My marathon is suddenly just around the corner. I feel like it was just last week when I was doing 15 miles but now I'm doing 20! Finally! I found an awesome park with plenty of wildlife to run around.
Because that really is the best part of running: exploring. Exploring your neighborhood, exploring other neighborhoods, exploring the beach, exploring the city. Everything.
Just the other day I was driving somewhere and kept thinking "this is too far!!". Traffic usually makes me anxious and I always end up stressing about what I need to do as soon as I get to the place I'm going, and then what I need to do when I get home.
Two days after that particular drive (that was too far) I went on a 7 mile run and ended up at the spot I was driving too before. This time it seemed so close! And the trip was so relaxing! I had completely missed all the beautiful white flowers popping up out of the sidewalk, and the perfectly sculpted golf course with just one random palm tree growing in the oddest directions. I had missed so much beauty hiding in my own neighborhood!
This park is only about a 2 mile loop. Which does in fact get a little boring at times. The wildlife there was enough to keep me entertained for most of the run. Take this guy, he kept trotting behind me every time I passed him until I was just out of his reach. I think he's a goose? Or some large duck? Comment below if you know! I've never seen one colored like this.
Of course a lot of my run was in a more urban setting. The view from the overpass at sunset was cracking me up:
Finally, I had finished my 20 miles!! Now to celebrate with a philosophy bubble bath and some Tiny tea =)
Cheers!
If you've read some of my previous posts, you know I've started eating only organic foods. Well I decided during my run that I should move to organic beauty products as well.
Burt's Bees facial cleansing towelettes: First off… they work. Make up remover wipes that get EVERYTHING off are rare (at least in my opinion) so I was worried a natural wipe wouldn't do the trick. Secondly, they smell amazing. The white tea extract smells refreshing and soothes your mind before ever even touching your face. Now I was looking for only organic products but these were the only make up remover wipes I could find at my local organic/vegan/etc. store. The 99.1% natural is a bit strange… but I googled all of the ingredients I didn't know of (linalool, limonene, dicaprylyl carbonate) and they all turned out to be natural chemical compounds.
Meanwhile my last makeup wipes (Olay fresh effects) have an abundance of chemicals I didn't know of. The first one I googled was dimethicone, and after reading reviews and explanations from multiple sources I've learned that dimethicone forms a artificial coating on the outside layer of your skin. This means that it not only traps a bunch of gunk underneath that artificial coating (hellllooooo break outs) but it also can make your skin age faster because it's keeping your skin from doing its normal routine.
Another ingredient in my old makeup wipes was polysorbate 20. I did some research and it sounds like polysorbate in it's natural form is harmless, but the "20" means that the polysorbate has been treated with 20 parts of ethylene oxide. Anything that has been treated with ethylene oxide has the potential of being contaminated with 1,4-Dioxane. All bad. Check for polysorbate 20 in your ingredients, it could be why your having an allergic reaction to the product (found in sunscreens and soaps too!). And remember, absorbing chemicals into your skin gets even worse in a hot shower/bath when your pores are wide open!
The second product I got was this lovely anti itch cream. Apparently mosquitos like to hang out at the park I ran around for four hours…
Anyways, I was again worried that the product wouldn't work because it's organic. At first I thought it wasn't working at all but it just takes some time to work! Unlike other anti itch creams, like cortisone-10, this one took a good ten minutes to start working. It even has some texture to it which made my bites feel itchier at first, but after 24 hours of use I'm itch free and the bites have almost vanished! Huzzah!
I also stocked up on Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps!! These soaps are AMAZING. They smell and feel like heaven and your skin just loves you after using it. I have one at each sink and one in my shower. They are seriously mother earth's gift to mankind and everyone who uses mine immediately asks where I got them (at Mother's market!).
Finally… and probably the most horrifying… is conditioner. I have a HUGE head of curly, thirsty, crazy hair. Conditioners have always been a product I will drop plenty of money on to ensure they will actually help my mess of hair. I haven't used this conditioner yet (still using up the last bit of my old one) but I'm crossing my fingers I have as much luck with this as with the other products.
Helios (beta below) and I are both getting rid of harmful products. This poor little guy had an addiction to a squeaky shark toy but that toy seems to have been harming the water (the toy was originally washed with a product to make it safe for a fish tank but doesn't look like it worked).
He's pretty upset I took his "buddy" but his water is looking a lot cleaner. Here's hoping my natural products will help my skin look and feel better as well!
Ciao ciao,
Kk
