Tales of my Commute #5

I did not think I would have a tales of my commute so soon after last weeks shenanigans!! I had quite a commute to and from work today!

It was raining, lightly, when I left this morning. I have been wearing running gloves instead of rain gloves because it hasn’t been that wet lately. Today I put them on not really thinking about it. I quickly thought a 1/2 mile into my commute that I was in trouble. These gloves were not going to be ok and hopefully my fingers will thaw out before I have to see my first patient.

I was cruising right along and what do I see in front of me but a guy holding an umbrella while riding his bike. (If you saw this already on Facebook…Sorry) As I passed him and I said “You must not be going that far.” He ended up catching up to me at a light. He said he was riding “7 miles.” WHAT? He proceeded to tell me he did not want to buy “rain” clothes. Oh GOTCHA…You are going to carry an umbrella while riding a bicycle. Sounds totally logically because he was almost as wet as I was! But I was only about 2.5 miles in (of 7). What did I know!? I am so sad I didn’t get a picture of this!!

Onto the bigger and better story of this post. I have decided that Barbur is such a better way home since last weeks tales of the commute. I left work late again tonight. Kind of on purpose. I did not want to sit in downtown traffic like last week especially in the pouring rain.

I headed down Barbur. Pretty much from the beginning I thought this was a bad idea. There was so much standing water I was soaked within minutes. It was raining a lot harder than it was this morning that is a fact!! I put the pedal to the metal and went for it!

Not a lot of cars but maybe more than last night. Cause all of the cyclists were in their cars. Suckas!

There is always at least one other cyclist at this intersection with me….NOT TONIGHT!

My LEAST FAVORITE things about tonight’s commute:

1: Riding down Natio at 30mph and rain pelting down on my face.
2: Riding in a north bound lane and getting splashed by the south bound cars.
3: My favorite trick in riding in the rain: wear latex gloves under your rain gloves and in my case: running gloves.
4: I did not get to see the umbrella guy again!
5: I was literally laughing the entire ride because it was so funny. I.WAS.SOAKED!

My hog got me home safe and sound!

Can you tell that I am totally water-logged?!

This was one of my TOP 5 wettest commutes in the last 5 years. Maybe even TOP 3! Do I dare say it? It was almost FUN! It would not have been as fun in the dark!

Happy Hump Day!! Who is ready for summer?

RNR Portland 1/2 Race Report

6:30 Wake up call. Ate a breakfast cookie, orange, and coconut water. Got dressed and put what I thought was enough body glide on. The weather was still forecasted for cloudy with sun breaks in the 50s. 20% precipitation. PERFECT!

7:30 Met up with Holly who is on Nuun HTC Team Lemonade with me. So fun to finally connect. She lives down in Medford. She was running for fun and going to see what happens.

8:00 Met up with Sherrie. I usually take a gu before the race but I got into the corral and did not have any water so I thought I would just wait until the first aid station.

8:05 Go time! I just started to run. Not particularly hard or fast or slow. Just thought I would see how the first couple of miles go. My 5k was sub 30 mins. Which is never a good sign for my half marathon pace. Pretty flat for the first 3.5. Had a couple fast miles to start. I thought I am just going to go for it for as long as I can. I do not use music very often but on races I like to use it in the later miles. I got my phone out to a take a picture of a girls shirt but I was not fast enough. I guess I am better at taking pictures on my bike than when I run! I ended up just putting my headphones on here.

I still felt relatively good. Had some short inclines and declines downtown and then we are going over the Hawthorne bridge. All of a sudden we were at mile 6 and at the 10K mark I was at sub 1 hr. I thought maybe I could PR today. I am feeling good. The temperature is just right. Things seem to be going well. Did not want to think about a PR for long. I just wanted to keep steady! We ran up Hawthorne which is definitely the hardest part of the course.

I had just heard Tell It To My Heart by Taylor Dayne when I was bowling Friday night. That prompted me to get out some old cds and put some old favorites on my RNR-PDX playlist.

