I shoot things..........

..........people mostly, with the occasional sunset, field of flowers or old red barn.

I'll be back to my regular running & rambling posts this week, but while I'm away on vacation I thought I'd share a few photos from last week's shoot! 

I mention my family on the blog frequently, and I am truly blessed!! No one has a perfect family, and mine is certainly flawed, crazy and totally obnoxious. At the end of the day, we are always there for each other and I hope that even as our family grows we will continue to love each other and value our relationships with each other!! 

My 2nd oldest sister is married with 6 kids- yes, 6!- and the oldest is only 7! They love their crazy, chaotic, busy life and I love being an Aunt! They had been living about 3 hours away, but recently moved and now live in my neighborhood, so I get weekly and sometime daily opportunities to spend time with my nephews & nieces. 

This cutie is such a crack-up!! She was full of faces like this! 

The family that has fun together; stays together!! 

Leaving on a Jet Plane.

(Blogging from my phone @ the airport)

Thursday morning I attended my first spin class. It was a great class and I definitely got my sweat on for the day! It was fun, but I found myself constantly watching the clock and the 45 minutes felt like an eternity. It is a great cardio alternative and an excellent form of cross-training, so I hope to add in two or three spin classes to my monthly workout schedule.


I did LOVE spinning in position #3. We did jumps and I was psyched each time we moved into #3.


It was pouring rain during spin, but stopped by the time class was over.  I'm a kid at heart and puddle jumping sounded like an exceptionally good idea, but I acted like an adult instead and stood in the street almost got run over and took picture of them instead.


Sweat don't lie!


 I knew I would be hungry when I got home from spin and wanted to have something I could grab right away so before I threw together some oats in a jar. I couldn't decide what flavor combination to use, but the decision was made for me when I opened up my 'plain' greek yogurt and it turned out to be blueberry! In the jar;
1/2 cup oats
2 TBS chia seeds
1 TBS almond butter
1/3 chopped banana
1/2 cup blueberry greek yogurt
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
Totally delicious!

I had some work to do editing photos & spent the remainder of my morning studying for my ISSA exam, which I hope to take by the end of the month. It was raining and it was very relaxing to listen to the rain while I worked through biomechanics and kinesiology!!

Yes, I'm the girl who goes out of her way to take a picture of a puddle that looks like a heart.


I've never seen a puddle that was anything but round, so this heart-shaped one was the cutest thing ever!

 
My evening was spent packing. I love traveling but packing is never a fun project for me. I never know what to bring! I find that I constantly over-pack and end up coming home with dozens of things I didn't even use. (Prime example- I packed for a 4 day work trip and when I came home I had 3 clean shirts left in my suitcase, plus the dirty ones that I had actually worn. Oh wait, it's perfectly normal to pack 2x the number of clothes you actually need.)
I decided to try and see if I could pack everything I would need for 5 days in a carry-on, so I had a lot less room for those 'extras'. I actually finished with room to spare, so I'm sure I forgot something important.

This morning's wakeup call came at 4:50. Bright and early to get in a good workout before my crazy day began. Getting up so early to work out is not my favorite, but it was the only way to fit in a workout today so I threw away my excuses and got to work! I started with a minute each of supermans, plank, reverse superman and reverse plank, then moved into a full-body routine. It was great to get moving and sweat to start my day.  

It was a little bit difficult to stay focused at work this morning- I'm off to Phoenix for vacation with two of my siblings!

 My brother moved to Arizona (recent graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Institute and an amazing Chef!) I cannot wait to see him- it's been about 5 months since I saw him last which is 5 months too long! "The Tabs" (my adorable sister & best friend) is also going to fly out there so the three of us will get some quality sibling time - SO excited!!

The past few months have been crazy, so I'm really looking forward to an time to relax with some of my favorite people!! It'll be a little quiet here on the blog until I get back on Tuesday, but I have an extra-special post headed your way Sunday (spoiler alert-- think adorable kids & a photo shoot!)! In the meantime, hit me up on Instagram (@ curlypinkrunner) to see photos throughout the weekend!

Sunshine, cactus and lots of sibling teasing- here I come!!

Tell me what you are doing this weekend?

When you travel do you prefer to fly or drive? I could never choose- I love them both.

