Watches I Love To Wear Running

I have gone through tons of Garmin stopwatches in this lifetime. I feel that it is completely necessary as an adult professional runner to have the luxury of GPS in a stopwatch. My old cross country coach, and weightlifting olympian, Oscar B Jensen, would tell us a mile and half was really a mile in practice for years. I would run a mile and a half trying to meet my mile split requirement, and if our team had these GPS watches back then, we would have called out coach on it! OBJ was a liar, to make our team run faster. ‘To run faster you need to train faster,’ really meant run the extra half mile and pretend you only ran a mile. All the coaches I have had, and I still think about my highschool coach! A lot of runners are made in those years, so it must be relatable. I love watching the weightlifters in the Olympics, because that is what my old cross country coach did, I just have to watch all the events! The main idea of wearing a GPS stopwatch, is knowing if you are 13 miles into a marathon or 20 miles into a marathon. Personally, I have an entire drawer full of these GPS watches. These watches are necessary to run long distances safely!

Watches of my past, present and future.

These are awesome for counting steps and wearing casually all day every day.

I had one of these in every color, and they are really my favorite to wear everyday! This design has everything you need, in terms of a timer and GPS. Big, bold and fun.

I loved having this watch, because my lacrosse team color was lime green. This feels nice on the wrist, and has all the GPS and timing features a girl needs. There is even a heart monitor built in.

I like to wear this one casually, and used this design during a marathon too. It is very nice, with the heart rate, timer, GPS…

All us girls went through the rose gold and white phase, and sometimes I still wear this one!

This one, I tried out, up in the mountains whilst altitude training which was a treat. I do love this, but it is big for my tiny wrist.

Tiffany Race Bling

My sister’s and I love Tiffany’s, we are actively attempting to visit every Tiffany’s in the world. After a race, sometimes my special treat is the price of five pairs of sneakers and from Tiffany’s. Did you know that there have been actual races where they substitute a medal with a gorgeous Tiffany necklace? While I would be upset to not receive a medal, Tiffany’s is a standard of fine jewelry which would make me consider having the alternative of jewelry in lieu of a medal. Anything less than Tiffany jewelry as a medal substitute would honestly make me file a lawsuit, especially if I finished in the elite field. It is a sin to receive anything less than an appropriate quality of race medal or Tiffany necklace exclusively, for elite field race events of women’s running such as world majors or trials. My dad spoils me with Tiffany jewelry, after every event that I run, it is our longstanding tradition and my motivation during most phases of my running career.

http://www.livefreeandrun.net/2013/04/race-review-nike-womens-half-marathon-dc.html

Admire this beautiful NYC Marathon bracelet!

https://www.tiffany.com/jewelry/items/tcs-new-york-city-marathon-round-tag-bracelet-35809686/

My sisters needed to give me school appropriate jewelry in highschool to wear to class, and started my Tiffany obsession with the basic sterling silver heart. It was cute for my teenage years, still in my childhood room with the sweet note, ‘You’re our shining star’. Having the little heart from Tiffany’s is lovely. Lately, we have graduated to the picture frames as wedding gifts and gold.

https://www.tiffany.com/jewelry/necklaces-pendants/heart-locket-pendant-GRP05517/

SKIN Health & Cancer Prevention

Lather Sunblock On Whilst Being Naked!

