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Disclaimer: I received a xx2i Optics 2 glasses set to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!
Finding the right pair of sunglasses to exercise in can be difficult, and I lucked out that the first pair of sunglasses really worked out well for me. However, I’d never tried anything else, so when I was offered the chance to review XX2i Optics Sunglasses, I jumped at the chance! Unfortunately, they arrived at a less than ideal time, as I was just starting my taper for Rock’n’Roll St. Louis. So, I want to be upfront and say that I actually haven’t run or biked in them, because I haven’t biked and my runs weren’t in the sun (and I wasn’t going to wear new sunglasses on race day).
Here’s what I can tell you:
When I received my XX2i Optics Sunglasses, I was pleasantly surprised with everything that came in the container:
There are two pairs of sunglasses, extra lens to switch out, a cord to connect to your glasses to keep them around your neck, and other colored ear pieces. Pretty neat, right?
When I arrived home from my half marathon this weekend, I decided that I needed to walk a bit after sitting in the car for so many hours, so I threw my sunglasses on and enjoyed a walk (still in my race clothes!) while wearing them.
I also enjoyed a walk the next day to help loosen my body up as well! All I need for a good walk are some sunglasses and my shoes!
The sunglasses didn’t dig into my head in any uncomfortable ways, and they fit well while wearing my sparkle head band. However, the glasses aren’t the most comfortable on my nose bridge, but I’m not sure if I could get used to them if I actually spent more time in them. I talked to several other BibRave Pros who are reviewing this product, and most of them don’t seem to have issues with this.
I look forward to running in them once I start my next training cycle, and am especially looking forward to wearing them when I start my outdoor biking season again next spring!
If you’re interested in this product, check out the code below for 50% off (seriously- how good of a deal is that?).
If you’d like more information about xx2i Optics, check out their website. You can also find them on twitter and on instagram.
Disclaimer: I received a free bib for this race through the Rock’n’Blog program. No other forms of compensation were given, and all opinions are my own.
I thought a subtitle for this race might be “the one with all the hills”, so I figured I’d start this race recap with that. I was nervous about this race because I heard that it was hilly, and I hadn’t had any hills to train on where I live, so I thought I might be unprepared. On Saturday I ended up walking 7 miles around St. Louis, which isn’t ideal the day before a race, and I said multiple times “I wonder if I’ve done enough”. I completed my race traditions all week, went to the expo on Saturday (it was smaller than I expected with almost no samples- it was a bit disappointing), ate pasta for dinner, and watched Spirit of the Marathon II with my friend Jill. Then I watched “The Fun Run” episode of the office as I fell asleep at 10:30- so that was an ideal part of the race.
I should mention that I ran this race with my friend Jill. We met in 1st grade when we ice skated together (we skated to Bippity-boppity-boo the first year and the chicken dance the year after), and then went to high school together. Neither of us were runners until recently, so it’s fun that we have so much history together and both ended up in this same place.
Our alarms went off at 5 am and we ate Clif Bars and Bananas before getting ready and packing up our stuff. I hate having to check out of hotels before races, but at least the process went quickly. We ended up walking about 2 miles by the time we got into our corral, as we had to walk from the hotel (Drury Inn right next to the Arch) to the race area, and then find gear check. Things were really hard to see in the dark, so that was a bummer.
The race started at 7:00 and we crossed by about 7:10. The sun was rising in front of us over the Arch and old capital building which made for a beautiful race start!
Right before I crossed the starting line.
I didn’t even notice that we started the race by climbing a hill! Mile one we wound around the Cardinals Stadium which was fun to see. It was chilly at the race start, about 36 degrees (no wind!), so I ended up wearing my throw away sweatshirt until mile 2, and from then on out I had on gloves (I wore until mile 9), arm sleeves (a last minute decision after buying them at the race expo- I’d never run in them before!), a tank top, compression sleeves, and of course my sparkle skirt!
The first 4 miles flew by, and before I knew it I was taking my first 3 margarita shot bloks at a water stop. We hit mile 5 and I started to feel like I had to go the bathroom, so when I saw a port a potty without a line at it at mile 6, I jumped on in, which cost me about 45 seconds.