Relay Iowa 2013!

Just before my marathon a friend of mine approached me and asked if I would be interested in joining his relay team. I was immediately super excited which quickly turned into totally intimidated!! I've always had a mini-crush on relays- they just look like SO much fun! Running, lots of people, over-dosing on Gatorade, lots of new scenery, sleeping in a van, carrying your own roll of toilet paper- what's not to love?!?
There were a few logistical problems, so after our initial conversation we decided that I wouldn't be joining the team after all. I was a bit bummed, but I knew there would be another opportunity some other time. However- over the weekend a spot opened back up and it didn't take any convincing to get me to sign up!!

I'll be running Relay Iowa- the longest relay run in 2013! Our 12-member team will be covering 336 miles over the course of 3 days and 2 nights, with the ultimate goal of finishing in less than 60 hours.
(to read more about the relay; http://www.relayia.org/)



So- relay training begins!! Whaaaaat? What in the world IS relay training, and shouldn't you usually train for longer than 4 weeks? Meh, who knows!

The relay is June 7th-9th, so I have less than a month to prepare. I feel like I have a good mileage base to work off of and I'm excited to have a new goal to work towards post-marathon. Running is extremely important to me just for the sake of running, but I do want to improve as a runner and goal-setting is the only way to make that happen!!

My plan is to run 4 days a week and focus on a few things in order to prepare specifically for the relay.


Multiple surfaces- the relay will be run on all varieties of surfaces; dirt, sand, pavement, gravel, cheap 'n seal and maybe hot lava or snowflakes depending on the weather. I'm going to jump around a little bit and make sure I am comfortable on all the different surfaces.
(I'm also going to do lots of push-ups to strengthen my arms so I can arm wrestle my fellow team mates into giving me the dirt-road legs.)

Speed work- but with no snow! I will be incorporating one speed/interval run a week into my schedule. Speed work is simply good for all runners- training for a relay or not. It's not my favorite, but it will challenge me and teach me a new side of mental & physical endurance and ability that will be vital during the relay. 

 

Night time running. I've never run in the dark before. I'm not scared of the dark, but this girl lives in mountain lion territory, so you do the math. I intend to run at least 4 night runs prior to the relay- I'm actually fascinated and wondering if I'll run significantly slower/faster in the dark? 

I had already dedicated the month of May to running GPS-less prior to the decision to run the relay, and I'm interested to see how that blends with my training. I debated scratching the run-free goal in order to get those number & stats for the relay, but decided against it. There is no set time goal or necessary need for speed at the relay. Running free this month is exactly what I need to practice for the relay. I don't need to worry about the numbers- I need to run from my heart. 

I'm very excited for this next running adventure. I am looking forward to a tough and amazing experience. I am excited to challenge myself and work together with the rest of the team to accomplish something amazing !!

Have you ever run a relay, if you haven't would you consider running one?

Happy Wednesday!

 I hope you are having a beeeautiful week!

Last night I ran a 7 miler after supper and then crashed as soon as I got clean, so when I woke up this morning I was rungry (read- a runner who is HUNGRY!)!! I threw together my favorite breakfast scramble- 2 egg & 2 egg whites, 1 onion & handful of spinach. Since I was abnormally hungry I threw in several pieces of sweet potato left over from supper last night- it was delicious! Totally hit the spot and held me over through a pretty busy morning.

I slept with my windows open last night which is an absolute guarantee for waking up in an exceptionally good mood. My day only got better from there when this little cutie showed up! My friend Natalie dropped her little munchkin off for a couple hours while she hit up Crossfit. We had a blast playing hide and go seek in the curtains, painting toenails (sorry we forgot to ask first Mom!!) and stacking pegs.

After she had to crash the party and go home with her Mom, I was off to a photo-shoot for my sister and her family. She has 6 of the cutest (and I'm not just being biased!) kids I have ever seen and we had perfect weather for the photos!! They really made my job easy! I have yet to find something that I WON'T do in order to make kids smile during a photo shoot. Today I added chewing on a tree branch to my list- those smiles were worth it! 

Speaking of smiles---

I try to add a little bit of humor to all my posts, and this e-card has me straight up giggling!!


