2014 Year in Review

Happy 2015!!  (Insert horn blowing noise and confetti explosion.)  Did you miss me while I took a break?!

Ok, ok - maybe not.  But I'm glad you're back to read either way.

Anyway, with 2014 officially on the books, I want to take a moment to reflect on where I was in 2014 before I start blogging anew.  (Not to mention, what's better than enjoying your past achievements before pushing too hard on future goals?)

So, without further adieu...

2014, a year in review!

Races

This was a year of have-nots and pulling back.  With a course closure on my first ever marathon attempt and a bout of plantars fasciitis, I resigned myself to the fact that not EVERY year can include a PR or mileage record.  And that's ok.  Instead, 2014 was focused on running races with friends and trying to find joy in being out there - period. 

Despite running without pushing myself physically, I still found myself being competitive with myself MENTALLY, attempting to maintain or beat my race record of 2013 - 15 bibs on my wall.  With 8-5Ks, 1-7K, 1-8K, my first ever 10K, two 5K segments of a duathlon, two half marathon relays and an attempt at a marathon ... well, I achieved that bib goal.  And, I even threw in a few fun runs and continued the tradition of spectating a few races as well.  Not to mention that one race I became director of...

March - Little Rock Marathon, Get Lucky 7K, Shamrock Shuffle 8K
May - Minnetonka Half Relay, Chaska 5K/10K (spectator only), Run100 Challenge One / Two
June - Waconia Half Relay, Rainbow Run 5K
July - Freedom 5K, Chinatown 5K, Bacon Chase 5K
August - Webster Education 5K, Minneapolis Duathlon Relay
September - Lake Run 5K, Madison Ironman (spectator only)
October - Women Run the Cities 5K, Twin Cities 10 Mile / Marathon (spectator only), Mankato 10K, Skeleton Run 5K
December - 24 Hour Relay for Aaron

Total miles raced - about 78 miles
(Not too shabby considering I didn't run any half marathons on my own to really bank miles...)



Costumes

Ah yes, the never ending stream of wacky outfits.  After all, it isn't a workout with me if there isn't something colorful involved.  And lord help me if I show up to a bacon themed race without a costume (I'm still getting backlash from that one).

From sriracha tights to banana shirts to lady liberty, my costume wardrobe continued to grow in 2014.  And of course, I pulled out a few classics like wonder woman, unicorns and skeletons, too. 

  

 

 

 

Keeping Healthy

With sore feet and other physical/mental setbacks, plus the great summer flood washing out all my local trails, 2014 wasn't my best year in regards to keeping active and healthy. 

Ok, let's be realistic.  I'm very likely still much more active than the average joe.  But for me, dropping down to maybe 3-4 workouts a week that were about an hour each was quite a change. 

The downside to this is that I've packed on a few pounds.  But the good thing is, I'm aware of that and I'm working on it.  And ... it's not so much that my clothes don't fit, so there's that.  (Let's just say my clothes just don't look as good as they once did.)

The upside to this change was that I started up swimming.  And although I'm not really a HUGE fan of lap swim, I've gotten a lot better at it.  I've got a long way to go (yes, I only breathe on the right side right now ... the left takes a bit more work for me), but I'm working on it.


Changes

Unlike 2013, I didn't have any major changes - I kept my bangs, I kept working out, I kept doing my thing.

The elephant in the room for 2014 was that I got pregnant, but it didn't work out.  Although that loss may never be easy for me on an emotional level, I made it through with the help of some friends.  And while that loss will always be a part of my life story, each day my heart becomes a little less pained and a little more healed. 



Finally

So, what did I think of 2014?

Well, it wasn't as grand as 2013.  I had a lot of up and downs.  But I think finding my happy in the last few years really helped me deal with all the emotions I experienced in 2014.  Had I not grown into the healthy person I was in 2013, I think 2014 would have been a hell of a trip.  Instead, despite the emotional pain and frustration, I made it through and still kept a smile on my face.

But, on the other hand, I'm somewhat happy to have the closure that a year end brings.  There were a lot of bad things that happened in 2014, and I think that finality of a year end might bring me the closure I need to try to let go and move on.

Which means, I am looking forward to starting fresh in 2015. 

Well, that, and keeping my bib record at a minimum of 15 for the year.  LOL!

Product Review: Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair Lotion, Fragrance Free

As I mentioned a week or so back, I was chosen by Influenster recently to do a review on some lotion.

