I kinda forgot that I wrote this thing for NPR a few months ago, so when I got a call from a really cool Carol Jackson, I sorta had no clue what she was talking about for like 10 seconds before I remembered I’d written a little something something.
Click through to read the article. 🙂
Firstly, I’m having a blast of a time with the new camera that my future mother-in-law got me. Seriously, I don’t think that you will be hearing any horror stories from me, she’s awesome. I made sure to play with some filters, and took photos of brunch on Sunday morning with a friend.
The place was Coquette in North Hills, and in addition to some delicious french toast, they had bottomless mimosas for like $10. I’m not mad at it, plus I got to hang out with a friend who I’d not seen in a while 🙂 that is the literal best.
Anyhoo.
I totally stole this idea from Sara at Loving on the Run, but it got me thinking – what are the 5 most memorable moments in my life (thus far)? This one is tough, but I’ll do the best to get a few of the biggies together.
1. This is really dorky, but my senior prom was pretty awesome. I was a big reader in high school and in middle school, and I’d always read about proms and stuff, so I really built the magic up in my mind. Senior prom was sick awesome, and I think that was one of the most fun nights that I ever had in high school (and I’m 26 now). I honestly just remember that I didn’t stop dancing the entire time.
2. My entire experience at Elon University. I’ve talked nonstop about how much I fell in love at Elon, but I really learned so much there. I had incredible classes, incredible teachers, and incredible experiences there. Incredible incredible incredible.
3. Years and years ago, I dated someone, who, when I told him about my plan to become licensed in Zumba and teach classes, told me “You aren’t even athletic,” and made fun of me for wanting to try to teach. I think he apologized later, but it still hurts to think that someone that cared about you could say something like that. Years later, miles later, and plans later, sometimes when I’m feeling lazy, or when I’m feeling like I don’t want to work I think about this, and it pushes me through a rough time I AM athletic. I AM fit. I AM strong. What someone says shouldn’t determine how you live your life. And I’m so happy I went through with the licensing process, because it was the gateway to all the running I do now. And I feel like it changed my life.
4. Us. Our first date, our second date, the whole getting-to-know you phase, and us, all the way to our engagement.
We’ve been together for almost three-and-a half years, and the entire process has been fun. He started out as that guy I kinda was interested in, and he moved to being that guy that we would go on beer dates with each other, to this guy I went on a date with and now we’re getting married and having 5 babies. Just kidding (kinda!).
5. Running my first half-marathon. My first half was the Hallowed Half in Wake Forest. There are not any pictures unfortunately because Austin was out of town at a funeral, and the entire time I ran, I just thought about Austin, how much I loved him, how I needed to get back home to him, and how bad my inner thighs were chafed at the time.
Okay, so I think I have a few more, so I might split this up into parts, but this is what I got for my 5 most memorable (thus far). I have some more, but we will get more into those at a later time. Give me one of your favorite memories!
I don’t think I’ve been so tired in a minute!
As I blog, I’m laying in bed at 10:57 pm on a Saturday night, so early because I want to run in the morning. I’m headed home tomorrow after my run to attend to some family business, and I can honestly tell you guys, I have not been so tired in long time. I’m tired. My feet hurt. I finally got my apartment clean after nearly a week of it looking like a small bomb detonated in here. And all I’m hoping for is an early bedtime tomorrow at my parents’ house.
To ease you into this week, I give you, this hot hot pic of my heiny, lookin’ oh so fabulous in my winter tights as I foam roll my hip, which has been talking to me since I taught 2 classes kinda of sick early this week. I think I was trying to compensate for the fact that I didn’t feel well by dancing the hardest I could and flopping about like Beyoncé when I knew good and well that each mucusy minute, I felt that I was knocking at death’s door.
Nevertheless, I’m feeling far, far better, and I am attempting a 16-miler today prior to my drive to Charlotte. Wish me luck, and I’ll chat with you guys after I get to Charlotte tomorrow!
