Crafted Energy

 Wait, it's September already? Looks like it has been for like two weeks, I'm just super lazy with writing anything. Between working, trying to get my CEUs in order to keep my Medical Assistant certification, and race training, I guess I use up most of my time! Of course, when none of that is going on, I'm sleeping. Work hard, rest harder, am I right? 

Speaking of training, how are things going? Much better than half training because the weather is finally cooling down, hence me being able to drink coffee outside without sweating. When I say cooling down, I mean it's just 105 instead of 115, but the mornings are crisp, in the mid-70s. I kicked off week three of 5K training yesterday. The knee seems to be cooperating about 85% of the time. The first week went well, just relaxed runs to get the body back into the game after a week off. Week two ended up swapping a run for biking due to knee annoyance. I had my first fartlek workout of this cycle today and it went exceptionally well. I told my coach last week that if this week ended up in shambles due to my knee being an a-hole again, I'm pulling the plug on running until 2021. *Knocks on wood* Really though, I'm hoping it works out. A girl can only do so many quad sets in a day.

So I have something new to write about today, at least from what I can recall. I don't think I've given a food product review before. Maybe I have? I didn't care to scroll back and check so we'll roll with it. Before I continue on, I will mention that because I am a Switch4Good Athlete, I received these bars for free. 

I honestly had never heard of Crafted Energy before until they popped into my Inbox. Surprising since they're located right here in the heart of Arizona. A bar that's Vegan, Gluten Free, AND full of clean ingredients? Sign me up. I was very excited to give them a try.

I'm a total geek for cool packaging. Some say it's a total waste of money that the company spends on, which I suppose is true, but if you have unique packaging, I'm giving you bonus points. It comes with a type of graph outlining all of the different nutritional aspects of what they are achieving in their products as well as a little run down of each bar. 

Crafted Energy has created bars for specific sports to support athletes in their endeavors. Kind of an interesting concept. I found it very unique because I've done all three activities. Boy, do I miss climbing, though. 

As mentioned, they focus on specific sports. The sampler pack is one of each bar, all of which have their own unique flavor profile. I tried the Climber one first.

Pretty hefty in calories but that's a good thing when you're doing endurance sports. 

Here is the list of ingredients for this bar, specifically. Talk about clean ingredients!

The texture and appearance reminded me of a Larabar, another one of my favorite brands. It was soft on the teeth but hearty enough to provide a good snack. You can really get a great flavor profile as well, especially the ginger. 

I didn't capture anything from the other two bars but they were very enjoyable. The blueberry flavor in the cyclist bar reminded me of pie. I have to say though, the runner bar was my favorite. Maybe I'm biased because I'm a runner but I'm from Michigan and I think we have cherry flavor in our blood. Overall, I was super pleased. I'd definitely buy some in the future. If you are interested, you can get a sampler pack of your own by clicking here. It's $7.99 with free shipping! I do not get any kickback from the sales, I'm just simply here to spread word about a cool company who is doing something great.

I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend and we'll see you next time!

The Brave Athlete

“Your physique, your responsiveness to training, and your personal records (PRs) have little to say about how brave you are.” - excerpt from The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

I started a book club for my running team to get some camaraderie going on and to develop a way for us to connect further since we aren’t doing any in-person meetups for like....a long time. Hello Arizona hot spot for COVID. Reading is something I’ve been doing a heck of a lot more since quarantine started. Being unemployed really gives you a lot of unused time in your day so why not pick up a book? I’ve since started a new remote job but the weekends have literally been our heads in our books. Well, in our eReaders. We treated ourselves to new eReaders a little while ago. I’ll do a review on that in another entry. While I’m still old school and love the feeling of an actual book, this has been really nice to have. The library has been closed since April but with the use of OverDrive, I can check out electronic books and audiobooks. Definitely something to look into with your local library! I can even get books from my old library in Michigan. If you need some mental stability for your training and you want to know how the brain connects with all of this, I definitely suggest picking up “The Brave Athlete”. We’ve only read the first section and it’s as if I’m in anatomy class again but it’s actually interesting because it’s from an athlete’s perspective. 

