Weekend Wrap Up: Straight Up Selfie Edition

Awkward selfie alert.  I just wanted y'all to see how long my hair is.  I have an appointment next week to cut it.  Every time I tell someone that, they lose their mind.  People, it's just hair.  It'll grow back.  I will mourn the loss of my top knot though.  Sigh...

This is with Mary Katherine at Corsair Distillery on Saturday night.  Our friends Brian & Melissa are moving to Asheville & their going away party was on Saturday night.  *Tear.

Afterwards, we all headed east for dinner at Lockeland Table.  I tasted most of the appetizers:  crab & corn fritter, tater tots & the pork belly pizza.  I ordered the bone-in pork loin & John ordered the NY strip.  My pork was delish, but John's steak wins the prize.  We also sampled two desserts:  the peanut butter empanadas & the donuts.  Everything was so good!.  It was pricey, but delicious.

On Sunday morning, I met Jaime & Lana for a run at Shelby.  It was touch & go with the weather, but we got 3 miles in.  Then, OF COURSE, we treated ourselves to Barista Parlor.  Hello, cold brew!

Weekend Wrap Up: Baldwin Family Bike Ride Edition

 

On Friday night, I went to a birthday dinner for my friend Dawn.  Dawn & I met in Seventh Grade & were best friends & roommates until I moved to NYC & she moved to Japan in 2000.  We eventually fell out of touch with each other, but became reunited last year & now live down the street from each other.  Of course we do.

On Saturday, I did my first two-a-day with Heidi.  We ran 3 miles, then swam for 30 minutes, which was apparently enough to reawaken the sugar devil.  I made these chocolate chunk cookies from my favorite food blog, Crepes of Wrath, & they were delicious!

If you follow me on Instagram, then you already know about this new $10 Pulaski chair.  While the cookies were baking, I re-worked the furniture in our living room.  I took the orange chair out & put the $10 chair in.  I'm worried the chevron chair & red ottoman don't go with the bar cart & $10 chair, but I don't have anywhere else to put them.  And I like them.

The living room has become a catch-all for all of my favorite finds, but is that a bad thing?  Also, this picture reminds me that I need to replace the Ikea rug & coffee table we bought 4 years ago as temporary pieces & never replaced.  Oy.

While I was Donna Reed-ing it up at home, John went to Grimey's to celebrate Record Store Day.  This has been a very good year for John Baldwin Mastering.  While the big project he's been working on all year isn't out yet, everything else is & was for sale on Saturday.  He had a blast.

Yesterday was the first time in the 9 year history of Kim & John that we exercised together.  Now that I have my own bike, John has his back, so we can ride together.  We met our friends Katie & Rollum at Wave Country to ride to the Percy Priest dam & back.  I padded up like I was going to ride the Tour de France, but John just went in his every day clothes, including the BLAZER he brought in case he needed it.  Ya'll.

I didn't think to bring two bottles of water, so halfway through the ride, we stopped at Target for John to get something to drink.  Naturally, he got a Coke.  And yes, he put it in his water bottle cage & rode with it.  But seriously, he did great.  For someone who hasn't worked out, possible ever, he rode over 16 miles yesterday, IN JEANS.  Respect.

Oh, & P.S. - my new bike is awesome!  OMG, it's such a huge difference riding a road bike after riding John's 100 lb mountain bike all last year.  And I can shift it!  I love my bike!

Birchbox Review: March

Birchbox is on a roll lately.  I proclaimed last month's box to be my favorite yet, but this one is pretty awesome, too.  Here's what I got!

MAKE | Eyeshadow
Birchbox description:  This new brand's pretty pigments have serious staying power, & we love that one-third of all sales are donated to charity.  Full-size, $18

My Review:  I'm not in the market for new eyeshadow, but I tried it.  I received the Great Lakes color, which is a pretty grey shade.  I've been using a cream shadow this past year & had a hard time switching back to powder.  I felt like I had to apply a lot of it to get the pigment to show.  Meh.  I'll keep the sample, but I doubt I'll use it much & I definitely won't buy it.

MAKE | Face Primer Broad Spectrum SPF 30
Birchbox description:  Pump up your makeup's endurance & protect skin with this two-in-one base & SPF.  Full-size, $30

My Review:  I've enjoyed receiving all the various primer samples lately.  I'm new to primer & I like trying different brands.  I felt like this one by Make is more of a moisturizer/SPF than a primer.  It's actually the exact same consistency as my Oil of Olay SPF 30 moisturizer.  I can always use more SPF, especially SPF 30, so I used this, but I won't buy it.

