Boise Running ~ Marathon Training

October 6, 2019

~ BOISE RUNNING ~ Marathon Training Yesterday, I went out for my long run with no real goals, I’m in an area that I’m not familiar with on a family vacation. Mom guilt is real, and I didn’t want to be out there running for over 3 hours leaving the family. I can always squeeze one last long run in once I’m home. So game plan has changed slightly, and I confidently switched next week and this week’s long runs. So I will be running a 16-20 mile long run when I get home, then start properly tapering.

This running community of ours is pretty amazing! One of my favorite things about it is connecting with other runners! The running group I run for is the Oiselle Volee is nation wide. And because of how awesome social media is these days it’s so easy to be able to connect and stay in touch with others all over the world. Because I’m more active on social media now than before, I was able to get referrals of where to run in Boise and look up information, maps, etc through google and Instagram.

I ended up reaching out to Oiselle’s Idaho Volee seeing if there were any meet ups. And yesterday, I got the opportunity to meet up with another Oiselle Bird, Nicole from the Idaho Volee. She ran the first 50 minutes with me for my long run! It was awesome because she pushed me to run a little faster – which I know I can. I ended up easing into a rhythm and keeping my pace up – running a speedy 12 mile long run along the Boise River Green Belt.

It felt so good and easy, which is what

it should feel like at this point in my training. The Marine Corps Marathon is 3 weeks out.

Running in Boise has been an amazing experience. (For those who love numbers) I ran 40 miles this week in Boise. Started the week with a 10.5 stroller run + 2 mile cool down walk, ended the week yesterday with a speedy 12 mile long run, and ran plenty of miles in between mostly stroller miles. I mainly stuck to running the gorgeous Boise River Green Belt, but I did do one East Boise neighborhood run, with views of the Foot Hills and Canal!

Next time I come out, I definitely want to explore running the foot hills, or heading out further on the Green Belt, honestly any direction you turn the views are spectacular! Thanks for being so gorgeous and fun Boise! Now off another adventure – up next Idaho Falls, then Yellowstone, and ending the month with the Marine Corps Marathon.

Nashville + Chattanooga

May 3, 2018

We survived our first trip as a family of four!

This trip was planned shortly before I knew I was pregnant with Ava. My older sister, got engaged and chose a wedding venue in the beautiful mountains of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Of course when I found out my due date March 23rd, I was relieved it was exactly a month before the wedding and not on E’s actual wedding day. The timing was perfect, but my whole pregnancy I was mentally preparing to travel with a one month old.

~ NASHVILLE + CHATTANOOGA ~

Ava’s first vacation started on Friday, April 20, 2018. She was 4 weeks 6 days old. We made is through our first flight on South West Air. Of course we had tons of luggage, no minimal packing here. We hauled a toddler, an infant, a stroller, 2 car seats, 3 bags, a diaper bag, and a tuxedo, MOH dress, and flower girl dress. ~ PRO TIP: Have the hubby drop you, the kids, and the luggage at the front of the airport, while he parks the car. We learned the hard way the first time. Two year olds are painfully slow while walking from the parking lot to the front. And no one could carry her with all of the luggage.

Another thing that made traveling through the airport 100% easier was babywearing. Everyone knows I’m a huge fan of babywearing. I alternate between my Solly Baby Wrap and my Sakura Bloom Ring Sling.

On this trip, I loved using my Solly Baby Wrap while exploring the Aquarium, Zoo and the different parts of Nashville because it was easier to shade my baby’s head from the sun and the rain.

I pulled out my ring sling for babywearing at the wedding because it was a little fancier.

Both are cozy and share the same baby wearing benefits. It is also a preference, some babies and mamas prefer one over the other. I choose mine depending on what I’m doing. My babies seem to be comfortable in either one. For more information on babywearing and it’s benefits, read this.

Once we got to Chattanooga, we were super busy. I was the MOH, but also did E’s wedding hair and makeup.

Although, non stop busy – just call me, mommy, MOH, hairstylist/makeup artist, or Sister of the Bride – we had a blast celebrating Emily and Ryan at their wedding with family and friends.