Remember last week, when I was talking about how hard I was on myself from feeling like I’m losing hope in this training cycle? Well, after my Sunday rest day, I went into the new week feeling like a lioness ready to hunt anything in her path. My speed work on Tuesday (400x6, 100x6) was the strongest-feeling workout I’ve had in forever. The rest of the week seemed to dim down. Hill strides were lackluster and interrupted by people who can’t seem to stay on one side of the road. I was suppose to go to physical therapy to get fitted for new orthotics only for the appointment to be canceled because someone in the office contracted the virus. I do hope they will be ok and I’m glad it happened before I went. I ended up ordering some with recommendation from my coach, who also works in a running store, and they are literally the most comfy things my feet have touched aside from my Oofos. I had a double workout Friday (ride and run) and my feet felt like they were on supported clouds. We had an excessive heat warning from Friday morning through Monday night. I had contemplated biking indoors instead of doing my long run but my husband looked toward me and said, “What if race day is like this? Are you not going to run?”. I mean, he’s right. We got up a half hour earlier and set out. I had a 90 minute effort combining 9 rounds of easy efforts with pickups every 9th minute. Naturally, I went out too fast. I hit a lot of red lights. I was ready to send it in after 45 minutes. Once again, I felt defeated. I studied my data after the workout and noticed I ended up staying with in my range for almost the entire run but I was dead. It was as if someone took a sledgehammer and killed my stamina. Again, I taught myself to not complain. My coach told me that I’m still gaining fitness and she’s right. Sunday rolled around and as I sat in my epsom bath and meditated, I told myself, “this week is a new week”. It’s time to stop kidding myself and focus in on the task at hand. Run slow for recovery. Controlled paces on speed. Breath like a normal friggin’ person. I have early meetings all week so that’ll help get me out the door before it’s blazing hot outside. 

I tried a new thing this week: sun tea! Yeah, I’m way late to the game on this one. I drink about a gallon or more of water per day. I also pee a ton but that’s beside the point. Sometimes water gets boring. My mother-in-law was talking about sun tea and I asked how to make it. That was probably a dumb question but this is new to me. I filled up my big mason jar with filtered water, two tea bags, and set it outside in the sun for about 3 hours. You’ll want to use glass. Plastic is a big no-no, especially in the heat unless of course you want some BPA with that drink.

I had to wear hot mitts to bring it in because it got so hot! But the color change is a good indicator that it’s definitely steeped well. 

I took the tea bags out and put the jar in the fridge overnight. Now, I heard this step isn’t needed and some people just pour it over ice. That’s totally fine too. After about 24 hours, I sliced some lemon, put it in a glass with ice and we had some delicious iced tea. I ended up making this again for the next three days. It was so refreshing! 

This past week, I ended up taking the easy way out because it was literally 120 degrees outside and just warmed up my kettle and poured it over nice. We’ve been drinking a lot of herbal teas and what not. I’ve been 60 days alcohol free as of today. I don’t know when I’ll drink again (or if I will) but I’m pretty content doing these little fun activities. 

Courage

And just like that, it’s July. I think we can all agree that the first half of the year felt like the longest and worst experience of our lives. While 2020 seemed to start out fine, that boat sunk faster than the Titanic and the iceberg we hit was a worldwide pandemic. I remember when they said this would be gone by Easter. They said it’d be gone when summer came because viruses die in warmer weather. As a medical professional, I can tell you that is so far from the truth. Here in Arizona, we’ve started to shut down things for a second time. Our governor released an executive order to close bars, gyms, water parks, pools, and tubing (you know, floating on a river) for the next 30 days, right before a big holiday weekend. No gatherings of more than 50 people can go on. The first day of school has been pushed back two weeks. If you want my honest opinion, with looking at our recent data and the very upward trajectory we are on, we should be in another stay-at-home order. Why close bars but not restaurants? Whatever. I don’t run the show. I’ll just sit here, safe in my home, and continue to pray.

