9/15- Lincoln Park in West Seattle

Ave of the Stars

Today's run was at Lincoln Park in West Seattle.  I haven't been to west Seattle very much so I was excited to see the area.   It was as beautiful as I expected.  We ran by the water for a good part of the time and the rest of the time it was by houses that sat on the water.  One thing I love about Seattle is the public art.  There seems to be more public art here then anywhere I've ever lived.  I saw several beach sculptures and art in yards.  There was one stretch which was called Ave of the stars.  There were star diagrams on the sidewalks.  I'm wondering if you can stand in that spot and see those stars.  It was pretty cool. 
We ran for 2 hours.  For me that was 8.5 miles.  I'm sure real runners would say that is super slow but me it was pretty fast.  I have been walking 3 minutes and running 2.  It comes out to a 14-15 minute mile. I would like to get it to under 14 minutes but at this point I would be happy at lower 14 . 
The drive home from West Seattle was super slow.  There was a ton of traffic and I have no idea why.  It probably took an hour to get home.  The problem with that was that when I got out of the car my legs were so sore and stiff that I could barely walk up to the apartment.  And on top of that, I then had to walk the dogs.   Ugghh.
My running partner, Martha, has been out for the past 2 weeks.  The Saturday I missed due to the whale watch, she hurt her knee.  I haven't seen our other running buddies for the past few weeks and am wondering if they dropped out.  It's not as much fun being on your own.   
I've raised just under $700.  I still have $1000 to go and only 2 months to do it.  I have to get busy!

View from the path

Cool trailer

This house had a dog statue on top of it. 

9/8 Marymoor park- 8 miles

Today we met at Marymoor park in Redmond.  I ran/walked 8 miles!  It took me 2 hours because I'm not super fast but I still did it.  I feel like if I can do 8 miles, I can do 13.  Half Marathon here I come!
The park wasn't super scenic.  We ran by the lake for part of the run but most of the view was blocked by houses.  Our timing also wasn't great.  The park was hosting a Run for Paws event.  Some kind of dog walk to  support PAWS which is a dog adoption agency.  Now I love a good dog walk, but at one point we were running back to our starting point and running against the crowd.  I could not even stay on the path because there were so many people and dogs.  That last mile was my slowest because I kept having to stop and move off of the trail to let the crowds pass.  
I left the park and went and got a pedicure.  I didn't really need one but my feet hurt and I wanted to soak them and the thought of having a foot massage was too good to pass up.
My donations went up over the past week.  Thank you to everyone who donated.  I'm getting closer to the goal.  IF you haven't donated, the site it on the left hand side of my blog. 
My goal this week, 2-3 practice runs at Greenlake and at least another $100 in donations.

View of the Lake

Old car on the side of the trail.  It was weird because all of the houses were
super fancy and then here was this old car. 

The traffic of the dog walk.

I gotta get movin!

HaHa!  This was me not too long ago.

9/2 - 3 miles at Greenlake

Before I get started on my journey- Thank you to everyone who donated to me this week!  I am now over $400.  I feel extremely fortunate to have such generous friends and family.  If you are reading this and you haven't donated, the site is to the left.  If you just can't donate, no problem!  I'm taking motivational donations also!

I was feeling guilty about missing the Saturday run so I hit Greenlake on Sunday.  The walk around the inside track is only 2.8 miles so you have to go a little past your starting point and then back to hit the 3 miles goal.  What I should have done was make the loop twice but I was anxious to get the the farmers market in Ballard.   I just adore a good Farmers market.
Greenlake is such a beautiful area.  The lake was already hopping with paddle boats and families spread out enjoy a late Sunday morning.  The weather was pretty darn perfect at noon- low 70's.  There are enough dogs and people to watch to make the walk wonderful.  I didn't run but I'm planning on another trip this week with a little running.
Next Saturday we have a 2 hour walk/run scheduled with the group which means about 8 miles for me (yes I'm a slow 14-15 minute pace).  I haven't  done more than 7 miles to date so I need to get ready!


The lake




Makes me want to sit down and read a book



Saw this cool looking Crane and 4 turtles sunning themselves.

flowers from the market

9/1- Whale Watch

So, I must admit that I skipped my Saturday group run to go on a Whale Watch.  I had no choice!  Kimberly and I had bought a Groupon for a Whale watch in the San Juan Islands.  They stop the trips on Oct. 1 so we only had a few weeks left to use it.  AND they only offer this particular trip on Saturday mornings.  The whale watch was totally fun and worth the money.  We had to drive about 1.5 hours north to Anacortes at the crack of dawn for the trip.  We saw several whales, seals, sea lions and bald Eagles. 
I'm making up for the missed run by committing to 3 long runs before next Saturday (long means 3 miles or more;) 

One of several whales we saw. 

Deception Pass Bridge

The sun came out and the water looked like diamonds

Sea Lions sunning themselves

me on Deception Pass bridge

Enjoy the nature photos!