2016 Reading Challenge: February

This month's pick is a book that was banned at some point.

About 4 years ago, I bought Slaughterhouse-Five on impulse at Target (I promise I don't buy all my books at Target. Note to self, don't read something from Target next month.) Ever since then it has been living in my "to-read" pile. It has moved with me when I got married, been at the top and bottom of the stack, almost donated, and finally this month I picked it up to read.

After double checking to make sure it was banned, I cracked it open and plowed through the tiny Vonnegut book. After two sessions I was done.

And I was... underwhelmed.

After all the things I read about why this book was banned I was expecting this gruesome, action packed, violent, inappropriate war novel. Instead I got aliens. Totally not what I expected.

Maybe it's because I live in 2016 and not in the sheltered 1969 world that the book was written in (although people are obviously still trying to ban it), but it definitely wasn't the most disturbing thing I've ever read.

Yes, it is a good (and probably one of the first) depiction of PTSD and how it affects those who are in combat.

I think I just had too many preconcieved notions about what to expect (especially since I read that Atlantic article first), but I wasn't blown away by any aspect of Slaugherhouse-Five. I do feel accomplished in the fact that the book is no longer living in my "to-read" stack anymore, though.

Better luck in book choice next month, I guess.

 

 Read the rest of the challenge:

• January: A Book Published This Year

#RunnersLoveYogaCORE

I have 3 big fitness loves.

The first, obviously, is running.

The second, is TRX (which is the most killer workout I've ever experienced)

The third, and newest, is yoga.

My gym offers lunch time yoga classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I've been going with some coworkers. I event went to an arm balance workshop a few weekends ago (it was 2 hours of nonstop awesomeness). I think it's safe to say I'm obsessed.

I've been following Runners Love Yoga for a while now, and after seeing her post monthly challenges for a while, I decided to give February's challenge a go. The theme was core, and I love the poses and flows we did!

Here are all my daily pics in one place, I'm so looking forward to the March challenge!

Day 1: Boat pose

Day 2: Down Dog Winsdshield Wipers

Day 3: Side plank

Day 4: Locust Pose

Day 5: Core Down Dog

Day 6: Dolphin Pose

Day 7: Down Dog Sequence

Day 8: Wrist Toe Taps

Day 9: Windshield Wipers

Day 10: Eagle Pose

Wine Lovers 5K- The Time I Almost Got Frostbite (Not Really)

I have run cold races before. If you tuned in last week, you'll remember that every Arctic 5K I've done so far has been below freezing. The discomfort of those 4 races combined had nothing on this weekend.

This weekend turned out a lot different than expected. This was supposed to be the weekend that I ran Holiday Lake 50K. I made the decision about 2 weeks ago to drop out. The decision was personal, and I actually don't regret it at all. After all, I only wound up freezing this weekend for 3.2 miles instead of 32 ;)

So with my weekend having been freed up, I found myself wondering, "What shall I do now?" Then a friend mentioned this race and I thought, "Why not?" and signed up last weekend.

Fast forward to around Thursday when we had a pretty accurate forecast and I began pre-complaining about how cold it was going to be. (I'm sorry to any of my coworkers who may be reading this.) I decided to just go buy some Hot Hands at Walgreens on Friday night and suck it up.

Saturday morning my friend Susan, who was running it with me, picked me up and we rode the hour to Cardinal Point Vineyard. When we got there, I checked my weather app, which informed me that it was 18°, but the windchill had it feeling like 5°. It was safe to say that it was the coldest I had ever raced in.

Us before the race, wearing tons of layers (I have on 3 tops)

I'll skip over the boring pre-race stuff and skip to lining up at the start. One thing I thought was a little weird about the whole event was the lack of timing chip. I can't even think of the last race I ran that was timed but didn't have chip timing. There also wasn't a formal start line when we were asked to line up, just a cone on either side of the road. It felt a little sketchy to me, but I tried not to let it bother me too much.

The race official had us get out of the cold and line up about 8 minutes before the start and I was convinced that I was going to freeze to death. The wind was tearing through my 3 layers, I couldn't feel my toes, and I'm pretty sure that was the coldest I had ever been in my life. When we were finally able to go, I couldn't feel my feet at all. It was really weird, but I figured the faster I ran the faster my blood would start pumping and the faster I could feel my toes again. So I did.

