Midwestern Nomad: Indiana

Showing posts with label Indiana. Show all posts

Monday, December 29, 2014

Vacation, the Flu and Exercise

As I shared the other day, I started my Christmas vacation very enthusiastic about the prospect of running throughout it. After all, I was headed to sunny Florida! Why wouldn't I want to run in warm weather on the beach?!

Then, the flu decided it needed to take out my family over the holidays. First, my mom got sick. That meant missing virtually all of our family Christmas festivities. However, her fever broke before we headed down to Florida, so she still came along. Next, my sister got sick. She, unfortunately, was at the peak of flu horribleness when we left, so she stayed home. I woke up the morning we got to Florida with those beginning twinges of a sore throat and cough. Through some fanatical tea drinking and 12-hour nights of sleep, though, I was able to get through things with a bit more comfort than my mother or sister!

Sister (left)

Shirt: C9 [similar]

Pants: C9 [similar]

Shoes: Nike [similar]

Me (right)

Long Sleeve Half Zip: Nike [similar]

T-shirt: Gap Fit [exact]

Pants: Yogasmoga [exact]

Shoes: Newton Running [exact]

So, we did manage to get in one run before the flu struck. Christmas Eve Eve (two days before Christmas) was unseasonably warm in Indianapolis, so we took advantage of that and went for a run while listening to some One Direction (we're both fans and pretty unashamed about that). A few days later, though, my sister was down for the count and had to opt out of our family trip to Florida. My bout with the flu, though, fortunately held off until I was safely ensconced in 75-degree weather.

Sports bra: Lululemon [similar]

Shorts: Lululemon [similar]

Shoes: Newton Running [exact]

Sunglasses: Oakley [exact]

It was KILLING me not to go running in the amazing weather we have been having here in Florida! I've always been told that you shouldn't run if you have both body symptoms and head symptoms (e.g., muscle aches and pains combined with sinus congestion), so I waited until the body symptoms subsided to get my run on. I probably wasn't quite at the point where I should've been running yet, but I took it super easy (walk-running) and relaxed for quite awhile afterwards. Also, I'm not typically the running-with-no-shirt-on type, but I figured it was warm and everyone else on the beach was in bikinis, so why not?

Friday, October 3, 2014

Running in the Rain

I haven't had the opportunity to run in the rain in awhile! As much as I love San Francisco weather, rain isn't something that happens too terribly often (at least in the time I've lived there). So, when it was a little drizzly here in Indianapolis the other morning, I was excited about it.

The first few minutes of my rainy run were great! The rain was refreshing and there was a nice breeze. But after the first mile or so, it just felt crazy humid! On my run back (I did an out-and-back loop), the wind was in my face, which meant my sunglasses were covered in raindrops very quickly. Fortunately, it wasn't a super long run, so I was back and out of the rain before too much longer.

This photo kind of encapsulates how I was feeling about running in the rain after about 10 minutes.

Shirt: Under Armour [exact]

Pants: GapFit [similar]

Shoes: Newton Running [exact]

Sunglasses: Oakley [exact]

Headphones: Skullcandy [similar]

The back of this tank top is my favorite part of it! It just looks like a normal tank top in the front, but turn around and it's has a little bit more personality. I wore my highlighter pink pants because a lot of the roads around here lack sidewalks and have super narrow shoulders, which always makes me a little nervous when running on them. I try to run in neighborhoods with less traffic, but there are still a few areas that leave you no choice but to go on main roads! At least with my bright pants, it's a little easier to spot me!

Tonight's my sister's wedding! Can't wait!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

2013 in Review: Part 3

Missed the other posts? Check out Part One and Part Two.

July

I had my first visitor to Park City! Katrina came out to visit and we had a great time wandering around everything Park City has to offer.

I spent many a Sunday at the Park Silly Sunday Market enjoying Five Wives vodka lemonades.

I went home to Indianapolis for Aly's wedding shower and enjoyed sister time with these two lovely ladies.

Some family friends threw their annual summer bash while I was home, so I got to enjoy good company, lobsters and martinis.

Aly got some fun pre-wedding gifts.

Before heading back to Utah, I went to an Indianapolis Indians baseball game with the family!

Family at the Indians game!

August

Since half marathon month had arrived, I continued with the last bits of my training plan and saw some lovely sights on the trails in Park City.

I went to the Kimball Arts Festival.

Josh (aka my twin) drove through Salt Lake City on his way back to school in Arizona, so we got to get together and have a drink at Bar X before he had to leave.

A wildfire broke out near Park City.

While the wildfire was scary, it did make for some very gorgeous sunsets.

Katie moved to town and we became fast friends!

Half marathon #2 completed! Dad came out to Utah to run the race with me.

The next day, we went for a hot air balloon ride over Park City and it was gorgeous!

