DIY- Metal Folding Chairs Face Lift!

Super excited to share one of my Pinterest inspirations today! Last week Jon and I hosted Thanksgiving at the lake house for the first time for his family. It was the first time grandma and grandpa weren't hosting and we wanted to make sure we kept the family feel but updated a few things with a fresher look. My nit-pick was the folding chairs.

 

Well a couple weeks ago I was failing miserably at convincing Jon to get new folding chairs and can the old ones when it hit me I could probably paint them and do it myself. A few hours that evening on Pinterest ad a couple trips to Joann to get some fabric swab samples and we locked on a palette and fabric!

If you want really good instructions I recommend you check out this blog. What I'll cover below are some surprises and lessons learned (the hard way from me so you don't have to!).

1. Removing The Old Cushions

Sounds easy right? Most blog instructions state to simply unscrew and voila! If you have metal folding chairs with cushions at the back, those are easy- a Phillips #2 will do. Or you can get one of these bad boys (in purple!) that comes with a cordless drill and it will go much quicker.

I found the kit at one of our many runs to Walmart. It's the closest store to the lake house AND they sold purple tools?!! (disclaimer: could not find the product URL online for purchase, looks like in-store only).

The bottoms as shown in My Fabulous Life's blog true to form has some sort of flat head/plastic molly screw in them. Cutting them off was one of the most time-consuming parts for me. Mainly because I was down a thumb (mandolin washing accident). Definitely use wire cutters or a hack saw or some sort!

2. Reupholstering The Cushions
Don't bother removing the old fabric unless it's beyond gross. Takes too much time! To reupholster the chairs you're going to need a staple gun. Sigh, I hate to say this- but a pink or baby blue staple gun will fail you miserably especially if they're not heavy duty. I got halfway through the chairs before the thing broke in half. Pouting and disheartened, (and whiny) Jon finally resolved my dilemma and grabbed this bad boy #2 for the garage (thank you grandpa for having awesome tools).

During several trips into town I tried desperately to convince Jon to get a new staple gun that was more my style and was convinced this one was also broken. After getting sick of hearing me whine and a quick Google search, he promptly pointed out it was user-error on my end and I was not putting enough weight on the staple gun to staple properly. Slightly embarrassing! Having the right tools will make re-upholstering a breeze.

 

I use much less fabric than was advised and ended up using about 19"x19" for the bottom cushion  and 19" x 10" for the back cushion. Make sure that if your fabric has patterns both the continue in the same direction on both cushions. I had no issues with this but can definitely see this being a blind spot on the project.

 

3. The Paint Job

Use lots of drop cloth. I ended up using a two 9'x12' drop cloths to cover my workspace. If I could do this over again I would do this in dead heat of summer. When it's cold enough to snow (and it did) is not a good time. Alas I painted in the garage and moved everything back to the house when it was dry so it wasn't painful.

 

I set the chairs with primer (used a little less than half a can to partially coat 8 chairs) and it seemed to be plenty. The color I chose was Rust-Oleum Gloss in deep blue. It added a nice contrast to the fabric.

 

 

4. Putting Everything Back Together

Use a drill to reattach the bottom cushion to the chairs! The blog I referenced earlier used one inch screws but I went down to a half because they were shorter. Drill straight through those molly screws you clipped off and it will make your chairs quite secure. And here's a look at the finished product!

 

Bleeding Cupcakes

Halloween is one if my favorite times of the year. A fun tradition Jon and I have started consists of making yummy goodies for my office (we'd make some for his too, but he's still much too cool to bring snacks in for his coworkers).

 

Our favorite recipe is Bleeding cupcakes. They're great for the office or any frightful fete you may have planned this weekend!

 

Bleeding cupcakes stabbed with a knife

The original recipe can be found on Martha Stewart's Website.  I added the blood and knifes separately for a yummy thriller effect. Simply make the batter for your favorite cake then evenly distribute in a lined mini cupcakes pan about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way full. Insert mini Reese's peanut butter cups and gently press down so that the batter is evenly around the chocolate. Bake for 10-15 min. Stab you mini cupcakes then decorate with Wilton ' s sparkle red gel.

