Tag: Vegan

• Navigating November

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on November 7, 2016

  With the blink of an eye here we are on November 7th. I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween, I stayed home and handed out handfuls of candy to needy children. I did wear black and orange striped tights to work on Halloween — tights that belonged to my sister, my significantly shorter than me sister, they ripped. In an uncomfortable location.

  I hated my commute that day. 

  

  Just because jack o lantern season is over doesn’t meant it’s time to put the pumpkins away. I found a place that honors October, November, and December all in one spot. We’re talking pumpkins in the front, Christmas tree’s in the back.

  When your seasons start to blur together.

  

  

  OK, I got my pumpkin patch fix for the year. Moving on.

  Work

  Work has been good, I’m finally at the point where I don’t feel new in my role. This is my first Christmas in the corporate building and they don’t mess around when it comes to celebrations.

  

  Play

  I managed three hikes last week. I’m trying to get them squeezed in before the white sheets of death plague us. I don’t like snow, I’m a Grinch.

  

  

  Don’t get excited, he’s my coworker.

  

  I’m severely out of shape, but can still manage to trudge along on some of the steeper hikes. The more out of breath I am the more of a reminder that I’m not moving enough lately. I’m the most out of shape (and heaviest) I’ve been in years, but the best part about starting at the bottom is there is no where to go but up.

  

  Eat

  Chipotle slapped me with the good karma stick yesterday and gave me so much guac, I surely had the equivalent of at least an entire avocado. Part of it was still in tact. Yes.

  

  I tried a new to me vegan place on the island. I’ve walked past it many times, but never bought a meal until now. It made my face all kinds of hot, but it was worth it.

  

  Life

  I recently watched Leonardo DiCaprio’s documentary Before the Flood. I was enamored by the way he brought this piece to life with information from a myriad of sources. I believe climate change is real, and the devastation that we are causing to this planet is mind blowing. Even if you don’t believe in the science, I encourage you to watch.

  Even if you don’t believe this is happening, if you have a soul you must realize the damage being done to the earth in order to gather fossil fuels, the devastation to our forests (which house the trees to filter the air we breathe!) to make way for new buildings, and the extinction of rainforests that house many species. 

  No change is too small to help reverse atmospheric CO2 emission from fossil fuel use and forest/land destruction. I originally adapted a plant based diet for ethical reasons, however I cannot help but believe this lifestyle to be immensely beneficial for the planet. Factory farms (specifically cattle) produce ungodly amounts of methane (CH4) gas. According to Leo’s film, every molecule of CH4 is the equivalent of 23 molecules of CO2. Insane. 

  I encourage you to think about what small change you can make today to help restore decades of damage. 

  Wednesday I fly off to California for this girls wedding. I’m not sure what shenanigans I’ll get myself into with my free time, but you already know it’ll be posted here sometime the following week. Happy Monday – do something nice for someone else today, and let’s reduce those carbon footprints one step at a time!

  

  Seen on my commute.

  Q: What are your thoughts on global warming? All views welcomed here. 

  

  | 47 Comments Tagged Explore, Hike, Life, Vegan

• Early Morning Confessions

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on October 10, 2016

  1. I write this post from a place of pure joy and content. I have no school related tasks for five whole days, and I assure you those five days will be like finding the golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

  (RIP Gene Wilder.)

  2. I’ve had a handful of runs lately that have left me feeling like a gazelle gallivanting through green grass. I was house sitting in one of my favorite towns, and a fun town means fun runs.

  
  

  3. Foggy tree lines, rainy evenings, mugs of cinnamon tea, colors of orange and brown, leaves of red and yellow. Fall is here, fall is here, FALL IS HERE!

  4. My mouth has fully boarded the squash train, and I’ve been having daily sweet potatoes slathered with some kind of fat (coconut oil, or nut butter), but I’m still showing mad love to the not so common fall themed foods.

  

  5. I’ve recently become a pleasure reader. I struggle to stay focused at times, and am currently reading two books at once (something I swore I could never do), but there is beauty in finding free time to read because you want to and not because you have to.

