Snow & cold, and tomorrow's May 1st- perfect...

What a day. It started at o'dark thirty as I awoke to prepare and head off to the Friday morning group run. It was gorgeous out...many of us over-dressed. After a few sidewalk down-dogs, we enjoyed a nice sit-down breakfast at Wooglins. Amber brought me special brown rice-flour/applesauce/ strawberry muffins- love her, and her muffs.

After a few hours at the store, it was off to volunteer at the Cougar Classic track meet. Seeing the clouds form over Pikes Peak, we weren't sure what to expect weather-wise. We weren't expecting it to be freezing cold 90% of the time, but with the help of a blizzard stint and blowing wind...you can imagine our comfort level over the 6+ hours:) It was fun though...lots of laughs, delirium, and h.s. kids in bright-colored spandex.

After a hot hot shower, I am laying low preparing for yet another long day tomorrow. It begins with arriving at the store at 7am to prepare for First Saturday. I will have some help in the morning (thanks!), and Saucony will be here allowing customers to wear test some Saucony shoes. Should be a good morning. Then...in the evening we are hosting a women's only yoga night at my favorite studio with my favorite ladies! The free class starts at 6:30p and will be running focused. Can't wait for some yogs...it's been a few days since my addiction has been fed. Speaking of fed, maybe I should stop eating peanut butter cookies, standing in the kitchen.

Night folks.

Thursday...original I know.

This morning started with the Incline with a group of friends:)...thank you Amber, Gordon, and Maddy...a great way to start the day! It was a little colder than I thought, especially at the top, but...we suffered through it and soon we were on our way to reward territory; Mate' Factor. Maddy and I call them pot bars (due to their green tint and earthy texture), but their Mate' bars are stinking to die for. Paired with a large lime mate', we were in hog heaven. Soon I was back to shower and get ready for work.

Relaxing with my temporary (hopefully soon to be permanent) roomie for the night. Baking some gluten free peanut butter cookies and also some pumpkin muffins. Ahh yes, some down time.

Pure...

After a good night's rest, I awoke ready for some yogs...sore arms/back and all. Sarah's class was amazing as usual. After class it was a quick stop at "home" to prepare food for the day and get ready for work.

Is that dessert in the middle of the day?... Why yes it is! Mixed berries, greek yogurt, vanilla protein powder, sliced almonds, cinnamon, carob chips, and date pieces. Yumstick.

As a hardcore Blue Dimond Almond milk fan, thanks to their "unsweetened" version of both vanilla and chocolate, I haven't been interested in trying Silk's new PureAlmond milk. The disinterest comes from Silk's sugar content. Not alot for the non-vanilla flavor, but enough in comparison's to Blue Dimond's zero. I tasted some this eve with my tea, thanks to a coupon I received from King's for a free gallon, and it was pretty good...definitely tasted sweeter. I think I'm still a Diamond fan...but if the Silk's on sale, I'll for sure consider getting it again.

Nanight folks. It's late and the incline with some folks is scheduled for the morning:)

Photoshop/blogger domination...

BUWAHAHAHAHAH!! Yes! After searching/reading tutorials online...and a little help from Gordon (thanks Gordo!), I conquered the photoshop/blogger beast of creating a personalized header and then figuring out how to get blogger to accept my creation:). Geez what a process! But, I hope you all like. As I figure out more and more about photoshop, I'm sure I'll be changing my blog layout more often.

Since I woke my tired self up at 5am to do the Garden run yesterday morning, Tuesday night was free for fun and adventure. Insert: City Rock climbing gym. Christy, Ryan, Beth and a few others got together for some awesome climbing. I haven't been in about 4 years, so I was a little worried about how I would do. But...thanks to yoga (upper body strength) and running (lower leg strength), I wasn't as weak sauce as I thought. I had so much fun and totally felt like a kid again. There's something about lots of colors, ropes, padded areas, that brings back child-like feelings. I can't wait to go again.

Yesterday at work was also grand because Sherwood came to pay me a visit. I love this dog, period. He is the most kind, soft, incredibly smart dog I've ever met. He was trained by a couple that trains Canine Companions. Love Sherwood.

Off to yogs...that is if I can even do a down dog with my sore arms, then a long day at work!

Smorgs...

The rest of my day yesterday was spent just how I wanted...unplanned, slow and perfect. I spent some time attempting to create a personal header for my blog via photoshop. As you can see...a new one is not up yet, so still working on a few things. Anything in photoshop, I am realizing, is a slow process. Navigating this program is something else I tell you. New header hopefully up soon.

After an amazing yoga class (thanks Lora:)) with Jill, it was home to get ready for some smorgasbord awesomeness! Sarah and I have a love for anything smorgas. It's getting a little bit of randomness in every perfect bite.

