“And Then She Ate the Wolf: Volume 1”

NEW RELEASE!

New to Amazon…BUY TODAY!
covervolume1

BUY TODAY!

A touch of whimsy, dash of dark, and ample sarcasm, this edgy new series is to be enjoyed by adults, or rather, those who refuse to grow up.

There is much more going on behind my eye-catching character artwork from Instagram than mere captions have cited. I am excited to share the tales and backstory to each, and truly bring to life the people behind those big eyes life!

This art and short fiction just can’t be fully enjoyed squinted and crammed down to a micro-scale IG frame…now you can stop squinting, OPEN YOUR EYES and BUY TODAY!!

It delights me so to hear what you think, so kind readers, send the good, the bad, the twisty or ugly my way by way of review…

For those who enjoy…beware and be pleased this is only the first volume…

GET ‘AND THEN SHE SWALLOWED THE WOLF: VOLUME 1″ ON AMAZON TODAY!

Save a Life: Furry Cartoons That Care

In case you haven’t obsessively been checking my Instagram feed (hehe) I wanted to share with you the animation I made for a WONDERFUL cause…help save some doggies’ lives and support @ShihtzuSwag ‘s fundraiser with @WagAware benefitting @ICareDogRescure ! Please do head on over to www.WagAware.com, 50% of every purchase goes directly to helping rescue our furry friends. πŸ™‚

—-More Info From My IG Caption:

The closest thing to my heart has four legs. Please, Friends, help save doggie lives and support @icaredogrescue , the incredible @shihtzuswag created a fundraiser by teaming up with @wagaware to make a real difference!! Between February 2-16th WagAware will donate 50% of ALL SALES to @icaredogrescue !!! Such an amazing act and the #WagAware charm will be a friendly reminder of all the furry friends you’re saving, so please head over to www.WagAware.com and buy yours today! If you buy three you’ll automatically get another FREE!! Whoohoo…charms for everyone!! Thank you and help spread the word. πŸ™‚ #BuyaCharmSaveaDog

Sunday Morning Running Motivation: Life’s short…

While I may play running shoe favorites, you get the idea. πŸ˜‰ Get running and in any shoe that meets your fancy…cuz ‘stopping’ just aint all it’s cracked up to be.
nike running shoes

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More RUNNING MOTIVATION

#SweatsintheCity Runnerchick Chic

More CARTOONS

Maggie Vessey: Queen of the homestretch runway

Last week may have been New York Fashion Week, but the 2014 track season was Maggie Vessey’s Fashion statement.
maggie vessey
No need to say more.

Vessey took the opportunity of being a ‘free agent’ to prove she’s got the creative talents to match her performance prowess on the track.

“I do want to draw attention to the sport and maybe give people who aren’t necessarily interested in track and field a reason to be interested,” Vessey told Runner’s World. “But it is a very authentic expression of who I am, and I now have this opportunity to be able to put that out there, be bold, and take a risk.”

To all those eating her fashionably savvy dust, heed the words: look good, feel good. πŸ˜‰

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Related:
Excellent read on Maggie Vessey in New York Magazine

Oiselle was representing runners at New York Fashion Week, I caught up with Founder and CEO, Sally Bergesen

My story on Kate Grace, professional runner for Oiselle.

Runner Fashion is All the Rage: Legs to Crush a Runway

My own (expanding) line of running apparel: Ezzere

Saturday Morning Running Motivation: When in doubt

Let’s be honest, running may not solve EVERY single problem, but I’ve yet to find myself in a situation where a good run doesn’t at least help. πŸ˜‰

running motivation art

With that…

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More MORNING MOTIVATION HERE

More TRAINING TIPS HERE

I’ve had quite a few new articles published on RunBlogRun and Competitor as of late so be sure to check out my WRITING PAGE HERE

Follow Cait Chock on Instagram: @caitchock

Sunday Morning Running Motivation: Turtle Training

It’s no lie…sometimes you just gotta take a cue from the Turtles.
πŸ˜‰
teenage mutant ninja turtles running

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Fancy that, another train of familiar characters getting their run on…sorta reminds me of THESE LADIES!!