  6. I haven’t created anything new for my “What I’d Sell In My Food Truck” page in a while, but I busted out an old favorite and got my face dirty with my chocolate avocado pudding.

  

  7. My work building is located about 1.75 miles from the ferry I take that drops me into Seattle. On Thursday’s I walk from work to the ferry, and have recently decided to run. Last Thursday I was reminded what it’s like to be winded. Seattle is not a flat city. My ferry was late forcing me to run another 1.25 miles rounding my distance to 3 miles. #OCD miles.

  8. This. You need this in your life. Go to the store yesterday and buy this. My goodness I cannot stop.

  

  9. I recently saw a pair of underwear with a Star Wars theme. The backside of the garment had the iconic phrase, “may the force be with you.” On the rear. The buttock. The fanny. I’m not sure how I feel about that.

  10. While out for a casual stroll I stumbled upon a hat. A green hat. A free hat. My new hat. The hat looks good on the cat.

  

  Q: What’s your confession?

  

  | 60 Comments Tagged Cat, Early Morning Confessions, Plant Based, Run, Vegan

• Seattle Life

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on September 23, 2016

  Of all the house sitting gig’s I’ve had, the one I’m doing right now is hands down the best of the best. The bee’s knees. Crème de la crème. Typically my pet-ventures are in my neck of the woods, but this one is in Seattle.

  And I’ve been here for thirteen days, with three more to go.

  

  My excited face.

  First and foremost being in Seattle puts me literally 15 minutes from work. Opposed to two hours. Granted I still don’t mind my commute, but hot damn is it nice not having one right now. I’m in for a rude awakening when I go home.

  No commute means more time for running.

  

  My current running spot.

  

  Will run for V/GF cupcakes

  Secondly, being in Seattle puts me only an hour away from some of my favorite hikes. Typically I travel two hours to get here, which I also don’t mind, (clearly my perception of time is much different than most) but again SO NICE to chop off an hour.

  

  

  

  Thirdly, I am so close to ALL THE VEGAN FOOD. Again, I happily travel to Seattle in my spare time JUST TO EAT sometimes, but here I am SMACK in the middle of it all. So many options, so little time. My mind is like a tornado, and my mouth is like a suck hole.

  

  Cafe Flora – Italian burger GF/V

  

  How cute is this restaurant setup?

  

  Portage Bay Cafe – V/GF pancakes with UNLIMITED BERRY BAR

  

  Sugar Plum – V S’mores Brownie

  

  Chaco Canyon Cafe – Quinoa, kelp noodles, tempeh bacon with ginger sesame sauce.

  Disclaimer: I make sure to also eat a vegetable based meal of greens to balance out the above goodness. 

  My housemate is a cat, so my job is not only easy, but enjoyable. I love cats. We just get each other. She is black just like my little, and she roams the land in the daytime like a gypsy warrior. She eats well and runs around to burn it off.

  

  Basically we’re twins. Although she has better self control than I do, I offered her some bread I made and she denied.

  Good, more for me. 

  

  Grain free chocolate zucchini bread. Yusss.

  I’m never bored over here, there is always something to do. So many cafes, so many restaurants, so many people. If anyone wants to move to Seattle and split the $48496438967 rent with me that’d be great.

  Or I’ll just house sit forever. Or I’ll sleep in abandoned churches and lighthouses.

  

  

  That’s all for now. I run. I work. I hike. I eat. I study. I explore. & Repeat.

  Q: City or suburb dwelling?

  

  | 57 Comments Tagged Hike, Mason Lake, North Bend, Running, Seattle, Solo Hike, Vegan

• Living for the Weekend

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on August 8, 2016

  I cannot remember the last time I had a schedule that gave me real weekends. You know, the ones where you have those two days in the week that start with “S” free to do whatever you choose. I used to have sassy mental thoughts towards those that would ask me, “what are your plans this weekend?” To which I would often reply: “I’m working.”

  

  Savoring this morning commute before winter comes.