It was really amazing seeing everyone, and all of the hard work and plans came together so beautifully.

(wedding photo by Lindsay Campbell Photography.)

~ PRO TIP: just leave the baby and two year old with a babysitter and enjoy date night with the hubby. Zoe was suppose to be the flower girl, but honestly it was just too much for her. Good thing my mother-in-law was there as “babysitter” and came to the rescue!

Chattanooga is a really great area, which had tons of fun restaurants and shopping. Our favorite part (besides the wedding), was visiting the Aquarium.

I would love to go back to Chattanooga and explore a little more. The hiking trails are suppose to be incredible.

Once all of the wedding festivities were completed, we headed to Nashville. A couple of years back I ran the Nashville Country Music Half Marathon. So Nashville wasn’t new to me.

However, the food scene was pretty amazing and I had more time to explore some other neighborhoods.

When it came to the food, Hot Chicken and BBQ are the specialties of the area, however there were tons of juice bars. Some of my favorite things were the Thai Peanut ice cream and the donuts from Five Sisters.

Nashville also has some pretty incredible street art. We went to “WhatLifts You” wings by Kelsey Montague.

And the “I Believe in Nashville” street art posted above.

We enjoyed a little bit of the music scene by walking around in down town Nashville. And on our last day, we took a family trip to the Zoo.

All in all, we love both Chattanooga and Nashville! You’ll always hold a special place in my heart for being Ava’s very first vacation spot! She is such a great little traveler at just a month old.

What’s your favorite thing about Nashville? Have you traveled with an infant… what’s your pro tip?

Traveling with Zoe and Tips for traveling with a baby.

February 29, 2016

This last weekend I had a work trip to Miami, so I brought Zoe and my husband with me. I had to… Showing Zoe Sobe was a must. Plus, when I went to training, Zoe had daddy/daughter time.

On the 2/19 Zoe turned 6 months old and had a lot of first moments.

It was her first air plane ride.

She did really well on the plane. Once the plane started moving she started to dose off. She slept stretched out on my lap for the first full hour. For the next hour, I kept her entertained by standing her up, playing with toys, singing her favorite songs.

She went to Sobe and took her first ever beach nap.

It was just a short cat nap, but the salty breeze felt so good. I definitely have a beach baby on my hands.

She felt the sand in between her toes for the first time. She loved it.

“Let’s walk the beach.” “Whatever this stuff is, it feels good.”

She saw the ocean, for the first time.

It is a very special thing to see things again for the first time through your baby’s eyes. Zoe looked out at the ocean, all the way to the horizon, so big and mysterious. She felt the wet sand between her toes as salty waves crashed at her feet. I’m hoping she’ll love the water.

She is sitting up better and better.

She slept in a hotel for the first time.

Because we do NOT cosleep with Zoe, I later transferred her to a crib the hotel provided. We have the lotus bassinet by guava family. It is a travel bassinet, however my husband didn’t want to bring it. I was nervous at first that she wouldn’t be comfortable in the hotel crib, but she had no problem at all. She was so busy during the day that once she got in the crib she crashed and slept through the whole night. Zoe is a really good sleeper and can fall asleep anywhere. She is use to using different cribs because my mom has a crib at her house and we have her crib at our house, and she easily sleeps in both. So that may be another reason why she had no problem with the hotel crib.

She went in a swimming pool for the first time.

She was a little unsure about the pool. She never cried though, so I take it as a success. I want to get her in the pool more often so she gets use to it and thinks it is fun. I learned how to swim at a very young age. I actually don’t remember a time when I didn’t know how to swim. I want that for Zoe.

The pool and sun was so relaxing it put sweet Zoe to sleep.

Zoe’s first trip was a successful one. However, there were some things that we learned about traveling with a little one. So if you are traveling for the first time with your baby consider these tips, learn from our mistakes.

1) The airlines may not be consistent from one airport to the next.

We flew with American Airlines. On the way to Miami, we were at DCA, they checked our bag with no additional charge and they let us bring our stroller through security telling us to check it at the gate when entering the plane. We had no problems.

