Never Again, Summer Sun, Never Again.

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5k, calves, disease, fit, fitness, fitspiration, fitspo, hair care, health, healthy, heat, humidity, injury, jog, jogging, life, lifestyle, run, running, shin splints, summer, sun

I made the mistake of running in 80+ degree weather today. I took the necessary precautions (sunscreen), and I felt fine during the first few minutes. My house felt nice and cold, so I decided to run in the afternoon instead of waiting until dusk. I figured it might be nice to break a sweat and wear a pair of shorts.

I was wrong.

Slowly, but surely, the run became progressively unbearable. I started to compare the thickness in the air to body heat. It felt like I was surrounded by seventy, very large, sticky, warm men. I felt claustrophobic. I could hardly breathe. I felt like I was running in slow motion. Every song on my running playlist irritated me. Who put Robyn on there? Is this Roots track always this annoying? Why did I find this Clash song so catchy before? I get what I give, New Radicals? Is that right? If I have to listen to one more rap song…Shut up, Taylor Swift.

This went on and on.

I wanted to throw my iPod. I decided that I would rather hear music than listen to my own breathing (if we can call that breathing). I only had eight minutes left. I tried to think about the new novel I’m working on—where will I take it next? Should I use chapters to break it up? Immediately, my crazy alter-ego voice took over, “who cares? It’s a thousand degrees out here! Go inside before you have a heat stroke. You’re not built for this!”

Seven minutes left.

I wanted someone to lock me in a freezer and throw away the key. I couldn’t tell whether I was sweating or if the sunscreen hadn’t dried yet. Was my scalp getting burned? Was my hair lightening?

Trying to con your brain into thinking about anything but what you don’t want to think about can be tricky. Typically, I’m pretty good at it. Today, however, every thought was tainted with the overwhelming heat. I wasn’t catching a break. I thought about the different doshas. I really have no Pitta in my dosha. I hate humidity and heat. I could live without the sun, most likely.

See, these are the thoughts that helped get me through.

I really didn’t think I would finish my run, but I knew I had to. I told myself that if I didn’t finish, I would run every day of the summer during lunchtime. That way, I would feel the extreme displeasure of the sun and humidity for the next three months. Of course, any rational person would keep running to avoid this horrific idea.

Another, more levelheaded, reason that I decided to keep at it, was for the people who cannot run. I’m a hypochondriac and always fear the worst. I’m terrified of MS and I feel awful when I read about people who have it. I feel for anyone that can’t run, period. More specifically, I hate that there are actual people that literally, physically cannot run. It irritates me to think about. Last fall, I couldn’t run due to shin splints. Shin splints and serious disabilities are not at all comparable, but I couldn’t run without excruciating pain.

Not everyone is lucky enough to put one foot down in front of the other. My own dog was recently injured. She wasn’t able to get up the stairs. Lucky for her, she’s only fifty pounds and I could lift her up. Her favorite thing is running, though. She’s better now and with any luck, she’ll be running in no time.

My point, however, is to run.

When I first started running, I would ask myself one question: does it hurt? If it didn’t hurt, then I had to channel my inner Kenyan and carry on.

So, did it hurt?

My brain hurt. I felt uncomfortable, but my legs still worked. My heart was still beating.

Thankfully, I finished my run, skipped the cool down (oops!), and went inside. I plastered myself on the dining room floor and drank 28 oz. of water. With my limbs sprawled out and the fresh, cold air enveloping me, I tried to focus on my shin exercises (failed miserably). The overwhelming feeling of having overheated took away from my usual elation from a good run. So, I can’t say I felt accomplished or anything. I was just glad I didn’t die right then and there.

I also promised myself that I will be running in the evening from here on out. Unless the temperature drops below 70, I won’t be doing that again. A nice upside was the ice cold shower after drinking water. I forgot how refreshing cold water feels. It’s almost like being in a pool, except you know you’re not floating in pee and the water is cleaner.

Running is great to relax and clear my head. Unfortunately, that idea is lost on me when I can’t concentrate on anything but the minutes left.

http://instagram.com/p/YL4nX6otyd/

I’m going to inscribe that on my shoes.

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Weatherproofing Yourself

Tags

aging, beauty, conditioner, curly hair, eyeliner, fitspiration, fitspo, garnier, hair, hair care, healthy, ion, jogging, l'orea, makeup, running, skin, skincare

Extremely sensitive skin that is exposed to the elements doesn’t do well. I know this, because I have horribly dry hands, lips and face. My hands end up with cuts from being too tender.

I sound really disgusting, but I promise I’m not.

