What made you want to start running again?

After running my first half marathon, I told myself I was never going to run again. I was in so much pain that I was traumatized. Before that, I used to love running as a way to stay fit and help me de-stress. When I had a hard time focusing, I’d take a timeout to run, which seemed to help me relax my mind. When I shifted the reason why I was running, I started not to love it as much. It was more of something “I had to do,” and I was always nervous about racing.

I had been wanting to get back into running for a while now, but it was that fear of being too out of shape or being faced with an injury again that stood in my way. I decided to come up with a game plan that helped me slowly get back into running at a comfortable pace.

Now, I finally feel like I’m back to running for the fun of it again, and I honestly have been enjoying every run. Most importantly, I was ready to start running again. I’ve never been good at pushing myself to do things I don’t want to do.

Are you on any running diet?

I’m not. I do, however, eat a higher carb breakfast on the days I’m going to run, and follow-up my run with a high protein/natural sugar snack to replenish my body. I do focus on the timing of my eating before I run to make sure everything is digested and it won’t cause any cramping or discomfort. Other than that, I eat a pretty normal diet aside from being gluten & dairy-free.

Do you ever get side cramps? What helps?

One out of three runs, I’ll experience the painful side stitch. I started to pay attention to what I ate and how I was stretching on the days I had experienced the stitches. I noticed that if I didn’t let my food digest for at least an hour, or If I didn’t take the time to stretch well enough before a run, the chances were that I was going to experience a side stitch. They usually happen about five minutes into the run, so I’ll walk for about one minute, and then run, and then walk, and then run until the cramps goes away. If it’s still painful and doesn’t go away, I’ll usually put my run off until the next day, or push it to later that evening. Adding as much dynamic stretching as I can before taking off has helped me tremendously!

How to get my pace up more? I’m at a 12 min mile currently.

I think the more you run, the faster your body will get naturally over time. I used to push my pace beyond my comfort level, and that never worked in my favor. To me, running should be enjoyable, and your body knows what pace it should be running at. If you try to increase your speed too soon, you can set yourself up for an injury. Chatting with a running coach can help you come up with a game plan to increase speed if that’s something you’re working towards. For me, things like strength training, hill training, and stretching contribute to my pace-goals overtime. Once in a while, I’ll try to run at a super fast speed for one minute, slow it down, speed up again, slow it down, and even though it makes me tired, it does help with my pace. I usually do it on the last mile once I feel like my body is nice and warmed up.

Have you ever hated running? If so, how did you grow to love it enough to stick with it?

Yes. The first time I ever hated running when I was backing middle school. They made us run around the track for a fundraiser, and each time we ran a lap, we received a dollar amount from our sponsors. I’ll never forget how much I hated that fundraiser. The second time I learned that I hated running was when I was in high school. I was extremely out of shape, and running the required test-mile made me feel sick. I ran it as fast as I could because I was embarrassed and self-conscious about anyone thinking I was too overweight to do it. I remember missing my next class because I was so sick after running it. All of that made me never want to run again. Even back when I lost a lot of my weight in college, it was purely from walking.

Way back when I was living in Atlanta, around age 23, I joined a gym that had one of the most amazing communities. I got super involved in the classes for the first time and even worked with my trainer for a good six months. I had never been more fit in my life at that point. During one of my training sessions, I was told to stay on the treadmill and run/walk for one hour. We were doing a water weight test to see how much I was retaining. I was running at a 9 min mile pace, and after thirty minutes went by, I realized that I had successfully run over three miles for the first time in my life. Whenever I had hated running, it was because I was out of shape or had an injury. I never gave running a chance, and from the outside, I thought people were just naturally good at it. I didn’t realize that it’s something you have to work at before it becomes something you genuinely love.

Some people love running to race, and some people love running as an outlet from their everyday challenges. I’ve learned that racing is not for me but running for my mental health and as a way to stay in shape is what I love to run for. Getting back into it was going to be hard, but now that I’m at a point where it’s comfortable, I love it again.

How do you find your music? It’s the only thing that keeps me going, a good song!

I agree with you! I refuse to run without music, and it’s what helps me enjoy the run to the fullest. When I see people running together while having conversations, I’m not like…how? & no thanks! I usually make a playlist before I leave the house to get me excited about the run. I’ll search through Spotify or Apple radio for new music. Right now, I have Ariana Grande’s, thank u next album on repeat. That whole album puts me in a “mood” while running. Music also plays a big roll in my heart rate and energy levels. I like to add a mixture of slow and fast songs to help control my pace.

Have you lost any weight while running?

I struggle with high-cortisol levels in my body. For the past two years, I haven’t lost one pound. Even though I don’t have a scale, I do check in at the doctors to make sure I’m not gaining a ton of weight over time. I didn’t want running to be something that was only being used as a way to “lose weight,” but I wanted it to be there for me to stay in shape and help me mentally. I don’t think “being in shape” looks the same for everyone. Even though I’m not ripping with muscles in my arms or have a six pack of abs, I still feel very athletic and very in shape right now. If I wanted to lose weight, I’d focus more on cleaning up my diet, but I’m pretty comfortable in my body at the moment. I have days where my disorder will creep back in and tell me “you’re too fat” or “to search for the next best diet,” but that usually ends within two minutes after I give myself some tough love. The important thing about recovery is that you get to learn how to destroy those awful thoughts that creep up now and then. So, no, I have most likely not lost any weight while running, but goodness have I gained strength and confidence.

Do you plan on running daily or every other day?

Right now, I run every other day. If I feel like running back to back days or taking a couple of days off, I’ll do so. But, sticking to the every other day schedule has worked best for me. It keeps me consistent and motivated. When it comes to my mileage, I check in with myself at mile three to see if I’m up for a couple more. Running intuitively has kept me injury-free so far.

On days you run, do you still do some walking? Do you stretch before or after?

Because I have two active dogs, I have to walk 2-3 miles on the days I do not run, and the days I do run. I do a lot of my deep stretching after I finish running since my muscles are warmed up. I try my hardest to do 15-20 minutes of strength training on the days I’m not running, but I could be better about it. I also play tennis several days a week, which I like to do on my off-days.

How many miles are you averaging per week?

Right now, I’m running about 12-15 miles per week. I run every other day anywhere from 3-5 miles. I plan to increase to 15-20 miles by next month.

How do you motivate yourself knowing the first couple of runs will probably suck?

Taking it super slow helped me get past the “it’s gonna suck” mindset. I knew the first runs were going to be tough, but they were going to be quick. I added 0.1 miles onto each run to gradually get rid of that mindset. Even when I wanted to keep running, I made sure to stop. After the first couple of weeks, adding the milage made me feel so proud, and it quit being so hard. Doing it gradually helped me trust the process, and actually, see progress being made. If you can keep getting yourself out there for a short run, you’ll eventually realize that starting is the hardest part.

Did you focus on distance or pace first

At first, I was all about running a certain distance at a certain pace. It took me a while, but I realized that pace would come naturally and to only focus on running for a certain amount of time/distance. I’m now running slower than ever, but my runs feel better than ever. I can run a longer distance, for a longer amount of time, and I never get winded like I used to. I have turned off the audio cues to allow myself to run intuitively. Right now, I’m working on being able to run for one hour, no matter how fast or how many miles that takes me.

Do you run the entire time or break to walk?

I run the entire time. If I feel like I’m getting tired, or won’t be able to run any longer, I’ll round up the mile and run until it hits that solid number. Sometimes, I’ll stop for a quick ten seconds to stretch out my groin or shoulder, but I’m right back to it after that.

What is the biggest challenge you face while running now?

PERIOD CRAMPS. Struggling with endometriosis makes it even worse. The last thing I want to do when I’m in pain is to go out for a run, but I have noticed that exercise does help with the cramping. If the pain is too bad, I’ll save the run for the next day, but that is my biggest struggle right now.  I also carry a lot of water weight when I’m on my period so I feel so sluggish. Okkkk & the heat. The summer heat and humidity in the south is rough.

How did you get past the mental block with running?

I get a mental block with running just about every time I have to go do it. It’s not that I don’t want to do it, it’s that I fear what this run could bring. Because I’ve dealt this runner’s knee, Achilles tendonitis, groin sprains, and other injuries, I fear that this could be the run that I start feeling those things again. I sometimes fear that I’ll let myself down and only be able to run half of what I set out for. When I get those thoughts, I have to remind myself that I’m doing this for enjoyment. After the first five minutes of my run, I lose all of that mental-block and anxiety that comes with starting. The endorphins start to kick in, and I feel more proud than nervous. If you can push through that mental block, you’ll feel so good once you’re done. The way I feel after a run is why I get out there to do it. The rest of my day feels relaxed, and my thoughts are more transparent.

I get so self-conscious & frustrated because I know what fitness level I used to be, & now I’m so unfit.

I feel you. I think that’s what kept me from going back into running for so long. I once could run ten miles, but then could barely run one. It was so discouraging. Remember that before you were ever at a higher fitness level, you were also at ground zero. It takes time and determination to work yourself back up. The cool thing is that you already know you’re capable of doing it. You have to come up with a goal plan to get yourself back to the level you wish to be on. That self-consciousness will go away after you start crushing goals and working your way back up. When you look back on how you’re feeling right now, you’re going to be so proud of yourself. It’s all worth it in the end.

Who do you like to follow for running inspiration?

Following people who inspire you is one of my favorite things about Instagram. Most of the time, the people without a billion followers are the ones that inspire me most. I love following @dietitiangoesrunning for running inspiration. She’s a mom, a dietitian, and is an incredible runner! Every time I see her running posts, it makes me want to get out there and run. She’s also a running coach! I just downloaded her recipe e-book, and I’ll be making her brownies later this afternoon. And not to be biased or anything, but she’s from my hometown, so that makes me like her even more. Apparently, it runs in the family though, because her sister @banannarunning is just as inspiring! I also love following @elizabeth_healthy_life because she’s the sweetest, most down to earth, hard working person I know! She shares her struggles and strengths, and I love every single one of her posts. She runs for a very special reason, and I think you all will just love her. A quick few others I love to follow are @luluruns315, @runtothefinish, and most of my real-life friends. Watching Caitlin run consecutive races in Disney while battling lymphedema in her leg was one of the biggest things that inspired me just to start again. She crushes her races and overcomes the obstacles, and that motivates me to do the same. It’s important to find people that inspire you to be better.

How do you motivate yourself on days you don’t feel like running?

If I do not feel like running, which has only happened a couple of times, I won’t do it. I’ll just put it off until the next day. What has helped me stick to running on the days when I’m not up for it is that I “try.” I put on my running shoes, make a playlist, and tell myself that I can stop anytime I want. I have found on the days where I have no expectations, and I just “try” to run, those end up being my best days. I hit my first 4, and 5 mile runs on the days when I didn’t want to be out there doing it.

What are your favorite things to eat before a run and favorite things to eat after a run?

Before a run, I love my protein oats for breakfast. After a run, I love a date stuffed with peanut butter. Peanut butter and banana are also my favorite post or pre-workout snack.

Will you be racing?

I have no plans of racing at all right now. If I race, it’ll be a last-minute decision and nothing I train for. I may do some 5k’s because those are super fun, and usually for a good cause.

I think the best thing about running is finding a pair of shoes that fits you best! I want to help motivate you to start running, or to continue running by giving away a brand new pair of running shoes! The winner will receive a $100 gift card to Asics (because those are the shoes I love most!) All you have to do is answer the questions below in the comment section for a chance to win!

Questions for you!

1. What keeps you from running?
2. Are there any questions you’d like me to answer?
3. Should I run a 5k with one of my readers?