After a bad biopsy report, I needed to have a part of my skin completely removed a little later than the biopsy, by my skin doctor; they took a little and then a lot. I just had a part of my skin always covered by a sports bra removed, because of sun exposure. Now there is just a little one inch scar next to my spine, where my sports bra fabric normally falls upon whilst being out-and-about on a run during marathon season. At first, I felt weird about taking skin from around my bony spine, because it does not feel like there is a lot skin there, but there is. Do you ever wonder how much skin is between the outer surface and bone? How deep are we cutting?! We had to think about it for a while, I will admit this freaked me out a lot at first. A wave overcame my body thinking about it, which made me freeze and phone my parents and aunt to inquire what exactly to do, in order to fix my unhealthy skin. Plus, my parents and aunt are on my list of medical personnel or confidants, to choose medical procedures for me if I cannot form a decision all by myself; I have a dream team choose for me sometimes. I am lucky to have an aunt who spoils me with whatever medical things I need in the location of my choice, there for me during my heart and now my skin, hopefully next time the issue will be less dramatic or a positive stress. All in all, that wave of nervousness has turned into a wave of relief after having my procedure done this week. This was literally the only place on my back that never had sunscreen, because my sports-bra was always on before applying my sunscreen before going on a run. My skin was exposed to the sun, even while my sports bra was covering that particular part of my back.

Thankfully, we took care of my damaged skin in a timely manner, I have a very excellent PA and nurse, and I did not even need a plastic surgeon visit to Dr. Locastro as I was considering. The worst thing that could have happened was going to visit my cool aunt in Rochester to see her doctor at Strong Hospital, but I did not even need to make the drive, because everyone right here is Syracuse is perfect. A lot of debate goes into making medical decisions. There are special stitches on the inside and outside of my skin, so everything will heal nicely. Music was playing in the background of some simultaneous friendly conversation all while removing my skin that was damaged from sun exposure, right around my bony spine. The only procedure part that made me nervous was the sound of the cauterizing to stop bleeding, but it really was not that bad, and I felt nothing but pressure. I was completely numb during the procedure with lidocaine injections, and five hours later some ibuprofen with a glass of red wine did the trick for my slight discomfort around the stitches. Fun fact, in six weeks the inside stitches will completely dissolve, like magic. My support system is very professional and excellent when finding solutions to my medical milestones through life. Everyone endures medical milestones through life, it is normal, but you just have to be happy to find the solution and live your life simultaneously.

I will probably be walking a lot in the next several weeks so my stitches do not break, fingers crossed that I do not pop my stitches while exercising! All my shoes are slide-on style to wear on my two pre-procedure-pedicured marathon runner feet, I will go without bending down tying laces for the next two weeks. If I need to bend, I will definitely try to remind myself to bend my knees, not flex my back and arms to the floor. Happy to work from my laptop, so I can just wear my cozy Pottery Barn bathrobe all the time, there is no need for a real shirt, at least for these first two days post-procedure of course. My chihuahuas need to use the puppy steps to nap on my bed, because those chunky animals will not be lifted up by me for two weeks while these stitches heal correctly. The chihuahua’s napping standards are really the biggest concern through all of this experience. I suppose my birthday present to myself this year is not needing to worry about having damaged skin from sun exposure, because we took it all off yesterday.

This marathon runner highly recommends going to have your entire body screened by a dermatologist, just get naked and say ‘yes’ immediately to your biopsy option. The back is just as important as the front. I wish someone had told me young, to put all my sunscreen on before my clothes, especially before a run. I always thought that because my sports bra covered that part of my back that I was safe from UV rays, however that is not the case. Overall, now that the issue is taken care of, I really have nothing to worry about, it is not a problem. On the regular, my reason to not have pain medication or avoidance of going under sometimes is, my heart rate and blood pressure drops very low when pain medication is administered. There is a medical reason by my medical doctor with a specialization and years of practicing modern medicine for me to not have pain medication sometimes, resulting from the history of my heart rate drop and low blood pressure exposing my body to an at risk state; gratefully this procedure was pain free with lidocaine injections to the incision site. On a side note, birth control can make your skin sensitive to the sun too. The scariest thing in my family’s life was when my grandfather’s skin cancer spread to the nodes, and thankfully that is not the issue that I am enduring, everything is fine not to worry. My grandfather really did not have modern day sunscreen in the majority of his lifetime, and having sunscreen for prevention makes a very big difference, sunscreen helps keep your skin healthy. I just missed that one spot on my back when applying my sunscreen. Learn from this girl and lather on your sunblock whilst being naked, before putting on the cute outfit for a run!