Happy Thursday afternoon, beautiful people! Hope your runs are going well. Mine are good, save for a little bit of a stuffy nose and a sore throat that I’ve been nursing. But this hot and cold weather is good weather for getting sick in, right?
Anyhoo, remember pop quizzes? I think the last one that I took was in religion sophomore year in college and the joke was on Tripp York cause I actually did the reading. And I can actually recall what the reading was about – about Disney. Scary.
So I stole this pop quiz from J at Skinny Chick Blog, but she said we could steal it, and she’s a runner too. I kept the pink font in her honor. Onto the quiz!
1. What weather do you refuse to run in?
I refuse to run when it’s icy out. We don’t do ice too often here, the sidewalks never get cleared, and as someone who has (very painfully) broken a bone before, I have no interest in doing it again.
2. What distance is your “short” run?
My short run is this like, 3 miles loop through downtown Raleigh. I think Jillian Michaels said one that 3 miles is what you need to stay fit, and I’ve always taken that to heart. I always have 30 minutes to pop a 3 miler in.
3. How do you stay hydrated while running? Water fountain, carry your own etc.
I carry my own, and sometimes stop at coffee shops and the Whole Foods to fill up my little bottle. I haven’t worn my backpack in a long time, and I’m just not yet in the mood to wear it. Handheld it is!
4. Music or no music?
Usually music. Sometimes not if I need to be alone with my thoughts.
5. Do you ever run nekkid? {Without GPS, not literally silly}
Sometimes. When I forget to charge my watch. But I love it.
Grab some water, and walk the dog, since I know she’s usually been waiting on me for a while.
7. What’s your favorite running shoe ever?
You know what? I’m kind of in a shoe rut. I work for Fleet Feet, and I have every running shoe at my disposal, and I was a Brooks girl, I’ve been a Brooks girl for a while. But here’s me here….
8. Do you make deals with yourself to finish a tough run? What are they?
I think usually I just think about food and Austin to get me through the run. I think about pasta, beer, toast, wine, beer, and my husband-to-be when I’m toward the tail end of a long run.
9. Two things you can not run without besides kicks?
A good bra. There’s nothing better than a good bra.
Boobs!
10. Running has helped me ___________.
Be confident in myself – who I am, my skills, my abilities. I wouldn’t have had the balls to do a lot that I have in my life without running.
11. Are you following a training plan? If so, what does your weekly routine look like?
I’m following the Hanson method. Sunday I run long (but not longer than like 16). Monday I run 5, Tuesday a speed run that’s been adding up to like 8ish miles the last few weeks, Wednesday I take a break, Thursday I run 8 fast, Friday I run 5 easy, Saturday I run 5 easy and then I do it all over again. Mama is TIRED, mmkay!
12. Be honest, do you regularly stretch + foam roll post run?
I stretch. And I foam roll a few times a week, but definitely not as much as I should.
So how’d you do on the pop quiz? Feel free to lift it, answer one or two of these, or just drop in and say hi to me!
So here’s a disclaimer. I am not pregnant, nor have I delivered a baby. But., one of my best friends was pregnant throughout the time I trained for my marathon, and our lives have always been eerily parallel, despite the fact that she lives about 8 hours away in Nashville. As I was going through the whole process – the training, the race itself, and then the after, I asked her about it, and she seemed totally in agreement, that training for, and executing a marathon is kinda sorta like the process of getting pregnant and delivering a baby. Also, fun fact: now that we have kids, we are sworn to secrecy about what happened at her wedding weekend. I am fine with that 😉
How Marathoning is Like Delivering a Child
By: Cheri and Mama Chelsie, cause she’s actually delivered a child.
Happy Valentines week beautiful people! What have I missed about training for a marathon/having a sweet baby?
