Running away from Running

This post is a confession to you that I have not run more than 1 mile since my half marathon on Sept 4th. This is so not like me! I looooooove running and nothing usually stops me. But this year, I think I burnt out.

Yesterday I ran into my running coach in the locker room at the gym. I had emailed with her a couple times after my 1/2 telling her about my sore hips and she gave me some advice. And then.....I skipped track practice for 2 weeks in a row. I.just.didn't.feel.like.it. And when I saw her yesterday, I expected her to give me crap about skipping. But, she encouraged me to take a break! She insisted I do Pilates, take a yoga class or two, and rest. And you know what? That sounds awesome to me.  

Here's what I think happened. I ran A.LOT. this summer. I was training for Hood to Coast like mad, and for my 1/2 marathon the weekend after. Because this year I was meeting up with lots of sorority sisters from all over the country, some that I haven't seen in years, I really wanted to be in tip top shape and do well. I ran 3-4 times a week in addition to a track practice and 3 Pilates sessions. I was working out a lot and feeling great. I knew I was ready for my races.

My legs for Hood to Coast had a lot of downhill. I was warned by ANYONE I talked to about the race to not do Leg 1. I guess many people have been injured from the steep decline, but I figured with as much as I was training and cross-training, I'd be fine. I even felt fine----H2C was a piece of cake for me! Yeah, my muscles were sore, but the actual runs were fun and easy. I felt like a wuss running my last short leg when my teammates were running much longer, but flatter or more uphill runs. I didn't realize what the downhill could do to me.

Then came my 1/2 marathon. It was out in wine country, Oregon. The last 4-5 miles were on an uneven gravel road. The combination of the stress from the downhill at HTC and the uneven road in the 1/2 caused my psoas muscle (sort of under your pelvis/up the side of your stomach) to tighten up and therefore my hamstrings to pull from the back. Since the races, it kinda feels like I have a rusty hip socket. I've had one sports massage and two massage therapy with accupunture/cupping and laser, and no relief. Pilates and yoga has straightened out my posture since then, but the hip pain persists. It's not that bad---probably a 4 on a scale of 1-10. But it's one of those nagging pains. I have tried running, just to and from the gym which is about a 1/2 mile each way, and it's not that bad. But the truth is, I'm burnt out from running and I want to take a little break.

When will I run again? When I feel like it. It might be a couple more days, but more than likely a couple weeks. I still love running, I just need a break. There, I confessed. Now you know. And so what!

When I run again, I know I will love it. And I'm not going to do it until I'm good and ready.

My Harvest

Check out some goodies that I grew in my Community Garden! 

I grew all but the spagetti squash, which my mom grew

I had a decent season with my plot this year. My community garden is at my work. I have loved watching things grow and eating the veggies. I grew a lot of swiss chard and kale as well. I loved having fresh spinach and lettuce earlier this summer. I ate a salad every day for lunch from May-August and didn't ever buy lettuce from the store! I miss my fresh salads now, but have been eating lots of tomatoes, zucchini and kale & chard.

What about you? Where do you get your veggies, do you grow them, get them at the farmer's market or buy them at the grocery store?

Montinore Vineyards

Two weekends ago, our Sunday afternoon was spent wine tasting and picnicing at Montinore Vineyard. I feel so lucky that Oregon has so many great wineries only about an hour away from Portland!

Beautiful view of the grapes

white and red

I love this photo!

a nice little pairing with the wine

wine list! They actually let you choose 7 wines to try. Obviously I chose all the reds....I love Pinot Noir!

just relaxing

*love*

beautiful scenery

 We also headed over to David Hill Winery after Montinore, but I completely forgot to take photos! I love David Hill as well. Their grounds are really beautiful and they have a nice wine selection. I'm so glad we made it out to wine taste this Fall--it's one of my favorite fall activities:) Last year we went wine tasting for our anniversary, and you can read all about that here!

weekend breakfast---homemade breakfast scramble

I used fresh veggies from my community garden plot, I made this delicious scramble with zucchini and tomatoes!

yum!

This weekend was pretty low key with lots of fun things but also some much needed downtime! On Friday Shane and I went to a comedy show and then out for dessert. Saturday we headed to Washington Park to enjoy some sunshine and great weather. We ended up falling asleep for quite a while on our blanket! Saturday night we watched the Oregon Ducks win! We watched it with friends on the big screen at the Mission Theater in NW Portland. Sunday I had a quiet morning....curled up in bed with hot tea, the newspaper and listening to the rain outside. Once the rain died down I did some thrift shopping, had lunch with my parents and went to the gym with my good friend Lauren. We made dinner and watched Desperate Housewives before calling it a night! I am starting Monday morning refreshed!

On My Bookshelf

I read a TON and realized I haven't really been updating my sidebar with my current read, nor posting book reviews! Amanda at New Adventures is always so good about reviewing her books and reminded me to do so! Here are some of my recent reads.

I read Room by Emma Donoghue for one of the book club's I'm in (I'm in 3....yup!) I loved this book because of the unique concept and way it was written. It's about a boy who grew up never leaving the same room. He personifies objects such as the lamp, the desk and chair. He has never been in the outside world due to his mother being kidnapped before he was born and their capture keeping them locked up. It was really fascinating to read about the developmental issues that can arise when you have never seen the outside world. Although sad, I would highly recommend this one!

I read this intriguing series quickly! I don't often jump on the bandwagon for popular series, such as Twilight or Harry Potter, but a friend of mine convinced me to read The Hunger Games series. Some girls and I usually watch The Bachelor or whatever show is on Mondays nights, drink wine and gab. One week my friend Liz didn't show up, and we later found out it was because she had her nose stuck in this book! I figured if it was good enough for her to miss a girl's night, then I better read it. I started the first and I was hooked, reading all 3 in less than 2 weeks!

