Tag: 10K

• Race for the Roses 10k

  Posted at 8:00 AM by Brittany, on April 25, 2016

  I survived my first race of the year, and it went better than expected.

  

  In an attempt to rectify my love affair with running I signed up for this half marathon back in January. After skipping one too many long runs and staying on the shitty diet train for too long I decided 13.1 just wasn’t in the cards for me.

  I decided to run the 10k instead which has always been my favorite race distance. It’s a happy medium for me that requires no training and somehow always sparks a fire in my soul for the sport. Something about being around other runners reminds me why I run.

  

  Normally when I sign up for a race it’s 100% based on location, course, and finishers medals. This time I was able to find one that satisfied all of that, PLUS benefited a good cause. It was a win win win win.

  The morning of the race I was a moody Mary and didn’t want to go. I didn’t sleep well, didn’t feel well, and dreaded the idea of running. Skipping the race wasn’t an option, and once I arrived my mood immediately changed.

  From moody Mary to glowing Glenda with two snaps and a twirl.

  

  It’s hard to be grumpy when 100% of the proceeds from a race go towards families and people with developmental disabilities. My sister has autism, so this cause was close to my heart. The crowd of people that participated were full of energy and inspiration.

  The course wasn’t as flat as I’d expected, but it was amazing. We ran through the city of Portland over bridges, along the water, and between skyscrapers. I found myself smiling more than expected.

  

  Obviously not my photo, but was taken the day of the race.

  I’m not exaggerating when I say my running has been awful lately. When I’m not running consistently, anything over 3 miles becomes difficult. I went into this race with no expectations, and told myself to just enjoy the miles as they came.

  Around mile 4 the sun started to hit me. I felt my brain pounding between my temples and decided to take a couple walk breaks for about 30 seconds each. Despite these stops I still finished with a time I’m proud of, and only 2 minutes slower than my PR.

  

  The finishers medal is a handmade slab of wood with the logo stamped on it, I adore the rustic look. I also got a fun swag bag that I stuffed full of post run snacks.

  Will run for carbs.

  

  Fast forward two hours: A trip to Blue Star Donuts and somehow two vegan donuts made it into my hands. A blueberry cake donut, and orange olive oil.

  I regret nothing.

  

  I balanced all these carbs with a hefty salad for dinner. I’d give away my bag of mini Clif bars (I hoard free race goodies) for that salad every night.

  

  So there you have it. Just like that, I feel inspired to run again. I often say running is 90% mental and it’s true. After turning around my attitude I was able to enjoy this experience and finish strong. Thoughts of donuts helped too.

  Q: What’s your favorite donut flavor? I’m a sucker for a good apple fritter, but that orange olive oil was so unique is swept me off my feet.

  

  | 88 Comments Tagged 10K, Donuts, Portland, Race, Running, Vegan

• Runners Trots

  Posted at 6:25 AM by Brittany, on November 30, 2015

  Working retail has given me a perspective on people that I am immensely thankful for. While you might think (and hope) people are kinder around the holidays, sometimes it’s the complete opposite.

  

  Serving impatient and sometimes unkind people has made me more compassionate, more understanding, and more willing to help others. I am thankful for this perspective because heaven forbid I loose my shit when a coffee shop runs out of cookies. OK so I kind of understand…

  

  I’ve worked the morning coffee crowd the last two Thanksgivings, so this year I was excited to have the entire day off. This meant I could participate in my first Turkey Trot. What kind of runners trots were you thinking?

  

  I dragged my family with me at 6:45 am to come stand in 30 degree weather while I ran 6.2 miles. The course was gorgeous, the sun was shining, and the hills kept me warm despite the cold temps.

  

  I didn’t see any other runners wearing Vibram’s, but I saw enough spit on the ground to worry about my feet catching hepatitis. I didn’t verbalize any goals, but secretly I wanted to beat my previous “official” 10K PR, and finish in under an hour.

  Turned out despite my lack of running lately I not only accomplished this, but I had plenty of wiggle room. 6.2 miles in 58 minutes and 11 seconds, plus an extra .07 miles due to spastic running tendencies.

  

  Post trot shenanigans I found my way into the kitchen to prep for the feast.

  

  

  What does a dairy, and meat free Thanksgiving look like? It looks like real food. I find great joy in making feasts from scratch. Everything was homemade, from the love of my fingertips. Like a wizard.