 

You can buy the candy knifes from Wilton online or visit your favorite craft store during Halloween to see if they have it in stock. The package shows the knives stabbing a cupcake but wouldn't you rather have a yummy surprise center instead :).

DIY Mercury Glass Vases

Hi!

I wanted to share a DIY project I recently finished a few weeks ago.

One of my besties recently got engaged and asked me to be one of her bridesmaids and help her with some of her wedding décor. I am both excited and thrilled not only for her to take a the next BIG step in her relationship but also for the opportunity to create wedding décor pieces that fabulously flaunt her personality!

I can't spoil all her wedding details, but let's say the first project involved mercury glass. Knowing how expensive glass pieces are (especially when you need several for a wedding) I decided practice making some simple DIY mercury glass vases.

With a little bit of water, Krylon looking glass paint, and old vases from flower deliveries (thank you boyfriend!) I ended up with the finished product below:

You can find the full DIY instructions from Better Home and Gardens here. If I do say so myself the finished product looks pretty awesome!

Glam Easter Eggs

Happy Good Friday/Easter Weekend!

I want to share a fun Easter egg decorating project Jon and I just completed. We were invited to Easter Sunday by some friends of ours and I wanted to make some simple parting gifts. What better gifts to give on Easter Sunday than Easter eggs?!

Our set-up include every possible dye color, egg trays (dishwasher safe from Bartell Drugs), electrical tape, hole puncher (for polka dots!), and of course beer.

I had some leftover gold and copper leaf from a project, and with a little bit of food dye, some Martha Stewart and Pinterest inspirations we had some awesome results.

 

Day before the race! #TNTWhidbey

Today is the day before our big day. I'm not going to lie it felt awesome to sleep in today.
Jon was gracious enough to drive Andrew and myself to/from the race. As is everything in life Murphy's Law was in full effect and did not disappoint us today :-).

First it started with the cadence of getting ready. Despite getting up at 10 a.m. Today we were still over an hour late picking up Andrew in Kirkland. We also have to deal with Mercer St being closed for part of the way to I5 due to construction and the 520 bridge closure.We made pretty good time heading to the ferry terminal. And only had a half hour wait before we got in the ferry queue.

Then we got the announcement that one of the ferries had electrical issues and that delayed are arrival by a half hour. We landed at Clinton a few minutes after 6, dashed to check in to our bed and breakfast,  and then drove into Oak Harbor to pick up our race bid numbers.

We were nearly an hour late to the team dinner, but they graciously greeted us with smiles, and hot pasta! Coach Erica was our inspirational speaker and shared how she started her fundraising with TNT and her sister's battle with a rare form Lymphoma. It was another great reminder of the impact and power that comes to change lives when people come together.

After the dinner and advice from the Washington and Alaska chapter coaches we decorated our TNT Jerseys for the race. Here is a photo of Jon's cheer signage and our run jerseys.

We then picked up some snacks and water at the local Safeway and headed back to our bnb to relax and play some Five Crowns. Logging off now. Feel free to send all your supports through Facebook and twitter using our hashtag #TNTWhidbey!



Mission Mile Run- Sammamish River Trail

Saturday was the last Team in Training run before the half marathon event. We met that morning at Red Hook Brewery in Woodinville. For the Whidbey Island Half/Marathon runners we ran for about 80 minutes. Our Nike half marathon counterparts had their longest run that day.

Everyone gathered at the Sammamish River Trail that runs behind the brewery. We started our run with a very powerful, and emotional mission mile. The mission mile is a Team in Training tradition. The first "mile" has photos of loved ones, friends, and LLS patients posted on opposite sides of the trail. We start out in a silent walk to honor those we know who have lost to blood cancer as well as survivors who are here because of treatments funded by LLS. I only took one photo because I thought it was really awesome but was also trying to be respectful of the tradition.

