HBBC2012 Weekly Recap

Today is the last day of Week 6 of the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge. It has been a rough 6 weeks, some were good, some were bad! I fought a couple different illnesses, and rested a little more than was probably needed, for fear of ruining my chances at the Marathon (2 weeks from today, WOOT!)
I had one week where I only earned 2 points! I workout a little every day, no matter what, whether it is squats, pushups, or planks, but that doesn't usually add up to a point.

This past week was a good week! I earned 32 points this week!
Monday: 5 mile trail run, plus a post to Facebook (and squats, pushups, plank)
Tuesday: 2.7 mile walk, post to Facebook (squats and plank)
Wednesday: 8.4 mile run, post to Facebook (squats, pushups, plank)
Thursday: plank
Friday: 3.1 mile run, post to Facebook (squats, pushups, plank) and then a .75 mile walk
Saturday: 6 mile run, post to Facebook (squats and plank)
Sunday: 1 hour Zumba, post to Facebook (later will be squats and plank)

Throw in all of the Christmas cooking and cleaning, and I did pretty well!
Next week should go well, I am on taper, but I still have 3 runs to do, more squats and planks, maybe some more Zumba.

I have some new challenges coming up as well. No details now, but here are some teasers!

Have you joined any challenges for the New Year?

Racing in 2012....by the numbers!

I have seen a lot of posts this week, wrapping up the year, and posting using numbers. I just *had* to join in!

39: My age on my birthday this year
1: How many years I have been running
20: The number of 5Ks I did this year!
4: The number of Half Marathons I did this year!
613: The number of total miles I ran this year.

WOW! Let's talk a moment to reflect on my awesomeness, lol. This was my first full year running, since I started in late August of 2011. 613 miles. WOW! I will beat that number next year!

3: Number of Mud Runs I did this year!
22: Number of books I read this year
1: Number of 10 mile races I did this year
3: Pairs of sneakers I went through this year
and
3: Number of 5 miles races I did this year
and last but not least
2: Number of 10Ks I did this year
1: Number of Trail Runs I did this year, a 15K in November, veryveryvery hilly!


Some more really fun numbers.....2012 PRs

5K: 29:45 Interlaken 5K on 10/13/12
5 Miles: 53:33 Running Club Run Fall 2012
10K: 1:09:09 Trenton Half Marathon/10K

10 Miles: 1:57:27 Ocean Drive Marathon/10 Mile Run 3/25/12

1/2 Marathon: 2:25:41 Hershey Half Marathon 10/21/12

That is my fave pic of all, because my parents came to watch! LOVE!!

I can't wait to post my 2013 numbers! Here is a taste of my goals:
25 books read
1 Marathon (Disney, 1/13/13)
13 Half Marathons
15 5Ks
3 five milers
2 Mud Runs
1 10K
1 15K Trail Run
614 total miles

Have you sent any race goals for 2013?

My Confession

Hello, my name is Kim, and I blew a snot rocket on my last two cold-weather runs.

Have you ever done this? I have been running for over a year now, and I always swore I would never ever ever do it. It seems so gross! I would just snarf it up and deal with the cough later. I was always jealous of people who could do it at races. I could just never bring myself to do it.
What's a snot rocket, some might ask? I found this fabulous pic at Bike radar:

Sexy, right? I know. All the boys are gonna want me now!
I have to admit, I was oddly proud of myself for pulling it off. I hardly didn't get any on me, and I had a nice clear nose instead of a stuffy one. Yay me.
What brought on this change in feeling about the snot rocket, you might ask? DISNEY!! The Marathon is almost 2 weeks away, and we leave in 13 days. 13 DAYS!! Holy heck! I am SO not getting sick for this, and if that means blowing snot out of my nose while I run, so be it!
Sad, but true. And with runs like this:

I might have to do it again. A few times.

Am I still grossed out? YES! 

However..

I feel like I have joined a sisterhood, if you will. I have read about these things in my running books, so I know that people do it. I have missed being hit by rockets at races by mere inches. 

And now.

Now I am one of them.

And I stand proud!

Have you ever blown a snot rocket? Come on, don't be shy! Admit it, and join the sisterhood! The Sisterhood of the Snot Rockets!

My Last Long Run Before the Disney Marathon!

