Really, Lululemon?? Not cool!

So I bought some pants...These pants, to be exact. Of course, I am a little too tall for the regular, and a little too short for the tall. Lululemon offers free hemming when you buy their pants - which is a point in their favor. I bought these pants on Thursday. They called me Monday to pick them up post hemming, however, due to my crazy work schedule (and sheer laziness - it's two blocks away, but I can't make it over there?) I didn't go pick them up until today.

One of the things I like to do when I go in there - for any reason, is check their sale rack. Sure, a $148 jacket is only marked down to $109, but still - it makes me feel better for buying it. Today, guess what I found on the sale rack? My pants. Same size, even in the hemmable 'tall' length. LESS THAN A WEEK LATER!

So, I took that pair of pants to the register with me - and asked them what the story was... Here's how the conversation went:

Me: Hi, I am here to pick up some pants.

Girl: Sure, what's your name?

Me: Name... Oh, and I found these same pants on the sale rack back there.

Girl: Oh, when did you come in?

Me: Late last week.

Girl: Yeah... we only mark things down when the merchandise gets to a certain level in the store? So we don't do price adjustments?

Sidebar: It totally sounded like she was asking me a question.

Me: Seriously?

Girl: Yeah... I'm so sorry?

Me: Well, can I return this pair and buy this pair on sale?

Girl: Um, no, because they have been hemmed, they are final sale?

Me: Fine.

And with my overpriced (but super comfy pants that I will probably wear enough to make up for the $19 that I would have received had they done the goddamn price adjustment) I stormed out.

In retrospect, I should have been nicer to the girl. Likely, it wasn't her fault, and I've been there. However, with the amount of money that I spend there, I am irritated on principle. As Amy says: "Crap like that makes me love Nordstrom even more". So, I will be looking for another place to buy athletic wear that makes me feel cute while sweating... But honestly, I'll probably be back. Maybe I'll only buy what's on sale though. Yeah, that's what I'll do...

*Sigh*

Mercer Island 10K

So, every year I say I'll never do the Mercer Island 10K again, but inevitably end up doing it. This year, I won't say that. I will say, though, the amount of dread I had going into it served me well - in that, at no point during the race was I surprised by how much it hurt. ;)

I'm not going to lie - even going into it with that attitude, I was a little disappointed by my time (48:12, 7:46 pace). I know that this race is HARD. Hilly, with a camber to the road that makes it harder on your legs than just the hills.

Going into it, on race morning, I decided that it was just going to be a good tempo run. Teresa and I ran for about 35 minutes before the race (she had to get in like an hour 40, and I just like to run with her whenever I can :)) I almost chickened out, and decided to just run the half marathon as a long run, or run the 10K with a friend, but instead, decided to do the 10K as hard as I could in that moment.

I went out with T, and ran the first few miles in under 7:30. I felt good. When she decided to pick it up after mile 3, I knew I wasn't going to be able to stick with her, so I stuck to my plan. When I got to mile 4.5, I knew I was in trouble. I hit a long hill that just went up up up, and my legs just didn't have it.

I know exactly what was wrong, though - and it's two things: 1.) Consistency. I have been less than consistent with my workouts since I ran the marathon in January. I know every workout counts, and FINALLY that's hit home! 2.) Not enough sleep, too much alcohol. No excuses, just not taking care of myself the way I should! I know better. :)

As much as the MI 10K hurts every year, and I dread it, I think it's always a good experience for me to show me exactly where I am at in my training. Last year I was only slightly faster - 47:48... but now I know I need to stay on it to PR on Cinco de Mayo at the half! The countdown begins...

So, enough about me. I got to see some amazing performances out there! Super Vicki PR'd on the half at under an hour and 29 minutes - AMAZING! Teresa killed it - after dropping me, she ended up finishing with an overall pace of 7:14! My friends Brian and Brady, who I am racing with in a few weeks at the Mt. Si Relay, both did awesome - coming in at 7:29 and 7:25, respectively! And last, but most impressively, my amazing friend Nicole dropped 8 minutes on her half marathon time. She has been working so hard, and fought hard out there! I am so proud of all of my friends for reaching their goals and working so hard! You all inspire me, and I can't wait to race with you all again soon!

