Lately I can’t get enough of stories about successful women. After taking a job I never saw coming, I have become obsessed with non-traditional career paths. While I will most likely never run for president (I think we can officially cross that one off the list) or start my own vintage clothing company (I’m just not that cool), I’ve been soaking up as much advice and life experience as I can from books like Hillary Clinton’s Hard Choices and Sophia Amoruso’s #Girlboss.

My best friend recently shared a quote with me: “Nothing will ruin your 20s more than thinking you should have your life together already” and while we laughed and joked that we are totally doing that, my girlspiration quest has made me realize just how important it is to follow what path feels right, not the one we think we should be on. While no job may ever be perfect or 100 percent fulfilling, I know that as long as I follow my passion I will be happy. And who cares if I don’t know where I will be in 10 years – Isn’t that a good thing?

Next up on my list are:

• The Athena Doctrine by John Gerzema, Michael D’Antonio

• I Am That Girl by Alexis Jones

• Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

• Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Who has inspired you?

**Full confession, I didn’t finish Hard Choices. I just couldn’t get into it. Sorry, Hillary!

We had a blast touring the city (and have already started planning our trip back). The first night we mostly stayed near the hotel so I could save my energy for the race the next day. We walked along the water a bit near the Vancouver Convention Center so I could get familiar with where the race would start.

Those mountains – swoon.

The sunset from our hotel room the night before the race

One of the best parts of running around a good chunk of the city early in our trip was that I was able to get a feel for where things were and what I wanted to go back and see.

Since I ran the entire Seawall in Stanley Park and my parents walked it later in the day, we originally intended to rent bikes and ride them through the park. We stopped and checked out the totem poles in the park before we ended up riding around the Seawall. We just couldn’t resist the gorgeous weather and stunning views.

We saw an incredible amount of cruise ships while we were there. A bus driver told us that more than 300 visit Vancouver port’s over the 4-month season. I had never been so close to one before – I didn’t realize just how massive they are.

Do they make rowdy passengers walk the plank off the side of the ship?

The air was very hazy our entire trip. It was heartbreaking to see how much pollution comes out of the cruise ships alone.

We got a good laugh from these guys on the front of a Disney cruise.

See you in a year, Vancouver.
Photos via my iPhone and my dad.

Coming back to reality after an amazing four days in Vancouver has been a little rough. I got a little too used to having a delicious latte made for me every day.

SeaWheeze race recap (spoiler alert, I made it to the finish line) and way too many pictures of gorgeous Vancouver coming soon.

The other day at work I was getting really jazzed about a blog post I was writing (you know, that overwhelming excitement where you want everyone to know what you are working on and how awesome it’s going to be) when it hit me – I am doing what I’ve always wanted for a living. My full time job is to write.

To be fair, it took me three months to come to this realization for a few reasons. The first is that when I was in college I imagined myself working for a publication as a bona fide journalist or as an environmental writer. After a year in the magazine industry following college, I was offered an amazing opportunity to branch out and work for a startup. Even after I accepted the position in the marketing department as a “fellow,” I wasn’t sure what I had gotten myself into (and they didn’t really know what they were getting either).

A couple months later and I run the editorial calendar (I love those words too much. It makes me happy just to write them. Writing and organization are my true loves.) and copywriting day in and day out. I’ve gotten to work on video scripts, have a say on logo designs for user goodies like tote bags, and so much more than I ever imaged.

When I first took the job I was worried I would have to set aside my creativity and work for The Man (even if The Man is a small startup working towards something I believe in, education). Just the word “marketing” alone was enough to keep me up at night. But I’ve grown to love learning new voices and explore a whole different set of readers’ tastes and interests.

Even if this job is not what I set out to do, it’s fulfilling my urge to put words on paper and get people talking, and that’s saying something.

I spent the weekend doing my longest run since my last half marathon in Oct. 2013 and planning what I want to see and do in Vancouver. Only 19 days until the race! I’m already so excited I’m having trouble sleeping.

Today I watched the videos of the course and for the first time in nearly four months, I can see myself crossing the finish line. This is happening. I’m running this race and I’m going to finish. This has been quite the comeback.

My family and I took a long weekend in Yountville, CA to enjoy some warmer weather. We had a great time eating incredible food and lounging by the pool. The weather was fantastic. By 9 a.m. it would be nearly 70, and I truly enjoyed the days that crept into the high 90s.

While I enjoyed the entire trip, by far my favorite part was exploring the area on foot.

On Saturday morning my mom and I ran six miles around Yountville through vineyards and along near-empty country roads. It was a blast (for me anyways). I finally felt like my old self. My legs felt pretty good and I was excited to run, even if it was a little warmer than I’m used to.

It was stunning to run next to old vines and to be so in touch with a place that is so different from my daily life.

While I came back from the run quite sweaty, an iced coffee and an “ice bath” in the pool was amazing. If only every run ended so well.

Too bad later that night my tendonitis felt the need to remind me who is really the boss (news flash, it sure isn’t me). In the face of my biggest flare-up in months, I iced religiously, took anti-inflammatories, limited my walking, and wore my running shoes for better support everywhere. It was thankfully warm enough out that for once I really didn’t mind icing. It was actually kind of a nice addition to lounging by the pool.

After my flare-up I was paranoid and upset. With less than 5 weeks until SeaWheeze, I couldn’t afford a major setback. Especially not when I’m no longer seeing a physical therapist. Thankfully it only lasted a few days and I was back to “normal” (or as close as I have been in the past three months) by Wednesday.

Over the past two years I have rapidly grown out of a great deal of my clothing, mainly shirts with short sleeves and a lot of my bottoms. Thanks to CrossFit and some new muscle mass, things are quite a bit tighter than they used to be.

Since I moved last year I haven’t seen a great deal of warm weather, so many of my “summer clothes” weren’t worn since then. I was finally ready to break out my shorts this weekend, only to come to the conclusion I couldn’t get a single pair to fit. I have also had a skirt give up on life in the middle of a workday. Too bad I hate shopping for new clothes.

The good news is that I’m finally making more room in my closet. The bad news is that I have no nice shorts. I can wear running shorts to work, right?

Growing up, whenever I heard Todd Rundgren’s “Bang The Drum All Day” on the radio I always liked his idea, but thought it could use a little tweaking – I just wanted to read all day.

I was the kid who had more books in my backpack than most mobile libraries, and only 1/3 of them were for school (it was good strength training at least). I would lock myself in my room for hours and devour books from the first page to the back cover before coming out for sustenance. I used to read under my desk in high school instead of paying attention to lectures (to the point where teachers would assume I was texting and ask for my cell phone. Only one of them actually confiscated my book). So after four years of barely being able to catch the latest movie, it’s no surprise I was desperately itching to get back into reading after college.

I may have gone off the deep end with reading. A couple weeks ago I had a three-day weekend and the house to myself for its entirety. Instead of inviting over friends, going out, or doing anything really, I started and finished three books and cleaned out my closet. Do I know how to have a wild weekend or what?

I recently made the mistake of starting the Game of Thrones series with the goal of finishing all of the books before I start watching the first season of the show… needless to say productivity outside of work has dropped to zero.