Yesterday, Super Bowl Sunday (WOOO WHAT A HALFTIME SHOW, but that’s another post,) I’d cleaned, and was laying on the couch watching the first season of Girls…
Side note: I’m not sure how I feel about Girls yet because there are just so, so so, many uncomfortable scenes. Lena Dunham is naked the entire first season, there is a crack incident, and the entire incident where Jessa is kind of getting involved with the Dad she’s babysitting for completely made me so uncomfortable. More on them later.
Okay, so finally, with a ton of episodes of Girls finished, I had a choice. I could either take a nap, or venture out and do my 10 miles in yesterday’s beautiful weather.
To be honest, I think I was a little scared to run 10. I hadn’t run 10 since my marathon flop in October (where I barfed 18 miles into the race), and I was really concerned that my stomach might start hurting again, and I’d begin to lose motivation for the race. But I suited up, filled up my water bottle, and off I went.
It was a beautiful day, and this was one of the first sights I encountered in the 60-degree weather.
It was really freaky. Last week, we got a good bit of snow and ice, and despite the fact that most everything was melted by the time we hit 60 yesterday, there were still areas that hadn’t been touched by light, and this little stream, House Creek was frozen to this milky white color. It was so weird, I had to stop, just a few miles in.
I suffer from gastritis, and one of my fears is that it may flare up in the same way it had in October. But I was careful with my tummy, only eating a PowerBar fruit smoothie pouch before, and avoiding alcohol and caffeine in the hours and days before, and my stomach thanked me kindly. But the nicest part, after I got over the initial, paralyzing fear that I might get sick mid-run again, was that 10 miles felt just like home. Was it easy as pie, no way. But it was almost as if my body had retained some memory of having run that distance before, and it was so much easier than the first time I ever ran 10. It actually felt good, and I’m starting to believe and trust in my training a little more. Next week is 15, and here’s to 15 feeling like home as well 🙂
How did your run/workout go this weekend?
The schools in our county are out again today, and I’m feeling for the teachers and parents, who I’m sure are going a little stir-crazy, but the side roads are still kind of sketchy.
So for those of you who are northerners that are reading, I am a transplant from Brooklyn, NY, and most of my family is either there or in New Jersey now. I know you guys might be dumbfounded on how 2-6″ of snow can cripple a state or a city like Atlanta, but very simply put, our secondary roads haven’t been plowed, and it makes it really dangerous for a lot of folks.
As far as Atlanta is concerned, Atlanta and the larger state of Georgia largely ignored the forecast, didn’t cancel schools prior to the weather event, and then everyone was released from work/government jobs/school at the same time, creating that horrific gridlock. One of my best friends had to sleep in a school. Thank you to all the teachers, the security guards, the bus drivers, and the cafeteria ladies that worked wayyy overtime to take care of folks, you are incredible. As for the higher-ups in that metro area, you get a HUGE side-eye from me for endangering literally millions of lives.
Moving right along.
We actually got a decent amount of snow, and for someone like me, whose neighborhood is kinda woodsy and hilly, the ice is still pretty bad. It’s also really annoying to try to get your dog to poop in the snow, fun fact.
So instead of going to work, I largely stayed in until I had to venture out for some soup and coffee.
So since the snow started on Tuesday night, I ended up taking a rest day on Tuesday because a lot of the gyms were closing early, and it just didn’t make sense to try and bang out intervals in the ice. So yesterday night, I made myself a little cheat sheet, and ventured over to the gym to do some interval training. But how was I going to do this distance interval without a track?
Enter Garmin 610. What good is a fancy watch if you don’t use all the features? So I changed the distance interval to a timed one, and banged them out. I honestly have never used the interval featured on the Garmin 610 because my training has been more about just getting mileage in and not necessarily focusing on strength or speed (not a great thing, because the end of a marathon gets ROUGH). This time, I’m focusing on more than just the long run, and I’m sorta loving it. The coolest thing about doing a timed interval is that you rack up some serious mileage without realizing – over the 6 intervals I managed to squeeze in 5 miles without like, staring at the distance ticker on the treadmill. Very nice!
