We tried to fit as much into our two weeks in Spain as possible. We flew in (and out) of Madrid, and traveled to four cities (loosely termed here) throughout our stay. We had a total of 15 days which we divided up into three nights in Madrid, three nights in Barcelona, two nights in Valencia, five nights in Menorca, and our final night back in Madrid. We purposefully planned it this way so we could sight-see as much as possible in the first half of our trip, and finish up with time lounging on the island.

Madrid

We flew from San Francisco to Toronto then ran to our flight from Toronto to Madrid. I did not know that it would be so much faster flying to Spain than coming home (more than two hours faster), so I was pleasantly surprised on the way there (and sad on the way home).

Goodbye San Francisco!

We stayed at Airbnbs for most of our trip, and the studio we stayed at in Madrid was by far our favorite. We were close to almost everything, and we spent our first full day (after horrific, all sorts of messed up attempts of sleep) on a self-guided walking tour. It was incredible! We saw something like four plazas, two incredible, historic churches, walked through a famous market, ate churros con chocolate for lunch (you heard me), and even toured a palace. 

The Royal Palace of Madrid was one of my favorite parts of the city. We toured the inside (which they don’t really let you take pictures of, so you will just have to trust me it was fascinating), and despite the jet-lag, I had a blast. It was mind blowing for me (stupid American tourist here) that people had lived (and definitely died) in this palace. Fancy, important events are still held there (which for the life of me I cannot stop calling the “castle” because why would royalty live anywhere other than a castle? It’s absurd.), and a great deal of it is still used.

The city was beautiful, although I wasn’t prepared for the general grime. Despite knowing what San Francisco looks liked, I didn’t expect the large amounts of graffiti and general dirtiness that we encountered throughout the cities. 

Some other highlights of Madrid were a Flamenco show (with tasty sangria included!) and a gorgeous run through the Parque del Retiro (more on that soon).

Barcelona

We took a speed train from Madrid to Barcelona, which took about three hours and was worth every penny. I started announcing that I loved Barcelona as soon as we stepped out of the Metro station into the warm, humid air to views of a stunning statue of Christopher Columbus. The Airbnb we stayed at was about a five minute walk from La Rambla and the harbor.

The view from our apartment

The only bummer was that we accidentally booked our stay in Barcelona during a huge festival, so everything was incredibly packed. Although it also meant that we got to see a bunch of things we wouldn’t have otherwise. It did start to clear out throughout our stay, but the beginning was overwhelming with entire streets and plazas closed off for dancing, parades of giant dolls, music, human pyramids, and other festivities.

Click to explore the full panorama.

One of the highlights was the Park Güell, an enormously popular work of Gaudí. We spent an entire morning exploring the grounds and the crazy architecture.

Walking the streets around where we stayed was a blast, but we also had a great time exploring the rest of the city via the metro. Although our trip to Montserrat might have been my hands down favorite of this portion of the trip (a full post on that soon). 

Barcelona, I miss your delicious vegetarian food, killer mojitos, and humid air.

Valencia

To be totally honest, we went to Valencia because I had seen a photo of the Oceanogràfic aquarium and I decided I had to see it. We ended up having a blast in Valencia, even though the aquarium didn’t meet my expectations (The Monterey Bay Aquarium has set my standards quite high). My favorite thing in the city ended up being the incredible Jardí del Túria, which I explored on a run (full post on that soon).

Menorca

The island was just what we were looking for. After more than a week of intense sight-seeing and traveling, we were ready to sit back and relax (preferably on a warm beach). The beaches were stunning, the people were kind, and we loved making ourselves dinner every night in our Airbnb.

The view from our house.

Sunset from our roof.

There were bronze age ruins right outside (okay, like half a kilometer) where we stayed, so we took a short little hike/stroll out to see them.

The weather wasn’t quite as warm and I had hoped, but we were still able to swim in the ocean one day (huge highlight for me. I froze, but I loved it!). I wore my long sleeve, UPF rash guard in the water and hid in the shade the entire time we were at the beach – meanwhile women sunbathed topless and the men traipse around in itsy bitsy bathing suits.

