MRTT Event Painting with a Twist

Just over a week ago I went to a MRTT event that our local chapter had where we went to a place called Painting with a Twist.  You could bring in snacks and wine.  Those that were able to attend socialized for about a half hour before our painting lesson began.  

 We had done a survey before the class to find out what to paint and decided on a runner girl crossing the finish line.  Our instructor Hannah did a wonderful job explaining where to paint and took us through the painting step by step.  Even though we all had the same directions and colors we ended up with similar but different paintings.

 The class had built in breaks at certain points during the painting for us to munch more and drink as well as let some paint dry before the next step.  I have not ever painted a picture without drawing it first and we did not draw, just grab the brush and go to town.

 There was music and a little bit of chatting while we painted but a lot of concentration and worries about doing the painting right.  We lucked out and she made us a stencil of the runner since she said that it took her 6 years to learn to draw/paint human figures decent and didn't want us to stress.

 We traced the runner with chalk on our paintings and after everything dried we could touch with a wet cloth to remove the chalk.  Some of us changed our short wearing athlete into a skirt wearing athlete.

This was a very fun Friday night and I am so glad that I went.  For anyone with a similar place in their area I would highly recommend you go just once.  It was not as difficult as I imagined and I had a blast meeting some new ladies and catching up with others I had met before.  They also offer drop in painting classes where you come in at a set time and paint what the instructor picked out.  

Feetures Socks Review

I went out on a limb and bought a pair of ridiculously expensive running socks not expecting them to be that much more awesome than my usual 6 pack of semi-cotton socks.  I was not compensated for writing this and the opinions here are my own.  I finally decided to wear the socks for a long run.  If they were going to be amazing they would have to survive the ultimate test.

 Socks that tell you what foot they go on. I will play along.  I put the socks on and they felt really nice.  They kind of hugged my foot but didn't feel restrictive at all.  They were soft and cushy.  I put my shoes on and headed out the door.  My feet didn't bother me at all and I loved how the socks had the "split" ankle part.  The back kept the heel of my shoe from rubbing on my achilles and the front tab thing kept the tongue of the shoe from rubbing.

The Feetures did not disappoint me.  The separate left/right foot thing has to do with the design supporting your arch and providing cushion in the heel and forefoot.  The no seam toe was a very nice bonus.  I cannot tell you how many times I have had to re-adjust a sock cause the seam is sitting funny. These socks are worth their price for long runs.  For my shorter runs I will dream about the amazingness of these.

snacking

 Summer can be quite warm for training and those long runs just don't happen on their own.  I've always had cravings for salty foods (like chips) in the summer months and probably because I am sweating buckets out there.  Luke hung out at the track with me the other weekend while I got my long-ish run in.  The track was the better alternative to extremely sloped roads that make things ache.

Lately my favorite go-to post run snack has been some delicious Goldfish Crackers.  I love how they are salty and smile back.  I am crazy and buy these in the giant carton instead of the paper with foil lined bags.  I then put them in several smaller storage containers.  Tasty and they go nicely with some ice cold milk.  How do you refuel after a sort of long run?

Running Group Time

So I joined our local Mom's Run This Town running group and so far it has been a lot of fun.  There are group runs, events once in a while to go to that are not running related and great conversations in the Facebook group (as well as making plans to meet up for runs).

 This was the largest gathering I attended.  It was a a local bar/grill after a short 3 mile run and BOGO margaritas.   Of course we also had a photo just before we went for our run.  Several momma's joined us after the run for the meet up part.

 I went to a small local race to support some Moms as they participated in their 10k or 5k races.  The picture below is from another chapter that is about the same driving distance for me for some of the events.

 Lastly, I've been going to Saturday group runs since it is my easy day and it is nice to get out of the house and meet new people and chat.  Many of the girls are at the local races so it is nice having someone to meet up with before the start of a race to help take off the edge of those pesky pre-race nerves that seem to strike when you are alone.

I am looking forward to many more group runs and events with these lovely ladies.