Running my Legs and my Mouth #thelongrun

First off, a very happy Mother’s Day to the woman behind the Suzlyfe. You all owe your daily ray of sunshine to her, after all.

Love you so much, Mommy!!!!

Have you enter Suzlyfe’s First Giveaway Ever?! You could win a VARIETY CASE OF 479 POPCORN!!

The lovely Ange over at Cowgirl Runs (you know her, you love her) nominated me for a Liebster award last week, and as her questions were of a more activity/running focus, I thought they would be perfect to answer for this week’s Long Run!

1) Tell me about your favourite non-running activity

Does eating count? I’m really really good at it! Had you asked me a few years ago, I would have said that running was my favorite non-riding activity, but a great deal has changed for me in the past 24 months. At this time in my life, yoga is my favorite non-running activity. It challenges me in the best and different ways every day. But I do wish that I could enjoy it with a side of running.

2) What is your favourite animal and why?

I feel like I should say horses, and they probably are, if I am being honest with myself.

But I am also very much into the cuddling thing, so I would love a Corgi at the moment. But more than anything, I miss my dog Champ.

Champ. No words.

If I could pick an animal to have as a pet, without thought of practicality, I would say an otter, dolphin, or an aardvark (mostly on account of the name).

3) Are you loyal to running brands, or do you switch it up?

We’ve discussed this before–I like what I like and I tend to be loyal to brands. That said, I have a lot of great pieces from a lot of great brands:

• SWIRLGEAR  (racing tops and hat)

• Brooks for shoes as well as accessories (arm warmers, my white hat, jackets, socks) MCM merch recap here

• Feetures (performance socks)

• ProCompression (Compression sleeves and socks)
• Athleta (yoga apparel and running shorts)  Birthday Haul Recap here

• Target C9 (Sports bras and various odds and ends)
• CW-X (Compression pants and shorts)– I own 9 pairs total–all the lengths in multiple weights.

4) What is your dream for your blog?

My dream for my blog is to, at the end of it all, be able to look at it and know that I maintained my integrity and remained authentic and true to myself. I want to look at everything that I have written and be proud not only because I like what I wrote but because I like the person that I am, whoever that may become over time. So a larger goal of my blog would be to help myself evolve as a person and, I hope, as a mentor and a friend. The friendships that I have gained from starting this blog are, to me, the greatest ice cream on the cake (heh heh). I didn’t start this blog to make friends, but it FREAKING ROCKS to feel surrounded by and to engage with such amazing people. But ultimately? Yeah, I’m selfish.

5)  What are you goal races in 1 year, 2 years and 5 years from now?

My goal race for later on this year is, of course, Twin Cities, but at this point I have no idea as to whether or not that will happen. If it is simply a matter of time, and needing just a bit more of it, then I would consider doing the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. But, that said, at this point, getting to, completing, and coming out of any race, and to do so injury free, is the goal. 2 years from now? I honestly don’t know where I will be–it may likely be time for me to start trying to have a family (gulp) and, if that be the case, I think that will be my goal finish line. Same for 5 years from now. But I hope to continue running as long as I have 2 legs that will carry me.

6)  If you didn’t run, what would you do?

I wish I wasn’t having to discover this right now (to an extent, I can’t be so fatalistic about it). If I didn’t run, I would still be active–yoga, cycling, strength training. I don’t know if I can say that I would be riding, at least not right now. I would be taking walks (I assume that is still an option). But I would still be working toward being a CPT and wanting to help people work to move beyond expectation.

Oh hell, we all know that I would be eating ice cream.

7) Tell me about your dream vacation

I was lucky enough to experience my dream vacation last year on my honeymoon. I started to recap it here and here, and I need to continue! 3 nights a piece in London, Paris, and Rome.

What a dump…

The only thing that I would do next would be to switch up the locations: Ireland or Spain, Paris (with time to go to Versailles) and Istanbul. But the trip we had was just magical and everything I could want and more. Check out the recaps!

8) What is your favourite get pumped running song?

Oh! I have so many! Here are a few:

• “In Da Club” 50 Cent–Try to resist its power. Just try.