Ours consisted of...
baked corn tortillas (turned into chips), guac, salsa, mango (eaten with a fork, off of the wooden cutting board), salad (w/strawberry, mango, feta, almonds), garlic sauteed asparagus, leftover pizza from Sunday lunch, malbec, Italian Wedding soup + Amy's Garden Veggie soup combined, dark chocolate with crystallized ginger.

We laughed really hard...some smorgas related, some presidential fitness test related. Remember those in P.E.??:)

Sorry for the dark pics..:(

This, that and the other...

As some of you may have noticed, lately I've been sharing a bit more about my running/training via this blog. I'm not really sure how many readers I have that aren't friends and family:)...so, for those of you that don't know, as far as my Summer running goes, I'm training for the Triple Crown Series! Below is a snapshot as to the schedule...but feel free to read more about it here. This will be my third Summer being involved in the series hoopla via my job at The Colorado Running Company, and after two times witnessing it all, I decided to throw myself into the bunch of crazies that actually participate.


June 13th- Garden of the Gods 10 Mile
July 11th- Summer Trail Round Up (12K)
July 18th- Barr Trail Mountain Race (Not part of the TCR, to Barr Camp and back-12.57mi)
Aug 21s - Pikes Peak Ascent (13.32 mi)

I am very much looking forward to some amazing trail running with friends this Summer...and maybe a margarita or two after the workout? :) I know I'll have to do a lot of arm twisting.

I have a couple goals for the Summer and this running business...

1. First and foremost I want to enjoy myself and have fun training. A big contributor for fun is lack of injury. I will really focus on listening to my body, treat it with respect and care, and try and stay away from the fine line of pushing too hard and pushing into better shape.

2. Remain in balance as much as possible. This is in regards to body, mind and spirit. I want to make sure I'm fueling my body correctly, giving it enough rest, allowing my spirit play & down time, and continue to practice yoga on a regular basis.

I know there will be runs/weeks that I don't feel like a runner...or not mentally or physically tough enough for this Summer...but, I will do my best to remember that I like challenges. I like the challenge of running, the way it makes me feel, the time to myself. Yes...those things I will remind myself:). I may refer back to this post every now and then too...hehe.

As far as my non-running life is concerned. I've really been pondering what things really bring me joy on a day to day basis. I think these things are what keep me balanced. My dad used to say that it was important for him to play as hard as he worked. I think about his words whenever I'm stressed to my max, and realize it's those little joys I need to revert to in those moments.

So...what are "my things?"...

photography, writing, friends, family, sun, music, laughter, color, creativity, coffee dates, rest, baking, yoga, spontaneity, the mountains, sushi, movies, books, listening.






Writing...yes, I want to use this blog not only as a way to document my training for this Summer, but to display other aspects of what brings me happiness. The title of this blog should be: Part runner/part foodie/part health nut/part daughter/party friend/part photographer/part yogi/part running store employee...but that would be annoying and too long:).

Thanks to all of you that read, and allow me to share so many things that bring me peace and balance.

So...today.

After a little sleep in (7am is sleeping in for me now), and relaxing coffee time, it was muffin time. My friend Amber provided a few gluten free muffin and cookie recipes that I've been altering and messing around with. Today's muffin of choice was pumpkin. They turned out soo good. The only thing that would have made the experience of preparing these better would have been without the constant twitch of my left quad. Did I mention these guys are gluten free and no oil!?? Pretty tasty

Next, it was off to a lovely, flat recovery run to help loosen up the tight leggos. This felt like a stinking vacation compared to yesterday. I headed out on a straight shot on Pikes Peak Ave for an out an back. Breathing and legs felt good:).



Good protein and carbs into the system right after. Cherry/vanilla protein smoothie..eat it with a spoon folks.

Off now to do a few "Sunday" (my Sunday that is) activities and errands. Sorry this one was soo long...just felt the need to catch up:). Happy Monday to you!

Resent...

Last night's yoga class was AmAzInG! Just what I needed for the legs and hips after a brutal uphill long run. Holly's theme for the class was 'Resentment'...recognize it, who/what is it, let it go. The closing quote struck a cord for me...

"Resentment is...the one person you despise, living rent free in your head."

Not that I have one person I despise... just lots of people/things living rent-free in my mind. A place of minimal space...a place with no room for negativity.

Sunday fun in the sun...

Sunday am started with a drive just across the hwy to 31st street Red Rocks parking lot. There we gathered for what we knew would be a long, hilly, possibly muddy run. We pretended for a moment that we were done, doing a cool down stretch, when in reality it was just beginning.



