People Helping People

Yesterday we celebrated the grand opening of Missing Link Physical Therapy!! A dear friend of mine decided to open his own practice and asked yours truly if she would be a part of the mission, vision and above all... dream. Let me just say that I was truly touched at this request. There was no turning this down even if it meant a lot less sleep going forward! haha This is someone who has spent his life helping others and getting them well. He's one of the few left out there with a genuine and selfless love to help others. I am so thankful to have him and his family in my life. They have been so supportive and encouraging helping me chase my dreams. They were there when others backed down and walked out never doubting my abilities. I will forever be thankful for that. So now it's my turn to return the favor!
This is no ordinary Physical Therapy office. This is much more than that. I'd go as far as to call it an overall wellness center. It's a holistic approach to all things health related. Sure he's an amazing physical therapist, but our team also consists of an awesome Massage Therapist(another cool friend of mine), a personal trainer, a dance instructor/trainer, and his beautiful wife enriching everyone with all things Arbonne related. If you haven't checked out their products, you definitely should! We will also have someone helping out with a mental health background. The purpose of this clinic is to get everyone feeling better and healthy. Not just returning to your activity from a sprained ankle but rather all things mind, body and soul related. 
Since we both share the same passion to improve qualities of life, he felt it would be beneficial for both of us if I joined the team. I would have joined anyway, but the perks here are that I will get to be on the injury side of health and fitness! I'll be able to get all kinds of training and gain new knowledge of all things relating to my passion and ultimate goal in life that I'm currently working towards. I'm so excited to get started this week since we are now officially open for business! I'll still be working for the running company and school will still be very much a part of my life. I know I'm taking on a big load here, but I'm happy to do it and the way I see it is it's only temporary. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made to get to your final destination. It will be much more rewarding in the end and all these "sacrifices" are actually blessings and will only help me along the way. You know you're on the right path when your life just suddenly falls into place and everyone is happy to help you reach your destination.  :)

Meet Dr. Andre Heletsi and his beautiful wife Amanda!

1st Marathon - DONE!

The North Face Endurance Challenge

oh boy, where to even begin with this one? I guess first things first... WHAT WAS I THINKING SIGNING UP FOR A MARATHON WITH ONLY A MONTH TO TRAIN?!?! I must have still been high on endorphins from the Nike Half. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. I mean, I was practically half way there with training, right? and wait a minute, this was no ordinary marathon. It was a trail run. I mean I knew trail runs were harder so I trained over and over on the hills around my neighborhood. I even went out one day to the actual course to get a better idea of what I was in for. I knew I wasn't going to breeze through it, but I also knew I would at least finish. At this point, that's all I wanted. To finish a full marathon. I would work on better times with future races, but I wanted to get it out of the way instead of continuing to put it off. I actually amazed myself with how many half marathons I had completed since the Nike Half with all the training. Prior to race day, my longest run had been 19 miles. Sounds like a good amount except I'll be honest in that it did involve walking. There was just no way I was going to be able to run all that straight through. I did the best I could with the time I had and I felt like I was on cloud 9 the closer and closer we got to race day. I was so pumped and ready to get this done! Then 24hrs prior to starting time, nerves set it. Had I really trained the best I could? Had I done everything right? Had I eaten enough that week and had I consumed enough water in all the days leading up? How was I going to do with a CamelBack for the duration of the marathon? I am not used to having anything on my back, but it was supposed to be one very hot day and only 5 aid stations total. I could either suck it up and haul some water around or run the risk of dehydration. I knew it would be harder than my other races, but I was ready to get this done and have a full marathon in the books.

Race Day

It was a beautiful day and I of course was all kinds of nervous. I must have pee'd 4 times before even starting. One of the guys let me borrow a CamelBack for the race and we were good to go. It was 3 of us running and only 2 of us were running our first marathon ever. I'll try not to bore you with too many details, but let me just say that all the training I did had not prepared me in the slightest for this course. I should probably look into elevation changes and figure out exactly what they mean next time I sign up for something like this lol Some of these inclines were just unimaginable. I couldn't believe the 50 miler group was already finishing up and running past us a full speed. We were only just a few miles into ours when a girl tripped and fell. She was screaming at the top of her lungs for a medic and while the guys ran to get one, I ran to her and stayed until someone came back for her. As I approached her I thought for sure there would be a bone sticking out of her skin, but thankfully that was not the case. She finally calmed down and apologized for being so dramatic. That maybe it was only a charlie horse. Let me tell you, when I saw her fall and the level of screaming she was doing I thought for sure I would not survive this race. There was no way... not that I would get tired and give up, but more that I would actually die or have some serious injury that would result in me bleeding to death. Yes, fear was instilled in me at only mile 4ish. At least i think it was 4 ish... there were no mile markers unless you were at an aid station, but alas there was no turning back. I had to keep going or at least try. Despite having my feet fully submerged in water a couple times, the overall course scenery was just beautiful! The aid stations were phenomenal too! Apparently it's pretty standard for Ultra races. They had potatoes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, oranges, candy, chocolate, bagels, etc. Definitely made me want to consider doing it again next year. 