There were several bands out along the way, which was nice, but I didn’t think it was anything more than the Mini or Monumental. There were water and gatorade stops really often, which was nice, so I never felt like I was going thirsty.
My IT bands had started to bother me a week before the race, so I had no idea what they would do on this course, especially with all the hills. Somewhere after the 6 mile mark the outside of my right knee started to throb a bit, which is about the exact time and place that it started bothering me at the Monumental Half last fall. I yelled at it to get it’s act together, and in about a mile and a half it started to release and didn’t bother me nearly as much.
At mile 7 I took my next three shot bloks (Cran Razz this time), as well as a salt stick. I had taken a salt stick with my breakfast, and this seems to be helping the cramping issues I had back in 2013. We wound our way through several different district areas (SLU Campus, a theater looking district, etc…) before we hit some beautiful neighborhoods. The streets were lined with trees full of changing colors, and it was gorgeous! The miles absolutely flew by after that.
Somewhere around mile 9 (maybe?) we started to climb a hill that lasted a full mile. A woman ran up alongside us and said “Gosh- I think they’ve had us run every single hill in this city”. Ironically, by this point I actually found that running up the hills felt much better than running down the hills (the downhill stretches bothered my knee a bit). I remembered the Carmel Half and the hills there (nothing like this race), and remembered how I struggled with those hills. At this point I knew that this race was a total success, no matter what the time, because I was conquering the hills without much trouble, despite not training on them. This gave me a good perspective on how much stronger I really have become over the last year and a half, even when my times don’t always show it.
I took my last three shot bloks (margarita flavor again) around mile 10, and I was good to go for the rest of the race!
The nice part of this race is that the finish is on a very slight downhill, so the last quarter of a mile felt pretty good. In my training runs I tried to have my last few miles be much faster than my first few miles, and it paid off in this race. My last few miles were run progressively faster, and I felt like I had an incredibly strong finish! Another success for my training!
I crossed the finish line at 2:35, which is 5 minutes slower than the PR I set last fall. However, that course was very flat, and didn’t contain the hills that I had here. So, with that in mind, the time I had was not in any way disappointing.
We crossed and grabbed food (they had bananas, pretzels, gatorade bottles, and chips), our medals, and a heat blanket as we made our way over to gear check. We sat and stretched for a bit before walking back to the hotel. That walk actually felt fantastic. For all the hills my legs really felt great after the race! We stopped by the arch to take a few more pictures as well:
Overall I really loved the course, enjoyed the course support, and LOVED my personal experience in running. It was so fun to run with a friend from growing up, as we both got to reflect at how appalled our 9th grade selves would’ve been at our chosen form of “fun” for the day!
official race shirt- I love the design!
The time only tells part of a story, but my real story of this race is that I conquered hills, which have normally gotten me down mentally. I ran strong and had a fantastic race at the Rock’n’Roll St. Louis Half. But, like I say, to me it’s not about the time at all. With POTS, the fact that I can run really feels like a miracle, so for me, running, no matter what the time, is enough. I’m so thankful that I can run.
Happy Friday to all of you! This week my nails were Essie’s Sexy Divide nail polish. I’d never tried this one before, and felt the need to get something a bit shimmery as I headed into race week (I will be repainting my nails before my race on Sunday!).
I love the shimmer here! The first coat I did was still pretty see through, and I worried a bit that I would need three coats, but two seemed to do the trick!
Here are some random facts from the week:
I’ve been thinking a good amount about retirement accounts lately, and how incredibly important it is to be intentionally putting money aside in our 20s and early 30s, as the interest over the next few decades greatly grows that amount. I wish more people would take their retirement accounts seriously, and I wish I had started mine earlier!
Last weekend was the last time the egg roll lady was going to be at the Farmer’s Market, which brought sadness to my life. I bought a dozen so I could eat them over the course of the weekend. I can’t even begin to express how delicious they are (and that’s saying a lot because I’ve never liked egg rolls before).
Speaking of the Farmer’s Market, I’ll also miss getting to stroll past the fresh produce and flower stands. Things are just prettier out here instead of the grocery store.
