The Outdoor Edit: Going Offline, Winter Blues, Best Cyber Monday Sales + A Secret Coupon Code!
Hey everyone—
This week has been a bit of a challenge for me. Between my grumpy knee being on the very, very slow mend, my website being down after a whole hosting debacle, and prepping to be gone for a week, it's been one of those weeks where nothing major is going wrong but everything just feels a little off. I don't handle that well, as it turns out.
Me walking in to meet with my new web guy: "Oh, let me buy your coffee because I am a take-charge kind of woman." Me 10 minutes later, sniffing back tears. "I just want my website to function!"
Me talking to osteopath: "I know I messed up my knee doing X Y and Z." Me 10 minutes later, sniffing back tears. "I just want to run again!"
So I still have a lot of work to do when it comes to keeping my cool, apparently.
(Side note: If you do head over to TheOutdoorEdit.com and are suddenly redirected to my Instagram page, it's just because there's a lot of work being done on my site. Sigh.)
OK: Let's talk. What I'm psyched on this week, because it has definitely not been all bad. I think you need weeks like this to make you a) thankful for when your $hit is together, and b) to make you figure out what you're doing that needs fixing on a macro level so you can have your $hit together. For me, that's investing in serious-business help to make sure my sites are all working and easy for me to update so I can focus on content, and also investing time into actually doing mobility work and not just treating symptoms like knee pain, but looking at what's making my knee pissed off. c
BUT ANYWAY....
XO, Molly
PS: Respond to this email or hit me up on Instagram... I would love to hear from you all, what you're into, what you want to see more of, etc., so feel free to respond to this and let me know!
1 ON GOING OFFLINE
So, next week, we go on our first vacation-vacation in four years, and I am STOKED. Originally, the plan was 10 full days of offline life while I did a lot of yoga + took surfing lessons. That has since shrunk down to "well, let's stay offline for four days of the trip" because I have my weekly cyclocross rankings show on FloBikes to record, we have podcasts we want to launch, I'm doing a talk at a women's conference via Skype, and because my website was crashed the last two weeks, it'll likely be repaired and I'll have my editing capabilities back right when we leave... But otherwise, we're *definitely* on vacation. I've been alternately getting excited and freaked, and I'm constantly torn between "this will be SO productive, I'm going to bring notebooks and write a ton and have all these great ideas for my sites and books," and "this will be SO relaxing, I am going to drink out of a coconut and pretend that I am capable of getting a tan." I imagine I'll end up somewhere in between those two. But stay tuned for how the offline few days work for me—I'm excited to see! (The last time I took 24 hours offline was 12PM to 12PM on December 31, 2016. It was difficult and that was New Years freaking Eve.)
2 FLOW IN ALL THINGS
Finding FLOW in frustration. I've been having a very annoying couple of weeks with The Outdoor Edit website—I'm sure some of you noticed how slow it was loading (when it was loading). It's been expensive, I've cried a couple of times, and I've taken A LOT of deep breathes trying to chill about it. The upshot is that I've finally hired a really good — but not super fast — web firm to help me sort it out, but it's a waiting game because they're good, not speedy. Luckily, as I read this month's Athletic Bookworm pick, I hit the chapter about challenge at the right moment:
"Why are some people weakened by stress, while others gain strength from it? Basically the answer is simple: those who know how to transform a hopeless situation into a new flow activity that can be controlled will be able to enjoy themselves, and emerge stronger from the ordeal." -Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
I've been trying to flip my script: Not trying to make my website development stuff go faster, but trying to get drafts ready, photos edited, brainstorm new ideas — stuff that I can do outside of the site so when it is back, it'll be better than ever. That shift is actually making me super psyched for a web refresh versus getting back to just status quo.
3 THE JOY OF PLANNING
Is there anything in the world that's more satisfying than starting a fresh notebook of ideas? (This may just be a writer thing...) I just picked up a pack of new legal pads to do some brainstorming for the aforementioned The Outdoor Edit site but also for stuff like the Shred Girls Book Launch in May, some condo projects and more... It's not the first time I've gotten a new notebook this year, I admit, but sometimes, a cute notebook paralyzes me a little. What if you write the wrong thing or your handwriting sucks or the color of the ink is wrong? Legal pads feel much more abrupt, and ideal for drafting and throwing ideas onto them. So if you're in a goal-setting or resolution-y mood or just need to sort out some $hit, may I suggest treating yo'self to some basic yellow legal pads?
4 WINTER BLUES
This week on the podcast, we're all about talking cold weather training, a break from racing after the season, those post-season feels and motivating for next year/for riding inside when the weather sucks. It's a fun episode and if you're feeling any winter doldrums lately, I'd highly recommend giving it a listen!
5 CYBER MONDAY SALES
A couple of my favorite places are having sales today (including Shred Girls, of course), so here are a few of the ones I'm shopping:
RUN JANJI: 20% OFF
runjanji.com
Favorites: I looooove the long-line bra, any of the tights, and all of the singlets!
VIVOBAREFOOT: 25% OFF SELECTED STYLES
It's not a huge sale, but Vivo rarely has them, and while I freaking love their shoes, they can be a little pricey, so this is a good chance to grab a pair to try. (I'm really into the tan Primus Trek.)
vivobarefoot.com
RAPHA: 25-50% OFF
Rapha.cc
Favorites: I’m not sure what exactly will be discounted, but my favorite Rapha essentials are the leather wallet and any of the men's merino wool baselayers (just go with a size lower than your size in women's).
SHRED GIRLS STORE: 20% OFF
Tank tops, tshirts, phone cases and more #ShredGirls swag is 20% off with the code MONDAY
Shred-Girls.com/shop
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Just a reminder, since pre-orders are key to the success of any book, and I would love to get this into the hands of tons of girls, not just ones who already love riding bikes. So, if you've enjoyed my writing over the years, give this book a shot and buy a copy for the Shred Girl (or future Shred Girl) in your life!
An empowering new series from the cyclist who runs Shred-Girls.com is guaranteed to give readers an adrenaline rush--and the confidence girls gain from participating in sports!
It's time to ride and save the day!
Lindsay can't wait to spend her summer break reading comics and watching superhero movies--until she finds out she'll be moving in with her weird older cousin Phoebe instead. And Phoebe has big plans for Lindsay: a BMX class at her bike park with cool-girl Jen and perfectionist Ali.
Lindsay's summer of learning awesome BMX tricks with new friends and a new bike turns out to be more epic than any comic book--and it's all leading up to a jumping competition.
But some of the biker boys don't think girls should be allowed to compete in BMX. Now it's up to Lindsay, Jen, and Ali to win the competition and prove that anyone can be great at BMX.
PS: If you pre-order, email me the receipt and I'll send you a signed Shred Girls postcard + Shred Girls bike frame stickers so you can still give it as a Christmas present!
That's it for this week—if you found anything inspiring in here, do me a solid and forward to a friend!