#REALwomenmove

I know you guys are already aware of how excited I am to be a part of Skirt Sports by being selected as one of their Ambassador Captains this year, but it is even more exciting to be a part of it right now because they are running a campaign called #REALwomenmove! And let me tell you just how cool this campaign is...

I think that Skirt Sports founder and CEO, Nicole DeBoom says it best:

That right there says so much to me, especially as someone that doesn't always fit the "mold" of what a fitness enthusiast might look like. I get inspired by fit bodies as much as the next person, except I have also had to realize that MY fit body will never look like fitspo fit bodies look like - you know you've seen them - the ones in Nike ads and inspirational memes on Pinterest.

But that's okay!!!!

My body has carried a lot of extra pounds and my body has carried four babies over three pregnancies. My body is that of a 43-year old woman. My body is one that is sitting in a desk chair for the majority of the day. You get it...I'm not ever going to be one of those people in a Nike ad with abs that look like they are cut out of steel...and that's all good. The point here is that no matter what our body looks like - our outer packaging - we can all be FIT and we can all be HEALTHY. We just come in lots of different packages with lots of different options. In the end, we are REAL Women, REAL Bodies, REAL Inspiration. That is Skirt Sports motto, you know.

To me the idea behind #REALwomenmove is that we all approach fitness in our own ways.

When I move sometimes I'm tearing it up by hitting all my training days, and sometimes I'm sleeping in because sleep is the best way I can be healthy.

When I move I chase grandbabies. I lift them, sometimes two at a time, I cuddle them, I tickle them, and I race them up the stairs.

When I move I sometimes do it gently as I'm recovering from a hard workout the day before.

When I move I sometimes take a walk in my heels because that's the only chance I get to finally get off my rear during a workday.

#fearless was my mantra for today's run and it friggin' paid off with a run that was so challenging but so awesome because I nailed the distance and I nailed the pace that @coachhenness had on my plan today. May not be able to run like @kathrineswitzer but I can channel my own #261fearless action! @261fearless @skirtsports #REALwomenmove #skirtsports #ssambassador #sweatpink @fitapproach

A photo posted by Kristen Grimes (@kgrimes526) on Sep 5, 2015 at 7:52am PDT

When I move I sometimes take a leisurely walk with my husband because sharing my day is more important than burning calories.

Because for me, many times being fit is more than physical fitness. Being fit is also about my mental well being. So sometimes it may mean that my focus is on building my inner strength instead of building my muscular or endurance strength.

And to me, that's what REALwomenmove is all about. Fitness is a lot of different things for a lot of different people. We can move in more ways than one and we can look totally different while we're doing it!

So join the movement that is already in full force! You want some inspiration? Just go on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and search #REALwomenmove and #skirtsports. And USE those same hashtags on your own posts! Because Skirt Sports is continuing to give "Get Started Scholarships" for every 5,000 hashtags - the scholarship includes a Skirt Sports top, bra, bottom, hat, socks and free entry to their first 5k! So not only are you empowering other women through your own sweat equity, you are giving a deserving woman or girl the chance to fall in love with moving too!!! So keep the movement going! There's a whole lot of women out there that need to know that #REALwomenmove in lots of different ways, in lots of different bodies, and at lots of different levels.

What does #REALwomenmove mean for you?

Monday, Monday...

Well, hellllooooooo new week!!! I have to say that I'm really working hard at faking my enthusiasm for Monday today. But sometimes, it's all about just faking it 'til you make it! Let's talk training updates!

Last week started out kind of rough! I had some fairly basic workouts on the plan from Coach Tiffany and the week before these workouts felt, dare I say it, easy! But this past week they felt close to impossible...I just felt like it was way harder than it should be.

Monday: Easy 3 mile at whatever pace felt good was the plan. How I felt was crummy...it just felt ridiculously hard and I ended up cutting it short.

Tuesday: 3x1 mile repeats on the plan. I did the entire workout of 4 miles, but it didn't feel easy a single time and I stepped off of the treadmill a few times to boot.

Wednesday: We switched it up a little thanks to my added fatigue so I just had easy intervals on the plan - warm-up for 10 minutes and then do 3 sets of 9:1 intervals at whatever pace felt good. I completed this workout and it felt pretty good mentally and physically to finally not feel like I was struggling to even move.

Thursday: Same workout as Wednesday (although I was supposed to do 4 sets of 9:1, but I missed that part and only did the 3 sets. Oops...that's what I get for not fully paying attention).

