Weekend in DC

March 23, 2016March 23, 2016 | cheriarmour

So guess what I’m doing right now?

I texted Chelsie (the woman who not only convinced me to take a pregnancy test back in December cause she knows what’s up, but who has been an absolute guru throughout this process), and I asked her if she knew of a way to make something more loafy, and less cakey. She gave me an answer before she was like, “wait…what are you doing…” and I confessed that I really wanted to eat Funfetti. She encouraged me to just make funfetti, but we did find a recipe for fufetti banana bread, which is either going to be really disgusting or awesome. I will let you know.

I spent last weekend (kinda a gross weekend, weather-wise) in DC. I’m still working on convincing Austin that we need to move there. Lately, I’ve been thinking that it may be a cool place to raise an interracial child. Not that Raleigh is a bad place, Raleigh is actually pretty progressive, but I think a big move one of these years may be in the cards for us.

On Friday, I drove up and went straight to the Rent the Runway storefront, which they have in DC, and New York City. I had to pick something up for a gala I was attending since all of my stuff fits pretty snug. The girl was very sweet – I told her that I just needed something in my size. She brought out a few choices and I think I went with something I found already in the dressing room from the shopper before.

The store was cool – you pick something, and they run back and grab it in your size for you to rent, similarly to the website. It was a godsend for me.

After that, I drove to my friend Jeff’s, and we Uber-ed over to the gala. I met Katie Couric, and I really wanted to stick around and chat with her longer, but suffice it to say that she was a lovely, lovely woman with a really sharp sense of humor. I hope our paths cross again, because she was just that fantastic. And little! Everyone is so much shorter in person than you think!

I hate hate hate flats on fancy occasions, but felt good in them since my feet were kind of exhausted. If I could live in workout clothes, I totally would!

Leading up to the weekend, Jeff and I had planned to go to Soul Cycle on Saturday morning with friends. The first time I’d gone, I was a little mehhh on it. The class itself was really good, but I’d gone in Georgetown, and it was a very homogeneous crowd, which made me really uncomfortable, almost as if there was some purposeful reason that there were no people of color there. This time, I went to the Mt. Vernon location, technically Chinatown, and it was FULL of people of color. We actually went to a Beyonce vs. Rihanna class on Sunday, and it was probably about half black people, Asians, and Indians. It was so, SO cool to be in a place where black women are working out, and I was right in the thick of it!

By the way, check out the way that Soul tricks you into leaving your phone in your locker.

We need this at the Y. There was a woman sipping a coffee and checking her phone the entire class again this morning until I really turned the heat up. The rest of the class can thank that woman for how much I beat up on them today.

Saturday evening, I met up with Scott (who’s been mentioned a few times here), and he took me to the coolest little party, a bourbon tasting party. I sipped on water with the other pregnant girl, and we actually had a blast. And Sunday, we met up with even more friends for brunch at some amazing bread and cheese place. DC has zero shortage of good places to eat.

Sunday evening, after another Soul class (the Beyonce vs Rihanna class), my check engine light came on, despite the fact I had just taken the car in for maintenance on Tuesday. After a few calls to my poor husband (who probably was panicking with his pregnant wife wandering around the city with a broken car), we decided to get the car towed to the dealership in Alexandria.

The tow truck driver was really kind, and I rode down with him to the dealership, and then caught an Uber to a nearby hotel. Long long story short, the car had some sort of valve issues that made it not super drive-able, and on Monday, instead of working from work, I worked from Centerline Digital, where I’d met a friend for lunch.

Side note about that – the people from Centerline were ridiculously nice to me, and they had no reason to be. In addition to my friend, Andrew, multiple people, after hearing what had happened with my car, offered for me to sit in a conference room or an office to work there, instead of finding my way to another coffee shop with all of my bags. I am so thankful for that. That’s kinda southern hospitality, right?

So how was your weekend?

Epic Damned Post. #Werundc

May 2, 2014May 1, 2014 | cheriarmour

So this past weekend (don’t you dare ask me what took so long to post this), I ran the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in Washington, DC. This post is going to be split up into two posts, one for the race itself and the prep leading up to it, because I don’t want your brain to explode from how awesome all of the deets are. But they are awesome.

Okay, so I drove up to DC last Friday night, and arrived to my place in Georgetown, which, luckily was right down the street from Niketown Georgetown. As SOON as I got settled into my spot, I changed into some running clothes, and made the quick run down to Niketown to see the set up for the expo.

Thanks to insomnia that night, I really didn’t sleep that well (think like 3 hours), and I headed down to the expo super early so I wouldn’t be caught in the shitshow that was the expo last year. The lines were really too nuts for me last year, and I really don’t do that well around all those people in the sun.