Maybe you’re like me and you’ve dealt with a rise of anxiety or some sort of unrest due to everything that has been happening. I talked about this in a previous post but we’ll touch base on it again for today’s entry. Along with using the Headspace app for daily meditation, I’ve dove more into my yoga practice. Let’s talk about my history with yoga.

I used to hate yoga, like really hate it. How could you hate yoga? Well, I thought it was boring. I used to be in the mindset that if I wasn’t drenched in sweat after a workout, it was useless. I couldn’t ever focus long enough to complete a full practice. I tried to do it at least once a week because I saw a lot of runners doing it but I wrote it off for a long time. Fast forward to last year, I suppose when we moved here and I decided to open my mind more about my thoughts of the practice and tried to see the real benefits of it, for my mental health. I found myself meeting up with Adriene more and more. I challenged myself in poses I never thought I could do. I even attended a few classes in a studio, mostly gentle yoga. Fast forward to this year and I can’t live without it. I’ve found it hard to juggle strength training with running. I took a step back and asked myself, “Do I really need to be doing all of this?” Spending time in the gym was becoming more of a chore and not an enjoyment. My friend, who is a yoga instructor, suggested I check out power yoga. She said I’d be surprised how much strength I could build from those types of classes. Boy, was she right. I’ve been wanting to do one of Adriene’s month long challenges. I would tend to start one and then only get like four days in and quit. I was determined this time.

‘Courage’ was the theme. She gives each month its own word. When I read the post about this, she (Adriene) told us to prepare to sweat and work but learn to move with our breath. I’ve spent the entire last 30 days doing just this. I haven’t lifted one weight. I’ve used my body and moved in ways I haven’t. My arms have developed definition, my core feels stronger, and more importantly, my mind is becoming clearer. I actually feel stronger now than I ever have even with my past in Olympic lifting. To have that mind body connection in flow together feels so great. I took a picture of myself every day with a specific pose from that day’s practice. Here are some of my favorites:

Starting out, I had trouble keeping my foot pointing down and keeping my hips squared.

Chaturanga to up-dog practice became almost a daily goal of mine. 

The mighty flamingo! 

Peaceful warrior. I love going into this post from warrior 2.

The lovely triangle pose. After a few weeks, I was able to not hold any momentum against my leg.

Down dog split! This is about when I finally saw progress in melting my heart in and keeping my foot flexed. 

This was literally one of the best stretches I had ever felt.

Balance practice becomes that much harder when on carpet. This move was actually a series of three, all balancing on one foot. I felt so strong!

Today, I start July’s theme of “Shift”. I don’t know how long I’ll keep up daily practice but it’s been such a blessing in disguise both for my mind and my running. If you’ve been on the fence about trying yoga, I encourage you to dive in and give it a try. My favorite thing about practicing yoga is that there is literally no right or wrong way to do it. You try your best and if you feel like challenging yourself one day over the previous, go for it! There are people who are amazing at yoga and can do some crazy, complicated moves and that’s awesome! Don’t compare yourself to anyone but who you look at in the mirror. Check out Adriene on YouTube. She has tons of free resources and a great beginner series. If your one who needs to be in an actual classroom setting, find a class that’s some type of foundation setting or a slow flow. Yin yoga is great for relaxing while a power or energize yoga will test your body and make you work a bit! 

Namaste, friends.

Coffee is Life

It's definitely been the type of week where I didn't know what day it was. I spent all day Saturday thinking it was Sunday. I even ordered my groceries and didn't realize until after the fact that I had another day to take care of it. Oh well, what's wrong with being one step ahead of my non-existent schedule?