Friday: 20 minute walk. I loved this. Fridays are becoming one of my favorite days because I get that extra cushion in the morning and can actually go outside. I had an awesome walk and enjoyed being out. I finished the workout looking forward to my long run on Saturday.

Saturday: 1 mile warm-up followed by 7 miles at whatever pace felt good for 8 miles total; I could walk at the mile markers for 1 minute if needed. I headed out with Sally at 6:00 AM to beat the heat since we are still having above-average temps here in SoCal. I felt great for the first 4 miles and then it just felt like I hit a wall. I walked for a bit and felt a little wobbly like I had run for much further than just 4 miles at a very easy pace. I did 8.6 miles total, but walked a LOT of them after those first 4. I thought at this point that maybe my dinner from the night before was coming back to haunt me, or that perhaps it was Aunt Flo being the major PITA that she can be since she was here for her "visit". Wasn't really sure which of those was the culprit though...maybe even a little bit of both?

When I got home after running I did 15 minutes of stretching, ate a couple pieces of French Toast since my DIL happened to be making breakfast (runner's dream right there - coming home to breakfast!! Woot!) and then started up some coffee. And then I got hit with a wave of nausea...I thought for sure I was going to toss my cookies. I didn't but I got those cold sweats and weak feeling. It was not fun, but it did pass fairly quickly. Thought maybe it was just from the exertion of running or something and continued on with my day. I ended up getting a really bad headache and having a few more isolated bouts of nausea on Saturday and Sunday. So I'm thinking I must have gotten a mild flu and that's probably what was going on with me the entire week...my body was fighting something. I can't say for sure, but that's my best guess. I never did get physically sick, but my stomach and body felt "off" the entire weekend.

And today, everything feels fairly good so far! I really do think that I got a stomach bug. A couple of my co-workers had stomach bugs a week before, so I think they probably shared the "love" with me. Thanks, girls for sharing your germs!!! :-| But whatever it was, I'm hoping it's moving on now because I was really loving how good my workouts were feeling the week before!! I don't have time to deal with that kind of fatigue. LOL

My philosophy for this week is to beat the mental game. Coach Tiffany has me do a little reflection at the end of each week and this past week one of the questions was "Where do you want to be with your running in two months?" My response was: "I would really like to be mentally stronger in two months even if it isn't reflected in faster times. Faster times would be great, but I would love even more to be able to say that I'm comfortable pushing through discomfort."

So that's my push right now...I've got to find a way to break through the mental barriers.

Don't forget to enter for your chance to win a Skirt Sports Vixen Capri Skirt! You have until October 7th and can earn additional entries by tweeting daily! Have a great week everyone!

Woodland Critters Baby Shower

Earlier this month we held the baby shower for my daughter, Melissa, that is expecting her first baby in late October. Little Gavin is scheduled to arrive around October 22nd and we couldn't be more excited to welcome him!!

Melissa already loves foxes and since we were nearing Fall, she decided on a Woodland Critters themed shower. I am far from a party planner and most family celebrations include some streamers, balloons, and maybe fancy paper plates...so doing the entire shower was definitely a step outside my normal comfort zone, but it was also a ton of fun thanks to Google and Pinterest! Since I'm not the planner type of person, I wanted to share what we did to make it fun and festive even though we are party-throwing amateurs.

But first, let's take a look at the happy couple!

Melissa & Curtis are a little BMX family, so this picture is perfect. They both ride and I'm sure Gavin will be riding his own bike before he can even walk. The things Melissa has missed the most during her pregnancy are riding her bike and sushi. I'm sure Gavin will be a fixture at the bike parks as they take turns with him while the other rides. They are absolutely adorable, right?? Okay, I might be a little prejudiced though. *wink*

Okay, so back to the shower. We got the majority of our decorations at Walmart and Michael's Crafts, and I had some fall decorations already. I will admit that throwing a Woodland Critters themed party during a different time of year might be a lot more difficult to do. We were in the right season, so the pickings were pretty good especially since we shopped in late August/early September. I know when I go to the store now it is a lot harder to find the same items we purchased already.

*Note: We had the above picture printed in 11x14 then put a white mat on it that everyone signed as the guest book with their good wishes for the family. At the end of the party, we put it in a frame that we purchased at Michael's. I am SO very glad that we did this because that picture is going to mean so much to them over the years!

