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?

2013 in Review: Part 1

2013 is almost over! It's been a busy year for me, mainly with work preparations for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, but there have also been a lot of fun adventures with friends and family! I've got quite a lot to review, so I'll do it in a few parts.

January

The year started off (as it usually does for me...although for in 2014!) in Florida, but I quickly headed from sand to snow and returned to Park City.

 I started skiing pretty regularly in January, so I gave in and bought my first pair of ski boots!

And that purchase was promptly followed by the purchase of my own skis!

Off the snow, I decided to run my first half marathon and opted not to train for it. While not the smartest decision I've ever made, I did, in fact, complete it.

In-N-Out is a must-have post-race. 

Julia and I went to Las Vegas after my half marathon for a bit of sun and fun.

I had my first Sundance Film Festival experience! Julia and I managed to get premiere tickets to A.C.O.D. (starring Adam Scott, Amy Poehler, Jessica Alba, Catherine O'Hara...and even more) despite being on the waiting list and sat in the front row.  

I was just a few feet away from these lovely actors. 

The month wrapped up with the Visa Freestyle International at Deer Valley...a truly wonderful event!

February

I worked at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix, where I got to watch some amazing athletes do incredible things in the halfpipe, including Shaun White.

And then I got the flu.

 I decided that bangs were a good idea.

 I continued to ski as often as I could.

I explored Park City.

I worked at a skicross/snowboardcross event at the Canyons. 

March

I started volunteering a Furburbia, a wonderful animal shelter in Park City. They take animals from kill shelters and keep them at Furburbia as long as it takes to get them adopted!

 I skied my first black diamond at Deer Valley!

Nigella Lawson tweeted at me.

Yep, more skiing.

 Julia and I got crafty and made a bunch of homemade pizza. My personal favorite combination was ricotta cheese, peppers, garlic and bacon!

I went home for Easter at the end of March and, of course, normal hijinks ensued.

An Update on Life

Hey all! It's been awhile.

I was sick for about three weeks, so I wasn't really feeling like doing a whole lot of writing. I spent most of those three weeks in bed, consuming copious amounts of Powerade and soup and working.

One of the weekends during my bout with the flu was a crazy weekend of work events! Both the Deer Valley Visa Freestyle International and Park City Sprint U.S. Grand Prix were happening here on the same weekend, so I was out at those. Fortunately, my fever took a break for a few days to allow me to enjoy working the events!

 

I saw Hannah Kearney win both dual moguls and single moguls, Michael Rossi and Bradley Wilson take their first career podiums, the USA men sweeping the Park City podium (Shaun White, Scotty Lago and Luke Mitrani) and two USA women on the women's Park City podium (Arielle Gold and Kaitlyn Farrington). I missed the freeskiing events because I was shooting photos at a Delta autograph session, but all in all, it was a pretty awesome weekend! 

Since recovering from being sick and working Park City events, I've been skiing (surprise, surprise). I went to Canyons Resort for the first time, which was fun. It was a rather warm day for skiing and I got to see some outstanding views.

I also got a haircut the other day! I opted to get bangs for the second time in my adult life.

Even though ski season only has about a month and a half left (sad!), there's plenty of fun events coming up in the near future. I'm going to a few concerts, hopefully going to Las Vegas again and possibly making a border run for Wyoming (gotta keep my streak of visiting other states every month alive).

Oh, and everyone - less than a year until the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi!!

Excedrin for Nobel Peace Prize

Whoever invented Excedrin needs to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Yesterday afternoon, I had a migraine. This was one of those throbbing, can't-see-straight, please-turn-off-all-the-lights, I'm-about-to-vomit migraines. Every possible symptom of a migraine was in there. It was like the perfect storm of migraines.

Of course, this happened two days after I decided to take Advil out of my purse, so I was sitting at work feeling like my head was going to implode at any second. And, one hour after work ended for the day, we had our company holiday celebration...aka lots of people and noise (which are just great when you have a migraine!).

Fortunately, my friend Julia and I carpooled to work, so she delivered me home right after work and I downed a glass of water and two extra strength Excedrin, then laid in bed for ten minutes with all the lights off.

Lo and behold, by the time I was arriving at the restaurant less than an hour later, the throbbing was subsiding and I could see without big blurs on everything.

And the holiday party was fantastic :)

Are you listening, Nobel Peace Prize committee??