seattle

Up until this past weekend I was beginning to doubt those who say Seattle has a wet winter. November was a relatively dry month and more than once I made the comment- “I was expecting Seattle to be much more rainy”.

I eat my words.

Saturday brought a few inches of snow, but Sunday’s rain and warmer temps washed it all away. I guess it just decided to keep on raining. And raining. And raining…… Over 3 inches of rain have fallen since midnight creating mudslides and widespread flooding.

I guess on days like this, I’m especially thankful that I ride the bus*.

*I should probably note that I waited 30 minutes for my bus this morning, only to find out that it had flooded driving through a tunnel before my stop, I got splashed by a tidal wave from a car driving by, and my jeans still haven’t thoroughly dried, and my umbrella is so wimpy I have to keep it opened up with one hand.

It’s probably time I get myself a pair of rain boots.

Alright, I know i’ve been blogless for awhile….but instead of recapping the past six weeks, let’s move forward and save some time.

This morning I ran the Seattle Half Marathon and while I haven’t seen my official time, the clock showed 1:52:05 when I crossed the finish, so I’m happy with that. I found out a little too late that my battery was low on my Garmin, so I just left it turned off. And I actually finished faster than I had anticipated, since my original plan was to just go out and have a nice morning run. And you know how it goes when your adrenaline gets pumping.
(Plus, I had made Todd get up early to come support me so I knew he was waiting for me at the finish line and I tried my best to minimize his time standing around wondering when I was going to be done.)

While the November weather can be miserable, today was the ideal day for running. Sunny and in the low 40s at the start, I was pleasantly surprised with such a beautiful day to run. Overall the run was two thumbs up, with the exception of a few not-so-kind hills, especially a killer hill around mile 8. I can already tell that my quads are going to be angry at me for the next week. But they better shut up and deal with it soon, because I’m heading to Dallas in two weeks to run the White Rock Half Marathon with some of my cousins.

No time to take off from running, and besides, I gotta have some good motivation so I can eat Christmas cookies and mom’s delicious caramels. mmmMM!

I’ve found that’s it’s pretty easy to enjoy life in Seattle, especially during my favorite time of year. It’s time to dig out the sweaters and scarves, keep an umbrella handy at all times, and marvel at the rich colors of the foliage. Autumn arrived earlier here than I was used to in the Midwest. While we were snuggling in our fleece with 50 degree days, they soaked up the 90 degree heat in Kansas. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Last night I couldn’t wait to leave work so I could go for a run in the cool evening air. I put on some shorts but the clouds threatened rain (no surprise there), so I grabbed a jacket from the closet. That proved to be a not-so-smart idea, as I created an upper body sauna with my Dri-fit shirt underneath wicking moisture away from my body and the jacket trapping the moisture in. No matter though, I didn’t notice until I was finished and my jacket was soaked inside. Besides, I found my new favorite 4 mile running route, and the scenery was more than enough to distract me from any sauna action going on.

Feeling ambitious, I headed east from my apartment (I normally start out north or south since east and west = steep hills) up through Capitol Hill and into Interlaken Park. Basing my path only on looking at a map, I wasn’t quite sure where the road would take me and the trees hanging over the street were getting denser, the woods were getting quieter and the sky was getting darker. The scene was slightly eerie and except for a few bicyclists whizzing by with their headlights on, I was out there by myself. I wouldn’t say I was scared, but it made me run a little bit faster than i had planned to, and it was exhilarating.

The eerie silence was a pleasant escape from the busy streets of downtown, the black asphalt glistened from the day’s rain, and it felt like I was running through a portrait, joined by the bright yellow, orange, and red leaves falling all around me and blanketing the ground. It was mezmerizing. And when I emerged from the park and joined up with the street sidewalk, I was sad that part of my run was over. But it was almost dark, and I knew I needed to head back home before i got lost.

That was the most enjoyable 4 mile run ever and I think i’ll go back and do it again tonight. Perhaps when I have more daylight time on the weekends, I’ll extend the run east through the trails of the Arboretum.

For my mother’s sake, I should probably mention that I always run with my pepper spray in hand, ready to strike at any moment on anyone who dares interrupt my run.

Also Duely noted: yesterday I registered for the Seattle Half Marathon, which is at the end of November. I already feel like I’m ready for it, since i’ve been maintaining my mileage. I ran an 8-miler this past weekend and when my friends Matt & Kristin came to visit the weekend prior, I joined them on a 10-miler since Kristin is training with Team in Training for the Rock ‘n Roll Arizona marathon.

And I will attempt to do better at posting more frequent blogs for those who remain interested in my life

I should blog. I really should blog.

That’s what i’ve been thinking for the past several weeks. Problem is, with moving and enjoying my last days of unemployment and traveling and entertaining visitors (and not having internet at my apartment yet), I wasn’t very focused on typing up the details of my life on my computer.

So this is my ‘I am still alive and still happy out here in this corner of the country’ blog.

I moved into my own apartment about two weeks ago and while it’s hard going from seeing Todd everyday to only seeing him about 4 days a week, i’m really enjoying living by myself in the city. I found a small studio in the quaint little Eastlake neighborhood, just a short bus ride to work and downtown, and a short jog to the Burke Gilman trail.

And I finally started my new job this week, and so far, so good. I think it will be a pretty exciting and interesting job (talk about beginner’s optimism, eh?) and I’m really excited about working with the accounts they assigned me to. And since the weather was nice this past week, I just walked the 2 miles home from work. Plus, my walk takes me along Lake Union, so it makes for a nice scenic walk.