P.S. After two days, I went from my bathrobe to real clothes, showered, looked in the mirror, switched bandages and feel perfectly fine post procedure!

Here are some great articles about nice sunscreen, and only if you like it spray tan options!

https://www.prevention.com/beauty/skin-care/g20174383/best-sunscreens/

https://www.marieclaire.com/beauty/makeup/g1794/best-self-tanners/

Run In The Sun Safely!

I can still run outside in the sun! Lather on the sunscreen before putting on your sports bra, and running out the door! I can wear KT Tape or a bandaid over than spot in a race and no one will say anything derogatory to me, they’ll probably just go out and buy some KT Tape and bandages. Happy to be in an athletic circle, where no one thinks having scars is a bad thing. I’ll put on an open-back dress, around my circle, and everyone will think I look fine even with my hair in an updo. Despite it all, I think that I can still wear open-back dresses out, sports bras running, and look absolutely fabulous. In the meantime, I just need to focus on not popping out my plastic surgeon style stitches Melissa spent such an extra long time perfecting.

Horizontal KT Tape on your back, underneath the sports-bra, is the latest and greatest in fashion of athletics. It’ll stay on and keep the sun away better than zink itself, covering up for the right reasons.

I wouldn’t break-up with me over it…now I have a mirror I need to look into whilst recovering from stitches too! Looking in the mirror all day, everyday, now. :) The mirror is helpful, but being that I have a long line of stitches in the center of my back, my mom is helping me dress the wound, and put the bandages on. Clearly the middle of my back is hard for me to reach.

Positive Affirmation Mirror Stickers!

I love love love, positive affirmation mirror decal! This is a marvelous investment for a time you may be going through a physical change, or just desire the first words you read everyday in the mirror to be splendid. On a side note, I really wish more physical therapists incorporated positive affirmation mirror decal in treatment programs of recovery from significant injuries. These are very helpful vinyl stickers to possess. A friendly reminder, you never stop being who you are no matter what physical obstacles you endure and recover from impressively, everything you overcome in life just makes you become even better than ever. Looking in the mirror should always be a beautiful experience for everyone.

You can make applying sunblock a calming and relaxing experience, by applying the concepts of self massage. Instead of a holistic warm oil, use a nourishing sunscreen. Taking the time to apply sunscreen, can also be a time of practicing mindfulness and becoming ready for a glorious day. Applying sunscreen enables a healthful lifestyle and may help prevent skin cancer significantly. Calm and relax your nervous system whilst lathering on your sunscreen. Use nourishing sunscreen in the morning, and nourishing warm oils at nightime. I tried this for the first time in a yoga seminar one summer back in the day, and it is very nice. When you learn how to apply lotion in an enticing way, it becomes an experience to look forward to, rather than a chore. Finding special styles to apply my moisturizer or sunscreen, motivated me to stay in my regimen day in and day out. There are ways to make putting on the spf feel very nice, a pleasure. For instance set aside ten minutes, and be pensive of the soothing ways to apply lotion to your face and neck liberally every morning. Anytime you feel stress, good or bad, take three deep calming relaxing breathes.

This video is very informative, it’s great to watch if you are interested in learning more about skin cancer and prevention. Dr. Kwan’s lecture is awesome if you have a chance to take a look.

Marathon Inspiration

I felt very inspired by a recent New York Times article about Aliphine Tuliamuk. As I transition from a teenage marathon runner, to being closer to a thirty year old marathon runner, I needed to read this article. Through life, you go through changes by possessing different desires, and balancing your ambition with constructive goals in the workplace is intimidating. It is so inspiring to see one of your favorite athletes achieve such profound and special attainments after years of hard work and dedication. I look forward to watching Aliphine Tuliamuk in the Olympics, the race will be amazing to witness from a distance!

