Oiselle Tenacious Ten Race Discount Code!

Now that I have a few more deets, I thought I'd put up a post (complete with promo code!) for the TENACIOUS TEN. 

Y'all, Oiselle is finally sponsoring a race! After five years of being a part of this great team, I couldn't be more excited! And, there's a TEN MILE option - which I've always wanted to run. If this distance appeals to you, too, get registering soon: there are limited spots for the 10 mile race and, as of earlier this week, there were only about 40 left. Alas, I still have not rid myself of plantar fasciitis, so I won't be able to partake. However, there is a 10K option as well. I am doing a new treatment for my foot (which I may detail here once I'm done) and I'm hopeful that I'll be able to do 6.2 leisurely miles by April. I may just use the beginner training plan to ramp up my running. Thanks to the amazing Beth at Running Evolution, there is a personalized beginner training plan:

This is the new iteration of the Brooks Trailhead Run, formerly Emerald City Run, and before that - the Seattle's Best.  The start and finish of the race will take place at Gas Works Park, on Saturday, April 22nd. Yay a SATURDAY RACE!   

can't beat the view from the start/finish

Both distances include a finishers medal, and forget about inevitably ill fitting shirts, everyone registering gets a TRUCKER HAT:

What: 10Mile, 10K, 1K kids race

When: Saturday, April 22nd (start time: 8AM )

Where: Gasworks Park (course maps here)

Register HERE and use code: READANDRUN17 for 10% off 

Hope to see you there!  Prices go up on next Thursday, February 23rd, so register soon.

A Oiselle Birdcamp Story (Okay, Maybe Two...)

First I must preface this with a little writing tip, as some folks who do not know how to pronounce Oiselle (it's a hard vowel: Wa-Zelle) might think I have made a grammatical error in the title.  Heaven forbid anyone should think that! Moving on!

As with last year's retreat, there were so many awesome moments at Birdcamp.  Alas, if I were to write them all down, it would take me HOURS to finish this post.  Since I am lazy, I shall share just one that really summed up my experience...

It was the first night, our first gathering and breakout session after our welcome dinner.  We were paired off into groups, each led by one of the Haute Volée (elite team members) to talk about our goals.  My group was with Devon Yanko, a badass ultra runner and Olympic Trials marathoner, among other amazing accomplishments.  We were joined by Heather Stephens, our Volée Team leader from Oiselle HQ and the overall female winner of the Lake Sammamish Half in under 1:20 - her FIRST half! (Where I also accomplished my current PR nearly 40 minutes later, haha!)  Rounding out our group was Leana Keto, who seems to run marathons like NBD, has run a half dozen half Ironmans and just signed up for her FOURTH full Ironman.  Needless to say, I (the stay at home mom who runs roughly 20-25 miles a week and has no real desire to tackle a marathon) was feeling a little bit nervous to talk goals with these ladies!  

The funny thing was that each of us started the conversation by talking about things we knew of each other, and shying away from talking about ourselves.  And, of course I deferred talking about my goals until the bitter end, frantically combing my brain for anything interesting I might be up to in my running.  As the self depreciating words were coming out of my mouth, "I'm just doing the mom thing, keeping up with my fitness, maybe a goal 5K soon or 13.1 next year..."  Leana piped up with something along the lines of, "Um, Andrea, you are killing it with your run streak - what day are you on?" Oh. Yeah. That! (460 as of today, BTW.) It took someone else to point out a pretty nifty accomplishment I've achieved in my running.  To me, since I'm not a crazy high mileage runner, or fast runner, I had completely glossed over the streak.  It's just something I do now, like brushing my teeth.  But it's still a goal, albeit daily.

What's even more awesome, it made Devon chime in with, "Ohhhh, yeah!  Were you the one who commented on the Facebook thread where someone asked about the pros/cons of rest day vs. run streak?"  Now, I hope everyone I know has the pleasure of meeting Devon one day.  If she read this, she'd probably chuckle at me, but I must say I was initially a little unnerved to answer.  She is a straight up super tall, super cool, and absolutely no bullsh*t kind of gal. I very sheepishly admitted that I did, because I was the only person that was in favor of streaking - with the caveat that as a 20ish mile a week runner, it's TOTALLY doable and that it should be like a 10 minute meditation on rest days.  After my admission, she said that my comment was really insightful and she thought it was great.  To hear that from her was pretty awesome, and the fact that she and the other elites on our team are interacting with us on Facebook is such a rare and fantastic thing.  

Being able to interact with women of all different abilities and talents was my biggest takeaway from Birdcamp this year.  We ALL have something to learn from each other and bring to the table.  One of the most striking things Lauren said as she introduced almost 20 elite members that made it to camp this year, is that one day, they want to be us!  To be able to have running as a part of their lives when they inevitably move on to other pursuits is truly a goal for elite runners - really interesting food for thought.  That Lauren, always so insightful!  So if you're ever at a loss for what your strengths are, or need someone to lift you up, having some sistas in sport it a good way to go.  I was definitely feeling pretty high all weekend.

