Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today

...to get through this thing called life

In my constant and more recently frantic search to figure out wtf to do my with my life, I’ve been coming across the word Legacy pretty frequently.  As a 29 year old it’s not a word I’ve felt the need to use just yet, it’s a biggie, it’s heavy and it seems a little final. But as I said, it keeps popping up, so I’ve been trying to look at it a little differently, letting it inform my day a little more than before. I approach decisions of all kinds with the same level of panic, what I’m having for dinner is equally as stressful as what my next career move should be. It’s exhausting and just completely rediculous. So I’m trying to take a step back from it all and consider Legacy. What is it that you’re going to want to remember at the end of all this, what would you want others to remember about you – whatever that answer is, do more of that, and maybe don’t worry so much about the other stuff omg easier said than done.

Now I appreciate Prince as much as the next person but would never  consider myself a super-fan, so when he passed away yesterday I was shocked and bummed but WAS NOT ready for the epic response to his death. I was completely unaware of his reach and the extent of his career. Someone said yesterday that what Bruce is to New Jersey, Prince is to Minnesota and I was like OH ok got it! I’m normally not one of those people who is big enough to be all “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened” if someone is giving me a legit chance to lose my shit and wallow, damnit I take it. But watching the entire world share what Prince, his music, and his legacy, meant to them yesterday… made me happy? Everytime a new person, celebrity, whatever, paid tribute to him I thought holy crap, how awesome is this? This one person touched ALL of these people, from so many walks of life, he made their lives better in some way. I felt proud of him? I think sometimes we forget how much the world really does value uniqueness, creativity and somone who is willing to just be themselves unabashedly. It's so weird to call someone's passing refreshing, but it was for me, I was really moved by the outpouring and the celebration of his life and legacy there it is again. 

Unfortunately I feel like I did own a similar shirt

Obviously we can’t all be Prince no one wants to see me dressed like this but we can all be a little more aware of what we are leaving behind, be a little truer to ourselves than we were yesterday, kick a little bit of the bullshit to the curb and celebrate a little more of the good shit. And party like it's 1999 because the 90s were the best ever, Prince and I totally agree on that! 

Add waxing philosophical on Prince to the list of things I never thought I'd do...

                                                                                                                                                

FRIDAY FAVORITES TIME

1.  Prince Tributes, goes without saying
Holy balls get ya tissues ready / this teacher is everything / James Cordon seriously stop making me cry everything is better with an accent

and for good measure: the best cover EVER, and Julia, because Julia…

2. It's Marathon Season! #MarathonMonday is easily every runner's favorite Holiday and this year was no exception.

Photo courtesy of @wotowineglass Photo credit my mom :)

The Boston Marathon is the reason I signed up for my first Marathon, and it is such a source of inspiration for me, and this interview with Dave McGillivray is awesome.
I had guaranteed acceptance into this year's Chicago Marathon (I deferred last year to run Marine Corps) but the lottery was pulled this week for the rest of the racers and there are SO many Oiselle girls running! All the talk of meetups, group runs, and being surrounded by teammates has me so excited for my 4th ?! go at 26.2

3.  Finally getting to experience the beauty of grabbing some Picky Bars in Trader Joes, and they were a special kind of magical let me tell you!

good for the tummy, bad for the wallet

4.  CLEAR YOUR DVR the movie marathon to end all movie marathons is upon us!

5. Summer Kicks! The weather has been pretty bad ass this week and it's got me in the mood for some summer clothes and shoes that are not running sneakers shocking I know currently have my eyes on these booties, finally getting a pair of these sandals and trying to decide which Adidas to get between this classic and this new pair?

What a random post but welcome to my life!
 - Stay Caffeinated my friends

That Feeling When... [#1]

You turn around and all of a sudden it's the middle of April, your baby sister turns 27 on Sunday AND you still haven't filed your taxes? Yea that's where I'm at right now!

Normally I turn into a TOTAL basket case annnd total bitch when things get hectic and I feel like I am not "in control" of every second of every day. I've felt that fight or flight mode pop a couple of times during the past week, noticed myself jumping on the defensive a little more, and my all time go to being anal AF about what food I'm eating lately. BUT you know what, the fact that I can see that all these "faults" as for what they are (a reaction to stress and an attempt to assert some control over my day) makes me feel as though I have grown up a bit. Doesn't mean I wouldn't love for those things to not be kneejerk reaction to stressful situations, I can just accept the fact that I'm a little on edge at the moment. Doesn't make me a bad person, doesn't make me a failure, just makes me ME right? Well, I'll tell myself that for now anyway.

In addition to my new found self-awareness and acceptance taking bets on how long that will last... a huge help in the stress area has been running. TYBJ. Since the first big injury in September, running had turned into the source of my stress and it. was. awful. I am in so in love with running right now and it makes me so. freaking. happy. I think we all have that thing in our lives where no matter what other shit is going down, whatever else gets fucked up, as long as  you have that thing to turn to - you know everything is going to be ok. For me right now that thing is running. I've even been doing my training runs after work and mid-day on the weekends, which is a huge departure from my usual schedule. A couple of hours in the sun with a good podcast on looking at you Running On Om and I'm usually as good as new. 

Anyways, that's pretty much where I'm at right now. Wading through the crap, jonesing for my next run, and next meal obvi.

                                                  
Now it's time for Friday Faves! 

