#teamsparkle

I’m so behind in my blog posts, you guys. I was honored to be featured on Sparkle Athletic's blog in January. I know. Here it is, mid-March and I’m just now telling you all about it.

If you’re not familiar with Team Sparkle, they are as awesome as they sound. Sparkle Athletic was founded by three friends in 2010. A few years after their company was established, I ran the Warrior Dash with my daughter and a group of friends. We established a team of runners, some of whom were friends of friends. That's the beauty of running: you make connections with people that you might not have met otherwise.

One of those friends was a woman we met at the race with her now-husband then-boyfriend and their dog Frank. I obviously liked Brenna right from the start: anyone who has a dog sidekick named ‘Frank’ that also happens to be a Labrador has to be amazing, right?? Brenna had a bunch of ‘dress up’ stuff for us to wear: glitter skirts, striped sleeves and visors. I asked her where she had gotten the loot, and she casually explained her aunt Kelly owned a company that sold athletic wear.

This certainly wasn’t like any athletic wear I had seen before. I still own the skirt and sleeves Brenna give me that day, and I have worn my black and silver sparkle skirt to races several times over.

Believe it or not, I was actually able to salvage my
#teamsparkle outfit. I have laundry skillz, y'all.

Holy crap, were we ever muddy. Good times! I count my lucky stars we didn’t get hepatitis.

Anyway! It was an incredible honor to be a featured runner on their site. Many thanks to one of my favorite social media runners Carlee McDot for reaching out to me and making this happen.

#runalways

I was thrilled to be a featured on the  #RunAlways Instagram account in January. Like the name implies, it's an account designed to inspire and connect the global running community.

 

A RUNNING STORY ------------------------------------------ I am an addict/alcoholic. Running is a huge part of my recovery and it has turned into a form of meditation; my head is quiet when my body is moving. . I was 35 years old when I began running. It started out of necessity because my son wouldn't stay in childcare at the gym. I ran 3-4 days a week pushing a baby jogger, but it took a full year before it was something I looked forward to doing. . I had heard you could get high from running. At age 38, I decided to run my first full marathon. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I ran my second full marathon on my 40th birthday. . Two weeks afterward, my entire right arm went numb during a run. I thought I was having a stroke or heart attack, until I realized the sensation stopped immediately when I began walking. I was diagnosed with bulging discs in my neck. My doctor said I had to stop running. . Against his advice, I slowly began running again. I made some corrections to my form and gave up road cycling. Three years after my injury, I ran my fastest half marathon and finished the course with a PR of 2:05. My glory was short-lived. During the race I felt a small tug on the back of my leg, but I had so much adrenaline onboard that I was able to shake it off and finish strong. . I tried running a few days later - the tug had become a sharp pain at the top of my right hamstring. I was diagnosed with bursitis. Despite seeing my chiropractor weekly, it took nearly four months of no running for the injury to heal. This coincided with some thyroid issues and I quickly gained 25 pounds. . Over the last 5 years, my relationship with running has changed and so have my expectations. Last November, I ran the same event, only to finish one hour and forty-five minutes slower than my PR. It was enormously humbling. . Running is a fickle thing. Injury has taught me to be resilient, and it is a part of my success as a runner. I always surprise myself when I persevere. - Featured Runner: Brea McInnes @babydoll_brea / California ~ It's not just about inspiring pictures, it's also about inspiring stories. _ Tell us yours: run-culture@run-always

A post shared by Run Always (@run.always) on Jan 23, 2017 at 4:31pm PST

The account is run (no pun intended) by several administrators, one of whom goes by the pseudonym Runnermarx. I discovered his account years ago, and he now has over 6.5K followers. Mark is a lifelong runner with a true passion for the sport. He's a great guy: outgoing, smart and incredibly knowledgeable. And yeah, it doesn't hurt that he starred in a beer commercial that aired during Superbowl halftime. Just sayin'. 

Anyway! It was an honor to be chosen to share my running story. Check it out and let me know what you think. 

Weekend Snapshots: Meetups, Chaperone Extraordinaire And My Babygirl

This weekend was Busy. That's right, people…with a capital B. It started off with a sunrise walk with my friend Smitha (I can call her that, right??) who was in town for a work conference.

Smitha writes the blog Running With SD Mom and frequently hosts fun giveaways. She hosted a Run Lites giveaway in October...and I won!

Super lightweight and cute, these handlights have such great visibility.
They're perfect for camping and morning runs!

