What to take from "Kony 2012"?

If you haven't seen this 30-minute documentary that "has become the most viral video in history," you can watch it below or at kony2012.com.


KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

I have had a range of emotions regarding this video and the media frenzy that ensued. It began with anger and sadness as I was reminded of the horrors faced by kids in Uganda; then morphed into inspiration and empowerment to do something; and ended with confusion and frustration over the controversies sparked. After dwelling on it for the past week, and reading two specific articles today, these are my biggest take-aways:


1.) "Maybe we should evaluate the integrity of the Kony 2012 video by its ability to inspire…"

That's from a great article by Tali Hairston, director of the John M. Perkins Center for Reconciliation at SPU. He says that yes, the video is oversimplifying an enormous problem, and yes, the video may contribute to a recent phenomenon called Slacktivism ("The act of participating in obviously pointless activities as an expedient alternative to actually expending effort to fix a problem." Definition care of Urban Dictionary), but he also encourages us to respond to the video in a bigger way by building partnerships in Uganda, organizing prayer teams, or connecting with Central African communities in our own neighborhoods. "At the very least," he says, "it should challenge us to do more than just send money."

2.)  "'It's not as exciting as a bad guy, but extreme poverty is killing so many children before their fifth birthday,' says [World Vision's Rachel] Wolff."

In this article, Linda Thomas of 97.3 Kiro FM states that "there is an even bigger daily threat to the children of Uganda than Kony." That threat is the mosquito, as malaria continues to be one of the biggest killers of children in Africa, along with HIV, AIDS, and extreme poverty. World Vision has been operating in Uganda for more than 20 years, so maybe it makes more sense for some of us to support a program like this — one that has established relationships with the people of Uganda and thorough knowledge of the area and its complexities.


So much arguing has been generated over this video. If the video bothers you, I hope you don't let it discourage yourself or others from caring. If it inspires you to do something in Uganda, I would second Tali when he says, "Be aware, and be a giver. But also be educated." And if it inspires you to support one of the other gajillion issues humans are facing right next door and throughout the world, then awesome. To me, that is the blessing in the power of social media.

Beauty in SODO

SODO (meaning South of Downtown) is a very industrial part of Seattle. Lots of big warehouses and building supplies and train tracks. But it can be beautiful. And in this ugly winter weather when all I want is spring, I will take all the beauty I can get!

CrossFit… I love that stuff

So as you may or may not know, Darrick and I have become total CrossFit nerds. We love it! This year, we both signed up for the CrossFit Games Open competition. (During the Open, a different workout is posted each week, and you compete in these workouts in an attempt to get to Regionals.)  Since I'm still pretty new to this stuff, and not nearly good enough to be even slightly competitive, I hadn't planned on signing up. That is, until I read an article called The CrossFit Games Open for Beginners. There were two things that Aaron said that hooked me:

… the weekly requirement to perform as prescribed forced me to push harder that I would have otherwise.

Participating in the same workouts as everyone around the world in the Open increased my awe. In what other sport can you watch the competitors and then try your hand at the same thing?

And this weekend was the perfect example of this! Let me start by explaining the workout for this past week:

CrossFit Games Open Workout 12.2
Proceed through the sequence below completing as many reps as possible in 10 minutes of:
30 Snatch (M 75 / F 45 lbs)
30 Snatch (M 135 / F 75 lbs)
30 Snatch (M 165 / F 100 lbs)
Max Rep Snatch (M 210 / F 120 lbs)

A snatch is basically taking the weight from the floor to an overhead position in one explosive motion.

Below is a video of last year's "Fittest Woman on Earth" doing Workout 12.2. She got 109 reps (!!!!), which means she did 30 reps at 45 lbs, 30 reps at 75 lbs, 30 reps at 100 lbs, and 19 reps at 120 lbs. If those numbers don't mean anything to you, trust me that it's insanely good. 