  

  Then of course, the real reason I ran…my version of pumpkin pie.

  

  I took this photo three years ago!

  With a full belly, and a happy heart it’s safe to say my Thanksgiving was fantastic.

  

  Q: How was your Thanksgiving?

  

  | 50 Comments Tagged 10K, Plant Based, Race, Running, Thanksgiving, Vegan

• Heart Breaker Half…errr…10K

  Posted at 3:55 AM by Brittany, on February 24, 2014

  While searching for the race I wanted to run for my birthday, the heart breaker half was the first to jump out at me. Close to home, but far enough away to feel like I was traveling.

  

  The only problem was that I hadn’t run more than 2-3 miles since December. While I knew I could do it, I didn’t know if I wanted to suffer through the pain of pushing myself in a race that I hadn’t trained for. Lucky for me, this race also had a 10K option. Perfect.

  

  

  The race started right outside of Liberty High School in Hillsboro, Oregon. I was so thankful the gym was open for everyone to wait in, because it was so unbelievable cold I began to question why I ever signed up for races in the winter. My entire body hurt.

  

  After waiting for what felt like an eternity in the frozen tundra of Antarctica, we finally started the race. My legs were so heavy, and my fingers were numb. I was convinced I was just going to run this 10K with the hopes of not wanting to die. I had no intention to “race.”

  This was hands down THE most gorgeous course I have ever run. Rolling hills of farm lands, pigs and cows, and amazing trees welcoming the sun on the horizon. I didn’t stop to take any photos (sadly), but it was sort of like this.

  

  

  

  

  Actual photo from the race I found on IG! This lady was great.

  The course was enough to make standing in the cold worth it, and I was quickly reminded of why I decided to run. The joy I get from discovering new areas on foot is indescribable. I found myself comfortably running about a 9:30-9:50 pace and decided I was going to try and beat my previous 10K time. I decided I was going to “race” instead of just run.

  

  I’m growing another human out of my neck, to keep warm in winter.

  I beat my previous time by 1 minute and 28 seconds. Every second counts, if you’re a runner you will know what I mean. I was FOUR seconds away from getting UNDER an hour, but was still more than happy with my end time of 1:00:04. I stopped for about 10 seconds at mile 4 to get a drink…those damn 10 seconds..

  

  The race was amazing, but my favorite part was moments after I crossed the finish line. A woman came up to me and thanked me, I had unknowingly paced her the entire time. This was her first 10K, and the excitement just poured out of her. She thanked me over and over for helping her complete this race, and told me my pace was amazing.

  

  We matched..how cute.

  I am by no means a fast runner, but to know that my 9:41 pace inspired someone else to push it to the end was something I’ll remember for a while. She made my race complete. Needless to say, I was on a runners high the remainder of that day.

  

  One of the best medals I’ve received!

  

  Q: What’s your ideal scenery for a run? Or bike ride? Definitely this.

  

  | 49 Comments Tagged 10K, Nature, Portland, Run Happy, Running

• Dairy Free

  Posted at 11:32 AM by Brittany, on March 26, 2012

  Before I jump into the topic of this post, I want to share a quick and easy Thai inspired meal. You’ll need four items: Rice noodles, peanuts, a sauce, and a vegetable (Or go balls wild and have multiple vegetables!)

  

  Real quick side note, this satay peanut sauce is NOT vegetarian friendly. I somehow missed this while skimming the ingredients. I read the ingredients to a similar product from a different store, and that one was vegetarian friendly. I assumed TJ’s was too. Mistake. Lesson learned- never skimp on reading the ingredients! Regardless, the meal was delicious and the peanut sauce has been donated to a non vegetarian. If you are a carnivore, omnivore, or even a pescatarian (the sauce has anchovies in it) you’ll love it!

  

  After making a head of broccoli hair, I had to resist the urge to make a peanut face. 10 minute meal. Boom.

  Onto the Brussels and potatoes of the post. Over the past six years I have evolved into a happy, healthy vegetarian. I started as more of a carb-o-tarian, which is what I call those that give up meat, but replace the meat with carbs instead of fruits and veggies. I have fallen in love with fruits, vegetables, and cooking over the past three years and have never looked back. I don’t crave meat, I find excitement in new recipes, and I enjoy telling people about my lifestyle (until they criticize and are ignorantly closed minded.)