You would never know those two raced - they look so pretty!

Saying Goodbye at Work

So, three coworkers are leaving, two this week and one next. I don't handle these goodbyes well. I am not sure why it's so hard, except that if you assume you have 168 hours in a week, and spend 49-56 of them sleeping, then more than 1/3 of your waking life is spent with coworkers. (This is also why liking my job is so important to me.) I find it incredibly difficult when people I like and respect, and who have been a part of my work life for years decide to move on. So, if I don't come to your Goodbye 'party', it isn't because I don't like and respect you - it's because I am struggling to keep it together. Seriously, it's like a waterfall over here.

Amazing Anniversary/and some running

Dave and I were married on St. Patrick's Day in Cancun in 2008. This year we had a fabulous day-long celebration. We started with the St. Patrick's Day Dash - Dave actually ran it hard, but I had a longer, tempo run to do so I met up with Jessica, Eliza and Kirk on the Aurora Bridge. I didn't expect the race to start on time (and it was snowing/rain mix), so I missed seeing Dave at the turnaround. :( But I did get there in time to catch the Martins, and it was a lot of fun to see the costumes and all the peeps out there with all their green on (without simultaneously wanting to throw up, which is how I would have felt if I'd been racing ;)). We crossed the finish line at around 31 minutes - I was super proud of my sisters in law and Kirk!

(Yes, I wore my Garmin for the 2 miles I ran with them - what can I say?)

Post race, we made our normal trek to Fado - where it was IMPOSSIBLE to get a server's attention, much less food or drinks. And we were all still freezing, so it was time to get some Irish coffee! Turns out even people who aren't celebrating the end of a race start drinking at 9AM on St. Patrick's Day. So we went downstairs to the Owl and Thistle, where we paid cover, but got to sit down and order. Had some Colcannon, which was actually really yummy, and some Irish coffee, but also got to catch up with our friends and celebrate St. Patrick's Day the way everyone else does.

Home to nap, then get my tempo run on! I have not been feeling super great about my run fitness lately, so it felt really good to get in 1:45 with the last 30 min at half marathon pace. After marathon training, 1:45 still doesn't feel like that long - and I never want that feeling to go away! It was lonely by myself, (Teresa and I have been doing a lot of our runs together lately) but it was actually sunny in the afternoon, and I surprised myself with my tempo pace!! Feeling much better about running and life in general, time to get ready for our anniversary dinner.

We went to Elemental, which is right by gasworks park. The wine bar next door called E.N.D. (Elemental Next Door, appropriately) had a sign that said 'Same food, Less attitude'. Their website kind of says it all. I was glad we had known people who went there and had read reviews. Here are some survivor tips: DO NOT admit any food allergies/dislikes/would rather not haves. You will just piss them off. (If you know me, you know I don't eat: red meat, shellfish or blue cheese. Thankfully, blue cheese only made an appearance during the cheese course, and Dave ate all of that so I wouldn't have to have any.) Also, under NO circumstances drink everything they put in front of you. You just sit down and go with the flow. The food and drinks will start coming! We followed these simple rules and had an amazing night and dinner (and still ended up a wee bit hung over)! They serve wine with every course (at least one glass) and many MANY courses. Corned beef ravioli, beef stew, tuna, salad - everything was amazing! It even seemed slightly Irish themed - and the wine pairings (and Port with dessert!) complimented the food perfectly! I highly recommend Elemental for celebratory evenings and an amazing meal. It was the perfect event meal for our anniversary dinner!

My sister rocks

St. Patrick's Day is tomorrow and here is what Miss Rachel had to say about it. Is she not the funniest?

Oni the pony

Jacob's Great Dane has her own bed, but REALLY likes Pickles and Saffy's tiny bed the best. :)

Here are two of the loves of my life, Saffy and Pickes. :) Aren't they cute?

Hello, world!

I've wanted to start a blog for a long time - I just needed a name! I chose two of my favorite things, running and baking as inspiration for the title. :) (But my favorite things are numerous - and include my family and friends, doggies, swimming, reading, guilty pleasure tv, etc!) I'm excited to hopefully share my thoughts with my friends and family, and maybe use my blog for inspiration to take more photos - something I am abysmal at thus far!