The course was boring and I liked it that way. It was a pretty straight shot, out 1.6 miles and then back the same route. There were "hills" but they were nothing like anything in Lynchburg and none of them bothered me until the biggest right before the turnaround. At that point we were running into the wind which was cutting through all my layers (even my windbreaker) and I felt like I was going nowhere. Once I turned around, it was smooth sailing to the finish.

I clocked in at 26:15, which gave me a new PR! However, I think the best part of finishing was actually being warm for the first time all morning. And I could feel my toes again!

The finisher award for this race was a custom wine glass, which I couldn't wait to snag to add to my shelf of memorabilia:

The back says "Running never tasted so good"

Overall, it was a nice race. Not something I'm dying to do again, but definitely one I would do again if given the opportunity.If nothing else, the freezing start was totally worth the new PR. Corkscrew Racing did have good organization, even if I found their timing system a little outdated. 

I would definitely give their other events a shot, though! 

Arctic 5K Recap (Ice, Sweat, and a Course PR!)

The Arctic 5K is a race I love to hate. Back in 2013, it was my first ever 5K. To be honest, I'm not sure why I ever ran a second one after that, because the elevation gain was crazy, it was freezing cold, I averaged a 15 minute mile the whole time, and I kind of wanted to die.

Fast forward to finishing my 4th Arctic in a row yesterday.

I love this year's race logo! Source

Pretty much all you need to know about this race is that it's hosted by Liberty University Student Activities, it's always below freezing at the start (even though this week was nice and warm, the temperature plummeted Friday night) and the elevation profile looks like this:

Source

So there I was at 8am, standing in the nice warm Student Center building with my friends wonder why exactly I signed up for this race for the 4th time.

I was still wondering as we lined up to start (for the record it was 30 degrees). Then we started and for the first half mile I found myself thinking, "Huh. This isn't nearly as bad as I remember, maybe I made it out worse in my head. Maybe I'm just a lot stronger than I have been the last few times."

Around the half mile mark is where you start to go up a mountain. And then you keep going up. I think we went up until almost the 2 mile mark. My thoughts were a lot different around then. "Okay, I lied this is hard. I'm not doing this next year, I don't care if it's my anniversary race. Nope. Nope. Ow."

However, after the giant peak in the middle of the map there, it actually becomes enjoyable. Around this time I ran into my friend Susan and the last mile flew by as we chatted. I almost wiped out one time on a root, but I caught myself at the last second.

Susan and I crossed the line together (holding hands) at the exact same time! We clocked in at 36:54, a trail 5K time that I'm super proud of!

I thought I had come in close to that last year, but after searching for my results, I actually came in at 45:37, so I'll take a 9 minute course PR.

I love Student Activities races for several reasons:

• They're pretty cheap. I don't think I've ever paid more than $20 for one
• They have great shirts! Everything is moisture wicking and super cute! (see below)
• Domino's Pizza is served at the finish.
• The organization gets an A+.

The only thing I don't like is the 10 year age groups. I'm not going to be able to place until I'm 30, since about 90% of the participants are college students. At least it's something to look forward to in 7 years ;)

Races are more fun with friends!

Shirts from all 4 that I've done. Last year (the blue one) is still my favorite.

Resolution Run Recap

If the first race of the year was any kind of prediction for how the rest of them are going to go, then I'm in for one fantastic year of running.

This past Sunday I ran our local Boys & Girls Club Resolution Run, a 2 mile race in Downtown Lynchburg.

The race is held in the afternoon, and this year it was on the warmest day of the month! I opted for capris and a tshirt, but looking back I could have very easily worn shorts!

The course was a 1 mile loop that we ran twice, which included one lap around a track (the first quarter mile), followed by one giant hill, then a giant downhill, then another uphill, another down and then you get to do it all over again! (Or cross the finish line if you don't die).

I set out to run this race as fast as I could. Sometimes I just want to finish, but to be honest I really wanted to place at this one (I didn't see many other people my age.) I made the mistake of starting in the middle of the pack and spent almost the first half mile dodging people who were walking or jumping over small children who started out sprinting, but quickly burnt out.

Let me take this time to make a PSA: If you are going to walk a race that's wonderful! I'm so happy that you are out there moving and experiencing the joy of doing a race. However, please line up toward the back. This isn't just annoying, it's a safety thing. Runners can easily trip over or run into walkers, and it could mean injury for one or both parties. So please don't try to start up front!

The whole race I refused to let myself walk, even on the monster hill with a headwind slowing me down. I kept chanting to myself "It's just two miles... it's just two miles..."  and it seemed to have worked...