When we left Miami, heading home, the nightmare began. Our bag was 7 lbs over weight which meant we had to pay $150 to check it. Wow, so my bag basically needed a plane ticket. Then when we went to go through security, TSA told us we had to check our stroller at the counter because it was a running stroller and weighed over 20 lbs. We talked to a supervisor and they sided with TSA. So we checked our stroller for free and I baby wore Zoe in her Sakura bloom ring sling, praying and hoping our stroller would make it to our finaldestination in good condition. It also took up a lot of extra time. Thank goodness we arrived at the airport early.

2) Packing: If you are going to check your bags, consider bringing two separate bags or one bag with and additional carry on bag tucked inside to use later in case the bag is over weight.

I always check my bag, always. I hate lugging around a bag through the airport. I also hate worrying about my hair products, skin care products, and make up being the proper size.

So now that I have a baby, I’m carrying her diaper bag, so there is no way I want additional bags at my side.

However, we brought one big bag that held my stuff, my husband’s stuff, and my baby’s stuff. The thing we didn’t consider was it being over weight on the way back. Next time we are planning to bring a carry on bag tucked inside so that if we are over weight we can remove some items and put it in another bag.

3) Stroller: If you do not have a smaller travel size stroller, be prepared to check your running stroller. And if you check your car seat and don’t have a travel case for it, wrap it in a trash bag to protect it, (it could rain or just be handled poorly.)

So we only have one stroller. We have the BOB running stroller and I absolutely love it. I use it for everything. However, that is my personal opinion. I have friends who have purchased a smaller stroller for everyday errands and only use the Bob for walks, runs, and hikes.

I never knew that American Airlines would make us check our stroller because of its weight and size. And although it is free to check, when checking it you risk the chance of it not getting to the destination or getting damaged. I also was lucky that Zoe is only 6 months and I could easily babywear her, so we didn’t absolutely need the stroller.

4) When traveling with a baby always arrive to the airport earlier than you think you should.

I was very thankful we got to the airport 2 hours earlier. Even though we had a problem getting through TSA with our stroller and had to back track to check it. We never felt rushed and we had plenty of time. Always leave enough time, babies can be unpredictable.

5) Always travel with baby bottle and milk/formula.

If you are traveling with breastmilk or premixed baby formula, TSA will test the liquid to make sure it is what you say it is. However, the best thing for baby’s ears is swallowing milk at take off and at landing. Zoe uses a pacifier so the constant sucking helped her ears as well.

6) Always bring baby carrier, wrap, or ring sling.

I am all about baby wearing. I brought my solly baby and my sakurabloom ring sling. It was fun to baby wear Zoe through out the airport, and whenever Zoe is in her sakura bloom she falls asleep-sleepy dust.

7) Bring you baby bag with all the necessities. Especially- change of clothes, extra diapers and wipe, extra milk/bottle, extra pacifiers, pacifier cleaning wipes, books, toys, favorite blankets. Zoe loves blankets, so we brought her favors ones. Air planes can be very cold, so blankets keeep babies comfortable and cozy warm. Books and toys are important to entertain your baby when they get bored. We used lots of pacifier cleaning wipes because Zoe’s pacifier kept falling on the floor. Always being an extra set of clothes just in case your baby gets wet or dirty.

Anyway, I’m pretty impressed at how well Zoe did on our first trip. I hope what I wrote above will help you when you travel next with your baby. And always remember because of society we have a fear of being the parents with the crying screaming kid, but sometimes we don’t give our babies the credit they deserve and they end up pleasantly surprising us.

My hope is that the more I travel with Zoe the more use to it she’ll be, and it will just get easier for the both of us.

Happy Mama, happy baby, happy travels!

Do you have a fun travel experience involving a baby?

What is your favorite travel tip?

The prefect vacation.

April 27, 2015

Last year was full of busy trips. Our trip to Asia where we explored Thailand intensely. Then flying to the west coast twice, once to finalize wedding plans and then to actually tie the knot. So busy.

After an extremely cold winter we were desperate for a change in pace. We were in a much needed trip, where we could just relax on the beach and soak up the sun.

So a week ago, my husband and I headed down to South Florida, for some summer like weather. It ended up being the most relaxing vacation ever.