Week 3 is checked off the training calendar. I think the most significant workout was my Fartlek on Thursday (6/9). It was somewhat of a pyramid workout, increasing the time with each section. We had 3 x 3, 2 x 2, 1 x 1, and then back up. I ran the longest hard effort I have in forever, a total of 4:00 minutes. Doesn't sound that long to many but running that to as close to 8:20-40 as I can is a mind f*ck in itself. I completed the workout and patted myself on the back as I always do. You see, I run solo 100% of the time now. I know people who run in the area but there are some roadblocks in the way: I'm not comfortable being around people yet and they are a heck of a lot faster than I am. I do what my coach tells me and that's enough for me. My introvert self is happy being alone in my own element with my audiobook in-ear. Right now, I'm in the middle of Matt Fitzgerald's "Running the Dream" and it is fantastic. Resonating with this one is easy because it's set in Arizona and he's running with NAZ Elite, a team of amazing runners who run for Hoka One One, including the queen of Flagstaff, Steph Bruce. All of Matt's books have been a hit in my library. If you are into audiobooks, might I suggest checking out Libro.fm. You can select a local bookstore and when you purchase a book, they get the payout. I know Kindle is the end all be all of all things books nowadays it seems but hey, let's keep the little guys open. And support your local libraries!

Anyway, back to running. So my knee was talking to me this week. Yep, you guessed it. The same one that gave me trouble last year and put me in physical therapy for four months. I still do my exercises religiously and take more time than I ever have with recovery movements, icing, and Epsom on a weekly basis. Nothing is perfect forever, though. The soreness comes and goes. My therapist told me I wouldn't be completely pain-free but I'd be much better than I was and I definitely have been! I don't mess around with any weird sensations, soreness, or pain while I think most runners "walk it off" or slap some KT tape on anything to mask whatever may be developing. I didn't spend over $400 (per MONTH, and yes, that's with insurance) in therapy to just mask the pain. I communicated with my coach on Friday that it wasn't feeling too hot. I had a bike workout that day, which was good. Biking doesn't bother it. She gave me the best advice, as usual. Saturday morning I opted to bike instead of doing my long run that would have involved some hard efforts in the middle. Normally I'm completely fine with this, however, I was really looking forward to this workout. I sucked up my sulking face and did the same efforts on the bike which turned out to be harder than I thought they'd be. Never underestimate cycling. It will truly kick your butt. Sunday's are very much a relaxing and "do absolutely nothing" days around here. I cook a big breakfast, we drink our coffee on the patio, and typically read the rest of the day until dinner. My weekly long Epsom baths have been Sunday afternoons and they've been the BOMB! I throw in some peppermint oil to clear my head and it's just.....a vacation in my bathroom. Maybe one day we'll have one of those fancy soaking tubs you see in mansions. Either way, it's Monday. My knee feels much better. Rest will not kill you. Listen to your body. You won't lose fitness taking a day or two off or switching workouts. 

I wanted to close out today by sharing something I tried the other day. So, I'm a coffee snob. I'll admit it. I don't drink frap's from Starbucks. I don't really like any frozen type of coffee drink. I don't put 10 pumps of whatever in my cup. I grind my beans fresh every morning after measuring them out to a specific gram. I have an expensive coffee machine and a fancy burr grinder. Roll your eyes and shoot me. We make coffee at home every day so its paid for itself. I used a basic Mr. Coffee drip machine for the longest time then graduated to a Keurig. When I met my husband, he used a french press. I had no idea how to even operate it. Here we are now, some 8 years later, and I want to be the world's best barista. I applied for a job at Starbucks hoping to just learn how to use a proper espresso machine. While I typically drink my coffee black, I've been craving a flat white lately. If you aren't familiar with that drink, it's basically some espresso with a lot of milk. Being vegan, I wasn't sure how it'd be with almond milk. We also don't have an espresso machine (oh but do I want one so bad). I watched a video of a lady making one at home just using a french press. I thought to myself, "I'M TRYING THIS." Here's how it went....

This is our electric kettle. I heated up some water.

This is where the beans are poured in for grinding.

I set the machine way down to get a very fine grind. The benefits of a burr grinder are the multiple grind settings.