It worked out perfectly that Taylor Dayne came on right at the bottom and then I listened to it again!! Got up and over Hawthorne. I was still running at sub 10min/miles. Mile 7 was the last split I looked at. I was still feeling good. I knew the hardest part was over. I was going to run on feel! Saw Holly and said Hi.

It flattens out a bit here. Got through the Team In Training aid station at about 7.5 and saw Stephanie! A few more inclines and declines that takes us over by Laurelhurst Park. I was sad that I decided not to look at my watch when I hit mile 8. I got over it pretty quickly. More ups and downs. I felt robbed that we did not have a long downhill. Just kept running. Mile 9 came. I still felt ok but I felt like my pace was slipping. Even when we went downhill. I was all of a sudden glad I was not looking at my watch.

Miles 10 and 11 were good. Finally a downhill BUT at the bottom the runners were stopped for traffic. I wanted to get down there by the time they let the runners through again but did not want to get down there too early to sit and wait! Then it happened….I looked at my watch on accident. SHIT! I was at 1:54:xx. I did not know where the 12 mile marker was but if it was close I could be close to a PR. WHAT?!!

I only sat there for 8 seconds. As soon as we started to run I could see the mile 12 sign. I could really be close to a PR. Could I do it? Did I have it mentally? I was trying to do calculations in my brain. I would not look at my watch until I finished!! HERE.WE.GO!!

After an up and down over the Steel bridge, it flattens out for the remainder of the mile. I could feel the bile in my throat. I was working hard. I knew it would be close!! I was leaving it all on the course!!

Finished! All Smiles!

HOLY SMOKES BATMAN….2:06:23!! PR BABY!! I was so excited!! What a day!! Another accidental PR!

My nutrition was a little different. That may have helped out. I took my first gu at mile 2 and 4. 2nd gu at mile 6 and 8. 3rd at 10 and 11.5. I take a half and keep the other half for the next station. I have learned for me the gu works better when I take it in stages.

My feet are a wreck. I have a blister on my right foot and I think I am going to lose a toenail(I think it has been hanging on for a while) on my left foot. I got in the shower and definitely had not put enough body glide on. BUT who really cares because I have a new PR!! Overall feeling pretty good.

I had a scoop of Salt and Straw to CELEBRATE!

Who else raced this weekend? How did it go?

Racing AGAIN This Weekend!

Watch out Portland! Rock N Roll 1/2 marathon is here this weekend. Last year was the inaugural year for this race. I had some friends come from out of town to do a “reunion” race. We all got together but only a few of us did the race.

Here we are with Kara Goucher at last years expo:

Abbey, Ashley, Mandi, Kara, Me, & Kara

Sherrie and I cruised around the expo pretty quick. Same ol same ol.

Corral 6! My projected time was: 2:00. I guess I was overly optimistic when I signed up!

The good thing about Rock N Roll races are if you sign up at the expo they are WAY CHEAPER. You just have to know that you are going to do it the following year. I paid $60 for this years race at last years expo. Today the bibs are going for $150! INSANE! I ended up signing up for Portland 2014 for $65 today! I also do RNR AZ in January most years. I missed this year so I signed up for the 1/2 in 2014. I got this rad water bottle too!

This is definitely worth something. A 24-oz INSULATED water bottle. SCORE!

Hit up the Nuun booth. I wanted some cherry limeade but they are totally out and I am super sad. I got some lemonade and of course a new water bottle. They have changed the design of the water bottle again.

Here is a map of the course:

I like this course because it is different from all the other courses in the Rose City. It hits the eastside. The course was harder last year but they changed it because there were too many traffic problems.

Goals for this race:
1. Have FUN!
2. Going crazy isn’t really what I want to do tomorrow. I have had 2 hard weekends in a row. I have taken it easy this week. I have not done a whole lot of running since Wildflower so I think I will be able to put in a good effort but really just a good long run effort.
3. Enjoy the aid stations and not having to carry my own water for 13 miles.
4. I do not even really have a time goal. Maybe sub 2:12 or so!

The weather is always the other factor. It was supposed to be dry than it changed to rain and now it is back to sun/clouds. 20% chance of rain. The temperature should be perfect!

Who else is racing this weekend?

Have you done a RNR race? Where?

