Happy Friday – we made it, y’all!

What do you have going on today? 8 hours in the office? Working a short day? Heading out of town?

I have been a little down in my training, and, well, life in general this week. I’ve got some sort of weird pain going on below my knee that hurts to even walk on – so I’ve been praying for healing and God’s strength to get me through the marathon! I’m currently in the middle of taking 3 days of rest from any sort of cardio (I promised Casey!), and will be attempting my last “long”-ish run before the marathon on Saturday.  In addition, I came down with a nasty cold this week and just am not feeling my best – physically or mentally. It’s hard to stay positive and feel confident heading into the marathon – but I am resolved to not let my circumstances shake me! Many friends have been reminding me that I have already done enough training, that my body is ready, and that nothing done during these last two weeks would help me be any more fit anyway. I hope they’re right! Due to the setbacks and pains I’ve had for the last 4 weeks, I’m thinking of adjusting my goals for the race…but maybe that’s a blog post for next week. 🙂 Regardless, I am just grateful to be able to get away in the mountains for the marathon and to enjoy the time with God, thanking Him for giving me a body that moves and a passion for this sport that has so enriched my life.

And even in the midst of this setback…life is GOOD! There have been so many wonderful things that encouraged me this week, and I wanted to share them with you today. The good always outweighs the bad, right? I know they’ll brighten your day and help you run into the weekend smiling!

Friday Five: What’s Encouraged Me This Week

 

1. Carson Wentz and the Dutch Destroyer

 

I’ve spent 5 minutes trying to summarize what this video is but I can’t even do it. It’s just beautiful, and you should watch it. I love my quarterback and his heart for others and I love, love, love resilient, brave, fearless kiddos! This family is awesome. Fun fact: this little boy grew up in my hometown and there are some shots of a park where I used to run cross country! You could only imagine my excitement seeing this humble little place on ESPN. #CANBYPARKFOREVER. But really, this video has such a positive message and left me and my husband in tears!

2. The Home Stretch (Meb’s Retirement)

Meb’s documentary airs next week on Runner’s World and I can’t wait to watch it! Meb is most well-known for winning the 2014 Boston Marathon and taking back the American title, one year after the bombing. He gave everyone hope after tragedy. He’s everyone’s favorite runner, considered America’s greatest marathoner…and he lives just one neighborhood over from us, so I feel especially proud to call him our local hero. 🙂 He is also just the nicest, most humble athlete ever! Watch the trailer from Runner’s World.

3. Marathon-Winning Mom of Four Busts the “No Time” Myth

The title says it all – this woman is unstoppable and proof that you can be a dedicated wife, mom, career-woman AND runner! Read the article here.

4. This verse:

“But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love forever and ever. For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people. And I will hope in your name, for your name is good.” – Psalm 52: 8-9

5. The Nothing is Wasted Podcast

 

You may remember hearing about pastor Davey Blackburn a few years ago…he lost his pregnant wife Amanda and their unborn baby in a brutal act of gang violence.

His podcast…man. There just aren’t words. But I think you should listen and I know you’ll be encouraged, too.

In the comments: What’s been encouraging you lately? Any good news or stories you’ve seen this week?

Have a great weekend!

Happy Monday! Did you have a fun weekend?

 I LOVED seeing festive photos of so many friends on the east coast making pies, posing their babies by pumpkins, and enjoying hot apple cider donuts…so much fall fun! But not for us — we’re in another heat wave here in San Diego (it’s going to be ONE HUNDRED DEGREES on Wednesday!) and I am still hoping to be able to pull my flannel shirt out of storage sometime before Christmas. But until then, we’re soaking up every last bit of this Indian summer! 

My weekend started with a super nice surprise…I came home on Friday to a package. I didn’t think I ordered anything…and I hadn’t. My amazing little brother sent me a shirt to represent his crew team! 

For those of you who don’t know me in real life 😉 , my brother is a D1 athlete and the captain of his crew team! I am SO proud of him and admire how hard he works. He has been gifted with incredible athletic abilities and has always done well at whatever he’s pursued, even since elementary school. He’s an awesome runner, too…I’ve just been trying to keep up with him all these years! I’m really excited to wear this tank and support his racing from afar. Thank you Ty! 

On Friday evening, we headed down to the harbor to join some friends from my gym job for a Mexican food picnic. It was fun to be with them all (and their spouses) outside of the gym and not in our uniforms…but we still ended up talking about work! Isn’t that the way it always goes with work friends? 