As part of the #fullhalfchallenge I finally subscribed to Oiselle fav Jasyoga. My original goal was to do 13 minutes a week, but I've been averaging at least 13 minutes a day. I am digging it! Peak mileage weeks are usually when my injuries flare up, so I'm trying to be extra good to my body this time around. So far, so good everyone go knock on all the wood. I LOVE that I can search the videos by length, category (pre-workout, cross-training, post-workout, recovery, even some meditation) and body part. If my back is bothering me my back is always bothering me, I literally just search "back" and get a list of all of the videos incorporating back exercises. It's really the little things in life that excite me. So yea, 2 thumbs up for Jasyoga, and if you're a person who finds it hard to make time for yoga and recovery I HIGHLY recommend it. Hips don't lie. 

When my #girlcrush Hungry Runner Girl said she used an Instyler to get her beautiful head of waves, I was instantly intrigued and skeptical that a rotating iron would ever work on my rats nest. But hey it was on Groupon so I got one anyway. I actually showered this week so I was able to try it out and I was pleasantly surprised! I got the wet to dry option, but still had to dry my hair 99.9% of the way. The Instyler was definitely faster than using a straightener and left my hair with a little more volum and polish. Not at HRG status yet, but a vast improvement! 

Life after House of Cards. Yes it exists. Spring Baking Championship is back on Food Network, and while I haven't been able to catch this season's episodes yet, I have been watching the last season online. Seriously the only way I can make myself do my Strength Training is while watching the Baking Championships... I don't get it either. My other fave EMPIRE is back on and right now it's the only show I am watching live. And I mean hello theme song!

Happy Weekend and Happy Caffeine-ating!

Let's Hear it for New York

Marathon Monday just isn't as fun when you didn't actually run a Marathon and have to go to work.

Running + Coffee = lifelong happiness

That being said, I took in as much of the NYC Marathon action that I could and am as equally tired today as I was post-Marine Corps last weekend. That's actually pretty sad. Anyways, I hit up the Expo at the Javits Center during lunch last week and was insanely jealous of all the crazy awesome 2015 gear (there was SO SO much), 2014 I am disappointed in you. I had some serious separation anxiety from this coffee mug and was really proud of myself for only trying one free sample. Who is this person, and where did the restraint come from?

Saturday morning, I actually dragged my non-Marathon running butt into Manhattan for a run with the Oiselle girls. They were shaking out their legs and race day jitters, I was shaking off the cobwebs from a week of "recovery" (my attempts at recovery are extremely feeble) and was just hoping that my feet would stay connected to my body. Mission accomplished. Central Park TURNED IT OUT and the weather was on its best behavior for the pre-race festivities.

When a shakeout run turns into a Oiselle Fall15 Fashion show!

I very rarely do group runs, so this was a really nice treat. It was so great to meet the girls who were running the race before hand so I knew who to look out for on Sunday. Of course, the park was practically electric with pre-marathon energy and while I was very glad NOT to be running, I was more than happy to join in all the excitement I feel like I missed out on last year since I was so flipping nervous about race day. Being a total nerd, I wore my 2014 Marathon shirt and therefore, spent half the day saying "thank you" to the nice people wishing me good luck. [I got tired of explaining that, no I wasn't running this year, but ran last year, and ran Marine Corps last weekend - because I desperately needed to validate my lack of participation to complete strangers - I ran last weekend I swear!] I made myself feel better by saying that I was dressed up as a 2015 Marathon runner for Halloween....

Halloween night was spent in a Sushi/Red Wine coma while I attempted to make signs for the Marathon, while really just trolling through Facebook looking at pictures of everyone's hilarious costumes and the most adorable children trick or treating - seriously good job this year guys, I was thoroughly entertained.

[Sidebar: do not make Running on Veggie's Homemade KIND Bars while drinking, you will eat half the tray and you will feel extremely ill the next day. You should totally make them sober though because they are AMAZING]

HAPPY MARATHON DAY - I was up bright and early finishing my signs and finally watching Quantico [how much do I want Priyanka Chopra's hair] and then it was off to get my spectator on, in head to toe matchy matchy 2014 Marathon gear [toolbag]. The Oiselle cowbell corner was stationed at 100th and 1st right around Mile 18.

Oiselle Cowbell Corner courtesy of  @ModelAyshaMirza

Not only did I get to hang with my fellow Volee ladies but, my cousin, fellow 2014 Marathoner, and love of my life was there to help cheer everyone on.
Yes, she was Chewbacca for Halloween.
And yes, I think I've convinced her to run Chicago with me in 2016.

McCrystals <3 NYC

We were able to see the Elite Women and Men bust through (looking like they were out for a stroll in the gd park) the majority of the Oiselle runners and stayed long enough to watch the masses pour up 1st Ave like a multicolored stampede. Let me just say, I have always declared my undying love for spectators because every single person makes a difference to me when I'm running. But after yesterday I have new found respect for them. My nose was running, my throat was sore, I have bloody knuckles from cowbelling and by the time I made it back to my parents house I was thoroughly spent, so EXTRA kudos to you race day spectators, that shit is no joke.

I've just been up to my ears in Marathon highs these past two weeks and am so damn happy and proud to be a runner. This year has been nasty in terms of the goals I was hoping to reach, and the whole having to take a month off of training/still not being 100%) but I am in such a better place mentally, that I'll take it and roll with it. While I still have my fair share of NYMarathon ptsd, it really never fails to inspire, and maybe one day I'll be back to run it in style. Until then I have to figure out which organs of mine can be sold on the black market so I can buy ALL the Oiselle and register for ALL of the races.

-Stay caffeinated my friends

PS
I leave you with this moving tribute to my 2014 New York City Marathon...