From reading on the beach to exploring new places to making a fool of myself in Spanish, the trip was a blast. I can’t wait to discover where I will go next.

Over the past few years or so I have been slowly making my way through books that are shaping the way I want to live my life. In addition to many of the blogs I read (a post for another time), these books in one way or another all talk about cutting down on the excess and finding the things you really love. Whether you are hoping to cut down to 100 things or you just want to explore the idea of minimalism or conscious consumerism, there’s something here for you.

1. The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo: Marie takes a different approach to dealing with excess and clutter. Her method is based on whether or not your items bring you joy, and while not all of the things in my life do, it’s an interesting perspective. Minimalism is about getting rid of the things you don’t need and that don’t add value.

2. The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and our Health—and a Vision for Change This book (and the videos that go with it) were my first introduction to conscious consumerism and taking into consideration everything that goes into my stuff.

3. Everything That Remains by Joshua Fields Millburn: I dove into this looking for an answer to my endless itch to get rid of everything. I got so much more out of it than just a list of things I could donate or sell.

4. The 100 Thing Challenge by Dave Bruno: Spoiler alert, I don’t have only 100 things, and I likely never will. But learning about what he chose to keep and what got the boot (and what he regretted getting rid of), was worth the read.

5. Essentialism by Greg McKeown: Minimalism isn’t just about the amount of stuff you have shoved into your closet or in the back of your car. Greg dives into how to cut back your work and your social life to the things that are essential to you. “The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s about getting only the right things done.”

6. Clutter Free With Kids by Joshua Becker: To be fair, I don’t have kids and I haven’t read this book, but I really enjoy Joshua’s blog, Becoming Minimalist.

7. The Big Tiny by Dee Williams: Tiny houses are not for everyone, but they are absolutely fascinating. Dee dives into how she ended up living in a tiny home, including building it herself.

8. Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson: Bea makes getting to zero waste seem perfectly normal and doable. The book is full of recipes for making everything from toothpaste to house cleaner, and it’s fascinating to read about how Bea’s family of four produce only a handful of trash each year.

9. Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano: This was my first handbook to simplifying my life, and I didn’t even know it at the time. I started making my own beauty and cleaning products after reading this book in high school. It’s a great book to flip through for inspiration or to keep on hand for helpful recipes.

10. You Can Buy Happiness (and It’s Cheap): How One Woman Radically Simplified Her Life and How You Can Too by Tammy Strobel: Tammy intertwines her personal story of downsizing with research on happiness and wellbeing.

For more minimalist reads, check out my list on Goodreads.

*These are in no particular order, not my random decisions as to which is The Best.

I put my name in the lottery this year for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco thinking it was likely I wouldn’t get in. With the SeaWheeze eight weeks before, it seemed like it would be a blessing in disguise if I didn’t get in. I loved running it the past two years, but last year I was ready to take a bit of a break after running the SeaWheeze. Since I was indecisive, it seemed best to leave it up to the machine to decide.

I got in (with a lot of mixed emotions) and I am just now starting to get excited about it and feel good about training. But that training won’t be easy. I have a long trip during the last month of training (which means long runs in a foreign country), and I have been generally tired and a bit burned out on running so soon after crossing the finish.

But I also realized I am in damn good shape for this race.

I am starting to feel recovered and stronger than I was for the first race. I also can be a bit more flexible with my training. I have chilled out on trying to squeeze in my long runs before work when I have a busy week. Yesterday I split up my eight mile long run into two runs – one that included ultimate frisbee with my coworkers in the morning and a 3.5 mile run at race pace after. Mentally it was exhausting, but it made me feel strong and like I’m ready.

So here’s to loosening up, to not worrying so much, to being more flexible. I get to run and explore new places. I get to enjoy another fantastic race, and I don’t have to wait until 2016 to do it. I’m going to be ready, and I am going for a PR.

Who’s with me?