  Now I can finally say I look forward to my weekends, and I already have a mini routine set up for the time away from work. I do use some time for homework, but I also make time for play. Monday through Thursday I try to get home and be in bed by 8:30, but once Friday comes I’m more apt to do crazy things.

  Like drinking nitro cold brew coffee at 5pm

  

  I loose my morals with this stuff, it’s that good.

  Saturdays I try to sleep in, which for me is waking up around 6am. This allows me to have a calm morning before jumping into errands. Summer months are the perfect time to utilize shopping local, so Saturday mornings I go to the farmers market for my week of produce.

  And for these VGF muffins that are divine. 

  

  Sometimes I run, sometimes I don’t. It all depends on my mood and plans for the following day. Sundays I enjoy going to church, but sometimes I take off for a trip to the mountains. Last weekend I headed north for a lovely 8.5 mile solo hike to Melakwa Lake.

  

  

  

  This hike gave me all the feels as I sat and savored the scenes around me. I was a bit chilly one I got to the lake, but I still sat in silence for about 30 minutes, which is longer than I typically stay at the destination of my hikes.

  This weekend was the same, Saturday I hit up the market and finished all my school work. Sunday I set out for a hike, but the universe had another plan for me. I typically drive 2 hours to get to a good hike, and an hour into my drive my tire pressure light came on.

  

  I filled my tires with air, but the light didn’t go off. It then started to pour down rain. I somehow got the feeling I wasn’t meant to go on a hike, and instead went to Costco to have a professional check out my tires. I got the green light that they were fine, headed out for a 4 mile run, and refueled at Whole Foods with vegan lasagna, roasted veggies, and a brownie.

  It’s a great feeling when your mind is at peace. You start to care less about eating two muffins in one day (I had to make up for lost time, I missed the muffin man two weekends ago at the farmers market), you start to appreciate little things around you, you start to do things you didn’t used to do, you start to make friends with people you typically wouldn’t talk to, and you let things like missed hiking adventures roll off your back.

  

  On that note, happy Monday.

  Q: Do you have a weekend routine?

  

  | 77 Comments Tagged Hike, Lake, Melakwa Lake, PNW, Starbucks, Vegan, Weekend

• When the “Other Plan” Comes to Fruition

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on July 18, 2016

  You know when things don’t go the way you might have initially hoped and you tell yourself (and others): “it’s OK, life must have another plan for me!” I’m big on this mindset, and truly believe that life works itself out the way it’s supposed to. The hard part is listening to the inner pulls that try to guide us.

  

  I also find that when you really, and I mean “deep in your soul really” let go of whatever kind of control you’re trying to take on life that isn’t working, things start to unfold like a blooming flower.

  

  For example: my meals lately have been very whole foods based. It should come as no surprise that “real food” works best, but once I stopped trying so hard to figure out what foods were bothering my system and really listened to my body, things slowly got better.

  Once I stopped listening to outside opinions and advice from doctors that didn’t align with my beliefs I started to feel better.

  

  Fun Fact: Did you know that if you leave the pit in the avocado, it stays green?

  

  

  I have an insatiable sweet tooth, so I like to make my own desserts.

  I was dealing with food intolerances for the last year, and it wasn’t until I simply let go of the control and the obsession (and stress) of “figuring it all out” that my mind, body, and spirit all started to work together.

  I’m over the moon about all that food stuff, but this post is more about something else. Some of you may remember this post, which was then followed up by this post.

  

  The CliffsNotes version of those two posts are this: I knew in my heart it was time for me to pursue something more with Starbucks. I felt that my current position had expired its purpose, and because this company is paying for my bachelors degree I couldn’t yet pursue outside options. With that said, I started looking into jobs at the corporate office.

  I had one fish bite my line back in April, but it wasn’t the right fit. Instead of sulking about it I stayed positive and knew life had another plan, and it did. Fish number two bit my line about a month ago and today I start my new role in Seattle. Oh, and this role is 10x better than the first bite and I am so thankful that didn’t work.