Mission Mile at Red Hook Brewery

It was another very real moment for me that this isn't about the physical endurance and breakthroughs I'm making in my training or even the fundraising. It really is being a small part of something bigger- saving lives and giving hope. Below is another photo of the trail. The start of the run was very emotional, yet serene and beautiful at the same time.

 

 

I hit the turnaround point (about 40-45 minutes in) and began making my way back to our starting point. The mission mile the run was just as powerful as the beginning. The captains wrote inspirational phrases on the trail and the faces of the cancer patients and survivors still lined the trail cheering you on.

 

 

Towards the end I had to stop running. I was sobbing uncontrollably, embarrassed, and frankly stunned how much mission mile had made this real for me. One of my team mates Valerie and I stood hugging  and telling each other how proud we were of the team, our fundraising efforts, and training.  To date our Spring team has raised over $150,000!

Every dollar makes a difference. If you haven't yet donated please take a moment to make a generous donation on my fundraising page.

My next blog I'll be sharing real time updates from my half marathon this weekend at Whidbey Island!

Leaving All Doubt Behind

A quick little note before I get on with my work day. I want to share with you my new motivational phrase that practically fell in my lap today :).

A few weeks ago our TNT newsletter encouraged runners to find ways to stay motivated and get through mental toughness. I find it useful to re-read the past newsletters because I always notice something I've overlooked or missed reading. The goal of choosing a word or phrase is to help dilute any negative thought, help propel you forward, and inspire you to keep going. And then you put it on repeat and do it again!

I've been re-reading Om from the Mat by Dana Damara during my home yoga practice. Dana is an amazing and inspiring yoga instructor. I was fortunate enough to take a class from her during Wanderlust last summer. She had a lot of wonderful phrases and passages for meditation to deepen your yoga practice and grow spiritually. I was finding it difficult to find a mantra to calm my busy mind when I'm running and as much as I love Dana, it wasn't quite working for me. I guess I find running energizing and not relaxing :).

I was running at the gym going through my mental checklist of to-do's for the day it hit me: Leave All Doubt Behind. It was one of several inspirational phrases posted on the wall by the elliptical and treadmill machines. It's cheesy, but I'm sure the gym designer must have known most people feel like hamsters on a wheel!

I won't go too deep on this, but as I was running I mentally transitioned from pre-stressing about my day to pondering what does it mean to leave all doubt behind for me?

For me it means several things. It means having faith. Taking chances. Going with your gut. Having confidence. But most importantly doing your own thing and having your own perspective on life.

There's never a right time to add something else to your plate. But if it's something your passionate about and you want to have fun with why, not? A colleague of mine is coming back from a three-month sabbatical traveling all over the world, and her post on Facebook really resonated with me today when I saw my new mantra on the wall today:

"If you put your mind to what's important in your life and make a plan to get it or there, anything is possible"

The context of my colleague's post was to not make excuses for not traveling because she was able to find a way to make her dreams a reality. But I think this can apply to any situation, goal, or aspiration. Today try to find one thing you would normally doubt yourself on and make a plan for getting it done!

Mission Moment- Remembering Jennifer Cuellar

A few weeks ago Jon's grandfather was officially diagnosed with dementia. Though I haven't seen him since the holidays it's been really sad for me thinking about him and his wife and sadly their mortality.As a result, I've spend most of the past month putting things into perspective. Work, vacation, disagreements, stress, errands.

Many people know that over a span of 11 months between the past year and a half I lost three of my remaining grandparents. Growing up traveling as much as I did with my parents eventually parting ways, I didn't get the opportunity to know my grandparents very well, but knew them well over the phone, specifically nana Harris.

I've gotten very close to grandpa over the last four and a half years and love him as much as I would any of my own grandparents. As I've been training for my half marathon I've been thinking and praying for so many people, especially those that are here in the present with me. But today I want to share with you about a dear friend who lost her battle to leukemia when I was younger.

