Thursday, March 1, 2018

When your cup runneth over

You know, sometimes my proverbial cup feels ever so full.

Has that ever happened to you? When you just have a lot of warm and fuzzy feel-good things happening? What's more, do you take notice and pause to cherish them for a few moments?

Although February wasn't exactly the most pleasant month (ugh, the weather!), it did kind of wind down in a nice manner. I'm grateful for every good thing that happened, and I'm especially thankful that I was able to recognize them as they occurred. Here's five recent feel-good things that have made me smile....


I was reminded that runners can walk, too.
We had glorious temps on Tuesday, which was a scheduled rest/recovery day. I had run nine miles on Saturday, and two miles both on Sunday and Monday, and was also planning to run five miles on Wednesday. I seriously did NOT need (or want) to have five continuous running days....so I went for a 3-mile walk instead.  I have no shame in walking, after all it was my main go-to for three solid months last summer. I have gotten out of the routine of doing my daily walks, though. I think it was during my running streak (Thanksgiving through New Year's Day) that I kind of let the daily walking go because I was doing the daily running instead. Anyways, I had forgotten how power walking felt...my quads were flexing in ways they haven't flexed for awhile and my feet were striking the ground in an unfamiliar pattern.....but it felt good!

OOPS, I'm doing it again.
After much searching, comparing, and contemplating...((drum roll)), I have found another marathon! I'm all about destination races, especially for something as grandiose as 26.2 miles. I'll be toeing the start line of the Cannonball Marathon on October 13th (Greensboro, NC). I wanted a fall marathon, but just couldn't commit to the R'n'R Savannah on November 3rd (but I think I will still be game for the ReMix...doing both the 5K and the 13.1). The Cannonball Marathon feels like a better option for me because it's three weeks earlier....less time to draw out all that training, right? Stay tuned...I'll be putting together a summer training plan in the next few months!
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My hair makes me laugh.
The other day I was running late (almost #literally LOL) and didn't have time to take a full shower (you know...when you actually wash you hair as well). My best hack for making do with icky hair is to swirl a few waves through it with the flat iron...and presto! The weird-laying hair then has waves and everything looks intentional. Anyways, something that does not make sense to me, though, is how curling my hair actually makes it look longer...shouldn't it be the reverse? I'm not complaining about this paradox...but I'm certainly confused by it.

I had a guilt-free scale-back week.
As most know, I'm doing weekly stair workouts in preparation for the Fight for Air Climb (Des Moines, April 8th). When I hit the stairs on Thursday morning, my body felt especially fatigued (and it wasn't just from the 5:30a.m. wake-up). I made it through the first complete circuit (which included 10 burpees, 10 flights of doubles, 10 squats, 5 flights of singles, and a 1-minute plank) and I still didn't feel fully functional. Then I realized that I had not had a scaled-back week of stair training in a long time. I made the command decision to do three total sets of the circuit instead of four. And I had ZERO guilt in doing so.
Art makes for such a happy existence. 
A couple weeks ago, the daughter's art club hosted a Cocoa and Canvas Night at the high school. It's no secret I'm an art geek, but I usually shy away from "organized painting" events because I don't like structure when it comes to creating art (I was always the kid who colored outside the lines as a way of expressing myself instead of staying inside the borders, as instructed LOL). This was a really fun evening, and also a great time to hang out with the daughter (she's our youngest...and will be graduating in a few months). She has a passion for all things colorful and creative, too. I'm just a little bummed our paintings have a Valentine-theme because I kind of want to leave them up year-round (maybe I will!).

And, here's a bonus:
It's not all about me. Our high school girl's basketball team has had a phenomenal season (only losing two games), and we've had so much fun going to their games and supporting them. Last week, they made it through the play-offs, and this week they won both their first round and semi-final games.....and will be vying for the State Championship on Friday evening! Even though our daughter is not on the team, some of her friends are (as well as other girls she has grown up with). Last year was the first year, in our school's history, that the girls team has made it to State, so to get there two consecutive years is pretty amazing.

So, that's a brief peek into my life (running and otherwise) recently. March is here and we have Spring happening soon.....there's all kinds of great things to be happy about.

So, talk to me! Any great things happening in your little corner of the universe? Do you take time to enjoy the good times? Are you eager for Spring?

I'm linking this with Meranda and Lacey and Rachel for the Friday Five 2.0. 



And, since it's the first weekend of the month, I'm also linking with Deborah and Coco for the Ultimate Coffee Date. What would you share, if we were having coffee and chatting about life?

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46 comments:

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    1. Even though our daughter is not on the team, we're all excited about the big game tonight. It's HUGE for the entire community ;-)

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  2. Those paintings are nice. I think you could hang hearts up all year.

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  3. Exciting on the marathon! You have certainly bounced back from last summer well. My hair trick is dry shampoo-have you tried it?

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    1. Yes, I have tried dry shampoo...and it just doesn't work as much magic as I'd like (apparently I have extremely high standards for that...or I'm simply doing it wrong LOL). Oh well ;-) I guess I have found a system that works...

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  4. Spring would be very nice considering the fact we're really getting dumped on as I speak. With snow/ice.

    I don't need a flat iron for waves. :) Although actually my curls look much, much better the day I wash my hair.

    I heart hearts. :) I see no reason they can't be up year round. :)

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    1. I think my "curls" look better on dirty hair because there's already some hairspray there to help set the curls. Ironic how a straightening iron actually can add waves, huh!

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  5. So much good going on! Your cup does runneth over! I dig the messy hair look, I say rock with it.

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    1. haha, the messy hair is definitely a lot easier to pull off than pristine, perfectly straight not-a-hair-outta-place hair.

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  6. Congrats on pulling the trigger on a fall marathon! When I was in HS our girls' basketball team won state. It was amazing. All the best to your team!