Onward is the story of how Starbucks came back during the economic recession in 2008. I thought I would really enjoy learning about this corporation on a deeper level, and I did, but I came away feeling a little irked. Howard Schultz, the CEO who wrote this in 1st person, seems to think that Starbucks is a tiny, local coffee shop on the corner of your little town. He thinks the experience of getting his coffee is unique. Excuse me, but since when is Starbucks a.) small or b.) unique ? Starbucks is a major corporation with shops on every corner of every town. It is a mainstream, ordinary experience to walk into a Starbucks and get the exact same thing that someone down the street, across the country and across the world could be getting at the exact same time. Schultz is in love with his idea of the company that it is a sleepy coffee shop, and it just isn't. However, it painted a picture to me of how the company began and the struggles and triumphs it has encountered along the way. I liked learning about how the Via product was innovated, how and who they bought the Clover machine from, and about their company culture. Overall the read was a little dry but I'm happy to know so many more details about Starbucks!


What have you read lately? Do you have any book suggestions for me? I love hearing about books from friends!

Apple Galette

I got the idea to make a Fruit Galette from Meg over at Henning Love. She reminded me how much easier this is than making a pie! I just happened to pick some apples at a co-workers house last weekend and so I decided to make an apple one. However, any berries or fruit would do!

Pie crust

Roll it out

apples picked from a friend's yard

butter, brown sugar, sugar and flour mixture in the food processor

plop the fruit and crumbles onto crust

and fold over the edges and bake for 45 minutes

all done...warm and gooey!

sharing with some of my favorite girls!

There! It's that easy:) Thanks Meg! It was so yummy!

Tomatoes... better late than never!

My tomatoes are just now turning red! This year in Portland a lot of the produce was delayed due to some bad weather through July. I am happy that my heirloom tomatoes are finally red and I can enjoy some of this yumminess:

Blackberry Buckle

I love baking with fresh berries! Last week I made a blackberry pie and this week I tried making blackberry buckle. It was a little easier than making a pie but both were really good!

fresh blackberries

mixing the crust in my food processor. thanks Mom for giving me this, it makes baking so much easier!

crust in a 9x13inch pan

butter and brown sugar for a crumbly topping

so easy! bake and serve with ice cream or whipped cream

Lili Patisserie Cafe

As you know from my weekend breakfast series, I love trying new breakfast place in Portland. Since I live in the NW neighborhood, we often try places nearby in NW or the Pearl District, or even downtown. However we decided to venture over the east side and try this cute little cafe. The funny thing is that I thought it was a different place than it ended up being---I thought we were trying a place that we had been to for dessert after a comedy show last year. I looked it up online and it looked the same, but when we got there it was definitely not! It was such a cute little place with outdoor seating that we decided to stay anyway!

cute outdoor seating

Shane's basic breakfast

my scramble--zucchini, onions, red pepper, and goat cheese

homemade jam

such a cute little place with great service!

Blue Olive Mediterranean

I can't believe I haven't tried this place until now! We went to the location on NW 21st Ave, although there is another Blue Olive on NE Alberta. The Greek salad was really great---and I have the real thing in Greece to compare it to! Although traditional Greek salad doesn't have lettuce or potatoes, this one still tasted authentic. We also tried the Baba Ghanouj with pita bread and the chicken skewers with tzatziki. I ended up dipping some of my pita in the tzatziki too---it was delicious!

 All of the things we ordered were on the happy hour menu and reasonably priced. We sat outside on a nice afternoon and enjoyed the food. I would go here again for sure!

Tara Thai NW

My boyfriend and I have been going to Tara Thai for a few years now and think it is the best thai food in Portland! I have been here so many times and also gotten take-out tons of times, so I can't believe this is the first time I have photographed it! Sometimes when its your favorite go-to place you don't even think about blogging about it. My usual is the Green Curry, but sometimes I get Pad Thai. Shane always gets Pad Se Ew with chicken, extra spicy.

Pad Se Ew

Green Curry

I usually start with the salad rolls as well, but of course I ate them so fast I didn't even have time to take a picture! I may or may not use waaay too much sweet, sour and spicy peanut sauce with them. YUM! Try this place now! It even has a nice outdoor patio, located on NW 23rd & Pettigrove.

Veggie sandwich

I made the most delicious veggie sandwich---I got the idea from a sandwich they serve sometimes at my work. It has roasted eggplant, zucchini & red pepper, is smeared with cream cheese and served on ciabatta bread. I ended up using rosemary salt bread from Trader Joe's and it was fabulous!

start with cream cheese & roasted red pepper

pan for roasting the veggies

assemble all veggies. so yum.

fresh picked blackberries= pie

I love Oregon berries! I picked a ton of wild blackberries and decided to make a pie.

put pie crust ingredients in food processor

roll out pie crust

fold pie crust in half, place on pie pan and fold back over to cover entire pan

pinch the edges

bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees

cool the crust completely and spread a layer of whipped cream cheese

line with fresh blackberries

in a saucepan, mash 1 cup berries, 1/2 cup water, 1 cup sugar and 3 tbsp cornstarch. bring to a boil and stir until thick

spread mixture over the fresh berries

refrigerate for a couple of hours

serve!

I call this Blackberry Cream Cheese Pie and I got the recipe from my mom. It's been a big hit every summer and the best part is that you can use any type of berry--strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry ect! Whatever is fresh at the time!