Meet and Greet
I was entering high school, freakishly tall, lanky, and awkward except when I did dance or played my clarinet. We had recently started going to a new mainstream/modern church in the next town over, Church For All Nations. They were in revival, everyone was loving God. At that time the two things I remember most was happy and content people, and genuine smiles. My twin, Char, and I were much closer then and stuck to each other like glue. Like two Siamese cats leary of everyone but giving sheepish grins and remembering our Southern-like manners whenever an adult spoke to us.

In bounce Francis and Jennifer. Both twins too. Both fraternal. Francis more reserved like myself. Jennifer as energetic as a golden retrieve pup, similar to my sister Char. We were never the best of friends, but we immediately had that bond that most multiple birth people do. We became instant friends.

Char and I always looked up to Francis and Jennifer, they were older, wiser, and had this God-thing figured out a lot better than we did. They were worshippers, teachers, students, and most of all friends.Through the growing pains of puberty they were great role models for what Char and I could blossom into. We would occasionally go to bible study at Wessamo's house, hangout before and after worship, act in church plays, and work in the church café together. Again we were never best of friends but when they four of us were around each other it was just right.

Jennifer's Passing
Fast forward a number of years, whenever we came home from college and visited my mom's church it was a helping hug from the past. There would be the normal salutations, hugs, kisses, welcomes- as you would do with friends picking up where you left off. This would happen not only with old friends from youth group, but the deacons, and elders, and kids you remembered watching when they were in the nursery- except now they stood near four feet tall.

It was these things in life I started to realize I took for granted when I heard the news. My mom called me, it was in '08. Telling me that we needed to come home, one of the twins had died and lost her fight with Leukemia. Jennifer battled leukemia for well over a year. Had even gone into remission so we'd thought. As a matter of fact I had just seen her over the holidays when I'd gone back to visit.

I don't remember the service. Not clearly. I remember being in shock. Her sister crying uncontrollably- like her womb had been ripped out. My twin was bawling too. But all I could do was stand there and hug. I remember Jennifer's giggles. that everyone who met her loved her curly locks and her cheerful grin. I remember her wisdom from youth group as she grew to be one of the next wave of our leaders. But it was life cut too short. I don't remember her suffering or ever complaining about it. I remember interceding in prayer, but I don't remember mourning. Most of all I remember her singing with my mom on stage...at church...glowing. But knowing Jennifer I know she would have wanted us to remember her happy.

It's weird how whenever you hear of someone starting to not do well that you immediately think of the people who've left this world to go on to a better place. Jennifer is always one of those people that I remember. That I love. That I aspire to be as giving to my community as she was to hers.

As I approach my race in just a few weeks, in addition to the grandparents, survivors, and those we've loved that have since gone; I'll be remembering Jennifer.

 

As I complete my training it's to fundraise to help find a cure, so that people we know, others cherish, we can help save or improve their lives, minimize their pain, and hopefully bring peace to their families. Please consider making a donation if you haven't yet done so to my fundraising page. It's an incredible cause, with an incredible impact. I ask that as you donate, you do so in remembrance of someone whose touched your life.

 

Charm's Fundraising Page:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/whidbey14/charmiee1y



The Longest Run

If you would have asked me outright five months ago if I thought I could run 13 miles, my answer would have been no. Today I realized not only the hard work I've put into my training, but the great support Team in Training and their coaches have provided.

Today was our longest run. For the Whidbey Island half marathon runners that was 130 minutes (psst...that's like over 2 hours!).  Many of you know I was sick with the flu (really something closer to ebola) recently so I was very conscious about not getting sick again so close to the run. But I was excited to get back out there and see what I could do

The Route
Yesterday's route was a gorgeous run along Lake Washington. We started at the Japanese Garden in the Arboretum and ran along Lake Washington Blvd. The route had us turn around at either the halftime mark (65 min) or at Seward Park whichever came first. On the way back we had some hill training by turning onto McGilvra Blvd, making a left on E. Galer St., left onto E. Madison St., and then making a final right turn onto Lake Washington Blvd to head back to the Japanese Garden.

Lake Washington Blvd Route

My halfway turnaround mark was probably 3-5 min from Seward Park. Here's a photo someone posted on our TNT Facebook page of me making the trek back (the blue arrow is pointing at me!).