So you’re interested in running a half marathon? If you’re thinking “if she can do it, I can do it,” then you are in the right place. Seriously. Before you read about my training and how I managed to run 13.1 miles, make sure to check out my running story and how I got here. I’m currently in a forty-day running hiatus, but I am eager to get back out there. My running post will fill you in on how I got started, and some important key parts in becoming a better runner. 
I spent all spring and summer running. I’d run 3-5 miles four times a week. It was just me at the time, but that all changed when I met Meighan, the world’s best running partner. I thought I could only be a solo runner, but that changed as soon as we ran for the first time together. If you plan on training for a marathon, I highly recommend finding a friend or training partner to do it with you. If I didn’t have Meighan, I would have never held myself accountable or got myself out of bed early Sunday morning for our long runs. It was something fun to look forward to, and we honestly enjoyed running together. I couldn’t imagine running long runs alone ever again. (Why you should find a workout buddy.)
Before you even start the plan, you have to complete a pre-training plan (assuming you’re starting from ground zero.) There is no point of starting a half marathon plan if you can’t run three miles. I wouldn’t even want to train for a half if I couldn’t run three miles, so let’s get you there first! This will help you build endurance, mileage, and prevent injuries. Before Meighan and I came up with a training plan, we were already running prior. We had run small and fast mileage, slow and long distance, and everywhere in between.
Before you begin, please understand that I am not a doctor or professional. This is a plan that worked for me, and you should consult with your doctor before beginning any fitness/diet routine!

Week one:  run five minutes (10-12 min mile), walk ten minutes, run five minutes (10-12 min mile), walk ten minutes, run five minutes (10-12 min mile), walk ten minutes,  run five minutes (10-12 min mile) walk ten minutes. 5x a week

Week two: run five minutes(10-12 min mile), walk five minutes, run five minutes (10-12 min mile), walk five minutes, run five minutes (10-12 min mile), walk five minutes,  run five minutes (10-12 min mile) walk five minutes. 4x a week

Week three: run five minutes (10-12 min mile), walk five minutes, run ten minutes (10-12 mile) walk five minutes, run five minutes (10-12 min mile) walk five minutes, run five minutes (10-12 mile), walk ten minutes.  3x a week

CHECK OUT MY COUCH TO 5K RUNNING PLAN

Week four: run fifteen minutes(10-12 min mile), walk fifteen minutes, run ten minutes(10-12 min mile), walk twenty minutes, run five minutes(10-12 min mile), walk ten minutes.  4x a week

Week five: run twenty minutes (10-12 min mile) walk thirty minutes, run five minutes (10-12 min mile) 4x a week

Week six: run twenty-five minutes (10-12 min mile) walk twenty minutes, run ten minutes (10-12 min mile) walk twenty minutes 4x a week

Week seven: run thirty minutes (10-12 min mile), walk thirty minutes.
Whenever you finish a run, you must must must recover! Recover with rest, ice, protein, carbs, and stretching! If you stick to this recovery routine, you’ll be golden. 
After running months and months together, we decided to sign up for a half marathon together! If you browse through the running section on my blog, you’ll find all of our running posts!


We started running in the freezing cold. It was 35 degrees when we first started training, and holy moly it was hard! It’s important to train in all weather conditions.


SIX MILE RUN RECAP POST
We decided to get super serious about training when we hit week four. Running in Waxhaw was a crazy idea because it was hilly. Adding in hills is a great idea, but gradually. I remember being so tired on the last mile, but Meighan pushed me to finish strong. Make sure to find a partner that will push you, and make sure to push them.

 SEVEN MILE RUN RECAP POST
I really enjoyed the seven-mile run. It was starting to get nicer out, and the spring flowers were blooming all around us. When you find a good trail, the run is always more exciting. The seven miles was a breeze, and my confidence in my ability to run a half marathon was growing.

SEVEN MILE RUN RECAP POST
This was by far the worst run ever. It taught me that I have the ability to finish even when I feel like I can’t. I’ve learned that one bad run doesn’t mean you’re an awful runner. Sometimes, we just can’t, and that’s ok! I wrote more about this awful run in the post above. I also learned that protein shakes before a run is a NO NO NO GO!

MILE NINE RECAP POST
I was shocked that I completed the nine-mile run right after my 5k race. You should definitely sign up for a smaller race during your half training. You can practice eating the right food, experimenting with what works, and what doesn’t. This nine-mile run was one of my favorites! We ran in the gorgeous Charlotte neighborhoods, and it was overcast.
MILE TEN RECAP POST
Another great run! I couldn’t believe I ran ten miles, and I knew right away that I was going to finish this half! I also confirmed that banana and bread were going to be my pre-race breakfast!  
SIX MILE SATURDAY RECAP RUN (SOLO)
It was so weird to run my long run solo, but I did it. A while ago six miles would have felt like forever, but this run felt short, and I had to tell myself to stop. This run made me realize the importance of hydration. 
EIGHT MILE RUN RECAP POST
OK. I lied. THIS was the best run! Meighan and I decided to do a destination run for our last long run together. HOLY MOLY was this a fun weekend. We ran down the gorgeous city of Charleston, and I never felt out of breath once. I was hydrated, and couldn’t wait for the half. I’m telling you, choose fun running trails!

SEVEN MILE SOLO RUN BEFORE THE HALF RECAP
Meighan was out of town this weekend, so it was up to me to fit in one more long run before the half marathon. I ran seven miles in Charlotte, and it was a bit crummy, but I still finished. I also did yoga twice that week! I ran in my race day pants to test them out, and they were a go! This is the week where you should test your race day breakfast, race time (wake up), race hydration, race fuel, and so on! Don’t run the full mileage, but treat this like race day.

Our idea of carb-loading the night before a race We drank a ton of water, indulged in potassium, and sodium!


HALF MARATHON RECAP POST!
AND WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Questions for you!

1. Runners! Drop a line of advice for anyone looking to run their first half/full marathon!
2. What did you eat before your half marathon breakfast?
3. What training mistakes have you made?

Back in December, I made two big announcements. One is that I signed up for a half marathon. It feels like it was just yesterday when I promised myself I’d do such a crazy thing, but it’s done and over. I will be writing a separate post with more details on the half + our half marathon training plan, so there is more to come! For now, I want to share our memories from our trip to NYC, our half marathon adventures, and some eats. I’m happy we decided on a destination half because I’m always up for a little getaway!

I want to warn you; there are a lot of photos in the post. I couldn’t stop all of the pictures because NYC is so fun and photogenic.

We left New Jersey around 10:30 am on Saturday morning. We decided to catch the train into the city.

We made it to Penn Station at 11:30, and decided to walk a couple miles to our hotel. The weather was gorgeous!

We stayed at the New York Hilton Manhattan hotel. It’s super close to the race start! We spent all day fueling properly and HYDRATING to the max.

After getting settled into the hotel, we headed out to pick up our race bibs and shirts. We were so hungry, so we stopped and ate cookies and bananas in the hotel lobby. No shame The oatmeal raisin cookies were so good!


We donated to Care and then took our photo for the wall! We were so excited to be running the Shape Half!

After grabbing our bibs and bags, we headed to Central Park for a little walk.

Central Park was filled with people. There were groups of people playing music, ballerinas dancing and playing frisbee, people having birthday parties, and so many puppies!

It’s crazy that such a large city has this beautiful mile on mile park in the middle of it. I think Central Park is my favorite part of NYC, and I was so excited to run it.

Meighan and I wanted to grab a quick bite to eat, and head to the hotel room to relax for the night. Our goal was to be in bed by 7 pm. We had done a lot of exploring in Jersey and wanted to rest the legs before the race.
We were both in the mood for french fries and a burger. Having potassium and sodium in the fries was the perfect pre-run carb load. I was drinking a lot of water to stay hydrated for the race, so I needed sodium and potassium to hold onto all the fluids I was taking in.

We walked around for about two miles looking for a good burger place, but everything had a long wait, and we were too hangry for that. We hopped into Benash, a little diner (hole in the wall) for our burger.
After our burger, we needed a sweet treat. We stopped at Buttercup Bake Shop for their delicious macaroons and a cappuccino.

We chose the Nutella macaroon and pistachio!

I know a cappuccino isn’t a great idea before a race, so I only drank half to get a little fix! I chugged enough water afterward to make up for it.

When we got back to the hotel around 5:45 PM, I set out my race day outfit.

Running Shoes: ASICS GEL-Nimbus 18 (I trained with this style for 8 months)
Running Capris: Athleta Capri (loved that it had pockets on the side for my phone and a zip pocket in the back)
Socks: Asics Running Socks (with heal tab & grips)
KT TAPE: Black KT tape to wrap any aches  & pains.  I used it on my knees.
Running Shirt: Under Armour Tech V-Neck Tee. I have this shirt in seven colors. I am obsessed with the fit, the material and how light it is. All the air comes through and you never burn up.
Sports Bra: Ryka
Chews: Bolt Energy Chews
Post Workout: Muscle Milk

After getting everything ready for the race, I showered, threw on my yoga pants, and hopped into the hotel bed. We hit the jackpot because there was a Nicholas Sparks marathon on E! We watched Safe Haven, The Last Song, and The Best of Me. We are going to have a wine & Nicholas Sparks marathon soon!

We got hungry around 8 PM, so we headed out to grab a bite to eat.
We picked up pizza at Herb N’ Kitchen, and it was one of the best pizzas I’ve had in a long time. Looking at it, you wouldn’t think so, but it was perfection. Everything from the sauce, the cheese, the pepperonis, and the crunchy/soft crust! I wish I could have this pizza every night I didn’t want to make myself sick, so I had one slice, finished off another bottle of water, set my alarm clock, and headed to bed.
I need to be awake at least three hours before a workout, or I’m miserable. This is why I hate going to 6 AM boot camp classes or running before the sun is up. I need at least 6 ounces of coffee, and a bite to eat. I set my alarm for 4:45 am so I could have my morning wake-up time. I even wrote a blog at 5 AM race day to relax.

I chugged a bottle of water with electrolytes and potassium and then headed downstairs to pick up a bagel, banana, and coffee. Half a bagel, banana, coffee, water, and half a granola bar was a safe breakfast pick before my practice runs, so I stuck with it. You don’t want to change too much the day of your race. 

Meighan and I left the hotel at 7:25 am. The race didn’t start until eight, but we wanted to find our corral and maybe use the restrooms if we had to. The park was filled with runners, and the bathroom lines were about a mile long. Luckily, we didn’t have to go, so we headed to our spot to do a little jumping and stretching.
 We were in Corral J.& so were the Good Morning America anchors!

I had a bit of race anxiety, but I knew it would go away eventually. The anxiousness mostly came from the fear of my aching hamstring. I was upset that I had trained for months and months, and the week before my race, my hamstring was achy. I iced it, wrapped it, took Ibuprofen, and rested it the night before. I decided to go into this run with the attitude that I was going to finish. I didn’t care about the time, and I would just slow down if my hamstring gave me issues.
We finally took off.

The first seven miles feel like they never happened. I remember listening to The Weeknd on my playlist, exchanging excitement smiles with Meighan, drinking water at mile four, and chewing mint gum because my throat was dry. We kept our pace around ten minutes for the first seven miles. When we made our first loop around the park, I was confused. Why did everyone tell me this was going to be extremely hard and hilly? About ten people tried to talk me out of running Central Park for my first half. The routes Meighan and I ran during training were 3X harder. Meighan and I looked at each other on top of Harlem Hill with a confused expression, “was this the hill people warned us about?” It was nothing. I’m not saying this to sound egotistic; I’m saying this to make the point that everyone’s training routes and definition of “hard” are entirely different from your own. Don’t psych yourself out before a race based on someone else’s opinion. Trust your training and don’t let anyone get in your head.
I felt a pop in my groin on the ninth mile. I ran to the side and did a couple of lunge stretches and then ran right back out into the race. It felt better for a mile and then the pain came back. I decided just to slow down my pace. We had a couple of nine-minute miles towards the middle of our run, so it wouldn’t be too bad to slow it down.

Around mile ten, the worst thing happened. The reason I could never run a half marathon is that I suffered from runner’s knee about two years ago. It was so bad that I couldn’t walk at times. I spent a year rehabbing it. I stuck to swimming, walking, strength training, and told myself I’d do everything right to get back into running, and I did. At mile ten, runner’s knee made a grand appearance. I know this pain, and I’m very familiar with how it creeps in, creeps out, and how I’d be feeling when this race was over with. The most upsetting part was that I never had an ounce of pain during our training, and it decided to make a comeback on race day. It was frustrating to have such high endurance, I hardly broke a sweat, and I could have run for miles, but that knee felt like knives slicing through my cartilage. I was grateful that it didn’t happen at mile three because there would have been no way in hell I could have finished with excruciating pain. And if you’ve had runner’s knee, you know the feeling. It’s so painful that it makes you want to chop off your own legs (sorry for the dramatic vision.)