I threw some milk in a cup and microwaved it on and off until it reached a temperature of 155 degrees F. Milk has to be a specific temperature for it to foam otherwise it's total crap.

I brewed a mock "espresso" in the french press. It actually wasn't too bad and after a few stirs, it had some crema. Crema is the layer that sits on top of the espresso, typically a light brown color.

I poured the hot milk into the french press and proceeded to foam it. This is done by literally moving the filter up and down for about 30 seconds. You can feel the milk get thicker. 

I was super surprised that it actually did indeed create a decent amount of foam for non-dairy milk.

Yeah, I know, no fancy cup art here. You then pour the milk on top of the espresso. It wasn't half bad!

It was a fun little experiment. One day I'll have an espresso machine. In like 10 years because they're a million dollars. We typically buy our coffee local from Press Coffee. I like supporting local coffee businesses plus, they roast our coffee just a few days before it arrives on our doorstep. Pay attention to your roasting dates. It makes a big difference. 

Okay, I'll get off my coffee high horse. Enjoy your week.

Ready, set, go!

The two weeks following the Mesa Marathon actually went fairly quickly. When you throw in a little vacation in there, it really helps you not go stir crazy from laying low and not doing any activity. I did my daily yoga practices, kept my body pretty mobile, and felt pretty dang amazing. I'm still kind of shocked at how good I felt after the race. My body doesn't hate me after all!

We'll touch base real quick on that lull time. We went to California for a week for my husband's birthday getaway. We're only around 2.5 hours from the border of the state which still blows my mind. It seemed so far away when we lived in Michigan BECAUSE IT WAS. I honestly hate traveling to California, mainly if we're headed to the Los Angeles area. Everyone drives like a crazy person and traffic sucks 24/7. We drove somewhere that was only 6 miles away and it took us over 30 minutes. So we stayed in Universal City for a few days and visited Universal Studios. Neither of us had been there before and I'm a big Harry Potter nut so I was pretty jazzed on the idea. Hold for photos:

 

 

The first stop was Voodoo Donuts. Now, this isn't the original location but it was as close to them as we could get for the day. Their vegan donut selection is LEGIT and they actually taste super good. We ended up there the next morning as well. Then we explored the park. We saved most of the Wizarding World for the second day. The studio tour was my favorite attraction. The Minions ride was super cute and fun. I could give you a review on everything else but I'll save you the time. Harry Potter world or whatever you want to call it was great. They did a fantastic job on Hogwarts. Overall, I definitely like Disney a heck of a lot better than Universal. Disney just knows how to do it up and create an overall amazing experience for their guests. Would I go back to Universal? Probably not. We headed to Ventura for the rest of the week and visited Ojai, which is an awesome little town. I would definitely go back there. We hung out a local vineyard for a bit (Old Creek Ranch). It was such a cool place. We headed home that Friday and then came time to snap back to reality, Eminem style.

The one announcement I'm super excited to say is that I'm back with my coach, Kristen Griffin, of Find Your Stride Coaching. Kristen has been such a great help to me in the past and I missed working with her so much. She's an amazing athlete herself but also an incredible mom and wife. I think she was equally as excited as I was when I messaged her and told her the news. Week one started on February 24th. Since then it's been base building. Slow-paced runs to get the legs turning. I program my Garmin for the length of time I should be out as well as what pace range I should stay in. While I am not a fast runner by any means, I have a hard time staying in that recovery pace area. It helps to have that thing yell at me to keep within my limits. Remember when I said I felt amazing after my marathon? My first day of training included a 2-mile time trial and boy were my glutes sore the next day but that definitely means the activation is there. The first week went by great. It took me a few days to get into the groove of that recovery pace but it set in about midweek. I told Kristen to make sure I kept up on my PT exercises and keep me out of therapy. I'm a huge advocate for physical therapy, as it's helped me tremendously, but I will do whatever it takes to keep myself injury-free. I do my exercises EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. This is non-negotiable. I do a big dynamic warmup before every run and do a stretching routine after. Most people say they "don't have time" and skip this but let me tell you, you can take as little as five minutes to do something that will help. A little goes a long way. Your body won't stay in tip-top shape forever. Save yourself now before you can't turn those legs anymore. *steps off soapbox*

The one thing I didn't really line up properly was the fact that I had forgotten I signed up for a local race. If you remember, last year I ran the Mountain 2 Fountain 5K as a "comeback race" after nursing an injury. It was awful and I said I'd never run it again. Well, here's my finisher's medal.