Charm and fellow TNT members running Lake Washington Blvd.

The map above (according to Google and my FitBit Flex) is just over 14 miles! At the "finish line" there was a lovely group of TNT folks (and beer!) to cheer you through your last push. Not the best photo of me taken, but candid shot of fellow TNT Adriane and I enjoy a beverage after crossing the finish line and getting our longest run medals.

 

After this run we being "tapering" off. according to the Coach's newsletter we're entering into a rest period before the big race. Our taper period will be about 2-3 weeks before the half marathon. The benefit of having this time is that you allow your body to rest, recover, and repair sp that you are in full peak for the race.

In other words, I'll have to go golfing or on walks now that the weather is getting nicer to keep up my FitBit steps in the Arryve competition ;).

NEW SHOES!

NEW SHOES! NEWS SHOES! NEW SHOES!

Regardless if they're running sneaks, ballet flats, oxfords, or 4 inch pumps, nearly every girl gets excited when you fall in pair with a new pair of shoes. Now that I'm recovering from the flue I decided it was time to get a new pair of sneaks to break into stride.

Traditionally I have always been a Nike girl when it came to my running shoes. One of the coaches had chatted with me about getting new shoes since my current sneaks I've had for about 6 months and I use them to play flag football.

After work today I decided to swing by Road Runner Bellevue and see what they had. While no professional, I've ran frequently enough in my lifetime to think that I knew exactly what I wanted in a pair of running shoes. Boy was I wrong!

The Method to the Madness
Road Runner specializes in fitting you for the right pair of shoes for your arch, posture, and gait. They call this their Shoe Dog foot analysis program.

They do this all barefoot in their store. I'm OCD so after much heavy persuasion I was able to complete the analysis successfully with ankle socks. First they check your shoe needs- running a half marathon. Check.

Then they measure your balance on some foam blocks that resemble padding you see at a jumping gym. Finally they have you run/walk on a treadmill and some fancy cams take photos and analyze your, pressure, etc. Well my feet roll outwards slightly which is expected from years of dance training; and I have a high arch which I've inherited from my mother (makes wearing heels a bbbrrreeezze!).

What was surprising to the fit experts was my incredibly straight posture both standing and running. She replayed the video and exclaimed that I ran in near perfect parallel lines. I guess not everyone did charm school and had to learn walking/sitting with books on their heads? I then went into some poor jokes and mumblings about posture and back health and my pet peeve for slouchy tall people. Needless to say I probably should have kept my mouth shut because it their glossy looks gave me that "You're not from around here, are you?" attitude.

The next part was shoe fitting. This part took the longest and I was in the store for about two hours. I got suckered into doing custom fitted sole inserts ($70 after I hit the register) and fought the rep on going up half a size for shoes.

Needless to say after 11 pairs of shoes, feeling like I had the largest flippers on, and finally convincing him to give me my regular size in narrow since all their pairs seem to run wide, I was happy! I deflected warnings of toenail damage and them falling off. I was more concerned about getting blisters from having too much space in my shoes! I've ran and danced for hours at a time and I know feet swell, but I mine are still below average.

I landed on a sassy new pair of Saucony Guide 7 running shoes with medium support and stability.

 

 

These shoes fit great, had reasonable room for swelling, and I definitely noticed the arch support I wasn't getting from my old sneaks. I look forward to breaking them in during our long distance run at Discovery Park this weekend.

 

Ebola- Or What Feels Like It

Ok so I don't have ebola but I feel horrible so I'll keep this post short :). After Saturday's run I got the sniffles. By Sunday afternoon I was down with a nasty cough/head cold. Monday morning I was running a high fever and had the flu.

I'm still sick, working from home, and worst part unable to run. Please pray that I get well soon so I can hit the concrete! I did receive a note from a girlfriend of some fun DIY flu remedies. Since it's the tailend of the flu season thought I'd share!

24 DIY Delicious Cold Remedies

My favorite is the ginger lemon intensi-toddy. Now if I could just muster up the strength to sit up longer than twenty minutes!

