Mount Ellinor, Olympics

Yes, that is my rear end downclimbing the slope. Steeper than it looks.

Tamanwas Falls and A Whole Lotta Ice

Thrilled to take my husband hiking for the first time in a very long time, but dismayed to discover thick sheets of ice over what was supposed to be an easy trail. I gave Dr B my microspikes, which rendered him impervious, and then tried not to plunge off a cliff in my trailrunners or break my coccyx on the ice. Once home, we toasted to proper gear for both us next time if we're to continue this "couples" hiking thing.

Sidelined

Somehow I trained all last year and managed to avoid a single injury, but 2014 has started out inauspiciously. Saturday's run was glorious, and I don't use that word lightly. The sun was out, my mileage was decent - I had a completely dorky surge of well-being. Sunday knocked me down a notch.

Going over the Hawthorne Bridge yesterday I discovered that, no, you can't always just run through the pain. My knee cap started nagging at me around mile five, until eventually a nasty spasm caused my leg to buckle. I limp-walked furiously the last mile back to my car and drove straight to Portland Running Co. to replace my Brooks. I previously suspected my trouble was biking too hard, but I think instead it was pounding down MacLeahy Trail and back up Cornell in trailrunners that probably did me in. A kneecap that only hurts when I run and only after certain distances sounds just like "runner's knee" from what I've read online. So now I'm on a stretch, ice, rest regimen, and it SUCKS. My only consolation is that my actual marathon training program doesn't officially start until March, so there's theoretically time to fix this. I ordinarily wouldn't complain online, but since this is something that a lot of people seem to experience, I thought I'd put it out there and see if anyone has any advice.

Oh yeah, and I'm also cutting back on coffee for health reasons, so that's just peachy. No coffee, no running and the mountains are snowed in, so basically...