I crossed the finish line in 18:50, which amounts to 9:25 splits, a time I'm very proud of considering those hills. (True fact, I also kept asking myself why I still live and race in the Hill City for most of the two miles).

It came time for awards, and I didn't have high hopes because I hardly ever place. In the 3 years I've been racing I had placed twice. Also, the age groups for this race were ten year gaps, placing the 20-29 year old together. They called second place for my group and I had a second of, "Wait... I passed her soon after the first mile," right before they called my name!

Still a little stunned in this pic

Overall it was a great race, not only because I placed,but because I knew so many people there and it was for a great cause.

The swag was pretty cool, too. Someone organizing must know that runners have about a million shirts, and decided to give out blankets instead:

One of my life mottos is that you can never have too many blankets. 

So, like I said in the beginning, if this is only the beginning, 2016 is going to be great.

It was only appropriate that my running buddy Morgan and I got a pic here with all the things we have planned!

2016 Reading Challenge: January

As I have mentioned before, I'm challenging myself to read 125 books this year, with 12 of those being from this reading challenge.

I didn't really know where to start on this list, but the first book jumped out at me during a trip to Target. Lindsey Stirling had just released an autobiography, and there it was on the end cap, 30% off and begging me to read it. So the first pick was "a book published this year".

Pause. I know some of you are saying, wait who's that? Here is your answer:

I owe my discovery of her to my husband, who first started listening to her music on YouTube around 3 years ago. We both quickly fell in love with her music and I've probably watched all her videos at least 20 times.

We even saw her in concert back in 2013:

Okay, I'm getting off topic, back to the book. I knew a little bit about how she got her break, but I figured it would be interesting. So I put The Only Pirate at the Party in my basket and it came home with me. 

I'm the kind of reader who has to read a new book immediately. However, I also have a rule where I only read one book at a time. So, I came home, finished what I was reading (a Pretty Little Liars novel, no judgment), and cracked it open. 

I was greeted with this surprise:

The publisher had scattered a bunch of limited edition autographed (it's in real pen, not printed, I checked) copies to distributors! 

I flew through reading this book. I'm a fast reader, but the tone this was written in made it so I didn't want to stop. I've read a lot of autobiographies and a lot of them are written in a way that screams "oh I'm so cool look at all the great things I've done." But, Lindsey's is different. She's open about the struggles she faced in her life getting started as a musician. She's also very open about her battle with anorexia, something most celebrities don't talk about.

The other thing about her book is that its like having a conversation with your cool, goofy, slightly disgusting(there's a very colorful description about meeting fans while having the stomach flu) best friend. 

One thing the media nerd in me has always found interesting is her climb to fame through YouTube. Until a few years ago, that just wasn't something that happened. People had to get discovered the traditional way, which she tried. She even made it to the semi-finals of America's Got Talent before being shut down by the judges. In the book she talks about how she kind of blazed her own trail in every part of her success. Dubstep violin music was a new thing. YouTubers who listened to their fans was a new thing. 

Overall, it was a fantastic read, and I highly reccomend it if you are interested in violins, music, humor, pirates, or just like reading books about YouTube sensations.

Rating: 5 Stars

#CovergirlVoxBox

It's been a long time since Influenster has chosen me for a Vox Box, but I finally got picked last month!

The best part? I got chosen to test out some new products from Covergirl, the Plumpify Mascara by BlastPRO and Colorlicious Oh Sugar vitamin infused balm.

 

The Mascara:

I've said before on here that mascara is my favorite type of makeup. I'm not ashamed to admit that I have great eyelashes, and a good mascara only makes them better. This was my first time using a non-waterproof mascara, but to be honest I didn't even notice that it wasn't. It stayed on really well (even when I forgot to take my makeup off before going running). It doesn't get clumpy and gross like some mascaras do, and it dries quickly so I didn't have those funny marks below my eyebrows from wet mascara. I give it 5 stars.

The before and after

The Lip Balm:

Recently I've been liking lipstick more and more. It used to seem like an old lady thing to wear, but after Covergirl released their limited edition Star Wars collection, I jumped right in to the lipstick world and haven't looked back. I bring up lipstick because that's what this is more like. It says lip balm, but it's pretty heavily tinted and wears very well. I would call it more of a "hydrating lipstick" than a balm. I have the "Sprinkle" color and it looks great with my pale complexion!

A big thanks to Influenster for letting me try out these products, I can't wait to test more!