Photos on Photos on Photos for Grip the Mat

What a busy winter it has been! Between battling Snowzilla, grad school, freelance work and my full-time job at the USO, this chilly season has been jam-packed for me. How has winter been treating you?

A few weeks ago, I had the awesome opportunity to capture a few seasonal staff photos for Grip the Mat's DC team (I do a bit of photography for them) and had such a fun morning trampsing around Georgetown to capture a handful of magical shots for the growing company.

Here's a look at just a taste of the yoga-inspired photos I captured. They're so fun right??

 

 

Writing on Running for Spright

 I love to run -- and I know a ton about running as a result.

However, like most things fitness-oriented, I know that my first-hand knowledge of any topic is only just a slice of the knowledge out there, especially when it comes to weather-related running info.

Seeing as winter is in full swing (with no sign of spring in sight!) here in DC, I decided to tackle the seasonally relevant topic of winter weather running for my latest Spright.com article.

As part of my research (and to help highlight some awesome runners out there!) I reached out to a few running pros and asked them for their top five running tips. Here's a bit about who I spoke with:

Dorothy Beal: This Washington, D.C. blogger, speaker, mother, and runner has a personal best marathon time of 3:11, appeared on the cover of Women’s Running magazine, and has a great running Instagram feed.

Joshua Holmes: With over 150 marathons and ultras under his belt (including 31 100-milers!), Holmes’s training takes him up and down mountains and through all kinds of climates. The frequent traveler shares his expertise on his site, Run It Fast, as well as on Twitter and Instagram.

Finn Vogler: This Hamburg, Germany-based competitive runner and member of the Asics Frontrunner team once completed four half marathons in four days, and he’s got a great running-inspired Instagram feed currently full of gorgeous snowy scenes.

Monica Olivas: This Southern California runner started her Run Eat Repeat blog six years ago as a way to document her marathon training, diet, and weight-loss journey. She’s a certified personal trainer and chronicles her racing and training on her blog and Instagram.

It was so amazing talking to these pro (or at least serious) runners about their craft. I was totatally blown away with the awesome and practical advice they had to share with me about winter running. So much so that I had a really hard time narrowing down all the amazing tips and tricks!

Here's a sneak peak at part what I did end up including in the story:

What do you do to prepare your body to have a successful run out in the cold?

Dorothy Beal: First thing I do when I plan to run in cold weather is to get my head on straight. If I’m focused on how low the temperature is or how much I don’t want to run in the cold, then the run is miserable before I’ve even started. Instead, I focus on how nice it will be to get fresh air after spending more time indoors, how lovely the sun will feel on my face (don’t forget sunscreen in winter — you can still burn!) or simply how good I will feel when the run is over and I’m back inside warming up in a hot shower. … In the winter I am concerned about pushing myself too hard when I am not warmed up, so I take a little extra time to do some active stretching indoors so I don’t feel tight in that first warm-up mile.

Joshua Holmes: Oftentimes we overcomplicate running, whether it be in the heat or cold, and forget that it’s simply running. Extreme temperatures can punk us out and make the excuse demons pop up, making it easier to skip a run. However, if we always waited for perfect weather to run then we’d rarely run. … I’ve run in temps from 6º all the way up to 122º. It’s all about acclimating and being properly dressed and fueled/hydrated.

Read the full story here!

Snaps from Snowzilla: DC Family Photo Shoot in the Blizzard!

Oh winter. How I love you. But hate you. But mostly love you :)

Anyway.

Earlier this month we got hammered with an EPIC snow storm (erm, blizzard), which was actually a TON of fun. The last time we had snow this intense was circa the '09 "snomaggedon" storm, so everyone was pretty pumped to see the city shut down and snow-covered after a four-ish year capital city blizzard hiatus.

Besides spending the "snowzilla" storm hunkered down in my apartment snuggling my cats and concocting treats in my kitchen, I also ventured out into the elements to do a special family photo shoot in the snow for my friends Adam and Dani.

I can't remember the last time I did a shoot in such extreme weather -- but it was so fun! We walked all around the National Cathedral area to capture these amazing images and had a crazy good time as well.

Here's a look at some of my shots:

I'm definitely not a pro when it comes to shooting in the snow, but I'm not half bad either!

Yogi-tastic Photos from Grip The Mat at A Baked Joint

Can I just start by saying how much I love the name of the DC-based bakery, A Baked Joint? I shot a Grip the Mat Vinyasa to Vino event there a few weeks ago and can still can't get over how amazingly appropriate the place's name is.