Four Thing Friday

This is my 100th POST. That seems like a lot! Is that really possible?! Cray-Cray…I KNOW!! I feel like I should start some traditions. What traditions? I have no idea. Like weekly posts? Anyone have any ideas?

My MOST IMPORTANT THING this Friday is: I have a coupon code for Ragnar Northwest Passage. Did you NOT get a Hood To Coast team this year? NO!!!! You should take your team up to Blaine, WA and run 200 miles down to Whidbey Island. It is a gorgeous course! Believe me…I have done it twice…and doing it again this year. Can’t find 11 friends to be on your team? You can have a 6 person team. If you live 100 miles outside of the course, you do not have to find volunteers. HELLO!! What are you waiting for…GO SIGN UP NOW!!

80% FULL…Do.Not.Delay!!

SECONDLY. I ordered a Boston Strong Bic Band a couple of weeks ago. I got it in the mail this week. It was a limited edition. All proceeds went to “The One Fund” to support the families who suffered from the Boston Marathon tragedy!! So cute!

I wore this on my sweatfest trainer ride this morning!

Third! Dessert! As if I have not had enough brownies this week, Ilana brought peanut butter/caramel brownies to ladies night last night.

They were delicious. She wanted to bake to celebrate my awesome performance at Wildflower. It was also to celebrate Sheryl and Jaime’s Taurus birthdays!!

This is the one I ate. You should see what I brought home.

I unfortunately got to take a huge chunk home. TROUBLE! Greg is out-of-town this weekend so I am on my own. Does anyone want to come over for dessert?

4th: I am pretty sure that Sheryl and I are the only ones in the universe who have not seen Silver Lining Playbook. We are going to see it on Sunday. I am super excited to see it on the big screen.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Who is doing Ragnar this year? Which one? I am doing NWP and Las Vegas. Both Ultra style.

Who has seen Silver Lining Playbook? Is it fantastic?

Fudge Rolo Brownies

FUDGE ROLO BROWNIES…Need I say more. My boss’ 50th birthday was on Wednesday. I needed to find a good enough recipe that she would actually eat one. She is tiny and (I speculate) is afraid if she eats a bite of a cookie she will get fat. I was going to be lucky if she ate a WHOLE ONE!

I found this gem of a recipe from Cookies and Cups (one of my favorite dessert blogs).

Fudgy Brownies(super easy or just use a brownie mix)

The Goods:
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt

To Make The Goodness:
1.Preheat oven to 325°
2.Line a 9×13 baking pan with aluminum foil and spray generously with cooking spray.
3.Melt chocolate and butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat
4.Remove from heat.
5.Whisk both sugars into the chocolate mix. Add in eggs, one at a time and then add vanilla. Whisk until combined.
6.Stir in flour and salt until evenly incorporated and pour batter into prepared pan.
7.Bake 35-40 minutes until center is set and a toothpick placed 2 inches away from edge comes out clean.
8.Let brownies cool completely before cutting into squares.

My Notes: I never ever NOT use my Kitchen Aid…but the recipe says whisk so I whisked. It was kind of hard. Next time I will definitely use the K Aid!! Just sayin’…

THE ACTUAL FUDGE ROLO BROWNIES

The Goods:
1 pan of the Fudgy Brownies
1/2 cup caramel sauce
2 cups unwrapped Rolo candy, candies cut in half after measured
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
3 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
2 tsp vanilla

To Make The Madness:
1.First make Fudgy Brownies in a 9×13 pan lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with cooking spray.
2.Let brownies cool completely.
3.Pour and evenly spread caramel sauce over brownies, it will be a very thin layer
4.Spread chopped Rolos over caramel sauce
5.In a medium saucepan over low heat melt sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips together.
6.Once melted remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
7.Immediately spread over Rolos using an off-set spatula.
8.Let fudge set for at least 2 hours and cut into squares.

It is pretty easy! They are super delicious!!

This is the last one:

I was going to save half for Greg. I have NO SELF CONTROL and just ate it. Too bad for him!!

ENJOY!! If you make these let me know how they turn out!!

Anyone baking this weekend??