Today was my rescheduled final long for the Disney Marathon! I checked the weather last night and it said that a storm was moving in, bringing rain, high wind, and flooding. Hooray! I was bound and determined to wake up early, and get out there for this run!
Goal one was to get up and be on the road by 8:00. BUT. The bed was so warm, and it is vacation, and  the Hubs slept in as well. SO I got up a little late, had one of the ProBars that I won from gingermantra (yummy by the way, it was a Cran-Lemon Twister meal bar), checked my email and facebook, and then prepped for the run. Cold weather gear, new Yurbuds, Honey Stinger waffles, small water bottle. Ready to go.
I decided I was going to do a lot of out and backs, since the bad weather was coming in, with my first being the longest. I ran down Princeton Avenue, a nice rolling hilly straight road with a wide shoulder. At the 4 mile mark, I stopped for my first taste of Honey Stinger Waffles. I ordered the vanilla flavor, and it smells and tastes like a sugar cookie. DIVINE! I ate half, and turned back. It was a nice easy run, and the weather looked ominous, but held nicely. At the 5 mile mark, the wind started picking up, and got progressively stronger as I closed in on my house. I stopped at home at the 8.4 ish mile mark to pee, with every intention of continuing my run.

The top picture on the right is the view from mile 4. Yucky, huh? The bottom is mile 7, not getting any better! 

When I got home, the front door was locked. UGH! The hubs has a nasty habit of locking the door whenever he leaves, he doesn't even really think about it, it is such a habit. Not really a bad habit overall. but not very convenient when you have to pee, you don't wanna cool off, and you don't wanna stretch either! I knew my son was home, but he was either sleeping, or plugged into his XBox live with his headphones on. I rang the bell for almost 10 minutes before finally calling his cell. Wish I just done that from the start! He *was* plugged into the XBox and didn't hear the doorbell or the dogs barking. 

At this point I was just done with the whole thing, lol. I was frustrated, the wind was picking up, the air getting damper (which is not great for my asthma, on top of the cold air!) so I called it a day. 

Overall it was an amazing run. I felt great, not one ache or pain, my pace was great. It was...great. Not what I planned, but that is life!

Let the taper begin!

Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve to all! Did anyone else start the day with a run?

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays to all!
I am guest posting today at Run Find Your Happy Pace so I will not be posting today! Check out my post, and the rest of the blog. It is one of my very favorites!

Hung for the Holidays

I participated in several swaps this Christmas, with my fellow bloggers and facebook friends! They were all so much fun! One was organized by Carlyn at Just Keep Sweating called Hung for the Holidays!
I was given Jane's name to shop for. Jane doesn't have a blog for me to share with you, but she does have 2 adorable rescue dogs so I chose a multi pack of cute silver dog ornaments for her. I wish I had thought to take a picture, but it was a big shopping day, and amidst all the unpacking, wrapping, etc. I just plain forgot!
My ornament came from Joanna at Making Mine and she sent me the most amazing peace sign ornament. It is metal, but it is designed to look like it is made of twigs. SO COOL! I just love it!!

Isn't it gorgeous?!?!
Thank you so much, Joanna!

Did you participate in any swaps this year? Ornament, Secret Santa?

Nominated For a Liebster Blog Award!!!

What a wonderful end to one of those typical less-than-perfect days! Yesterday, my fellow Elf4Health buddy, Kristy, from Kristy's Health Revolution nominated me for a Liebster Award. Hooray! Thank you, Kristy!!! I have seen many of my blogger friends receive this award, and to be inlcuded among them makes me very happy!

What is the Liebster Award, you might ask? I know I did, the first time I saw it! Liebster is German for "dearest", which I just love, because I am part German! It is given to bloggers with less than 200 followers as a way to spread the "new blogger" love!

Of course, with any award, there are guidelines! I must

• answer 11 questions set forth by my nominator!
• Write 11 random facts about myself
• Write 11 questions of my own for
• 11 new nominees!

Am I sensing a trend here? I wonder where the 11 came from? Interesting.....

SO
11 random facts about me?