I love matching other people, but my love of matching was taken to a new level when I accidentally matched my coffee cup this week. I got a good laugh out of that.
The cooler mornings have brought some absolutely gorgeous sunrises, which makes it delightful to drive to work in the morning (even though I wish it was still bright and sunny on my way to work!). It’s the little things in life, right? 🙂
Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one random fact from your week?
Disclaimer: I received a copy of “The Entitlement Cure” for free as part of being on the launch team. No other forms of compensation were given, and all reviews and thoughts are my own!
I was so excited to be part of the launch team for The Entitlement Cure since the author, John Townsend, is one of my favorites in the mental health realm (I use several of his books weekly in my office!). The subtitle of the book is “finding success in doing hard things the right way”. On the website, the book is described the following way: “We are surrounded by entitlement. We witness it throughout our culture- people ignore responsibility, live selfishly, choose comfort first, and are their own number one priority. It is a multi-generational disease infecting relationships in our homes, in our workplaces, and in our churches. But there is hope and a solution… Dr. John Townsend invites us to help others of hard things the right way- the only way to find true success” (source).
Townsend not only talks about “the entitled person”, but also invites us to look at our own “pocket entitlements”, which are small places of entitlement within each of us. There were several chapters that I really enjoyed. He has a chapter on “disclipline and structure”, and address ways to not only help others in creating discipline and structure, but also outlines steps for creating that within ourselves! His wise words felt transformational to me, and I’ve already put some of that to good use within my office setting.
Another chapter I really appreciated was “Change ‘I deserve’ to ‘I am responsible’.”. When we say “I deserve”, we not only become entitled, but we become a passive participant in our lives. I am responsible connotes ownership and the active participation in our lives. I am responsible for working hard so that I can _____ (fill in the blank). I deserve leaves us helpless.
Here’s a quick video of the “I am responsible” mindset…
His words totally changed my perspective on several things in life, and I believe that putting his advice into practice can be transformational. One thing I really love about this book is that at the end of every chapter, he includes skills to work on and questions to answer. This helps to give guidance as we move forward in becoming healthier people!
I also want to mention that I actually ate lunch with the author last year, and he was an absolutely delightful person to be around. He writes and speaks with grace and humility, which I appreciate, especially when dealing with issues such as these.
Here are a few quotes I absolutely loved.
“Throughout our life, we will experience stress, frustrations, and hurts. We will be required to make difficult decisions, and we will make hurtful mistakes. The fuel to survive and recover from those obstacles of life comes from the empathy, acceptance, and understanding we receive from others. We also need connectedness in the arenas related not to survival but to fulfillment: encouragement to be creative, innovative, and productive.” (p. 56)
“People who have happiness as their goal get locked into the pain/pleasure motivation cycle. They never do what causes them pain, but always do what brings them pleasure. This put us on the same thinking level as a child, who has difficulty seeing past his or her fear of pain and love of pleasure. There is nothing wrong with happiness. But in a healthy life, happiness comes as a by-product of doing what you love, having purpose, and giving back.” (p. 66)
“The skill of discipline is based on a process of information and support that works over time. This process creates and develops a critical character ability that psychologists call internal structure. Internal structure is the capacity to focus your energy over time. It is the steady framework of the mind. Internal structure is a combination of your capacities to focus, persevere, and delay gratification toward a goal” (p. 112 -he goes on to outline ways to develop that internal structure).
“One of my rules is, ‘If you’re spending more energy focused on the issues of your partner than on your own, even if the person is an addict or a felon, you’re never going to be happy or healthy.’ Why not? Because until you do your own ‘I was wrong,’ you won’t learn what inside of you keeps you rescuing, enabling, or putting up with bad behavior.” (p. 226)- saying “I was wrong ____” allows us to take responsibility and ownership, which means that we can then make changes.
The Entitlement Cure was truly fantastic, and I hope you’ll take the time to not only read it, but to allow some of the wisdom to change your life!
It’s race week (I’m running Rock’n’Roll St. Louis!) which means that I’m jumping head first into all my race week traditions! I’m not sure if I’ve ever talked about my race week traditions, so I thought I’d share some of them now with you!