The last three miles I repeated prayers to God, in hopes that he could give me the strength to finish. My knees were quitting, and my groin was popping in and out, but I was not going to quit with only two miles left. Meighan kept giving me positive encouragement, and I kept trotting along. If I could just keep trotting for the next couple of miles, the race would be over in no time. The rule is to stop immediatly if you feel any signs of runner’s knee, but I didn’t have a choice in this case. I worked way too hard, spent way too much time invested, just to stop at mile eleven. I added a couple of minutes onto my last three miles, but I still ran across that finish line. 
I was definitely disappointed in my knees and the fact that my body did this to me, but I was also proud of myself for completing a half marathon, something I never thought I’d ever do. I used to skip the mile runs in gym class, and do everything I could to get out of any physical activity.

I do have a doctor’s appointment today for my knees, and I’m hoping we can look at surgery or a new rehab method to fix the issues. I do not want to give up running, so I’ll do anything to get everything under control. I am giving up running for the next two months, and exchanging it with strength training, yoga and walking.



This girl wasn’t’ going to let me fall behind. She pushed me so hard to get to the end, and I am so grateful for her! I told her to run, and I’ll meet her at the end, but she wouldn’t go ahead. She is the best motivation, and I wouldn’t/couldn’t have done this without her! We have a half marathon in December, so I’m praying I can get better by then, and we can try this again.

After the race, I headed over to the icing station and got ice for my knee. The pain was so bad that I couldn’t bend my knee on my right leg and hardly move my groin on the left leg. I was a mess.

Meighan’s family came to the race and it was so nice seeing them at the finish line.

We all walked across the park to Le Pain Quotidien for breakfast. I felt so bad because it took me so long to walk, but there was nothing I could do about my mobility. I was pretty miserable.

It felt so good to just sit down. When you’re sitting, you don’t feel the pain.

I was ready for coffee, water, and food!

I ordered the goat cheese and seasonal vegetable frittata. This breakfast is what inspired me to make frittatas on Thursday night.

Breakfast was so good. I’ve been to Le Pain Quotidien in D.C., so I knew it was a safe choice for good coffee and delicious breakfast.
After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel to shower, pack, and get ready for the day. I ended up taking Advil, putting icy hot all over my legs, and wrapping my knee with KT Tape. My knees were so inflamed, and it was very frustrating. I just wanted to have fun, but I couldn’t. I was on the verge of tears because of the amount of pain. I kept telling myself in my head that it’ll go away, because runner’s knee does, but when it’s bad…it’s bad.

We slowly walked down to Bibble & Sip later in the afternoon for coffee and a snack. Luckily I had my roller suitcase with me, so I leaned on that for support.
The Bibble & Sip bakery cafe was adorable. I loved the rustic and earthy decor. I was excited to have a cappuccino!

They are known for their Cream Puffs, and I ALMOST bought one of their matcha flavored ones, but the little matcha parfait looked a bit healthier for a post-race recovery.

Meighan ended up getting one of their cream puffs and we all split it. IT WAS SO GOOD!

I ordered a small cappuccino with skim and an extra shot of espresso.

We walked a few blocks to Barnes & Noble to relax and read. We planned on visiting the Brooklyn Bridge and doing a couple of touristy things, but with my condition, it wasn’t going to happen. We will plan another NYC trip for just that.

The matcha parfait from Bibble & Sip!

Chia seeds, matcha Greek yogurt, granola, blueberries, raspberries, and honey.

Later Sunday night, we headed to Meighan’s friend’s house. She lives in Upper East Side and she was so nice to host us!
We had dinner at Canyon Road, and it was SO GOOD. I ordered the chicken fajitas!

After dinner, we headed back and went straight to bed.

I didn’t sleep much on Sunday night. I’ve never been a person that takes Advil or any pain medication, and my body wasn’t reacting too well to it. I started experiencing some of the side effects, and I was pretty worried. I had extreme nervousness, restlessness, and my heart was racing. I ended up re-falling asleep at 1 am, but then woke up in tears an hour later because the pain was excruciating. I was scared that I messed up. At that point, I was afraid to fall back asleep. I just sat up with my laptop and fiddled around until I could close my eyes comfortably. I woke up at 8 am, with my laptop still on my lap. Fortunately, the pain was now an eight and not a ten. I could at least bend my legs.
Meighan and I had a few hours to spare before heading to the airport for our flight home. We packed up our belongings, said our goodbyes, and decided to slowly walk to Sarabeth’s for breakfast.

The walk was so pretty and I couldn’t help but take a billion photos. This little bookstore reminded me of the movie You Got Mail. 

We finally made it to Sarabeth’s.

Sarabeth’s first bakery opened in 1981. Sarabeth and her husband opened a little spot to make and sell their baked goods and the 200-year-old family recipe for jam. The little spot became a huge success and hit to New Yorkers. A couple of years later, Sarabeth’s started serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner in multiple locations. Now there are locations throughout the U.S. This just goes to show that if you have talent and can create something great, go with it, and you’ll go far!

The breakfast spot was so cute, and I’m so glad we found it!
We started with coffee, and boy was it good! The smooth dark roast was the perfect way to end the New York note. 
We sat at a little table by the window. It was a great spot for siting adorable NYC fashion and lots of dogs!

I ordered a goat cheese and spinach omelet, a side of fresh fruit, and seven-grain toast. The food, the jam, the fruit, and everything on my plate lived up to it’s rumored greatness.
After we had breakfast, we sat around for about forty-five minutes having our final cup of coffee. We didn’t want to leave this little spot.

We had about an hour to spare before heading to the airport, so we just trotted along the Upper East Side. We went in and out of stores, stopped to take photos, and enjoyed the fresh air.

I love the character of all the homes and apartment buildings.  
NYC’s flowers were breathtaking, especially the tulips.

We headed across to Central Park and walked a little. I was slowly, but surely getting better. I was still in a lot of pain, but at least I could walk and bend the knees. I took “walking” for granted, and having this injury made me realize how lucky I am to be able to walk and explore every day. I won’t be complaining about walking anywhere anytime soon.

After walking the park and visiting a couple more shops, we called an Uber and headed to the airport. We drove past the Met Gala and watched them set everything up, so that was pretty neat. 
When we got to the airport, they delayed our flight by three hours because of the storms in Charlotte. I was starting to have a bit of Deja Vu, and all I could think of was the little mouse I saw running around last time I was in the Laguardia airport, and we were in the same gate.

I spent the time working and cleaning out my inbox before getting on the plane. I picked up some snacks while we waited at the gate, and then finally boarded the plane at 6 pm. I was sitting by an older couple and you could tell the lady was afraid of flying, the older man held her hand and said “if we go down, we go down together,” and I just melted. It was adorable.

It felt really good to be home, but I was still proud of finishing something I never thought I could. It was definitely a battle, but I made it through, and I can’t wait to post our training plan + more details on the half marathon. Thank you guys for all the support this year and I couldn’t have made it through without you all either! XO

Also, update on my pains. I’m officially back to normal, but NOT running and risking the injury to get worse. I’ve been walking and weight lifting a lot. I WILL BE BACK!

Questions for you.

1. What was your first race experience like?
2. Has an injury ever affected you?
3. Ask me anything about the race/what you’d like to see on the training plan.

My Relationship With Running

It feels weird to be writing a recap post on Sunday morning, but today is a big day for me, and blogging is relaxing. I also want to catch up before I get too far behind with everything I’ve been up to the past couple of days.

I can’t believe in three hours; I’ll be running 13.1miles for the first time in my entire life. I’ve been working for months to get here, actually years. Completing the half marathon has been a goal of mine for years, but injuries and life kept getting in the way. I’ve been training so hard and praying that everything will go smoothly. I’ve been battling a little hamstring pain, but I think it’s going to hold up today.

I also want to thank my readers for helping me train along the way. You guys have given me the best advice and prepared me for today as well. You guys are AWESOME, and I appreciate all the kind messages I woke up to this morning. I can’t wait to blog all about my weekend and the race.

Meighan and I are completely carb-loaded, hydrated, and ready to run! My boyfriend told me that it’s “just another walk in the park,” and he’s (kinda) right! WE CAN DO THIS! I didn’t run in 30-degree weather for anything  
Recap time

This week went by WAY too fast. The last recap I wrote was actually in NYC. I had a trip with CVS

I was supposed to get home on Thursday night, but my Delta flight kept delaying throughout the day until it was finally canceled. Even though I REALLY wanted to get home, it was a good thing because I caught up on so much work.

I also love that it’s not hard to find healthy options at the airport anymore. There are salads and superfood products on every corner! When I got to the airport, I finished some work and enjoyed a salad from their DIY bar. The salad had kale, coleslaw with vinegar, grilled chicken, quinoa, radishes, cucumber, spring mix lettuce, and dried cranberries.
Five hours later, I was sitting at my gate with only a couple more hours before my plane was said to arrive. I was done with work, so I grabbed a Runner’s World Magazine (my fave) for inspiration and some snacks! The RXBAR is SO GOOD! I had that with a side of vanilla Greek yogurt. I was really impressed with how good the Maple Hill (grass-fed organic dairy) Greek yogurt tasted. I’m now on a hunt to find it in Charlotte.

My flight ended up being completely canceled at 9 PM because of the weather. There weren’t any more flights to Charlotte until 6 AM the next morning.

I took a deep breath, called an Uber, and headed to a nearby hotel. Luckily, I was scheduled onto the 6 AM flight. It wasn’t direct, which kind of stunk, but I just wanted to get home.

I woke up at 3:40 AM the next morning, hopped on the hotel’s airport shuttle, and made my way back to LaGuardia airport. We headed towards ATL at 6:15 AM! I sat by a woman named Dorothy, and we had such a great conversation with our airplane coffee It was kind of a blessing I missed my flight because she was such an inspirational person to meet.

I made it to the Atlanta airport at 8 AM and had to run to my next gate to get on the plane by 8:15 AM, and that is extremely stressful because the Atlanta airport is HUGE!

I did make it to the gate on time, but (luckily) the flight was delayed by an hour. I was so hungry, so I grabbed Greek yogurt and a banana before getting on the plane.

I finally made it back to Charlotte at noon! I ate my Chopt salad leftovers and then headed out to my parent’s house to grab the dogs. They watched the pups while I was gone for a couple of days.

I hung out with my dad and the pups in the backyard for a couple of hours before taking off. I was so excited to see them! I miss them all the time, even when I’m only gone for a couple of hours.

On Friday night, I headed to the gym with Kyle. I did three miles on the treadmill and then headed to the studio room to do a circuit. I was SO tired, so I showered, Kyle made me eggs, and I fell asleep at 8:45. We finished Thirteen Reasons Why and now we are watching OJ.

I was finally back on Schedule Saturday morning. I woke up at 6 am, had coffee, and worked a bit.

Kyle and I wanted to take the pups to the park before it got too hot outside. They love their weekends at the park lately. So happy Charlotte has this.

LOOK HOW HAPPY THEY ARE!

When we got back from the park, we threw them into the tub to clean off their feet, and then they slept for the rest of the day. It tires them out.

I headed out for my LAST RUN before my half marathon. I tapered back and only did seven miles. It was actually a pretty awful run. Meighan was gone, visiting her parents in NJ, and running alone was kind of crappy. I’ve been too fortunate to have a running buddy. I tried the GU Tri-Berry, and it gave me a boost at mile four.

It was a gorgeous day, so I’m glad I got out there!

Kyle was at the gym while I was running, so we decided to grab a protein smoothie together at the new juice bar in NoDa.

We had the “Doctor’s Order” with protein powder and extra ginger added. It was made up of organic apples, ginger, mint, spinach, kale, banana, mixed berries, probiotics, and spirulina.


We headed to Rock Bottom Brewery later in the evening and split a pizza with his roommate, Steve. Rock Bottom has pretty good pizza!

I headed to the mall on Sunday morning to pick up a few things for race day. I found the BEST Athleta race day pants, and I will share them in my race recap. They have all the pockets

I stopped at Central Coffee Co for a cappuccino on the way back from the mall.

I also picked up their vegan zucchini bread because it is so good and perfect for the rainy day.