  

  Every aspect of our life has a purpose. Some things are only meant to last a short while before catalyzing us to our next adventure. I’m notorious for staying in my comfort zone, and while I’m thankful for everything that has come in my time working retail for Starbucks, I’m long overdue for my next chapter.

  I started with this company 3.2 years ago at a time in my life when I needed a place to heal after a tumultuous break up and an unclear life path. The store saved me in so many ways, and leaving there yesterday had me in tears.

  Like, ugly cry tears. 

  

  Yesterdays post work 3.2 miles to commemorate my time at the store. Oh and I got a new Garmin. Mad love – more on that later.

  I think staying in my comfort zone too long, and not accepting that this time of my life was meant to end sparked some of my health problems. I’m a believer of that “woo woo hippie dippie” mind/body/soul connection stuff and when one thing is out of whack the whole bus slows down.

  So what’s the moral to my story? If you quit on life, life will quit on you. When you feel like nothing is going your way, and that life is kicking you while your down, you MUST trust that your other plan will come. Sometimes it takes a month, sometimes it takes two years, sometimes it takes a decade. -OR- perhaps it’s time to take that leap without knowing quite where you will fall. 

  In my case I had to leap, I wouldn’t have made it the last year without some hard core faith. 

  

  This transition is going to be very bittersweet because the first part of my journey with Starbucks came at a time in my life when I felt very lost, and it gave me a purpose for a chunk of time. The store, my coworkers, and a handful of my customers became my family, and I have nothing but positive experiences there which is rare to find.

  It also sprouted a passion for coffee in my soul that I will never outgrown. I’ll no longer be making lattes the way I did, but I plan to bring my passion with me into my next adventure and see where it takes me. Look for me as the annoying corporate worker that forces coffee tastings on her coworkers.

  

  Corporate on the outside, 12yr old on the inside

  My new job requires me to be at a desk, which I don’t love, but my desk will be standing. I will be helping other Starbucks employees from the US and Canada with any inquiries they may have in regards to human resource policies and practices, benefits and pay information, manager questions, etc…another stepping stone onto something more.

  I have no idea what’s ahead with this new journey, but what I do know is that I am more in tune with myself now than I ever have been before. I’m sad to leave this chapter, but ready for a new one. We are wired with sensors that communicate effortlessly, and it’s only when we actively choose to ignore them that we max out our effort meter. Try listening to the signals next time, it’s a whole lot easier

  I promise. 

   No questions today 

  

  | 90 Comments Tagged Coffee, Life, Plant Based, Starbucks, Vegan, Whole Foods

• Unexpected Friendships 

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on July 11, 2016

  The universe has a funny way of bringing people together. I’ve been friends with two wonderful humans for over three years now, and I met them both through blogging. I often wonder if one day I’ll decide to stop sharing my adventures with the world, but one thing that keeps me coming back is the connections I continue to make with like minded people.

  

  Two years ago I flew to Virginia to explore the land with a girl named Megan. Megan and I then drove north to Michigan to attend a girl named Lillian’s wedding. It was a trip I’ll never forget. Fast forward two years, and Megan invited Lily and I to her wedding. So I hopped on a a plane, flew to Michigan, and Lily and I drove north to New York.

  All thanks to blogging. 

  

  Megan’s wedding was a combination of summer yellows and rustic wood browns. A casual yet classy wedding on a golf course that appeared to be straight out of the jungles of Jurassic Park. It was beautiful.

  

  We ate, we celebrated, we laughed, we mingled, and we continued the wedding tradition of our triangular friendship. This must mean I’m next, so Mr. Mountain Man anytime you’d like to show your face I’ll happily smile back.

  

  That other pretty lady in the middle is Alex, met her through blogging too!

  I’ve had the opportunity to travel to California, Ohio, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania meeting a handful of people along the way, simply because I decided to share my mind with strangers five years ago. What a trip.

