Do I Still Run?

2012 at the Refuse to Abuse 5k

Well, here's an update to answer that question.  It's more one of self-reflection than anything but the answer is clouded with all sorts of issues.  Short version, "No, not right now".   When I moved back to the mountain full time in the fall of 2014, I was still running.  Because that was a drought year, I ran off and on through the winter months and was still in decent running shape.  When we got the puppy my running schedule took a nose dive and we did a lot more hiking and walking that spring and summer than running.  Last fall however I was still running into October.  Then things went south... real snow meant limited access to running routes and I ended up doing a lot of hiking around in the snow, snowshoeing, xc skiing and snowboarding.  All of this is great.  It's just the "specificity" principle that started to hurt my running.  What else?  

Shoes...yup. I have had a terrible time finding shoes that are "right"?  has that happened to you ?  They change shoes so often that even shoes I have loved became, in new versions, terrible!  This spring I was in love with my Altras but , being that I pronate and have some other alignment issues, I only wore them for two months before they began to bother me.  The Asics road shoes I purchased also didn't seem to last very long before they became squishy and lopsided.  I wear them still.  In the lake.  I'm hoping for my birthday, next week, to go purchase a pair of shoes that work for me.  I may go back to Adidas trail shoes , which have always been my go to shoe. 

Menopause....son of a bitch.  Menopause has been kicking my ass this past year. My journey through it began several years ago but this year I had some really bad, strange set backs.  First of all, I don't sleep. Not sleeping is just not okay.  It messes with your ability to recover from anything , let alone if you are doing anything athletic.  That 3 mile run or hike becomes like a marathon to your sleep deprived body and the changes in hormones also inhibit your recovery.  The two together, nice combination! I've tried lots of ways to remedy my sleep issues .  I'm still working on it.

Muscle aches,  leg cramps, fatigue....back in April at the end of the ski season I was doing a lot and more or less dealing with the recovery problems.  But then I got hit with this stretch of awful leg and muscle pain, night time leg cramps, muscle fatigue and general weakness.  I went to my doctor (all my blood work was normal) and also to a physical medicine specialist trying to solve the problem.  Some of it was related to previous issues, like the bursitis in my right hip, an old groin pull that popped back up and piriformis syndrome in that same leg. But the pain at night, feeling of exhaustion and complete melt down was something new.  what was it?  well, it finally subsided in June.  What was different?  I had a period after not having one for 11 months and 2 weeks!  When it was over, I felt totally fine!!!!  Son of a BITCH.  Then I realized that I had other clues that all along it was hormones messing with me. But because I hadn't had a period in so long I didn't recognize them.  My asthma was really bad, which can happen with menopause, and definitely was an issue in the past few years.  I also had experienced the same type of aches, just not to that extreme.  Oh and I admit....some changes in mood.  (well who wouldn't at that point?)  I never experienced any of that stuff when I was younger so it came as a big surprise.  

Anyway, there's the long version to what happened with my running routine.  I've started back at it and have been doing a little walk-run stuff around the mountain, really paying attention to my hydration and nutrition needs, trying to sleep, and trying to not let menopause mess me up!  If it's been kicking your ass what do you do to kick back?  If you had problems during the transition have they gone away?  Body chemistry is a really complex but intriguing topic.  If you , as an athlete , have any insight to the aging body and how to get the most from it, I'd love to hear it!  Mostly I just try to  ignore it and overcome it by sheer will!  Happy Running friends!!

Summer Flies By...

We managed to pack a lot of stuff into the last month.  A college graduation, cleaning out and selling our mountain condo, a trip to Pacific City, celebrating our anniversary and lots of little outings around home.

A few photos....

Graduation day was sunny but windy.  SO exciting for our son completing this part of his life!

Mae was right at home at the ocean in Pacific City

Mae even met another Mcnab at the beach!

When things slow down (Ha, dream on) I will post more often , hopefully.  Until then, I hope your summer has been terrific!! 

What's Happening??

Lake Days are back, and no one is happier about that than Mae!  Summer has certainly arrived with a heat wave this past weekend.  It's been nice to go to the lake for a short game of fetch and cool off in the very cold water!

I've been enjoying experimenting with the "shrubs" I purchased at the farmer's market.  I added them to beer and oh my!  that was very tasty.  Give it a try!  But my absolute favorite new summer drink is made with Bourbon, a shrub and JAM....Sweet Caroline's Jams and Jellies had a facebook post  awhile back that I had to follow up on:


"I don't know what to call this drink, but it's all about the smell of the woods in the middle of summer, and the bite of stinging nettles and thorns when picking wild blackberries. 1 shot of bourbon, 1 tablespoon of marionberry lime vanilla jam, a splash of blackberry vanilla cardamom shrub, a healthy dose of woodland bitters by Portland Bitters, and a splash of soda water."