I stopped at the Fresh Market to grab ingredients for fajitas. We all felt like “fajita night” Kyle could eat fajitas all day, every day if they were available. I was shocked at how inexpensive the chicken and steak are at the

I was shocked at how inexpensive the chicken and steak are at the Fresh Market! I know where I’m going for meats from now on.

Monday morning lazies.

Breakfast: eggs and an English muffin with butter and honey!

Grumples and I headed out for a three-mile walk before his groom.

I took him over to my parents and shaved him in the garage. He actually loves it. He rolls over and lifts his leg when he wants me to get his favorite spots. Leo won’t go near the shaver, so we will probably have to take him to a groomer.

My parents made me dinner! Grilled chicken, broccoli, rice, and a spinach salad with balsamic.

Popcorn for dinner!

I woke up early Wednesday morning, had some cereal, and headed to Target and CVS to pick up travel necessities!

ALL PACKED FOR THE TRIP! I had to pack clothes for NJ and NYC. I blog more about my race packing in the race recap.

Whole wheat turkey sandwich and a Southwest salad for lunch!

Kyle and I walked to Tazikis for dinner on Wednesday night. I ordered their Greek salad with grilled salmon, and it was AMAZING. I think I found a new favorite Charlotte spot. It had cucumber, romaine, onion, tomato, pita, feta, and a house-made Greek dressing.

I headed to the airport at 5:45 am to hop on a flight to New Jersey! Meighan’s family lives in Jersey, so we had so much fun exploring and hanging out with her family! I’ll blog ALL ABOUT that soon.

Well, guys, it’s time to get ready for the race! xo xo xo

Questions for you!

1. What is a goal you’d like to accomplish by the end of the summer?
2. Do you do anything as good luck before or during a race?
3. What would you eat after running 13.1 miles!?

I’m writing from the airport this morning. I’m off to NYC for a couple of days, and I thought this would be the perfect time to write all about my week + my Charleston trip. I hope you have your coffee ready because this is going to be a long one! I picked my coffee up at Cinnabon, and it was so hard fighting the temptation for one of those tasty little cinnamon rolls. It doesn’t help when my gate is right across from the delicious aroma.
I spent all last Wednesday locked to the couch editing the video + blog post from my hiking trip. I knew I had to get up and do something, or I’d officially become a couch potato.

I laced up my shoes and headed out for a quick three-mile run in the neighborhood. After my run, I took the boys out for a two-mile walk. When I’m a couch potato, so are they.

For dinner, I made roasted carrots, salmon, and brussels sprouts. I’ll blog that recipe soon!
I have no idea how it happened, but I’m on a kickball team in a real kickball league. I hadn’t played kickball since I was in sixth grade! Not to brag or anything but Meighan and I both scored on our first kicks. My second kick was caught, and I managed to get a few people out. It was honestly such a fun night, and I can’t wait for my next game. When I got home, I made leftover flat out wrap pizzas and a Caesar salad for dinner.  Meighan and I headed to Charleston Friday morning. This was going to be our last long run together before our half marathon. We wanted it to be somewhere fun, so we could celebrate how far we have come. As soon as we arrived in Folly, we headed to CVS and the grocery store for beach snacks and a quick lunch. 
Now, that’s a big SAND which.

All of that bread was too much, and I didn’t want to be too full for our dinner, so I reconstructed the sandwich.

We spent a couple of hours on the beach and then headed to get coffee and walk the pier. Folly is so much fun to explore, and it’s filled with fun shops and restaurants. 
If you’ve read any of my other Folly Beach/Charleston blogs, you know I never leave without a cappuccino Center Street Coffee! It’s the cutest little spot, and the coffee is delicious!

 I ordered a cappuccino with skim + one extra shot of espresso!

Beach hair. I don’t care.

We left Folly Beach around six to check into our hotel and clean up for dinner.
 We stayed at the Francis Marion Hotel. It’s right on King Street and close to all the coffee shops, restaurants, trails, parks, and more. I used to drive by this hotel every time I was in Charleston and dreamed of staying there. So glad we finally made it happen! 
The hotel rooms were adorable. Gold & Blue! The view of downtown Charleston was breathtaking, and you could even see the water.
“The historic Francis Marion Hotel, named for the Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion, the “Swamp Fox,” has a long tradition of gracious service, elegant accommodations, and hosting splendid banquets and events dating back, it’s opening in 1924. Built by local investors at the cost of $1.5 million from plans by noted New York architect W.L. Stoddard, the Francis Marion was the largest and grandest hotel in the Carolinas. The 1920s was the Golden Age of railroads, radio, and grand hotels, and the Charleston Renaissance was in full bloom, and the Francis Marion Hotel was “the place to be” Read more about the history here! 
If you want a taste of southern hospitality, you’ll find it here! The staff was so friendly and welcoming.

Meighan and I headed down King Street to find a place to eat dinner.

We found a cute little spot called “Eli’s Table.” It’s right on Queen Street.

We sat outside under the lights. They greeted us with Champagne. “HELLO!”

Palate cleansers.

We treated ourselves to an appetizer. All of the appetizers look phenomenal, but we went with the Prosciutto & Fig Crostini. It had fresh local figs, prosciutto, truffled goat cheese, and pomegranate syrup on top of toasted crostinis. They were heaven. The bottoms of the crostinis were slightly toasted in butter.

For my entree, I had Eli’s Forager’s Salad with salmon on top. Their salmon was perfection. The salad had kale, lemon-olive oil, blackberries, watermelon radishes, shaved red onion, and vincotto.

I cannot wait to go back! We skipped out on dessert because we wanted to feel our best for our last long run on Saturday morning. Kyle and I are going to come back here for dinner when we visit again!
I never slept better in my entire life. The hotel beds were like clouds

My alarm went off at 5:30 am, and I slept through it for a good five minutes. I heard it going off in my dream but couldn’t snap out of it. The annoying alarm didn’t wake me up, but Meighan’s voice softly whispering, “Tara, Tara,” woke me up.

I headed downstairs to grab us some pre-run fuel and coffee. I like to be awake three hours before my run, so that’s why I woke up so early!
Pre-run fuel: banana, energy nut bar from CVS, and a medium-roast coffee.

It was kind of a bad thing that the beds were so soft because I didn’t want to get up. 
We took off for our run at 8:30 am! I had a route in my head, and I was happy with how successful it was.

*When I take photos while I run, I just hit the camera button and pray they turn out well enough for me to edit! I don’t stop to take photos.

We started down King Street. Luckily it was still early, and most of the shops hadn’t opened up yet. Most people were rising or packing for a day at the beach. We were extremely blessed with perfect weather.

We took a turn down Meeting Street to Queen Street and then to the water.

I always talk about how I rarely sweat during a run. I usually sweat once my heart rate begins to go down, but this run had me sweating the first five minutes. Welcome back, humidity!


I saw this magazine at the grocery store and recognized the path instantly

Running in new scenery makes a difference for me. The beautiful surroundings distract me, and I forget about the time or any aches and pains. If the run is any distance over six miles, I have to find a new spot.
There is a method I always use to start and finish in the same place during long runs. I want to be near my water when I finish and in a spot where I can stretch.

Estimate your mile time – 10:25 per mile
Divide your total distance in half – 4 miles
Multiply your half distance mileage with mile time – 10:25 x 4 = Approx. 41 Minutes
Run the half time in one direction, immediately turn around and run back to finish the next half.

If you’re running a loop, you won’t have to worry about it! Be aware of the streets you take and take a second to recognize and memorize buildings you pass.  
The mileage felt great! I could have kept running, and so could have Meighan! We just wanted to stick to our training plan and not overdo it! We still had a lot of walking to do. If you are ever in Charleston and want a great running route, use the one posted above! You won’t regret it. But don’t do it in the summer! It tends to get a little too hot and humid downtown.

The plan we used and created was amazing, and I can’t wait to share it with you!

After showering off and checking out of the hotel, we walked down to 82 Queen for breakfast.
Last fall, Kyle and I had breakfast with his dad at 82 Queen. I’ll never forget the incredible food I had, so I wanted to experience it again. I also wanted Meighan to try it out!

This place is a Charleston gem. The restaurant has been in Charleston for over 30 years, and it continues to thrive and serve some of the original recipes.

Southern buttermilk biscuits <3
I never liked grits until I had them at 82 Queen, and putting seafood in my omelets would have never been ok with me. 
Meighan and I both ordered the same breakfast. I’m literally at the airport drooling over this photo! I want this all over again.
The low country omelet had shrimp, crabmeat, spinach, tomato, and Parmesan cheese. We had a side of stone-ground grits, bacon, and fresh fruit.

Add this breakfast to your Charleston list; you will not regret it!
We, food coma, walked all the way back to the hotel to pick up the car. We were excited to spend the rest of our day at the beach.

Instead of going to Folly Beach again, we decided to try out Sullivan’s Island. It’s usually less crowded and easier to get to.

Nothing better than cold coconut water under the sun!


After the day at the beach, we decided to grab gelato and coffee at Beard Cat’s Sweet Shop! Meighan found this place on her phone search, and it was definitely a win.

Gelato made fresh daily with milk from local South Carolina farmers!

I had a cappuccino + 1 extra shot of espresso and a side of gelato. The sweets shop was so bright and colorful!

For my gelato flavor, I chose one scoop of carrot cake and a scoop of pistachio almond. 
The carrot cake gelato had chunks of actual carrot cake in it. It was out of this world! The pistachio was equally delicious.

We decided to leave around 6 pm. We wanted to get back on Saturday night, so we didn’t have to face the Sunday Easter traffic on the way back to Charlotte. If you like spicy and sriracha, you need to try this popcorn!!! We made it to Charlotte around 8 pm, and I was so happy to see Kyle and the pups.

Meighan has been BEGGING me to try out Joe’s Dough for the past four months! Ironically, they sent me a free half dozen coupon in my Instagram inbox. I think Meighan’s continuous behavior of tagging me in their post worked.

We decided to pick up their Easter donuts early Sunday morning.  I was sad that the Cadbury egg donuts were sold out Above, we have salted chocolate caramel, coconut jellybean, chocolate sprinkles, glazed, cinnamon, spicy carrot cake, maple bacon, and chocolate glazed. The donuts were pretty dang good! *adding this to my Charlotte list* We cut them into little pieces to sample them all. My FAVE donuts are the jelly-filled ones.

Kyle and I took the pups to the dog park later Sunday morning. This was Leo’s first dog park! He was a bit scared at first but was jumping all over the dogs ten minutes in. They were both in heaven! I used to take Grumples to the dog park every single day when I was living in Atlanta. It was my morning routine. I’d grab a coffee and drive him over to play for an hour.

I wish Charlotte had more dog parks! This is Frazier, and it’s located near uptown Charlotte. It’s pretty large, and there are many grassy and shaded areas for the pups to play.

The boys were zonked.

Since the gym was closed on Sunday, and there was no way I would go out for a run, we all headed to a hot yoga class.

I loved the 95+ degree room. Sweating out all the toxins and getting in a deep stretch was just what I needed! I was actually feeling sick on Sunday, so I was nervous about doing yoga, but it actually made me feel better.

After yoga, we all headed to Bourbon N Burgers (formerly known as EDS) for lunch. Kyle and I split a turkey BLT avocado wrap with sweet potato fries.

We all split wings and Southwest spring rolls. They were so good! This is probably a top spot in Charlotte for wings. I recommend the Jamaican Jerk.

I spent Monday morning having coffee, relaxing, and working on the blog. I even fit in a three-mile dog walk with both dogs before it got too hot out.

I made a yummy tuna salad on Monday for lunch. You can find the recipe here!

I decided to head to the gym and do an athletic conditioning class on Monday night. It’s one hour of movement to keep your heart rate up. Many jumping jacks, squats, ab work, planks, push-ups, hand weights, cardio, and so on!

I took the dogs to my parent’s house Monday night, and we all hung out for a bit. I stopped at CVS to grab my FAVORITE post-workout on the drink! The muscle milk pro series is so good! I usually have it fifteen minutes post-workout. Sometimes I drink half before and half after.

After working yesterday afternoon, I headed out for a three-mile run before yoga. Running and yoga always relax me before a day of travel.

On the way home from yoga, I stopped and picked up a salad at Chopt! I still have half left in the fridge and can’t wait to eat it when I get home on Friday.