I meet up with these beauties for the #runnerslove meetup at Sprinkles in Georgetown after, and unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling great, so I skipped the cupcakes and went for a coke instead to try to settle whatever was going on with my stomach. I will forever be known as “bike girl” in that group because I rode my bike down to the cupcake shop, and had to tote that thang around while we tromped around Georgetown.

I could not eat any of these. How cruel is this world!

We determined this might have been this easiest way to eat the cupcake without making a mess.

Here were all of the beautiful bloggers getting to work. They were a BLAST. A blast, I tell you.

The girls lead me to this amazing spot where I snagged some new bracelets to jingle and jangle my rest of the way through the night…

And finally, we arrived to race day. (Don’t worry, I will fill you in on the rest of the amazing things we did in DC, including this insane hotel I stayed in next post, to come tomorrow 🙂 )

Race morning, I woke up around 4:45, and jumped in the shower, since I wasn’t really feeling well enough to do it the night before. I ate half of a nasty-ass bagel that I found at CVS, and made my way down to the Foggy Bottom metro station and road down to the start line. Once I was there, I tucked my skinny behind in a corner, and called Austin, and observed people, because pre-race chatter makes me really nuts and nervous. And about 15 minutes from the start, I made my way into my corral.

**I must have been smoking crack when I estimated my finish time because even though I finished in just a smidgen over 2 hours, I was in the 10:30 pace group, which proved to be so wrong, because I spent far too long in the race bobbing and weaving and trying to work my way up. DO NOT underestimate yourself.**

And with that, off we went.

I cruised. I cruised, I cruised, and I cruised some more. I ran, I talked to people. I read the signs. At one point, when I was running back through the tunnel, a drummer hit on me by grabbing my arm, and I have to say, it was an awesome race.

This handsome mane delivered me my Tiffany’s.

My blannnnng!

My new boyfriends.

The race in review?

The bad?

Seriously, none. I have nothing bad to say about this race.

The good?

Too much.

The Whole Foods chocolate table at mile like 11, staffed by women giving out chocolate.
The course. Tons of entertainment, and tons of people came out.
The swag. A Tiffany’s necklace, water bottles, Luna Bars, Nuun along the course
The friends and family station done by alphabet, where we could easily meet up with our friends and family?

The race was sick.

Anyone else out there do this race? What did you love?

Sometimes ya just gotta make out in public.

April 24, 2014 | cheriarmour

Sike, when is this EVER okay? Like, EVER.

Austin, his sister, and I went to the best sushi place in all of Raleigh for dinner to celebrate his sister’s almost-last class in her rotation at Pharmacy school. She’s really cool, and noted this really odd couple at the bar – an older gentleman and a younger girl, maybe my age. They flat-out refused to be normal and made out for like 70% of the night, making everyone on the bar side of Sushi Blues uncomfortable. Cool….

Anyhoo, despite shattering my thumb into 10,000 pieces, I’ve been a able to at least keep up with my runs for the Nike Women’s Half this weekend, and got a run in some friggin beautiful weather in prep for the big race.

Race Prep

I’m so excited for the Nike Women’s Half for a few reasons. One, having a race to run motivates me to keep up with my running and my fitness. I work out a ton in real life, but having something to work toward, imagining cruising and ticking off miles on Sunday morning is what has kept me going over the last few weeks. It’s cool because I get to do it with a million (okay, closer to 15,000) other women, I get to meet other bloggers in a meet-up on Saturday morning before the race :), and I get to spend time in the city that I really am in love with.

So now that I’ve blathered on and on about what my plans are for my weekend in DC, what are you looking forward to this weekend?

Mud runs + a giveaway.

April 8, 2014April 7, 2014 | cheriarmour

I have a love-love relationships with mud/obstacle runs.

My first race was a 5k, the Warrior Dash in the fall of 2011. I’d read about them in a runner’s magazine, and decided that me and Austin should sign up for one in Virginia to run one and to see how it went, never having raced before in my life.

It ended up being a total blast, and was the gateway drug to my subsequent half marathons, and full marathons.

And go Austin for letting me drag him to all of these things!

Okay, so that brings me to Giveaway Time (for something really cool, keep reading)!

Also, if you don’t win anything, I’m gonna hook you up anyways with a sweet sweet discount code anyways cause I’m obviously obsessed with you if you read this blog.

So I’ve already signed up for the Reebok Spartan Obstacle Race in DC in July, and for you, I will let you pick your race of choice here, and I will let you decide where you want to race. I’m giving away a free one!!!! The cool thing about this race, which you will find out if you click on the landing page is that the race seems like it’s going to be more challenging than some of the obstacles races out there, and even has launched its own all-terrain shoe in the process.