I should preface I did this for my Volée team. This time, I signed up for the 15K, which made us eligible to win our weight in beer. You need a team of at least four people to qualify for this and finish in under 2 hours. While we ended up not having a full team, it was nice to meet up with two of my fellow members and hang out for a bit. The race was basically a fun run for me. The hills hit hard as I had not run any in two weeks. I don't understand why they don't close the road down for this race from the point you leave the park to where you enter back into town. Running the majority of it on the shoulder of a road which is essentially two feet wide is uncomfortable. The road slightly slants at parts to allow rain to run off. Needless to say, my right ankle got a workout. I did finish pain-free, which is all I ever want nowadays. One of my teammates and I determined we won't run this race again and I actually mean it this time. I think the organizational skills of whoever runs it nowadays is way out to sea and they cut costs in areas they shouldn't. Don't advertise there will be Nuun on the course when in fact, there wasn't. I carried my own water and Nuun in my vest but many runners didn't. Last year, I spectated after I ran my race and many runners were dying because they had run out of water. Anyway, I won't rant too much. It's over! We had amazing weather. I got to hang with two amazing ladies. The end.

Okay, I think that's the best update I can give you right now from the past few weeks into week one of training. Unrelated but I hope to get back to recipe sharing soon. I have a few new things on my list to cook so we'll see if they make the cut! 

Peace Out, 2019

I suppose we're overdue for an entry, eh? I mean, it is the last day of the year and it's been two weeks. I may or may not be still listening to Christmas music. Judge me, please.

So, my feed is filled with 'top 9' posts and people reaching milage milestones. Maybe you're one of the few that doesn't care about any of that. Please, step into my corner. Someone tweeted on my feed recently regarding this and said: "Just run or rest as you ought to in order to stay on the trajectory of adding fitness every day." Finally, my thoughts put into an actual proper sentence. If you hit a million goals, PRs, and ran 8 million miles in 2019, that's great! If you didn't hit a single mark, guess what? You're still improving whether you think you are or not. No one wrote a handbook on what's expected of someone to be classified as a "proper runner". You aren't required to sign up for x-amount of races, achieve one specific finish time, or run a set amount of miles. Run because you want to. Run because maybe it's a great form of therapy that comes at no charge other than maybe feeling sore. Run because maybe someone you know can't and you want to for them. Now, I'm not saying don't set any goals. They're a great way to have something to work toward. I'm saying if you do have goals and you don't make them, your life will still commence. You will wake up tomorrow into a new calendar year and it doesn't change a damn thing. Maybe make 2020 the year where you take a load off your shoulders and stop being hard on yourself when your performance lacks. I've been exceptionally more positive with myself since I've changed my tune but that doesn't mean I don't have doubts on myself ever. I just texted my coach and go-to for honest feedback a few days ago and told her this is the least prepared I think I've ever been for a race. You know what she said? "You have 6 weeks and a lot can happen!" Stop doubting and start doing.