"Harder than most of my races" was an understatement. I was tested in more ways than one. It was THE hardest race of my life. It started at Algonkian Park in Sterling, VA and went out to Great Falls Park in McLean, VA. We were to There were times I didn't think I was going to make it to the cutoff. I finished my last half marathon with a 2:30 time and I didn't make the half marathon mark of this race until after 3:30. We were cutting it close on time and I was starting to worry. I was already pushing myself and well at that point I was going to need a miracle to get us done in time. We got the final warning of the hard cutoff at the last aid station and even with all the encouraging from my awesome running buddy, it still wasn't enough to get us there in time based on what the girl told us. I kept pushing and I gotta say that my back hurt more than my legs. I hate hate hate that I had to carry a CamelBak, but I know it was one of the smarter decisions I had made. It was confirmed when we saw a guy passed out at an aid station from Heat Exhaustion. Yes, I know I have to learn to run with one, but this race wasn't the time to do it lol We got closer to the end and when I could see the finish line we took off running again. There was no way I was going to WALK to the finish line. Especially when I had an awesome cheer team waiting for me at the end. I mean, my own mother actually came out for this. She never comes to my races! This was a big deal. I had already felt like a failure for not making the cut off, but was happy to know I did complete my first marathon. Zoila's(one of the BFFs) daughter ran into the course to greet me as I was approaching the finish line. I told her to grab my hand and together we crossed the finish line. Just weeks before I was with her to cross her first 5k finish and now here she was at my first marathon finish. There was a lady at the end holding our medals and I was just overwhelmed with emotion. I totally cried. Like a big baby. It was one of my biggest accomplishments in life at that point. I had no shame in my tears lol

I went to get my free beer(s), take some pics and finally get in my very first Ice Bath! During all that time we found out that we were actually fine on time. That we didn't miss the cutoff and that actually we still had over an hour left to finish! I was extremely happy to hear that and even more so when I was surprised with some Tres Leches cake while soaking in my ice bath then finding out everyone wanted to come to the house for a BBQ. I actually had my 10 yr high school reunion that night, but I wasn't about to cut my time short celebrating with the besties to see a bunch of people I don't really even talk to. Though I totally wanted to brag a little about completing my first marathon haha It was such a perfect day in so many ways. I'm excited to do it again next year, but this time I will have sufficient time to train and I'll have adjusted to wearing a Camelbak and hauling around extra weight. It's true what they say, running a marathon will change your life. As if my life couldn't change any more. It seems to always be changing for the better these days and thank God for that! It's about time things start looking up for me. I fall in love with my life more and more with each day. 

 "When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, that is when you will be successful." 

Race Recap

So I've managed to keep moving since the Nike Half. I mean that's always good news, right? Figured I'd update the blog with the latest shenanigans. Not too long after the half marathon, one of the BFFs informed us that she was doing the March of Dimes and asked if we wanted to join. We had been out the night before celebrating Cinco de Mayo on our own terms and well let's just say arriving to this event was a challenge in and of itself! haha BUT we made it AND even got to meet one of the Redskins. He was actually nice enough to take a picture with us which I was forever grateful for. Still waiting to meet London Fletcher, but I guess this will do for now *sigh* It was actually really pretty. A lot of people came out and it was a beautiful day at Reston Town Center to head out onto some trails. I will say it felt weird to just walk as opposed to run, but we did get to meet some good peeps and her coworker even had a friend that lived on one of the street and got us some oranges to snack on. A bit random, but hey... why not? I'm glad we survived and were able to add another race to the list for 2014. I guess it's not really a race, though if you're walking. Whatever. I'm counting it!

Next up... Mother's Day 4 miler. My brother was actually supposed to do this one with me. Seems he partied a bit too much the night before and well, I was left to run this solo. It was actually kind of nice. I've been working on running without music and it was yet another beautiful day for it. Good turn out and because it was one of the races from the company I work for, I was able to do it for free. I can't say no to a free race. Anyway, along the course I ran into a coworker of mine who had also done the Nike Half. It was nice to chat with her for a bit. She had a system down for a run/walk which I did for a while until we got near a crowd. I'm not a fan of crowds so that's when I took off and ran until I had more open space. She still beat me in the end, though lol good for her! I couldn't stay for the race shenanigans, because I had a family BBQ to get ready for and can I just say the margaritas and food was DELICIOUS!! Epic day for a race and family BBQ.

As the finale to this post, I am including the Run or Dye 5k at RFK Stadium. This was my second time doing this race. Last year I ran it with 2 of my BFFs, Bessy and Zoila, but this year Bessy couldn't join us and instead of just Zoila and I, it was also her 8yr old daughter Cassandra. It was her first 5k ever! She finished and did an awesome job. I was so happy to be a part of it and even more thankful that we were prepared for the color blasting this time around. No one suffered direct shots to their eyeballs or up their nostrils! All in all a success with post race Victory Waffles ...YUM!!  
But wait... there's more! :)

  

Fuck it. I'm Leaving.

This past week has been very stressful. I know i mentioned before about the field I am trying to break into career-wise and how currently I do nothing of the sort. I've spent the last several years in int'l business doing mainly coordinating type work. Well, things have gotten beyond overwhelming at the office and I finally hit my breaking point. I wasn't planning on making this move so sudden, but i'm just ready to move on. I'm ready to start what I want and I don't want to waste my life any more at the dead end position I currently hold for employment. Not that I hate the company or anything. I do like the company and i really enjoy the coworkers I have, but when you know it's time. It's time. This past Friday, I submitted my resignation. No, i didn't just decide to do it solely because I was fed up. I knew it was coming, but I didn't realize it would come so soon. I had the talk with my boss in hopes we could come to a new arrangement and he basically said no. So if there would be no change, I wasn't going to stay any longer. It's just not worth it. Since submitting my resignation I've been asked to rethink it and that it would be discussed again as upper management was trying to work on a better situation for me. I gave them more than 2 weeks notice, though. I knew there was a lot left to do and well I wanted to finish my tasks up. Not looking for glorification, just venting because with this longer than 2 weeks to go I find myself counting days till I leave, but at the same time have been approached a number of different times to offer an alternative rather than just leave the company when I had a plan already to begin with. If management can come up with a solution, I'm open to hear it, but if nothing changes I am more than happy to walk. I think what bothers me most is how much it was affecting my day to day mood. Sure a run always makes it better, but i spend so much time at the office that it surpasses the high on life i get when running. Well those last 2 weeks are coming up and right now I just hope I can finish up as much as I can before leaving. 