Invitations

I designed the invitation myself on Microsoft Word using some clip art that I purchased from Etsy for only $6.00. One of the best purchases I made and I'm so glad that it was super easy to download and use (we also used for more than just the invites...as you will see soon)! I won't go into the drama surrounding the actual PRINTING of said invitations because of several home printer malfunctions on my end, but let's just say that if I had it to do over again, I would have just paid a little more to buy the invitations from an Etsy shop and have them all printed and shipped to me complete. Would have spared considerable panic and a headache or two.

Decorations:

Since we were doing a Woodland Critters theme, we went with a lot of fall inspired decorations. We picked up the following items at Walmart:

• Woodland Critters Tablecloth
• Fake Fall leaves and Flowers
• Foam Block
• Burlap Runner
• Fox Cookie Jar
• Fox Plates
• Fox Ramekins
• Fox Ornament
• 2 Small Bales of Hay
• Various Fall/Burlap or Twine Ribbon
• Basket
• Paper Straws
• 2 Large Glass Beverage Dispensers

From Michael's Crafts we got:

• Small Chalkboard Stands
• Chalkboard Sign (Welcome Gavin in the pictures)
• Cake Pop Sticks (for the cupcake decorations)
• Mason Jar Candle Holders x2
• Colored Mason Jars x2 (we got these on clearance)
• Fall Placements x2 (one in orange and one in brown)
• Chalkboard Banner
• Orange Ribbon
• Brown Paint
• Chalk Pen
• Cork Letter 'G'
• Small Decorative Acorns

We also got 36 mason jars from Bed, Bath & Beyond (absolutely the BEST price I found and I did a ton of searching for these!!). As I mentioned I already had several items like the Partylite candle "Ball" on one of the tables (in the above picture), one glass beverage dispenser, all of the serving dishes, fall leaves and fall confetti. We did have some minor crafting to take care of - but for a crew of non-crafters it was all very easy with some scissors, paintbrush, and a glue gun. So if WE could do this, ANYONE could. 

The slates were blank and we hand drew the letters and decorations with a chalk pen. Thankfully we nailed it in one attempt and I was super proud of how it came out! I did everything but the leaf - Mommy to Be did that one. 

The mommy-to-be decorated all of the mason jars that we used for drinks with a burlap ribbon and some twine - they were adorable but apparently I never took a picture of those. #fail! She also decorated two of the beverage dispensers with ribbons. We painted all of the small chalkboard stands that we purchased at Michael's with some brown paint (they were plain balsa wood before painting) and we printed, then cut, the same small woodland critters that we used on the invites (see above) and glued to cake pop sticks for the cupcakes. 

Chalk Stands before painting (these were only $.99 each at Michael's)

Auntie-to-be, Michelle, "happily" painting all the stands. You can see two of the finished stands towards the top of pic.

One of the hardest crafts was the cupcake decorations - cutting out all of those little woodland critters was so tedious! But between us all working at it, it actually didn't take that long and it was adorable once done. I feel like the time we spent on it was worth it.

Slave labor may be free, but you might pay from listening to all the gripes! LOL Her fingers may have been numb and bleeding by this time...(j/k, j/k)

Decorated Beverage Dispenser

Food

We had a nice little spread of snacks including:

• Cheese and Cracker platter - I bought the cheese trays at Target at $2.99 for 1 pound which was a waaaaaayyyy better price than buying those cheese and cracker platters that are already assembled or even better than just cheese cubes that were about $8.99 for 1 pound. The cheese tray we had was Swiss, Cheddar, Colby Jack and Pepper Jack. The crackers were Triscuit, regular Townhouse, and Townhouse Focaccia.
• Caramel Apples - We had Granny Smith and Fuji apples that we sliced and soaked in the lemon juice mixture to keep from browning and caramel apple dip purchased at the local grocery store.
• Homebaked Breads - We served a selection of breads that I baked the day before the shower: Caramel Glazed Apple Bread, Dark Chocolate Raspberry Banana Bread, and Pumpkin Bread
• Pumpkin Cookies and mini-bundt cake Pumpkins (my daughter-in-law baked these and they were adorable! You can see them in the first picture below. And sorry - couldn't find the recipe for the cookies at the moment).
• A mix of Reese's Pieces, Candy Corn, and yogurt raisin trail mix from Sprout's.
• Pizza from a local pizzeria.
• Cupcakes: My DIL baked these also from packaged cake mix (carrot cake and golden vanilla). We frosted both kinds of cake with either Cream Cheese frosting (we colored this frosting tan so people would know which was which) and Vanilla frosting (both just regular Duncan Hines frosting tubs). 
• Drinks were: Lemonade, Margaritas (the adult-only kind), and Cider Punch. We also had Coors Light and Iced Water available along with some Dr. Pepper and Sprite. On the Cider Punch we could not find sparkling white grape juice and I didn't want to use wine, so we just used regular white grape juice. I would say the Cider Punch was the most popular item, although the margaritas were close behind in popularity. 