  

  Without this adventure I may never have seen the lovely street art in Rochester, New York after a 5 mile run through the city. I may never have experience the cheapest produce at the Rochester Public market (where I proceeded to flabbergast an elderly man at my abilities to consume pounds of lettuce in one sitting) spending $1 on a bucket full of apples.

  

  

  What a lovely adventure it’s been, and I can’t wait to see where I travel to next.

  I hope it’s somewhere with Indian food as good as I found in Michigan, because my mind was blown by the flavor explosions.

  

  Q: What’s the most unexpected way you’ve made new friends?

  

  | 64 Comments Tagged Bloggers, Explore, New York, Vegan

• Road Trippin

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on June 30, 2016

  I often tell people I’m a terrible road trip partner. I shift around a lot, I drink a lot of water, and I get restless easily equating to multiple stops along the way. Or maybe I’m a great road trip partner because I like making stops and seeing things I otherwise wouldn’t see.

  

  Last Wednesday I flew to Detroit for a road trip adventure with my pirate friend Lily. Our destination was New York for a wedding, but we left a few days early for some explorations. Originally the plan was to visit Niagara Falls on the Canadian side, but I dropped the ball as if it were a rhino corpse when I noticed my passport expired.

  The day before my trip. 

  

  Two tangled haired gypsies barefoot on the beach

  I choose my friends well these days and although it was a huge bummer, Lily had such grace about the situation and we quickly changed gears. Come to find out I could have gotten into Canada with my birth certificate, but I don’t want to talk about it.

  Insert hands over eyes face here.

  Instead we would stay a night in Erie, PA and explore Presque Isle State Park, with a pit stop in Cleveland for lunch with Meghan. What a lovely last minute surprise that was. Seeing Meghan was well worth the $250 spent on a Canadian hotel I never slept in.

  

  Cleveland has amazing vegan options.

  The state park is surrounded by Lake Erie giving miles and miles of beach to walk. We first tried walking through the woods because I naturally gravitate towards the trees, but the flies were so bad I began to question when the last time I had showered was.

  

  I’m not much of a beach person, but I did enjoy getting sand between my toes.

  

  

  

  It’s been a while since I rose early without work being the driving force for my alarm. The beauty of vacation is that you can stop to smell the roses, or rise early to catch the sunrise. Click here to watch my first time lapse of the sunrise.

  

  

  Post sunrise morning walk.

  While it was a big fat bummer we couldn’t go through Canada land, our plan B turned out to be a wonderful first stop on our adventures north. Pennsylvania was also the only place I found a co-op with vegan options galore. Needles to say I stocked up on treats and meals.

  

  Somehow I saved this chocolate chip cookie for the plane ride home. Three days later.

  Things don’t always go as planned, and sometimes we have brain farts loud enough to shake the sea. Some things end up out of our control, but our emotions and reactions are two things that remain ours to choose.

  

  Take it from me, choose a relaxed mind, an adventurous spirit, and a slippery shoulder to let unexpected detours slip right off into the past.

  Q: How do you deal with abrupt changes in plans?

  

  | 54 Comments Tagged Beach, Cleveland, Explore, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vacation, Vegan

• Early Morning Confessions

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on June 14, 2016

  1. The last week of work I noticed an abnormal trend. The birds are singing at 330 am, and the sun is coming up at 430 am. Brace yourselves people, the earth is doing weird things.

  2. I took time off of running the last two weeks and dove forehead first into yoga. My first run after two weeks off had me feeling like a blob. A cat blob.

  

  Or a mop with a face, you decide.

  3. Speaking of yoga, I’ve been getting my zen on at least three times a week and I wonder why I ever stopped. I’m going full on “woo woo” and meditating daily too. It’s been a total game changer for my mind.

  4. I’ve decided that should I ever get my own dog (which I would like to have simply for mountain adventures) I’d like him to be black and white. Then we can match just like we were two eight year old girls.

  

  For now I’ll keep borrowing this guy to match with.

  5. I tend to go full on crunchy granola when the summer months hit, and this year has been no exception. No make up, minimal hair washing, eating cleaner, daydreams about living in a Winnebago and traveling  the country. It’s awesome.