Nick Chavez Beverly Hills | Color-Saver Sulfate-Free Shampoo
Birchbox description:  The Hollywood stylist devised this sulfate-free shampoo to enhance the vibrancy of your hue.  It's loaded with yummy apple & lemon extracts that boost volume.  Full-size, $22

My Review:  I love this shampoo!  I've been using Aveda Shampure for a hundred years & this is the first time I've ever thought about switching.  The scent is weird, but it works; it foams like a normal shampoo even though it's sulfate-free; & it made my hair so soft & fluffy!  I'm probably buying this.

Whish | Shave Crave Shaving Cream
Birchbox description:  The organic shea butter in this foam-free shaving cream makes for an insanely close shave & leaves skin incredibly soft.  We love the exclusive blueberry scent.  Full-size, $20

My Review:  I've actually changed my mind about this product.  When I first received it, I loved it, but as I've continued to use it all month, I'm not all that knocked out with it.  I assume all women have this problem - I have issues with the skin under my arms.  That skin is so sensitive!  It's constantly bumpy & itchy & the more I shave it, the worse it gets.  Oy.  At the end of the day, I'm no more happy with this product than I am with my drugstore sensitive skin shaving cream.  Sigh...

Boston: How To Cope

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With what happened in Boston this week, I want to re-visit my own past experience in the hope that it's helpful for anyone currently struggling with this.  I've realized not all of my friends A) know that I used to live in NYC, or B) know that I lived there in 2001 & witnessed 9/11.  More on my experience that day here.  Another thing you probably don't know is that I've been loosely diagnosed with PTSD.  Long story, but because I never dealt with the trauma of that event, even though it's been almost 12 years, in my brain, it just happened.  I know, I know.  Therapy is on my life to do list.  I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Here is what I want you to know:  if you are struggling, please get help.  If you don't know where to go, I can point you in the right direction.  When 9/11 happened, I didn't get help.  I was in my early twenties & didn't understand the gravity of what I had witnessed or the damage it had done to my psyche.  I was having a hard time re-adjusting to life.  I didn't understand if I was supposed to go back to work, or not go to work & continue to watch CNN 24/7?  Was I a bad person if I did something normal, like go to a bar?  I felt bad if I realized 30 minutes had gone by without me thinking about 9/11.

I went about daily life & pushed everything aside.  It took about 6 months for the panic attacks to start.  And I'm talking intense panic attacks.  I would actually wake up in the middle of night, unable to breath, smelling smoke that wasn't there.  In hindsight, I can't believe I didn't go see a doctor.  Ahh, youth.

I've since learned that I had (have?) survivor's guilt.  I didn't allow myself to grieve because I didn't think I was allowed to.  Yes, I actually saw, with my own eyes, the first Tower fall, but I wasn't hurt, nor was anyone I knew directly.  I was in a city surrounded by people who had lost loved ones in the attack, & I didn't.  What right did I have to cry?  So I didn't cry, or feel.  And 12 years later, here I am, with untreated PTSD.

If you were in Boston on Monday, & I know some of you were, please feel free to reach out to me.  I can hug, I can listen & I can get you help.  If you've never met me & it seems weird to contact me, I understand.  Here is my advice to you - allow yourself to grieve; give yourself permission to feel whatever you are feeling; TALK TO A PROFESSIONAL.  If you had the flu, you'd go see a doctor.  This is the same thing.  You're just not sick in a way that's as visible.  Don't do what I did.  Don't wait on it to pass.  It won't pass.  It will haunt you every time you're stressed/sad/tired & it will make it so much worse.  You are allowed to feel what you feel.  There is no glory in toughing it out.

I'm here.

Race Recap: Oak Barrel Half Marathon 2013

Last week I ran my third half marathon, the Oak Barrel Half in Lynchburg, TN.  Of the three I've run, this is my favorite half.  This is a cheap race to run; there aren't a ton of runners; there are more recreational runners, than elite runners - lots of interval runners; the course is hard, but diverse & scenic; Mach Tenn does a great job organizing; & there's awesome swag!

The first thing you need to know about Oak Barrel is you won't PR, so only register for the fun of running it.  The reason you won't PR is a little thing called Whiskey Hill.  Whiskey Hill is a mile long hill that takes you up to the top of a ridge line.  It's so intense that A) they ask that you do a preview run & B) it has it's own Facebook page.

I was worried about Oak Barrel because it's super hilly, my other two halfs were flat & I'm a month out of a knee injury.  After NOLA, I talked to my PT about training for Oak Barrel & she had me slowly incorporate hills into my training runs.  It worked.  We spent the month between NOLA & Oak Barrel running the hardest, hilliest routes we could find.  We ran The Nasty (twice), the 5.8 & 11.2 trails in Percy Warner, plus the preview run.  My knee held out & my body got accustomed to running uphill for two hours straight.  Also, not for nothing, but you could cut glass on the definition in my quads right now.