I usually don't write long Instagram posts, but for the following picture, I did.  Because, I think, it also sums up the Oiselle experience.

Looking through #Birdcamp15 images and trying to pick out the best one to sum it up, I had to go with this one. I got this shirt at my first Oiselle sample sale shortly after I joined the team over 3 years ago. It's had a good run, and I loved it dearly, but I knew what joy it would bring to @fleshmanflyer, since she's always trying to bribe it off me - oh, and it's the shirt that made her discover Oiselle, yet she never got one of her own. This team is about lifting each other up, and supporting each other (even giving the shirt off your back, deodorant residue and all). The structure of things has changed A LOT since the days when @kristinmetcalf would post our race results on a white board picture to Twitter! And the way it is now, they expect NOTHING from me. Yet they have given me so much over the years and will always have my heart. Lauren repeatedly asked what she could give me for her shirt: keep fighting the good fight lady, I expect nothing. Much love!

Thank you Oiselle Team, and especially everyone at HQ for the years of awesome and for another fantastic Birdcamp.  

And time for the photo dump!  Thank you, Andrea, of Thomas and Velo Photography for the beautiful pictures (team shot above, and the next two).

Until next time, Leavenworth...

This Weeks Eats 8.23.15 (Plus Birdcamp Food and Beverages!)

Since I have yet to recap this year's Birdcamp trip to the Sleeping Lady Resort in Leavenworth (I'm still trying to wrap my brain around another awesome retreat), I can say that we ate the most amazing food!  We were treated to the 'snack table' again with Ziploc bags for squirreling away chocolate, almonds, crackers and various treats to our rooms...

...as well as fresh fruit, bagels and yummy nut butters.  Wild Friends samples were available to all again this year, as well as Nuun, Run Gum, GenEthix, Picky Bars and other fun swag (like Paper Birch Design wooden tags and Stance Socks, which I love now.)

And all of our meals were served buffet style at the Kingfisher Restaurant, which specializes in sustainable, organic fare (with a garden on site) and it was all amaaaaaaaazing.  Sadly I have no pictures, but every morning we'd drool over eggs with avocado salsa or sauteed spinach, fresh made granola, and the most mouth watering scones.  I'd bring Ziploc bags from the snack table and steal a scone for later in the day!  Lunch and dinner were filled with scrumptious soups, salads (heirloom tomato! fresh grains!) and fresh fish and beef dishes with the most flavorful and delicate sauces.  

I don't know what it is about Birdcamp that brings out the kombucha, but for whatever reason,  Humm kombucha was ON TAP at O'Grady's - the cafe and sundry shop at the resort.  And they had GROWLERS.

Needless to say, my roommates and I each bought one and transformed our trash can to a cooler!  Sadly, with a Oiselle group visiting, we drained the shop of Humm by the second day.  Luckily the only place they have it on tap within a 50 mile range of Seattle is a quick jaunt from my house.  Yay!  The coconut lime flavor is definitely my favorite.

Speaking of beverages, I tried a DELICIOUS grapefruit Hefeweizen at Der Hinterhof in downtown Leavenworth.

Very hungry and thirsty ladies, after a morning long run and a float down the river! Hijacked this photo from Mary Margaret, who I was THRILLED to meet in person this year!

Upon returning home, I immediately found it in my local grocery store.  It's kind of ridiculously bright orange colored, but worth it if it's available in your neck of the woods.

Okay!  Back to the weekly grind of menu planning and making my own meals.  Sigh.

• Monday - Pizza
• Tuesday - Green Curry Turkey Meatballs (from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)
• Wednesday - Grilled Maple Sriracha Chicken and Roasted Broccoli (trying this recipe from Table for Two)
• Thursday - Sloppy Joes (our family recipe is similar to Pioneer Woman's)
• Friday - My husband is ditching me for a work event, so I'll likely have one of my 'lone wolf' meals
• Saturday - Baked Ziti (from the Flour Sack)
• Sunday - Fiesta Ranch Chicken Burrito Bowls (trying this recipe I found on Pinterest from Carlsbad Cravings, since I have leftover Ranch mix from the 'Cracked Out' chicken recipe we tried two weeks ago.  It was okay, I'd use much less biscuit dough in that recipe and maybe thin the soup mixture out with a bit with milk.) 

As always, I'm linking up with Org Junkie, Mommy Run Fast and Jill Conyers - be sure to check out all the great weekly menus!

A Few of My Favorite Things (and June Julep Review)

Because I just talked foodstuffs on Monday, I thought I'd share a few other favorites lately.   And, yes, my JUNE Julep polish! My how the time has flown since I did a Favorite Things update.  And I have since foregone the Julep subscription; I just don't need THAT MUCH nail polish.  But, I went out with some great colors: 

Bergen, cool blue grey with a little shimmer

Colette, a dark violet with a little shimmer

Also, I got a lot of compliments on the polish I wore during Bird Camp, if you are so inclined it was Julep's 'Monaco' from the March collection.