1. I have 2 dogs, one is "mine" (A Shitzu Poodle mix named Nugget) and one is "the hubs" (a Cardigan Corgi named Memphis, pictured above)
2. I am totally addicted to chocolate
3. I work in a Special Education classroom , with Autistic children, as a paraprofessional
4. I am studying with NASM to become a Personal Trainer
5. I was once the inside and back cover "model" on a Collage Video Catalog, and won $100 in free DVDs from their catalog as a prize!
6. I am running at least 13 Half Marathons in 2013, and have registered for 7 already!
7. I have only been running since August 2011
8. My hubby and I met in 1987, but didn't start dating until 1992
9. I once met Joe Pesci. I was not impressed.
10. I also met Richie Sambora. I *was* impressed. Then. His choices lately do not impress me.
11. I live in a town that Sandy destroyed. I have survivor's guilt, many of my friends sustained crazy damage. Our food spoiled, and that was about it.

 

And now for Kristy's questions:

 

1) What's your favorite movie? I have so many, but my fave is actually a mini-series: Pride and Prejudice. It is my go-to feel-like-crap, lay on the couch all day, movie! I love me some Mr. Darcy! ::::swoon:::::

2) What is the first thing you'd do if you won the lottery? Pay off the Hubs' Law School loans! They weigh on us like crazy, I would love for them to just disappear!
3) Do you have any pets? lol I totally answered this one above! ooops! Here is my Nugget:

4) What's your favorite food? Cupcakes! OMG they are the greatest invention ever. Especially Red Velvet or Carrot Cake. YUM!
5) If you could have one super power, what would it be? Speed! Over a year of running, and I am still so slow! How great would it be, to be able to run fast!
6) What's your favorite cartoon? Smurfs! The original hokey Smurfs. I used to use Smurfy as an adjective in every sentence as a kid, and I still have a bunch of those lil figurines! Sad, but true!

7) Why did you start a blog? I started for accountability. I was about to start training for my first half, and I wanted to be sure I didn't bail, so I started blogging. What a great gift to myself, I have met so many amazing women (and even some men) on this journey!
8) You have a holiday party tomorrow at work. What's your go-to potluck dish to bring? I am the worst when it comes to this! I will go out and buy something, usually, as I am not a great cook at all! Summer parties tho, I will make a giant sugar cookie and smooth whip cream over it and make a flag pattern with strawberries and blueberries. yum!
9) Name one song that makes you want to immediately get up and dance? Call Me Maybe, sad but true. It is so horrid and yet so catchy all at once!
10) What's your favorite Saturday morning activity? getting bagels with the hubs and walking the dogs to the dry cleaners. It is so chill and calm and normal after a crazy week at school (and they are all crazy weeks, never a dull moment!)
11) What is the one thing you'd like to do with your blog in the next year? I had a few companies contact me to review their products, and would *love* to have even more! I am always envious of those who get to review such amazing big-name items! I wanna play with the big girls in 2013 ;)

 

 

My 11 Questions, with a Christmas Flair in honor of the week I was nominated:

 

 

1. What is your favorite Holiday movie?

 

2. What is your favorite Holiday song?

 

3. Who is your favorite Holiday character?

 

4. What is your favorite Holiday tradition?

 

5. What is your favorite ornament? Why?

 

6. Is your Christmas tree live, or artificial?

 

7. Garland: yay or nay?

 

8. Star? or Angel?

 

9. Tinsel: yay or nay?

 

10. Do you hang candy canes on your tree?

 

11. What color are your Christmas tree lights?

 

 

My nominees: (I apologize if you have been nominated already! It is so hard to keep track!)

 

1. Gigi at Running on Candy

 

2. Tiffany at From Couch to Iron Woman

 

3. Melissa at My Peach Life

 

4. Erin at For the Love of Disney Running

 

5. Julia at Fit Hourglass

 

6. Holly at Running and Baking, Oh My!

 

7. Katie at From Ice Cream to Marathon

 

8. Nicole at Being Messy Beautiful

 

9. Melissa at The Melissa Chronicles

 

10. Sarah at Mom Running on Empty

 

11. Gina at Noshing on Asphalt

 

 

Who are some of the bloggers that inspire you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Tropical Traditions Winner!

to Aneesa Lewis, you are the winner of the Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil! Email me at kimmiepcft@hotmail.com with your snail mail address so that I can have it sent to you asap!
Thank you to everyone who entered!
I hope to have a giveaway in January for my one year Blogaversary!

National Blogging Day of Silence

Today I was going to select a winner for my Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Giveaway. The winner will instead be posted tomorrow.

