The 2 Reasons Why You Should Run The Color Run!

The 2 Reasons Why You Should Run The Color Run!

It really shouldn't take all that much convincing. You google "the color run" and you come up with a zillion photos of peppy-looking people, pummeled with pink paint and cheesing up a storm with their besties. Who doesn't want to be one of those positively joyous souls? Happy? Laughing? PINK??! That's a good way to Saturday right there. But in case you need a bit of convincing, I've got a few reasons for you to sign up for The Color Run:

1. It truly is the happiest 5K on the planet. Well, to me anyway.

I'm not a 5K junkie, so I can't really say it's the best one ON THE PLANET (because ya know, its a big planet), but this one was seriously the most fun I've ever had at a 5K. I found myself leaping like a gazelle through the rainbow haze of powdered paint. LIKE A GAZELLE. Or like a bullfrog. There was some leaping happening. It was just so fun and happy and the music was SO POSITIVE and I found myself thinking, "why am I not running this happy all the time?!" That Color Run. They know what they're doing.

2. It's easy. Like, really

really

easy.

This is not a competitive race. It's not even close to the realm of competitive. Did they even time us? I don't think so. The "running a 5K" part is kind of just the action that strings together all the fun shenanigans happening. COLOR STATIONS. FLASH MOB. COORDINATED DANCING. PICTURE WITH UNICORN. These are the important moments. And the running part is just to get you from FLASH MOB to BLUE PAINT STATION to, you know, PICTURE WITH UNICORN. In other words, I saw 70-year old women walking this race. In tutus. And they were doing a fine job of it.

I was going to make a third option, but there is no need for a third option. Because, I mean, I've really said it all. THIS RACE IS FUN AND EASY. Oh, and unicorns. There's your number 3. UNICORNSSSSS.

Pregame.

Ready to shine.

Gosh these cuties.

See? Told you.

UNI. Now all we need is a pegacorn appearance for my life to be complete.

They might have given us some paint of our own.

My love. He shines bright like a diamond.

Sweet V in all her glory.

I might have choked a little bit. A little bit, yeah.

The happy is contagious. WE CAUGHT IT.

This one is my absolute fave. My sister and my niece, having all kinds of silly fun. PRECIOUS MOMENTS.

Gotta find time to communicate. Amidst the paint powder. And yellow faces. And - wait, MY SISTER IS PHOTOBOMBING. What exactly is she doing??

Tired little girl. But she's got hair that won't quit.

All photos courtesy of the talented

Josh Hale

We ran this race last weekend at the

Atlanta Motor Speedway

with friends and family and it was seriously so so fun. And silly. And wonderful! My nieces and nephews even joined the fun and ran parts of the race with us (strolled the rest of the time, oh, the joys of being a child!) They really loved the color stations. And who wouldn't? It was like being in a Barney video or something. It was completely worth getting up early for - next time around, LET'S ALL RUN THIS THING. And by run, of course I mean eat cotton candy and prance with unicorns under a sky of rainbow powder paint.

TASTE: Lemon Mustard Chicken with Mango Cauliflower "Couscous" (PALEO ALERT)

Lemon Mustard Chicken with Mango Cauliflower "Couscous"

Good Morning! I hope everyone had an awesome Labor Day weekend. Ours was super low key, we just filled the days taking long walks and cooking early dinners. Haha, that's life with a newborn, folks! I am excited to share one particularly easy and delicious recipe with you today.

This was sent to me by my darling friend/sort-of-cousin/former-boss/mother-of-my-goddaughter (yes, we have a lot of relational ties). She mentioned that she had been eating "Paleo" lately, and that she's been feeling great as a result. I was intrigued, but not enough to give up all the good stuff in life. Obviously. She assured me that this recipe tasted DELICIOUS and that I needed to try it out for myself. So I relented. Folks? She was right. Ugh AGAIN. Kelley, you've got to stop doing that.

This recipe was sourced here, but I actually made a few (extremely minor) changes to the recipe to make it a bit more my own. (Lately I have a thing for adding whole grain mustard to everything:)

Lemon Mustard Chicken Ingredients:

- 4 chicken breasts, 2 to 4, boneless

- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

- ¼ cup lemon juice

- 1 tbsp whole-grain mustard

- 4 cloves garlic, minced

- 2 tbsp honey

- 2 tsp dried thyme

- 1 tsp red pepper flakes, crushed

- 1 tsp cayenne pepper

- 1 tsp sea salt

- 1 tsp black pepper

Lemon Mustard Chicken Method:

1. Heat a skillet or dutch oven over medium and let get really hot.

2. Place olive oil, lemon juice, whole-grain mustard, garlic, honey, thyme, red pepper flakes, cayenne, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix well.