In other news, we started the season already! Soccer of course. We have an incredible team. A lot of talent with different personalities. That can be a good thing or bad thing. In any event we got our work cut out for us. All the talent in the world is no good if we can't all work together. We had our first game last Wednesday(not this one) and I was having a day from hell(I know... shocking haha). Anyway, worst day ever, right? All i wanted was to just go home and sleep till the day was over, but as team captain that's a big no no. I eventually made it out to the game and although we lost I had a great time doing shenanigans. Let me tell you, it was about 20 degrees and at least half of my face had gone numb within 1o minutes of game time! Moral of my story here... sometimes we have to do things we don't want to, but in the end it only helps make us stronger. It was a tough lesson to learn that day, but it was much needed. Look how happy I was by the end of the game :)

And finally, I just wanted to brag about these AWESOME Nike Frees i designed online. I've been DYING for Nike Flash Pack gear, but let's be honest here... I can't afford any of it! but i can afford the shoes. I designed some Flash Pack 3.0s to say Sunshine Memoirs on the tongues of each shoe. I started training this year with 3.0s for the half in April and can I just say it is definitely a different feel than the 5.0s i have been using?! My calves feel like they're on fire every time i take them out. Good thing I still have some time to adjust and get used to them before the serious training begins. i did really enjoy getting them muddly already, though. What do you think? they're pretty legit aren't they?! haha More to come, just wanted to share my awesome new kicks! Have a beautiful week ♥   

2013 Photo Recap

I made a little video of the main 2013 shenanigans. 
Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed putting it together!

*INSERT NEW YEAR MOTIVATIONAL TITLE*

New Year New Me? Uh NO. Try again!

All these new years resolutions... I mean I think it's great that people are at least trying to be healthier and live a more active lifestyle, but no resolutions for this girl. I definitely have new goals for the year, though. I've come a long way in the last couple years, but i'm not done. Perhaps the biggest delay is due to my absolute obsession with delicious food? Clearly, my number one priority is NOT abs, though they would be nice to have. Hmmm maybe haha Honestly, this year I just want to push myself even further and see what I'm really capable of. Looking into the trifecta for the Spartan Race, i have the Nike Half Marathon in April and looking into the Rock and Roll Half as well. Still need to decide on a full marathon for later in the year. That's right... a full *gulp* i'm very nervous about that. Maybe i'll see how the year goes before commiting to one? Also on the list... ROC Race! Have you heard of it? It's like the Wipe Out game show except in the form of a 5k and it's coming to DC this summer. There's no way I'm missing out on that! Might try the Warrior Dash again, but honestly I'm just trying to keep my focus on events I haven't done yet. I also heard about GoRuck Light. It's an event put together by special ops vets. I've seen some videos and checked out the site... def adding that to the list!

But OMG how effin cold was it today?! and to think I signed up for Winter soccer and for an outdoor league at that. I think my team hates me now and is starting to rethink the idea of playing outdoor in the winter. I don't blame them. I've already started getting emails about if we're still playing tomorrow night because of how cold it is. At first it seemed like a legitimate question and I was going to ask the league, but then i thought... hey isn't this what we signed up for? ugh! The good thing is with all these Christmas sales, I loaded up on cold gear. Now I can go about my morning runs in peace with the perfect gear to keep me warm. My hiking buddy would be so proud of me! For once I put my money towards quality gear that benefits me and I dont have to use all his gear when we hit the mountains during the cold months of January and February. You might call us crazy, but we actually LOVE it. I wasn't always keen on hiking during a snowfall or even in the winter at all, but as always he drags me out and well I can never say no. Wasn't long before I fell in love with the winter hikes as well. I love my friends and I love that they're so outdoorsy. They definitely keep me busy... as if i needed help with that lol 

So already there's a lot on the plate for 2014. I'm sure more events will get added as the days come because you can never really plan everything. Doesn't always work out how you imagined in your head. One thing aside from training that i'll be spending a lot of time on is finally breaking out of the professional industry I've been in for the last several years of my life. I've always loved sports and being active <wasn't always in the best shape for it, but eventually my body caught up with my heart> so I've always wanted to do something related to that. Now that im actively involved in more events and have a better understanding of health and fitness, I'd love to finally break into Sports Marketing. How cool would it be to market for Nike or even be a sports broadcaster! *day dreaming* haha well it won't be an easy switch, but it's not impossible either. It'll take time, but I'm already starting on it and with the help of some great colleagues it looks like i'll be ready to go in no time. I think my biggest challenge will be maintaining patience. I can be very impatient once i've decided on something. Hoping for a smooth transition, but im thinking it will be more bumpy than anything. Tends to be the case with me haha Well, wish me luck! Better days in 2014 :)

Here are the links to some of the events I'll be partaking in. Just in case you might wanna check em out too:

• ROC Race - Game Show Inspired 5k: www.rocrace.com
• Spartan Races - Obstacle Races 3mi, 8mi and 13mi options: www.spartanrace.com
• Rock n Roll Half/Full Marathon - 13.1mi or 26.2 miles: www.runrocknroll.competitor.com/usa 
• GoRuck Events - Events designed by Spec Ops Vets: http://www.goruck.com/en/events

Incubus of Viral Plague

Clearly, running in the cold while sick is the best way to get better. My body is a basket full of lies and deceit! Let me tell you! By Sunday evening i was feeling pretty good. Maybe it was the work i put in at the gym or maybe i was just actually better?! Sure i was still a little congested, but nothing major. I was fine. Practically good as new. So what do i do? I wake up bright and early to start on my morning runs outside again. What better way than in 39 degree weather? At least i had on long sleeves. I am slowly making progress, i promise.Went ahead and ran a few miles then headed home to get ready for work. Oh man it felt AMAZING!! i missed my morning runs. I had taken up afternoon/evening runs(depending on the time i got home) for the last several months. I've always preferred morning runs, but waking up early was suddenly not as easy as i remembered it to be. This past Monday i was determined to start again and no one gets in my way when i make a decision to do something. So there i was feeling amazing and accomplished. Showered and headed to work. 