We visited with my husband’s relatives for two days in Del Ray Beach. Del Ray Beach is north of South Beach, Miami. It is a beach town, with beautiful beaches, great restaurants, and tons of shops. It is known to be artsy. We actually went to a wonderful Art festival the day we arrived.

After two days of visiting with relatives, we headed to an ocean front hotel, Sands at Del Ray Beach. This hotel was awesome. The set up was quite nice. They had valet parking. The pool and restaurant overlooked the ocean. Every morning, we would wake up and head straight for the beach. The hotel provided towels, chairs, and umbrellas. There was also a server that would come around to take your order, and bring you whatever you needed. I was pretty obsessed with the lemonade.

The beach was gorgeous. It was 85 degrees most days. The sun was shining, but there was a refreshing breeze so I never felt sweaty. The water was calm and cool, but not cold at all.

However, after a couple days in the sun, our skin felt like it needed a break. So we took the 2 hour (long way) drive to South Beach, Miami. On the way down, we saw tons of ocean front mansions and expensive cars. Once we were in South Beach, we shopped on Lincoln, and then walked two miles on the beach to Collins- where we did more shopping. After shopping my husband found an amazing Cuban restaurant, for us to eat at. It was delicious.

Then back to Del Ray Beach we went.

Although, we spent most of the time relaxing soaking up the sun, I also was productive, skimming magazines, finishing reading my first baby book, and starting my second.

I skimmed through Fit pregnancy, and started registering. I finished the book, The kindmama, by Alicia Silverston, and started, Tales from another Mother Runner. Very productive indeed.

What is up with all the mom books? Well because my body physically will not allow me to hide it anymore… I’m excited to finally share a secret I have been keeping since November. Yep, you guessed it… I have a baby bump!

I love my itsy bitsy teenie weenie polka dot bikini at almost 23 weeks pregnant! Thanks – to my husband Erik, for the most relaxing vacation aka babymoon.

…because I am missing Thailand.

February 2, 2015

Sorry, I haven’t written much this month, I have been having the winter blues. However, exactly, a year ago today, I had finally escaped the cold winter by traveling to the oh so exotic country of Thailand. The minute I got off the plane, I could feel the heat. It felt so good, and because I long for that same hot Thailand air, I have decided to publish this blog post. I found this post waiting to be published in my draft section on my wordpress dashboard. I remember writing these words, when I first started to explore Thailand. It is hard to believe that a year has gone by.

Bangkok, Thailand (February 2, 2014)

Yesterday, was my first day touring around Bangkok.

We woke up and relaxed on Elissa’s balcony taking in the view and getting familiar with our new Bangkok neighborhood. Shockingly the city was quiet in the morning time.

Once we got ready, we headed for breakfast. My friend, Elissa new an amazing brunch place.

I ordered a savory crepe with egg, spinach, mushrooms, onion, and feta.

We sipped on coffee and drank down fresh juices. I got watermelon juice of corse.

After breakfast, we headed to the embassy to convert some American dollars to Thai baht. While Elissa was converting the money Erik and I hung outside strolling down a side street that were lined up with street food vendors (similar to our food trucks minus the truck part.) Everything smelled amazing but we ended up getting refreshing bubble tea. Of corse I went with Papaya.

After our tea time we headed for a pedicure while Erik got a massage. The pedicure I got is the best I have ever had. Next time I might go for a massage.

After our spa services we headed to the Jim Thompson house. We took the BTS which is their metro system. It was packed so we had to squeeze in.

We saw a rally of protestors on the way.

The election happened on the day we arrived, so the protesting has significantly died down. A lot of people back home were scared for my safety because of the protesting and political issues in Bangkok. But it wasn’t out of control.

Anyway we made it to the Jim Thompson house and it was gorgeous. Jim Thompson was an American architect who fell in love with Bangkok, later making it his permanent home.

That’s all from that post.

Anyway, I hope this blog post finds you happy and healthy. I hope it gives you a little warmth to dream about on this cold gray winter February.

xo ~ M

Don’t you wish you could drink that watermelon juice?!

Because of you, I am Thankful!