A little over a week after SeaWheeze I was pinning on a bib for the Giant’s 5k. This race was definitely not in my original summer racing plans, but a bunch of my coworkers signed up and I couldn’t say no.

Despite tired legs and sick lungs, I still had a great time (well… not according the race clock, but I had fun). The course is beautiful! It follows a route I used to run when I worked at Yoga Journal in the city.

Thanks Ashley and Peter for the photo!

I ran nine minutes off my PR… and I didn’t really care. I knew going into it that this was a social event, not an all out race. Which isn’t to say that I probably pushed it further than I should have given the state of my body on race day, but I don’t regret the pace I tried to keep.

Also, three miles is a nice distance. The pain is over so much faster than 13.1. Too bad you still feel like you are going to throw up after.

(I couldn’t resist sporting my new bling. Until it got glitter all over me, then we were done.)

My favorite part of the race was finishing on the baseball field at AT&T park. I’m not a baseball fan. This was not a religious experience for me, but it was fun to have a different perspective on the stadium (you know, not way up in the bleachers behind the drunk people). It must be terrifying to be one of a handful of people on the field with tens of thousands of people looking at you. Good thing I dodged that bullet.

After the race we headed to Whistler for four days, and it was by far our favorite part of the trip (outside of the half ). The mountains are gorgeous, and the entire drive was breath-taking.

Once we got to the condo we were staying at, we parked the car in the garage for the duration of our stay and rented bikes to get around. We rode all around the village and to and from some amazing small lakes. Our entire trip pretty much consisted of eating (extremely important after running so far), playing outside, and reading. Perfection.

The small lakes scattered around Whistler felt utterly unreal.

Super safe looking helmet right there.

We may have been teasing one of our fellow travelers who likes to stand like this… but isn’t the river a crazy color?!

Stand up paddle boarding was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I had a huge incentive not to fall in (snowmelt fed lake anyone?), so I didn’t do anything too crazy. It was really nice to enjoy a quiet morning on the water with my brother and explore the lake. At some points you could see logs under the water or beautiful underwater plants. The wind also gave us quite a workout.

On our last full day in Whistler we took a gondola up Whistler Mountain and another gondola across the peak to Blackcomb’s peak.

The views were incredible!

Once we got to the top we hiked to a lake near the summit. The entire way was full of stunning lookouts and gorgeous trails. If I had more time I would have come back another day and hiked around more/ ran some of the trails.

This is the face I make when you repeatedly ask me to turn around so you can take a photo and I don’t really want to.

This place could make a trail runner out of me.

The lake was so cool! I’d imagine it is usually completely frozen in the winter since it didn’t seem very deep. It was the picture of serenity when we arrived. It sort of seemed like we had stepped onto another planet though since the water was pretty chilly and there wasn’t any life in the water (plant or otherwise).

On the ski lift ride down the mountain we even spotted a little bear munching on some plants! (My mom was beyond excited about seeing it. The bear could not care less.)

For a water girl, I sure do miss the mountains.

Pictures via my iPhone and my dad. You can check out more of his stuff at Dean Ferreira Fine Art or Pinterest. 

I love athletic clothing – the colors for every mood, the comfortable shoes, the snuggly sweaters, the sleek lines – all of it. I can talk myself into needing just about any item. It’s been kind of cold outside lately, so another long sleeve shirt would be good. If I had one more pair of pants then I wouldn’t have to do laundry so often. I could wear this to work and no one would know I also work out in it. If I don’t buy this now, it’s going to be gone forever. It’s a problem.

While some clothing is necessary to work out six days a week without doing daily laundry or clearing a room with stench, it’s easy to overdo it. There are some things I am ridiculously drawn to the point where I will think about them for the rest of the day after seeing them. And then there are things that I know I need (like a windbreaker/water resistant layer for the wet fog where I live). I have a tendency to nearly convince myself I need a lot of things I don’t.