I took a week off from running during my move transition, but with starting a new job, I needed to get back in my running routine. I did some 2, 4, 3 & 6 mile runs this week and need to refocus myself so that I can be ready for the Seattle Half Marathon in late November.

hopefully i can keep up with my blogs from now on so i don’t have to cram a whole month’s worth of life into a couple paragraphs.

oh, and wasn’t that a great K-State win over Texas? and now we’re ranked #24! plus, the Chiefs & Seahawks won today too, and Oklahoma lost yesterday,…a great weekend all around.

Last saturday we bid adieu to the summer and arrived at Elliot Marina in the morning to set sail with our skipper Dominic across the Puget Sound. He taught us a few things about sailing, and we dined on baked brie, hummus, olive tapenade, Coronas and a couple bottles of our favorite Chateau Ste. Michelle wine. The weather could not have been better as we dropped anchor off the shore of Blake Island to soak up some sun and eat lunch. I even got to try my hand as Captain of the boat l as we sailed back to Seattle! If only we could do this every weekend. *sigh*

Following my ‘i got myself a job’ news of last week, I spent a rainy Tuesday looking for apartments close to my work by South Lake Union. And I just received news yesterday that my application passed and I get to move into my Eastlake studio mid-month! I’m finally feeling like my life is in order again, and I’m excited not to be living out of my suitcases and having 90% of my belongings in storage.

On the downside, I’ll be further away from Todd and the East Lake Sammamish running trail that i’ve grown to love. Good news is that my apartment is about a 1/2 mile away from another popular trail in Seattle, the 27 mile long Burke Gilman trail.

This week’s Thursday night dinner club was at Marrakesh. I’d never eaten Moroccan food before, but oh my, it was good…and very filling. We were all seated on cushions and dinner included two appetizers, and five duck, chicken and lamb entrees, followed by dessert and tea. Best of all, no utensils, so you eat with your hands and share with everyone at the table. Apparently they have belly dancers too, but we had an early reservation and missed out on that fun.

Taking advantage of the sunny weather yesterday, I went to Bridle Trails to do another trail run. There are three marked trails of varying distances, so i ran each trail once, for a total of 6.5 miles. I felt like the hills were easier on me than my last venture out there, so I’ll just keeping working my way up to running 10 miles on those trails. It definitely takes a lot more energy out of the body than running the same distance on flat ground. uh, yeah….Duh.

I left feeling invigorated from the rigorous workout, although I’m not sure if that had anything to do with me being painfully sick later in the evening and hunched over a trash can.

Whew!!! i’ve finally had time to sit down and recap where i’ve been for the past week. i got two new tires on my car, was able to pick it up in time to meet my parents at the airport and set out on a fun-filled week with them. i feel like the time passed so quickly, but i was able to show them so many things that i love about seattle. We did the obvious: Space Needle, Pike Place Market, ride the ferry to Bainbridge Island, etc. But I was glad that being a semi-resident, I was able to take them places most tourists don’t get to go.

We enjoyed a picnic at Gas Works Park, where my dad was able to watch all the seaplanes take off and land. The Todd gave them a tour of the Microsoft campus, and we spent several hours at the ship locks and salmon ladders, which was really quite interesting. We walked a lot and took the bus as much as possible, except for Friday when we were headed to the Museum of Flight.

This is where my plans changed….much to my surprise and total obliviousness, my brother and sister-in-law flew into Seattle for the weekend. I was totally surprised and confused, but I finally got ahold of things and we picked them up and headed out for another round of Seattle sightseeing. We went back to Pike Place, rode the ferry, and Todd met us out for dinner and we all went up the Space Needle that evening. It was really great having my entire family here, even though at times there were six of us piled in my car and I had to deviate from my planned schedules.

Saturday we ventured out to Snoqualmie Falls where us kids did a small hike and then took a tour of Columbia Winery.

The weather turned rainy so we enjoyed an evening at the hotel with wine and Scrabble fun. I wish they could’ve stayed longer, but I’m glad we were able to spend time together and I could show them around the area. And it was nice, having their familiar faces, because every once in a while I do get a little homesick.

Consequently, I took a week off from running since I was playing chauffeur and did an ample amount of walking. But it was enjoyable to get back out for a 4 mile run yesterday. I think I’ll do a short run along the Lake Sammamish trail this evening.

Last night (wednesday) we joined a group of our friends for an outdoor showing of Back to the Future at Marymoor Park in Redmond. We got there early to grab some lawn space and played some bocce ball and bingo. I even packed a picnic dinner for us

Thankfully, someone brought extra sleeping bags, because once it got dark, the temperatures dropped to the low 50s. But even with a chilly nose and my coffee all gone, it was lots of fun watching the movie out in the wide open with a crowd of people.

Today I decided to have my first experience with some Pacific Northwest trail running. Being a newbie, I didn’t want to go to some forest deep in the woods unprepared, so I headed to the next best place….Bridle Trails State Park.

Bridle Trails is a 482 acre forested park located within the city of Redmond with more than 28 miles of trails for running and horseback riding. I figured, even if I did get lost, I’m pretty sure I could find my way to a busy street. But once I was wound my way deep amongst the tall fir trees, I could have easily been out in the forest miles away from civilization.

I ran a 3.5 mile loop with a few steep hills, then decided that I enjoyed it so much, I picked a 1.6 mile designated loop and galloped on. This just might be my new favorite Seattle running spot. It was so peaceful and since it was during the late afternoon, I only came across 2 people and their dog, 1 scientist picking some mushrooms, and 1 lady on a horse. Which means there was only one negative to running here: make sure you watch out for horse manure.

We’re headed off to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho for the weekend to visit Todd’s parents so that should be lots of fun!