November 28, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year I am Thankful for so many things…

but just to name a few…

I am thankful that I got the opportunity to travel to Thailand. It was a trip of a lifetime, which I shared with Elissa, Mariana, Chis, and Erik. I am beyond lucky that finally I got to experience that part of the world.

I am thankful that I had the courage to create this blog. Blogging gives me the freedom to express myself and oppinons with words. I am thankful to you, my readers, who I hope I inspire everyday to run, lift, eat, and live a healthy lifestyle.

I am thankful for my clients. To me it is not just cutting and coloring your hair. It is all about creating a customized look for you, so you look and feel your best. Thank you, for letting me create. Thank you for sharing your stories with me. But most of all, thank you for trusting in me. Seeing you feel confident is the ultimate satisfaction.

I am thankful that I can run. I am thankful that I live in an area with such an awesome running community. They organize awesome races of all kinds. I am thankful for the races I ran this year, Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, Parkway Classic, ATM, and today’s Turkey Trot, and although, it wasn’t a race Running on my Wedding day was unforgettable!

But most of All (saving the best for last) I am thankful for Erik my husband, and our beautiful wedding day. We are forever thankful to everyone who came to our wedding. We made such great memories. It was the best day ever!

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment below!

Wedding Weekend: The Welcoming Party

July 25, 2014

Lets talk, Tradition and Wedding Etiquette…

Traditionally, the day before the wedding you have your rehearsal. At the rehearsal you run through how the ceremony will go, as briefly or as detailed as you wish. After the rehearsal you then have your rehearsal dinner. It’s wedding etiquette for the groom’s family to plan and fund the rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal dinner traditionally includes both groom’s and bride’s immediate family and the full wedding party.

My Wedding...

My wedding was anything but traditional. I didn’t have a wedding party. My wedding was very small, only a total of 46 people. Whether they came from near or far, all of my wedding guests traveled. Because of this we decided on having a Welcoming Party in place of the traditional rehearsal dinner.

This was the best idea ever. Let me explain… The group of guests invited to my wedding were my closest best family and friends. Because everyone was so close to me, and because everyone traveled to come celebrate my groom and I, there was absolutely no way I would exclude anyone. The Welcoming Party allowed me to start the partying early. It also gave people the opportunity to reunite after years of not seeing each other, and meet those who they didn’t know. That way everyone could immediately feel comfortable and let loose quickly at the wedding.

Planning: The Welcoming Party…

Planning the welcoming party was not an easy task. I was busy and focused on the final details of the wedding, so I was dreading one more thing to plan. Traditionally, the groom’s side plans the rehearsal dinner, including every detail, down to the invites. The majority of my friends who have gotten married, told me they weren’t involved in the rehearsal dinner planning at all. Well, for me it was the total opposite.

Because my wedding was a destination, my groom was not familiar with the area. My mom and I had traveled out to San Francisco and Wine Country, at the end of April, to meet my vendors, but he did not come with me. While I was out there, I checked out a couple possible venues for the welcoming party. Because of this, it only made since for me to take control and plan the party.

One of the first suggestions, made by my wedding planner, was to have the welcoming party at my Aunt’s ranch, The Tejada Ranch. However, The Tejada Ranch was my wedding venue. I did not want my guests to see the ranch before the wedding. Because the ranch is so charming, I wanted to leave the ranch a surprise for the wedding day. I was nervous that by having the welcoming party at the ranch my wedding day would be less special, because it would almost be like a repeat of the night before. I wanted my guests to experience something different.

As I explored wine country, my aunt, mom, and I came up with two other options. The Blue Wing Saloon, or The Lodge at Blue Lakes.

The Blue Wing Saloon is the restaurant affiliated with the gorgeous Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake. The cool idea about using The Blue Wing Saloon was that we could do wine tasting at The Tasting Room.

Convenience always wins…

However, after a lot of debating, my groom and I finally decided on The Lodge at Blue Lakes. The Lodge at Blue Lakes is where I blocked off rooms for my wedding guests. A big chunk of my wedding guests were staying there, which made it super convenient for them. This convenience was very important to me. I didn’t want my guests to arrive to wine country after a 3 hour drive form San Francisco, and then immediately have to get back in the car to find another place, when they may be tired. Instead, they would arrive to the hotel, relax a little, and get ready, and then head to the back deck of the hotel for the welcoming party.