Aliphine Tuliamuk posed after winning the women's U.S. Olympic marathon team trials in February.Credit...Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

She even loves to knit and crochet like I do!

https://www.nazelite.com/product-tag/aliphine-tuliamuk/

Molly Seidel, left, Aliphine Tuliamuk, the winner, and Sally Kipyego made the Olympic team.Credit...Kevin D. Liles for The New York Times

Here is a wonderful Runner’s World article about Sally Kipyego. I love the discussion of her return to marathon running after having a baby, running Boston and then returning to Berlin for an impressive 2:25:10 personal record in the marathon. We all want to run Berlin to run as fast as Sally Kipyego. It is inspiring to see women improve their marathon personal records after having children. What is the perfect marathon for an elite runner to run, in their absolute best shape ever, and in the fastest time?

https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a32135980/sally-kipyego-training-and-olympic-trials/

I truly look forward to all three of these AMAZING women running in the Olympic Marathon this summer! That will be so cool to watch from a distance!

Marathons Are An Expert Distance

I feel like this ballet shoe meme about marathon running. You know, there are people who take running marathons so seriously. Then, there are others who feel like we should do it well, but act as though being a successful marathon runner is practically accomplishing nothing. Sometimes, there is a matter of being a person who worked towards something specifically and has it, someone on the outside may not understand the reason why. It can be weird. Amongst the group, it is very competitive, a lot of people run fast, and that is where personal records come from. I decided to fundraise with my running events, to make them more meaningful, and if I mess up my race pace, at least we made money for a wonderful organization.

Even while I could run a very fast 5k time, or ten miles, it took years to physically be able to run the marathon. I was an excellent runner in shorter distances, and it still took me a very long time to make it the full 26.2 in practice. Then, to specialize in that long distance and to run it well is something else. I remember when I was a 5k runner, and running five 5:30 or 6 minute miles was a real workout for me, as a consistent 5k producer. I ran so fast in my five mile loop, that I could not even stop and say ‘hello’ I would be so out of breath. Conversation pace exists for experimenting with longer distances at a leisurely pace, until your body is capable of running them well. If I can stop and say ‘hello’ that is conversation pace, but if I am moving and grooving then I cannot say ‘hi’. Whilst running fast, it does not hurt and you do not feel different, it is simply what your body is trained for after building progress for years. To run faster, you need to train faster, and then it all feels natural. The feat in a way does need to be who you are, and even then it is competitive, so you need to appreciate the process until it is your day with the ‘marathon gods’. I shake everyones hand after a real race, just like in my lacrosse days. Never be the one not shaking everyone’s hand after an event.

The ‘marathon gods’ come in when you are in the last three miles of a marathon, and you have no idea how someone is a hair ahead or a hair behind you. You just go with it, like if a coach says ‘fill in the gap’ and your legs are going as fast as they possibly can move!

Finish in a better place, or welcome a new distance into your career.

This was my song to run to, the cross-country season it came out. I listened to it over, and over, and over again; until right before the race began, and I would be so super fast.

I RUN 4

My first marathon in fall of 2013, I had a running buddy with the organization I Run 4, and my buddy is CoCo! This was a wonderful experience, not only did I love speaking with her mother and family all the time about my running adventures, but I also made us two custom headbands. Both were embroidered with I RUN 4 CHLOE, hers had the gold sparkly ribbons for being a fighter, and mine had little marathoner patterns. I encourage everyone to have a running buddy. When I took a break from running after that event, I found her another buddy, and they gave her so much race bling it was incredibly awesome. Still love my headband, hopefully her or one of the girls still have theirs! I included the link for https://whoirun4.com/, for anyone looking for a running buddy or princess. CoCo is the cutest, I love all the videos and pictures she takes with her mom and family. I even made my cool aunt name her corgi Chloe, I loved my running buddy’s name so much, my aunt really does love the name Chloe. Follow Coco and her mom Beth, and the whole family @cocoherrington

Here is an article about Coco and her sister Olivia! I’ll need to check in with Beth to see if she is still blogging, I think I have links to most of their media on here! They are such a strong, beautiful family.

https://www.parents.com/parents-magazine/parents-perspective/how-a-perfect-life-can-include-down-syndrome-and-cancer/

http://lil-coco-bea.blogspot.com/

I RUN 4!