Food
The Sunday heading into race week, I make two meals, and will eat those meals all week (this is pretty standard for me, but this week it’s geared towards what I need nutritionally! My lunches are sweet potato quinoa salad, which includes sweet potato (cooked with salt and cinnamon on top), quinoa, craisins, slivered almonds, and more salt and turmeric on top! It’s delicious, smells just like fall, and gives salt, magnesium, and anti-inflammatory spices! I also make pasta for dinner and eggs for breakfast.
Race Week food!
Bananas all week!
The day before race day I snack on fruit snacks, swedish fish, or licorice as I drive to the expo.
The night before I race, I have a small snack of oatmeal before bed, along with about 6 ounces of orange juice.
I drink LOTS of water and nuun the week leading up to a race!
Handheld and Nuun!
Weather
Once race day pops up on the 10 day forecast, I check it every morning and every night… you know, since I can control the weather.
Nail Polish
Nail polish is no laughing matter when it comes to race week! While I have switched it up this year, I prefer to race in gray or silver. I set my last PR while wearing Essie’s “Smokin’ Hot”!
This is a picture of my race day nails last November!
Workouts
I will often do a very short and light bike ride about 5-6 days before the race. I do a 1.2 mile run 3 days before the race, and otherwise I’ll just do a few short walks as I taper. It drives me nuts.
Watch and Read
It’s important for me to gear myself up for the race and get excited, so I not only try to read several race recaps for the actual race, but also will read a few half marathon recaps from my own previous races. My Indy Monumental Half Marathon Race Recap from last November will be at the top of the list!
I also watch at least part of a racing movie. The Spirit of the Marathon used to top the list, but now that it’s off of Netflix I’ve switched to watching Pre. I’m also watching the footage of the Chicago Marathon as I type this, and that’s getting me excited!
I do this each “race week” leading up to a half marathon, and I love the rhythm and excitement that it brings! I have lots of friends who make fun of me for my ridiculous race week traditions, but it works so I’m sticking to it! 🙂
Now it’s your turn to share! What’re your race week traditions?
Happy Friday! Last weekend I got an incredibly random desire to try an olive color on my nails, which is something that I’ve never felt before. It’s a most excellent thing to have a friend like Melissa who not only has a large quantity of nail polish, but is also so willing to let me borrow them. So, with that said, here’s Essie sew psyched nail polish!
indoor lighting
outdoors- with a rose from my garden!
This is solidly a fall and winter color in my mind, and I love it! Green isn’t a color I’m used to seeing on my nails, so it’s been throwing me a little. I sort of wish I had thrown some silver glitter on my nails too, because I think that would have made it extra pretty! I put on two layers and the formula was thick enough to easily cover the nail in two coats!
Here are some random facts from the week:
1. Last weekend I went with Melissa on her hospital tour (she is due in just a few weeks! I’m so excited to not only have my running buddy back on the road with me, but also to have her little one join us once he gets old enough to hang out in the jogging stroller!), and the woman giving the tour started off by talking about people stealing babies. She said “If someone stole your baby we would tackle them”. We both had such a hard time keeping a straight face. I mean- someone getting their baby stolen is absolutely no laughing matter (it would be devastating), but starting a tour off that way was just… strange.
2. After the hospital tour we stopped at the farmers market where I got my favorite egg rolls (only one more week of farmers market 🙁 ), then stopped at Starbucks, and then stopped at Chick-fil-A. I made a most excellent meal out of it.
Looks like a delicious lunch, right?! 🙂
3. First fire of the season, and I absolutely loved it! It added coziness on a random day that was 47 as a high (what?! the day after was 76 as a high!).
4. Friday night I left work and headed to 5 Guys and ate dinner alone there while I graded tests for my class I’m teaching. I felt like a total nerd, but I had SO many hours of grading ahead of me, and wanted to get a start on it! Afterwards I met Melissa, her husband, and a few other people at the theater to see “The Martian”. It was honestly one of the greatest movies I’ve seen so far this year.
