did this week fly by for anyone else? i swear i blinked and now it's friday.

that would explain the exhaustion.

if i could just have like...four more hours in a day i'd use one of those hours for sleep, one of those hours for more cuddles, one of those hours for more play time, and the last for silence. glorious glorious quietness where i would sit alone and everything would be still and peaceful and calm. ahhhhh.

can i get an amen?

but before i begin my daydream of a 28 hour day...

1 | grab this here snazzy fall-themed button and link back to Sept. Farm.
2 | link up your post at the bottom of this post.
3 | tell all your friends + have a fantastic friday.


M Y  F I V E - how to be a runner

 umm...hello! i've been getting my fitness on and it's been glorious. my forever most favorite type of cardio is running. love it. can't get enough of it. must have it. but this hasn't always been the case! it's been a long, hard journey of about 12 years - 25 pounds + 2 pregnancies + a lot of treadmill miles. oh! and about 12 pairs of running shoes. i love running shoes...almost as much as my beloved frye booties.

what i'm saying is this - if you're not a runner or just a beginning runner or want to be a better runner, i'm here to share some of my strategies on how to act like a runner which will hopefully trick your body // mind into performing the act of running with ease...or something like that.

1. fitbit
first of all...do you have a fitbit? i do. add me! (karlib83 [at] gmail [dot] com)

this strategy is super simple. you have your fitbit or pedometer. you set your goal. you don't quit moving until your goal is reached. it doesn't matter if you have to stop and walk for 30 seconds or a minute here and there. the important thing is that you're constantly moving until your goal is reached!

2. be consistent
this one is totally hard, but will be the maker or breaker in your running relationship. i always shoot for 3 - 4 days of running a week for at least 30 minutes...but never more than an hour, unless i'm training for a half marathon.

this doesn't mean i just hop on the treadmill, bust out my 30 and call it a day. sometimes running is hard. even after 12 years. so if my legs are feeling heavy or i didn't get a great night of sleep...i totally take it easy. i give myself a break! i'll tell myself, "okay...run for five minutes, walk for one minute."

you will be totally amazed at how fast the time flies by. just those subtle change-ups in your pace make the time zoom.

3. running collateral
my name is karli and i have a problem - i'm addicted to running shorts. i'm telling you what, the lulu lemon 4-way stretch speed short is where it's at. i own five pair.

plus...there is totally nothing more motivating than new running gear. also...when it comes to running, your clothing can play a huge role in your performance! what i'm saying is...ditch the cotton shirt and cotton socks. get some ridiculously cute and comfortable duds...and get your sweat on.

4. trick yourself
oh my gosh. this one is kind of embarrassing to admit, but there really is nothing more mundane than running on the treadmill. one of my tricks is to just turn the iPad on and go for it. but sometimes that doesn't even work. that's when i start playing mind-games with myself. hear me out...

the following is a literal internal conversation with myself -

guh. i don't want to run. okay...just run until you get to two miles then you can take a five minute walk break. (this conversation works for me about 95% of the time.)

guh. i don't want to run. okay...just run another half mile. (i reach half mile) okay...now just run until you're at 15 minutes. (i reach 15 minutes) okay, make your mileage a good round number. (i reach that round number) okay...you're almost to 20 minutes, just run to 20 minutes...

 the conversation goes like this the entire run and usually i end up getting a solid amount of mileage in. it happens a lot. yes...i'm crazy.

5. we all have "off" days
oh friends. we all have off days. it kind of seems like most of my running days are off days. i'm just not a natural talent. but i love it. so i keep at it. my point is...we all have off days, but it's rising above your head and just doing it. (not a nike ad.)

so my next trick is - get dressed! yep. put your running clothes and shoes on and i'm telling you what, you'll probably go running. i mean...getting dressed is half the battle, right?!

and my final trick - run for 10 minutes. no seriously. run for 10 and if you still feel like garbage and don't want to go on, stop. today is not the day for a run. however, if you manage 10 and you aren't feeling too shabby - keep going! you're on the road to put some milage on those shoes!

and that's that. my tricks to be a runner. i hope at least one or some of these help you! happy trails.

oh, and one more thing! i'm still running a few ad sales...

4 x feature (get your gal-face on) - 40% off - use code FRIYAY40

individual feature (get in there, girl) - 30% off - use code FRIYAY30

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR SPOT!

now, link up!