So if you want a free race tell me your literal most embarrassing story about yourself. I’ll choose the best one, write about it, and then YOU get a free entry to the race of your choosing!

If you’re too shy to share your most hair-raising stories, no prob, I’m gonna be generous and provide you with a discount code. http://bit.ly/spartanwarrior <- that link will generate a 15% off discount code to the race of your choosing.

How can you lose?

[Full Disclosure – I was given a race entry (minus the cost on insurance) to talk about this but all opinions are obviously my own since I have been running

Fabletics Clothing Review!

March 19, 2014 | cheriarmour

rs_634x865-131016122604-634.shape.cm.101613 — via Shape Magazine

So, I wish I could have a subscription to every workout publication that’s out there, but usually, I limit myself to purchasing them when I see someone on the cover whom I love, and Kate Hudson definitely falls into that category for me. She’s funny, she’s Goldie Hawn’s daughter, and I was particularly intrigued by this cover cause didn’t she just have another baby?

At any rate, Kate Hudson teamed up with Fabletics, which is her new, affordable brand of activewear. I’m sure that you’ve started to see all the commercials for things like JustFab, FabKids, Stichfix, and Runnerbox, all subscription programs that you can enroll in, and Fabletics is a similar program, and I was super thrilled when they sent me a few pieces from their spring line to try and tell you guys all about.

The way it works:

You go to Fabletics, and you start by taking their Fit Quiz, which determines what sort of activity you’re engaging in. From there, there are a few options, a VIP membership option, which will allow for more discounts and a full outfit option, and a regular membership option which still allows you to shop, but at a less deep discount. But basically, after selecting your option, you’ll receive a new set of active wear (from a wide array of bottoms, tops, bras, jackets, and all of that), and If you hate anything, or you want to skip a month you’re totally welcome, but the basic premise is that you’re paying less for active-wear that’s pretty good quality, as opposed to a $90 pair of tights, which you can easily do elsewhere (and I’ve done it!).

The stuff.

So the pieces that I have are:

The Kingston Hoodie, which I’ve been wearing nonstop since it came in the mail a few weeks ago. Seriously, I wore this and the tank top like 3 times to work last week with different bottoms, and wore them to my race last Sunday.

The Extension True Tank, which is kind of like a muscle tee, and seems like it would be really good for hot yoga if you don’t want to run around without a bra on. I also wore this in my race Saturday, and it moves really really well with you, but I probably would go down in a size personally, and…

The Lima Capri, which is truly one of the most beautiful colors I’ve ever seen. The tight is really really comfortable and warm, and I’d probably do shorter runs in this one. This one is a little tricky in the sizing – I felt like I’m in-between the small and medium, and when I was down on the floor stretching, I felt like it was pulling in the crotch a little bit, fit that makes sense.

The verdict: I’ll start with some improvements so that we can end on the good stuff 🙂 This seems really dumb, but the tags inside of the clothing are really stiff and crunchy, and in a piece of active wear, that’s a big no-no. I don’t like taking scissors to my tags, because sometimes that makes it worse, so I’ve dealt, but I don’t love that aspect of the clothing.

The good stuff is very good. The clothing comes in the most stunning colors I’ve ever seen, and the photos don’t do it justice. The clothing is comfy and extremely easy to wear or pair with regular pieces to make it more “street-ready” and it translates easily between activity. I taught a Zumba class in them last week, hopped on the treadmill after and ran for a while, and was able to run a full half-marathon in the tops pictured above with ZERO chafing and that says something. At the very least, check out Fabletics, give them or month or two, and let me know what you think about your new (and affordable) digs!

[Full disclosure: Fabletics hooked me up with the beautiful clothing, but these opinions are 1000% my own]

Why do women do this?

March 17, 2014March 17, 2014 | cheriarmour

Yesterday, as I was still sitting in DC, I found myself, once again at Pound the Hill, to finish up some work I’d kind of let go the wayside while I was running around and having a great time.

Now, if you’ll recall, Pound the Hill was home to the Nutella Latte that I’d enjoyed so well.

And of course, as I was sitting next to these two women, I was 1000% eavesdropping on their conversation, and my mouth was dropping at the things they were saying. I actually took notes on the conversation I was so shocked.

So green shirt lady was talking about her live-in boyfriend. And here’s what she had to say.