My salad had cranberries, goat cheese, the Chopt lettuce blend, Falafel, grilled chicken, butternut squash, onions, cucumber, and balsamic on the side.

Kyle and I spent the night finishing up 13 Reasons Why. It’s a love/hate for me with that show. It’s definitely one you’ll have to judge on your own. Some people like it or hate it. I’m both.

Questions for you!

1. Have you ever done hot yoga?
2. Best Donut flavor you’ve ever had?
3. Do you have a favorite destination run?

After my run, I added more of the flowers to the pots. I am officially the crazy flower lady in the neighborhood.
My massage felt really good. It was a little bit painful because it involved a lot of stretching and pulling. She told me my right leg was extremely tight compared to my left, so I’ve been trying to stretch as much as I can. Sports massages are so good for your body when you’re training. They increase blood circulation to help relieve muscle tension, reduce soreness and help you recover faster. After the ten-mile run on Saturday, this was exactly what my body needed.

After my massage, I headed over to Whole Foods and picked up a ton of water (to flush toxins after a massage) and coffee for Becca. She took a quick break from work, and we just chatted for a bit. We basically sat there aligning our schedules for the month.
I picked up dinner at Whole Foods, too. They had the paleo rice and jerk chicken on the hot bar, two of my favorites!

The pups and I headed out for a walk, and then relaxed and watched movies for the rest of the night.  
I spent Wednesday working and that is pretty much it. Exciting! I know

Breakfast: Pumpkin Spice Cheerios + Oat Bites & almond milk. That combination was the most exciting thing I did all day.

To be fair, it stormed all day long. It finally stopped at 7 pm, so the dogs and I headed out for a four-mile walk. They are finally walking together and behaving so well on walks. They used to pull me in separate directions, and it was impossible.

Breakfast for dinner: two slices of Applegate bacon, Muscat grapes (seriously the best grapes in the entire world), and an omelet made with two yokes + four egg whites.
 
My grandma and my uncle were in town on Thursday! They came over after my spin class, and I drove them all around Charlotte so they could see the city. Leo just loved my Grandma.

We headed to Hobo’s for lunch, and started with the fried green tomatoes! When I was a little girl, my cousins and I would always watch “Fried Green Tomatoes” at her house.  She recorded it on an old VCR, and it was one of our favorite movies. So this dish was fitting  
I ordered a cobb salad. It came with pecans, bacon, grilled chicken, spring mix lettuce, tomatoes, egg, and avocado. Hobo’s salads are huge!
After lunch, I took my mom and uncle Josh to Amelie’s for an afternoon cup of coffee. My uncle told me that my grandpa always loved his afternoon coffee, so maybe that’s where I get it from. Cheers to you, Grandpa!
The pups were in heaven!

I headed uptown for a kickball game. When Meighan and I got there, we thought it was strange that the field was empty. When Meighan logged onto her email, she saw that our game was canceled. We decided to head over to the park to workout instead. Some of you probably already saw us running the football obstacles on Snapchat.
We are now convinced that playgrounds are so much more fun when you’re adults.

The boys were excited about their new treats I found fun Easter treats at Petco! They love Bocce’s Bakery. 

So playgrounds may be more fun for adults, but safer for kids. This is why I know I’m getting old. Check out those fun playground injuries. The top left is the large knot on my foot, the bottom left is where I hit a metal bar, the top right is my hip bone from who knows what, and the bottom right is my swollen and bruised knee from the cement. Oh, and all of those bruises are from the same fall. Luckily my hair covered the big knot on the back of my head. 
Friday morning breakfast: 2 slices of bacon, scrambled eggs, English muffin with butter and raspberry jelly.

I finally unpacked the boxes in my office. I spent the morning hanging up photos and organizing shelves. My dad built me a huge wood desk for the office, and I need to take the time to set everything up eventually. Working from my kitchen table has been my strong suit.

Later in the afternoon, I picked up my family and headed to the Legal Remedy Brewery for wine and appetizers. The southern style poutine is no joke. I was so mad at how good it tasted. Crispy fries smothered in beer cheese, bacon, and pepper jelly.

5’oclock somewhere?

One of our favorite restaurants in the Charlotte area is the Garden Cafe. If you type “garden cafe” into my blog search box, you’ll find all of my posts about this place. I just love it. We wanted our Friday family dinner here.

I had been keeping a secret from my family all day. Around 10 am, my phone said “Pentagon calling,” and you never want to decline a call from the Pentagon, so I answered. It was my brother He said he was going to drive down from D.C. to visit the family, so we decided to make it a surprise.

My parents were already at the restaurant, so when we walked in, my mom was almost in tears. She hadn’t seen my brother in so long, and she was ecstatic that he was there! It took her a few seconds to register who it was in her head. My mom had this blank look on her face, and it was so funny.
Meighan and Kyle joined us for dinner, too! 
We all started with the fried green beans because it would be a sin to visit the Garden Cafe without ordering them. I had a Moscow mule too One of my favorite dishes there is the surf n’ turf. It’s just so big and filling, so my mom and I always have them split it up. It comes with potato gnocchi, shrimp, and garlic spinach.

Sin #2 – Not ordering coffee and dessert at the Garden Cafe. The desert is the grand finale, and I could care less about ordering dessert anywhere else, but it’s a must here. It’s not the type of dessert ordered on the internet or from a food truck. It’s homemade southern style dessert made right at the Garden Cafe. They are known for their buttermilk pie, so we always treat ourselves to that little piece of heaven. The chocolate peanut butter pie tastes just like fudge, so we sneak that one in there too. The desserts are so rich and fulfilling that everyone can steal a couple of bites and be content. There were eight of us and we still couldn’t finish the two slices of dessert on the table.
Perfect night with the family <3

I had an early wake-up call. Becca and I went out to shoot some photos for a FUN new post coming up. I can’t wait for you guys to see it.

I headed to Whole Foods when we were done to pick up some food to bring out to my parent’s house. It was one of the prettiest days, so we were going to spend some time in the backyard.

I had no set plans on a spread, I just grabbed everything that sounded good for a smorgasbord.

Since my brother is a pescetarian, I bought some fried tofu for his salad.  
We played so many games of ping pong, and my parents still beat Kyle and I….twice. We snuck one win in there, but that doesn’t help when it’s best of three.


Whole Food’s vegan oatmeal raisin cookies are to die for! They were chewy and so flavorful. I didn’t even realize they were vegan when I bought them, I just thought they looked good, oh…and they were! They were the hit of the spread. They were especially good with coffee.


Grumples and Leo live a pretty fun life. Spoiled with treats, playdates, walks, and couch cuddles.    
Being out in the sun and running around with the dogs wore us out. We headed back to my place to get ready for the night.

T.C. came out with a group of friends uptown. We started at the rooftop bar for some drinks and then headed over to Fahrenheit. Everyone was hungry when 1 am rolled around, so we ordered some interesting appetizers.

Don’t forget to check out my Charlotte Guide if you’re visiting the city!

Not only was I exhausted on Sunday morning, but had the worst allergies. I only had one glass of wine and a ton of water because I knew I had a run planned in the morning.

I finally bought Nuun because of the recommendations but…is this stuff supposed to taste good? I could hardly get it down. Someone tell me a better flavor to try, please!

Before heading out on my run, Kyle and I took the pups for a neighborhood walk. It was hot out on Sunday!

I fought through the allergies on this run, but it felt good. Meighan got her run in on Saturday while I was out taking photos, so I had to fit mine in on Sunday. We have done a great job sticking to the training schedule! After the half, I am going to put together the training plan we created and followed.

I ran all the way down Sugar Creek Greenway, back up through Queens Road, and finished at Freedom Park.

*when you are running paths, please be vigilant, share your location via GPS with a friend, and never run a secluded trail by yourself*

I wanted to keep going. I wanted to hit eight, but I had to remind myself that six was the plan and to save my legs for the upcoming weekend. Meighan and I have our last long run together in Charleston on Saturday!

It’s crazy to think that last year, six miles would have been a challenge and impossible in my thoughts. Now, I feel like six miles is nothing and it’s hardly a workout. I used to say “never” all the time. This training has really changed my mindset for the better. I’m creating a healthier mind, a stronger body, and a happier lifestyle every time I go out there for a run.

When I finished my eyes were watering and I could hardly breathe. Gotta love allergy season!

I parked right next to GNC so I could grab water and a protein bar afterward.

Spring is finally here, and I took some lovely photos on the way home. I loved everything about the gorgeous flowers and front porches.

Kyle and I went for afternoon coffee and macaroons  
For dinner, I had a salad with a hamburger patty on top. SO GOOD! 
Yesterday morning, I tried out a Quest Cereal Protein Bar…they are AMAZING. I just ordered three boxes on Amazon because of how good they were. They are only 110 calories, 10g net carbs, 12g protein! I’m excited to take these on the go!

I headed out for a four-mile run in my neighborhood on Monday morning.

After my run, I had scrambled eggs and kiwi!

I picked up Whole Foods for dinner, some snacks for the hike, and headed to bed early!

I can’t wait to share my fun hiking trip with you on the blog & don’t forget to follow my Insta Story/Snapchat for live updates!

Questions for you!
1. Do you have any yearly traditions with friends?
2. How do you ensure your safety on trails?

I’m grateful for the rainy day we’re having because when it’s sunny and hot out, all I want to do is spend my time outdoors walking and running. This rain is forcing me to get things done, so thank you, nature. My mom told me that she could never get me to come inside when I was a kid. I spent 80% of my days outside, and apparently, things haven’t changed much.

I have some fun blogposts + videos coming up this week, and several fun events planned. My grandma, who I haven’t seen in almost four years, is visiting on Wednesday! 
Today’s breakfast consisted of random almond grabs and hard boiled eggs (totally not picture worthy), but I did manage to pull together a decent lunch. I had a leftover salad (the one I walked six miles to get) and a chocolate protein shake. 
On the days I’m not running, I try to get as much protein and water in me as possible. That’s the best for muscle recovery. I also have a sports massage planned for tomorrow, so staying hydrated is important and will help me get rid of all the toxins. 

This protein shake had one small frozen banana, one scoop of chocolate protein powder, and one cup of unsweetened almond milk. The shake is 100% gluten free & vegan.

And now that you know what I’ve been up to today (blogging & eating) I wanted to catch you up on my week.

My Tropicana trip post will be going live later this week, and I can’t wait to share my experience at the plant with all of you. I left truly amazed.

There are a couple eats that won’t be included in that post, so I figured I’d share them here.

I woke up super early on Tuesday morning, so I could finish my last recap before taking off to visit the farm. I’m talking 4:30 am early. I wanted some eggs, fruit, and coffee for breakfast, so I ordered some up to the room.

Our day started at 7:30am, and finished around 2pm. *I’ll share everything I learned later.

Some of us had about five hours before our flights. Our hotel was only fifteen minutes from the Sarasota airport, and it’s usually dead on a Tuesday evening, so we decided to hang around the hotel and get some sun.
 The downtown Sarasota area was so cute. I’d like to plan a trip down here sometime. 
A couple of the girls (Davida & Gina) and I walked to Whole Foods to grab some lunch to take by the pool.
The weather was perfect. 
I had quinoa with grilled chicken, kale, butternut squash “noodles,” cabbage, and watermelon radishes.
I was sad to leave Florida but excited to see my pups! I left with some color too

I found these cruncha ma-me snacks at Whole Foods, and they were the perfect travel snack. They tasted so good, and they were low-calorie. I love spicy foods because it causes you to drink more water.
Instead of powering up the laptop, I decided to read Runner’s World magazine. I always get so inspired by the stories and super motivated to get out and run! That paragraph was the exact thing Meighan and I were talking about during our nine-mile run last Saturday. We felt like we could have kept going, and we forced ourselves to stay slow and enjoy the run. There is no reason our training runs need to be fast.

I arrrived at the Airport about an hour before my flight took off, so I had time to work a little. The post I worked on will be live tomorrow morning and I cannot wait for you guys to see it.

I got home around 9 pm.
I was hungry when I got home, so I made a late night dinner. I had two eggs with spinach and a random salad. The salad had smoked salmon, gouda, romaine, honey mustard almonds, prosciutto, and parmesan. I put my leftover charcuterie board to good use.