• “Invincible” OKGO!–give it a little bit of time, it builds. Also, watch the music video

• “By the Grace of God” Katy Perry–got me through my marathon. Nuff Said.
• “Fly Away” Lenny Kravitz
• “All I Do is Win” DJ Khaled
• “Independent” Lil Webby
• “Wobble” V.I.C.

• “Get Low” Ying Yang Twins
• “Superbass” Nicki Minaj
• Anything by Ellie Goulding. Bonus points for dubstep remixes.

9) What is your favourite running food product?

Jelly Belly Sport beans, no questions asked. Extreme Beans for races. FRS energy chews are the only other energy supplement that I will use. Non-specialty food product wise, I would say Reeds or Gin Gins ginger chews, butterscotch, fruit tootsie rolls/starburst, and dried mango. It was pretty awesome to get Dunkin Donuts munchkins during MCM, especially because I thought it was water they were handing out. Even though they were yelling “NOT WATER.” It was mile 22 or something, what did you expect?

10) What is your favourite post-race meal or treat?

Sweetfrog (specifically) but froyo in general. Except for last summer when I was working late at the resto and there was a froyo shop on the way home that stayed open til midnight, froyo is totally a splurge for me these days ($$ wise). I’m honestly not too extravagant when it comes to my post race treats–they are mostly things that I love but don’t do everyday because I can do them for cheaper: like a MONSTER gourmet salad bar trip, or a frappuccino (full price, and with protein powder!!),

 

When I feel the need to be incognito about my compression (but you know that it’s there)

a cappuccino/Americano, Slurpee especially Cherry Limeade), or making myself pancakes. I use the whole day to refuel, so I’m not all that likely to splurge just once. Definitely a beer/wine/bevy that night 😀

FLIP was a great post race choice

Also, it goes without saying that all of these things must be eaten in CWX and ProCompression gear and Crocs. #classy

Well, a bit less ridiculous than I sometimes am, but don’t worry, I keep extra ridic around just in case.

 

 

I Gotta Figure that Out #MIMM

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Before I commence, I want to throw this out there: I am thinking about/exploring options re: moving to self hosted/registering my domain. I figure, if I am going to do this, I should do it before things get too out of hand. Any advice? What do you all use? Did you hire someone? Cost? If you don’t feel comfortable talking about it below, shoot me an email (suzlyfe@gmail.com). I would greatly appreciate it.

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RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU’VE ALREADY HAD A MARGARITA TODAY!!!!

Hi, Friend.

You lushes. Audrey would not approve. One of the best Google Doodles ever, btw.

How about a Marg Gu Chomp? I think I will have a limey something for breakfast. Or just some Resposado.

I know that many of you had crazy, jam packed weekends with alllll sorts of races, and I am starting to lose track of who all has/hasn’t run/raced, so I am going to say, please post in the comments and brag on yo’self. I’m not going to embarrass myself or make anyone feel less than loved by forgetting anyone. Make my day even more MARVELOUS than a MORNING MARGARITA!!!

Thanks, Katie!

PS. My parents are in Cabo today (they come back home for good tomorrow). Methinks they planned this, and I am jealous.

Weekend catch up!

If you missed it, Friday I became an Ambassador for Sweat Pink! Because I need more color in my life…. #iamsusie #idontdoquiet

Saturday, I reminisced about my life before running. And I wanted to add another picture to the mix! Here is PENNY!!

As my mom says, WHAT A DIVA.

Still trying to find a Luna pic. Speaking of pictures, with switching my phones, moving in/out of icloud etc, I temporariliy lost ALL of my pictures. GUESS WHO BACKED UP ALL OF HER PICTURES APRIL 14th?? THIS GIRL. So, like with the phone, what could have been a really bad bad thing turned out ok 😀

Me giving Bri a serious talking to a few years ago. HE IS SO SEXY

Other good Saturday happenings: I went for a run, nothing hurt (except for a random shooting pain in my hamstring, but that when away), it was glorious, and I needed it so badly. Then I went to the gym and did a short leg-machine circuit for the first time in ages. Had a nom nom lunch (yeah, I said it), Alex came home, we went for a looooong walk in the sunshine, and I had foot pain and then 2 random shooting pains in my foot and then the pain when away. I. Give. Up.