3. Add the chicken to the bowl and ensure an even coating of all the meat. (The original recipe says to "cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, and up to 2 days", but I didn't do that. I just coated the chicken well and placed it in the heated dutch oven.) Then I poured the remainder of the marinade over the chicken. The more the merrier, right?

4. Grill over medium heat only flipping once until cooked through. Serve over a bed of the Mango Cauliflower Couscous.

Mango Cauliflower "Couscous" Ingredients:

- ½ head cauliflower

- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

- ½ cup raw almonds, chopped, consistency of choice, (you can substitute any nuts that you want)

- 1 mango, peeled and diced

- 1 tbsp coconut oil

- 1 pinch sea salt

Mango Cauliflower "Couscous" Method:

1. Melt coconut oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Pulse all of the cauliflower in a food processor until it is like rice or until it resembles Couscous.

2. Transfer the cauliflower to a separate bowl. Chop almonds up in a food processor, and then add to the cauliflower.

3. Place diced mango in the food processor and pulse until it is broken down to small chunks - don’t pulse too much or you will end up with mango salsa (which I am sure would work just fine; I just prefer little bites).

4. Add the cauliflower, almonds, and coconut to the sauté pan and turn the heat up to medium-high. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often and then add the mango. Continue to cook until done to your liking.

All together, now.

Serve the "couscous" with the delicious Lemon Mustard Grilled Chicken and enjoy. No seriously, you WILL enjoy it. Despite the whole Paleo-label. Let me know what you think!

The Merrell Challenge Update

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” - L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Crunch, says my Sneakers.

There are ghost hunters. There are bargain hunters. There are actual hunters. I do not fit into any of these categories, but I do have my own area of curious interest: I am a seeker of fall foliage (and somewhat of a fiend about it.) I seek it out. I can wake up and smell the crispness of the leaves, thus determining how vibrant the colors might be today. And then I must go and discover whether or not my hypothesis is correct. Wow. I haven't used the word "hypothesis" since I was a sophomore in college. Whoa, haven't used the word "sophomore" since I was that level in high school. It must be a brainy day for me... Anyway! This thirst for foliage; it's both a grand gift and a heavy responsibility. I accept its challenge. Along with...

The Merrell Challenge.

I've had the pleasure of taking on The Merrell "Feel Your Run" Challenge for the past 6 weeks or so. The premise of this challenge is to log 30 runs in 45 days, which is a really good start for me (a non-runner) to actually track my progress and be accountable to something that could potentially reward me with presents (the ultimate motivator!) This challenge has gotten me outside, thus coupling my (semi) love for running and my (absolute) joy for fall foliage. It's the perfect time of year to be out and prancing around in the leaves!

// Who says New England gets to have all the fun? New York is rocking the vibrant autumn colors these days. //

// This guy is about a week away from donning auburn, gold and cinnamon shades of bliss. //

The Trail.

I've been running a 2.3 mile loop around the Reservoir at Central Park. It's the perfect distance for me and I have seen a lot of improvement in my endurance and actual time. I've never been into timing myself as a runner (I always rewarded myself just for getting out there!), but since I've been running a lot it's definitely been fun to see my own progress. This past week I started mixing up my trail by running across the Upper West Side to Riverside Park and running along the Hudson. I also took a new route north in Central Park and looped around the North Meadow, which proved to be ridiculously scenic. Anything to keep it interesting and fresh (and leafy!)

My Running Stats:

(via Mapmyrun)

Current Standing: 1595th (whoa. um what.)

Percentage: Top 4%, woohoo! (I have a feeling a LOT of people signed up for this and just haven't done it. How could I possibly be so high up? Not being self-deprecating; just knowing thyself.)

Average Mile/Minute: 9:30 min/mile

# of Runs Completed: 26

# of Days Left: 4

I'm almost to the (not-so-literal) finish line, folks. Wish me luck!

The Merrell Challenge: 30 Runs in 45 Days

// My new running trail: Jackie O Reservoir in Central Park. //

Mapmyrun.

I've been meeting a lot of people lately. New city, new friends. It's been grand. One common denominator amongst a lot of these new friends is their athletic ambition: TONS of people are training for a half marathon this fall. It's intimidating. And impressive. And just plain intimidating.

I am not a true runner. A true runner needs no music, no external motivation. They feel the (intangible to me) heartbeat of nature as they fling their long lean limbs through the air, resisting gravity and all temptation to STOP RUNNING. Maybe they don't even have that temptation. I'd like to wave a Twix in front of their noses and see if any pupils dilate. These people are impressive. These people are disciplined. Beautiful. Lean. And possibly have extra motivation genes. These people all look a lot like my hot athletic sister-in-law Lauren. She's one of this elite breed. Multiple triathlons under her belt. I have accepted that I am not one of her kind. I would need some genetic engineering to yearn for the pavement in this special kind of way.