 
Before Sunday, I had practiced the snatch once and I did it with 35 lbs. (Yes, you read that correctly. And yes, I was a little scared of this workout since it starts at 45 lbs.) Needless to say, as we got ready to head to the gym Sunday afternoon, I was telling Darrick how stupid it had been for me to sign up for the Open since I was going to embarrass myself with this workout. Regardless, I was going to attempt it, so we went to the gym and got warmed up with a few other guys who are also competing. During the warmup, the idea was to get 1 or 2 reps up of each weight (up to our max, of course). I was able to snatch 45 lbs fairly comfortably (I am definitely stronger than I was the first time I learned the snatch), but I couldn't get the 75 lbs overhead. Oh, well. Let's do this anyways…

Our amazing friend and coach GoGo counted for me, and with her guidance I did my 30 reps at 45 lbs, shakily (I was nervous!) switched out the plates to 75 lbs, and then… I did 10 reps at 75 lbs!!! I cannot tell you how amazing that felt! No, it is not impressive in the grand scheme of CrossFit, but it was freaking awesome for me. And just like Aaron said in the article, I "was forced to push harder than I would have otherwise." Had I not signed up for the open, I would have been sitting on the sidelines, still holding onto my 35 lb max snatch.

And then there's my hubby. His previous one-rep max snatch was 125. Guess what his score was in this workout? 60!!!! That means he did 30 reps at 75 lbs and 30 reps at 135 lbs. Holy canoli!!! I am a mighty proud wife, let me tell you. Plus, he's so good looking when he's doing work. :) Here's a little video of his first few snatches at 135 lbs:

 As Annie Thorisdottir said so perfectly at last year's Games:

“This is definitely CrossFit, and…I love that stuff.”

Oh baby

It's amazing the moment you realize you're ready to be a mom. Last week, we thought there was a chance we might be pregnant, and we were giddy with anticipation. Turns out it was a false alarm and we are not pregnant (yet!). But until that moment, I still had so many reservations about being a mom — mostly out of selfishness, including thoughts like "I don't want to give up my six pack" (okay, two pack) and "I like my life right now so I don't want things to change." How quickly I have turned a 180! Granted, we are still a little scared to be parents, but mostly we can't wait!!!! Here are some fun little things I love to look at when I daydream. :)

Bright colors (source)

Painted wall (source)

So snuggly (source)

Hoodie (source)

Kisses! (source)

The process

Per my lovely seester's request, I am going to share some images of my design process on the banners in the previous post. It's fun to look back and see where it all started! I can't share every little step (that would require its own blog), but I can share a few bits. Hopefully it will give you an idea of how I work, and maybe inspire some potential designers out there to try new things! ;)

The first two images are examples of elements I pull as potential pieces to the puzzle. My "image options" folders are always stuffed! I place and delete images faster than you can say "Sally Sold Seashells on the Sea Shore." That may be faster for some than others. :)

Anyways, I usually have an idea of the imagery I want to use, but I am constantly surprised by what does and doesn't work, so I like to gather together quite a variety. For example, there are 53 images in my "textures/watercolors" folder for this project. Some are purchased, and some are hand-painted and scanned in (see Chris helping me paint here). This first image is a purchased floral illustration (left), spruced up by placing a watercolor texture over it and make the texture a "clipping mask" (right). Can you see why the possibilities are endless??

This next image is an example of two of the watercolors I painted and then scanned. As I said before, I had 53 total images in this particular folder, so there was a lot to work with!

Here you can see two original sketches that didn't make the cut. I thought I wanted to use some cool branch silhouettes (left), but the result was sort of japanese, which is generally great, but not the look we were going for. The other version (right) was too pastel / soft / easter-ish / feminine. We decided we really wanted the colors to pop like crazy to avoid those very things!

In this final image, you can see a progression of the layers that make up the final product. The first image is the base, made using two or three textures layered together (this is where I begin playing with "blending modes" in photoshop, which determine how one layer interacts with the layers under it). The next two images show how things change as I continue to add more textures to the base. The fourth image includes the addition of the building and leaf photographs (first I made them monotone images — i.e., one-color images — and then once I had them in context, I played with their coloring and saturation); and also the floral illustration (mentioned above). I ended up using the floral illustration in white (without the textured clipping mask) because it stood out better that way. And then lastly you see the final touches: the borders, the "tag" graphic, and the SPU logo. Voila!