And after working out, the husband-to-be took me out for dinn, which consisted of a small salad and some sweet potato fries, one of my favorite indulgences! Still fries, but not necessarily as bad for you as regular fries.
So folks, how are you making out with this weather? Anyone still out of school today? Anyone iced in? Anyone perfectly dry?
I blog to you today from Orlando, where my youngest sister, and the maid-of-honor at my wedding, currently resides. I’ll have to let you guys know how a run in pretty temps in the middle of winter works, but I must say, I’m really looking forward to it, especially with the prospect of possibly running another marathon in the spring is lighting a little bit of a fire under my bum. I’m still not sure on Rock n’ Roll, but I’m really seriously thinking about it. I think I’m truly addicted to the feeling of crossing the finish line, and each time I’ve run, having Austin at the finish makes it so much sweeter.
But enough gushing about my boo. ::cues Usher and Alicia Keys::
I love this style of blogging that I’ve yanked from my friend, Olive, who’s also a fantastic local blogger. So before I launch into this fun running themed version of “Would you Rather,” please note that ALL Would You Rather Running Style Surveys were created by Cori at olivetorun.com. Got it? She’s awesome ps, check her out!
Onto the good stuff!
#1. Would you rather run in a thunderstorm or a snowstorm?
Absolutely a thunderstorm. I think because thunderstorms are usually warm, and running in the rain totally makes me feel like a badass. I’m almost hoping that it rains a smidgen tomorrow in Orlando so I can capture that feeling.
#2. Would you rather breathe through your nose or breathe through your mouth?
Nose! My mouth will make my throat all sore I think! Especially in cold weather.
#3. Would you rather do 100 squats or 100 crunches? [Now take a break and go do them. ;)]
100 crunches. But full disclosure, I’m writing this from my sister’s bed, and I haven’t done my crunches. I will do them tomorrow, after my run, promise!
#4. Would you rather have a baked good for dessert or an extra serving of your favorite entree?
That’s really tricky. It depends on the entree. No it doesn’t. Who am I kidding. I’d rather have dessert for dinner. Maybe a giant freshly baked cookie and a cup of milk to dip it in?
#5. Would you rather run on a treadmill for an hour or run around the same street block for an hour?
Around the same block for an hour. I bet I could find a trail on that block!
#6. Would you rather have a headache during a run or a side stitch?
Oh a headache for sure. I think the further I run, the more the headache would kind of wear off. A side stitch literally feels like someone is stabbing you, so no thanks.
#7. Would you rather have a rest day on a work day or a day off?
Is either allowed? I like to run on work days because it’s an awesome destressor, but I love to run on a day off because what else am I gonna do with a day off besides watch Bravo? All I like to do on Sundays is vacuum, run, watch tv, and snuggle with my husband-to-be. Nothing else.
#8. Would you rather be a race director or a race volunteer?
I value the work that volunteers do. But I think one day, I’d love to direct a cool race.
#9. Would you rather spend your money on running gadgets [HRM, GPS watch, Headphones] or running shoes?
I don’t spend a ton of money on running shoes, but I once owned this incredible pair of Nike Headphones, which were stolen out of my car when I was parked near NC State during grad school.
I have not since found a pair of headphones as good. Totally taking suggestions.
#10. Would you rather run in a relay or do the run portion of a distance triathlon?
Oh, a total relay. I have been wanting to do one for literal years!!
Okay, so your turn. Which would you rather?
I am so excited to share my latest run hack with you guys – something to make your life a little easier. So, especially in the winter, standing around and waiting for my Garmin to hook up to the satellites is one of THE most annoying things ever. So to save time, I’ve been punching the watch, and setting it on the window sill to hook up with that satellites while I get dressed. By the time I’m ready to run, I go, and sometimes I’m literally able to run out the door, especially on days when I’m on a time crunch and I’m running with only minutes to go before work.
Hope this little hack saves you some time. What are some of your running time savers?
Overactive Blogger 