I spent Wednesday catching up on everything. Literally took ZERO photos. I’m not sure if that’s ever happened before. 
Thursday didn’t start off so great. 

Grumples had a mild seizure as we were walking out the door to go on our walk. When he was one, he had a seizure on a road trip, and the vet told me that I could expect another to happen in several years. I took him to the vet to make sure he was OK. He took some blood test, and everything was normal. If he starts to have them more, we will have to take him to a neurologist and check for epilepsy. He’s doing fine right now, and the doctor said I might never see another seizure again. His behavior is normal, and he’s acting like nothing ever happened.  
Grumples and I got back at noon, so I had coffee, a protein shake (same as the one above but with vanilla) and headed out on a three-mile run. I wouldn’t call it a “run,” it was more of a jog. I did eleven-minute miles and finished with 100 sit-ups, 20 push-ups, 100 jumping jacks, fifteen burpees, and a fifteen-minute deep stretch session.
 I had breakfast for my late afternoon lunch. I made a (two egg + four egg white) omelet, two slices Applegate bacon, and pineapple. When I’m slicing pineapple, I usually eat half of the fruit before it makes it to the plate.

Meighan and I met up Thursday evening for a six-mile walk. We just wanted to get outside, grab a coffee, and chat. I love being outdoors this time of year because everything is in full bloom.

We stopped at Le Macaron French Pastries at the Metro on our walk. It’s a new spot in Charlotte, and I highly recommend it! I added it to my Charlotte list

There were so many flavors of macarons! My goal is to try them all
 They also had gelato.
Meighan and I split pistachio gelato and a gingerbread and pistachio macaron! I also ordered a small skim latte with an extra shot of espresso.

We took our drinks to go! Not going to lie, their espresso was fantastic. Sometimes lattes are a hit or miss at dessert spots, but I want to go back just for the latte!

We walked all the way down the Sugar Creek Greenway.
It started to rain once we got back uptown, but we did’t mind walking in it.

The flowers were so pretty uptown.

We did a total of six miles and decided to pick up dinner on the way back. Meighan lives right by Kyle, so we always meet up when I’m uptown. She is just like me and will use any excuse to be outside.


They just put a Potbelly’s in uptown, and I am so freaking pumped about it. I ALWAYS have their salads when I’m in D.C., and I practically lived on them when I was residing in Chicago.

This time, I ordered the “Uptown” salad. Fitting, I know. It had all-natural grilled chicken, blue cheese, red grapes, apples, dried cranberries, candied walnuts, diced red onion, and on a bed of fresh romaine, iceberg lettuce, and spinach. I had their non-fat vinigrette on the side. Their dressing is what I love the most.

The salad was SO GOOD, and I have a feeling I’ll be picking this up all summer.

Kyle and I watched movies on Thursday night and took the pups for a walk. 
Early Friday morning, I walked the pups around uptown before heading home.

Can you tell I’m obsessed with Charlotte? You feel like you’re living in a quaint town, but it’s so big at the same time. 
For breakfast, I had pineapple, bacon, and my go-to omelet. I’ve been drinking my coffee black lately, and I’m slowly starting to create a love for it. I never used to be able to stand it, but I hope to cut out creamer altogether by the end of this summer.

On Friday evening, I did an outdoor circuit at my house. This was really tough, but fun! I also added in some sprint work with the circuit.

100 Jump-Rope
20 Squats W/10 lb Dumbbells
30 Crunches (10 Right/10 Center/10 Left)
25 Kettlebell Round Abouts (sitting with feet up while rotating the kettlebell around your body)
10 Push-Ups
100 Jump-Rope
20 Alternating Lunges W/10 lb Dumbbells
30 Crunches (10 Right/10 Center/10 Left)
10 Push-Ups
8 Sprints
X3
It was such a beautiful night Friday, so Kyle and I went to Legal Remedy Brewing with his roommate, Steve.

We started with a flight of craft beer. We tried the blueberry, orange, strawberry cream, and french toast. My two favorites were the blueberry and strawberry cream! 
We ordered the calamari fries for our starter. This appetizer led to a twenty-minute discussion about squids, which then resulted in more incredibly interesting conversations. We can always count on Steve for entertainment.

I ordered the steak salad. It came with cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, goat cheese, onions, fries, and a medium-rare steak.

Breakfast: English muffin with bacon, egg, turkey sausage, and a banana on the side.

I met up with Meighan on Saturday morning for our weekly long run! We had no expectations and told ourselves it would be OK if we wanted to stop at mile seven or eight.

We mapped out an entire new route near Quail Hollow. This route was so pretty!

It had it’s ups and downs for sure. I loved the shaded sidewalks the most.

Once we hit mile five, I knew we were going to go all the way! It’s crazy how well a run can be when you have zero expectations.

The weather was perfect. It was 75 degrees and breezy!

Mile seven!

So not all of my running photos turn out great…

We ran five miles down the main roads and turned back around to finish the rest.

MILE TEN!
WE DID IT!!!!!! Not only did we finish the ten (with no expectations to do so) we stayed at the planned pace. We are trying to keep our miles comfortable. Looking back at my blog last year, I NEVER would have imagined running this much. I would have laughed and said “yeah right,” but this goes to show that even if you weren’t born to be a runner, you can turn yourself into one. You can truly do anything if you set your mind to it.

And let’s be real, running ten miles isn’t the easiest thing in the world. You will get aches, pains, tired, and wish you never started, but pushing through is the most rewarding part.

I will need to start doing more for fuel from now on. Even when I drink a ton of water and eat all the right foods, I get pretty dehydrated by mile eight. I’m started to worry myself because I should be burning up and hot, but instead, I get goosebumps, and I’m freezing towards the end of my run. It’s caused by heat exhaustion and dehydration, so I will start carrying water with me and getting more electrolytes in my body before and during the run. If you have any suggestions on how to stay hydrated (even if you are a water guzzler), please let me know! I don’t want to experience this during the race.` 
For lunch, I had hummus and pita chips, melon, water, and salad with vinaigrette. I had a protein shake after my run too!

I needed a pick-me-up on Saturday afternoon, so Kyle and I headed to Amelie’s for a cappuccino!

To stay hydrated, I was chugging Hint waters all day. I can’t get enough of it! I drink about four bottles a day. 
Kyle and I took the pups to the park to run around for a bit before we watched the basketball games. They were having so much fun!
Grumples has always loved being up on the jungle gyms. 
There is nothing better than a happy pup! I also loved that they were exhausted

I made gluten free cosmic brownies with the Duncan Hines mix! They were so goooooooooood. I had to pack them up and give them to Steve or I would have eaten them all.
Steve and Kyle wanted to watch the game and get fajitas, so we headed to Taqueria El Manhattan Mexican restaurant. Kyle and I split the chicken fajitas for two. I love ordering fajitas at restaurants because they are high protein and low carb if you don’t eat the tortillas. I usually just eat them straight from the skillet with lettuce! 
I have never slept better in my entire life. That ten-mile run had me passed out by ten pm and I slept until 8 am. That NEVER happens.
The boys were so cute Sunday morning

We headed uptown so Meighan and I could go on a walk and Kyle could go to the gym.

Kyle always food preps on Sundays, so Leo and I walked to the grocery store with him before meeting up with Meighan.

I had to share this workout that was sitting on Meighan’s counter. I am going to try it this week, but it looks tough! She did this at the gym for a birthday. We talked about doing this for a YouTube video because there are some workouts on the list that I have no idea what they are. 
We stopped at the 7th Street Public Market for coffee and juice. I had a green juice from Viva Raw.

We had the BEST weather this weekend.

We walked about three miles uptown and on the greenway, and then stopped at Marshalls so Meighan could get a new jewelry rack. She bought a HUGE jewelry rack and carried it for three miles on the way back. It was so funny!

We stopped at Zoe’s so I could pick up a salad for dinner and some fresh fruit to snack on during the walk back.

We hit mile six by the time we got back uptown! We were both zombies yesterday, but still fought through because we wanted to be outside. We suffer from FOMO.

Kyle snapped me this of the dogs when I was out walking, and I just melted.

My favorite tossed Greek salad with extra chicken from Zoes

We also ordered pizza. Papa Johns has light pizza on their menu now! This one had extra sauce, light cheese, peppers, pineapple, Canadian bacon, and was only 165 calories a slice! Salad and pizza was the perfect Sunday dinner.

Kyle and I walked to Coco & The Director so I could grab an Americano. I needed to work and stay up a little later, but I was already falling asleep!

I was proud of myself because I was going strong on the “no cream” thing.

I am looking forward to the next couple of months! I have a lot of trips planned, my half marathon, and hello, Hawaii!

Questions for you!

1. How was your weekend?
2. How do you stay hydrated for 1 hr+ long workouts?
3. What will April bring you?

I’m writing from the hotel room in Sarasota! I’m here with Tropicana on a press trip, but I’ll blog all about that later. I have about an hour before dinner, so I’m trying to sneak in my recap before then!

I hope you are all having a FANTASTIC Monday! 
I didn’t sleep too well last night. I thought I was going to have the best sleep ever because I ran nine miles on Sunday, didn’t stop running errands until 7 pm, and played with the dogs until late. I was so cozy in bed, fell asleep so fast, but was wide awake at 3 am. I dealt with some awful cramps last night (endo doesn’t play games), and they were enough to keep me awake. Once I’m up, it’s hard to shut off my brain, so the coffee hour was arriving early.

I pulled myself together by 7:00 am and took off for the airport. 
Luckily there were no issues with the flight. The plane was right on time in both cities. I was so excited to land and be back in Florida.
Now, I’m relaxing in my hotel room and ready to blog about my week! We had vitamin c facials today that were out of this world. I can’t wait to blog all about it, but for now, let’s just start with last Tuesday!
Remember when I wrote about my awful run last Saturday? Well, this three-mile run was the first workout since. I just needed to test the knees. I’ve been trying to take it easy. Luckily, this was a good run and a boost of confidence. Even though it was only three miles, I felt really good about it. I was desperate for anything positive after the atrocious long run.
I finished all of my work and met up with Becca for coffee later in the afternoon. We decided to try Hex Coffee out in Southend. It’s a new spot, and they have pretty decent coffee. I loved how pretty it was I regretted not asking for an extra shot of espresso.
 
After coffee, I headed to the mall to pick up some outfits for my trip. I didn’t feel like busting out the summer clothes yet.

I didn’t get around to cooking anything fancy this week. I made a mistake by walking around the mall for three hours on an empty stomach. I was so hungry that I bought a ton of food at Fresh Market on the way home because I didn’t feel like cooking. I had mac and cheese (no shame), fresh fruit, chicken, vegetable salad, and mixed nuts on my drive home. This is what happens when you skip lunch. NO GOOD.

Becca was taking a staycation, so we headed to the gym early Thursday morning and then had lunch at Burtons. 
I had their superfood salad. It came with spinach, quinoa, tomatoes, goat cheese, cranberries, and mustard vinaigrette on the side.

I ended the day with Kombucha! I am so obsessed with Gingerade now.

Friday morning breakfast: turkey sausage, cinnamon waffle with butter and syrup, and two eggs over easy! 
I hit the jackpot while shopping on Friday morning. I got everything in the photo above for $125! It was all on sale at the outlets. I bought two pairs of running capris at Asics and five pairs of shorts and four tank tops at Nike!

I headed out to my parent’s house to let the dogs run on Friday afternoon. I like to drink coffee and write from their back patio. I feel sorry when I blog at home, and the dogs are stuck inside on a beautiful day. I’m such a sucker for those two!
I always have to be careful with my coffee around Leo. He LOVES the stuff. 
I’m still hooked on my Greek salads…

This Greek salad recipe can be found here! 
I woke up super early on Saturday morning so Grumples and I could walk for a couple of miles. I also wanted to get things done around my place before my afternoon race. I had a banana protein shake with my coffee and then headed upstairs to organize my closet and hang up some photos in my bedroom. I’ve been doing more and more each day to pull my place together.
 
Kyle is going to help me put the office together next weekend and I’m so excited!

Every year, I run the Fort Mill Running Five race. I wasn’t going to do it this year because I was still hung up on that crappy Saturday run. I wanted to rest my knee and stay off of it, but this was going to be my mom’s first 5k, and I couldn’t let her do it alone. I wanted to be there to support her. 
The event has always been early Saturday morning, but they changed it to a 4 pm race this year. I’m not a huge fan of afternoon races. I like to run it early morning and have the rest of the to myself.