She had been crying and yelling at him for the better part of the last week.
He has been acting really really weird in front of her friends.
I don’t think he pays rent – he gave her money upfront for his stay there (at her home), but that’s about it.
She changed her eating habits for him, as in went from vegan ->non vegan for him, not for herself.
He does not have a “real” job.
She hates his friends.
She wants kids, he does not.

She explained the aforementioned behavior by this.

Maybe he would “change” once he got a real job and got some confidence, because she could tell that when he was confident, he would be better.
He worked for PETA and because he was around so many PETA people, he did not know how to act around her friends.
That even though he didn’t want kids, a friend suggested that she should have an “oops”.
That he was an only child, and maybe this was why he did not know how to act.
And in general, she explained away all the behavior that pointed to the fact that he was not interested in her.

All the while, he friend listened, and just made affirming noises.

I sat there in horror, wanting so badly to turn to green shirt and to tell her to run far away, and never look back at the guy who was living for free in her home, but I didn’t , because the woman didn’t know me from Adam and was obviously not asking for my advice.

But why, why why, do women do this?

What would you tell this woman?

Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Recap! Friggin epic post!

March 17, 2014March 17, 2014 | cheriarmour

Hi!

I had an amazing weekend, which I’m guessing you can gather from all the tweets and the FB posts that were all “omgomgomgomg I love it here!”. I’m trying to figure out how many times I can tell you guys I’m having and epic weekend before you start to suspect that I do nothing but traipse around with no other purpose but to write about it, but rest assured, I have a real life too! My weekends have just been insane this past month or so.

So anyways, I headed to DC this past weekend, the best city in the land, to run the Rock ‘n’ Roll USA half marathon, and the weekend literally gets a 10 out of 10 from me. I’ll totally tell you why.

So I stayed at the Westin in Georgetown, and the first thing I saw when I walked in was this. A big, giant, comfortable bed, with a robe on it.

Then I saw this, which I immediately decided would be put to good use before I raced the following day. And use it I did. Following a quick pre-race dinner of a sandwich and some greens, I immediately set about to fill up this tub, take a quick swig from my bottle of Skinny Girl California White, and soaked in the tub with a Demi Lovato book (don’t judge) until i was too sweaty to continue. Baths usually go that way for me, I get too sweaty to enjoy it after awhile and I have to get out!

Westin has this sick program, where, for $5 a day, you can skip packing you workout clothes (which always take up a good bit of room), and sort of rent/borrow some New Balance apparel. I believe they also guarantee that you will leap about like the model does in all-white clothing. Added bonus!

More tub! You didn’t think I was going to leave the hotel without trying on the robe, right? It was comfy, and there’s my mug without makeup. What do ya think? And with all of that, I hit the sack for about 3 or 4 hours, and got prepped for the race, the Rock ‘n’ Roll USA! (And don’t worry, I will go over all the good, the bad (none), and the awesome in a minute, just enjoy the photos for a second!)

What I wore! The trusty Brooks Glycerin, my printed Nike tights, a muscle tee from Fabletics, and a little Fabletics Yoga hoodie. As for socks, I went with some Smart Wool to keep my toots warm.
And let’s skip ahead! Mama finished 13.1 and is still smiling, even after a bout with some Norovirus or something funky this week.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll VIP Tent! Best post race thing ever!
More VIP celebrations!

Me and the beautiful Carrie Keagan hung out before and post race. Side note, her parents are friggin adorable, and by the time we left, we were referring to each other as Mom, Dad, and their long lost dark-skinned daughter.

Back stage at the concert – The Head and the Heart.

What a crowd!

More more!

And I finished off the weekend with a shower and friends!

So now that you got to see my wonderful pics, let’s talk about Rock ‘n’ Roll USA!

The Good

The start waves. They nailed this one, better than anyone has ever nailed it before. The waves were timed so well that although a ton of people were running, there was never a point where I felt like the situation was too crowded to move in.
The transportation. If you weren’t familiar with the city, no matter because we were provided detailed maps in tons of ways to get to the start easily by the metro. So seamless.
The course. The course was sick. Aside from an ungodly hill at mile 6 (that is all people were talking about after the race), the course was beautiful.

The Bad.

Seriously? I have 0 complaints.

The Awesome.

VIP Access. Seriously, if you have never sprung for the VIP access, do it! Because of my VIP access I had an early breakfast of oatmeal and fruit, I had a ride down the the start line, I had a charging station for my cell phone, I had a warm place to hang out pre-race, a separate bag check, and access to the heated VIP tent after the race, where there was a ton of food, liquids, and BEER after the race!
The concert. So rad. The Head and the Heart. So rad.
The weather. Could not have asked for a more beautiful day. I wore the yoga sweatshirt for maybe the first three miles, and then peeled it off and was able to get by in a muscle tee the rest of the race.