 



 

Mission Moment- Judy Leukemia Survivor

This week has been a rough week for training. I haven't been sleeping very well, personally, I blame ruffles.

Every so often it's easy to get swept away with the careless worries of our day:

"I'm busy"
"I'm in back-to-back meetings all day"
"I have to pick up my kids after work"
"I didn't have time to grab lunch because I had a presentation to finish," etc., etc.

I don't feel like I usually get in a rut, but this week has been near the point where I've wanted to pull my hair. Then voila! My weekly Team in Training (TNT) newsletter arrives.

The TNT newsletter usually contains a pep talk for fundraising, team runs scheduled for the upcoming week (Sat., Tues., and Thurs.), running tips, and usually a mission-related video or cause marketing for LLS.

Today's email included a video of Judy, a sweet old lady who is a cancer survivor and her story. I won't do it justice reiterating so I've posted the link below.

Stories like Judy's is a great reminder of why I'm doing this half marathon. I'm not just doing it to get back into running more consistently, or even to hang out with my friend Drew (sorry buddy). I'm doing it to raise money for LLS, to help find cures, treat patients, and give people the hope to a healthy life.

It's so easy to lose focus of the end goal with life's distractions. I hope you'll take a few minutes to watch Judy's video.

If you'd like to make a difference and help change other people's lives, please donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and support my fundraising efforts as I help raise money for a great cause: http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/whidbey14/charmiee1y.
 

Let's Talk About Nutrition

Training has been going well. I'm still playing flag football on Wednesdays and between all my other lovely extra curricular activities I'm still squeezing in about 2-3 days of running. I have to admit it's hard with how chilly and wet it's been outside.

Today marks about the 3rd month (or 4th?) that I've dedicated most Saturday mornings to running with Team in Training. Tuesdays have generally been out because there's no way I'm going to get from Redmond to Bellevue by 6:15/6:30pm with traffic. Toastmasters is on Thursday which leaves Saturday as the big day to socialize, see the coaches, and ask for tips.

My gait is picking up (fancy way of saying I'm getting faster :) ). I can tell because I'll run for the same average duration (40-70 minutes) but it's taking me less steps so I see myself fluctuating more on the FitBit dashboard.

In addition to getting stronger and faster I noticed that I feel more exhausted, sometimes dizzy. I spent some time last week talking to coaches Erica and Tessa and they provided me a little more insight into nutrition. So, what have I learned?

Eat More Carbs

The first thing I learned was that I'm not eating enough carbs to compensate for the calories I'm burning. Keeping a quick food diary on MyFitnessPal confirmed this. MyFitnessPal has both an app and a FitBit partnership. This integrates my calorie consumption with FitBit netting out consumed vs. intake calories. I was consistently showing a 1,000-1,200 calorie deficit.

In keeping my food diary I didn't necessarily eat anything bad, but most of what I ate consisted of meat, veggies, and juices (yes, still going crazy with my juicer!). I decided this was a quick fix. I simply transitioned from quinoa with brown sugar and milk for breakfast with scrambled egg whites,  to rice with mint, parsley, or lemongrass (sounds weird but tastes great).

The bigger challenge was carb-loading mid-week (Wed-Fri) before my longer runs. I like to eat dinner late so if I eat a big dinner, I'm not going to get up at 7am to go running for 90, 100, 110 minutes. Not happening. Forcing myself to eat dinner sooner and to carb load on pasta was a challenge.

What stuck was occasionally brown rice with stir fry veggies, or rigatoni bolognese. For race day I'll have to remember to bring some rice for breakfast :).

Get Salty

After long runs I started noticing white crystal residue on my face (gross).I actually freaked out at first and thought that somehow a bunch of sand and dirt managed to kick up to my face. I also needed to increase my sodium intake in addition to rehydrating electrolytes as I was sweating out a significant amount of salt. Needless to say I definitely kept some Yes To Cucumber facial wipes in my car.