It's kind of a lot of information, and there are a lot of steps I'm skipping over. But that gives you a glimpse! Any questions, class? ;)

Fun at work!

I thought I'd share a couple projects I've been working on lately that have been super fun to create. Phil Eaton, the President of SPU, has spent a lot of time this past year talking about flourishing, so that's been my key inspiration for some recent University materials. The first part of this "series" were the banners that are hung throughout campus. The visual inspiration came from Fabien Barral. He is incredibly talented, and my first thought was to have him actually do some custom illustrations for us. However, due to our tight schedule and the fact that he lives in, oh, France, we had to do the illustrations ourselves. Chris (one of my design colleagues) and I had a fun afternoon creating some watercolor textures:

Hard at work!

Dale (my boss) was super supportive, really believing I could come up with something beautiful. I am stoked about the final product:

Designed with a helpful hand from Chris!

 Here's an example of one hanging on campus:

 

And finally, here's a teeny sample of a version that will displayed in five separate pieces in various hallways/rooms (I know it's hard to envision the final product. I'll post a picture after they've been delivered and installed!):

The next part of this series will be materials for Homecoming 2012. I'll post images when I'm able! Yay for pretty stuff to look at! :)

Running, kipping, and everything in between

Running.

I ran my first official half-marathon on September 18. I went into it not even knowing if I would be able to finish (due to persistent knee pain), and somehow during this "practice" race I managed to hit the goal I had set for the end of November. I was choking back tears sporadically throughout the run, feeling so grateful to be running at all; so grateful for Darrick, who I got to see every few miles, cheering me on. My smile was so big when I finished, I thought I might pull a cheek muscle! I found out I finished 9th out of 625 women (what?!?) and that I had finished 1st in my age group (what?!?). But the biggest shock and best feeling was when we made our way to the results tent, I typed in my bib number, and there it displayed my average pace: 7'31" per mile. Then there were tears. I felt like God had completely answered every breathless prayer I uttered during the race, "Lord, give me wings like eagles, let me run and not grow tired." He did, and I did. And not only did he give me wings, he gave me angels. The first came in the form of my CrossFit coach/doctor (Dr. Tri) who claimed he could fix my knee. Well, he did! Thank you, angel number one. The second angel came in the form of an older man with a bit of a pot-belly… and also wearing a skirt. He was my pacing angel at the You Go Girl! race (skirts provided to all pacers by the sponsor). I was the only girl who ran next to him for the entire race, and he coached me through the whole thing; up hills ("Short strides. Lean into it. Power through."); along long, flat stretches ("We're cruising here for awhile. Relax. Find your breath."); and into the finish ("When you get to the top of that hill, you don't need to have anything left — See that girl? Catch her.") Thank you, angel number two. And thank you, Lord, for caring about something so small in the grand scheme of things, but so big to me.

The You Go Girl! half-marathon. Some girl in a cute outfit (she was running the 10k, so not my competition!); Bob, my pacing angel; and me!

Kipping.

Yes, I meant to write "kipping" which is my latest goal achieved and a huge confidence-builder! So, as you may or may not know, I started doing CrossFit about 6 or 7 weeks ago, and I LOVE it! Both Darrick and I are convinced that it had a lot to do with my race performance, by building both physical and mental strength (but probably mostly mental!) We've been discovering that our bodies are capable of much more than what we allow them to do. Think about the feats of strength people perform in "fight or flight" situations. When that adrenaline kicks in, you find out that your muscles really are up to the task! Darrick is on Day 7 of "30 Days of Fran" (CrossFit names many of their workouts after women: see Fran being done in the video below.) He's doing this workout everyday for 30 days, and already it's incredible to see how his time has dramatically improved. It's certainly not strength alone (after a mere 7 days), and maybe some of it is muscle memory (though I'm not sure how long it takes until muscle memory really takes effect), so that means that it's pretty much all in his head! His brain is tapping into strength that he had, but hadn't been using. Awesome! The lesson is, we are capable of far, far more than we realize. For example, I haven't been able to do a pullup since the second grade (and I'm just assuming I could do one then, because I don't actually have any memory of that). When I first started CrossFit, I heard about "kipping" pullups, which basically allows you to use all the muscles in your body (and momentum, if you're good at it) to get your chin over the bar. I thought it would be forever before I could do one of these, but while messing around at the box (CrossFit speak for gym) on Thursday morning after the workout, I did my first kipping pullup! I couldn't wait to get to Darrick's gym that night to show him, and I did five in a row! Giddy me!! I couldn't believe it. Below is a video of rockstar Miranda Oldroyd doing Fran, which is a 21/15/9 workout: 21 thrusters, 21 pullups; 15 thrusters, 15 pullups; 9 thrusters, 9 pullups — all as fast as you can. From what I understand, a sub 10-minute Fran time is a great goal for someone who's a consistent CrossFitter. Sub 5-minutes is freaking amazing. She does it in 3'19". Holy canoli. Anywho, in her first set of pullups, she is doing butterfly kipping, which is one type of (really intense) kipping. Then as she gets fatigued on her set of 15, she switches to "regular" kipping. I seriously can't wait to practice more! Oh, and she does puke at the end, but they warn you, so turn it off if you need to! :)