We came home, and I proceeded to get a horrific headache for the rest of the night, but still managed to make an awesome dinner of Balsamic Honey Mustard Salmon, Sweet Potato Chips, and Spinach Salad. Self Brag: Alex said it was restaurant quality. But he could have just been trying to get in my pants. Sadly for him, the head didn’t get better, and after ice cream (it was all I wanted at one point), I gave up and finally fell asleep. I slept like a rock until 4 am Sunday and felt a lot better.

I recently embarked on a major rehaul of my eating habits (adding and rejigging) that I will discuss later, but my body has really taken to it. Taken to it so much, in fact, that if I miss one of my “feedings,” I feel atrocious after I do eat–stomachache, headache, weird energy. Seriously, body? You would think it would be happy and behave a bit with me giving it more food. BUT NO. Instead, it has been demanding more and more food, more and more often. And then, when I don’t feed it every 2-3 hours, it throws a huge hissy fit. I mean. WTH?

Before I go any further, I want to say a huge thank you to Lori at Getting Fit with Bipolar for being just a stellar person. I posted onto some of our ambassador page, and Lori took it upon herself to help me out without me saying anything more–reminiscent of another one of my favorite ladies, #mamasalt. Moments and actions like these are precisely why I applied to join these networks. No, it actually wasn’t for the self promotion, or to get cool stuff, or whatever. I reached out to feel a part of something more. And they have delivered. Even better? Both Mama Salt and Lori are Girls I’m Fit Possible, Sweat Pink, and SwirlSisters. LIKE MOI. GREAT MINDS. I am honored to be in communities of amazing people.

Speaking of, do YOU like Suzlyfe on Facebook? Because you should. All of the cool kids do. You know what the cool kids also do? They go over and check out Lori’s blog and Mama Salt because they are awesome.

The big ticket item for Sunday (other than some time in the gym and cheering on friends as they finished their races) was going through my closet. I decided that even if Chicago wanted to pretend that 40-50 deg days in May is okay, I would just ignore it and bring out my summer stuff. So I put on mindless TV (um, I am all for crazy, but can we discuss the insanity of the “Married to Medicine” women? All I know is that in the promos for the new episode, a woman shouts that “I will not come off CHARIOT  and throw tomatoes with you, sweetheart!” WOW) in the background and got out my plastic tub (classy, I know), and flip flopped some of the clothes. Not that it really is going to matter, as I basically only wear 3 things during the summer: maxi dresses, v necks, and shorts. (The workout clothes are as much a given as underwear at this point, so not even worth mentioning as a category). Some of my things are starting to get pretty worn, and I am thinking that it is time to retire them, but these are (of course) some of my absolute favorite pieces. Some decisions will have to be made. And I am also now left with a bag of clothes that need new homes. I even have some that have never been worn. I know I could consign them, but I’ll get nothing for them that way. I’ve gotta figure that out.

I also gathered/started to gather the things that need to be taken to the dry cleaners/shoe cleaners before we put them up for the winter. My hope is to convince Alex to participate like a good husband and get his jank together, but we’ll see. I think we’ll need another crate for that. Le sigh.

An outstanding thing did happen Sunday afternoon: I got to experience simultaneously 3 things that I didn’t think existed in Chicago, much less together: Sunshine, palatable temperatures outside, and BLOOMS. Oh, and not getting things stolen at Starbucks while sitting outside. HASHTAG WINNING.

Not too many big time events this weekend, but this week is going to be very busy, and next weekend as well. I will keep you abreast of any developments as they occur, but right now I have to wait some things out until I know how they will come to fruition. SUSPENSE.

Tell me about your marvelous!!!

Races/Runs/Yoga poses. This weekend. GO. I was going to go to yoga on Saturday, but then I saw my fave wasn’t teaching so it didn’t seem worth pushing my foot for. So I ran. Logical? Probably not. But it felt so gooood. Until walking with Alex after. But whatever.

What were 3 things that this weekend that created a pleasant surprise by happening simultaneously? Another trio? Alex, mid afternoon, walk in the sunshine.

Did anyone do something extraordinarily gracious and completely unprompted for you this weekend? I’ve said it before (when #mamasalt sent people over to the ol’ blog, unprompted, that I am constantly venerated by my decision to enter into this blog world–I have received nothing but love, support, and people going above and beyond to help one another out.

