Sometimes Weekly Roundup - 3/24

*I swear I will write a real blog post one of these days. For now I'm glad a few of you are enjoying the roundups.


Big news: I spent BOTH weekend days riding OUTSIDE. For some reason I've been rather wimpy this year and opted have for the Computrainer instead of the slick, rainy roads. Alas, we had two beautiful weekend days and I spent them biking or bricking around the PNW. I snapped this picture of Snoqualmie Falls mid-ride Saturday. My Saturday ride took me over rivers and through small towns, many of them like the area 50 miles north, which is suffering the impact of Saturday's mudslide. My thoughts and prayers go out to this community. 

 

For anyone who hasn't heard, Kara Goucher signed with Oiselle last week. I was lucky enough to meet her at a team run in February (I'm the nerd in the Ironman hat). It's a big move for Oiselle and it also sounds like a big move for Kara. You can read about it on Oiselle's blog here or Competitor magazine's article here. This news plus some spring weather inspired me to buy a new running tank top, much like this runner. (photo cred: Oiselle blog)

 

The first weekend of March Madness was not disappointing for most viewers. Games were decided by slim margins and overtime minutes. My boss is a Gonzaga fan, so we had a "meeting" at a bar up the street when they beat Oklahoma State (Sunday they got killed by Arizona). But the best discovery of the first two tournament days was the two TVs set up in the athletic department, which is just down the hall from my office. Anytime there was a close game, a few of my co-workers and I would watch the last few minutes. Have I mentioned that I'm really enjoying my new job?

 

Saturday I made this decadent double chocolate banana bread from the Smitten Kitchen blog. Everything I've tried from  her blog or cookbook has been amazing, including this cake...I mean "bread." Make sure you have a tall glass of milk to wash it down. It's delicious.

 

 

Nuun launched a new product and had a launch party a couple weeks ago. I was able to try the different flavors and hang out at their headquarters (very fun). Check out their new line here.

 

SWR - 3/16

Long runs after work are starting to look like this! I took this around mile 10 of a 16 mile run on Thursday.

  

The NCAA basketball tournament is one of my favorite events in sports. Gonzaga will be returning for its 16th year in a row. Like many, I have some regrets from my late teens and early 20s, but 2 things I will never regret are 1) falling in love with college basketball, and 2) becoming a runner. You can read why here.

And because I'm both a fan and a product of Title IX, I will also be following the women's team who finished ranked 18 in the AP polls this year and won the WCC championships.

 

I've been really impressed with the sustainability efforts on campus at Seattle U. I learned that the students petitioned to get bottled water sales off campus (because the water used in manufacturing recyclable plastic bottles is ridiculous). And there are lots of options to fill bottles on campus. One of the cafeterias has delicious fruit infused water and I've been filling up with orange mint or strawberry mint as a mid-morning refresher.

 

Nerds everywhere celebrated pi (3.14) day on Friday. My new office is located in an old pie shop. It's kind of cool, other than the fact our cool storage is filled with files and journal entries, rather than pies.

 

Sometimes Weekly Roundup - 3/9

Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Tuesday or Fat Tuesday. Gerry and I have made it a tradition to make pancakes for this holiday. Tuesday I tried this recipe and despite the fact it's basically from a wedding blog (and a blog called "Style Me Pretty"), the pancakes were amazing. They were even delicious the next morning when I toasted one before swimming. We added chocolate chips to a few of the cakes and it was heaven.

 

Saturday I ran a half marathon PR at the Lake Sammamish Half outside Seattle. I started out with a goal of keeping a 6:25 pace, but felt good, so kept pushing the pace. Miles 8 and 9 were slower (6:28 and 6:26), but I picked it up at the end to finish with fairly even splits. I gave it everything I had in the last 400m, which caused some pretty serious puking at the finish line - super awesome considering there wasn't much traffic at that point and everyone could watch! My finish time was 1:22:51 and good enough for 3rd place for women. Sarah Lesko from Oiselle took these shots above with a mile to go. I think she used the muscle enhancing lens for my legs and arms, but forgot the anti-gravity lens for my face. ha! But seriously, it was awesome having so many Oiselle women out running and cheering, as well as Pauole sport teammates and coaches working one of the aid stations.

 

Big shout out to the Seattle Public Libraries for keeping me entertained on the bike trainer this winter (plus an endless supply of books I'm usually too tired to read)! From my trainer or while stretching/doing core I've watched seasons 1-6 of Dexter, season 2 of Homeland, season 1 of Game of Thrones, and seasons 1 & 2 of Girls. I'd be embarrassed about all this TV, except there's been no shortage of watts pushed during the viewing. I'm really hoping trainer season is almost over, but if not there are some other shows I can check out from the SPL.

I resisted the urge to post any "Spring Ahead" pictures to the Instagram, but I couldn't resist this picture of Kojak playing in the daffodils (my favorite flower). Although we lost an hour this morning, the extra hour of daylight is going to be really nice this month!

A lot of people give things up during Lent like sweets or booze or junk food, but for the past several years I've made it my tradition to sacrifice some time everyday and write some snail mail to friends or family. The season of Lent should be a time of reflection. Reflecting on the great friendships I have in my life doesn't seem like a sacrifice at all and is a wonderful way to brighten someone's day. Plus I feel like letter writing is a lost art. Religious or not, I'd recommend trying it this season.

Sometimes Weekly Roundup - 3/3

I started a new accounting job last Friday at Seattle University. I had to say goodbye to UW, but I said hello to a small, private Catholic university. I'm happy to be back with the Jesuits.

I'm happy to announce my first pro race will be at Wildflower this May. The folks at Tri-California were awesome in getting me signed up and I'm really looking forward to this bucket list race.  

When I was "in between jobs" for two days last week I got to hang out with a few women from Oiselle. We were lucky enough to have some sunshine after our work meeting.  

Sydnie threw an Oscar party on Sunday and I helped get crafty with some tips from this blog (guilty pleasure blog, as most of her make-up and fashion tips are never going to happen in my business casual closet).

Pic 1 / Pic 2