 

 

According to an article by Runner's World a few years ago, consuming extra salt can be beneficial to runners who lose a lot during workouts. Salt helps with hydration, and losing too much can contribute to body cramps. I can't say that I'll be sucking on salt packets during my run, but I have taken to shaking salt dispensers quite regularly into my water glass causing some unexpected stares at a café or restaurants.

 

Energy

 

I spent a couple of hours back at Road Runner Sports talking to a nutrition expert. As my runs will only increase in distance it's important for me to think about having a snack or two to during to replenish energy and electrolytes. I wasn't sure what I'd like so I bought a little of everything. I've only tried a few during or after a workout and I do know the Honey Stinger brands are my favorite. Their gummies/gels taste pretty natural (like honey) and is tolerable. When I workout I usually don't think "hey let me stop to have a snack then keep going." In contrast GU and PowerGel (from the makers of PowerBar were absolutely disgusting. It was a texture issue with their gels.

 

GU will be the sponsor for my race so I plan to carry some extra Honey Stinger packets. I'll spend the next several weeks sampling some other brands, products, and flavors. I'll definitely share what's in my must-have list for race day!

TNT Run- Genesee Park

Today's run was about 110 minutes. The last several weeks have been building up to our long distance runs. Overall the run was beautiful! We started at Genesee Park in South Seattle, ran to Seward Park. did a few miles of hill training, then ran back to Genesee Park.

My challenge on this run were tight hips and shins. I woke up late following a yummy Valentine's Day dinner at Blue Water Bistro. Ironically the team breakfast was there, and yes I skipped.

But I digress, back to my tight hips and shins. Because I had one to many snoozes I was running late kinda blew through the stretching spending only 15 min instead of my usual 20-30 minutes. Running hills only exasperated the pain. That and I think I'm due for some new running sneaks soon as the arch support is noticeably worn on my current pair.

Before I submit myself to the torture of an ice-bath to help with my recovery, I wanted to share some pretty photos taken today. Isn't Lake Washington beautiful at the break of dawn?

Lake Washington from Seward Park

Lake Washington

TNT ladies at the water stop



#FirstWorldProblems

I had another good training week, finishing the end of January strong. It's been chilly so I've opted to run indoors at my gym. To help keep myself motivated I decided to treat myself to a few new running pieces I snagged at lululemon (most were on sale). well one piece I splurged on was this new basic runner 1/2 zip jacket:

lululemon

What I like about this top is that it fits over anything without bulging. It also has a little more length than most running track jackets I own so the seams lay flat without riding.

I decided to sport my new jacket at today's long distance run at Lake Youngs. Lake Youngs is basically in the middle of nowhere Maple Valley with really long street names (in Russian or Ukranian I think?) that I save myself the trouble of pronouncing.

One of the reasons I bought this jacket is because it had a well sewn mesh kangaroo pocket, perfect for holding keys, cell phones, smaller items....or so I thought.

I was about 20 minutes into my run and had gone a few miles, passing some fellow TNT marathon walkers along the way. At some point I realized I didn't wear studs but my Tiffany 2012 metal bar French hoop earrings.

As I rocked out to Red Hot Chili Peppers on my headphones, I assumed they would be equally safe in the kangaroo pocket as the zipper compartment located on the back of the jacket. Boy was I wrong. At I turned the corner to begin an incline I instinctively patted my hand over the kangaroo pouch and noticed that the earrings were gone.

Wait you say, you're going to type an entire blog post about earrings?? Yes. Yes I am. #FirstWorldProblems. But the point of this blog isn't to be melodramatic about how I lost a favorite pair of my earrings rather to share how some awesome people I'm just getting to know helped make this day better.

Tiffany 1837 collection RUBEDO metal bar earings

These earrings for a gift from Jon, my boyfriend for our 4-year anniversary. So they had a lot of sentimental meaning. They are also a limited edition production from what he explained to me from Tiffany and they are sold out of this rose gold-like special metal. To sum up they emotional sentiment and they can't be replaced. And I was absolutely foolish for not swapping them out.