 

I wanted the Giant Pink Lawn Flamingo #MIMM

Quick Happy Birthday to my dear Grandfather. I have missed you so much since you left us physically, but you are always with me.

And let’s talk about Marvelous things!

Thanks, Katie!

If you’re wondering why I wish I had a giant pink lawn flamingo, then I am sorry, but we can’t be friends. Wanting a giant pink lawn flamingo is a natural American birthright.

Quick digression–I love anything idiot (obviously) and silly (also obviously) but I have the restraint to not purchase such things. My mother, on the other hand, is helpless to the pull of things absurd, themed, and or kitchy. Thus why I have, throughout the years, received stuffed turkey wine glass base holders (basically, an attached coaster) and, also memorably, a metal garden flamingo. I immediately unloaded the “gobblers” on Alex and his roommate and told the boys to abuse the things (we all went to UVA and mercilessly made fun of and badmouthed the “gobblers/Chokies” aka the Virginia Tech Hokies (Turkeys, basically). I thought it was appropriate). The metal garden flamingo, however, stood the test of time, received the name of Ralph, and migrated apartment to apartment until I left for grad school. I also “rescued” 2 drink flamingoes (put in Buddha drinks, classy, I know, at a hibachi place in Cville that Alex and I went to with friends to celebrate his bday), the first of which was named Scarlett and the second was MMMMMMaaaahhhhtin (in an overly affected Brit accent), and lived in our cars. WE KNOW we are special.

Not a giant pink lawn flamingo, but similar idea as Ralph. Only Ralph “flew” on a stake.

I miss PGH and my Twin (who also has PF)

Ok, long digression. For a full explanation of the intricacies of the giant lawn flamingo, please see Saturday’s post. For what followed, let’s discuss. And to make sure that you at the very least scroll through the entirety of the post, announcement(s) at the bottom!!

We are going to Tarantino this post like Saturday’s as well–to keep you wanting more–and go in reverse order:

Monday (Today) — Alex is off and we plan on being boring. The weather is supposed to suck. A workout will be involved. So what else is new.

Pretty much.

Saturday PM/Sunday–Alex’s parents came to town this weekend, so after I got my nails did (I had to remove the chipped polish before the Sproing event, another fail of the day), I met up with Alex (post nap) and his parents for a chat at Panera, then I took them to Coco Pazzo, and after we went to visit my sister in law’s twin sister at her apartment. I came home, ice creamed, and crashed. Sunday morning I got an exciting email (!), worked out on the step mill (ermigerd) for 20 mins and did triceps (couldn’t lift my arms after). Then this happened:

Chyeah. And if you are wondering why you get a pic of half eaten pancakes, it was to show the massive cherries and blueberries inside. I wish you could tell better but there is granola sprinkled throughout the batter as well. ERMIGERD.

Saturday AM: lots and lots of blog work. If you are new to the Suzlyfe, hi hello! and welcome. Please troll about and click on things (shoot me an email if something doesn’t work, pleaseandthankyou). I have updated a lot of the links and pages at the top of the screen, so there should be better navigation for you all. Still a work in progress though.

NOWWWW, Pink Flamingo Day (Friday): I worked out, I contemplated with a woman calling an animal rescue group when we found a dog tied up outside a McDonalds, but the dog was picked up soon after (we presume by the owner, we were inside trying to figure out what to do), I had an awesome lunch, the sun was shiny shiny, I had my doctor’s appointment re: foot, I went to Whole Foods, then got a slurpee (suck on that WFM), then went and sat outside at a Starbucks and worked on this post. Then someone literally SWIPED MY PHONE FROM MY TABLE IN FRONT OF ME and bolted.

Someone (ahem) rightly asked how the phone could be stolen as I watched. Lest you think I am blind as well as a ninny, let me explain: I was sitting at a table outside of a Sbux with my laptop, backpack and phone. Phone and laptop on table. Person came up behind me, swiped it, and dashed. I stood up, and in .5 s opted against tearing after them (I did yell though).  I a) am hurt, and b) am not about to leave my laptop and backpack (with my wallet) to save a phone that was going to be replaced before too long and that I back up all the time (hello blogger). Also, passcode protected. And insured. So I picked up my stuff and headed to the ATT store (HI LISETTE YOU ARE AWESOME), and now I have the brand new HTC One M8, which is taking some getting used to, but I think will be a truly amazing device. I will review it in about a week or so, but so far, I am really really impressed.