More Morning Running Motivation Posts And Art
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1) Who here is also a real runnerd and Turtles fan too? πŸ˜‰
2) What were you chasing this weekend?

Running ‘No Fluff’ Zone: What the masses don’t want to read about

I had a fun dialogue with a friend and editor the other day:

“‘How to Train for a Marathon in 5 Minutes a Week’ and ‘Eat 20 Apples a Day to PR’ (clear exaggeration but you get the point). I know a lot of people like those types of articles but over the years I’ve have my fill.”

“Thank goodness you hate the ‘fluff crap’ kinda articles too. I die a little inside every time I’m asked to do one, writing that stuff makes my brain numb.”

unicorn runner PR

There were more little barbs in there and witticisms but you get the picture. The ‘fluff’ crap; it’s all over the web and even in the magazines and websites ‘we’ us ‘real runners’ read and subscribe to. We can’t escape it and let’s be honest the masses are looking for a kind of ‘quick fix’. So, the headlines screaming BIG rewards LITTLE work draws people in. It sells. Websites and magazines are businesses after all, so even though I’m sure it kills a few editors and writers every.single.time they must do a ‘fluff crap’ article, they do it. Gotta put food on that table.

The thing is though, which ‘we’ ‘real runners’ know is:

* there’s no magic bullet
* no super secret way to getting better and stay fit
* eating an apple at 3:19pm to drop 30 seconds off your 5k PR aint gonna do it

Most people don’t want to hear that it takes:

* a h*ll of a lot of hard work
* motivation
* motivation even when you aren’t motivated
* pushing yourself
* hurting in workouts and races

The sufferfest that is training and racing…that probably wouldn’t be a magazine the general public would just LOVE reading about. Better to think that a protein smoothie with chia seeds is all that’s required and will do the trick. Training and all that stuff, well…that’s second tier, right? πŸ˜‰
running bright and shining
The ‘training fluff crap’ I think actually parallels what writer, coach, sports nutritionist, and athlete Matt Fitzgerald, writes about in his latest book DIET CULTS. I literally devoured that read in two days so do check it out, I think most fitness minded folks will relate to a lot of what he’s saying and laugh because as athletes we’re able to ‘sniff out’ lots of the ‘diet fluff crap’ mainstream media and individuals try to get us to buy into. I will revisit this book later because I’ve got both an article on RunBlogRun coming out and after that is published do a review on this blog. So hold tight, but in the mean time check out DIET CULTS.

Getting back to the fitness and running ‘fluff’, I find that it really is only doing a disservice to the individuals who really are motivated or the ones just starting out in the sport. Coming to the realization that it’s hard work over really anything else is a learning curve all runners go through. Experience teaches us that.

Every single runner has their own journey, the progression of getting crazier and crazier more experienced and for lack of a better term ‘hardcore into’ our sport. That journey makes each runner who they are and it’s important to learn lots of those lessons yourself. At the same time, it’s a shame that falling into the misconception that certain foods or cramming 4 months of training into 2 weeks doing a run only every other Tuesday WILL make you a better runner. Because by hiding the truth you’re only stunting the progress of the runner who really does want to be their best.

Certainly the ‘fluff’ sells and the driven, self-motivated folks who are ‘real’ runners [I only define ‘real’ runners not based on speed at all, but in spirit and how motivated they are…if you’re a runner you know it in your bones.] are the minority. But the numbers of runners are growing and it proves there are eager, motivated people looking to embark on their running journey.

Welcome to crazy town.

So here’s some straight shooting for you:
* It’s going to hurt.
* There’s no ‘secret’ to getting faster and staying fit.
* Motivation is your weapon, consistency reigns supreme.
* Patience sucks but it’s required.
* Learn that unnecessary suffering isn’t going to make you better. Oh running, filled with all those fine lines we must tread.

But here’s the BEST part:
* There’s a sick sort of high and remarkable afterglow to that hurt when you’ve pushed through it.
* Nothing is more rewarding than watching yourself get faster and more fit.
* Realizing your body can DO things you never dreamed possible is far more satisfying than any pack of abs or what your vehicle of performance looks like.
* Running will effect, and improve you in all areas of life.
* Runners are tough as s*t.