A review on The Lodge at Blue Lakes…

The Lodge at Blue Lakes is the cutest Lodge in Upper Lake. The best part of this hidden gem is the Blue Lake, which you can swim in. The back deck of the lodge wraps around the lake – it was there that we had the Welcoming Party.

Maryann is the owner of the Lodge. I’ve never emailed someone so many times. Booking the room block with her in January was easier than planning the event. When it came to planning the event, there were times when she immediately emailed me back and then there were times that I didn’t hear back from her, so I would have to call. Turns out she is a really busy lady. And although, I was nervous and had mixed feelings about her during the planning process, she came through. Her team was amazing. The food was delicious. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better Welcoming Party.

The Welcoming Party: Words and Photos…

I couldn’t have asked for a better day. Maryann’s team was concerned about it being to windy outside on the deck. But nope, I wanted my party outside. It turned out perfect. The sun was shining. There was a slight breeze. And I wasn’t exaggerating when I said the Blue Lake was beautiful. Look at that lake.

Erik and I couldn’t have been happier. We were all smiles! Getting close friends and family together is our favorite thing to do. The Welcoming Party allowed us to do that, and start our wedding celebration early.

Everyone seemed to have a really fun time, reuniting, and meeting each other.

Speeches made me speechless…

The best thing ever happened two of my best friends surprised me with speeches.

I will never forget their sweet words. They brought me to tears. Happy tears. I also will always remember looking at my groom and seeing his amazing reaction as well.

Mariana – who now lives in Sri Lanka, Rachel, Me, and Elissa – who now lives in Thailand. I am so lucky my closest friends came even Mari and Elissa who live in Asia.

Hanging with my favorite (Dorsey) cousins…

Another awesome thing was getting to be with my favorite cousins.

Rachel and I…

Me and Colleen

All of us together…

Hanging out with more of my favorites…

Dorsey sisters with Aunt Kathy!

Bride, Groom, Erik’s mom – my new mother in law, and Jax.

Sisters, Dorsey girls!

In the End…

Once again, The Lodge at Blue Lakes was the absolute perfect place to throw The Welcoming Party. Maryann the owner, came though and it was fantastic. Erik and I couldn’t have been happier.

Thank you…

I want to say a special thank you to Erik’s parents for helping out with The Welcoming Party. I also want to thank Maryann for letting me and my groom celebrate at The Lake at Blue Lodge– it really was beautiful. I want to thank Mariana and Rachel, for the kind words and amazing speeches. And most importantly, I want to thank all of my guest for coming to share this special time. Lastly, I want to thank Erik, my groom, I am lucky to have you in my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Island Running in Thailand

March 10, 2014

I woke up early, right when the sun began to rise. As my fiance peacefully slept, comfortably sunken in a bed, hidden by blankets, I snuck out as quietly as I could. Tiptoeing around the hotel room, grabbing my iPod and garmin. Heading to the beach isn’t hard when your resort is ocean front.

After spending five days in Bangkok and four days in Chiang Mai where I struggled to get a workout in, my legs were craving a hard run. I couldn’t wait, finally it was time.

When I was on Ko Samui, I ran three out of the four days I was there. The first two days I wore my Newton shoes. The third day I didn’t have time to run because we spent the day deep sea diving in Ko Tao. The fourth day I ran barefoot.

The beach was not a long beach like you would find on the East Coast of the USA, where you can run for miles and miles. Instead it was very unpredictable. When I ran to the right of my resort there were times when my beach disappeared and just turned into deep water. However, when I went the opposite way I was able to get more than 2 miles in before I turned back. My runs were short and fast.

Because it has been such a snowy brutally cold winter, here, in The States it took me a little bit of time to get use to the heat.

However, once I got use to it, I loved it!

On the last day on Ko Samui, I saw the cutest thing.

It was so early in the morning that I saw a couple dogs sleeping on the beach. As I went over to snap a photo this one began to wake up – all sleepy eye with sand on his nose. If I were him, I would sleep on the beach too. What a beautiful, peaceful place.