You can see the little bundt pumpkins to the left here!

All the BREADS!

There's all the woodland critters we toiled cutting out and gluing onto sticks! See, totally worth it, right? :-D

Games

We played several of the basics like guessing the size of mommy's tummy (always hilarious to see the results!), and the one where you can't say baby. We also did a Scattergories-type game that I bought as a pad of paper at Michael's where you had to list a baby item for each letter of the alphabet. I gave the guests 2 minutes to name as many as possible and I think the max was 17. The answers were pretty interesting though! Finally, we had a diaper cake that we left out during the shower and then gave them an additional 2 minutes to look at and memorize as many items as possible. In hindsight, I would have shortened it to 60 seconds instead. Two minutes was a bit long.

It was truly an amazing baby shower and we are so excited for Gavin to arrive! I do wish that I had taken a lot more pictures. The Mom-to-Be is a photographer so she has a really great camera, but we were all so busy enjoying ourselves and hosting the party that very few pictures actually got taken. I completely missed taking a picture of the bar where the drinks were set up. BOO! And the lighting was so bad while she was opening presents that they all came out as just blobs with sunlight behind them. Total BOO again! Okay, so I'm going to be honest here for a second...it was probably close to $600 to pull this thing off and I didn't buy the pizza or the diaper cake or any of the prizes - the other Grandma-to-Be took care of those things. Probably more than I should have spent, but it all adds up pretty quickly! So it wasn't necessarily a shower thrown on a "budget", but I think it would be fairly easy to cut down on some of the costs if needed. We ended up having WAY more food and drinks than we needed, so our respective workplaces were very happy on Monday to help dispose of the extra bread and cookies. Hahaha We spent about three weekends in all shopping and prepping and spent the entire Friday before the shower baking. But in the end, the money spent and the time it took all were well worth it. The kids had a blast and it was a party like we've never thrown before. Now, we just wait for little Gavin!

My Favorite Season Celebration with a Skirt Sports Giveaway!

It's finally here...today marks the first official day of Fall! Where I live in sunny #SoCal it will feel like summer for several more weeks but it doesn't stop me from celebrating the start of my favorite season of the year!! I will be over here faking it with fall scented candles, football on the telly, autumn colors draped on my mantle, and goodies baking in the oven even if it means cranking down the air because using the oven heats up the entire house. LOL In other words, my fall freak flag is flying high, my friends!! #hellofall #football #fallbakinghasbegun #freakflagflying #favoriteseason

A photo posted by Kristen Grimes (@kgrimes526) on Sep 23, 2015 at 4:02am PDT

Finally - it is officially AUTUMN!! Granted, like it says on my Instagram post from this morning, we still feel like summer - but the PROMISE of Fall weather is lingering in the air just around the corner from here. This season never fails to get me excited! The football, the smells of candles and fireplaces, crisp mornings, sweaters, scarves, baking...oh it's just more than my little heart can contain!!! It's bursting with joy!!

I've been in full fall mode for several weeks already since we basically had fall explode in the house for the baby shower earlier this month, and I'm loving every moment of it. I got my bake on for the shower and having a dirty apron and flour dust in my hair brought me much joy. And one of the things I love the most about Fall is the sharing that this season brings - sharing my baked goods with my co-workers and friends, sharing family memories watching football games, sharing time with friends over warm tea or coffee, sharing updates while out running in crisp cool mornings, sharing gratitude during the Thanksgiving holiday. And now I get to share in a totally new way - I get to share a favorite Skirt Sports item with one lucky winner!!!

It's an item that is perfect for the cooler Autumn mornings as it has all the fun, flirty attitude of the skirt version, but is paired with capris for a little added coverage and/or warmth! Meet the Vixen Capri Skirt!