The verdict.

‘Rock ‘n’ Roll USA was a 10/10. I have run many a race, good and bad, and this one is up there as the best – the best organized, the best weather, the best course, and the best service of any race I’ve done, and from what I heard from my folks, Rock ‘n’ Roll has been like this in general. Sign up sign up sign up!

[Disclaimer – I was given a race entry + VIP access, but I would tell you if it sucked or not. Seriously, this race is a two thumbs up!]

RnR USA Preview + I love DC :)

March 16, 2014 | cheriarmour

I’m not gonna spoil tomorrow’s epic post about my weekend running DC for you guys, but I cannot tell you enough how much I love this city.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Raleigh, it’s where I met my future husband, and I love the little love nest we’ve turned Raleigh into, but I haven’t always felt that way about the city. When I first moved here, I was doing a lot, too much in fact, and that soured my experience a little bit with here. I moved right after I graduated undergrad, was prepping to go to grad school, was in the process of breaking up with someone, and I felt like I didn’t have any friends here, when the truth was, I did. But when you’re feeling sorry for yourself, you really and truly convince yourself that you’re alone, and no one likes you, blah blah blah.

So anyhoo, the things that I’ve learned this weekend (without spoiling the epic race post I have for you)?

photo 1 (6) — My view from Saturday morning’s race!

My stomach is still healing from the little debacle I had last October, where I found out that I’d somehow developed gastritis. I’ve been really good about taking my meds, but not as good at avoiding caffeine, and during the race, which went really well, my stomach definitely had a few moments where it tried to revolt a little bit. I was able to breathe through it but it jerked me back to reality. You can’t jump from gastritis to ultra marathons in a matter of a few months. That’s just the facts.
All that said, I think it might be a good idea for me to drop from the RnR Raleigh Full to the Half. My stomach told me so, and I have to agree with her. She needs more time to heal up before I start shoving Gu and stuff into it.
I am a boss at this city. I’ve been super open about my love affair with this city. And nothing has changed, between the public transit, which I rocked at, and between being able to find stuff, I am so comfortable here. So this blog might turn from a running blog, into a convincing-your-husband-that-moving-to-DC –is-a-bomb-ass-idea. I’ll keep you posted J

How was your weekend? What are you looking forward to this week?

Calling all my social workers! A post on self-care.

March 11, 2014March 10, 2014 | cheriarmour

Self-care is a big buzzword in social work land. (For those of you just kinda tuning in, I’m a runner, a Zumba instructor, a blogger, and a social worker, all usually within the same week). Anyhoo, like I was saying, self-care is a big word in social work land, mainly because burnout in social work is really prevalent. We work really really hard with very little pay, all because we love people, and we love to serve people. If HIPAA wasn’t a thing, I’d talk to you all day and all night about my clients, and how phenomenal they are, but I guess I have to respect their right to privacy, right?

But it’s hard. There were two weeks last month that I truly thought I wasn’t cut out for the work, after some clients were especially horrible to me, that after viewing the puffy stress eyes, that I was ready to quit the job, and blog full time. But here I am, and I’m starting to recognize that self-care is really important, and not just something that we should be joking about in the office.

Self-care means….

Going for my runs. And I make sure I do it 5-6 times a week, but sometimes, I don’t bathe myself in the runs like I should. I shouldn’t be thinking about notes, about deadlines, about my to-do list. I need to do my runs, and be present for the runs.
Not mindlessly scrolling through my phone. I’ve found myself, before bed, mindlessly scrolling through my phone before bed. I don’t need to do that. I need to actually sleep when I’m in bed.
Throwing myself into the things I enjoy. I enjoy teaching, dancing, planning my wedding, reading, blogging, running, going to yoga, and I need to quit doing that thing where I divide my mind time. If I’m running, I need to be present. If I’m teaching, my mind is only there. If I’m planning, my mind is all on me and what my future husband are doing. Blogging? I’m all yours.
Recognizing when I’m tired. There’s a difference between sleep and tired. And sometimes I have troubles recognizing when I’m exhausted, tired, and when I just need to slow things down. This weekend, when I opened my eyes on Sunday morning on Fripp, I was so happy, so in love with life, so in love with the beach, and I recognized that not only did I sleep like a rock, that I am tired.
Booking a room for myself at the Westin in Georgetown to run the Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Half Marathon. I’m checking into a hotel in a beautiful part of DC, and I will be ghost, snuggling in a king-sized bed by myself, taking a bath, reading a book, and thinking about why my life is so beautiful!

What are you doing to care for yourself, beautiful readers?

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