Everything in between.

As I'm training the Seattle half-marathon (Thanksgiving weekend), I am so thankful for these successes that keep me going. Whenever I mention this particular race to anyone, their eyes get real big and they say "man, that's a really hard course" (italics meant to represent the serious tone in their voice). Awesome. Now whenever I think about it, my legs gets weak and I have mini panic attacks. Angel Dr. Tri gave me a pretty intense training schedule, with workouts that have a way of simultaneously making me feel like a champion and like a failure, which I'm sure is the idea because it keeps me working hard. But in spite of (or maybe because of) this roller-coaster of emotion, I am increasingly happy to be healthy, to have the use of my whole body and be capable of using it well, to learn more everyday about this incredible human body that God created and all the things it can do. What a gift!

I wish the same for everyone — that we would all find joy in our bodies. Obviously, with Darrick's career change, helping other people get there is his daily focus. I have a feeling God won't let this passion in me go to waste either. ;)

Training inspiration

It was a fairly exhausting week of workouts this past week and I was sooooo ready for my TWO rest days IN A ROW. That was awesome. :)

However, this morning I am getting back into it and heading out on a 10-miler. I've been learning a lot about training and it turns out I've sort of been doing it wrong. My workouts should be mostly easy and hard, but not so much in the middle. And I'm pretty much always in the middle. Woops. For example, last weekend my 10-mile pace was 40" to 1'40" faster than what it should have been. That's a lot!! So this morning my goal is to PACE MYSELF, which is one of my biggest struggles as a runner.


But before that, the primary goal is always just to finish. And here are some inspirational quotes and lines from songs that have been pumping me up:

Don't wish it was easier. Wish you were better. (Written on board at crossfit.)

I gotta taste it and I gotta have it and I gotta cut all through this traffic just to be at the top of the throne but I know I gotta have it. (Busta Rhymes, "Look at me Now")

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment you own it, you better never let it go. You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime. (Eminem, "Lose Yourself")

Of course you're going to feel tired. … By becoming used to the sensation of fatigue and responding with assurance you can train yourself to run through it. (Complete Book of Women's Running)

Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. (Isaiah 40:31)

(Athleta)

Life update, a couple pictures, and some blog love

It has been forever since my last post! Here is the craziness of our lives in a nutshell:

Darrick is well on his way to a career change, but that means he is working at one gym, being mentored at another, and still bartending one night a week. On top of that, he is studying for his personal training certification and up until last weekend had been training for his Ironman 70.3. Oh, and he's also starting a business with two other friends. No biggie. :)


Here's a quick run-down of our weekends for the last month and a half:

7/9–10: Darrick and I ride the Seattle to Portland Bike Classic 2011: 100 miles each day.

7/17: Darrick competes in Tri-Rock, an Olympic distance triathlon, taking more than 20 minutes (!) off his time from his first tri (Lavaman in Hawaii this past March).

7/21–24: One of our best friends (and part-owner of The Rugged Elite), Tony Z., comes to visit. The guys get a Rugged Elite video filmed and will soon be raising money on Kickstarter — so exciting!