Once we left Ko Samui, my fiancé and I headed to the beautiful Island of Phuket. There we met up with my best friend, Mariana, and her husband Chris. I was very excited when they both agreed to run with me. They are new to running, but open to the idea, so we met up and ended up doing a total of three morning runs. I alternated running barefoot and with shoes. We mainly ran on the beach but there was a time we ran on a street that went along the beach. I was proud of Mariana and excited she was so interested in running.

In the end, I really enjoyed running on the Islands of Thailand. It was a beautiful place to run. It was peaceful running along the beach totally alone in Ko Samui. I had good company running on the Island of Phuket and was happy to inspire my good friend to begin running. Phuket was also full of other runners it was fun seeing us take over the beach in the early morning. Not all the runners on the beach were human.

I’ve already missed the feeling of running barefoot in Thailand. As I deeply inhaled the salt water air, sweat dripped down my tan skin. The wind blew through my hair. Waves crashed at my running feet. Sand stuck in between my shoes. I was quickly reminded how lovely it feels to run barefoot in shorts.

Are you ready for some Thailand foodporn…

March 1, 2014

Okay lovelies! I am finally home from Thailand. My plane landed in the States last Saturday. Although, I have been home for a whole week, I was jet lagged, and just had to take some time to get back in gear. However, I have plenty of posts that I wrote while I was in Thailand, that I wasn’t able to post because of lack of wifi. So I will be updating you now!!

I’m writing this blog post on a choppy motor boat from the Indian Ocean. So far on my trip to Thailand I have spent days in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Ko Samui, Ko Tao, and now I am in Phuket visiting the Ko Pi Pi Islands and Monkey Island. I have stepped foot in the Indian Ocean and the China Sea of the Pacific Ocean.

If you have been following my Instagram and Facebook pages you have seen everything I have been currently doing. Unfortunately, wifi here is really slow so it has been hard for me to blog. So I apologize for that and promise I will update you.

So let’s talk about my two favorite things food and fitness. The food here in Thailand has been absolutely amazing. However, I will admit I am feeling a tiny bit fluffy, (maybe I’m not actually fluffy, but I feel that way.) It may be water weight that I have been holding on to, because the food is so salty, heavy, spicy. This is definitely a love hate relationship I am having with Thai food. Don’t get me wrong I love it, but I hate that I have to eat out for every meal. I also hate that I am not able to eat 5-6 small meals a day, like I had been doing at home. I am on vacation in Thailand so I am enjoying my meals, and pretty much eating my way through Thailand. But hey, it’s only three weeks of my life, and I need to take advantage of being in this foreign land, because the opportunity may never arise again. With that being said, l am definitely not feeling as lean as I normally feel when I am back home. Let me explain why?

There are fruit stands with fresh fruit and juice bars everywhere. I love it and have been drinking tons of watermelon juice. (But too much fruit means too much sugar.)

Yummy watermelon juice!

I have been hydrating with mainly coconut water straight from the coconut, bottled water, and tea, lots of tea. This isn’t making me feel fluffy. But although it is fun to drink coconut water right from the coconut, I will have to admit it taste exactly the same as Vita Coconut water.

Also I have come to the conclusion that most locals get their meals by eating street food. The street food vendors literally line the streets like sardines in Bangkok.

In Chiang Mai, our taxi driver grabbed lunch from a random street food stand on the way to dropping us off at an Elephant camp – yes I played with elephants I’ll tell you more about that later. Also Chiang Mai is known for their night markets. They are every night, and are full of street food vendors. One vendor made us Pad Thai right in front of us. Other vendors already had their food prepared. It tasted amazing, but was a tad cold.

I love authentic street food, the only problem I have is that I don’t know exactly what is in it, what they use to cook with. Where the food came from. This is a major problem. How am I suppose to count my macros? Plus, I love to cook and prepare my own food. I am really starting to miss cooking a home cooked meal. By cooking my own food I can control what is in it. In Thailand I let go, took the risk, and just trusted the restaurants and street food vendors.

