when duke wins, the kids win

What's better than something you love? Combining two somethings you love. Obviously. Which is exactly what is happening right here. Yesiree. That's Duke + chocolate milk.

When he ran his marathon, Team Refuel asked him to ad lib a commercial. Whoever gets the most votes will be sponsored - and every time you vote, a dollar is donated to the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

So - what I'm saying is - you should vote for Duke, and everybody wins. Literally! Everybody! 

You can vote every day this month, so vote early, vote often and crack up at his ever-so-convincing love of chocolate milk. He's a natural, I tell you! 

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king of savannah

Remember how I told you my family stinks at resting? I am fairly certain Duke is the worst at it (no offense, Dukie :)).

He's basically just a machine. I am not actually sure if he feels physical pain, and he's insanely focused. Growing up, my parents often had to remind him to eat, or remind him that he was, in fact, sick, and should probably take it easy.

This weekend, these traits were wildly apparent when he ran dominated the Savannah marathon. Sub-eights, plus negative splitting - yes. for 26.2 miles. Insane! He's amazing!

I was planning on attending the race, then my mom decided to come surprise him, too (yaay!). She flew into Atlanta, then we drove to Savannah Friday night. We got a real kick out of it when Duke called us both and we lied about what we were doing, since we were actually doing the side-by-side, en route to cheer him on.

We surprised him at mile 21. Afterwards we asked him if he saw us, because it didn't seem to register, and he said he thought he smiled and waved. He did not :) Focused, I tell ya. But after 21+ miles at the pace, can you blame him?!

After the race, we explored and dined in Savannah.

The next day, we dropped Duke off at school, then came back to Atlanta. We made a quick roadside pitstop along the way because my mom had never seen cotton before. After many an Indiana corn shucked, she felt it her Midwestern duty to check out the cotton fields, too.

It was just wonderful, as always, spending the weekend with them. Way to go, Duke! We are so proud of you!

hoop

My roommate Katie was in a hula hooping club in college and, needless to say, she could hoop you under the table. She's got skills.

This spring, she taught me how to hoop - a hobby that really took off at the beach over Memorial Day. Not only is it a good workout for your waist, it also turned out to be a great way to make friends. Everyone wanted a piece of our hoops.

I hooped my way into Week 3 of Laura's wellness challenge. It isn't technically a brand new exercise, but it is a broken-foot-friendly-exercise, and offered an alternative to just arms and abs every day.

As someone who finds comfort in routine and relies on my daily run to clear my head, help me reconnect with what matters and find peace, it's been incredibly hard not to have this time alone&away from my desk (and everything). Although hula hooping didn't fulfill these needs, it was a nice way to be outside and feel a little bit of rhythm and routine.

I hope you had a good, stretchy week!

::healthy life::

When I started talking about how I broke my foot, there was a ridiculous amount of people who asked me if I thought maybe my foot broke so easily because I run too much.

My first thought was: Um. Excuse me? To imply that I am weak? And to imply that I have done this to myself? And to imply that I do something too much? Rude.

But then, after enough people started saying it, it started to make its way into my conscience.

Could that be it? Could it be that the searing pain that shoots through my foot constantly was trying to tell me something? Trying to tell me to scale back?

And isn't that how it works? When you're immediate reaction is frustration with someone, it typically means they're right.

And then, as I dove back into the blogosphere last week and realized almost all of my top blog obsessions were either (1) workout or (2) healthy-living related, the theory really began to take legs.

Fortunately, I clearly will not be running until December, so whatever break from running this body may have needed is going to take place.

But it got me thinking about how almost everyone I know does too much of something - whether it be a good habit turned vice, or work, or leading charity committees - it's hard to remember moderation. Too much of a good thing is really a thing. And it's important not to let those things control everything.

So, I thought this the perfect opportunity to participate in Laura's healthy living challenge. I mentioned last week that I already know that when I do some of these things, I feel like a significantly better person. So why not really dedicate these next booted-up weeks to this? I'm skipping the first week (drink more water) because I don't think it possible for someone to drink more water than me. If I drink any more of it, I might actually drown myself. And that'd be, yet again, too much of a good thing.

So this week is rest, which is just what the doctor ordered (for real though). I am going to try to go to bed at the same time every night this week, which is going to be hard because I have two birthday parties and a 10 pm flight to LA Thursday. But, I am going to focus more on the rest my foot portion of things. So not letting myself walk places I know I shouldn't (like to MARTA), not mowing the lawn, etc. I think it's going to be a good goal.