This evening I completed an ab and arm circuit and my arms felt like jello. If you want to kill your shoulders an triceps try holding a reverse plank for 60 seconds and then move directly into a set of 20 tricep dips with your feet elevated. Burn!!

I was really craving a run, but I didn't really want to go too crazy after my 7 miler last night. I'm trying to be conservative about my mileage and not push too hard just to be super cautious with my shin. It feels fantastic,  and I am SO glad!
Running GPS-less is an entirely different animal! This evening I was swarming with a million different feelings during my run. Measuring by effort, I felt like I was running semi-hard miles- not push miles, but I wasn't dragging my feet. At the same time, I felt like I was running slow-- like I was sitting at a 10-10:30 pace, which for me is easy/recovery effort speed. It felt too hard effort-wise to be as slow as I felt speed-wise. It made me realize just how much I have transfered my inner pacing rythym to the read out of my GPS. I am looking forward to my next couple of runs and listening closer to my body and how I feel!  

What is your favorite Maroon Five band member SONG? Daylight, but I've yet to hear a song they sing that I DON'T trip over!

Where did you run today? gravel roads & through town during the 6 o'clock hour- hello tantalizing BBQ smells from every house!!

If you could get tickets and zoom off to any location today, where would you go? definitely Australia-I'd even have someone to run with!!

Be sure to check in tomorrow- I'll be announcing my next running adventure- SUPER psyched about it!! 

Some days you feel like Rambling.

Some mornings you snooze through both your 'time to work out' and 'time to make yourself look decent' alarms and have to choose between running late or making yourself look presentable.

Some days you are organized and plan ahead and thaw steak for supper, and spend all day at work dreaming about preparing a fore-mentioned iron-laden deliciousness for your supper only to arrive home and cut into it and find it utterly unfit for human consumption.
 (what IS that smell? is there a dead mouse in my kitchen? oh no, it's my supper.)

Some days you improvise and pepper steak becomes tilapia + ham + onions and is pretty darn delicious.

Some days you drink coffee at the unwise hour of 2130 (9:30 pm if you don't do Military Time) and are reminded at 0230 why such a practice is not recommended. 1 sheep.....2 sheep........3 sheep........why have we no lambs?

Some days you have a hair appointment scheduled at 10am and you wake up with knots in your stomach because you HAVE to cut your hair lest a third person in two weeks asks if you are trying that new retro hairstyle called; 'I'm a homeless person and own no shampoo', but the last time you had a hair cut you swore you could never leave the house again and wore a hat for 3 weeks straight.


(this is my 'how I feel about haircuts, snakes, radio station commercials' face.)

Some days you have a to-do list with the same amount of check-marks as there are items on said list and other days it's eenie meenie miney moe- which item on my to-do list is NOT going to get carried over until tomorrow?

Some days you wash your car and at your next errand the only available parking space happens to be under the tree. 20 minutes later when you return to your car; "wow birds, you really out-did yourselves this time."

Some days you run past a grave yard on your run and get caught with the sudden urge to run in and read all the tombstones and pick out which one you would choose for your grave if you HAD to pick one that was already in the graveyard. (oh, just me?? carry on.)

 

 Some days you drive through the middle of hilly-billy no where and just like that a fresh, pretty little pop of color catches your eye. You can't go wrong with a Tiffany-blue yard gate.

Some days the man behind you in line pays for you $1 coffee "because it's Tuesday and the sun came out when you walked in".

Some days you leave late, have to stop to fuel up, get caught in road work x2 and STILL arrive on time because you thought your appointment was set for o'clock but was really set for o'thirty.

 

 Some days you take what you remember as the 'short-cut' only to find yourself dead-ending in a cornfield. (On these days you thank God that it hasn't rained in the previous 24 hours so you don't get completely stuck.)

Some days you hear one of your current favorite jams not once; but twice on the way to work.
(guess that lyric- "go and hide your crazy and start acting like a lady")

Some days a friend texts you at just the exact moment you need a little bit of love, and even though they don't say much- what they say is exactly what you needed.

Life is not about the flash-bang moments. It's not comprised of the big-ticket moments that we plan, and prepare and dream and wish for. It's those little things that we fail to notice or appreciate. Life is found in the value of the little, insignificant day-to-day tasks and challenges.