After I had a panic attack for the first 3 minutes "Jon's going to kkiiilll me!" I proceeded for the next hour to span every crook, cranky, pebble, and twig looking for my earrings. I gladly encouraged the other TNT members around to not bother as I didn't want to impose on their workout.

But again this is an awesome organization fundraising for an awesome cause, and everyone is, well, awesome. One of the coaches helped me look and we jogged back and forth. A group of walkers also set out to look to see if they noticed anything shiny along the way. What made it difficult is that these earrings are rose gold-like so they unfortunately blended in with everything. 20 minutes later one of the walkers' daughter, a girl scout, found a pair about a half mile back from where I stopped!



By the end of the hour another group of walkers, Caroline, had actually found the other one a mere 3 ft from where I stopped when I noticed they'd fallen out of my kangaroo pouch. I wrapped up just in time for Drew to give me a hard time and to buy 7 boxes cookies from the girl scout as a thank you :).

Morale of the story- there's a few:

1) Don't workout with real jewelry on
2)Don't wear French hoops without backings
3)If you cry about losing Tiffany most people will want to smack you aside the head
4)Wear studs
5)Invest in costume jewelry
6)These TNT people are kinda awesome for helping with something that was important to me, no matter how trivial.
7)Always buy cookies from girl scouts. Always.

Later this afternoon I'll plan on making up today's long distance run and do a loop or two around Queen Anne Boulevard.

TNT Run- Alki

Today I was excited because it's the LONGEST run I have ever had today! I ran about 100-110 minutes at Alki.

We met up near a boat parking area ran 3-5 miles out, returned, then turned up California Ave SW and ran a about a mile, 1.5 miles up and then back down. The joke I always have with the bf is that TNT helps me learn how to drive around Seattle. Unfortunately that's not the case when it's foggy.

Today it was so foggy I actually missed the West Seattle bridge exit and ended up somewhere near Harbor Island and 1st Ave S. After spending 15 minutes driving back towards downtown, I managed to find my way again back onto 99 South and did not repeat the hamster wheel route. Below is a photo of my basically zero visibility

Foggy weather heading to West Seattle

 My challenge today was calming that internal chaos so I could just focus on running. I tried a few things today, mixing it up chatting to different people and fumbling with my various Pandora stations trying to find one I can have a good groove to.

I think Red Hot Chili Peppers and my Pop Fitness station are my digs. Next step will be figuring out my playlist for race day :). One the way back from the hill training portion of my run one of the coaches pointed out a bald eagle hanging out on the branch.

Can you see the bald eagle?!!?

These early am runs are killing me, but you really can't beat the view. I finished the run wobbly today as I've experienced my first hip tightening. At first I thought my knees were giving out but after doing some stretches when I got home and using the foam roller I have about 7 boulders in my hips, calves, and quads. I ran to the store and grabbed a couple bags of ice. I'll be having my first ice bath today.

While I'm terrified of doing this (don't worry I won't blog about it after this!) It was in the coach's corner of the TNT newsletter a couple weeks ago. Ice baths apparently help aid in recovery after long runs. My approach today will be taking coach Dorothy's advice. 15 minutes, with a hoodie, and a couple cups of tea. The mere thought is making me freezing. Well it's now or never, wish me luck!

TNT Run- Arboretum

This week was a tough workout week. Flag football season starts next week, and work/volunteer activities have been busier than normal. On top of that my boyfriend is back on the road again for work which means I'm a full time mom to our kitties. Here's a photo of them sleeping peacefully on a throw blanket when they're not acting like my little terror of loves.

Despite all the business activities in my personal life I managed to run about 3 times this week. The start of a FitBit Challenge at work might have had something to do with it :).

Today's run was a recovery run as we began our hill training this week. We started off meeting at the Japanese Garden in the arboretum. From there the route got a little fuzzy and I just followed people ahead of me. I know we ran down Lake Washington Blvd, and then turned and ran up some really steep side streets.

At the halfway mark we ended back at the garden and then headed up towards Roanoke on some trails I'm unfamiliar with but were steep. Here are some pretty photos I managed to snag from today for your viewing pleasure!