After work i met a friend out at Redskins Park for a Ladies Night event to include dinner and DRILLS!! That's right, we got to run some drills like the guys do at practice. Except we did it indoors. Even got to kick a few field goals. SUPER FUN. Met some players and alumni while we were at it too. So there went workout #2 of the day, but it was too much fun I could hardly consider that a workout. Same with running. I love it so much, it doesn't feel like a workout sometimes. sometimes! lol so after training at Redskins park, I decided swimming would be exactly what i needed to do. Went to the gym with one of the besties and did about 30 laps. Not bad. I was definitely pleased and pretty exhausted. I was mainly excited that i wouldn't be up until 2am from endorphins. This happens a lot with evening workouts. Instead i was practically falling asleep when relaxing in the hot tub. We decided to head out and call it a night. Which

brings me to Tuesday morning. Bright and early outside for another run. This time just under 5 miles. Now, temperature wise it was warmer than the day before, but if you were actually out there you would know it was MUCH colder and way windier! But hey, no pain no gain right? So there i go finishing my morning run. Got home to get ready for work when it all hit me. I do mean ALL... after just a couple hours of being at the office my throat was scratchy, eyes burning, couldn't stop sneezing and coughing. I could barely keep my head up because of the throbbing. I could feel the fever coming and my body was just shutting down. Hour by hour... i was coming to an end. Wasn't long before i was told to work from home the next day. I wasn't allowed back in the office. You know it's bad when your coworkers don't even want you there!

I come home to a very angry cousin. He's been staying with us for a while. Go figure ...he spent quite a few years as a nurse and let's just say i got chewed out pretty bad that evening. Something about I shouldn't have been working out when I wasn't fully recovered from whatever I had over the weekend and on top of that overdoing it. So he's had me on strict orders. Absolutely no working out until I'm better along with a few home remedies. I haven't been allowed out of the house, but I do feel sooo much better now. He said by Friday I should be ok to workout again and go back to my routine. Well, here I am all excited to go running tomorrow morning when he hits me with "nope. you're not ready. I'm glad you're 90% better, but i can tell you still have a sore throat so absolutely no running outside." I feel completely useless right now. That's prob why i'm able to post in the blog... because i haven't been able to do anything else!! :(

The pics are of the past shenanigans this week. I wouldn't recommend anyone put their bodies through this torture when they're sick. Definitely be smarter than me and give your body time to recover properly. Don't be stupid and stubborn like i am. I just feel so lost if i can't run! Well, until my next shenanigans... *sigh*

Nearly Naked Mile - PR'd

Nearly Naked Mile - Reston Town Center

Towards the end of last week I started coming down with a some kind of cold/flu. I hate hate hate being sick! Mainly because I know it means i have to put my workouts/runs on hold. Well this girl can be a bit stubborn at times and decide she wasn't going to stop. I had signed up for the Nearly Naked Mile race in Reston and figured, hey what's a mile?! I ran a half marathon for goodness sake. A mile is nothing! I'll just run it super fast and head straight home back to bed with my medicine after it's done. Well Nearly Naked Mile implies nearly naked attire. That's right. A lot of skin to bare and with me being sick it was a tough call. Major crossroad in my life. I decided to go with a t-shirt and a tutu. I know what you're thinking: Man! She's so good at this taking care of herself bit. Well let me tell you it was FREEZING cold that day. I did arrive fully layered up though with snowboard pants, a hoodie and scarf, but come time to run... the layers had to come off. By then i was so pumped and warmed up, I forgot i was sick. I decided, hey let's just sprint this thing as see what kind of time i can get! Well, I did just that and i actually PR'd. I was soooo excited, but about 15 seconds to the finish line my body was begging me to stop. Honestly, i could hear it crying from everything i was putting it through. I wanted to just come to a complete stop. I felt like i was really dying. Not because i was tired/out of breath, but because i was in pain, feeling horrible, weak, eyes burning... you get the idea, but how many people do you know that actually STOP before crossing the finish line? No. That's when you have to push yourself even more. Figured it would all be over sooner and I'd prob get a pretty good time. Well i definitely got the pretty good time. My fastest mile recorded at 8:55. Sure it's not the fastest, but it is my fastest and you know what?... i was running with the flu so don't even hate because who knows what time i would've got had i been healthy! Needless to say i nearly collapsed by the time i finished. Super nauseous. I could feel the fever coming. I raced to get my winter gear and begged to go home. I couldn't even stay for the after party or mini ceremony :(  

I am excited to share that one of the runners on my team. A friend and sister of one of my best friends actually placed #1 for fastest in our age group finishing her mile at 7:22. Now THAT is incredible!! We'll be doing more races together and i'll likely do my first FULL marathon with her next year. So despite torturing my body with all that, I was happy that i went, earned my flannel shorts, cup and PR'd. Sure, i spent the remainder of the day in bed watching movies, but TOTALLY worth and who cares... i love watching movies anyway. Here's a little snap shot of that race. Enjoy!