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Seth Wescott came to work and did an athlete social with our staff. He's a wonderful guy!

And, finally, I volunteered with Hurricane for Hope, an event benefitting The Speedy Foundation.

September

I went shopping with Katie and got this awesome shirt.

I went to a sheepdog festival, which I never knew was a thing until...well, I went to one.

I had a really good hair day.

I returned to Colorado Springs for the first time since moving away for the USOC Communications Workshop...even stayed at the Olympic Training Center!

Brandon, Jenny and I had a little intern reunion at The Finish Line, the dive bar across the street from the Olympic Training Center.

Afterwards, I headed up to Denver and visited with my friend and former roommate, Karen. Unfortunately, we didn't take any photos together, so here is a photo of her cat, Lucky.

I took a full week off from work to head back to Indiana for my brother's wedding! I started the week off with a 5k run, which I ran with my cousin Sarah.

For Aly's bachelorette party, we started the day with a wine and painting party.

And finally the big day rolled around! We got Starbucks for Aly that morning, but they butchered her name.

Wedding time!

And I officially have two sisters now!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Culture Redux

I had a conversation the other day that reminded me of a post I made in my study abroad blog. I made a comment about how much more nature-y stuff there was to do within a few hours of where I live in Utah compared to where I grew up in Indiana. The native Hoosier still residing in Indiana who I was speaking with got a little offended. I tried to explain that I wasn't knocking Indiana (after all, I'm a native Hoosier, as well, and think I had a great time growing up there!), but it didn't really seem to help.

So, I wanted to share again something I realized while living in Paris.

One of the things that everyone keeps asking me is, "So, is the USA better than France?" The thing is, we're talking about culture here. There's no such thing as a "better" culture. France is different, but it's not better and it's not worse. It's just different. The same thing goes for any culture, whether it be German or Japanese or Egyptian or Iranian or Thai. No culture is inherently better or worse than another. They are just different.

The same thing is true for Utah and Indiana.

While "number of nature-y destinations within 3-4 hours" is not exactly a subjective number (although I'm sure you'd be hard-pressed to find a list with that exact name), perhaps the difference is in my perception. Since I have more nature-oriented friends in Utah, they know of more places to visit. I didn't really have any nature-oriented friends in Indiana (or the ones I did have did most of their nature-y stuff outside of Indiana). Going hiking and skiing and mountain biking and on random camping trips to deserts is an integral part of the culture in Utah. It's less of a thing in Indiana, probably because there are no mountains and no deserts.

Again, going back to my France statement that cultures are different, not better or worse, Utah and Indiana are definitely different. There are things I love and things I strongly dislike about both. I love that nature-focused attitude in Utah. I love the ski culture. However, I don't like the fact that the LDS church has its hand in every single government decision that is made in the state (as I very strongly believe in the complete separation of church and state). I love the friendliness of Midwesterners and their strong work ethic. I don't like that political ignorance is very common in my home state.

So, fear not my fellow Hoosiers. I'm not disowning my home state. I always have a good time when I go home and I'm proud to be from Indianapolis. Just don't expect me to move back soon...well, ever. There's too many other cultures out there for me to experience!

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Dogs and Black Diamonds

I haven't posted anything substantial in awhile...no particular reason why, but figured I'd at least pop in and give an update on my life.

I've been enjoying the last good skiing of the year (I even skied my first couple of black diamonds last weekend!) and started volunteering at a local animal shelter. I've really enjoyed volunteering! It's been a great way for me to get my fix of animals without actually adopting one (my lease doesn't allow that and I'm gone far too often for a pet - it wouldn't be fair to them!). My favorite at the shelter so far is a 10-year-old pug named Edgar. He's just a big cuddler who wants nothing more in life than to have his belly rubbed. Although I really want him to get adopted by a loving family, I also really love having him at the shelter to play with!

I've been watching the TV show The Taste. For those of you who haven't seen it, it's a cooking show take on The Voice where the judges (Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson, Ludo Lefebvre and Brian Malarkey) sample dishes blindly. Each of the judges has a team and can eliminate their own team member since it's a blind taste. I've really enjoyed it - particularly the banter between the judges! During the last episode, I posted something on Twitter and got tweeted at by Nigella!

Not gonna lie - I was pretty excited! I've enjoyed Nigella since before The Taste, so it was definitely cool!

I'm headed home for Easter in about 10 days...pretty excited to see the fam, check out Aly's wedding dress and get fitted for my bridesmaid dress!

So, now I will leave you with a photo of my first black diamond. Sad to see ski season end :(

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Keeping the Roads Hot

So, I realized the other day that I haven't remained in a single state in nearly a year (and I will be going a full year without staying in one state since I have travel plans through January). I thought it'd be fun to relive my travels a bit and preview those to come!

November 2011

Indiana and California