5. This quote! I’m almost done reading the book this quote came from (The Entitlement Cure) and am loving it:
6. It’s officially taper time! I celebrated with a massage this weekend!
Now it’s your turn to share! Share one random fact from the last week? Have you ever eaten at a restaurant on your own? Have you seen The Martian?
Happy Thursday and HAPPY OCTOBER! While I’m sad to really see summer go (October officially feels like fall even though fall starts in September), I do love October, so I’m trying to enjoy the season I’m in currently. Here’s what I’m thankful for right now:
I’m thankful for a warm start to fall. We had an absolutely gorgeous September with very little rain and a large amount of 80 degree sunshine. I’m so thankful that we had an extra month that felt like summer!
I’m thankful for wonderful colleagues. I work with some truly fantastic, caring, and supportive people, and that’s something I don’t ever want to take for granted.
I’m thankful for rose blooms. I have rose bushes in my yard, and a few weeks ago I started cutting off blooms and putting them on a tiny vase on my mantle. The bright pink adds a pop of color and happiness to my living room, which I love. I’m thankful for free flowers right now while the weather is still nice.
I’m thankful for the chance to get back to the classroom. While most of what I’m teaching in my job as a professor is all review for me, there are still things here and there that I am learning as I do extra research or watch videos as I’m hunting for things to show in class. I’m thankful that I have a job that creates a learning environment for me!
I’m thankful for a beautiful views while biking. I love the freedom that biking brings as it gets me closer to nature! I’m thankful for the beauty in nature.
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today?
It’s time for my book list for the 2nd quarter of 2015! I can’t believe that I used to be able to fit all the books I read in one post for the year- now I’m feeling like I need to do it even more frequently than quarterly! Any ideas of how to better organize these lists?
Here are the books I’ve read from July 2015- September 2015!
My Sister’s Keeper: This was the first Jodi novel that I read, and I really loved it! I’m so glad I found her as an author, and ended up reading something else by her later in the summer.
The Rosie Project/ The Rosie Effect: I really enjoyed both of these books, and would definitely encourage anyone to read them! I wrote a post reviewing The Rosie Project here, and have a post on The Rosie Effect written and read to post soon!
The Blue Bistro: This was a really fun summer read, and I gave it a 4 out of 5 on good reads. I wrote a post reviewing the book here.
All Fall Down: I REALLY enjoyed this story of prescription drug use/abuse, and wrote a post reviewing the book here.
The Help: I started this audiobook last summer while biking, and then didn’t end up finishing the last third, so I finally finished it this summer. This is a really solid book.
Nineteen Minutes: This book was definitely sad, but I really enjoyed the storyline and felt that the writing was good.
Everything I Never Told You: I gave this book a 4 out of 5 on goodreads, and really enjoyed the storyline. I wrote a post reviewing the book here.
The Amish Midwife: I got into a very Amish mood for a few weeks this summer, so I decided to start the series. The book was alright, but not too Amish-y. I’ll probably finish the series at some point though.
The One and Only: This was just weird. I listened to the audiobook while biking, but wouldn’t have wanted to waste the time sitting down to read it.
Three Wishes: Liane Moriarty is an author I’m SO happy to have found this summer (the first book I read by her was Big Little Lies). I didn’t love this one as much as some of the others I’v read, but I’m definitely still glad that I read it!
Killing Lincoln: I really enjoyed this book, and I already have a review of this typed up and ready to go!
Just Breathe: This one was fine but not fantastic.
Modern Romance: This audiobook was a lot of fun to listen to! I love listening to autobiographies or books read by the author- it makes them come to life totally differently.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: This book definitely made me think differently about the task of decluttering and organizing my home. I plan to write a post on this book soon!
The Husband’s Secret: I just finished this book at the end of September, and really enjoyed reading it during my lunch breaks at work. The story dragged a few times, but overall I really loved it! This was another book by Liane Moriarty (the 4th book by her that I read this summer!), and I would definitely encourage you to read this book/check out Moriarty.
Beautiful Day: I think this might have been my lowest rated book of the quarter. It might have been better reading it in another setting, but I just didn’t love the story line.
The Hunger Games: Obviously I loved this one! I try to read or listen to this series once a year, usually in late summer/early fall.