Instagram: Sunshine_Memoirs

Run or Dye

It's been a very eventful the last several days. With guests and Halloween adventures! I was happy to have a few days off work for most of it. Thursday morning i was able to get a run in during DAYLIGHT hours! oh man... it was glorious! see pic on the left for proof. There really is nothing quite like it. Even more rewarding that I was among the vibrant trees. Color was literally pouring out of the leaves. I had a coworker from our Ukrainian office come over and stay for a few days. So we did the whole DC thing. Got to play tour guide and show her the beautiful sights our Nation's Capital has to offer. All that jazz. So even though I only got one daytime run in, I was able to walk around DC all day Thursday through Saturday. I mean the point is to keep moving, right? I also learned this past weekend that i have a serious obsession with tress in the fall! haha

RUN OR DYE

The BFFs and I at Run or Dye in DC

I mentioned in my last post about the Run or Dye 5k race that was coming up with the BFFs. Well we did it and it was A LOT of fun. We had to run through a few tunnels with people throwing powder dye at us. Sounds fun, right? too bad it was hard to breathe and see while running through these mists of color and the occasional person throwing a whole handful into your face. Zoila, was not so lucky running through the yellow tunnel. No. It seemed they had it out for her. The left half of her face was covered in yellow by the time she made it all the way through. I'm not gonna lie, i had to stop for a bit because i was laughing so much. The occasional child would scream out "YELLOW FACE!" and one spectator coming in while we were leaving made a passing comment of "wow! some people really got hit hard!" hahahaha i'm probably laughing a little too much about it for her liking. Sorry Z, but it was effin hilarious! So all in all it was a good run. It was great to do it as a team. To start together and even finish holding hands through the finish line. AWW we're so cute aren't we! haha This weekend is the Reston Nearly Naked Mile race to run. I'm thinking a tutu, some body paint and a fuzz bra... that should do it! What can i say? i love running :)

What Next?

Instagram : @Sunshine_Memoirs

 So What Are You Training for Now?

I was at a family birthday dinner about a week and some change ago. One of my cousins heard that i had recently completed my first half marathon. So of course he had a million questions for me. I was actually pretty surprised at the interest, but was more excited that anyone even cared to hear about it and my training. So I'm telling him all about it and showing him pictures when he hits me with "so what are you training for now?" It seriously caught me off guard. What am i training for? I mean i just finished a half marathon... wasn't that exciting enough? Apparently not. My family is not easy to please... but it did get me thinking. All this training for the last several weeks/months for the half and now it's done. So what's next? Well, I hadn't really thought about any immediate challenges for post half. Actually, I just wanted to get back into the other activities I enjoy doing like weight training with the BFF more regularly, supporting the other BFFs in their fitness hobbies, boxing, soccer, hiking, etc. Of course I have other halves i want to do and next year a full marathon, but until then I think I'm just going to enjoy this wonderful little life of mine. 

I actually have a cute little 5k coming up this weekend. You like how i said cute and little? haha i remember when that seemed nearly impossible. OK sorry, i digress. So this 5k, it's in DC. Perhaps you've heard of it? Quite popular! Well, 2 of the BFFs will be joining in on this run. Not everyday I get the BFFs together for a run together. It's pretty amazing when your BFFs love being as active as you are if not more. It really makes life so much easier and happier(high on endorphins). You know what else is great? Being with someone who supports and encourages all your hopes and dreams, but not only that... is willing to lace up and do it with you. I gotta say... I'm walking on sunshine these days :)

So now that the leaves are falling and the days are getting cooler, it's time to find ways to keep moving OUTSIDE and stay warm. I decided to get the team together for our first Winter Season(we usually only play fall and spring seasons). The Winter season doesn't start until January, though. In the meantime, I got asked to join a team for the remainder of the Fall season since they're short on girls. It's actually turning out to be a win-win situation. I haven't played since May, so this will be good practice to get me ready for the upcoming season. I'm pretty excited about my off season and all the promising activities it holds, but no worries! I'm not giving up my distance running. It is an addiction and I'm no quitter lol 

11 More Days!!

OK i'm so sorry I have been so MIA. I got so consumed with work, that by the time i was done training I just wanted my bed. Don't you worry though, I have been keeping up with my training for this half marathon and with only 11 days left I'm even more excited to get er done! So much progress over the weeks with tonight being one of the best. I do my longer runs on the weekends and during the week it's less mileage. Tonight's mini run was one of the most successful of all the runs so far. I did it without stopping once! Do you get what i'm saying? ZERO stoppage! That's a HUGE feat for me. It was taking me a while to get back to where i was. I was having trouble with pacing myself again, but I feel so much better now. They say home is where you heart is and i gotta say nothing has ever felt more like home than tonight's run :)
So this past weekend we paid a visit to NY for my Uncle's surprise 77th bday party. Well, my brother is a runner as well and has come down a few times to train with me. This time I met him out in the city(he lives in Brooklyn) and we ran miles after miles through Central Park. I brought my BFF with me on this trip and while she may not be a runner(she prefers to be labeled as a body builder/gym rat) she did an amazing job keeping up with us. Nothing quite as amazing as BEAUTIFUL weather and scenery, running for miles upon miles with my brother and BFF. Did you notice our Power Ranger shirts? I forgot my brothers shirt back at my aunts house, but he was supposed to be the Black Ranger. Maybe next time he comes down we can go for another run together in our shirts. I tried to get my tracker to work that day, but it was an epic fail. I would say we did about an hour and a half of running. We even threw in push ups  box jumps, squat jumps and headstands. Yea we're a little obsessed lol All in all... amazing workout and even better half marathon training. 
The weekend before was my longest distance at one time. I reached 7.35 miles and let me tell you, I was feeling GREAT! gotta love that runners high. There is nothing like it. So peaceful too! I'm not saying this half marathon is going to be a breeze, but i'm just ready to enjoy every mile of it. I've been trying to find a shirt to wear that day and I found one that says "Trample the weak. Hurdle the dead." I feel like that might be a winner! yea?

Hurts so Good...