I came home (was ravenous), had a snack, then I walked Alex to the hospital and went to maybe one of my absolute favorite areas of the city (Old Town) and to an event that I thought I would stay at for, eh, maybe 30 minutes? Yeah, I was the last one to leave–I had so much fun talking to the owners Paul, Susan, and Ingrid, and one of the trainers, John, that I literally couldn’t leave. If you missed my tweet, get excited for a review to come on the new Sproing Studio–this is going to be big, people. At is MOST basic, it is a contraption (I would liken it to a Pilates reformer for runners.

Action shot

Also similar in that it looks CRAZY but is totally easy to use and can accommodate a nearly unlimited number of exercises) that takes the impact out of running. Imagine being a toddler on a kid leash, running against your parents (walking you like a dog), but running on a camping mattress that reads your cadence, speed, distance, etc, and that you can adjust. And then using the proprioceptive properties of the air + Pose method running to strengthen you kinetic chain and work you out. And then turning around and doing lunges and stuff, TRX style. That is it in a nutshell, but know that as soon as I have the ok from the doc, I am there like….a fast thing, but one coming off an injury so give me some buffer time JIC.

Then, I went to Plum Market (obsessed), got hold/cold bar and some other goodies (you guys, they have the mecca of nut butter and popcorn. ::ANGELS::), and then froyo on the way home (first time in forever). And then my Spaghetti Squash Protein Pancakes with Sunflower butter.

It. was. a. Day. Even longer than that recap, which was exhausting for all of us (anyone want a drink after that?).

FUN THINGS

A) Holllla to all my b*tches who owned their races and runs this weekend! Ange, Mama Salt, Cassie (who is a fellow Sigma Kappa (DOVE LOVE)), Pickster (shout out to Caitlin for the nickname), and ALL THE PEOPLE (Erica, Meghan crap my brain just went blank–leave me a comment if I forgot you!!) who ran the Country Music Marathon. And if you ran, just to run, d@mn you. JK, I hope it was awesome and fantastical and perfect.

B) I am now a proud member of Girls Gone Sporty Ambassador Team STELLAR. I may have not gotten a pink flamingo, but I got a pink badge!

I have had my eye on GGS for a while now, and I think that it is going to be another great facet of the Suzlyfe. Between Ramblen (Travel, Fit in the City), Swirlgear (apparel and community), I’m Fit Possible (inspiration, knowledge, and community), Chicago Blogger Network (local blogging), and now Girls Gone Sporty (inspiration, innovation, education, and business), I think that the blog is really going places. And more growing to come.

C) Something that I am adamant about returning to is my initial purpose of broaching the aspects of life that can be tough to deal with in every day life and to speak about in a public forum. I am bring back the Tough Talk series, as I discussed last week, and I invite you to go to the Tough Talk page (use the menu up above) and maybe catch up a little bit. If there are particular topics that you would like to see discussed, please email me, tweet/DM or carrier pigeon (but know I have a cat. But it’s Zoe so should be fine). I have Crohn’s, specifically, but I think that much of what I learned is as applicable to another IBD/IBS/UC patient as to someone who has just gotten some not-so-great news. I also have clinical anxiety/depression, have dealt with obsessive eating behaviors, dysfunctional hormones, and I run–lots of avenues to connect through. **I am not an expert, I don’t pretend to be. Take my words as you will, take what you will, but I only hope to help.**

D) And because this is last, and likely you all fell asleep long ago, I will be mentioning this again, but my lovely fellow Southern Belle and I have decided that we have a ton of running shhhhtuff that we don’t use/need to pare down, but is too nice/not used enough to toss/donate. We are thinking running blogger garage sale. Interested? Let us know (email that upppp).

Mental high five, you’re done for now.

Do you like random bits of lawn/house paraphenalia, or do you prefer ascetic surroundings?

Would you rather I did multiple posts a day, rather than 1 long one? 

Reminder for discussion as well: New readers? Racers I didn’t mention (I promise I love you!)? Tough talk topics? Running garage sale/clothing swap? ANYONE ELSE FROM TEAM STELLAR OUT THERE?