I decided just to run it for fun and not worry about any pace. Sprinting or running too hard could potentially put too much stress on my knee. I didn’t want to risk it before my half marathon. I’ve been training for almost seven months, and I’d be crushed if I were to get injured over a 5k. I know it’s only three miles, but running it too fast is too risky, especially since I had Achilles tendonitis and runner’s knee.

Training for this half has put my body through a lot of stress. My body is going through a transition that I’m trying to accept. When I finish this half, I’m spending two weeks in Hawaii, and I don’t plan on running one mile. I’m ready for the break. I’ve talked with a couple of runners who have experienced the same changes and body stress during training, and its good to know that I’m not alone.

What kind of changes? Well, I’ve been running three times a week, going to the gym twice a week, walking every day, eating extremely healthy, chugging more water than a fish, and I’ve put on 7lbs in the past month. I know my body is defending against all the training and some of it is new muscle. If it’s one thing I’ve learned, training for a half will not help with weight loss. I just have to keep pushing forward and accept the changes as I grow stronger as a runner. I can’t let myself obsess over it.

I am going to be writing a post about running and weight gain because it’s not always a bad thing.
The route changed this year, and there were more hills on the back trails. I just kept a comfortable pace and had fun. I had a nine-mile run planned for Sunday, and I still had to save energy for that.
 
Kyle snapped me the entire race and the videos were hilarious. It’s one of those situations where you think you look like a superhero when you’re running, but in reality, you look like a little puppy playing fetch.

Crossing that finish line without one ounce of knee pain made me happier than finishing the race. 
Here comes my mom! I was SO damn proud of her for finishing her first race. I’ve never seen her so happy before.

I had some tea and water to cool down after running.
 
Orange cream popsicle from King of Pops!
 
My mom placed third in her age group! I placed third the first time I ran three years ago. I placed first last year and this year. The funny thing is that I learned that I was the only one in my age group lol, so guess I placed last too? 
I placed 12th out of 77 for the females and 47th out of 180 for the entire race. Not too bad!
 
I loved having my biggest fan there to support me. He made me smile every time I passed him. The butterflies made me run faster.

We had dinner at Red Bowl to celebrate my mom’s first race! I ordered the chicken lettuce wraps and a house ginger salad. Whenever I order lettuce wraps, I always have them put the sauce on the side; otherwise, I swell up like crazy from all the sodium. That bowl of sauce had over 8000mg sodium. That is terrifying.

I had to start Sunday early. There was so much to do!

I made coffee, had a waffle, two eggs, and a banana for breakfast. 
I met up with Meighan at eleven for our long run.
I had half of the protein plus bar thirty minutes before our run and saved the other half for after my run. I also stored ice water in my car for after the run! 
We ran the beautiful neighborhoods of Charlotte. I took photos of our route so you could how pretty it was. The weather was PERFECT for a long run.

As soon as we started out, I knew right away this was going to be a good run.

We had no expectations for our run, and we even said we’d stop at six miles if we weren’t feeling it. I think having no expectations is what worked. We didn’t try to race the clock; we just had a nice easy paced run.

Move over, squirrel!
I just guessed when it came to directions. It always made me feel better when we landed on a familiar path. It would not have been fun to finish the run miles away from the car. That would have been one of the thirstiest walks back!
We ran a quick loop around Freedom Park and then made our way down the Sugar Creek Greenway.
The 70 degree breezy and overcast day was ideal.



There wasn’t one time during the run where I felt like stopping, where I felt lightheaded or had any discouraging thoughts pass through my mind. This run gave me the confidence I had been searching for all week. I think not worrying about pace and learning how to run slow is the key. My body has a comfortable pace, and if I push it during a long run, it doesn’t respond well. We hit a lot of hills on this run, but they weren’t anywhere near the hills we ran last week during the long run. This run felt amazing!
If you don’t follow me on Snapchat, my username is @taralynnmcnitt

I finished all of the to-dos on my list after our run, and I finally had time to relax.

Sunday night! I’ll blog about the Weekly Tasting this week.

I made eggs for dinner, green tea, and fell right asleep.

Questions for you!

1. I’ve always been curious. If you are a regular recap post reader, what brings you back?
2. What struggles do you face with fitness?

I could sit here and beat myself up about it, or I could learn from it.
So let me give you some background on this “Saturday” run.

I had been excited for this run all week. This was our longest run since our half marathon training began, so I made sure to hydrate, stay positive, lay off any hardcore workouts during the week, and rest the night before.

We decided to run one of the hilliest routes in Charlotte. Suppose you live in Charlotte and need a new route that’ll send you into a cardiac arrest, head over to the neighborhoods around the Ballantyne Country Club. You’ll go up and down the entire route. The longest flat streak you’ll run is around 0.3. I figured this would be a great challenge and hopefully make the next run easier. Meighan and I have run the long distances before, but it’s been months. We also never ran the long-distance on such a challenging route.

We started at Corporate Park. I have no problem sharing these running routes on the internet because I don’t plan on running them willingly ever again. I used to walk this route a couple of times a week when I first moved to Charlotte, so I knew what I was getting myself into. I would never have imagined running it back in the day. That was when I was recovering from a runner’s knee.

Sometimes when you go into a run thinking it’s going to be the worst one yet, but you have to do it anyway, it usually turns out to be the best run ever. I went into this run thinking it would be amazing, but I learned that wasn’t the case in the first four minutes. I try not to judge a run until after the first ten minutes, but there was no fighting the facts. I felt awful. Yes, the first five minutes of our run was straight up a hill, but something else was off.

I knew that I could push through and do this. It became a time game, and I started counting down the minutes until mile eight appeared. If it weren’t for Meighan cheering me on, I don’t think I would have continued. I know I wouldn’t have continued. I didn’t want to let her down either.
We finally finished running through the intense back neighborhoods. On mile five, something strange happened. My vision was fuzzy, I was slightly dizzy, and I thought I would pass out. I felt like God was telling me to take a break because we hit our first stoplight as soon as it happened. We usually run back and forth until the light changes, but I had to take three minutes to pull myself together. This was the first time we had ever taken a “break” before. I wasn’t going to quit, but I was going to listen to my body and take a few minutes to breathe. As soon as the light changed, we headed back out on our run. We only had three miles left, and there was no way I was going to quit. I wanted to, believe me!

My pace was much slower, but there was nothing I could do about it. At this point, I didn’t care if my pace was eleven minutes. I just wanted to finish the mileage. What if this happened during my half? Quitting wasn’t an option. When we hit mile six, we found a water fountain. I wasn’t expecting the water to be as cold as it was! It felt amazing. I hydrated up and headed back out for the next two miles. They felt like an eternity.

And then mile eight. This was when I realized how strong the mind is. If you can somehow train yourself to be your own coach, you’ll be great at anything. The voice in my head was making me and breaking me at the same time. I need to learn how to turn off the “breaking me” part.

My knee started to sting at the end. I’m praying this isn’t related to the runner’s knee. I’m hoping the hills were the culprit, and I’m doing everything I can to baby it and make sure the pain doesn’t come back.

When we finished, we started stretching, took our traditional post-run selfie, and headed to the car for water! I honestly have the best running partner in the world. She went with the flow and allowed me to pace. She let me know that we could stop at any time while encouraging me to stay strong. I don’t know how I got so lucky!

So fuel. I thought I’d try something new before my run this week, and that was probably a bad idea. The last meal worked, so why not try it again? Well, I’m not always the brightest bulb. I went with a protein banana shake with spinach instead. SO maybe that is to blame?  Who knows!
 
Even though this was one of the worst runs, I’m still proud of myself. I didn’t quit. It may not have been impressive, but I still finished, and that is all that matters. That was my only goal, and I completed it. Three miles were my long runs last year, and I would never have imagined being at this level. No way I’m going to let this set me back.

It’s scary to think that I’ll be running 13.1 miles in forty days, but I’m still confident that I can do it. Having that in the back of my mind made me even more nervous about the “failed” run. I’m not going to let some stupid long run discourage me, though. I’m thinking back on all the great runs I had in the past, and those pump me up again. Running isn’t always as glamourous and cheery as Instagram runners make it look. I’m usually smiling in pictures because it’s over with!

You must know that BAD runs are going to happen.Even your favorite athletes have “off” performances. We are human, duh! When you finish something, be proud of yourself, and keep pushing forward!

“It’s supposed to be hard. If it weren’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard…is what makes it great!”

Questions for you! 

1. How do you keep a bad run/workout from discouraging you?
2. Do you have any “bad” running experiences to share?
3. Any advice for me!?

Read about my relationship with running.

Even though it was a late night, I was up involuntarily by 6 am. Three things woke me up today: the frigid temperature outside, the dogs barking at the neighbors, and this cup of coffee I’m sipping on right now.

It’s been such a strange week. One minute it’s warm, and the next minute I’m catching snowdrops in my coffee cup. There are only a few more days left of the cold temps, and then we are back to the 70’s! Thank goodness.
After bundling up this morning and walking the dogs, I came inside and made breakfast. I don’t plan on leaving my desk until my recap post is completed! My breakfast had fresh strawberries, cantaloupe, and scrambled eggs. The eggs have onion powder, garlic, black pepper, two yolks, and four egg whites!
My dad went out of town last week to help my uncle build a deck at the lake house. I stayed with my mom while he was out so that we could have girl time. I like spending time at my parent’s house because I can focus on work all day while the dogs run outside. I still don’t have my fence up at my house yet. My backyard isn’t big enough for them to run around in like nuts, but they’ll like hanging outside once it’s finished. There are a lot of animals lurking in the woods, so it’ll be pure entertainment for them.
My mom had a meeting Tuesday morning, so I drove her in and headed to Earth Fare to work on my laptop for an hour. I wanted coffee, but I had a run planned for the afternoon, so I stuck with some probiotic water and pineapple chunks. Anything to hydrate me. 
I had a long run the Saturday before, so I just wanted a light recovery run. The run in Waxhaw killed my quads (in a good way), and I could barely move my arms from my circuit workout. I love that my mom is a runner. I have a hard time slowing down my pace (I get bored), so it was great having her as a pacer. I ran behind her for the first 3 1/2 miles, and then pick up the pace for the rest of my run.

I love the running scenery out at my parents. I’m a huge advocate for finding new running routes. I don’t care about my three mile run routes, but anything longer needs to be fun and new. Meighan and I have been looking for new running routes every Saturday for our long run. It makes a big difference in our energy! We love the unknown, and it feels like an adventure.

As soon as I finished my run, I chugged water and headed to the cold pool. I tortured myself by slowly icing my ankles, my calves, my knees, and finally making my way to the quads. I don’t know how people can tolerate ice baths. OUCH!

After the run, we had falafels from Blue Apron, turned on Netflix, and fell asleep super early.

I made breakfast for my mom and me on Wednesday morning. My omelets had one yolk + four egg whites, one cup of spinach, and goat cheese. Blueberries and strawberries on the side!

How cute is this little butter holder? I found it at a thrift shop for 25 cents. My mom has little white accents in her new kitchen, so this fit perfectly. I will share more of my thrift finds in this post. If you want to see photos of the remodel, I posted this on Pinterest! My dad did it by himself in two months!

I made homemade dark chocolate coconut candies on Wednesday. I will post the recipe this week. They were a delicious treat to go with my afternoon cup of coffee. I’m a huge Almond Joy lover, or anything coconut related. I wanted to make the healthier version of my favorite coconut candies, and they turned out so yummy.

I took the boys (my pups) for a country walk later in the afternoon, and they loved it. Grumples is obsessed with farm animals. He likes to sit and the fence and just stare at them. Whenever I say the word “cow,” he goes nuts! Leo is starting to mimic him.

The dogs were so good on our walk, so I treated them with empty peanut butter jars as a reward. Training them to walk together with me has been a challenge, but we are getting somewhere. It’s so funny because all of my friends save their peanut butter jars for the pups. I love that it keeps them entertained for an hour.

Here is the video of them eating their peanut butter jars!

I decided to torture my mom and stink up the house with my brussels sprouts. I love them, but she won’t even look in their direction. I ate an entire bag of brussels sprouts with my ground turkey for dinner.