Check out those ruffles and asymmetrical hemline! And just like the Vixen Skirt, the waistband is a wide, comfortable band with continuous drawcord that works great for any shape. The capri bottoms are attached and feature lightweight wicking material that offers a "barely there" look and feel...and I can totally attest to that! They are seriously so soft and so light. They aren't compression material, so these are perfect for being active, running errands, or lounging around the house. Some of the other details taken from the Skirt Sports website:

• Built-in mesh capri is super light-weight giving you the barely-there look and feel
• Two pockets, one on each thigh of the capri allow you to carry your running essentials
• Features Skirt Sports GoSoft Jersey (skirt) and Sweetest Mesh (capri leggings) with wicking properties
• 100% polyester Under Skirt Liner in capri for extra moisture management
• Comfortable wide waistband with continuous drawcord puts you in control, offering you choices
• Two rows of ruffles circumference the bottom of the skirt with a slight lift on the right side
• Sonic Music Port under skirt waistband for media headset cord
• Skirt length (medium): 11.5 inches on right front, 13.75 inches on left front and back

Something else that you don't see in the picture on the website is this really awesome leg stitching in the same razz color featured in the skirt! Check it out...

Check out that side stitching detail! Such a nice touch!

It just shows the attention to detail and style that Skirt Sports puts into all their designs! The Vixen Capri Skirt is available in the Buzzed/Black print shown above, or in Black and in sizes XS to XXL! I know that I can also add that I love the coverage I get in the Vixen Capri Skirt - the skirt hides all the right stuff in all the right places! LOL I'm definitely going to get a lot of use out of it as the mornings cool down in the coming weeks.

So here's your chance to celebrate Fall with me by entering to win a Vixen Capri Skirt of your own - just use the Rafflecopter widget below. But if you just can't wait to get your own you can use discount code SSPQL for 20% off of any purchase right now! Good luck!!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fine Print: As a Skirt Sports Ambassador Captain I have been provided items free of charge; however, all opinions of the products and company are my own. The full prize value has an approximate retail value of $75.00 US. No purchase is necessary and will not increase your chances of winning. Entrants must be 18 years of age or older and have mailing addresses in the US or Canada. The giveaway begins on Wednesday, September 23 and runs until midnight on October 7, 2015. The winner will be announced via a blog announcement on October 8, 2015 and will be contacted via the email provided at the time of entry. The winner will have 7 days to claim their prize; in the event the prize is unclaimed at the end of the 7-day period a new winner will be selected until the prize is claimed. By entering the giveaway you are authorizing the release of your information to Skirt Sports for the purpose of notification. Personal information will not be used or sold by The Pursuit of a Quality Life or Skirt Sports.  By entering this giveaway you release The Pursuit of a Quality Life and Skirt Sports from any liability whatsoever, and waive any and all causes of action, related to any claims, costs, injuries, losses or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the giveaway or delivery, misdelivery or acceptance of any prize. 

ToTR: I Never Run Without...

Welcome to another edition of Tuesdays on the Run hosted by the lovely ladies, Erika, Patty and April! This week we are talking what we absolutely cannot ever run without!

There's probably only one thing (outside of SHOES of course) that I never run without and that is my phone. I know there are a lot of mixed opinions about this one and many people can't stand running with their phone and never do...and I totally get that! It's great to unplug and it's wonderful when we can get out for a run without having to worry about phone calls or text messages or that constant need to be in contact. I sometimes wonder what we ever did before cell phones because, honestly, they have become so ingrained in our lives now.

But the reason I can't run without my phone isn't because I can't live without it for even a few minutes, it's because I want to be able to make a call if I have an emergency! In this day and age when cell phones do exist and are easily portable, it just seems silly to go out on my own without it.

What if I was hit by a car or was feeling like I might pass out or twisted an ankle? There's so many things that could go wrong that might be easily remedied by making a simple phone call. But if I didn't have my phone with me I would have to depend on first, someone else knowing there was a problem, and second, them making the call that needs to be made. I'd rather not have to depend on those two conditions because we all know that for the most part other people outside of our "bubble" are invisible.

I'm often reminded of the story a few years back about the runner that left for his jog and went missing. It took them days to find him. His autopsy revealed that he most likely died from a heart defect, but I can never help but wonder if he had his cell phone with him if they might have been able to save him. We will never know, but I also don't want to find out the hard way if something like that happens to me. I want to be able to hit 9-1-1 if I'm physically able to.

Another reason I run with my phone is because of the Road ID app. If Chad Rogers had the app installed on his phone and was using it, they would have been able to find him much quicker as it has the emergency alert feature that will call your emergency contacts that you have designated and sound an alarm if you haven't moved in five minutes. Great if you pass out like Chad did, so even if you can't physically dial 9-1-1 yourself, the app will send an alert for you, along with your eCrumbs that you have left while using the GPS feature.

