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 :)

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!! :)

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!

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  :)

Sometimes It's That Little Extra!

Instagram: Sunshine_Memoirs

It's totally OK  guys. I ran today! So I'm back at this dominating inclines thing. I figure, once you master inclines everything else is just a walk in the park. Tonight's run started on what felt like the worlds longest incline. Got me pretty winded for the rest of the run, but hey... can't breeze through every run. That's just boring! Gotta add some challenges every now and then. That little pic on the left is a little something I made for Instagram today. That song came on my iPod at about the last stretch home and for some reason that one part of the song really just got me pushing more than before and got me home.
Now, I'm very familiar with the saying "your mind gives up way before your body does." It's pretty much the only reason I've kept improving over this past year with my running. I heard it again this past weekend at practice for the Dragon Race. Coach told us to focus on our strokes and breathing. Gave us tips on what to do if we're feeling gassed or too tired to keep going. At the end of his spiel he left us with that very quote. I thought to myself, there it is again. Something I hear all the time and sure it gotten me through the hardest of times when i just started my running journey, but you know how when you hear the same thing over and over it tends to lose its value? Yea that's kinda what happened with me and that quote. I know it first hand to be true, but i guess I had forgotten it's power and significance. There were parts of tonight's run where I just wanted to stop and walk because I was tired. Tired? seriously, who gets tired? I don't know what's wrong with me! haha OK so I got a bit winded sooner than I would have liked. I tried so very hard to stick to my little training for the evening and when I felt like I had reached my limit, I remembered that quote: Your mind gives up way before your body does. So you know what I did... i decided to test it out once more. I figured what's the worst that could happen? I mean it's not like I'm not going to die. What's another quarter-mile if my body can still go, right? RIGHT! I totally surprised myself a few times tonight with how much further I really could go, despite how exhausted I already was. Definitely a successful run tonight. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the weather is getting very warm. Might need to get some shorts soon because ain't nobody got time for pants!! 



So, I know I've mentioned an obstacle race I'm doing with le boyfriend soon. The Warrior Dash. WELL, it's coming up a lot sooner than later. Actually, it's finally here. We'll be heading out on our mini road trip Sunday morning for a midday wave run. We have decided to go as Mario and Luigi. I'm a little upset about the arrangements as I've been Luigi since I was born. This time around, I'm stuck being Mario. I guess it makes sense because he's so tall. He said something about he had to be Luigi because green brings out his eyes (BARF!) hahaha OK so maybe he's right, but only just a little. ANYWAY... we ordered our shirts and I can't wait for them to arrive. I'm trying to decide if suspenders would be too much during the run. Thoughts anyone? I'd love to add more to our outfits, but at the same time i prefer to run with as little added weight as possible. Here's a little preview of whats to come in this weekends post accompanying the Dragon Boat Race. SO EXCITED!!  :)