Influenster: Cosmo Vox Box

I recently read about a great website: Influenster. After you join, you do surveys and tasks about things you are interested in, and write reviews, answer questions, even ask questions...about products you know and love. The more you do, the more points you get. If you earn enough points, they might even send you some samples to try out!
They recently contacted me about trying some products out, and the box they sent was called the Cosmo Vox Box.

Look at all that great stuff!!! I won't lie, the first thing that I tried out was that chocolate. It pretty much disappeared immediately! It was called Sea Salt Escape and it was so tasty, with just the slightest salty aftertaste. I don't normally like chocolate with sea salt, but this was AMAZING! I ate the whole thing while I checked my email.

Next I tried the pens. At first, I didn't get the big deal. They wrote very nicely, and the purple one actually wrote purple. I love a pen that writes nicely. And then I read the description. Holy heck, this pen is eraseable. But it uses friction! Holy cow, the tip of the pen is rubber, and the friction just erases it! WHOA!! It works really well!

Next, I was thrilled to see my fave razors in there! Venus razors are the bomb! You can use any Venus razor head on the reusable handle! Woot! I needed a new handle, so this came at a perfect time, and with a coupon! Hooray!

There was one last item, perfume from Bath and Body Works, that I did not get to try. My teenager saw it and grabbed it and ran! She loves it tho, so I guess it's okay!

If you haven't checked out Influenster, get on over there!! What a fun box this was!

Influenster provided me with these goodies to try, however I was under no obligation to write a review, good or bad, All opinions expressed are my own :)

Have you tried any of these products?

Barking Mad Turkey Trot...a very big thank you!

During the month of November I hosted a Virtual Race, the Barking Mad Turkey Trot 5 Mile Run. It was held to benefit The Cancer Concern Center, a local Center that provides services to Cancer patients in my area. It is a cause very near and dear to my heart, I ran my first Half Marathon as a fundraiser for them as well!
We had 50 racers, from 18 states!! The final tally was $750 raised! I was so happy to be able to help them out, even a little. When Hurricane Sandy came through, they had to cancel a fundraiser that kept them open for 6 months of the year, and they need every penny they can get! Thank you to everyone who participated!
My friend Grace and I ran our race together on Black Friday. Grace has been running for a while now, doing the Couch to 5K, so 5 miles is more than she usually runs. I was so proud of her for finishing the entire 5 miles!

As you can see, it was a little foggy that morning! We stayed in my neighborhood, because many of the main roads are still shut down after the Super Storm.

Many of the racers posted pics after the race, of their watches as proof of time. This one was my favorite!

Gotta love it!

My next Virtual Race is a "Half Marathon". You can run it all at once, or in pieces. You can also walk, bike, scooter, crawl...whatever gets you there! I will be raising money for the Susan G Komen Marathon for the Cure, and I will be running the Rock n Roll USA Half as my official race! The Virtual takes place in February, with the official date being one month before the Half Marathon. You can check out the details in the link on the right, Barking Mad Fundraisers, or go to the Facebook Event Page!


Do you like to run Virtual Races? Why or why not?

12-12-12

It has been a crazy day but I did want to report about my 12K! Today I ran a 12K for 12-12-12. My reasons were threefold!

1. It's kinda dopey cool
2. Run With Jess told me to do it!
3. I signed up for Fab Virtual Racing's Not Your Cookie Cutter race

Gotta love it!!!

Did you do anything special for 12-12-12?

Snowflakes 5K and Premier Protein Review

Today I ran my Snowflakes 5K, a Virtual Race run by my good friend Sandra at FUNd Run for Bling. Sandra hosts *amazing* virtual races, the medals are always adorable, and she has them running every month! She uses them to fundraise for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, a great cause! Check out her facebook page! This race, we even got a cute running tattoo! I will have to wear it to my next big race!
Today's run was an easy 5K, it was a little brisk outside, and I started out too fast, which burned my lungs, but I got it done! This is week 24 of Marathon training, can you believe it?!?

 

 

A month or so ago, Premiere Protein offered me a box of goodies for following them on Twitter. I was so excited to get the box, not knowing what to expect, I thought maybe a bar or two and a shake.

