Running Topless

Wow… you sure clicked on that link really fast. Well get your mind out of the gutter and let me clarify the title of this post. When I say topless, I’m referring to this:

Post Chicago Rock 'n Roll Half with Hodester

So no, not literally running/racing naked... which I know is also out there.

But let’s rewind really quick. How was everyone’s 4^th? Mine pretty much involved this:

Boat

beer

Being Awesome.

I’m glad Andrew has embraced his role of being my full-time photographer.

As he always says, "Anything for the blog babe."

Anyways, back to this topless topic. The morning of the 4^th I went out for a 10 miler; with New York only 4 months out, I feel a need to slowly start increasing the mileage. As everywhere else in the country, it was hot. So without really thinking twice I threw on my shorts and a sports bra and headed out the door.

I can’t really say that I felt the love.

I’ve never had an issue running sports-bra only.  It was something that I embraced literally 8 months out of the year while living in Colorado, and almost every summer while training at school down in central Illinois.

I guess that I should keep in mind that it was a holiday, so the trails were busy with families/couples enjoying a holiday stroll. But honestly from the looks that I was getting, you would have thought that I was running with a swastika painted on my stomach. And just to be clear, I most definitely was not.

Post-run. No swastika.

Since it’s my nature to make an effort to acknowledge others out on the trail, I smiled/nodded/waved etc. to most people I passed. In total I got one smile back from an elderly couple and a creepy half smile/excessively long stare from a hoodlum on his sweet BMX bike, chains and all. All other acknowledgement fell somewhere in the realm of death stares.

source

Now that's a death stare if I've ever seen one. And no, I did not see Michelle Obama out on the trail.

Is this an area-specific issue? Perhaps even community specific? Or is it just me being extra sensitive? I’m just curious. Just as men are able to run shirtless, I’ve never seen anything wrong with women doing it too, as long as the twins are strapped down appropriately.

I’d love to hear thoughts on this topic….

In other news, it’s Friday. I’m sitting on 42 miles for the week, 9 of them were biked. I plan on putting on a mini made-up triathlon for myself tomorrow morning to finish up my 50 FOR 50 challenge.  More on that tomorrow.

Enjoy your weekend. I wish every week was broken up by a mid-week day off, don’t you?

Cheers!

July the 4th

Happy Independence Day!!

I hope your day is filled with BBQ's, cold beverages and fire works that are clear from nearby houses and any dry landscape.

Let's keep this short, because even I have things I would rather be doing than babbling on to myself in cyberspace. It's the 4th, and it's also a Wednesday ... equating to WEIRD WEDNESDAYS 4th of July Special Edition!

There are no words, I know.

I was cursed blessed as a small child/teen to have been enrolled in just about any sport/activity that I even expressed a vague interest in. From soccer to violin lessons to Irish Dancing to softball to...

on occasion it will still come out at parties. 

Baton Twirling?

Yes, one summer long long ago I took a Baton Twirling summer camp. The end result of the camp? We got to march in our town's 4th of July Parade, and twirl those sticks like mad.

Me (right) & Dani. Bff's.

The sad part of the story?

At the end of the parade, I ended up getting lost and not being able to find my parents. For the longest 10 minutes of my adolescent life, I was convinced that I was bound to be an orphan, living on the street.

There I am, front and center. Looking so happy.

My mom found my tear stained self soon enough, but if I remember correctly, the day was most definitely ruined, and I never touched that stupid baton again. I may have even burnt it.

Apparently baton twirling just wasn't my calling. I prefer my running shoes anyways.

On that note, I'm off to knock out 10 before it gets too hot. Have an amazing red white & blue day!

Cheers!

50 for 50

So, tomorrow’s the 4^th. The good ole’ Fourth of July; celebrating our beautiful country.

taken on my bike ride this morning. yes, bike ride.

What’s that? I haven’t shared my July goals with you guys yet? How inconsiderate of me.

Let me start with my short term one – it’s a one week challenge I decided to throw at myself in honor of our country, and each of our 50 states. I decided to run/bike one mile for each one of those states this week. Even the states I hate, like Nebraska. (sorry Nebraskans, nothing against you guys... just route 80)

Source

Or the hood life? You choose.

50 states = 50 miles. Originally I played with the thought of just running 50 miles this week. But I realized that jumping from about 30 miles (on average) a week to a random 50 may make my foot extremely angry at me. So I decided 15 of those miles can be on my bike. 9 of those bike miles were already used up this morning, on my quick little sunrise ride.

me being unhappy about waking up at 5:30.

So that already puts me at 20 miles for the week; only 30 to go! No cheating, I promise.

I’ve found it’s better for me to keep it simple when it comes to goals. Not make a list of 46 things I want to complete for the month, then epically fail and feel bad about myself. JUNE goals went well. I successfully drank a green smoothie EVERY day of June. However… I probably only foam rolled for about half the month and then got bored/distracted/busy/lazy. You win some you lose some; I’ll keep working on that.

Goal #1 for July: I’ve decided to once again pair up with Run to the Finish and try out her 30 day Ab Challenge. Each day a new workout is posted on Youtube via Strong Like Susan, and so it will be super easy to follow along. 

click here

Goal #2 for July: Incorporate a little more green into my life once again. Green tea that is.  Coffee’s been my go-to lately, but I’m going to switch that out for green tea at least twice a week, and try to pump up the antioxidant count.

yum!? not really.

That’s it on the goal side of things, but hold on, wait, don’t stop reading! I have an EPIC oatmeal recipe to share with you; it may be just what you need to start off your 4^th tomorrow morning...

Peach Cobbler Oatmeal

• 1/2 - 2/3 cup raw oats
• Handful of Flax seed/chia seeds (fiber) - optional
• 1 TB Cinnamon
• 1 TB vanilla
• 1 TB dried unsweetened coconut (optional)
• 1 sliced peach
• 1-2 TB liquid egg whites (optional protein)

 Throw it all in a microwave safe bowl. Cover oats completely with vanilla almond milk, or any other kind of milk you may have on hand.

Microwave 2-3 mins until it has solidified. Sprinkle a handful of crushed bran cereal (fiber 1, bran flakes etc) on top, and drizzle a little agave/maple syrup to sweeten it up.

Now if you don’t love that, you can slap me in the face and call me Sally.

Enjoy your Tuesday, and stay tuned – there will be a special 4^th of July edition of Weird Wednesdays tomorrow. Let’s just say, it has to do with baton twirling.