The weekend has been quite entertaining. I was supposed to run 8 miles Saturday morning... that definitely did NOT happen. After about 5 miles and some change, i thought my legs were going to fall off. I guess leg day at the gym before a big run isn't the best idea! haha oh, but it was soooo much fun! I even got some play time on the bag. Good times :)
I'm not going to lie, though. I was very upset i didn't finish my 8 miles. Yes, i know it's a process. Yes, i know it takes time, but dammit maybe i'm a little impatient. I want it so bad that i'm afraid i'm going to mess it up somehow. This week will be a little different. I've gotten some good advice from people over the last few days so I'm feeling better now having some more direction for this half. I've also gotten a lot of support from friends and family. A lot who have asked to come out and cheer me on. I love that they all believe in me. I tell them how nervous and excited I am about 13.1 miles and all i hear is "oh you're fine! you got this! you'll be fine!" i'm here like are you kidding me? i mean sure i'll finish, but i'm not trying to finish in 5 hours either! i guess it's a good thing that i actually want this. Training is painful, but i love it. I love pushing myself and seeing how much more I can push myself. They key is to be better than yesterday. Always progressing and never falling back. Having new free runs has been very fun as well. Keeps me energized! Must be the bright colors! Actually, I think it's because they're 5s whereas before I was running in 7s. I feel closer to the ground and it's a cleaner free-er run. I would love to share running pics, but it's hard to always have someone on your route snapping pics. If only i had my own personal photographer. Usually my pics are taken before or after the run ... beautiful shots of course! you know all sweaty and gross. Oh yea... brings all the boys to the yard! hahaha 

I have been keeping up with the MoveYoAsana challenge and I have to say I'm quite impressed with myself. I didn't know I could do some of these poses and it's been fun to discover these little treats. Keeps me motivated to keep doing what I'm doing and push harder. Sure i'm sore just about every day, but at least i'm working! It'll pay off in the end for sure. Right now I'm just loving life. Every minute of it. I also had a cheat session with the BFFs on Saturday. We pretty much devoured large amounts of sushi. So much sushi that the chef/sushi roller (i don't know what they're called) made us something special on the house. It was one of the best meals I've had in a while and to top this all off... FOOTBALL HAS STARTED!! HAIL YEAH!! I don't know if i'll get any sleep tonight from the excitement of tomorrow's game. Season opener. Wish i could be at the stadium to cheer on my guys, but i'll go see them in a few weeks. Until the next post... happy training week, guys!! :)

I'm only half crazy! 13.1

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. It has been a few days since my last post  :(

haha it's not that serious. So what's been going on? Well A LOT. For me at least. I'm working real hard to up my mileage for the half coming up in 6 weeks. I added a mile today which was awesome! This now makes 6 miles at a time. Made it in great time too!! yea except for i'm still walking part of it. I can't keep my focus and I'm finding my biggest challenge to be pacing myself. Sure it sounds so easy... just slow down, but as soon as my feet hit pavement I just want to take off like a cheetah. Weird... me? a cheetah? ha OK bad analogy, but you get what I mean. I get out there and I get so excited about the half that i basically go into a sprint and then what happens? I get gassed out. ugh but then 30 seconds later i'm back to running. I know, I'm a hot mess. The good thing is, this used to happen to me a lot when i first started running and I was able to fix it. So, just gotta make a few minor tweaks and get back in the game. Another thing that's killing me... i can't run everyday. At least not the usual mileage. Something about a rest day? ughhhh so I have to switch up my cardio throughout the week for the days I'm not running. Which reminds me!

IG: sunshine_memoirs

OK story time! So yesterday I was at the gym doing a mini weight session before my cardio. I decided to use the stair master. Those who know me, know i have the worst luck on this machine. Not because it tires me out, but because I never can figure out the settings leaving me to battle death. No I'm serious. It happened again yesterday. Here's this machine that asks for all my stats. Asked me for my target heart rate, so I put 180. Then it asked for resting heart rate and so on and so forth... WELL! when the machine started, those little stairs were FLYING! Apparently it wasn't my heart rate the machine was asking for... it was my step rate. Let's just say i'm not at 180 and God bless those who are! So here I am about to completely mutilate my face when i take a giant leap of faith, jumped up and slammed the stop button. Yes, it was quite a show. It's OK you can laugh. I was laughing at myself too. Finally settled on the manual setting and went about my workout. I gotta say, I feel pretty useless on the days I'm not supposed to run... #hotmess

So aside from my running, I've also been doing this yoga challenge on Instagram. I'm not great at yoga and if you check out my Instagram you can see the proof of that lol but I am enjoying the stretches and adding something else into the daily routine. Keeps things interesting. I'll share a few pics of what i've been up to and if you have ANY advice or tips for my half marathon training... PLEASE!! I'M ALL EARS  :)

Ass to Grass!!

IG: @sunshine_memoirs

Got a nice little treat today... they let us peasants out early from work for the holiday weekend. Le BFF came to get me to go with her to the gym. Since I took her hiking, she's been on me about hitting the gym with her. Well hey i'm not anti-gym so of course I was game to go. It had been a while since my little trip away. Before, when i went it was usually mornings or after work. This was early afternoon and there were BROS everywhere!! It's like someone told them we were coming... fine by me! haha I love hanging with the guys ;)
Anyway, it was pretty neat to pick up some weights and train with my bodybuilding BFF. A little different than the usual runs, hikes or even hitting the bag. Every workout is different, but always rewarding. Had some good times and learned how to take some swolfies! hahaha Bodybuilding to her is like running to me. We share the same passion for such different things, but we understand why each of us does what we do. Why we make the time to get it done. Why we push our bodies as much as we can to achieve what we once thought we never could. It's hard to put in words how important this is to us or why we're so passionate about it. Most people don't get it. It's more than just being healthy or trying to look good naked. It's much deeper than that. It's what drives us and motivates us to be the best that we can be. Not just physically, but mentally as well. 
Someone asked me today what my story was. Why i was so crazy about working out and training. That they could see it was more than something fun to do. They said it was obvious that it was much deeper than that and you know what... they couldn't be more right! I may not be able to control what happens around me or how people feel about me, but I can control how I feel and how I choose to react to life. I choose to be better and stronger than the person I was yesterday. Even if it means stumbling along the way a few times. Eventually I'll find my way... i always do. So as I always like to say... Keep Moving!