Saturday morning started with…you guessed it…a run! Has this blog become predictable yet?! 🙂 I met my friend Ali for 5 miles around the bay. We just caught up on life and the miles passed by really quickly. 
Later, we had some friends and their baby over for dinner. We thought it might be fun to do a build-your-own grilled cheese night — with tomato soup and salad of course — and it was the best decision we made all week! So. Yummy. It was fun to offer up some different gourmet cheeses and put crazy things on our sandwiches (I love the apple, strawberry jam, and avocado combo) and it also kept the prep work really stress free and easy. I used to think that hosting meant everything had to be perfect, and put a lot of pressure on myself to make a perfect meal (and then inevitably get mad at myself for burning something or messing up a recipe)…but I’m so glad that now I know that the hearts around the table are much more important than the presentation of what’s on our plates. 🙂 And its more fun that way! 

I did make some vegan chocolate mousse for dessert from the Lazy Vegan Baker. Get the recipe here. 

(Trader Joe’s Hack: their chocolate chips actually don’t have any milk in them — they are dairy + egg free and 1/3 of the price of the “enjoy life” brand that’s typically sold at health and natural stores). 

Sunday morning was another run…this time solo, and this time 10 miles. I was happy with the pace and am enjoying having my legs feeling extra fresh these days. Thanks, taper! 

It’s really tough for me to run “long” in anything better than a 9:20 pace…I have stayed comfortably in the 9s for years but am learning now that I haven’t been pushing myself or challenging my limits. Looking forward to learning to develop some speed over longer distances after this marathon! Do you incorporate speed work in your training? 

Sunday morning run by the ocean = Sabbath perfection. It did my heart some serious good! 

Chad and I ran a few errands together in the afternoon and explored some neighborhoods in SD that we don’t often visit. I loved treating myself to some cold brew from Bird Rock Coffee Roasters! 

And Chad found us the perfect bike pump that we’d been looking for! And got a great deal. 🙂 More adventures on wheels to be had! 

We stopped by my favorite running store, Milestone, in North Park. I went in for salt tabs and came out with Goodr sunglasses. It’s just like shopping at Target, but worse! Or better? 🙂 


I’ve been reading the hype about these for a while and am so glad I took the leap! Will share a review with you once I go on my first run in them. 🙂 

Then we went for a mini hike on a trail we had never explored before. Family time = best time. 

And kept the summer fun going afterwards with some treats from Viva Pops in Normal Heights.

I had no idea this place existed, but I think I have a new favorite dessert place! We got Blood Orange and Grapefruit popsicles. Summer forever! 

The rest of Sunday was spent doing a little bit of work, chores, and church. We have had a bit of rough last few weeks/dealing with some health issues and this weekend, it felt like the fog + funk had finally lifted. 🙂

This week I’m looking forward to: 

– the Eagles playing MNF 

– my work BFF coming back from maternity leave 

— sample for a new SGMG item arriving (!!!!!)

– going to a college volleyball game

— less miles and more group exercise classes

What about you?! Hope you all have a wonderful week! 

Love,
Charlotte 
I want to hear from you! Comment: 

— Did you go on any outdoor adventures this weekend? 
–– Do you put any “weird” ingredients in your grilled cheese? 
— Does it feel more like summer or fall where you live right now? 

Last weekend, I had the honor of running the Fit Foodie 5k in sunny San Diego. I was an ambassador for this year’s event and was so thankful to be able to participate in all of the fun and have a few friends join me. 

Chad and I ran together! Still very sleepy in this photo. 🙂 We warmed up about 1 mile on the grass pre-race. 

The Pre-Race Details: The Fit Foodie team absolutely nailed it. Packet pickup was the night before at Soda & Swine, a local favorite, complete with kombucha and snack samples while we waited in line. On the morning of, there were plenty of bathrooms and short lines — a necessity — as well as great pre-race music to wake us up. I also really appreciated the later start time at 8 a.m.

The Course: A beautiful 3.1 mile loop (no out and back — woohoo!) along Liberty Station by the harbor. The course was a good mix of concrete sidewalk and dirt paths. It was mostly flat with one teeeeny little hill to get up and over a pedestrian bridge, but it was quick! I really enjoyed racing somewhere other than the road; it felt nice and private. This is a fast and flat course for a PR – we ran 8:13/mile.

Course Support: was stellar! There was a water station at mile 2 and just before mile 3. I believe the station before mile 3 had some food/goodies to snack on, but I didn’t want to stop so close to the finish! 

Nice job kim!!! When can we sign you up for your first half-marathon?