Skin:

If you have sensitive, dry skin, then you’ll know what I mean. My hands get scratched up easily. I used to own almost every Bath & Body Works lotion (what’s up, Black Friday sales?!). I still have plenty of their lotions, body sprays, and soaps. Not to knock Bath & Body Works, but their lotions smell good and that’s about as far as their products go for me. I like smelling fancy as much as the next gal, but I need some extreme moisture in my hands.

For Christmas last year, my sister complained about her dry skin. All she wanted for Christmas was healthier looking skin. I picked her up a bottle of Dial NutriSkin Replenishing Lotion for Extra Dry Skin with Shea Butter.

She couldn’t have been happier.

She rarely uses it, though (out of forgetfulness). Meanwhile, my hands are torn up left and right, so I started using it.

I love it.

The lotion penetrates the layers of skin without being greasy. My hands eat it up and I don’t have oily hands. I also forget to use it, but I’m trying to use it every day at least twice a day.

Face:

Recently, I noticed that the skin around my nose and lips is chapped. My skin flakes and there is no way to get rid of it. I’ve tried splashing soap and water, but to no avail. I should mention that I am not the girliest of girls, therefore I do not exfoliate, use toner, moisturizer or any type of products on my face except for eyeliner.

My skin always has negative reactions to products. I’ve once used a Victoria’s Secret makeup remover that caused my face to have an infinite amount of flesh colored pimples for a week. You couldn’t see them, but I could feel them with my fingers. Let me just say that I will never use another Victoria’s Secret makeup product; it’s just not for me.

A magazine suggested Garnier Nutritioniste Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream for active people during the winter to restore moisture. They have two versions: dry and normal skin. I picked up dry, but put it back and decided on the normal. The dry has double moisturizing ingredients in it. I may say I have dry skin, but I’m not a crocodile. The last thing I want to do is have my skin turn oily.

I’ve used this product twice yesterday (it says once in the morning and once at night) and my face is fine. The dry, chapped skin around my lips and nose is gone. My skin is back to normal. It’s soft, clear and not oily. I can’t say that it made it softer, because I have no idea how soft my skin was to begin with, but it did what it claimed. It restored enough moisture to rid my face of those flakes.

Eyeliner:

This one is hard to find. I really love it, though and it was worth the ten trips to Walmart to find. It’s by Hard Candy and it’s their felt tip eyeliner. You can find it on Amazon for double the price at Walmart (not including shipping). No other store (that I know of) carries it. If you wear brown or any other color but black, you won’t have too hard of a time getting your hands on it; however, black is a rare commodity and I wish you luck.

The eyeliner does not smear or come off during the run. I put it on before I leave my house. I don’t put it on for the sole purpose of running. It stays on all day without having to reapply it. I also like that it’s easy to use. I typically use liquid eyeliner and I’ve mastered it (mostly), but it fades and is not as vibrant as this brand.

Lips:

I have not found a perfect product for my lips. I have a recipe I’d like to try, but I won’t post about it until I have some results. As for now, I use Nivea lip balm and that keeps my lips smooth for about a half hour, but it requires a lot of reapplication (which I don’t have time for).

If anyone has suggestions for lips (specifically in cold weather and for constantly chapped lips), please feel free to leave a comment.

Hair:

My hair is naturally curly and I don’t straighten is as often as I used to (as I go straighten it after this). I have a lot of thick hair on my head. It’s long, I’ve dyed the poor strands obsessively a few years ago; it’s in good shape, though. For most of my life, I’ve never found a product that would allow me to wash my hair, air dry it, and then go out.

I finally found it.

L’oreal Advanced Haircare Total Repair 5 Restoring Shampoo. I use the Damaged and Overworked. I use the shampoo, conditioner, and the daily renewal tub of conditioner, as well. L’oreal says to use it every day, but I’d be lying if I told you I washed my hair every day. I wash my hair after I run (unless I’m in a rush—I’m not a sweater, so I hardly ever sweat).

Shampoo is only used on the hair up to my shoulders and I only condition whatever is past my shoulders. I leave both in for three minutes. After I rinse that out, I use the small tub, beginning with my ends and working up to my roots. I leave that in for another three minutes and rinse it out. I don’t towel dry my hair. I wring it out and then let it air dry while doing whatever I want to do.

After it’s air dried, I straighten my bangs (everyone has to do this, c’mon) and then I spray the body of my hair with Ion Anti-Frizz Solutions Leave-In Conditioner. It’s a weightless strengthener and detangler; I’ve had it for years. You can get it at Sally’s. I don’t use it every time I wash my hair, but when I remember (hence having it for years).

My routine is fairly simple. I never want to be crazy high maintenance, so I try to do the bare minimum that achieve terrific results.  All of these products are under 10$ each (about half are under 5$).

My next post will be about weatherproofing your wardrobe!