My son was excited, too. He loves opening my boxes, he has quite a knife collection and uses a different one every time I get a box! For this one he used a dagger, lol. Crazy kid!
The box included 4 shakes and 6 bars. WOW!
I never even got to try the shakes. The hubs found them and drank them all! What?!? He said they were really good, lol. Next time I need to hide this stuff!
I took the bars on my long runs with me one at a time. First I tried the Double Chocolate Crunch. YUM! I could only eat half tho, they are crazy filling! The Chocolate Peanut Butter was my fave by far, altho Yogurt Peanut Crunch was also really good! I saved the second half for another run, they are SO big!
I love how much protein you get in these, 30 grams per bar! Perfect for a recovery snack! I will definitely be using these in 2013 when I train for my 13 Halfs in 2013!!

Premier Protein provided me with these free of charge, I was not required to write a review, good or bad. All opinions are my own :)


What is your favorite recovery snack?

 

 

A Frosty 10K and Coconutty Giveaway

Today I was supposed to run the Christmas City 5 Miler in Bethlehem, PA. I have been feeling run down all week, so I went with a DNS for the first time. I just couldn't see driving over 2 hours, running 5 miles in the rain, and then driving over 2 hours back.
Instead, I ran my Frosty's Great Cupcake Race. It is run by my friend Darlena from Run Find Yor Happy Pace and Cara at Running In Sanity. I chose the 10K option, and also ordered the snowflake Happy Band.
The weather here was cloudy and foggy, so I didn't take any pics while I was running. I started out wearing a running cap, but stopped halfway through and ditched it at home. It really was a great run. It didn't feel that way at first, know what I mean? My last run was a week ago, 17 miles, and I felt a little stiff today. I was checking my watch for distance but not really for time, and I was pleased to see my time when I finished!

That is only about 30 seconds behind my best 10K race time! The medal is seriously cute, there are better pics at the above websites. They even had a 5K and kid's race option. SO cute! I love their cupcake medals!

I can't believe I finished week 23 of training today. The Disney Marathon is only 5 weeks away! Holy heck!

I promised  a giveaway, didn't I? A couple weeks back I received a lovely box in the mail from Tropical Traditions! I have never smelled anything so coconutty-licious! I can't wait to try out all of the wonderful suggestions in their video (check it out below!) They have generously offered a jar for one of my readers to try!

 

 

Win 1 quart of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!

Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?

You can also watch the video they produced about Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil:

 

Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality

coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online. Since the FDA does not want us to discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is the best website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.

 

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.
 

How do you enter?

1. Go to  http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/subscribe_for_special_sales.cfm and join their mailing list! Comment below that you did it! This is mandatory!!
2. Follow Tropical Traditions on Twitter @troptraditions and @ttspecialdeals! Comment below (you can comment once, you do not need a separate comment each time!)
3. Follow Tropical Traditions on facebook (please, no comments about who sent you, they will be deleted) and comment that you did!
4. Follow Tropical Traditions on Pinterest
5. Follow Barking Mad on Twitter
6. Follow Barking Mad on facebook
7. Follow Barking Mad via email at the right hand side of this page

Lots of chances to win! I will use Randomizer to pick a winner on Monday, December 17th!

Elf 4 Health

I am taking part in a wonderful event this month, the #Elf4Health Challenge!

This challenge is run by Elle at Nutrtionella and Lindsay at the Lean Green Bean. They are doing an amazing job! Every 2 weeks they assign each participant (there are hundreds of us!) an Elf. You cheer each other on, send ideas for the daily challenges, and just support the daylights out of each other!
For my first 2 weeks I had the best Elf, Melissa at My Peach Life. What an amazing gal, and a super supportive Elf! You and your Elf can email, tweet (using the hashtag #Elf4Health) and visit each other's blogs. The daily challenges can be...well...challenging sometimes (go makeup free all day!) but they really help you to step out of your comfort zone and try new things! (going meat free all day)
The challenge runs in to January, so you can sign up for a later session! Jump on over to Elle or Lindsay's page and check it out!
You won't be sorry!

Barking Mad Virtual Half Marathon

I am hosting a new Virtual Race, in honor of my (Half) Marathon for the Cure to raise money for Susan G Komen! I will be running the Rock n Roll USA Half in Washington DC this March, as my chosen race.

How does a Virtual Race work?
You walk, run, bike, crawl at any time during the month of February. You can do it all at once, or a little at a time, as long as it totals 13.1 miles by the time you are done!
 For a $20 donation ($15 goes to Komen, and $5 defrays the cost of the medal and shipping) you can take part! You can send it via paypal, using kimmiepcft@hotmail.com or you can mail me a check! If you would like to mail a check, email me and I will give you my address.
My last Virtual Race for Komen had 100 racers and I raised over $1500 for Komen. I would LOVE to raise more this time!
Come visit the facebook Event Page and you can also visit my Personal Fundraising Page here to see your name on the roll call after you donate (this can take up to 3 days, or longer if you mail a check).
Oh, wait! Do you want to see the medal? Of course you do!