Love the little things and you will love your life.

Tell me something little that happened in your day!

Run like a Duck.

Two weeks ago I ran a marathon.
One week ago I went for my first post-marathon run. 3 miles @ 10:30 pace.
Today I went for my first run-for-me run.

I feel like those first three sentences built this post up to be deep and fraught with wisdom, humor and one-liners worth sharing. I'm afraid all you're going to find is the crazy disjointed thoughts of a girl rambling about running topped off with a duck-face selfie. I try to be unique in my blogging style but I've found that the duck -face is just like your favorite lbd. When in doubt; duck-face.

It may be May, but the weather is dragging it's feet it was cold and windy. My plan had been to run first thing in the morning but I wimped out and decided to get it in on the treadmill later in the day. Procrastination worked in my favor because by mid-afternoon, I found my mo-jo and hit the gravel for 3 quick miles. 

It was ultra weird not to look at my splits. I was super interested to see how fast I was running since I've run just 3 miles in the past two weeks. I was craving a hard run, so I ran what I felt was my 'push pace'. It was still windy so I had a tailwind for the last 1.5 which didn't quite make up for running into it for the first 1.5, but it took away the most significant wind-hating vibes I was feeling. 

Being bad at math also worked in my favor since I knew roughly what time it was when I left the house, and what time I finished. I hate math enough that it would require a calculator to figure out how long I was running. Instead; I counted cows, but I ran out of fingers.

Gettin' my camouflage on.
Good thing it's not duck season.

Do you do the duck-face?

May Goals!

Happy Friday!! Welcome to the weekend- what are you doing with yours?
I wanted to take a few minutes to recap my April goals, and set my new May goals!!

--April Goals--
1. Drink more water. Check! I averaged at least 80 ounces a day.
2. Stretch before running. Check! I forgot once or twice, but I did encorporate stretching into my standard running routine. 
3. Finish my 1st Marathon. Check!! Read the recap HERE! 
4. Daily Hiit Video. Fail! I did manage to add in a video from their website 2 or 3 times a week, but I missed my 'once a day' mark.

5. Say NO to negativity. Mmmm.......I'd say this is a 50/50 toss up. Some days I did really great, other days it was a flood of nastiness. 
April was an extremely hectic month for me, and kind of a roller coaster for me physically and emotionally!! I completed my 30 day Paleo experiment, ran my first marathon and then took two weeks off running in order to allow my silly shin to recover.
I set goals because I want to improve myself every day and it gives me something to aim for. I'm excited to get focused on new goals this month!

MAY GOALS.

1. Turn off electronics at 10pm.
I work a fair amount of night shifts, so those nights are obviously excluded from this goal. But for the days when my schedule follows the 'normal' pattern, 10pm is lights out for the computer/phone!

2. Let freakin' Go.
Type-a, OCD, control freak. They're my greatest strengths, but they are also my biggest weaknesses and sources of insecurity. I can't, shouldn't and ultimately DON'T want to control my life, and every little aspect of it. I'm purposing to STOP micro-managing and just let things go. Ride it out. Chill-ax.

3. RUN FREE.
During my two week running siesta, I was contemplating what my next 'running goal' would be. I'm not ready to start training for another specific race yet, and I also want to balance out my cross training & strength training schedule now that marathon training isn't a major time-suck; but I do want to have something to challenge myself in regards to running. I was thrilled when I saw this challenge on Cori's blog-- just the perfect thing for me right now. I get so easily caught up with the ultra-details of my running that I allow the specifics of my time/pace/splits to steal the pure joy of running. Especially on the heels of my possible stress-fracture scare, I'm looking forward to unplugging and running for me.

4. Cut out distractions during meals.
It's come to my attention that meal-time is probably my greatest multi-tasking window of time each day. I rarely (read- NEVER) just eat a meal- I'm always doing something else. Breakfast- while driving to work. Lunch- at my desk at working. Supper- doubled with studying, blogging, other computer work. It's not a healthy habit, and I'd rather make eating while multi-tasking a rare occasion instead of a daily practice.

Anyone else setting May Goals??? 
link up in the comments!

What is the biggest goal you've ever set and accomplished?