7/30–8/2: Davey and his amazing girlfriend Becca come to visit from the Chi. So, so good to see them… I feel like I kind of grew up with Davey. He saw me through my punk rock and rude girl stages. :)

8/5–8/15: Dad and Jane come to visit (they traveled around Western Washington during the week while D and I worked). I had such a wonderful time with them. They even helped me with tons of stuff around the house, which was absolutely amazing. I am actually sitting in the kitchen looking out all the shiny, perfectly clear (not a smudge anywhere!) windows they washed for us. Wow. The only bad part is that it's getting harder and harder to say goodbye to family when they leave. That will definitely be changing in the future!

8/7: Uncle Rob comes in and he and Darrick compete in the Vashon Island Heart of the Sound Sprint Triathlon. I believe Darrick won by about 12 seconds. :) So much fun! 

8/14: Darrick competes in the Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3. That's a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. Yowzers. He kind of fell off his training schedule because of other priorities, so it was a tough race for him, but I am so proud that he finished!! Go babe go!!

So, you can see why I haven't posted in awhile! I'll try to be better, I promise. :) In the meantime, if you're just looking for some good blog reading, here are (some of) my favorites:

Joyful Ambiguity Written by my bestest friend from Seattle. Honest, beautiful blog about life and being a mom to a perfect (in my humble opinion) baby boy.
Vizzion Quest See my cousin Joe ride his bike across the US!
The Ray in Spain The adventures of my cousin Rachel who lives in Gijón Asturias. Great tips if you're planning on traveling to Spain!
Empower to the People Co-written by two very inspiring friends, describing their experiences in Uganda and Afghanistan.
No Small Dreams One of my fabulous coworkers! Great style tips and super fun links. 
Raven + Lily "A socially responsible brand dedicated to empowering impoverished women through design." Awesome, right?
My New Roots  Delicious (healthy) recipes and thorough nutrition information. Her writing style makes it fun to read about food!
Rockstar Diaries Incredibly adorable family and beautiful photography.
Pure Style Home This girl has amazing style and is so creative.


Happy Saturday everyone!

My sport is your sport's punishment

 

I love that feeling after a workout and your endorphins are doing whatever it is that endorphins do that make you feel so good. I have that feeling right now. It might also help that it is a gorgeous day here in good 'ol Seattle. :)

Speaking of workouts and endorphins, I have something to share that I wasn't really planning on sharing I think because deep down I don't really like accountability. Here it is: I am training for the Seattle half-marathon in November, with a "practice" half in September. I realize that doesn't sound like a big deal to a lot of people, but it totally is for me! I've been a runner my whole life and have never done an official half-marathon (or full, obviously, but that doesn't even sound fun to me!) I was training for a half a few years ago, but quit because of a calf injury. And since then I've been afraid of doing one because during my training, I started to hate running. And I love running! So why am I changing my mind all of a sudden? I think it's because since that time I've learned how to challenge my body (and my mind, for that matter) in so many different aspects, and have loooooved the process. Perhaps I'm a little wonky, but there you go. So I am running these not just for fun (although I'll love it) and not just for the t-shirt (though that's pretty exciting), but toward a goal that I can sweat my pa-tooty off for. So the big question in all your minds is probably, "What's your goal?" My goal is to run the September race in 8-minute miles, and the November race in 7:30-minute miles. Yikes! The hubster and I ran a 13.1 about a month ago and our pace was 8:21. So is my goal doable? I think so. Is it going to be a huge challenge? Uh, yep. Is it scary as hell??? YES! :)

So, if you find any running inspiration you'd like to send my way, please do! My bestest bud from college gave me a great women's running book a few years ago and I've been diving in! That's where I read that a goal should be attainable, but challenging enough that there's a chance you won't reach it. I concurred, and so my goal was set.

Oh, and one minor caveat I haven't mentioned is that ever since Darrick and I rode our bikes to Portland during the STP, I've had some pretty intense knee pain. I'm currently in physical therapy (and yes, I'm still training), so if you have the gift of healing, I'd appreciate it if you'd send a little word Upstairs for me. :)

Goooooooooooo TEAM! Woo!

Delicious autumn!