We all headed in the same direction and then broke off into small groups. We headed up, up and up...until we hit the Section 16 trail (aka Palmer Trail). Then it was time for some more uphill for Chels, Beth and I...about 20+ more minutes. By the time we hit the top, we were about an hour into the run. Time for some much deserved downhill...love the back side of Section 16, gorgeous. The lovely downhill too soon turned into more uphill...pavement to make it worse. Seizing back of the legs at this point called for some water and a gel...then it was back up to Sec 16 for a bit more until we were about 3 mile away from the parking lot. Those last few miles back to the car were very nice...much nicer than they were coming up at the beginning! 2 hrs later, we arrived where we started, in one piece, with sore toshies.

Now to the best part...lunch time! Up we went to a beautiful house that sits on a hill in the Garden of the Gods. On the menu: homemade pizzas (using gluten free cornmeal crusts) with basil, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, a tasty salad, and fruit salad with champagne mango. Holy crap was this ever good. We all just sat there, giving sounds of affirmation that we liked what was in our mouths!








Have I mentioned how much I love these wonderful women in my life?... Thank you for spending time with me.

A different Sat am...

Usually my Saturdays start with arriving to the store at 7:30am. Today I am working later, so I had the pleasure of sleeping in a tad, enjoying some coffee, and then heading out on a run in the Garden! Although I battled the wind, hills, and mud (triple arg)... It was nice to be out in the sun! I enjoyed a tasty berry smoothies afterward:). Ok, better get ready for work... but, it's my Friday!











- BlogPress from my iPhone

Ali...

I'm loving following a week in the life...are you? Even though I don't know her...seeing her day unfold in pictures is pretty personal, and makes me feel like I do.

Ohh!

Tuesday night my mom asked me if there were aspects of college that I missed. "Oh yeah!", I believe was my response. I told her (and Maddy & Erinn too) that I felt free, like everyday was a party, time spent with friends, living in the moment of random when it came to adventures and spontaneity. This photo represents a perfect example of the ordinary nights made fun by quality time spent together. I believe this shot was our "Thanksgiving recreated"...either right before or right after Thanksgiving break with our own families. This is were Kellen's Harvest Loaf was discovered..thanks Kellen, that tasty loaf is now a staple at my family's Thanksgiving every year! In college, it seemed easier to create and enjoy times such as this.

I know if you would have asked me then if I felt free, I would have said no...college is afterall very hard at times, and really teaches you about time management, but... looking back on it now, there are definitely some simplicities of that time that I wish I still had.

I miss...
Late night study sessions on Mesa Ave
Office tennis with Heaps
Pick up in the rec center
Bananas with PB & honey
Farmer's market strolls
Broncos games with homemade indoor stadium seating
Ohhhhh!

Miss you guys...you know who you are:).

Young people make cool stuff...

Mom, Maddy, Erinn and I visited the Young Peoples Art Exhibit this evening which features high school artists from Colorado Springs. My mom's high school won 7 awards (third highest of all of the high schools), 4 of which were her students! So proud of her. Some of her artist's stuff...




Below is one of the photography 1st place winners...very cool.

Such a fun time with the girls this eve. My family is fun.

Lime...

Today started off with no alarm. Yes. Madster and I headed to the Incline around 10:30am. It's interesting what a little heat and a long run up Gold Camp Rd the day prior will do to your incline time. Oh well! We enjoyed a nice jog down Barr, with very few people on the trail, and then it was off to Mate' for a tasty bev. Lime mate'- yum...a new flavor, for me at least.

Later on this cup would be used for a trash vestibule of items collected in my car.

Before yoga, I pulled off on a road that I drive every day to capture some color. Have I told you how much color inspires me?

It begins...

A week in the life starts today...I know I'll be following.

And while it takes courage to achieve greatness, it takes more courage to find fulfillment in being ordinary. For the joys that last have little relationship to achievement, to standing one step higher on the victory platform. What is the adventure in being ordinary? It is daring to love just for the pleasure of giving it away. It is venturing to give new life and to nurture it to maturity. It is working hard for the pure joy of being tired at the end of the day. It is caring and sharing and giving and loving…
Marilyn Thomsen

In the Life...

Goodmorning:). Happy Sunday. I ran across this blog/project through another blog I follow: Pink of Perfection. A Week in the Life by Ali Edwards, looks like an amazing adventure, definitely a project I would love to do at one point. Her scrapbooks and collages are absolutely amazing, I suggest you go check out her blog. Her 'Week in the Life' begins in two days. This definitely represents remembering the little things that matter most.

RLAM

Last night at CRC, author and former Colorado Springs resident, Dimity McDowell came down for a book signing of her new book: 'Run Like A Mother: The Book'. We had a great turnout for her! She is hilarious and so incredibly personable. The mothers/and non-mothers loved her.

Just a few of the entire crew.

On my personal front...I think the quads are finally starting to loosen up after Sunday's incline. Four days, seriously? That first run down Barr Trail for the season sure did a doozie on the limbs. Oh well, only up (literally) from here on out! Long day ahead, chiro apt, work, photoshop class. Off to it!