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    1. This basketball tournament has the entire town going crazy! It's been great for the community.

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  7. I love those painting classes. I've done quite a few but I'm not as good as you are.

    Not surprised that you are running a full.

    You will do great- just stay healthy!!

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    1. I knew I wanted to do another full marathon...I just couldn't find a race that appealed to me. I"m glad this race came onto my radar ;-)

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  8. The cocoa and canvas event sounds like so much fun! And congrats to the girl's basketball team, that's very impressive.

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    1. The painting night was fun and not as structure as I'd anticipated. I was afraid there would be too many well-meaning people trying to "help" me LOL

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  9. I always like going for a long walk whenever I can. Slowing down helps me appreciate what's around me and I often has my best "thinking sessions" when I am walking!

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    1. I really grew to love my early morning long walks last summer! They gave me a reason to get up early (even though I wasn't running), and I had some awesome "thinking sessions" while doing them.

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  10. I've seen Savannah can have really rough weather, even in November. Good luck wit the Canon Ball full!

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    1. I'm hoping North Carolina has much more pleasant weather in October than Iowa. I"m not hoping for hot weather, but at least pleasantly warm enough that if there's rain, it won't be miserably cold. #fingerscrossed

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  11. It's good to give youself a break sometimes! I'm a huge fan of powerwalking. :]

    That Cocoa and Canvas event looks fun! I'd like it better than those paint/wine nights (I can't drink alcohol), haha.

    Best of luck to your daughter's team at the state championship! That's awesome!

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    1. We're hoping the team does well, our daughter's friends have worked hard for this championship game!!

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  12. I'm so glad you're in a wonderful mood and had a great February! Just think, pretty soon it will be sunny and warm and good moods will be plentiful!!!

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    1. ahhhhh...sunny and warm...those two words sound euphoric!

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  13. Congratulations to your daughter and her team!! Yay for another marathon for you! You are ready and I'm sure will knock that training out of the park! Savannah is usually always hot in November. I have a friend who ran it a couple of years ago and almost had a heat stroke ..in fact, the year she ran it someone actually died just after crossing the finish line. Yikes! Good luck with that training. By the way, love the wavy hair!

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    1. I'm looking forward to another 26.2 experience! I know they're not easy, but I'm thankful I can go the distance. I don't take anything for granted after last summer LOL

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  14. Cute artwork! I have gone to Paint Nites and since I am NOT artistic, I need the structure haha. I am so amazed that my paintings actually turn out really good! The teachers must give good directions.

    Happy Friday!

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    1. The painting was fun, and I was pleasantly surprised I didn't get any well-meaning instruction ;-)

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  15. I love your late day hair do! I wish mine looked like that if I didn't have time to shampoo it. It just falls so flat, lol.

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    1. My hair is usually pretty flat. My hairdresser insists I have a lot of hair, but it's fine (and majorly flat LOL). I'm always amazed how adding a few waves can make sucha difference!

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  16. What a month you've had! Hoping for good news about your daughter's team tomorrow morning!

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    1. Well, the daughter is not on the team, but some of her friends are. Unfortunately, the basketball team came up short on winning the championship, but still being the State Runner-up is commendable ;-)

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  17. Your blog post is so full of happy things this month - it made me happy reading it! I'm going to have to try your hair hack. It's brilliant. And I say you can absolutely leave your beautiful artwork up all year. Think of them as "love" themed rather than "valentine" themed.

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    1. The hair hack is SO easy...just take small sections and twist them into "pinwheels" and press them with the iron. It takes about 10-15 minutes (if I was washing my hair, it would take even longer to blowdry it and then have to "poof" it into place LOL).

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    2. Thanks for the extra instructions about the pinwheels. My mom used to put my hair in pinwheels with bobby pins when I was a little girl...I would sleep on them and then have pretty curls in the morning :)

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  18. I love your attitude! Many times things don't go the way we want to but we should always look on the positive side.

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  19. Lots of good happening here :) So glad you picked your marathon!

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  20. I have tolerated winter well. However, we had a dose of Spring weather last week followed by more winter!! Now, I am totally ready for Spring!!

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  21. I had a rough week, but I'm still feeling blessed. All's well that end's well! :-) I guess we won't be getting any snow this year, so we might as well get spring weather, but no more March wind -- please!

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  22. Spring weather was here this week in Texas! So lovely!
    Great job listening to your body and scaling back!
    Good luck to the basketball team!

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  23. Ho exciting that you will be running a marathon this fall! Ive never heard of that one but it sounds great.

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  24. Ooooh! I'm excited for your next marathon! That's so great!

    Love that your hair looks longer curled. That's so random and so bizarre!

    I'm half ready for spring. Of course, warming up means it's going to get hot, and I'm not quite prepared for that. However, we are going to have some beautiful race weekends ahead, so I'm going to embrace the heck out of that!

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  25. There's definitely no shame in walking as a runner. I love going for walks, especially with my family. As my son continues to get bigger and bigger, the idea of running with him in the stroller becomes less and less appealing, but walking while pushing him in the stroller is something that I hope I never get tired of.

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  26. I'm looking forward to the time change so I can get back to going on walks with the dogs after work. I would hang those paintings up year round.

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  27. Walking is awesome! I am a run/walker, so I definitely love the combination. :)
    Never heard of the Cannonball Marathon, but I love the name and theme. Look forward to hearing about your training.

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  28. There's nothing wrong with walking! When my plantar fasciitis flared-up I walked with my dog instead and didn't feel guilty at all.
    I love destination races! It's the best way to see new places. My youngest is also graduating this year so I cut back on my destination races this year. Hoping to find a new place to race next year. (Oct 13th is almost next year, right?)

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