Tales of My Commute #3 AND #4

I saw this post going in a total different direction but here it is anyway!!

I got out of work late per usual last night! I decided to take the “easy” way home. I took Barbur instead of Terwilliger. Let me tell you a few things about both streets.

Barbur is a huge thoroughfare through Southwest Portland. 4-6 lanes across at any point. There is a bike lane for most of it BUT there are many “difficult connections.” I do not like to ride on Barbur in high traffic times, in the dark and/or the rain!!

Terwilliger is my choice for my commute about 96% of the time. It has a bike lane. It only has one “difficult connection” but really is not that difficult! I know every single curve, pothole, and bump on the street.

I have talked about this before. My commute through downtown is not exactly easy. It is stop and go for maybe 1-2 miles. Going up Broadway is a pain because it is uphill but there is a bike lane. Going home is nice because it is downhill. The downfall being: What would take 3 minutes to get through if there were no lights, cars, or stopping takes at least 15 to get through!

Back to yesterday. I decided that it was late enough, light enough, and dry that I would take a different way home! I took Barbur. It was awesome. Hardly any cars and I hit most of the lights! Instead of going through downtown I decided to take the waterfront. (I do not like to take the waterfront on nice days because it is murder suicide…too many dogs, strollers, kids, runners, other bikes….a total shitshow!) Last minute I decided to just take Natio (with a bike lane…many difficult connections) but it was late and not many cars!

It took about 34 minutes. I think that must be an all-time quick commute home. I might just have to do that every Tuesday!

Northeast Bike Boulevard craziness!

This evenings commute was a little different story. I left work right at 5 which was the problem. I either leave before 5 or 5:20-5:30.

I got down Terwilliger in record time. I got to the light before heading into downtown. It is a big intersection. People are so stupid. They are in such a hurry they stop in the middle of the intersection and the light turns red! Totally unfair to everyone that is going my direction because all the stupid people are blocking the intersection. Since I am on a bike I have the advantage of moving through the cars. I stare the people down and they act like they have done nothing wrong! UNBELIEVEABLE!

I get into the thick of downtown. It is a total shitshow! I should not complain because I follow the rules. I stay in the line with the cars while all the other cyclists choose to ride between the parked and driving cars. I guess they are the smart ones. I could be in my car listening to music but I choose to sit on my bike instead! Dang it! At least it was not RAINING!

4th Ave 5pm Traffic!

Soooo Sloooowwwww! I finally get to the bridge with the masses!

People kill me. This girl passes me on the uphill to the bridge. Cool. Go for it! Then when it comes time to make the short downhill through the light(that is not very long) to go back uphill she slows down. What are you doing??!!!! I did make the light but barely! What is wrong with people!

One more thing: These are painted on the road:

To signal the light to turn for the cycles. Am I the only one that uses these? People will literally be sitting right next to it. Do they not know that sitting on top of them will make the light turn faster?!!! I.JUST.DO.NOT.UNDERSTAND!!!!

54 minutes later…I finally parked my bike in the garage. I was home! I guess it could be worse. I could be driving north on I-5! HA!

How long was your commute??

WF Taper & Recovery Stats

This is the last that you will hear of Wildflower! I will shortly start obsessing talking about Pac Crest.

Taper week was pretty low on miles. I just tried to keep everything loose and ready to go for the race.

WF Training Week #15 (+WF race)—Taper Stats

Swim: 2200 meters (+2000) =4200 meters
Bike: 35 miles (21 road miles and 14 commuting miles) (+56 miles) = 91 miles
Run: 4 miles (+13.1 miles) = 17.1 miles

Recovery Week #16 (+training camp)

Swim: 3600 meters
Bike: 36 miles (all commuting) + (143 miles) = 179 miles
Run: 0 miles (9.5 miles) = 9.5 miles

1 Pilates class

I was just trying to take it easy last week leading into training camp. I knew it would be a hard weekend especially because of the fatigue from the race.

I am taking this week easy as well. Just recovering from camp and getting ready for the RNR Portland ½ marathon on Sunday!

How do you feel about taper? I used to HATE it but now I EMBRACE it!