Alright, reflection time. Queue the music. 2019 has been eventful! Let's start with the non-running related things. We settled in on our first full year living in Arizona. I still wouldn't trade it for anything. We survived our first summer with 115-120 degree days. I graduated from college (again). We went to Disneyland and it literally was a dream come true just like the commercial makes it out to be. I became a certified Registered Health Information Administrator. Don't ask me to explain it because I can't in normal terms. We flew back to Michigan twice on unwilling occasions and spent a weekend in Vegas. My dad survived his first major surgery and was benign of cancer. I finally bit the bullet and got my wisdom teeth out at the age of 31. Seriously, why did it take me so long? I dove into adopting a vegetarian lifestyle and more recently transitioned into trying to be more vegan. Lots of car shows, museum visits, new restaurant finds, and art shows. We did some great hikes and I peed out in nature for the first time. Bet you wanted to know that. I learned to crochet and I don't completely suck at it like I did at knitting. Brittany Runs a Marathon, Downton Abbey, and Star Wars were seen. Oh yeah, and Game of Thrones ended which still really sucks. 

Shall we move on to running now? I started the year slow, coming off of injury from the fall. I trained for a 5K in February and an attempt at a PR. I failed. I joined the club of having a hydration vest (Osprey Dyna 15) and it literally was a huge game-changer. I don't know how I ran with a belt before.  I went on my first proper trail run. Like, one with actual inclines and declines. Not just a flat gravel path like Michigan has. I joined Team Nuun, Honey Stinger, Squirrel's Nut Butter, and became an ambassador for the Mesa Marathon. I started training for a half marathon PR attempt and ended up with major knee issues putting me out for almost two months. I started physical therapy (still in it) and am so blessed to have the best team of therapists helping me become stronger and build my endurance. After being a faithful Saucony shoe owner for years, I switched sides to Hoka One One. The Clifton 6 has been my lifesaver not only for my feet but just overall everything. I learned that my actual foot size was smaller than I thought and my overpronation wasn't as bad as previously suspected. I deferred my fall race plans in favor of putting my marathon on the front lines instead and I'm glad I did, despite having serious FOMO. I spectated my first ultra race (Javelina Jundred) and boy, did that light a fire under me. Having Kaci Lickteig within an arm's length and talking with Catra Corbett are memories I'll never forget. Just typing that sentence gave me goosebumps. Lots of highs and lots of lows but the most important turn of events was mental. I finally let go of trying to fight for faster speeds and personal records and just run because I love the idea of reaching for the stars. My training has become so much more positive and I look forward to setting out. I can't wait to run this upcoming marathon with no expectations but to just finish and have fun.

2020 brings a lot of the unknown. Do I have races in mind? Yes. Of friggin' course I do. The Mesa Marathon will be my last road race for a long time unless someone tugs my arm to join them in a fun run. I've enjoyed my miles on the road but the trail is calling and I'm answering on the first ring. I encourage you to try something new and out of the ordinary. Maybe you want to do that aerial silk stuff. I saw a woman do that in Vegas and it was mind-blowing not to mention her back muscles were amazing. Maybe you want to learn how to cook more meals as opposed to eating out. Maybe ride your bike to work or learn to stand up paddleboard. I don't know. The possibilities are endless when you open up your mind more instead of having tunnel vision. 

Shall we raise a glass? Whether it's an adult beverage, coffee, tea, or whatever you like; cheers. We'll see you next year.

Friday the 13th

Anyone else get a little superstitious on days like today? I mean, let's talk about that moon. The last full moon of this decade. DECADE. It's crazy that we're about to turn the clock to not just another year but another 10. 

12/11/2019, not my house^

Well, first and foremost, we've moved locations! WordPress was great to me but my hosting fees got way too high and, quite frankly, this is a hobby, and hobbies shouldn't cost a ton (running not included). I set out to do this for fun and not for a monetary value. The only other blogging site I knew of was Blogger so that's where we will call home for C&C for now! I'm still trying to tweak some things so it's going to look a little weird. I was able to import all of my old posts so if there is something, in particular, you remember reading about in the past, you can still try and search for it using the box on the left sidebar. 

Speaking of hobbies, I've taken up a new one! I've tried to really get into knitting these past few years but it just takes me forever. A friend suggested crocheting and boy, is it SO much better. And yes, it's a cheap hobby. I learned how to crochet watching YouTube. Yep, I'm not even kidding. You can learn anything on that dang website. I've finished two projects so far in a little less than a month's time and plan on finishing #3 by next week. Hooray for homemade Christmas gifts that don't break the bank!