Honestly, I think that this app is something that EVERY runner and cyclist should be using. I know you don't want to drag your phone around, but think about that one time that you might really, really need it. Wouldn't you want your family to know that even if you couldn't call for help, they could by receiving a notification that you might be in distress? I know I do...

There are lots of things I like to run WITH, like Vinnie (my Garmin 220), or my handheld Nathan water bottle, or my Jaybird Freedom wireless headphones. Those are all great. But the one thing I NEVER run without, is my phone. It's like the saying goes - I'd rather have it and not need it, then need it and not have it. 

Your turn - what's something you would never run (or bike, or walk, or raft, or kayak, or SUP or whatever...) without?

Running With It!

Because my bestie totally gets me!! She sent this last Monday and it was exactly what I needed. LOL

Okay, so this week I am back to a regular posting schedule of Monday-Thursday! I'm making that promise to myself right now and am declaring it out loud. I feel like September has gone by in a blur and I kind of knew it would but I didn't do a very good job of preparing myself for the actual reality. And I kind of feel like I've been doing a lot more failing at life than succeeding at life, but I'm working on turning that around because you know what, it's never too late to make a fresh start at anything or everything.

Training These Days...

I totally didn't kill it last week with my training. I think I actually had more "bad" days than good ones when it comes to what Coach Tiffany had on my plan. I have to admit that looking at my results on my training plan, there was a lot of "I didn't really want to work out" going on last week. I'm not sure what that was about, but almost every day last week was some kind of bleh - I don't wanna. I think the lazy brain gets the win last week. :-( Okay, so what did I do?

Monday: Cross-training of my choice so I did a full-body strength training session

Tuesday: 3x1 mile repeats that ended up being 2x1 mile repeats because I had a headache and got up too late to do the full workout.

Wednesday: I skipped what was supposed to be an easy run to run to the grocery store. Total fail on this one, but we were out of toilet paper so it was an absolute necessity. LOL

Thursday: The only running workout of the week that I totally rocked and that was only because I was going into work late and could do it a little later than normal.

Friday: Easy run/walk. One of the things I enjoy most about Friday is that I start work at 8 instead of 7, so it is currently light enough outside that I can head out solo to get my run in. So I did just that, BUT I did have an encounter with some crazy geese that tried to chase me down! They were like a little gang. I laugh, but they were scary!! I ended up with 2.6 miles at a VERY easy pace since there was lots of walking.

Saturday: I was supposed to do 5 miles, but wasn't feeling too great so I decided to push my run to Sunday.

Sunday: I headed out, but I will be honest that it was just all kinds of bad. I couldn't get in a groove and just felt like breathing and running were way harder than they should be. My legs felt like lead and my lungs felt like they were only being used halfway. I don't really know what was going on, but it was a very warm morning (I think we hit about 102 later that day)...at any rate, I just didn't have it in me at all. I did the first mile at a 10:15 pace and then just crashed and burned. Oh - and I got chased by the geese again while they watched another lady go by with absolutely not even a honk at. What's the deal with these crazy geese and their dislike of me anyways?

I didn't kill it this weekend as far as running goes...but I'm not going to let that influence how I start the next week! I'm going to relax and watch some football and finally start reading #bossypants during the commercials. I will prep my food and ensure I'm good to go for a totally kick ass healthy week. Tomorrow is a new day and today is all about rejuvenation. #sunday #restoremysoul #football #REALwomenmove #skirtsports #vixen #ssambassador #mizuno #sweatpink @skirtsports @fitapproach @mizunorunning

A photo posted by Kristen Grimes (@kgrimes526) on Sep 20, 2015 at 8:20am PDT

The rest of my Sunday looked a lot like that picture above! I also did all my laundry, prepped my food for the week, and watched The Age of Adaline before hitting the sack nice and early (cute enough movie BTW...totally predictable, but I expected that). Just call me a wild party animal, why don't ya! *wink* But you know, all joking aside, I woke up this morning ready for my week. I hit the treadmill for 2 miles of mostly running and actually made it to work on time even with shaving my legs!! *GASP* In other words, I was totally adulting the hell out of today! (Side note: Am I the only person that can't wait for tights weather so I can quit shaving my legs more than once a week? Just me?)

Autumn officially starts on Wednesday, September 23rd, and I will be celebrating by hosting a Skirt Sports giveaway! Come back by on Wednesday for all the details!