You should join me in this endeavor, too! Check out the plan below. See you next week, Stretch!

sweet dreams

Last week at yoga, I was talking with my instructor about her life right now and whether or not she was overwhelmed. And she said, well, for the average person, my life would not be overwhelming. But I'm not a busy person. I do best when I am unbusy. So this feels like a lot.

Oh. How her words resonated with me. I wish being unbusy appealed to me. I wish that busyness wasn't so fulfilling.

Since June, I have been working my tail off on slowing down. It's undoubtedly been more work saying no and keeping my schedule open than it ever was to run around like a wild woman. It's just not in my nature. But, in this time, I have felt more reflective than ever, have had time to connect with friends in more meaningful ways and have learned a lot about myself.

I have found that I am happiest, and the best version of myself:

• When I get enough sleep. This is the first time that I can remember since middle school that I am consistently getting more than seven hours of sleep each night. And I feel like the king.
• When I eat well. Clean.
• When I work out every day. (not a revelation)
• When I take time to connect with people. In person. On the phone. From afar.
• When I laugh. A lot.

Before I started this process, though, and actually oftentimes still, I get scared that I will lose my ability to be wildly busy. That I might soon forget how to multi-task or get a million things done at once. That someday I might be overwhelmed by basic tasks like getting my kids to school, like my yoga instructor. And most of the time, I can talk myself out of this thought process, but yesterday I stumbled upon this post by Sarah Tucker and it made me feel one million times better. When we are more reflective, and spend more time figuring out who we are and what we want, we make much more productive decisions to advance our futures.

Sarah also led me to Lara Casey's Get Fired Up post, which you should read. I now have a solid list of: what I am afraid of (who knew!?), what I want, who should be by my side to make it happen and how it's going to happen. 

All because I decided I needed to sleep more than 5.5 hours each night. These really are sweet dreams.

PS: If you're feeling equally as inspired as I am, you should enter to win a scholarship to Making Things Happen. I hope we both win :)

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risky counters

This is how the weekend was supposed to go down:

An Atlanta reunion with Katie G., Emily and Katie Z.

But instead, this is how it went down:

Broken foot. Womp womp. (I meant it literally when I said "went down.")

I broke it Thursday night, which led to a slightly less exciting weekend than we had planned. I jumped off of our kitchen counter and managed to land just wrong enough to break my 5th metatarsal. The biggest issue, at this point, is that the story is pretty lame. I need to make something up about surfing, or skiing or skydiving - or something that makes it sound thrilling.

I thought six weeks of just biking and swimming was hard, so now I'm in for a real challenge of doing absolutely nothing for six to eight weeks. It's going to be mentally trying, but I'm going to try to follow the rules this time around. No point in delaying the healing, here.

And, luckily, Katie and Emily still came to my rescue and took me out of the house for a few hours of Highland loving Saturday afternoon.

I hope your weekend was slightly less risky, and stuck to your plan more than mine did! Be careful out there, my friends!

so long sweet summer

Do you think it will last?

I have asked this question approximately 37 times since Sunday, when fall decided to take over Atlanta.

And the answers I have gotten have been a wide variety of yes, no and maybe. All leading to me to the conclusion that no one knows, but everyone hopes, that this early autumn is here to stay.

The air is crisp, the skies are blue, the temperatures are in the 80s.

I'm, of course, always down for an Indian Summer, but also can't get enough of this weather. Last week I was feeling burned out on running, but this week, all I want to do is throw on my runners and get outside. And dine al fresco. And sleep with my windows open. And make s'mores.

Ah!

I hope you're having a great week, and getting outside a whole lot.

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Onward Warrior

Courtney and I have this theory that we can always tell when someone was a cross country runner because they say hi to other people while running. And sometimes, on particularly brutal days (i.e. when it's really hot, really cold, stormy...), they'll say things like: good job! keep going!

After so many years of running for a team sport, it's engrained in us.

But on Sunday, our theory went to pot.

Atlanta recently opened the part of the BeltLine that connects Midtown, the Highlands and Inman Park. The combination of the absolutely perfect weather, as well as Atlantans having a clear yearning for the safe, traffic-free path, left the BeltLine absolutely packed with happy people. Runners, walkers, bikers, bladers (lie. I was the only one on rollerblades), were filled with very evident joy. People were saying hello, smiling, jumping...! I almost danced to my music, and I think if I had taken the leap, others would have followed suit. It was a path of pure joy.