  One question I often get is, “have you tried being vegan?” The answer is “sort of.” I have never fully committed to becoming “vegan,” but I have had my experimental weeks, two at the most, of eliminating any and all animal products from my diet. I LOVE cheese, and occasionally eat eggs, and along with this I eat products made with dairy. Although I may not drink milk directly, I am ok with using it in recipes, and eating foods made with milk, cheese and eggs.

  I’ve decided to give this vegan thing another go. However, I will not be calling it “vegan,” rather, “dairy free” because I am not going to be picky about where or how the food products are made. If the bread I buy is made somewhere that milk and eggs are present, but not included in the ingredients, I am ok with that. My diet over the next week, two weeks, or however long I plan to try this for will consist mainly of fruits, and veggies, along with the proteins, fats, carbs and other nutrients I will need. I will be completely dairy free including products made with dairy.

  This is not a lifestyle change, more of a fun challenge to test my creativity and willpower to resist cheese. Along with cutting out dairy, I am cutting back on sweets. OHH MY HOGSQUASH this will be hard. I love my cookies, but I need a serious detox from sugar!! Notice I said cutting back, not cutting OUT.

  With all this said, dinner last night was a dairy free success.

  

  This plate looks like something I eat anyway, but throughout the day my desire for a string cheese and wheat thins was ever so present. This meal made my nagging cheese beast disappear.

  Breakfast this morning was egg-less, but better than ever.

  

  Skittle rainbows have NOTHING on my color wheel of food. I will be including cheese, greek yogurt, and cookies back into my diet very soon, but for now I will enjoy the challenge of trying new things! This will also challenge me to figure out exactly what the items listed on the ingredient lists are. The sugar, and cheese beasts in my system need to be tamed for a bit. Did I mention I love cookies?

  On a random side note, but along the lines of challenges (running is a challenge I accept daily) check out this race photo from my 10K last week. 

  

  I’m pretty much a celebrity because this photo was an example photo on the website before the others were even uploaded. This is why there isn’t a giant PROOF written across the photo to ruin it unless you choose to buy it. Of course I was caught getting my Garmin ready.

  “The key to life is accepting challenges. Once someone stops doing this, he’s dead.” -Bette Davis

  Q: What’s challenging you this week? Not eating cookies. 

  

  | 30 Comments Tagged 10K, Challenge, Food, New food, Running, Trader Joes, Vegan, Vegetarian

• St.Paddy’s Day 10K

  Posted at 3:31 PM by Brittany, on March 19, 2012

  Saturday morning I pulled my money makers out of bed to stand in the freezing rain for 30 minutes, and to run 6.2 miles. I was cold, I was crabby, and I was nervous. I was angry it was raining. I usually love the rain, but I was tired and did not want to be soaked like a can of soggy beans. I arrived early to get my race packet.

  

  It was official, I was running a 10K. I had never run more than 5 miles at once..so this is where the nerves came in. I knew one more mile was attainable, but having never done the distance before I had some worry. I had hoped for a leprechaun wombat to run with me if I needed an extra boost. No such luck.

  Fuel in the form of sugary candy, should I need it.

  

  Turns out I only ended up eating one. That one the arrow is pointing to, I ate that whole thing..I even ate the wrapper like a savage wild animal. My hands were frozen to the point I couldn’t feel my fingers, without working fingers I couldn’t unwrap the sugary treat. I panicked, fearing my energy would dwindle and without thinking, like a homeless monkey..I ate the wrapped candy. I have yet to see the wrapper come out the other end..this must mean it was digested by my ferocious stomach acid. 

  Long story short, the course had some wicked hills..and the first 3 miles were painfully cold. After mile 3 everything started to feel better, including my body. I finished the run with a 10:15 pace (WAYY faster than I anticipated) and an overall time of 1hour and 3minutes. Thank you spaghetti feast, you helped my buns of steel power up those hills. 

  Post run I wolfed down a delectable sandwich.

  

  Overall I felt a sense of accomplishment for my new PDR. It’s moments like this that make the painful days worth it. My March race is complete, and I can eat Reese’s Eggs guilt free for a few more days. I’ll keep you concerned cats posted on that Starburst wrapper..

  Q: Embarrassing running stories? Eating that wrapper is my top as of right now..One day I’ll be a real runner like those marathoners that shat themselves. 

  

  | 33 Comments Tagged 10K, Running

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