  6. I have an obsession with lettuce and peanut butter. Separately of course, but I’ve also learned they aren’t so bad together.

  

  PB and raspberry “lettucewich.”

  7. I went camping over the weekend and it was a mix of misery, terror, and exhilaration. All at the same time. Blog post to come.

  8. One of my regular “clients” is that cat blob shown above. She’s made a cameo on the blog many times, but she wasn’t comfortable with me sharing her morning routine. Until now. Whipped cream on a plate, if only we could all be so spoiled.

  

  9. Almost lost all my morals at REI on Saturday. Went in to buy a forest pass for my hikes/camping, walked out with a new Patagonia fleece, a camping mug, and food I didn’t need. I held it together and put back the pair of Chacos I almost bought.

  10. I finally jumped on board the Ben and Jerry train, but had to give it my own spin. The ice cream alone was fantastic, but adding self ground PB and granola to it gave my mouth the wildest party it’s had in a while.

  

  Q: What’s your confession?

  

  | 59 Comments Tagged Cats, Confessions, Running, Vegan

• As We Go on

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on May 31, 2016

  I’ve been out of high school for nearly ten years. Looking back I would say I was neutral about my high school experience, but back then leaving those walls gave me similar feelings to having my chest stomped on by a 2 ton black bear.

  Hearing the song “graduation” by Vitamin C made me cry like a big ol’ baby when I was 18. Ohh to be young. I’m not even sure why I was sad, perhaps because the idea of “being a grown up” was frightening, but as I’ve learned in my 27 years on this earth we never really grow up. We just evolve and hopefully become better people.

  

  My beautiful younger sister Renae just graduated from high school, and I was fortunate enough to fly down to Arizona and attend the party. As with any trip to Arizona there are a handful of highlights I’d like to share.
  

  I left the lush green trees of Washington and attempted to trail run at 12pm during Arizona spring time. Not nearly as bad as Arizona summer time, but I made it a whopping 3.5 miles in the 90 degree weather before calling for back up.

  

  

  DAAADD save me, I’m covered in tiny spiky balls.

  The remainder of my runs were done before 8 am. I didn’t dare repeat this rookie mistake and melt to the side of a cactus. In fact every type of physical activity was done before 8 am. This included a handful of 7 am runs, a 5:45 am kayak adventure, and a 6:30 am hike.

  

  I made a friend in the mountains, I called him Frank.

  

  No. not him. He looked more like a Bill. 

  

  FRANK THE TANK!

  

  For our kayak adventure we used inflatable kayaks and practiced in the pool first. Heaven forbid we sink like the Titanic if one had a hole in it.

  

  

  

  I searched high and lo (aka Googled) for places that served nitrogen infused cold brew iced coffee, and I found one place close to where we hiked. Got some goodness at Songbird Coffee and Tea house in Phoenix.

  

  

  I fulfilled my dream of wearing a hair net once again by volunteering at Feed My Starving Children, an Arizona tradition.
  

  

  

  Visited a vegan restaurant per my dads suggestion. Those words he uttered were like glitter covered unicorns, I think I’ll keep him. We ate at Green Vegetarian Restaurant in Phoenix and gave a universal verdict of: OHMYGAHYESYESYES.

  

  

  Chili fries, fried brussels sprouts, and “buffalo wings”

  Best part of this meal: the owners also own a dessert shop called Nami just a hop, skip, OR, a jump away. Literally 10 ft from each other.

  

  I ordered a vanilla soft serve “tsoynami” with pretzels, chocolate, marshmallow fluff, and coco cereal. I then proceeded to understand the meaning of life. So.Good.

  

  Just in case anyone was curious where I get my dashing good looks from… 

  

  

  Time with family is always a great recharge for me. I came home full of love, and with eighteen mosquito bites – a good prep for summers in the mountains.

  Q: What were your final days of high school like?

  

  | 67 Comments Tagged Arizona, Coffee, Hike, Ice Cream, Run, Vacation, Vegan

• 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

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