In the never-ending battle of need vs. want, athletic clothes are my biggest weakness. While a new item every few months or so to replace something that needs it or to fill a true need isn’t bad, it’s easy to purchase unnecessary pieces and not only waste monty, but also make a big impact. Most athletic clothing is made in sweatshops out of materials that won’t break down in a landfill (both of which go against my normal criteria for clothing purchases).

For a while I opted out of all emails from companies. It was the best – I never knew that there were new things out every week and I didn’t have the temptation to buy so many items. But then I was looking for a water resistant layer to run in, I signed up for one of them again, and I’ve kept it ever since. I used to say it’s because I helped research product pages for Yoga Journal and I needed to stay on top of trends, but the reality is that it goes deeper than that.

It’s not only that I love to look at all of the new pieces, but also that of everything in my closet, my workout clothes are what make me feel the best. I would much rather rock my running gear than a ball gown. But instead of reaching for my wallet every time something catches my eye or I want a little pick me up, I’ve been pinning it to my wish list and letting it sit for a few weeks. I’ve also been stringent about my budget and when it comes down to tough decisions, I have been prioritizing experiences over new clothes (like a weekly yoga class or a night out with friends).

As of right now, unless it’s directly replacing something that I already have, no new pieces are coming into my closet. Even race shirts aren’t free of the scrutiny. If I bring home a shirt, even if it’s from an event I loved, something else has to go. Turns out I don’t love race shirts as much as the clothes I already have, so I kindly say no to most (or give it to someone I know would like it).

I currently have enough clothes to make it through an entire week of workouts without having to do laundry, which is perfect for my sanity and it means I only do full loads of laundry. In the winter when I wear more of my gear at once (I love layers, especially on cold runs), it doesn’t kill me to wash a little more frequently.

The best parts? My drawers don’t overflow anymore with clothes I don’t love to wear (everything that itched or chafed is long gone), and I am sticking to my monthly budget.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement to make. For the first time in four half marathon training cycles, I finished every damn workout (except for one).

I didn’t get injured.

And it showed. I didn’t have any pre-race “what if I don’t make it?” worries. I didn’t stress about making an injury worse. I was fully prepared for the race.

I had forgotten what it’s like to run your first half. It was a blast to be there every step of the way for my mom’s.

I wanted to make sure the experience was fun and worth the weeks of training, and I’m pretty sure we succeeded. My mom spent the entire 13.1 cheering everyone on (including the spectators who looked tired on the side walk). It was a bit like running with a personal cheerleader (or the Energizer Bunny).

My mom finished her first half marathon (at her goal time) with an insane amount of positivity. She only said “I think I’m going to puke” once : ) #seawheeze #running #runchat #race

A photo posted by Mandy Ferreira (@treading_lightly) on Aug 15, 2015 at 2:56pm PDT

Best of all, I was able to stick to a consistent pace and help get my mom across the finish line at her goal time (which felt pretty damn good for both of us if I can speak for everyone).

After the race we went back to the hotel and treated ourselves to a slow bike ride without any resistance. I had read about it on Ray Maker’s blog, and it was a life saver (Thanks Ray)! My legs started shaking and getting extremely tight while we were walking down the finish shoot, but as soon as I got off the bike I could walk normally and the pain in my legs was gone.

Am I doing this right?

The sunset festival yoga probably helped recovery as well.

And without further ado, the weirdest race metal ever.

My last run of the taper is over today. It feels weird to know that I don’t have to do anything (you know, other than pack, make it through airport security, fly, successfully make it into Canada…) before the race on Saturday. It’s almost here, and I think I’m (mostly) ready.

From here on out, it’s about staying hydrated and relaxed.

Last year’s race!

My left ankle has been bothering me in an odd spot, so I’m doing my best to not stress about it and do everything I can to help it feel better. I’ve got my compression socks on with my work shoes, and I’ve decided I’m not going to worry about it.

Since our Airbnb reservation got cancelled last week, stress has been through the roof. But we (magically) worked it out, and our trip is shaping up to be even better than planned.

This is the first time I have ever finished an entire 14 week training cycle without an injury catastrophe. And damn it feels good to know I’m honestly, for real, ready.

Let’s do this.