call it, this race is to prove to myself that I’m injury free, back on the rocker, and ready to get this lovey dovey relationship with running all hot and bothered. And of course, another sub-20 finish wouldn't be too shabby either. 

What is a 5K to you? Are you running one this weekend to tell running how much you love it JIT for Valentines Day? Good Luck J