Race Day!  The race started at 8:00am & Lynchburg is about 1 hour & 45 minutes away, so I got up at 4:00 & left Nashville at 5:15.  Got there just in time to check in, make a pit stop & get to the start line.  Oh, & talk to the County Mayor, obvs.  When we started running, it was around 40 degrees, but it got up to 70 by the time we finished, so there was lots of shedding of layers.  This is where Mach Tenn really came through.  They put a cardboard box at every mile marker, so you could throw your jacket, etc. into a box along the course.  Then, at the finish, they had a well organized system for retrieving your items.  So smart!  I can't believe other race organizers don't do this!

I run better in cooler weather, so it was perfect for me.  We all started out together, but slowly separated as we hit Whiskey Hill.  Lana & I stayed together for most of the race though.  I had a great race.  The weather was perfect, I knew the course & I felt good.  Lana & I plowed up every hill like it was our job.  Thanks, hill training!  Also, every time I needed water, I'd look up & there was a water stop.  Mach Tenn nailed this aspect of the race, too.

I felt strong & Lana & I were trucking along, then we hit Mile 11.  I hit a wall & needed to stop, eat some energy chews & get a drink of water, so I stopped & Lana kept going.  I looked ahead & could still see her, so I tried to catch up to her.  My energy chews kicked in, so I picked up the pace a little.  I had been running a 12:30-13:00 minute mile, but ran the last two miles at a 9:30.  DUMB.  I was about a half mile from the finish when my calves locked up.  I limp-sprinted through the finish & then my body completely turned against me.

It's the worst finish I've ever had.  It took about 15-30 minutes for my legs to quit cramping.  Hard times.  But!  I PR-ed!  Ha!  I beat my NOLA time by 2 minutes.

All in all, I loved this race & am definitely planning on running it again next year.  I recommend you do the same.  Keep an eye on it & register early because it sells out fast.

Yay, Lynchburg!  Yay, Mach Tenn!

Weekend Wrap Up: Oak Barrel Edition

This weekend I ran my third half marathon, the Oak Barrel Half in Lynchburg, TN.  In contrast to the other two half marathons I've run, this one was stupid hilly & warm, bordering on hot.  Luckily, we ran one of the preview runs, so we knew what we were in for & trained accordingly.  I'm looking at you, PW 11.2...  Turns out, all that hill training worked because I ran Oak Barrel 2 minutes faster than NOLA.  Ha!  Hello, 2013 PR!  That, ladies & gentlemen, is what we call 'going HAM'.

Here I am afterwards with my awesome lady running team:  Jaime, Melanie, Lana & Heidi.  We've been training together since November & have collectively run 11 half marathons since January.  Respect.

You know what you eat when you get up at 4:00am, drive to Lynchburg & run uphill in 70 degree full-on sun for 2-1/2 to 3 hours?  Waffle House.  Believe it.

Hilarious aside:  Lana is a vegetarian & had a hard time finding a breakfast plate that didn't come with meat.  After she ordered, she went to wash her hands & our waitress came over & said, "Does your friend not like meat?"  We told her she's a vegetarian AND THEN she said, "She's not one of them vegans, is she?"  Ha!  Oh, Shelbyville.

There's no picture to prove this, but on Saturday night we went to dinner with Michael & Becky.  We went to this "New" (inside joke) Mexican restaurant in Green Hills called Alegria.  It was actually good!  I had the pineapple cilantro margarita & the fried avocado taquitos.

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm switching gears from marathon season to triathlon season.  Hilariously, I tend to forget that my husband reads my blog.  We were eating lunch yesterday & John asked me if I wanted to go shopping for whatever I need for my upcoming triathlon, his treat.  Um, yes please!  Yay, husbands!

We went to REI first, but they didn't have a lot, so we went to Cumberland Transit.  They had more selection, they were cheaper & they had a lot of stuff on sale for 40% off.  Score!

I had a size-related, mini melt down in the dressing room.  Y'all, trying on tri kits is hard.  Imagine putting on pink, mesh, head to toe Spanx & then trying to convince yourself that you do not, in fact, look like a hot pink sausage.

But I persevered, mainly because there are rules against doing triathlons naked.  Cumberland Transit haul:  windbreaker bike vest, tri shorts & tri top - all Pearl Izumi.  The vest & the top were 40% off.  Oh, & chain lube & a bell.  Duh.  You oblivious idiots on the Shelby greenway are going to hear me this year.  DING DING!