My bag of tricks

So, how's running going? The miles are piling on. I texted my fellow Volée bird, who is coming into Phoenix to run the race with me, that she might have to piggyback me to the finish line. In all seriousness, workouts have been fine. I've accepted that I'll never be where I was at and, to be honest, I like going slow and steady. Time on my feet is more important than anything right now. I've managed to make it up to roughly 30-35 mile weeks so far. My longest jaunt has been 10 miles and it felt refreshing. I know I've written about it before but I'm so glad I've jumped off the "fighting for PRs" bridge and now float on the lazy river of actually enjoying what I'm doing. If you like getting those fast times, that's great! I found that it was really eating up my soul and I lost touch with why I'm a runner. I finally said to myself, "Hey, I have this crazy idea! Let's run a race and have fun for once!" 57 days to go. I have some big plans for post-marathon. I'll give you a hint: it involves more dirt and less pavement.

Post-10 mile run 😀

There is still time to register if you feel like flying to the Southwest to escape the winter blues. You can use the code BRITTERS10 and receive $10 off the half marathon or full marathon! Let me know if you're running! 

Let's backtrack to Thanksgiving week since, well, I haven't written in a while so why not a big 'ol recap. The family came to down for a few days. We managed to break a new Jenga record. We also visited Sedona, which is home to my favorite Starbucks. I know, that sounds super cheesy, right? But just check out this view:

Yeah, I could sit on that patio all day. I even managed to cook an entirely Vegan dinner.

Vegan spinach dip in bread bowls. Could carbs get any more glorious looking?

So, the second picture includes mashed red skins, homemade Vegan biscuits, Tofurky, Vegan stuffing, and Vegan green bean casserole. It was all seriously so good, even the family enjoyed it. Even the gravy was plant-based! I'll probably do a repeat for Christmas but swap out the "turkey" for Tofurky's ham roast. If it's as good as their Tofurky, it'll be another great treat. 

While we're on the subject of Veganism, if you remember, I took a pledge to become Vegan for 30 days in November. 

App: Quit Meat

I downloaded this fun little app called Quit Meat to track my progress. Now, this screenshot was on 12/2/2019. I managed to be Vegan for 28 of the 30 days. I had a few slips on foods I didn't even think twice on. It happens! I'm still very proud of myself for taking on this journey. I'm a data geek and it's cool to see all of this. I've decided to keep it going as long as I can. If I do manage to have something non-vegan but is vegetarian, you can add it in. For example, if you consume any type of dairy or eggs, you can input it into the app. I've been vegetarian for quite some time and barely consumed any dairy as is so the transition wasn't too difficult. I even managed to make dishes at restaurants Vegan. As I've mentioned on my Instagram, don't be afraid to ask your waitress if they have a vegetarian menu or if you can customize dishes. You'd be surprised how many places will go above and beyond to cater to different lifestyles. See, I said lifestyle and not diet. Because that's what it is. This isn't a temporary endeavor. It's great to see how the plant-based community is so much stronger than it ever has been. For the record, though, if you are a meat-eater, please know I don't think any less of you. You do you and if that means you like eating meat, great. Get on down with your bad self. I want my friends to know that I still respect them even if it means our eating choices are different. I would hope you'd think the same about me. This is a judgment-free zone! Just be open to what I eat. I bet I could blow your tastebuds away with the things I enjoy. I've voiced my opinion on this before and that wasn't really right of me to do so. Come on now, let's hug it out.

I don't have a recipe share this time around as I've been busy trying to move things about and whatnot. I haven't cooked anything epic in over a week! I do have recipes for my Thanksgiving dishes so let me know if you want any of those. For now, I leave you with Whole Food's Vegan margarita pizza. I ate 5 pieces. Carbs are good for you, don't know you this?!

We'll see you next time. Hopefully sooner than later.