Me and Chloe had matching headbands, and CoCo let me wear a ribbon in support of her for my entire marathon! Matching headbands were the way to go! I highly recommend I RUN 4!

Founder of I RUN 4, Tim Boyle is very nice too. I love seeing how much the group has grown in the past several years. You need to be apart of something bigger than yourself in running, and this is an excellent way to bring that concept to fruition. https://whoirun4.com/

Team Bonding in Lacrosse

From the second grade to my junior year of highschool, every other year or so I would donate my hair. Mrs. Potter, my mom and mine’s hair dresser would chop my hair from below my belly-button up to above my shoulders, and mail it in a manila envelope for donation to someone whom wanted to be a redhead too! Those years were the best years, my short hair was cute with my lacrosse goggles during games and practice. A lot of girls on my lacrosse team started donating their long hair too, it became even more meaningful when we all donated our hair to support a teammate in junior-high on our modified team! Being on a team is so meaningful, because you form lifelong friendships which enable you to experience every phase of life with a support system; relate to each other more and more later in life too. Some of us went from donating hair to donating blood instead at an older age, both of those things are nice to give. I give a lot of credit to some of my old lacrosse teammates or friends from dance whom still donate both as we grow older, it is really nice of them. Donating hair or blood, is a gift that truly helps someone in a special way.

Here is an article to help you become involved with hair donation, only if you would like to be involved;

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/best-places-to-donate-hair

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Unexpectedly being home during this epidemic, I have been talking to my old friends whom I never really thought I would reconnect with in this chapter being a working jetsetter; leaving the nest so to speak. With everything that I just went through, it was nice to have an old lacrosse teammate’s dad whom is a surgeon take a look at my situation, and have a support system with lifelong friends. My mom can help with my stitches in the middle of my back so I don’t have to hire someone or benefit from someone my boss hired for something completely unrelated to my profession. Hypothetically, if I were not home someone would need to be hired to reach the stitches on my back everyday. Would it be $20 an hour or more like $100, for me to pay someone to look at my stitches everyday? My boss would have to buy my dinner every night and have someone look at my stitches, it’s funny. There is a world, where I would have flown upstate, and back downstate and hired someone every day for two weeks to look at my stitches and flown back up again. That’s the aspect that would have made this an even bigger deal, because my circle out of home is not very much into the medical field and touching stitches, it would be very impersonal to hire a person to look at them. My little flying out of Syracuse to NYC at 5:30am and flying out at 7pm routine, and vise versa with working non remotely. I always read a book when I fly, and buy a giant bottle of water. Happy I am home for this process.

A lot of people from home would never even think to travel for work, leave the area or that those flights to NYC every morning exist. It is cool to see how everyone evolves in their careers and lives later on, and still have a relationship. Not everyone has lifelong friendships or acquaintanceships, which makes you appreciate things like being on the same team for ten years later on in life; you never know when you’ll reconnect. Making the most of being in the area, because I probably won’t really be pretty soon. Who would have thought I would be home to go to Crazy Daisy having lunch with a lifelong friend with her new baby and our moms? There is no way I would have been able to make the trip home for a baby shower at The Elephant and The Dove, on the entire second floor. All the baby showers, backyard weddings and small town gossip that I would have missed if the epidemic did not send me back home working remotely. I also love running by the golf courses everyday while being home. I suppose coming home and going back to my old lifestyle is not all that bad, however I miss the lifestyle I stumbled upon looking to reach certain life goals too.

I wish I had a better picture of that old french braid high ponytail….

FUN FACT

Popcorn does not have calories, so you can eat as much of it as you want to. I love popcorn, I snack on it all day!