She Is Beautiful! {Race Review}

Last year, I developed a slight obsession with races. I ran 5Ks, 10Ks, a 15K, half marathons, a color run, a bubble run, aaand you catch my drift. I just really fell in love with that runner's high that enhances when surrounded by hundreds of other runners. 

There was one race that really stood out from the others, and it wasn't just because of the stunning beach-side course (see above picture). It was because of the entirely contagious positive and encouraging atmosphere.

She Is Beautiful had their 3rd annual Santa Barbara run this past weekend, and as soon as the race was announced, I knew I had to run it again. 

The event did not disappoint, and I think the pictures prove it. 

Shout out to Tabitha, who designed our amazinggg shirts!

My family was in town helping my brother move to Santa Barbara (Reeds are just drawn here), so it was great to have my mom and sister at the finish line. 

Running never fails to make me feel strong, capable, and amazed at what this body can do. I can't help but reflect each race on the fact that not too long ago, I hated running. Like, legit hated it. The thought of a 10K used to intimidate the heck out of me, and now, it's my favorite distance. 

She Is Beautiful takes that "you are strong, capable, and your body can do anything" message and puts it on blast alllll through out the course. There are signs everywhere encouraging you every step of the way. Whether you're doing the 5K or 10K, you're going to cross that finish line feeling accomplished, empowered and inspired, no doubt. 

I already can't wait until next year!

Weekend Rundown {Girl On Fire Race Review}

Hellooo! After an unplanned week off blogging, I'm back and extra motivated by a brand new makeover! The wonderful and amazing Kerrie Williams designed this look, and I am so happy with how it turned out. Would love to hear what you think! Highly recommend working with Kerrie if you're ever in the business of a fresh new face for your blog. 

How was your weekend? Hope it was packed with good things like mine was. This girl came to visit me, and together we ran the Girl On Fire 10K on Saturday morning. It was the perfect morning for a race along the beach. 

The course was just gorgeous, much like this one. It was almost 100% flat {which I loved}, and almost 100% directly next to the beach {which I also loved.}

There was both a 5K and a 10K option, which was great for runners of all levels. One of my favorite sites was passing an elderly person pushing another elderly person in a wheelchair along the 5K course. So darn sweet!

One thing I liked about this race in comparison to the much similar She Is Beautiful race was that they allowed men to run. So if you're a guy and feel like being a Guy On Fire, come join next year!

This was such a great way to kick off our weekend together. Not to mention celebrate the fact that less than 2 years ago, neither of us could run a 10K. And celebrate we did! 

With this post-race grub:

{from Tupelo Junction}

With a reunion of roomies past in the funk zone:

In case you're wondering, yupp, still rocking #adventuresofsoberamy. :) {Thank you, Jesus!}

And we celebrated with an evening on the couch with Friends & Dominos delivery. 

No pictures of that one, but plenty of SnapChats. 

It was such a beautiful Santa Barbara weekend! Hope yours was a great one, too!

She Is Beautiful 10K

Wayy back in June, I wrote a post for She Is Beautiful. The race was this weekend, and I could not be more excited to write this review. It's easy to write a review when you have literally only amazing things to say. 

That picture, right there, sums up the race for me. The course was gor. geous. I have run a lot of races this year, and this race was by far the most beautiful one I have ever done. The entire time I could not stop thinking about how lucky I am to live here. 

Do you see all of those women? This race was just for women. It's meant to be empowering, to remind all of us just how strong and beautiful we really are. And that's exactly what it did. It didn't matter how fast we ran the race, we all crossed that finish line feeling like winners. 

The one thing that picture doesn't show is all of the motivational signs that were along the course. It made it impossible to be in anything but an amazing mood as powerful sayings were in sight at every turn. 

And it wasn't only the race that was fantastic, but the packet-pick up party and starting line were rocking too. The starting line even has a photo booth that we absolutely took advantage of. 

Thank you so much She Is Beautiful, for such a fantastic race experience! We will absolutely be back around next year!

Have yourself a fantastic Monday, beautiful! :)

Running for Daisy

Yesterday, I posted the news that sweet Daisy has passed away. First of all, thank you all for your sweet comments and prayers. I am certain that they will be felt by all. 

Some of you mentioned that this was the first you had heard about Daisy. You can read more about her through older posts, or check out the Pray for Daisy website for more information on this beautiful girl and her story. 

This past weekend, I was in San Diego for my Valentine's Day 10K. A few weeks ago, God put it on my heart to dedicate this run to Daisy. I now understand why. 

I posted this shortly after my run:

And I seriously struggle now to find the words. 

It was so good. 

For those that are new around here (hi!), I have never been a runner. I up and decided to train for a half marathon last year, and ended up getting myself a stress fracture. 

Whoops? 

So I made the only logical decision here, and decided to start all over again this year from square 1. Fingers crossed for no injuries!

Training for this race was so different than training for my half. Yes, probably because a 10K is half the distance. But a lot of other things felt different too. 

I guess I just didn't stress as much about it this time. I was training with a friend who had never run before (so proud of her!), so we took things very slow. The most we ran before the 6.4 mile race was 3.5 (ish) miles, at an 11:30-12:30 minute average pace including walking breaks. 

This was very different from the training routine I had for last year's half marathon, and I noticed a huge difference in my confidence level. 

Each time we would stop to walk, I didn't feel like I needed to. When we decided to go at our own pace for the actual race, I decided to just run my little heart out at a pace that felt good, going as far as my body wanted to without stopping. 

Well that pace that felt good? Ended up being an 8:30 mile time.

And that "going as far as my body wanted to?" Ended up being the entire race. 

My ideal goal was to run at a 10:00 pace, finishing just around an hour.

I ended up finishing at 54 minutes, placing 8th in my age group. 

Me! The non runner that I am!

Crossing that finish line? Best feeling ever. 

Not to mention I was pretty blessed with some amazing cheerleaders!

The entire race, I could not stop thinking about how this run was for Daisy. And it made me realize something. I don't want it to stop with this race. 

I want to run all my races for Daisy. 

And I want to invite you to do the same! I know some of you have running goals of your own, so if you've got it on your heart, I'd love for you to run for Daisy with me!

I decided to use a hashtag on Instagram, running4daisy. I'm going to continue to use it, and if you're documenting your own running experiences, please go ahead and spread the hashtag love.

It doesn't have to be pictures from a race, any run is worthy of running for Daisy. I want to celebrate the healthy, strong, beautiful bodies that we have been blessed with by giving glory to her memory. 

Remember her strength as you are building your own.

Happy Humpday, dears! Make it a great one.