So I hear there's a national heat wave. It seems almost impossible that the rest of the country is literally in danger of dying from excessive heat, when we ourselves have been dubbed the "home of the 78-minute summer." Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I have had this put into perspective over and over again (see example here). Yes, I would love to wear my shorts more than once. Yes, I would  love an excuse to get a brightly-colored pedicure. Yes, I'd love to be able to sit outside before or after work without a jacket. However, summer isn't my favorite season anyways. And if it's gonna be chilly, I'm going to take this time to start looking forward to autumn! 


Here's some autumnal inspiration…

Betsy Eby encaustic painting {source}

Apple picking

Cozy blankets {source}

Pumpkin pie oatmeal {source}

Autumn in a jar: lavender fig jam {source}

Fall color {source}

Celebrating the love of my life

Favorite color

Fingerless gloves and warm drinks {source}

Orange and purple {source}

Nut brown ales {source}

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. // George Eliot

Beautiful escape…

I've been feeling sort of 'blah' all week. All I want is to snuggle up in warm pjs and do absolutely nothing.

I wish I could wrap myself in the coziest of clothes and go here:

source

I'd walk around till my nose got ice cold, and then I'd find a small pub with a blazing, crackling fire to warm up next to.

Or maybe I could go here:

source

Quiet, still beauty. No demands, no to-do's, just peace.


That would be nice.

*another* garden update!

Just wanted to show you how my plants are coming along. I spent four days with the fam in Chicago (more about that to follow!) and while I was gone, some things decided to pop up. So exciting to watch everything grow and change. I love it. :)

Well hello radishes!

I can't wait to try one!

Well, they're not blue, but they sure are pretty.

This bloom has a touch of blue… I'll keep trying!

Lovely lace caps.

Happy petunias. :)

Ooooohhh. So cool.

Garden tour

I haven't updated my garden pics lately because I've been waiting for everything to look *perfect*. Well, I realized we would all turn old and gray before my garden ever looks perfect! Besides, where's the fun in perfection? I am loving all the things I am learning about gardening — from edibles to groundcovers and perennials to annuals. There have certainly been mistakes. I've watched more than a few things die at my concerned but inexperienced hands. However, I have also watched many thing survive and even thrive! There's something about seeing the evidence of things growing that makes my heart swell with hope for life in general. So here's an update of some of my beautiful (albeit imperfect) plant life!


The front garden: The three plants in front are oakleaf hydrangeas. They get gorgeous fall color and big cone-shaped white flowers (see bottom left: fall color image mine, blooming image not mine). Then behind that are two spring blossom evergreens (RIP #3). They get pretty red berries and white flowers in early spring (above: image mine). Last night I planted two 'acapulco orange' agastache plants. Look how amazing that color is (above: image not mine)! They'll get to be almost three feet tall and will poke through the fence to welcome us home. They also smell like minty lemon. Mmmm. :) Oh, and the little guy in the front corner is the only one we kept from the previous owners. I think he likes the way we take care of him. :)

Front porch pots: A sweet little boxwood and some other fillers (petunias and I don't remember what else!) We're looking for some cheap-o patio chairs so we can sit outside at night and enjoy our plants while we watch the sun go down. :)

Lacecap hydrangeas: The one on the left was smooshed by our roofer. It's being held up by garden stakes, but you would never know! They're really thriving and are FULL of buds! Can't wait till they bloom!

Mophead hydrangea: This one got the worst of it from the roof debris. BUT, it looks absolutely adorable in the pot and it's beginning to bloom as well! Yay!

Herb garden: Top (L to R): Peppermint, parsley, sage, marigolds. Bottom (L to R): Three cilantro plants, and two dead basil plants. :) They will be replaced by kale (in the tray there) and slow-to-bolt spinach seeds so hopefully we'll have spinach throughout the summer. (Oh, and I planted some basil and rosemary indoors in the window sill where they will be warm and happy!)

Veggie garden: Top (L to R): Beets, spinach, red leaf lettuce, butter-crunch lettuce. Bottom (L to R): Cippolini italian onions, red onions, radishes, carrots. We've been harvesting the lettuces and they keep growing away! So fun!