Considering the shop's sister store is the beloved Baked & Wired (where I basically lived on Mondays during college), I shouldn't be surprised they chose such a fun name for their second location.

Unlike Baked & Wired, which is small and charming, A Baked Joint is large, airy and has plenty of breathing room for lounging and hosting fun events, like Grip the Mat's yoga events (see what I did there)?

I loved shooting this event although, I'll be the first to admit the low-light situation was super challenging. Hello ISO, nice to meet you.

Maybe I should learn off-camera flash...

Either way. I think the photos turned out okay. Not my best. But acceptable.

New Year, New Photos from Grip the Mat's Bendy Brunch at Union Kitchen Ivy City

Happy New Year, internet world! I hope over the last few weeks you had some time to enjoy the wonderful winter holiday season and catch up with family and friends.

Mr. Man and I worked until the later December calendar days before heading off to the Caribbean for a cruise with his family. It was totally magical! But more on that in another post once I get around to editing the photos :)

Before I set sail for my holiday vacation this December, I had the wonderful opportunity to donate my time and talents to shoot another event for the wonderful DC-based yoga event start-up, Grip the Mat. I've shot many of their events before and was delighted to be asked back to shoot for them again!

One of Grip the Mat's hallmark's is it's "pop-up" event style, which gives attendees the chance to practice their flow in some of DC's funkiest locations. This Bendy Brunch took place at Union Kitchen, Ivy City, which is a food incubator in the DC-area.

Tell you what, I've never shot a yoga event in a kitchen before -- and it was totally fabulous, as was the food!

Shooting these events is always so fun :)

A Tropical Winter Getaway: Photos from my Cruise!

While I normally spend my holidays visiting family up in Canada, this year I did something a little different. Actually, something VERY different.

Thanks to the generosity and hospitality of Mr. Man's family, I was invited to spend the later part of the holiday season on a tropical cruise to the Western Caribbean on the Celebrity Reflection ship.

It was AMAZING!

We had a lovely 7-day trip and made stops in the ports of Miami (we started here), San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Martaan. It was so relaxing to be away from the bustle (and cold) of D.C., unplug and reconnect/recharge before kicking off 2016 with a bang.

I tried not to take too many photos from our trip (i.e. do work on my vacation!) , but here's a selection of my favorites from the few I did take :)

Kicking off the New Year with a Nerd Fitness Feature for Spright

Happy happy happy new year to you beautiful blogosphere people, you!

Before I do a deep dive into my holiday shenanigans/travels (probably in a separate post), I thought I would share an awesome feature piece I wrote for Spright to help people jump-start their new year's fitness resolutions with a little inspiration.

When looking up amazing fitness industry leaders to write about for Spright a few months ago, I stumbled across Steve Kamb and his site, Nerd Fitness, and was instantly intrigued.

Nerd Fitness was unlike any other fitness site I had ever encountered in my years of writing about the fitness industry. Imagine nerd culture, mixed with bro culture in a subdued, supportive online fitness world -- that is Nerd Fitness.

I knew I had to talk to the creator of this wonderful, strange fitness world.

After several email attempts back and forth, I finally snagged an interview with the brains behind Nerd Fitness, Steve Kamb, and spoke to him about how the entire operation came together. Here's a snippet of my interview:

Steve Kamb is a nerd. Like, a video game-playing, comic book-reading, knows more about Star Wars than your brother kind of nerd. But don’t let that fool you into thinking he’s clueless when it comes to healthy living. The author, entrepreneur, and founder of Nerd Fitness knows his stuff.

A largely self-taught fitness leader, Kamb founded Nerd Fitness in 2009 to help nerds like himself get fit. Once a side project, Nerd Fitness has since exploded into a top online fitness community and has helped thousands of geeks incorporate fitness into their lives.

We chatted with Kamb about Nerd Fitness, favorite workouts, go-to take out orders, and his book, Level Up Your Life, out in January 2016. Here’s what he had to say:

What’s the Nerd Fitness origin story?

SK: I grew up in a town called East Sandwich. I was active as a kid, and I played sports. Growing up in a small town, we all played every sport together as a group of friends. I also spent a significant portion of my childhood playing video games. It wasn’t until high school when I got cut from the basketball team that I signed up for a gym membership. I had no clue what I was doing. But I decided I wanted to get big and strong and spent half of high school and all four years of college — I went to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee — strength training and following muscle and fitness magazines and trying to get strong and healthy and big — and failing miserably...

Read the full story on Spright!