Ah, just a few more days until school starts!  Summer has gone pretty quickly and smoothly this year.  I'm really thankful that I decided to implement a suuuuuper simple chore chart back in June that I can easily transition to the school year.  At first, I thought that I'd make some sort of Word doc and then remembered there's Pinterest - where you can find free downloads for pretty much everything.  Why reinvent the wheel?  I LOVE these charts that I found from The Gilded Pear.  

I don't have any hard and fast rule about screen time in our house.  Some days it's hours, some days it's not even a minute (I loved this post from Pile of Babies on the matter).  However, adding a bit of structure into the summer with the chores made it easier to say, "OK, we've spent most of the day outside, and now your chores are done - you can play with your Kindle/watch tv/play with the computer."  Highly recommend for those that are just easing into the whole chores/allowance thing like we are.  I like that it has an 'earn extra money' category, as well as an 'I can be kind and respectful' section to give them a warning if they're not toeing that line.  Right now it's 3 frown-y faces in that section and we deduct a dollar from the two dollars a week.

Oh happy day, the new Oiselle capris are on the website now!  Run, don't walk to get your hands on them - they are ridiculously awesome.  The 'off the grid' knickers are so comfortable and flattering with a wide waistband, plus they have the most awesome pattern.  

Party pants!

I went with the most neutral black/grey during our team pre-shop and loooove them.  But, after seeing the other more colorful versions on everyone at Bird Camp, I promptly ordered the Bergen and am anxiously awaiting their arrival, along with the long awaited knicker version of the Go Joggings.  YES.  

There are certain songs that seem meant for summer.  I'll listen to Vampire Weekend all year long, but I feel that their music is best suited for long summer nights.  My favorite summer song has crossed over to my running playlist from the non-running, it's THAT GOOD.  If you haven't listened to Thunder Clatter by Wild Cub yet, treat your ears to this oh so fantastic song.  I'm happy just thinking about it.

I'm also loving Waves by Mr. Probz, also a great chill out song, but there are a lot of good remixes out there that can translate to my running playlist.

I must admit that I learned of the awesome duo Chromeo via Yo Gabba Gabba (Nice n' Clean is a good lesson for all), and Jealous is a fantastic summer jam.  

This One Time, At Bird Camp

The only way I'll be able to summarize all of last week is to break it down in a series of statements, American Pie style.  This one time at Bird Camp...

We talked and laughed for six straight hours on the drive to Bend, OR.  Women are good at that.

Nolana, Morena, Portia and Me

We picked up awesome bags of swag and there were boxes upon boxes of food for us to bring to our condos. SO MUCH DELICIOUS FOOD (which I will talk more about on next week's menu plan post).

We all felt like we knew each other already, even if we hadn't met in real life.  Thank you Twitter!

We were inspired by our fellow teammates, and amazing speakers we were so lucky to have in attendance.

Linsey Corbin, who just set the record for fastest Ironman by an American female!

Stephanie Howe this year's Western States champ!

Jay Dicharry, legendary PT and author of Anatomy for Runners

And of course, our very own Kate Grace, Lauren Fleshman and Kara Goucher (via Skype) - pictured with the aforementioned Stephanie Howe

We were asked a LOT of questions when we showed up to a local race with more than 90 of our teammates - my roommate claimed that she was asked how many camp counselors we had.  Uhhhhh...

We ran at nearly 4,000 feet elevation - which, for many of us, was HARD, yo. (Having unlimited Deschutes Twilight Summer Ale post race made up for it.)

We were blown away by the beauty of Smith Rock.  I need to go back there ASAP.

Monkey Face

I miss hiking...

We sat by a pool without having to keep children from drowning! So relaxing!

Actually not a beer - I may now be addicted to Kombucha...

We stretched and meditated with Jasyoga - and I didn't have to drive to Seattle from the Eastside to do so!

We were led in campfire songs by Lauren Fleshman, like whoa.

We ran the river trail along the Deschutes, which was right behind our resort.

We shopped and imbibed as much as possible in town.  Bend is adorable.

We ate our last dinner together alfresco at sunset, which included amazing street tacos and doughnuts for dessert! 

Me and one of my roommies, Raine who I got to spend the most time with - love her!

We witnessed the hilarity when 100 women descend upon a cute little bar, in a little town, with a little dance floor.  I was cry laughing at many points during this trip, but mostly on this night.

Yes, this was the most bare bones post ever, but it would really take way too long to go into every wonderful detail of this amazing trip.  Many times I found myself saying that it's a lot like Ragnar, but with a little more sleep and a lot more showers: bonding, running, great times and so many inside jokes (Sir, this bus is on fire! & She's living her best life!).  I'm so thankful to Oiselle for the years of camaraderie and to Sally, Sarah, Kristin, Katie the Little Wing gals and everyone at The Nest that made this all possible.  We made memories that will last a lifetime.  We were 'living our best life' last week, that is for sure.  I already miss you Bend, and can't wait to see you again...