As an American, we are told while traveling, never drink the water and never eat the street food. However, Thailand is known for it’s street food, and they take great pride in that. So I trusted the street food vendors, plus all of the locals eat it. Many locals have their favorite street vendors, and become regulars, just like we have regulars in local bars in the the States.

In Bangkok, it has been very difficult to communicate. This shocks me because it is such a huge city and I expected more people to speak English. Turns out the island areas are more touristy where most locals speak English and speak it well. In Bangkok, it was even hard to ask for a knife. It took a lot of hand gestures and pointing to pictures or names of meals on menus.

Food in Bangkok

Although, the Islands are very close, I would have to say Chiang Mai is my favorite place in Thailand, and it has the best food by far. Although, there were tourists, these tourists were very bohemian, (I saw tons of dread locks.) Chiang Mai has a very authentic vibe. There were tons of locals driving mopeds. The restaurants were so authentic that at one of them the owner through on apron and cooked our food barefoot in her kitchen. She also teaches Thai cooking classes.

This photo is by far my favorite photo I took while in Chiang Mai. It just reveals how authentic and beautiful Chiang Mai is. Look at the street food vendor grilling corn on the cob. I captured her smiling. Look at the local traffic in behind her. Mopeds speeding on by. Look at the beauty of the gold Buddhist temple in the back ground. This defines Thailand.

These photo belongs to me. Do not use or repost with out my permission.

Above is a photo of the night market in Chiang Mai. It is crowded and authentic. People selling art, food, etc.

Food in Chiang Mai

On the Islands, where we are staying, beach front, it is less authentic and more touristy so there are more bars and restaurants and less street food vendors.

Also surprisingly, our hotels have had really amazing breakfast. So I have been waking up and eating a pretty big breakfast everyday. This is way different from my eating habits at home. At home I am not a morning eater. Normally, I’ll have a hard boiled egg, latte, protein shake, possibly oatmeal, occasionally a greek yogurt, maybe a piece of fruit. I always have a latte every morning the caffeine helps jump start my metabolism. Here in Thailand I have only had coffee twice, and I have been here for almost 3 weeks.

Breakfast in Ko Samui, Thailand, resort The Blue LagoonBreakfast in Phuket, Thailand, resort The Malisa

Food on the Islands

The cool thing about Ko Samui is that there was a larger variety of different types of food. We went to The Larger, which was owned by a British guy or Aussie. We also went to an Italian restaurant which was owned by an Italian guy. There were restaurants like these where the owner loved Ko Samui so much that he eventually moved to the island and opened a restaurant.

So there you have it, that sums up what I ate on my three week vacation through Thailand. I am excited to say, that I also brought home some Thai spices and curry pastes, so I can play in my kitchen and make some of my very own thai food.

I am also proud to say that the DC area has some pretty good Thai restaurants. I don’t think our restaurants are too Americanized.

Questions for You…

Have you been to Thailand?
What is your favorite Thai dish?
Do you cook with Thai spices?

Bangkok is not a runner friendly city…

February 11, 2014

Thailand had been an unforgettable trip. So far I have spent 4 days in Bangkok and 4 days in Chiang Mia. Now I am island hopping. I am starting in Ko Samui.

I was hoping to get a run in while I was in Bangkok, but honestly it would have been impossible if I tried. The streets are covered with vendors. Most of them selling homemade street food. The sidewalks are way too narrow. Many of them have dips and curbs. So I would have been hopping all over the place. Also the streets have too much crazy traffic, and the side walks so crowded that when we walked we walked single file.

Another thing that worries me is that no one spoke English, so if I were to get lost I would have been totally screwed. Plus my phone wasn’t working. So no GPS or maps for me. I feel like this sounds like excuses but it is the truth. Bangkok is not a runner friendly city. I didn’t see one runner when I was there.

However, while I was in Bangkok we did tons of walking. And I did squeeze in one of the exercises that I wanted to from one of the Under Armour ambassador, I follow on Instagram. The first week of February was all about burpees.

I will keep you update you on my runs and workouts while I am on the islands. Today was my first day squeezing a run in. And I plan to get many more in. Running on the beach is my favorite plus I got to take advantage of the warm temps while I can. If is still brutally cold back home.

1 2 3 4 5 next