Tag Archives: spring

It’s Been A Good Week

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When I first started this blog, I used to go out for my long run on Sunday and compose a post in my head whilst on the trail. I’ve kind of slipped away from that. Well not today! I’m going back to basics baby!

Today just so happens to be Week 3 Day 1 of half-marathon training for me! I am now training for the Mountains 2 Beach Half in California, while Jamesy is training for the full. I’ll hopefully be coloring in another big state on my map! (My map! Where is my map?! I need to update my map!)

And you may be wondering how James has been doing as he’s let his blogging slip wayward (just as I have). He’s doing great! He did the Seattle Hot Chocolate 15K two weeks ago (yeah, yeah, yeah… I know… I still need to share what happened with me there) and then last weekend he ran the Lake Sammamish Half. His back pain from the herniated disk still comes and goes, but he rested all last week, went for an 8-mile run today, and now feels wonderful! He has, however, been on the bike trainer, so it’s not like he’s just laid around doing nothing.

Anyway, back to Mountains 2 Beach… we signed up for this race last year, the day registration opened. It is a gradual net downhill course, and if one is trained properly, possible PR potential, not to mention it’s a huge BQ possibility (Boston Qualifier). Obviously we’re not trying to qualify for Boston, but the point is, it has potential to be a fast course. A chance to redeem myself from 2 weeks ago.

And like I said, today was Week 3 Day 1 of training, #longrunSunday. 4 miles. Never mind the fact that I ran 8 last Sunday to complete a SquadRunner mission. SquadRunner and training plans… it’s going to be interesting to see how the two complement each other as I will always choose the higher mileage for our SquadRunner team and mission’s bonus points over what my plan says. Next week is filled with easy-to-complete missions every single day… looks like I’ll be taking on a little run streak and will have to force myself to rest next Saturday to nail the long run on Sunday.

And oh yeah… my 175-mile winter challenge… you know, the one that went from December to March? I’m almost done! Only 19 more miles left! Between that and SquadRunner, I managed to keep my base fitness through the cold winter months! Booyah! Welcome to Spring!

(Feel like I’m rambling much? Absolutely! It’s what I do best!)

Oh, by the way… we got our first baby in at the wildlife center. Yep. A cottontail. One month from now, we’ll have dozens upon dozens. Hey. It’s what we do… rescue, rehab, release. 🙂

Happy Trails!

Just a fun pic… I got new running sunnies, so AJ and I were playing around and being dorks. He’s kinda tall these days.

Week In Review… with Pictures!

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I’m not feeling very wordy about last week’s training, but I do have some pictures to share!

Skunk lilies! Pretty, but stinky!

Okay, truth be told, marathon training started last week with The Motivator… although that is certainly not what I was calling him by the end of our 5K together.  From here on out, until I run my marathon in October, he and I will be running together at least once a week.  This is not going to be fun, nor is it going to be pretty.  But because of it, I will succeed at crossing the finish line in the allotted time.  So I will suck it up, get pissed off, and get over it.

The Motivator’s 5K PR is 23:16, whereas I’ve not even left the chute yet. Training is about to get ugly.

But hey!  Good news!   Last week I was also able to get outside on the bike for the first time in 2017! Yay!  That means we had sunshine!  The other good news?!  My sit bones didn’t hurt!  I’m so pleased about that.  The god-awful mind-numbing bike trainer did its job… at least for now. As the weather improves, hopefully my distance and speed improve.  Then possibly I will ultimately have a picnic at the barn (my 50-miler)!!

See the above trees?  We’ve had lots of rain and wind here, which in turn have resulted in fallen trees as the ground is saturated. It won’t be long before the above fallen tree that is leaning will cause the standing tree to collapse as well.  Right across the trail.

And yes, the Easter Bunny made his annual appearance.  Probably not good to have all that chocolate in the house, but I’ll try hard not to complain.

I also have to thank Renee from The Revenge Wogger for the beautiful tulips!  She visited the Skagit Valley Tulilp Festival in my area and sent some to me as we didn’t get a chance to meet up!  So very sweet!  Thanks Renee!  They’re gorgeous!

I #spottedthe… game:  A bunny.  He was too quick to get a picture though.  Not that a bunny is on the list, but I do challenge anyone to get a good picture of a bunny.  😀

Daryl, above, is not wild, he’s domestic. I bunny-sit him during the day at work. #shakaears #imhisfavoriteauntie

Week in mileage:  20.  Keeping track so I can watch the number climb.

Hope everyone had a nice Easter, Passover, and weekend!  For those running Boston, may God bless you all!  Happy running!