What do you do when you've been trying on spandex all day & feel like the fattest person in fat town?  You eat fried catfish & watch Mad Men.  Alas, I live to fight another day.

Triathlon Season

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I haven't even run my second half marathon yet (it's on Saturday) & I'm already switching gears to triathlon season.  And by "season", I mean the one tri sprint I'm registered for.  I competed in my first triathlon last August, which you can read about here.  That race was the Girls Tri It On hosted by Team Magic.  Sticking with Team Magic, I'm now registered for the Cedars Of Lebanon Tri on May 18, along with Mary Katherine, Lana, Heidi & Alicia.  It'll be a birthday triathlon for me & Mary Katherine.  Team Taurus!

I didn't buy any tri gear last year because I wasn't sure I'd ever do one again.  I borrowed my husband's old, college mountain bike (y'all) & I borrowed a tri kit from Lana.  John bought me a road bike for Christmas, so if I ever learn how to ride it, I'll assuredly be 1,000 times faster.  Here's a picture of my new bike:

Okay, let's list this out.  First list:  questions.

• I bought my bike in Nov & it's been sitting in my garage ever since.  Do I need someone to check it out and/or give it a tune-up before I start riding it?
• Can one of my bike friends do this or do I need to take it to a bike shop?  Marshall?  Andy?
• Can one of my patient girlfriends teach me how to shift?  Like next weekend?
• I also need to learn how to clip-in, but I'm thinking about keeping the toe cages on for the race & learning how to clip-in after the race.  I bought the pedals, I just haven't put them on yet.

Second list:  things to buy.

• Swimsuit
• Tri shorts
• New bike helmet
• Clip-in shoes (to fit Shimano R-540 road pedals, size 7 - 7.5)
• Race number belt
• SUNSCREEN

Third list:  to do.

• Buy tri shorts & race number belt.
• Get bike checked out.
• Learn how to shift & start riding bike.
• Start swimming & hopefully remember how.

I'd love to hear from my tri & bike friends on this, particularly in regards to tuning up my bike & learning how to shift, but any & all advice is welcome.

Weekend Wrap Up: Fox Pup Edition

On Friday, I went wedding dress shopping with Mary Katherine.  Not only did every dress fit her, they all looked good on her!  I explained that this is not everyone's experience.  I couldn't even get in most wedding dresses & the sales associates would hold the dress up in front of me & tell me to imagine what I would look like in it.  True story.  Mary Katherine however, has a body made for wedding dresses & is going to be a GORGEOUS bride!

On Saturday, my Oak Barrel training group ran our last training run before the half marathon this Saturday.  No more runs, whoo hoo!  We ran a short, flat, 60 minute run & then re-fueled at Bread & Co. before parting ways for Easter weekend.

For dinner, we met our pals Keith & Nicole at Thai Phooket.  We tried to eat at The Pharmacy, but they don't take reservations & were on a 90 minute wait.  A little much for a restaurant John swears is no better than Sonic.

Yesterday was the first Sunday since November that I didn't have to wake up & run a long run.  In honor of this, I gave myself the day off of MyFitnessPal, too.  We had leftover buttermilk from last week's hot chicken, so I decided to make buttermilk pancakes.  Um, yeah, I did!  They were delicious.  I used this recipe.  Also, the app I'm using to put font on my pictures is called Over.  More here.

Sometimes I get irrationally mad at inanimate objects in our house.  The most recent victim of my wrath is our shower curtain.  A friend talked me into this shower curtain years ago when it was on sale at Urban.  I've never liked it.  We got a $50 Target gift card for Easter, so I bought a new shower curtain (& rug).  I maybe need to iron it & I definitely need to re-paint the bathroom, but my shower curtain wrath has subsided for now.  In related news, if anyone wants an Orla Kiely knock-off shower curtain from Urban Outfitters, it's yours.

When I said I took yesterday off, I mean I TOOK YESTERDAY OFF.  I watched two movies (The Imposter & Argo), drank a milkshake & then John & I drove around looking at houses we can't afford.  While we were driving around, we came upon two cars stopped in the middle of a street, looked & there were 4 fox pups playing on the side of the road.  They were soaking wet & covered in mud, but they were having a fox blast.

When we drove back by, they were climbing in & out of this drain pipe.  John rolled down his window & howled at them.  They were climbing all over each other to watch him & then they started making these cute, little fox noises back at him.  Foxes!  We also saw two groundhogs, but they weren't as photogenic.

John's been itching to make carnitas, like the real way, with lard.  I told him he could do it yesterday on my day off.  They were delicious!