I've been selected to participate in a campaign for Hemp Hearts with FitApproach as a Sweat Pink Ambassador so I'm super excited to get my hands on those little goodies and try them out - watch for more about that early next month along with an opportunity to win some for yourself!

My first 5k of the fall season is quickly approaching on October 3rd! I'll be talking race strategy next week...

I've been following several people training for NYC and Chicago marathons and am toying with the idea of letting fate decide if it is time for me to run my second marathon by throwing my name into the lotteries for those two races. I figure if I'm going to do another marathon, I want it to be one that is iconic and outside of Boston, they don't get much more iconic than those two. I've been to New York before and have wanted to go back ever since, and would love to see Chicago. What do you guys think???

Well, there are lots of fun, exciting things on the horizon! Share something fun from your weekend with me in the comments!

Living, Training, Partying, Now!

I keep reminding myself to "BELIEVE" that I've got this crazy life under control, but it seriously keeps reminding me that I am far from being in control most days. *wink* And honestly, I hate doing "update" posts because they make me truly realize what a slacker I am at times. I guess I'm feeling a little like I'm playing catch-up more often than not lately, hence the crickets and cobwebs hanging around the blog. Being able to fit it all in can be rather difficult at times, ya know?? I'm sure I'm not the only person struggling with the desire to do more, be more, love more when the critical piece is actually find more time for all of those things. No?

First, we all survived Melissa and Curtis' baby shower this past weekend to celebrate the impending arrival of baby Gavin next month! She's down to about 5 weeks left if she goes full term, so we're really starting to get pretty close. I'll be sharing some additional info and pics from the baby shower in the near future, but here's a little preview if you aren't following me on Instagram.

So excited to finally celebrate little Gavin's impending arrival with @melissa.grimes.bmx @curtbmx!! Everyone is having a great time and there is more food than we could possibly eat!! #welcomegavin #babyshower

A photo posted by Kristen Grimes (@kgrimes526) on Sep 12, 2015 at 2:53pm PDT

Work has been crazy busy lately and I'm just coming to accept that this is how it is going to remain. But I'm definitely very grateful for a wonderful job that offers me lots of challenges to keep me entertained!

In other family news, we have a birthday party for the grandkids this weekend - Joshua is 5 now and Angelique will be 4 on the 27th of this month. So much celebrating taking place! It definitely keeps everything dynamic and I'm working hard at just being flexible without going crazy. It's amazing how fast time goes so I'm trying to just focus on each thing and re-focus on my word for 2015: Now. As in live in the now. Be in the Now. Make it happen Now.

And finally, training updates! Since hiring Coach Tiffany I can definitely say that I'm seeing improvement and I'm thrilled! Have I nailed every workout? Nope. Have I done every single workout on the plan? Nope. But I feel like I have been immensely more consistent in my training than I've ever been when I'm solo. Having that accountability and feeling guilty when I have to type in my notes that I either didn't do a run or cut it short has been great for me. I will get into my specific training a little more next week, but just suffice it to say I'm super glad that I've hired Coach Tiffany and I really feel optimistic that I will continue to see improvement in my consistency and running endurance.

Question: What's something you've been up to lately in life or training? 

Free-Wheelin...

I don't know if my three readers noticed that I actually published on my schedule of Monday-Thursday almost every single day in August! The only day I missed was the very last one on August 31st...whomp, whomp. And then I've had a hard time getting on track so far in September. There's lots of reasons that look a lot like excuses if I examine them too closely though, so let's just agree that life hit me like a Mack truck this week and I'm working hard at digging myself out from under the 18-wheeler.

So I'm going to just share some random pictures with you all today (broken links, so I've removed them as of 12/31/18) so you can see what I've been up to lately. I spent some time at Michael's recently as we are in the midst of planning a baby shower for the little dude that is expected to arrive in October. I know I mentioned that my daughter, Melissa, is expecting her first and we now know that it is a boy! His name is Gavin and we are super excited to meet him next month. She's due on October 22 and we will be having the baby shower on the 12th of this month. Expect to see more on that in upcoming posts.

That's how I kicked off my weekend on Friday afternoon! Nothing like a stop at Target and Starbucks to get drinks for all the girls...especially on one of the HOTTEST days of summer. Seriously, last week was absolutely ridiculous. 106ish degrees with some humidity to boot. I think the evenings cooled off to about 78 degrees. It was not fun, but we paid our dues apparently and have been rewarded with very nice lower than average temps this week. High of 92? I'll take it!!