It is delicious!!  I was able to find Portland Bitters in Whole Foods....of course it was the WF in Portland.  But they had a good variety of Portland Bitters and other brands as well.  More experimentation will be needed.  Anyway, if you can not get your hands on the shrub, you might try a berry cider in place of the shrub and soda water. (Try the blackberry cider from Atlas!)   A nice, rich berry jam will do if you can't get Caroline's.  But, if you live anywhere near where their products are available it is well worth the effort to pick up the jams and shrubs.  I promise you will not be disappointed!  (see more on their facebook page for details on where to find them!)

Hope your summer has gotten off to a good start!  Do you have a favorite water spot to cool off in?  A good summer drink you'd like to share?  Would love to hear about it!

Ballard Farmer's Market

I finally got to the Ballard Farmer's Market .  It is one of my favorites and I have been wanting to go for weeks now but we have been so busy that it took awhile to work it in to our weekend plans.  The assortment of goods is simply amazing.  Here, just a few shots of my take from the day.  

The $10 market bouquet

One of my big reasons for wanting to get there was to buy some "shrubs" from by far my FAVORITE vendor, Sweet Caroline's Jams and Jellies.  These aren't plants, they are drinking shrubs. (look them up on wiki for a detailed history. It's quite interesting) The flavor combinations are amazing and it was difficult to pick just one, so of course, I bought 3!  Mixed with a little Perrier and ice they are incredibly refreshing.  You can also use them for a mixer with alcohol....more on that later!  The jams also combine fruits and flavors that are unusual.   I'm sure before the summer is over I will have tried them all!

That's right, made with vinegar!  

Colonial Era...Don't you love it!?

I also bought a marionberry lime vanilla jam~ yum!

Do you have a farmer's market nearby?  What's your favorite thing about them? Besides all the produce, flowers, meat and baked goods, it's always fun to see the musicians, the people and of course the dogs!  There were so many dogs at the market today.  That would be a fun post in itself sometime.... 

MEOW

"Flame", one of the adoptable kitties. My daughter thought Flame looked like Jim Gaffigan....

What kind of people go to Cat Cafes??  People like US!  Back in March, my kids had spring break but we were very busy and didn't have a lot of time for a vacation.  Soooo, we did some local trips, including a visit to Seattle's first cat cafe, Meowtropolitan.  

What is a cat cafe?  Well, it combines coffee and cats.  Quite a simple formula really!  While they are very popular in Japan and other Asian countries, this is the first one to open in Seattle.  Appointments are made online and you have one hour, ten minutes or so to get your coffee and then 50 minutes to enjoy interacting with the cats.  The coffee house is separated from the cat room by double doors to prevent escapes, (and also because of health codes).  There were about 20 cats on the premises, half of which were available for adoption.  Overall, it was a wonderful experience!  The coffees and pastries are cat themed of course.  I had a "Meowcha" and an adorable chocolate macaron with a kitty face on it.  There were about 15 guests including us and you know what??  EVERYONE had a big smile on their face!  It was a very happy and relaxing experience!

Is there a cat in this basket??  Yes!

Lots of structures for cats to climb on, or just sleep!

If you ever get the opportunity to go to a cat cafe, do it!!  The cats are lovely and it's a terrific way to spend an hour of your day.  I will certainly go back and visit again!

Mae's Day

Will ya look at this lucky dog?  Will ya look at this gorgeous weather?!  Today we are celebrating Mae's first birthday.  She's 1!  And she's out doing her favorite thing, running around on the mountain!

We've been blessed by absolutely perfect weather this week and still have enough snow on the mountain to skin up with our split boards. It's been great.  Mae is learning to just run ahead of us, which is terrific, because her herding instinct, trying to keep us together, doesn't make for very good snowboarding. 

I think this is a great way to spend a birthday, don't you?

Cats and Lilies

Hello!  Happy Spring!  (well almost)  I noticed Easter Lilies in the market recently and have been wanting to post a reminder that CATS and LILIES do not mix!  Lilies are quite toxic to cats and very quickly, if ingested, lead to fatal kidney failure.  My brother-in-law lost a cat this way a few years ago and last week, a cat came into the clinic where my daughter works .  He had eaten a little bit of a lily petal and sadly he didn't make it.  So please, if you have cats, leave that lily in the store!  

Luna would like a catnip bouquet