It’s important to realize that clearly certain foods and a healthy diet will help your training, lifestyle adjustments (hello more sleep!) will too. But even a healthy diet with 10 hours a sleep at night is useless sans training. Take your ‘fluff’ and shove it. #run

More Reads:
5 Ways Runners Can Use Trail Running to Get Faster

What’s Fueling YOUR Run?

Runger: How runners can tame the beast and eat to perform

WEAR your motivation with Ezzere

The World Cup Reminds Me…the time I proved I had no coordination skills

The 2014 World Cup has begun!! Now here’s a fun fact, soccer was my first sport. Gosh how I loved it, I played for seven years and looked forward to every Saturday’s game (confession: the after-game snack a LOT too!) like nobody’s business. Why did I stop after seven years?? Enter exhibit A:
running sports cartoon
I sucked. Like I REALLY sucked. I can vividly remember scoring my first goal…mostly because it was my first and last. I don’t even have an excuse for one goal in seven years, like I played goalie or defense…nope, I was a forward and mid-fielder. Right where one with any iota of coordination would be set RIGHT up to score a goal.

Hey, at least I can own my suckiness. I know I can handle turning left and running in a straight line. So I stopped soccer when, totally honest here, the only team I could still make was the rec team. The qualifications for making the rec team is having your mom or dad write the $35 check to the community rec league. I was in junior high at the time, meaning my rec team would be all the 4th and 5th graders still too young for the Comp and Select teams.

That’s when my mommy-o suggested I try cross country. I thought it was a traveling team, “Cool!! I get to go touring around…I’ll bet I’ll find lots of fun new foods to try!” I though. Yea, even at that age it all comes back to foods and treats, right? I was in for a shock. No traveling done unless you run there. I got tripped pretty bad my first practice and later had to pick gravel out of scars I still have today.

i run. i'm hungry. cartoon

i run…do the math.


My first race I spent hovering over a bush for about 15 minutes certain I’d barf. I didn’t, but my dad still has a picture of me hovering over the bush. The thing is though, I kinda liked it. I sucked at anything with ‘real’ coordination skills but I kinda liked that I could grimace in pain and pass some girl up a hill. I would like to also mention I sucked at running too. That girl I passed up the hill, maybe was the only girl I passed. Like I was slow, but in my mind I didn’t fully grasp 1) how slow I was 2) how HORRENDOUS my form was!! Gosh, even my mom in later years admitted, “Yea, I’ll never forget trying not to laugh the first time your little club coach saw you run and remarked that you looked crazy.”

I owned my crazy then and I own it now though! πŸ˜‰ But hey, I stuck with this whole running thing. I do promise I kinda really hated it the first couple weeks, but I swear there was like this insane shift after you get past the ‘hump’ I call the hazing weeks. Basically once you become consistent enough to where your body and muscles don’t go into the shock of thinking, “Wait, she’s running…that must mean there’s a bear chasing her!!” resulting in unwalkable sorenesses the next day. Get past that and you’re golden. πŸ˜‰

Look at running, turning into about my favorite thing to do. Shall we just be thankful that I actually DID have a little too much pride to out-age my rec teammates by four years? Best $35 my mommy-o didn’t have to spend. πŸ˜‰
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My latest on RunBlogRun: Phoebe Wright Can’t Be Stopped! <--- this is actually one h*ll of an inspiring story and she's HILARIOUS!! Read the story then check her blog and twitter feed!! Also on Want to Run in College? This is what it takes: Hakon DeVries of the University of Kentucky
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1) Are you a big soccer fan? Will you be unreachable and completely ignore any and all of your surroundings until the World Cup is over?

2) Were you good at other sports besides running?

3) Have you ever barfed after a race?
Hey, I hovered over that bush but nothing came up. Never have thrown up after a race or workout, that one time over the bush was the closest I’ve come.

Peacocks Stop for Runners

Because how could they NOT stop and gawk at such a well-dressed runnerchick. πŸ˜‰ #Ezzere Baby!

peacock runner tee movie

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This short video hit my Instagram feed first…be sure to follow me there so you’ll be the first to see when new artage and such get dropped. πŸ™‚

Mosey over the BUY YOUR Ezzere Peacock Runner Tee…or any of the others. πŸ˜‰
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