The Medal: Perhaps my favorite yet! Seriously, does it get any cuter? Thanks for the photo, Ali! 

Post-Race Party: Amazing! There were group workouts, dance parties, cooking classes, group stretching/yoga, music, fun…and so much food! We got to try fancy gourmet plates that were being prepped on site, in addition to grabbing a lot of swag and snacks to take home. 

We especially loved the make your own fruit-infused water bottle station, presented by Lexus. Such a fun way to refresh! 

And we enjoyed a cold glass of Stella — chalice and all – in the beer garden. 

The Swag: oh, the SWAG! The sponsors went above and beyond and treated us to so much! 

I even got to bring home a treat for chase! 

My favorites were the kale chips from Rhythm Foods + Steaz cactus water. Chad loved the RX Bars! 

We had a fantastic time at the Fit Foodie Festival and 5k! I was so impressed with all of the little details + planning that made this race stand out among the rest. Thank you for having us — we’re already looking forward to next year! 

For more info on the Fit Foodie Festival + 5k series, and to see if one is coming to your hometown, visit http://www.fitfoodierun.com/.

Happy Trails,

Charlotte

I bet that you, too, woke up on Monday morning scratching your head and thinking, “how could this happen?“…”why?“…and “what is happening to this world?”.

A few moments later, I’m sure you also wondered…”what can I do to help?”

In a tragedy as bewildering and overwhelming and massive as this, it is easy to feel helpless. Like there is nothing that we could do to make it better.

But, there is. There is so much we can do, friends.

Over the past few days, friends, coworkers and I have all expressed that we want to do something, anything…but had no idea where to start. After some prayer, digging around the internet, and listening to what’s needed…I decided that I refuse to stay stuck in heartbreak and fear and instead, I want to act. I want to have relentless hope in spite of a broken world. I wanted to share some ways that I’m challenging myself to show love to those affected by the shooting in Vegas…and even just to my neighbors.

Because this week the world feels heavy and dark…so let’s not dim the light that each of us has to offer to one another.

 

No matter if you were at the show or if you’re 3,000 miles away from Vegas – each of us has a role to play; a light to shine. We are called to take care of one another.

How will you help?

1. Give.

Be a part of answering immediate needs by donating to Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada, the Las Vegas Victims’ Fund, or Hope For Vegas.

2. Call your Representatives.

There is currently a bill in congress (SHARE Act) that if passed would make it easier to buy gun silencers. Hearing initial gunshots gives potential victims more time to find shelter and safety. Find your representative’s number here and talk to them about safer gun legislation.

 

3. Buy coffee for a stranger, friend, or co-worker.

I know – this one seems weird! But I just think that the world needs it. We need little pick-me-ups from each other this week. Buy a coffee, or a lunch, or a pack of gum or literally anything for a stranger today. If they ask why, let them know that you’re just trying to make the world a little bit brighter; that we’re sticking together; that you just want them to know that there is more love in the world than hate. There is more good than evil.

4. Give Blood.

Now, I’ve heard some mixed messages over the past few days about whether or not they still need blood in Vegas (though perhaps my favorite nurse/superwoman/sister-in-love in Vegas can clarify this). Regardless – let’s give blood anyway! If it can be sent to victims in Vegas, great, but if not – aren’t there so many other people right in our own hometowns that need life-saving blood and platelets? The tragedy in Vegas can serve as a good reminder that there are constantly people in need of our help. Even if our blood won’t go directly to Vegas victims, we can give blood as a way to honor them.

I scheduled my appointment for this weekend, and while I’m not great with needles…I know my teeny little fear is insignificant and it will be so worth it! Schedule an appointment in your neck of the woods here. It’s quick and easy!

5. Pray.

For the fallen, for the injured, for the witnesses. Pray for peace and comfort for the families of the victims…and for the family of the shooter. Pray for the first responders, for the doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and volunteers who are working around the clock to provide love and care and healing. Pray for the volunteers who have traveled across the country to provide grief and trauma counseling. Pray for the residents of Las Vegas who are haunted by tragedy right in their backyard. Pray for our country, that instead of division we would have unity and compassion for one another. Pray for all of us – that we would not be so discouraged that we do not act, that we would not be so fearful that we do not love. Pray that this tragedy moves you (and me!) to love bigger than ever and to be so darn glad that we are here. Like this breathtaking note I found at the gym last night:

 

Do you know of other ways to help Vegas victims? Please, tell me! I’d love to know whatever we can do. Please feel free to leave a note in the comments. ❤