Can't wait to have visitors so we can share our harvest! ;) Hugs!

I heart running

photo by Seán Venn	via PhotoRee

Well, usually I heart running. I think the reason I have always loved running is because it's such a perfect analogy of life…

Sometimes it's great and you feel amazing. Sometimes it's hard and hurts like hell. Sometimes you quit. Sometimes your endurance surprises you. There are inclines — some steep and intimidating; some gradual, but still challenging. There are declines too — a chance to catch your breath, and yet carelessness here can lead to injury-causing mistakes. On some runs, you know your path. You know when it will be hard and when it will be easy and how fast you should be able to go. When you finish you are generally indifferent (eh, just average) or elated (usually followed by checking out your abs in the mirror). Then there are new runs. You've mapped it out, yet google fails to prepare you for the challenges of the road, so every hurdle you meet is a surprise.

I had one of those new runs today. The first part I knew — and I knew it was flat. I was flying and feeling good! However, I also knew the last part of the run would be a pretty significant downhill, which means, of course, that somewhere there is an uphill. About 1.5 miles in I take a left turn and there she is. It's such a beautiful, quiet street — yeah, if you're sitting on your front porch with a glass of wine! Which I am not. I, instead, am passing by each of those chic, cozy porches, panting like a dog in southern Texas. And I should note, this isn't one of those short, steep inclines where you sprint up it like a charging bull. This is one of those long, gradual, grindy (as the hubster calls it) hills. So here I am a couple blocks in and feeling NOT good. So I stop to fix my hair (no, it could not wait another second). And off I go again. My next turn is at 40th. I pass 38th (not sure if numbered blocks are good or bad in this case). I pass 39th. I'm so close!! I turn left on 40th and — it's uphill too. Awesome. Take the wind right on out of my sails, why don't you? I stop again — NO, not to fix my hair, just because I'm flippin' tired, alright? After a short recovery, I'm back on my way. A few more teeny uphills, some flat areas, mostly downhill. The last bit is long-ish and straight, the kind where you can see the finish line. I wanted to stop early and would have been totally justified in doing so (I had already met my mileage goal), but these are the moments when you conquer your mind. "BeckyJo," I say, "The chances that this will kill you are very slim. Suck it up biotch." (Excuse the language, I can't control my tongue when I'm tired, and I'm just being honest.)  And so I sucked it up and I finished strong. And you know what? I still didn't feel that great. I was tired and had a stomachache and my time kind of sucked. But you know what else? I'll keep doing it. In running and in life, you shoot for the high… it's always there somewhere. So suck it up biotches, alright? :)

Making peace with my thighs

That's actually the title of this book my mom bought me awhile back — just one moment in the long journey of a woman learning to accept her body. I have found that I am happiest when I am constantly challenged in my workouts, when I am feeling strong and powerful. That's when I find myself being amazed at what the human body (even MY human body!) is capable of. Darrick is currently on a training schedule for a half-ironman scheduled at the end of August. In order to spend more time together, I find myself doing some of his workouts with him… and LOVING it! I love that I was able to run 9 miles this past weekend. I love that today I could finish a 45 minute bike interval workout and still take the dog on a 3 mile run. I love the strength I feel in these legs!

BUT, the bummer part is that when most people train this way (like my husband), they get skinnier. I, however, am not most people. I tried on some dress pants this morning that I was wearing a few months ago. Today they were definitely uncomfortably tight in the thigh region. (Though I will say that maybe for the first time in my life I have a bump that may somewhat represent something similar to a butt! Look out J-Lo!) Okay, but seriously, instead of being bummed that as my legs get stronger, they may get a little bigger, I am simply going to focus on finding clothes (inexpensively!) that flatter my changing physic. Here's some of the stuff I love:

First things first: Wedges! To make legs look miles long. I LOVE these from anthropologie! And they are expensive, so yes, I will keep dreaming. :)

Sailor shorts (anthropologie).

Bermudas (gap).

Absolutely gorgeous maxi (gap). Show off toned shoulders and arms!

Pretty yet comfy skirt (gap).

A little longer to hide thighs and show off calves instead (gap).

So fun and summery! Long-ish skirt (h&m).