TOL #2 Glamorous Life of Running

Hosted by Amanda at Running With Spoons, Thinking Out Loud is a weekly celebration of quirks and randomness! An opportunity to take the pressure and stress out of writing by sharing whatever it is that happens to pop into your mind when you begin to type. A collection of random and disjoined thoughts, just because. Here's mine:

 Dude. Just to get things rolling...and so you know who you're dealing with and where I'm coming from, there is nothing truer than this:

The first comment cracks me up?!

Unglamorous. Running is the farthest thing from being glamorous, despite the contrary title of my post. One of the reasons I like running is because there is no expensive gym membership or skill set required to become a runner.  

This week I tried getting out for a run with 'just the essentials'. I'm sure this list varies from runner to runner, but mine were: running shorts, sports bra, shirt, compression calf sleeves, anklet socks and shoes. Seems basic enough, right? That's what I thought until my monkey mind started in:

'You better bring some Glide...don't want to chafe...'

'It's 80 degrees and you're already dehydrated. You should grab some coconut water.'

'The dogs need to get out. You should bring them, too. And their leashes, water and bowl...some poop bags...'

I swear that I go through these mental gymnastics over any decision I make, but particularly moreso with running. I feel like if I'm better prepared for any possible scenario, then I'm that much more likely to have an optimum experience. Going for a run with 'just the essentials' was an exercise (if you'll excuse the pun) in letting some of that go. I didn't even bring my phone, which is a huge win in that regard. Since I had errands afterward and the heat was a factor, I left the dogs at home and settled for two out of the three. 

By the end of my run, I was a sweaty mess. I had disgusting gooey strings of saliva on my lips (seriously, what gives with that??), dirt and sunscreen in the creases of my inner arm, and despite the liberal application of Glide, I chafed anyway. ALL THE GLAMOUR. 

All that glamour. All of it.

Food finds. I do most of my shopping at Trader Joe's. Their produce isn't that great, so I usually pick up fresh fruits and veggies during the week. Last week I discovered their dried orange slices. Dude! They have a boatload of sugar, but I don't even care because they taste like my childhood. [I legit went to grade school with a girl named Krishna. Her mom was a beautiful hippy, and she made us candied orange peels almost every time I came over to their tiny house trailer.]    

Look at those shimmery crystals of sugar.
I'm in nostalgia nirvana.

My second find was their sweet pickled jalapenos. The peppers are brined in a sugar and vinegar solution, and I seriously can't get enough of them. TJs has a reputation for suddenly discontinuing items without notice, so I may or may not have bought three jars the last time I was at the store, like some sort of crazy jalapeno hoarder. They're incredible on sandwiches and they were prominently featured last night in a layered taco salad. I'm going to try them on pizza next.

Hello beautiful! The sweetness masks some of the heat
creating a match made in culinary heaven.

Yes please. 

I'll end my post with a small tangent: the BlogGo app totally blows. I typed this post yesterday on my phone through the app, and it lost two-thirds of what I wrote. This is where I'd insert both the streaming tears and angry face emoji...but since I'm not on my phone, I'm severely limited to a colon and parenthesis :(

Do you like spicy food? What are some new food finds you're stoked about?