Catching Fire: This is my favorite book in the Hunger Games series!
18 Books for the 3 months- I can’t be disappointed in that! It’s a smaller number of books than I read during the second quarter of 2015, but it’s been a busy last 7 weeks, so I think that’s understandable.
For more information about the books I’m reading as part of my 15 in 2015 Challenge, check out my Goodreads page. For other book reviews, check out my book reviews page.
Now it’s your turn to share! What’s your favorite book you read from July through September?
Last week I had 30 fall miles out on the trail with just me, my podcast, my bike, and nature. It was absolutely everything I wanted it to be! Life has certainly been chaotic this fall, but even in the chaos I try to intentionally take time away from the busyness to do things that slow me down (well- I suppose biking actually speeds me up!) and fuels my soul a bit. Biking is absolutely one of those things.
It was a beautiful afternoon in the 70s with beautiful sunshine, and I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hop on my bike! I’ve loved getting to get in longer rides this fall. Last year I biked to Mackinac Island (about 50-55 miles) and then didn’t hit 30 again until January when I went that distance on my bike trainer (and that was only once- then it was summer before I hit that number again!). This year I’ve enjoyed a few longer 28-32 mile rides since my bike ride to Mackinac, and I feel so lucky to have been able to fit them into my schedule!
I made it my goal to move at a fast enough pace to get in a good workout but a slow enough pace to really soak in nature around me, as I knew it would likely be one of my last longer rides for the season (and really, I’m closing in on my last few weeks of being on the road in general anyways). I’ve really enjoyed listening to The Hunger Games series on my rides the past few weeks, and am currently about 30% of the way through Mockingjay!
As I was stopping to take the picture, I remembered the flooded bike ride I went on in July where I couldn’t even bike over the spot due to flooding. It looks a bit different now, doesn’t it?
I miss the richness of the greens, but am also looking forward to all the beautiful colors with the leaves changing too!
I stopped at one point to eat and snap this picture. I can’t help but look at this picture and smile. The ride, while it wasn’t notable in any way that I can share, was just exactly what I needed in the moment.
There’s not a huge point to this post, except to say- don’t be afraid to put aside some of the chaos of life to head out in nature and be still and give yourself something that you need this week.
Devils Tower wasn’t anything that I had heard about until I went out West and my brother had it on a list of things to see at some point. As we had an extra day in our schedule for hiking, we decided to drive over to Wyoming from South Dakota (Rapid City area) to hike there. The drive was really easy and took about 2 hours- not bad at all! As we were approaching the tower, we suddenly stumbled upon this view:
Amazing, right? The tower juts up from a grassy plain/rolling hills, and there were buffalo roaming too! How picturesque (and you know my love for buffalo, right?!).
I had to get in for a quick picture too.
You have to pay to get in the park, although we were able to get in for free because my brother is in the military. They have a little place to see prairie dogs as you drive around the base of the tower, which was pretty cute. We looped around until we came upon the visitor’s center, which had a large parking area, drinking fountains, and nice, indoor bathrooms. They also had this great view:
There were two options for trails at Devils Tower. There’s a short, paved trail that you can walk around (about 1.3 miles), and then there’s a longer, 3 mile trail around the Tower that we took (I believe it’s called the red trail).
It’s important to bring water with you- you’ll be out in the sun and there’s no place on the trail to fill up! We started off in the woods, with a beautiful pine scent that I desperately wanted to capture!
We started a winding descent from woods into a meadow, followed by a large open area with red dirt.
The terrain was so different than that of which we had been hiking earlier in the week (like the Pike’s Peak Incline and Lover’s Leap Trail at Custer State Park) which made it truly wonderful.
When I snapped a picture of that trail sign, I stopped to think about how deeply I had really fallen in love with hiking that week, and how thankful I was to have had that experience. I only wish I could do more of it!
Devils Tower was not only a really cool hike through multiple terrains, but it was also gorgeous! We had to drive about two hours each direction to visit Devils Tower, and we both thought it was well worth it! We actually packed a lunch and ended up eating right near the tower after the hike- it made for a very scenic picnic!
Now it’s your turn to share! Do you like to pack lunches when you travel?