I had an awesome weekend getaway with the hubs! We stayed at The Portofino Hotel & Marina (if you didn't guess from the life preserver around Sir Barks-a-Lot's neck hahaha) and it was so nice!! The hotel was fabulous and we had awesome views of Kings Harbor in Redondo Beach. If you are ever in Redondo and want a really nice hotel on the waterfront, you can't go wrong with The Portofino (totally not paid to say that...I just think it was an awesome hotel!). We were down in the Long Beach area for my cousin-in-law's 40th birthday party, so we decided to make it a beach getaway weekend and I'm so glad we did. Of course, it left me feeling like I didn't get a whole lot done and I started the week feeling like I was already behind. But that's okay...sometimes we just have to pay the price so I'll quit complaining about that one. #firstworldproblems right? hahaha

Got to have an awesome, if not super humid, run along the beach! My training with Coach Tiffany is going really well so far and I felt great! Stopped to take a few pictures and that one of me running is my first try at doing a run selfie...I definitely need more practice at that! LOL

So, Stand Up Paddleboarding - also known as SUP, is something I want to do SOOOOOO badly!! I'm definitely going to be looking at renting a board and doing a couple lessons to see if it is something I will enjoy. I had no problem picturing myself doing a run along the beach and then jumping on a SUP board for a little swim and paddle in the ocean during the hot summer months of training. I would definitely say that learning SUP is a need, not just a want. :-)

I will leave you with some little goodies since this post is so random and all over the place. Skirt Sports is letting their Ambassador Captains giveaway their favorite product over the next several months, so there will be a LOT of various giveaways running where you have an opportunity to win different items. I will be running my own later this month, so be sure to check back on the first day of Autumn to win one of my faves! But in the meantime, I will share with you each Thursday the Ambassador giveaways that have gone live so far! So this week I have two for you:

I don't have a Lioness myself, but I will say that the gals absolutely RAVE about them! Just click the image to visit Kate's page!

Aleksandra is giving away a Jette skirt! Click on image to visit her page!

Alright - that's all I'm going to dump on you for today...I'll be back to a regular posting schedule next week.

Question: Have you done Stand Up Paddle Boarding or is it something you want to try?

TOTR: Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!

The gals that host the Tuesdays on the Run each week (Erika, Patty and April) are talking hydration - and I'm so glad they are because it is very important!! Even though everything is turning to talk of pumpkin spice everything, weather cooling, and leaves changing colors, hydration is still an important topic! Not just when you're out running/exercising either, it is even more important during the cooler months to ensure you are getting enough fluids because your thirst won't trigger as much thanks to that cooler weather. AND it's actually drier in the winter than in the summer...so grab a glass and let's drink up while we talk hydration!

One of the biggest changes I made in my lifestyle that helps me meet my daily water goal is to fill up my Thermos water bottle (it holds 24 oz - equivalent to 3 servings of water) before I leave for work in the morning and then I drink that bad boy in the 15-20 minutes it takes me to drive the 8 miles to work. So by the time I barely even walk in the door, I already have 3 of the minimum 8 servings done and taken care of - BOOM!

Another way I get my water is I have a reminder set on my computer that tells me every hour to drink up and move my booty for a few. (side note: because I drink my water like I should, I actually end up moving more because I have to use the restroom more frequently! So it's a total win-win...booyah!) My goal is to drink at least one serving of water every hour, or at the minimum to have my Thermos empty and ready for a refill by lunchtime. That's another three servings so that I'm now at 6/8! And then if I do the same in the afternoon and have another bottle gone by the end of my workday I've now hit 9/8 - over my goal!!

And then finally, I fill the bottle when I get home and sip on it throughout the evening while I'm cooking dinner or just relaxing. More often than not I can finish off the day over the minimum goal. I do usually try to drink more than the minimum 8 cups a day; several water calculators say I should be drinking about 11. Here's a pretty cool one on Cambelbak.com.

But, ultimately, the best way to know if you are drinking enough water is what color your urine is. If it looks like weak lemonade then you are good to go!! Check out this handy little chart:

Just remember, if your urine is totally clear and has no color whatsoever, you are probably drinking too much water...and there is a thing called "too much of a good thing" in this case.

To wrap this up, I know that many people don't really care for water, especially when you are hooked on the flavored drinks like soda, juice, teas, etc. but with so many options for flavoring your water without adding calories, anyone can find a way to stay hydrated!

Question: What is one way that you ensure you are staying hydrated?