Delicious Training

So i'm getting back into the swing of things after a 3 month break. I was able to get some cardio in during that time, but nothing close to how I used to train. I've always thought about how it would be like to run the trails near my job. Every time i sit outside for lunch I see plenty of people walking or going for a lunch run. It's really neat and I've always wanted to do it except for there are no showers in our building. So i just stuff my face and watch the active worker bees hit the pavement. Don't get me wrong, I still train. I just do it when i'm home or near a shower! It's all about the hygiene... smelling like sweat is frowned upon in my work establishment. I don't understand why they have to be so picky! smh haha anyway so this Delicious Training... i decided to sign up for a half marathon *GULP* i have just over a month to train since it's in mid October. I'm super nervous about it, but I know that I will at least finish...
Well, today I decided to hit the trails near my job after work. Let me tell you I don't think there were ANY straights! Hats off to the daily runners. I mean i have a lot of ups and down on the trails by my house, but these trails were more like hazards! They should come with warning signs for your ankles! ok ok you think i'm exaggerating. it's ok, though. I won't stop trying. I figure it's good to train on all types of trails. My joints might not agree, but hey no pain no gain, right? :) 
I'm loving all the runs and with it comes more shoes!! I am definitely shopping this weekend for some more. Need more free runs in my life. Aside from that... I finally tried the fruit in my water bit. I basically shoved a lot of pineapple in my water all day and let me tell you it was orgasmic! Quite tasty! I might have to keep doing this...

Welcome to MY gym :)

Raven Rocks - AT

Stretch-In on the AT

I decided to take some PTO yesterday and head out to enjoy the beautiful day. Leave it to the BFF to take the day off with me and head out to the mountains. I love that I live so close to some of the stretches of the AT. In less than an hour I'm out and wonderfully lost on trails full of beauty! :)

What was special about this hike was that it was with this particular BFF. She is what you would call a gym rat. Straight body building. Works hard all day every day to achieve everything she can and more. She's not afraid to lift heavy and train with the guys. She has earned her right into the bro life. The reason I say this is because we both share a deep passion for what we do. I love running and she lifts, but at the end of the day we just love our active lifestyle. We've done a few obstacle races together and have killed it! We make a great team together. She trains at the gym for the most part. And well, those who know me know i only go to the gym if I have to. Please don't confuse that to mean, i don't strength train or that I hate the gym. I don't. I started there too once upon a time, but i just love being outside. I don't care if it's running, walking, biking, kayaking, paddling, basketball, soccer, hiking... the list goes on! If it's outside, I'm all for it! I love it and I have found several ways to get my strength training in without a gym. I still go when I can and during the colder months, i'm def spending more time there than outside. I mean you can understand why, right? lol i'm not an idiot either! The gym is a great place to train and focus more on specific areas. WELL yesterday I took my BFF out to MY gym. We made it to one of the overlooks and started working out. I only put a couple action shots in my pic here, but we did everything from push ups, dips to bicycle kicks, bridges, yoga, planks, etc. It's just fun for us and pretty neat to take gym life to the outdoors for a bit. On our way back we missed our turn off to head back and ended up roaming random parts of the AT for about 2 hours! *sigh* good times! haha All in all though it was really a great time. Great workout with the BFF and the weather could not have been anymore perfect. A little 10 mile hike on a Monday afternoon? Yea you know ...Just another day in the life  :)

It's an Obsession

Beachin!

It was a very interesting weekend! a couple of my girlfriends and I decided to up and go to the beach for a bit. We got there pretty late in the afternoon on Saturday, but still enough time to soak up the remains of the sun. By Sunday we were pumped and ready to hit the ground running. I have this little obsession with my Free Runs in that I take them with me everywhere I go. I just can't leave home without them. Yes, I even have them at work. I guess I just feel like maybe there will be a chance to squeeze in a run or maybe the location i'm at is just so beautiful that I become inspired to run for a bit. I run because I like it. I'm not the fastest and i'm not filled with superior endurance. I am in no way the best runner out there, but I am one of those that enjoys every minute of it. Whether i'm out enjoying the weather, trying out a new playlist or clearing my mind of a million and one thoughts it's still always the most refreshing part of my day. Somehow exhausting myself is a favorite pastime of mine  :)

Anyway, the point of my story is that everyone has their own passion and it's OK if it's not running. My BFFs are gym junkies so I was very excited to find out, they did not leave without packing their workout gear as well. They don't like running. In fact, they hate it, BUT they do it anyway because they know how beneficial it is. These girls are what you would call gym rats. You can find them lifting with the guys or going hard on the squat rack. We make a good team if you ask me. Together we have the best of both worlds and it's always fun when we can come together and enjoy a good workout. It just so happened that we put in work at the beach this time around. It was a great time and much needed vacation. I can't wait to have them along with me on some of the upcoming runs and I guess I'll be signing up for some of their events as well. Lucky for me... i already enjoy working out with the guys, so it will be an easy transition with them in the weight room.

Now... who wants to spot me?! LOL

110%

Susan G Komen Race - DONE

Race for the Cure

Can I just say, this whole waking up at the butt crack of dawn on a Saturday is getting really old?! You know, I say that every weekend and yet I continue to sign myself up for more! OK so maybe I hate that i had to be out of my house at 5am to head to DC for a 3 mile run, BUT it was for a very good cause and I had a GREAT time! I definitely tried to do this one for time. I finished at 32:11 ...not my best time, but definitely not my worst! I'll take it. Just gotta keep working on it. We did luck out with the weather, though. Not a single drop of rain until we were all done and partying it up with the Zumba crew that was on stage. Saw a lot of neat costumes and got to see several survivors. The back of their pink shirts read "proud to be your inspiration." loved it! Those women are real fighters and they were totally my inspiration! I did especially enjoy the run around the Lincoln memorial. That's probably the ONLY reason i'd love to live in DC. To be able to have that spectacular view as part of my daily runs. I suppose I could just metro my butt out there a few mornings and do it anyway, huh? but why, when i can just do a quick 5 miles near my house which already has beautiful trails? decisions decisions. As long as we keep running, I guess it's all good!