One business even put out a sign that says, "Onward Warrior" pointing to the path. I obviously loved this, because it made me feel like we really were a team. Team BeltLine.

I'm so excited about the path being right by my house, and am crossing my fingers big time that they continue to grow it. That way Team BeltLine can cruise allll around the city.

PS: I know the picture makes the path look awkwardly empty, but I was just around a little bend. I swear I'm not lying like when I tried to tell you other people still rollerblade...

Boatmeal Bars!

I was cruising right along with this whole veganism thing until last week when I had a little, tiny, baby meltdown. For one, I’m not yet seeing results from the diet change. While this is expected (two to three months), I was still hoping the doctor was just saying that, like when I tell myself on the treadmill that I have only been running for a mile, but I actually know, in my head, it’s been three. And for two, I am having a hard time feeling satisfied. I had no idea how much I relied on dairy to satiate me.

Ash had the blessing of experiencing said meltdown while we were in Indy and, no stranger to veganism, emailed me a whole bunch of amazing recipes, including a few from my newest obsession, Chocolate Covered Katie (yes – I realize I am the last person to know about her. Juuust slightly behind here).

So, earlier this week, I got myself together and made these Boatmeal Bars. And let me tell you, if I were stuck on a boat and only had one thing with me, I’d pick the Boatmeal over the Bar any day. They’re amazing. And satisfying.

Oh – I topped mine with peanut butter. Obviously. And I highly recommend it.

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weekend happiness

I’ve always had a pretty mild wild affinity for being outside, but ever since joining corporate America, my desire has been insatiable. Being inside in the summer just feels so wrong, and on the Fourth of July, we righted it.

Katie Z. and I kick-started things by deciding at 11.30 p.m. Tuesday night that we’d bandit the Peachtree Road Race the next morning. As Atlanta’s biggest race – and the world’s largest 10k road race – it was the perfect way to start the day.

 After that, a big group of us Shot the Hooch, then Roomie Reynolds and I hosted a party at our house. From running, to floating, to grilling, it was the perfect way to celebrate America.

 

 

 On Thursday, Katie Z. and I flew home to Indianapolis for a wedding. The wedding was beautiful, and, what made it totally amazing, was seeing my family. We missed Duke, who couldn’t get back from Texas for the weekend, a whoooole lot though.

I hope you had a patriotic and happy holiday weekend!

PS: A big congrats to this girl for buying her first house.

And a special thanks to her for letting us have a tiny reunion there.

ATL Hold It Down

I've expressed before that I have an irrational, and yet very real, fear that I am ungrateful. And this past weekend, my fear skyrocketed with the culmination of three projects.

First, I completed my triathlon. I was blown away by how supportive my friends&family were - from texts to wall posts and everything in between, it felt so wonderful to know that people were supporting me during the race.

With the tri came the end of my campaign, one tri: one well for charity:water. Eee! I was so nervous to try to raise $2,500, and you all ended up donating more than $5,000. Instead of funding half of a well, we've funded an entire well for a village. A village will have water forever! Can you believe it!? I can't. I'm so so appreciative of your support, and when I started losing steam during the tri, I thought of all of those kids that walk miles&miles every day carrying buckets of water. And I knew I could do it for them. Thank you for motivating me!

And finally, Cheers for Children was Saturday night. I am so very grateful to everyone who attended! I was blown away by how supportive my friends were. To have you all there was absolutely amazing and I really, really appreciate you supporting the cause.

 

Whew. Quite a weekend. THANK YOU!

better late than never

You guys. I failed.

Wednesday was National Running Day *and* National Froyo Day, and I missed them.

Those are two of my most favoritest things – like almost should have taken a day off work to celebrate them – and I just let them pass me by.

Sure, I went for a run, but I didn’t even wear an extra cute running outfit or listen to a new playlist.

Couple that with the fact that I didn’t eat any froyo, and I might as well not call myself Whitney. 

I think I am going to have to make up for it this weekend. If you need me, check Menchi’s. 

TGIF!

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weekend bliss

This weekend. Oh my. There are no words. It had everything a girl could want...

A surprise birthday party for Linds, followed by a charity benefit.

Time with Duke (even if he's halfway cut off), which included running to breakfast at Highland Bakery (finally tried it!) and a coffee walk home.

Wine&loving with Melly&Sally. Pool time with Savannah.

Picked up my bike, which means I can reallllly get my ride on. (Doesn't Jeepy look so serious!?  She's still cute though!)

And, of course, some King of Poppin.

I hope your weekend was full of sunshine and happiness!