 

 

Just Another Day

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Baby season is in full swing at the rescue and rehab center.  Things are kicking off a bit late this year because of our cold winter and cold spring.  But the cold ain’t gonna stop Mother Nature now, is it!  We currently have abandoned baby squirrels, abandoned baby bunnies, baby opossums who’ve lost their mom, even 2 little owlets being raised by our resident foster owl mama… and I just received my very first fawn call of the season today.  (“There is a fawn sitting in my yard that has been abandoned.” “No, it hasn’t been abandoned.  Please leave it alone.”)

That being said, I also received a call today that sent my blood pressure to stroke level.  If I could’ve gone through the phone to slap some sense into this a-hole, I would have:

HIM:  My dogs were in a fight with a raccoon a couple of days ago and they chased it up a tree. It’s been up there for 2 days and I would like it removed before it dies.

ME:  The raccoon is in the tree because he’s afraid of your dogs.  Where are the dogs now?

HIM:  Barking at the raccoon in the tree.

ME:  Can you place the dogs in their kennel?

HIM:  The kennel is right underneath the tree.  Should I put them in there?

ME:  No.  Can you bring the dogs inside for a few hours?

HIM:  No.  They’re outside dogs.

ME:  Can you put them in the garage to give this raccoon a chance to come down out of the tree?

HIM:  No.  I’m not willing to do that.

I had to put him on hold after that answer.

“No.  I’m not willing to do that.”  

Are you f’n kidding me?!  I was so not prepared for that response.  You can’t lock up your dogs?? To let another living being, one of God’s creatures, who is scared to death, come down out of a tree and have a chance at survival?? Then why the f*** did you call me?!!  Do you really think I’m going to track all the way out to your drug-infested meth-lab ‘home’ and remove a raccoon from a tree when you won’t even put your hell hounds up?? 

I was now done with this phone call.  I had to pass it off to my director as the veins in my head were frantically pulsating.

The director then proceeded to calmly explain the risk of diseases that a dead raccoon would pass onto his beloved outside dogs who were never allowed inside, if he didn’t remove his dogs from the area to let the raccoon down.

Alas… we will never know what happened to this poor raccoon, whether the above idiot decided to put his dogs up for a couple of hours or not.

I guess I’ll chalk it all up to another “day in the life of…”

Baby season is upon us.  Time for me to step up my game and get ahead of all that’s about to come…

 

 

One Day of Sun

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The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another.

–Henry van Dyke

Apparently the theme for spring this year is pink.  I’ll take it.  It looks kind of pretty against a blue sky.

Any sign of spring in your neighborhood yet?  (Or autumn, whichever the case may be? 😀 )

Prom

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It’s prom season again, and I’m loving the creativity used to ask for a date.  These boys got it right!

A high school senior from Kansas asked a girl with Down syndrome to go to the prom with him.  He said, “She is one of the best people I know.”  He said he wanted to make her happy because she has brought “nothing but joy” to his life since he met her.

He knew she loved Doritos, so he wore a shirt that said, “I know I’m nacho typical Dorito.  But I’m going to be cheesy, and ask:  Will you go to prom with me?”

She said yes…

In Ohio, a 17-year-old boy asked his 16-year-old girlfriend to prom by running 5-1/2 miles to spell it out on his GPS app.  They met on the high school cross-country team.  He knew she used the app as well and he asked her to check out the route he ran that morning.  The question mark alone took a mile.

She said yes…

So very sweet.  When we lose faith with all that’s going on in our country, just look at the upcoming generation.  They are our hope, they are our future, and they are being raised well.

Got Coffee? Echoes Of My Neighbourhood #13

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Seattle is a huge coffee mecca, with its biggest coffee roasters being Starbucks, Tully’s, and Seattle’s Best.  It is said that there are 35 coffeehouses per 100,000 people.  There are 4 drive-thru coffee stands no more than 3 miles from my house.  Here are 3 of them.  This sensation is lost on me as I don’t drink coffee.

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Even the bling for Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle in 2014 was a coffee cup.

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(yeah, shameless plug, I know, :D)

I am joining Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha from A Cooking Pot and Twisted Tales for her series, “Echoes of My Neighbourhood,” where she challenges us all to share a photo of bits and pieces of wherever you are at any point in time.

Are drive-thru coffee stands the norm where you live, or is this just a Seattle thing?

Cherry Blossoms Galore

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It’s that one time of year when cherry blossoms are everywhere.  They seem to appear overnight, and are gone just as quick.  After a long, cold, wet winter, they are indeed a welcome sight.

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And these… while these bushes are quite pretty, they’re a bit of a reminder it’s time to stock up on allergy medicine:

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I am joining Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha from A Cooking Pot and Twisted Tales for her series, “Echoes of My Neighbourhood,” where she challenges us all to share a photo of bits and pieces of wherever you are at any point in time.

Got spring?