It SPINS!!!!!!! I love it! The back will say Barking Mad Virtual Half February 2013 (or something very close if I am restricted by space). Isn't it pretty?!?!?!?!
There will also be prizes! For every 10 people that register, I will add something to the drawing, which will be held on February 16. This is exactly one month before my race. You can register after that date, but you will miss the drawing. So far I have 3 Running Happy Breast Cancer headbands, Runner Girl decals,  Komen tech tank top, Komen baseball cap, and a DPI Tank top! I will add more prizes every tenth registered racer! I have 54 racers already!
I hope I didn't leave anything out! Please ask any questions you may have!

17.1 mile long run, NASM, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Yikes! Being sick most of the week truly affected my blogging! Now I need to play catch up! Where to start?
Let's start with the K Cup Swap over at It's a Harleyyy Life! We were given someone to swap with and then we would send each other a selection of our favorite K Cups to try out. Now, I don't drink coffee *at all*, never even tried it (weird, huh?) but the Hubs and my Teenie LOVE it, so I jumped right on board! I sent out a selection of their faves, and waited for ours!

They arrived with a nice note and 2 coupons for oiselle! Yay! The Hubs and the Teenie are having fun trying new coffees! Thanks Katie!

Another exciting item came in the mail last week! Last month I won a tee in a contest from DPI tees, which was really exciting! I was having a bad day when I got the email, so it really brightened up my mood!

LOVE!!!! I haven't worn it yet, but it such a nice shirt! I can't wait to wear it!

I am participating in a wonderful challenge, Happy New Year...Now.  I picked my goals, and I have made some progress:

1. Run 3 days a week: week one yes, week 2 I was sick and missed 2 short runs, but ran 17 miles for my long run
2. 30 Day Shred Challenge: Week one I did it 3 times, week 2 (sick!) I did none :( I am glad that I rested tho, the 17 miler was key to my training, and the most important!
3. 5-7 freggies a day: I have been getting 4 on most days, definitely something to continue working on, but progress is good!
4. eat less junk food: I am doing well here, not perfect, but defnitely less than usual!
5. Read 3 books: one down, 2 to go, and I am halfways through 2 books right now. so I am optimistic about this goal!

I am also following along with the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge! You get points based on your workouts, your freggies, and other challenges along the way. I feel like I am doing really well with this challenge. It is definitely keeping me on track. Those few sick days I took this week made me itchy, lol. I still have today's workout to do, but here is my week so far:

Another big decision I made this week was to get my Personal Training Cert again. I haven't been certified in over 10 years! My last cert was through ISSA but I went with NASM this time. I can't wait to crack the book! I got my kit the other day, it came in the cutest box. It looks like a locker! It also came with an awesome backpack that I will use to hold everything in one place.

And last but not least, my long run was yesterday, 17 miles! I was so nervous, it was my longest distance yet. My friend Colleen and I ran together, leaving from her house. We ran around town, and the town next door, since we are restricted as to where we can run, due to Sandy damage. The first 10 miles were awesome, not too tired, great conversation. Here is the view from mile 11:

After that it got ugly! I hadn't run all week, and my legs knew it. We stopped to walk a few times, but we always kept moving. At mile 13.1 we stopped at Colleen's house for a pit stop, and then we finished out the last 4. The only time we stopped to walk this leg was on the second bridge (for this leg.  We ran over a bridge and back in the first 13 as well). It was steep and at mile 16 it was just too much! We stopped at mile 17 to take the pic of Colleen's watch, since mine got stopped somehow during the pit stop.

Oh yeah, and I earned my medal for the HoHoHo Winter Wonderful Half! woot! I was so very tired after this run, and at first I was really mad at myself for struggling. There was definitely some worry about the Marathon. BUT
I know that I can do it. I don't need to run the whole thing, and stopping to get pics with the characters will help! I can't wait! 6 weeks to go! WOW!

Thanks for sticking around this long! It was a crazy week but we are all caught up! I will leave you with one last pic, and a question:
If you celebrate Christmas, is your tree up yet?