However, I do sort of like running. Even though it hurts. And I get cramps. And even though my inside thoughts are only whines. But really, I do like running (well, we should call what I do jogging), because it makes my lungs feel fly and my legs wake up. When I run I feel grateful that I can.

Enter the Challenge.

I came across this challenge on my Mapmyrun app: Merrell's Feel Your Run Challenge: 30 Runs in 45 Days. I am not much of a quantifier, so I've never really sat down and counted the number of workouts I do in a month of two. But this kind of made me ponder. How hard would it really be to run 30 out of 45 days? So before I could talk myself out of it, I joined this challenge. Am I crazy? I wonder if there are any bonus points for doing more than 30 runs in 45 days... If you want to join me in this endeavor, sign up here! If you haven't used Mapmyrun before, you should definitely check it out. It's a free app that calculates all your workout metrics: calories burned, distance, speed, elevation, etc. It's pretty spectacular. It's super easy to use and sort of makes you feel accomplished.

So far, I've completed 3/30 runs and I have until Oct. 17. I'll keep you posted on this! You can follow my Instagram trail pics here. Wish me luck!

How to Combat Stress.

Sleep much? 

I took a moment to breathe this morning.

Whew.

Full disclosure. I've had insomnia since we moved to NYC. I just can't sleep. Lists keep running in my head like the opening, scrolling scene of Star Wars. Long long lists that appear to extend into the darkness of outer space... it's odd. "

Long ago in a galaxy far, far away....

I dreamed of moving to New York!" And now here we are. It's an odd exhilaration, because I've also been on an extreme high, thrilled to walk down the street to the drycleaners JUST BECAUSE I AM IN NEW YORK. I feel like I'm hopped up on coffee all day long (even though it's only half), yet my frenzied heart can't rest when the nighttime comes and the lights get turned off. Frantic, flooded with to-do's, drowning with feeling like I'm ever-so-late to the game. What game? I don't really know. Isn't that the lie we all believe when we're trying to do something new? I am attempting to juggle several things and it's keeping me awake. It's sort of silly. But not, because the bloodshot eyes are starting to make me look like I'm on something. I know I'm not the only person in the world to experience this. But I've got to get it under control. Because sleep is necessary to accomplishing all those to-do's!

So, I decided to set all my lists and to-do's aside and just reflect. Just for a hot minute. 60 seconds, that's all.

Ha. It hit me all at once. The bevy of beautiful people who are WONDERFUL and love me so vastly. The smiles of my loved ones blur together into a sloppy, gleeful image in my mind, and wow. I am so grateful. My thoughtful sister who sent me a powerful book on art in the mail last week and my dearest friend who sent me a delightful Anthropologie housewarming present in the mail this week. The flowers my Aunt sent. My mom, who has called me and encouraged me everyday. My cousins, my sisters, my Dad, my friends. They care. Sheesh I am so blessed. I am overwhelmed with the unfathomable, infectious, present-infused love. And I am so incredibly thankful for these genuine pillars of strength in my life. These people quite literally create a firm foundation; I believe I can be big and strong because they tell me I can.

Get Grateful.

So I just want to encourage you today. Stress, anxiety, tension; they're all natural responses to transition. And if you're experiencing transition, whether severe or thrilling or somewhere in between, you don't have to experience an on-going bought of the painful stress. Take a moment, allow yourself to focus on the beautiful gifts around you, the joy of your relationships, even the lovely colors of summer. Whatever it takes. For your mind to quiet, your face to relax, your eyes to finally close. Your gratitude breeds peace. And once you have that peace, it's yours to keep.

Try It.

If you need to do an exercise to pull you out of a funk, unearth some of that pretty stationary that I know is sitting somewhere in a side drawer. Take a moment to think about 3 people who have really impacted your personal journey in the past year. It might be your mom, it might be your husband, it might even be a co-worker that you're not that close with, but has recognized your contributions and verbalized it. Whoever comes to mind, take 5 minutes and write it down. Tell them why they are wonderful to you. I promise that you will feel. So good. And now... look what you've done! Not only did you quiet your mind and find your peace, but now you're giving it away to others! Mmm win/win. Stamp it. Mail it.

Final Note.

In case you haven't heard it yet, you are enough. All the to-do's, the busyness, the job stress, the family tensions and the responsibility you feel toward all of it. Of course you have your reasons to be stressed. Of course you are justified in all your emotions. And there is probably so much that "needs" to be done today. However, you just need to know. You are. Enough. Just you. So give yourself a slice of grace today. Because seriously, you are enough.

Love to you today.