-----

I'm next!  :)

So, a few days ago I was asked to join a paddle team participating in the DC Dragon Boat Race this coming weekend. I have NEVER in my life paddled anything. I've been meaning to try kayaking, but have yet to get out there and do it. I have heard of how intense these workouts can be, so I was actually really excited to be a part of the team. The races are on the 18th and 19th. Unfortunately I can only participate in the race on the 18th since I have le Warrior Dash on the 19th. I really hope i'm not too sore the next day for that either. Well, back to my story... So, I was asked to join the team since they were short a few members. I, of course, accepted instantly! I'm up for any kind of outdoorsy adventure and even more so if it involves a great workout. We got to the waterfront and training began immediately. Learning techniques wasn't so bad. The paddles were light and boat was kept in place. We were given the world's fastest Rowing 101 lesson. Not too much longer after that we were quickly taken out into the water for a real life race practice. 

That's where the real fun began. The yelling, the screaming, the pressure! The play calls! except i'm not sure what you call that in rowing... instruction yelling? my favorite... POWER - FIVE - NOW!!! everyone slams their paddle into the water about as far and hard as they can for 5 of the most powerful strokes you can possibly do. Everyone in sync of course! We have sets of 10 and sets of 20 at different levels of intensity and distance plays an important factor. The 500 meter one really had me working my arms and core out. It was a lot of fun, though. Definitely need more practice before the big race so that I can at least get used to it all. This may become a real hobby of mine. You know, like my running, hiking, biking, boxing, etc ...seriously, can I just live outside for the rest of my life?! I could just use a friends house for showering purposes lol I'm really excited to see how I end up doing on Saturday. I really hope i don't let them down. From what I heard at practice, they always place Gold *gulp* 

How's that for motivation!

do more, live more, run more

Saturday morning was my first 10k. Plugged in the wrong address for destination and long story short - ended up running with the 5k-ers! I was so upset. I was really looking forward to seeing where I was for a 10k. I guess another time. A friend of mine was signed up for the 5k so I started with her and eventually moved up hoping to run into the 10k crowd. They were nowhere in site, though. Came up to a water station and thought to myself how I should take a cup of water and try to drink it as I run. I had seen this done in videos and I had heard of it being quite difficult, but I had to see for myself. Well, let's just say 5% of the water in the cup actually made it into my mouth. The rest made it onto my face and shirt! I eventually made the halfway loop on the 5k to turn back and ran into my friend from the starting line. I decided i would loop around and run with her to get some more miles in. It actually ended up being a lot of fun and continued throughout the race. I would make loops back and around to her until she completed the 5k. Figured maybe I wont get to do the 10k, but i can at least make my own 8k while i'm here! I had gotten to the last water station and turned around to find my friend. Ran back again and realized that station was about a quarter mile from the finish line. So i decided to do another loop. I had gotten so close to the water station, I could hear everyone cheering and letting us know how close we were. I smiled awkwardly as i knew they were not going to expect me to loop back around again. As i turned quietly to run back, I heard a woman ask what I was doing and a man behind me yell "Jesus Christ! How's that for motivation!" haha i'm not going to lie. It totally made me laugh. Caught up to my friend, told her the story and kept encouraging her to start running again so we could finish and that's exactly what we did! We finished!
Maybe I didn't get my 10k, but I think i made the most out of this 5k and had a wonderful time. The weather was beautiful, warm and sunny. The people were positive and friendly. Best part? There was food everywhere for the runners. We got ourselves re-hydrated and situated then headed back home where I spent the afternoon at the batting cages! A wonderful weekend indeed  :)

Boston Memorial Run

I remember signing up for this event. Finally a chance to pay my respects and make it a point that we must keep pushing, training, and living. I remember thinking "oh i'll be fine! The Glo Run is just a little 5k. I'll do a slow jog and salvage what i can for the 5 mile Boston Memorial Run in the morning." Yea, it totally did NOT go as planned. Aside from being forced to sprint most of the 5k, I didn't get to sleep until almost 2am from the little runner's high and then had to be out the door at 6:30am to make it to this next run. I thought very seriously about not going. I was exhausted! My friend was late to the house too, but that's OK because it meant a few more minutes of sleep! As soon as i got into the car, I told her "you know we're pretty much walking this whole thing, right? I don't even know how i'm functioning right now!" she agreed with the little bit of energy she had left as well from the lack of sleep. 

We had originally planned on making our own Amurrica shirts and topping it off with flag headbands. We decided the shirts were not so important by the time we made it back the night before and waking up early to attempt to create a masterpiece was just not going to happen. Did i mention it was quite chilly?! SO. NOT. IDEAL. We arrived at the same time as another friend of ours... I believe the final count of participants was 500 and this event was only just organized 4 days before. I thought that was pretty great! Everyone donated to help the families of the victims at the Boston Marathon Bombings. It was quite amazing to see everyone get together and show their support. More so because the planning was so last minute. Wasn't long before i was pumped and ready to start taking off running! ...or was it because i was so cold and wanted desperately to warm up? I really didn't care where the energy came from, as long as it was in me. 

The girl I went with was recovering from a recent hip injury. I promised to stay with her at the same pace even if she decided to walk. Well she did end up walking, but i kept jogging. Sure it might have been at the speed of a turtle, but i compensated with knee highs and butt kicks. Point is to keep moving right? I'm proud to say i did not walk any of those 5 miles. Maybe a lot of jogging in place, but i jogged the whole thing. I'm really quite proud of myself. I also paid for it later that day. 

Let me just say, by the time I made it home yesterday I only had energy for a shower, to change into my pajamas and post up for a Duck Dynasty marathon! It was a weekend WELL DONE! oh and did i mention our flag headbands were a big hit! We got several compliments! :)

Now, to find more runs and obstacle races. Gotta keep moving!