I chopped up some brussels sprouts and tossed them in olive oil, garlic powder, fresh organic parmesan cheese and baked them for 22 minutes at 400 degrees.
Eggs and bacon on Thursday morning! I had spinach and sweet potato added to my eggs too. Sweet potatoes and eggs were meant to go together.

I was hungry an hour later, so I made a protein shake. This shake had electrolyte water, frozen banana, half cup frozen strawberries, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, one scoop vanilla protein powder, and ice.
I did a light Thursday afternoon run with my mom. I’ve been trying to do more little runs during the week and save my legs for the Saturday long run. We were running different paces, so it was fun passing each other in the neighborhood. My mom has the most focused face when she’s running, so I always crack up when I see her.

We took the dogs out for a two-mile walk after our run. It was so beautiful out, and we couldn’t get enough of the weather.
For dinner, I had some leftover Panera Bread. I love going in there and building my salads. This salad had chicken, kale, onion, parmesan crisps, avocado, and green goddess dressing on the side. This salad inspired my grocery list for the week.
So I’m 26. So OLD, I know.

If it’s one thing my mom preaches to me every day, it’s to take care of my skin. My mom never tans her face, always wears sunscreen, and sticks to a nightly and morning routine. She doesn’t want me to start this routine later in life; she wants me to start now, so to make her happy, I have. And I don’t want wrinkles obviously.

My Routine

*I wash my face morning and night with age-defying face wash from Olay.
*When I finish washing my face, or after the shower, I hydrate and replenish my face with an anti-aging infusion spray.
*I rub an eye lifting serum around my eyes before I go to bed to prevent any aging. This helps with bags under the eyes and crows feet wrinkles.
*In the morning and at night, (after washing my face) I add a little anti-aging cream all over my face.  I do this about an hour before I put on makeup. I wear makeup maybe once a week.

This routine may seem like strange for a 26-year-old, who doesn’t even have a gray hair yet, but I want to start early and prevent wrinkles from coming in. It’s important for all ages to take care of their skin. My mom is in her mid-fifties, and she still looks so young, so I look up to her in the skin department. She started her skin routine at 30.

I headed home Friday after my dad came back to town. Grumples was looking for cows on the drive home!

Leo was happy to be back in his spot on the couch.

I spent some time adding more pieces to my house. I have a lot of work to do in the bedroom decor department. I think I want to go with a white and cream color scheme. I took down the green curtains the previous owners had up and added new sheer curtains. I love them and can’t wait to sleep with the windows open in the summer. I love watching sheer curtains blow in the wind. I am going to paint a new canvas to go above my bed this week.

I was inspired by this pin on my Pinterest board. It had a Blue Willow vase with pink flowers. When I saw the vase at Home Goods, I HAD to buy it and add pink flowers. It was honestly my lucky day because the flowers were all half off at Michaels!

I found all of these plates and cups for 25 cents a piece at a thrift shop! I want to use them for a brunch

I found these gorgoeus, plates, artwork, and more! I bought a lot of old photos and I’m going to redo the frames for my office. After washing all the plates and hanging some art up, I started on my Friday cleaning binge.
Have you ever had a weird afternoon craving for something sweet, but filling? I do pretty much every day. I wanted to experiment with a mug cake. I see them on the internet all the time, but the thought of microwaving weirded me out. I decided to try it because I was desperate for something sweet.

In a mug, I added 1/2 packet of blueberry oatmeal, 1/4 cup blueberries, one egg white, two tablespoons milk, one teaspoon olive oil, three tablespoons muffin mix, and two teaspoons of honey. I microwaved it for 45 seconds, and it came out perfectly! I prefer baked muffins, but this was ideal for a quick single serving. The blueberries were my favorite part.

The dogs were trying hard to steal a bite, but no luck!

Kyle and I decided to eat Chipotle were dinner on Friday night. We had been craving it all week, and cooking sounded awful because we were both tired.
I ordered a salad with half chicken and half steak. I added a little bit of white rice, hot salsa, guacamole, and a sprinkle of cheese. They have the best salad dressing!

Kyle and I decided to give “The Fall” a try. Finally, a new show we are addicted to watching! We were having a hard time trying to find a show that matched “The Killing.” I’m so excited to watch the next episode, but it would be a sin to do that without Kyle. I will just have to wait until Thursday.  
I’ve been looking forward to Saturday’s lately. Meighan and I have been sticking to our training plan, which consists of a long run on Saturday mornings. I’ve been trying to wake up super early to have coffee, hydrate, and experiment with different pre-run fuels. This Saturday, I’ll be bringing gel packs since we are upping our miles even more. Not only have we been increasing mileage, but we’ve been finding new routes with a lot of hills. Our half is going to be very hilly, so we want to be prepared. I have no doubt that I’ll be able to do it with her by my side. I honestly found a new love for running because of her, and she pushes me to do things I fear.
This was a pretty good pre-run fuel. I ate it three hours before my run, and I didn’t cramp up, or feel too sluggish towards the end at all. I had an english muffin with peanut butter, one hard boiled egg, and half of a banana. I chugged two glasses of water. One before my coffee and one after!

We found a new route to try! We love running through grogeous neighborhoods.
 Our route took us all around the Meyer’s Park Country Club.

The sun was out when we started the run, so I left my sweater in the car. Five minutes after we started running, the sun left us! I was freezing! The colder I felt, the harder I ran! The hills warmed us up, and I could finally feel my arms again. Our last mile was straight up a hill, so that didn’t feel great. I couldn’t wait to finish, so I tried to run it as fast as I could. Whenever I finish a run, I use up all the remaining energy I conserved.

We wanted to run ten-minute miles, so we stayed on track for the most part. We are running an intense route this Saturday, but it’s going to be a gorgeous one! We have eight miles planned.
I always try to take as many photos as I can while I’m running, but only ten out of thirty turn out clear!
My legs end up swelling after long runs, so I made a doctor’s appointment to get it checked out. Some serious and not-so-serious conditions could be causing the swelling. It could be low sodium, dehydration, or something else. I just want to rule some things out. Meighan was shocked at how swollen they got too! It wasn’t just in my head. They don’t hurt, but it’s a little frightening.

We were so zonked that we stopped on the sidewalk and just sat there stretching. Luckily, it was a remote neighborhood, and no one was there to judge how silly looked. We like to look at our times and elevation after our runs.
Saturday run done! YAY! 
Meighan and I picked up her friend, Sara, and Becca for lunch in Noda.

We decided to eat at The Crepe Cellar because they have the best french press coffee! That pot had no chance of survival.

I ordered the apple endive salad. It came with salmon, apples, pecans, greens, and a vinaigrette. I ordered fries on the side because they have the best!
We had so much fun having lunch and I need to visit Noda more often!

When Kyle got back from the gym, we both cleaned up and piled on the couch with the pups for a Netflix binge.
After two episodes deep, we got hungry! We decided to make our favorite, homemade chicken nuggets. I taught him how to do it and let him take over! He did such a great job We experimented with buffalo flavored chicken nuggets, too. They turned out perfect! The buffalo chicken nuggets were coated in plain breadcrumbs (instead of the usual Italian bread crumbs) dipped in buffalo sauce, and then added to the baking sheet.

Find our chicken nugget recipe here! Kyle dipped his buffalo chicken nuggets in blue cheese dressing! I think they would be good (for people who like buffalo & blue cheese) wrapped in lettuce with blue cheese dressing. We made sweet potatoes for the side. It wasn’t a veggie kind of night.

Back to more episodes!

And then we woke up to this…

I took so many snow day photos! I put them all in a separate post because they would have flooded this one up. Check them out here!

Becca and I headed to the gym for an hour circuit! We had a GREAT sweat session. My back is still killing from all the deadlifts. We love Sunday’s at the gym because it’s empty. It was even more dead because of the snowstorm.  We turn into complete goofballs, and our dance sessions are my favorite.

The poor spring flowers looked cold! Good thing I put all of my flowers in the garage before the storm.


Kyle headed to the gym, so I decided to grab breakfast with Becca.
We headed to Plaza Midwood to have breakfast at Zada Janes. 

I hate when a promised thirty-minute wait turns into an hour for a table for two. We were hangry because of the gym. We finally got a table, but it was right next to the door. FREEEEZING. I was complaining in my head, and it was caused by the hangry-ness. Nothing worse than being hungry and cold at the same time.

I decided to treat myself with a skim cappuccino + one extra shot of espresso. Zada Janes usually brews light roast, and I knew I wouldn’t like it, so I played it safe with an expresso drink.

I ordered the big breakfast. It was 2 pm and the only thing I had eaten was a cup of coffee and half a banana. Since Becca doesn’t eat carbs, I ordered enough for the both of us. My breakfast had multigrain bread, a pancake, eggs, fresh fruit, and bacon.

The snow was gone by the time I got to Kyle’s. I wasn’t mad about it
 We decided to take the boys for a walk around the park. 
Leo does really well offleash. He stays by us and comes when we call him.
Now this is the spring weather I’ve been hoping for! 
After our hour walk, we had an early dinner. Leftover chicken nuggets  
Sundays <3
I made hot chocolate for dessert, and we got back to our show! We were in bed by 9 pm and exhausted from the day. I know a lot of people hate daylights savings time, but I love it. 
I was excited for Monday morning because I wanted to spend some time drinking coffee and editing the snow pictures! But the real excitement for Monday was because it was the Bachelor’s season finale! I made an omelet with turkey sausage on the side.

It’s been five weeks since I’ve been lampless. FINALLY, put a lightbulb in the dang thing, and I thought it deserved a picture. This is how I pat myself on the back for doing simple tasks

Finally bachelor night! I walked the dogs, fed them, air popped some popcorn, and then poured myself a glass of wine!
I seasoned my popcorn with garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and olive oil.
 This wine was so good! It’s Robert Mondavi heritage red blend. If I drink wine, I go for the blends. This is sold at most grocery store’s and it’s around eight dollars.

I had a facemask on my skin during the show!

I seriously cannot wait until Friday. I am getting my hair done (dyed dark) and eyebrows threaded! I tried to let the whole “lighter” hair grow on me, but I haven’t liked it. It doesn’t go with my skin tone, and I miss my dark hair.

FIVE THOUGHTS ON BACHELOR!
1. He chose the wrong girl but did Raven a favor. Vanessa was my pick on day one, but she got super annoying as the season went on. She complains a lot, and she and Nick will not work out. Do they even like each other? I guess the crying worked.
2. I couldn’t stand Corrine at the beginning of the season, but she slowly became my favorite.
3. Chris Harrison is annoying.
4. I never liked Nick, still, don’t like him. Why is he on DWTS. Just stop with him.
5. The “historical” thing annoyed me on the finale, and it was the most awkward moment I have ever seen on live television. I cringed the whole time, and it just gave me anxiety. Rachel will be a great bachelorette, but no more awkward surprises.

For lunch on Tuesday, I made a giant kale salad! It had goat cheese, strawberries, kale, arugula, baby spinach, candied nuts, dried blueberries, and a shallot dressing.
And for dinner, I made a salad with ten cups of chopped kale (so much kale), goat cheese, sweet and spicy peppers, pecans, cranberries, onions, and a red wine vinigrette. SO MUCH SALAD in one day.

OK, so by now you’re probably all wondering…GLUTEN?

Let me fill you in…

I went 4 1/2 months gluten free. At first, it went pretty well. Some of the bloating went down, the cramps decreased tremendously, and my energy levels were high. Placebo, maybe? But for the past few weeks, I had been feeling sluggish, retaining a ton of water, getting migraines, and so I asked my doctor if he thinks I should start eating gluten again. He recommended that I go gluten free to help with endo, but I started questioning it all. The crazy thing is that I started adding gluten gradually. It didn’t do anything to me. I’ve heard some horror stories from people who tried eating gluten again, but I feel a little better now that I’m eating it again. My doctor said there is no problem adding gluten back into my diet, and that it doesn’t work for everyone. But, no worries, I will still have gluten free recipes on the blog, but I’m trying to do what is best for my body. Right now, I’m frustrated, but I’ll figure it out someday!

Questions for you!

1. Bachelor thoughts. GO!
2. Did you do anything fun over the weekend?
3. What is the coolest thing you’ve ever found at a thrift shop?