I'm a nerd about all things fitness related, and Smitha and I started chatting online about everything from RX Bar flavors to her favorite hydration recommendation (Orange Mud brand, in case you were wondering). She is always quick to reply and has been nothing but kind. I started seeing photos of Smitha at various spots around my town in my Instagram feed. I hope I didn’t fangirl too hard and freak her out! Smitha is a fabulous social media presence and truly the nicest person. When she learned I had been having back issues -- despite being an avid marathoner -- instead of going for a run, Smitha suggested we meet anyway and go for a walk instead. Runners really do make the nicest friends!

It was such a beautiful sunrise along the waterfront.

Runners make the nicest friends! I got to meet @runningwithsd for a sunrise walk this morning! 💪🏼👭#instafriends #bloggers #fitness #werunsocial #runchat #sweatpink #girlsgonesporty #santabarbara #southerncalifornia #luckyme 🤗

A photo posted by Babydoll's Bloggie (@babydoll_brea) on Nov 4, 2016 at 7:37pm PDT

Later that morning, I went to the chiropractor for another adjustment and physical therapy. This made a significant difference and tipped the scale in favor of being able to chaperone Boydoll's marching band competition afterall. Thanks to my portable TENS unit, I was able to work on my craft project during the bus ride, too! 

The band won all three categories in their division on Saturday: Best Overall Score, Best Auxillary (drumline), and Best Color Guard. Go Chargers! 

Uniforms and instruments

Horns and hats. 

Boydoll warming up in the bass line. #notreble

I saw this bumper sticker on a parked car, and it was too cute a photo opportunity to pass up. I'm a bunny Auntie, so I know a thing or two about the awesomeness that is this bumper sticker. #bunnyfamilyftw

I took this photo for reasons. So cute!

After a long day down south, we were pleasantly surprised to come back and find Girldoll at home from college for the night. I'm certain that I say this (every...single... time), but I am so glad my girl is an only hour away. I offered to wash and fold her laundry, and made her favorite homemade mac and cheesies for dinner. It was a toss up as to who was happier to see Girldoll, me or The Browns:

Lots of happy sneezes and wrestling. These boys love their girl!  

I was reflecting yesterday about the past few months leading up to this election, and that tomorrow will my daughter's first time voting. In 30 years, this is by far the craziest election cycle I have ever seen. It's certainly one for the history books. 

By this time tomorrow, we will have a new president. I am ready to elect a new POTUS and move forward. To quote Forrest Gump, 'That's all I have to say about that.'

Not on the actual ballot, although nothing surprises
me anymore during an election year.  

Thank you to Katie for her weekend linkup! Have you ever won a contest or any online giveaways?

TOL #1 Snapchat vs Instagram

In an effort to write more frequently, I came across this prompt from blogger Amanda at Running With Spoons. The concept of getting thoughts down isn't a new one but, after reading her post, the notion resonated with me. 

For my first go, it's hardly deep and has already been hashed out to death...but it's been on my mind:

Snapchat. 

I had an account several years ago when it was a newish app, but I felt scummy about it; I read an article that the original intent of the platform was to send nude and lewd photos that supposedly 'disappeared' after the recipient opened them. I was disturbed by this since once a photo is out on the Internet, it's there forever. More recently, I heard a story on NPR about how young girls are bombarded with requests for 'noodz' from male classmates. As a parent of a teenage daughter, this is enormously disturbing. 

While I'm sure a fair amount of that still takes place among consenting adults, it has evolve. It's a medium where I can have a quick interaction with my kids or catch a glimpse of a day in the life of musicians, actors or my fellow social media acquaintances. I freaking love Snapchat. 

It's become my favorite social media platform because it's all the fun with none of the drama (I'm looking at you, Facebook). And the other social media sites (who will remain nameless but the first letter starts with Instagram) keep updating their app to the point where it's killed the fun. 

I feel a rant coming on...

WTH, Instagram?? First, the site is ruined by a ridiculous algorithm: instead if chronological posts, accounts appear in your feed based on what it 'thinks' you want to see. If that wasn't bad enough, IG created a Snapchat-style 'story' within the platform. Unless it has to do with animals or someone whose content I'm very interested in seeing, it's pretty ridiculous...especially when it comes to oversharers. Anything beyond 5 stories within one account is excessive and I'm skipping past it entirely. The final straw was changing to a GINORMOUS FONT with ads that 'stick' and don't let you easily scroll past. #lamesauce

Besides, who can compete with those filters and stickers? 

What is your favorite social media platform? If you like Instagram, what do you think of the changes?