Yes, I have to admit: being a fitness / wellness focused blog, it may seem a little odd to throw a lotion review into the mix.  But hang with me here:

      You work out a lot?  Check.
      You shower a lot?  Check.
      You have dry, winter skin as a result?  Check.

Yep, I hit all three.  And I have check mark #3 REALLY bad right now, being that the air temps are dropping to the 20/30s now in my area.

*Warning - depressing note: some nights we're even in the teens or lower now.  (Silent scream)

Anyway, given my winter skin has been itching like CRAZY lately, I thought I'd give this lotion a go.


---


Arrival


A week or two after I had been notified my sample was shipped, I came home to see this box in the mail:

 

I was a little surprised the box wasn't more notable, since it kind of blended in with my other mail.  The only thing that made it stand out was the label on the back:

That was OK, though, because... this:

Oh, and this:

Yeah, it may seem weird, but it's a dry skin tester.  LOL!  One of the postcards in the box included some peel and stick strips to test how dry your skin was pre/post lotion application. 

I screwed my first one up on the "pre" test, so did the "pre" test twice and didn't do a post.  Whoops.  Oh well.  Either way, I did get some not so surprising results:

You might not be able to tell in that photo, but I'm between dry and super dry.  No surprises there.

Ok, let's start lotioning.


---


Day One


I decided to apply the lotion ASAP on Tuesday night.  Like I said above, I've been having terribly itchy, dry skin lately - especially on my shins (I always seem to get that this time of year - you know the kind, once you itch you cant stop?  Yeah, that).  I wanted to see how the lotion would help with that.

I was impressed that the extreme desire to itch subsided almost immediately.  Plus, the lotion sunk right in and I didn't feel super greasy afterwards.  Win!


---


Days Two-Five


Since I wanted to give this lotion a fair go, I decided that beyond treating just my super dry areas with this lotion, that I would do a full body application post shower ... when I could, anyway - some days I got rushed and didn't have time.  In doing so, I learned that a full application probably wasn't necessary for my skin type; while some areas of my skin loved the hydration, other areas where my skin wasn't super dry ended up feeling a bit over saturated (and I noticed a some breakouts a few days later, more on this in bit). 

Overall, though, my skin was starting to look better and itch way less, too.  Hooray!


---


My Overall Thoughts


I've been using this lotion now, off and on (meaning - not daily), for a couple of weeks.  Obviously this means that it works and it's pretty OK, or I wouldn't keep coming back, right?  Right.

I do also want to say that it's a pretty big deal that I'm still using this lotion simply due to my sensitive skin.  I have a tendency to break out when I use certain lotions on my skin, especially when they are really rich, winter hydration types of lotions.  This lotion did make me break out ... but only on the places where I was already pretty "normal"; on the areas where I was super dry and itchy - no issues with breakouts.  That tells me it was just too heavy for my non-dry skin.

And now, rather than droning on (this is a lotion review after all), let's just cut to some bullet points.

Things I like about this lotion:

- Hydrates immediately
- Takes away winter itch
- No greasy feeling
- Affordable price point

Things I don't like about this lotion:

- Unscented (I prefer something with a scent to it)
- Too rich for all over, daily application
- Could use more naturally based ingredients


So what says the great Oz Natalie?  Given that this lotion can take away my winter itchy skin and not cause breakouts, I'm guessing the bottle will likely stay in my mix of lotions for some time to come.  But will be used in limited applications, to avoid the breakout issue.

 

 

**I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.  All opinions expressed are my own, and were not influenced by any other incentives or people.**

Influenster Chose Me!

About a month ago, I joined a website called Influenster.

Basically, I learned about the website from another blogger and figured - hey, I do product reviews on here anyway, so why not get free samples for doing it?

Surprisingly, when I set up my account, I was rated as a "medium" reach candidate.  I figured my blog was too small to make a difference, but I guess I was wrong.  And now, here I am a month later, qualified for my first free sample to review. 

Granted, it's just some lotion, but hey!

So, in the next few weeks I'll be trying out: Vaseline® Intensive Care™ Advanced Repair Fragrance Free Lotion.  Which I think is coming just in time given the upcoming cold Minnesota winter, and the fact that I love a hot post-workout shower... which can really pack a 1-2 punch on my skin come November/December.

Anyway, check back later to see what I think!