Avoiding the Shower of Death with Pjuractive

I received Pjuractive as part of being a BibRave Pro. Check out BibRave.com to read and write race reviews.



You're laughing, or possibly scratching your head, but if you've run in the rain or the heat, you know what I'm talking about. For men, it's usually their nipples or possibly their inner thighs. For women, it's usually the sports bra line and.... well.... their delicate parts. If you wear underwear when you race, it's also your.... well, we are all adults here, your butt crack.
Still laughing? You might be, it's funny when it's not happening, but it happens way too often.



I have had some very sad mishaps during races, and the consequences can last for days afterwards. Chafing, cutting, bleeding.
Pjuractive 2skin is amazing to prevent these instances. The gel rubs on easily and after 10 seconds, you can dress and go. I usually put on my sports bra first and then apply it to the problem area, count to 10 and go. So.easy.



You can also use Pjuractive 2skin on your toes. I have a couple toes that rub together constantly. They don't always blister, but a rough spot usually forms and eventually becomes painful. Not any more! A few drops of 2skin, rubbed onto my toes, and I am good to go!
I carry it with me to all of my races now, and I'm packing for Disney today...



So let's get the details out of the way...

Sweat and water resistant... I sure tested that!



Does not clog pores!
For all areas of the body
Can be used in hot and cold temps

Ummmm, winning!

They have Body After Shave Spray as well, for athletes who shave full body for swimming! No more razor burn or skin irritation!

What is the worst chafing you've ever had after a race?

Wordless Wednesday Valentine's Day Edition

Facing My Fears in 2018 Part One

For my 45th birthday this April I decided that I would do something that scared me. I chose ziplining, but not for the reasons you would normally assume. I'm not afraid of heights, or of falling. I am afraid of how I will look while I'm doing it. I know that I am overweight, I actually fall under the obese category. I'm afraid of how I will look, or what people will think.



I decided that I wouldn't let that fear get in my way, and I would try ziplining in April when I turn 45.
This started me thinking about other things I could do, one each month, that I'm afraid of.
Some of these may seem silly to others, and I am ok with that. This is *my* list. I was asking for suggestions, and some of things that my friends suggested (a helicopter ride, for example) were things that I've done without a second thought. Everyone has different fears, and they are all valid.
While I was making my list, I saw that a local Amercan Legion had a line dancing club that met every Friday night!



Gasp! I love line dancing. I shared it on my wall and asked for interest from my friends. No one expressed any interest to me, but a few friends went anyway and didn't include me. I was heartbroken . They said they hadn't seen my post, and didn't think I would be interested so they didn't ask me.
The hubs said I should just go alone.

Whaaat? Go somewhere alone?
What if I didn't know anyone?
What if I was dressed wrong?
What if I got laughed at?
What if I couldn't do it?

For real, y'all, these are the thoughts that went through my mind. I realized that this needed to be my first fear, and if I didn't do it right away, it would be another month or so before I had an open Friday night.



On Friday night, I'm not gonna lie, I had 20 reasons why I should just stay home.
This is what I do when I don't want to do something because I'm scared, nervous, or intimidated.

The Olympics are on.
I have a race tomorrow.
I'm tired.
And on and on and on.

But I went. I paid my $5 and jumped right in. I promised myself I would stay for an hour and go home to get an early bedtime for Saturday's race.



I was one of the youngest there. I had no clue what I was doing. I messed up. A lot.

I had so much fun. I caught on pretty quickly most of the time. I ran into some of the ladies I know from volunteering at the book store. I had so.much.fun.



The first time I looked at my watch it had been more than an hour. I ended up staying for about 90 minutes!



I loved every minute and I cannot wait to go back at the end of March.
I learned a few important things about runners who line dance. Line dancing is hard on your hips and calves! These are the muscles that suffer the most on hilly races. Saturday morning was rough, but so worth it!
I conquered my first year!

Next up....

Aerial Yoga in March. Look out for my post, I am signed up for an 8 week class that starts the first Monday in March.

Have you ever tried Aerial Yoga?

AllState Charlotte Hot Chocolate 15k

I received entry into the AllState Hot Chocolate 15k as part of being a BibRave Pro. Check out BibRave.com to read and write race reviews....



Whew! What an exhausting day!
This race today was all about friendship, I'm not gonna lie. Not the Big Brother Paul kind of friendship, actual amazing running family kind of friendship.



I missed the group photo, but this is my awesome running family. They are the most amazing, caring, supportive people I have ever met! Since the race was so close to home, a lot of us were there this morning. Many aren't even pictured because they were running the 5k, and it started before the 15k.



These goofballs are the reason I missed my running club photo. We stopped for some pics and then I was late. I ran Ragnar last June with these guys, and if you can stay friends after that, you are friends for life!



Tasha and Lissa are non-running club running friends. I help Lissa with our MRTT chapter and Tasha, a friend of Lissa's (and now mine) and I met through her. Tasha runs with another RFYL store.

So, I carpooled with my running club pals, and we parked fairly close to the start. After porta potty stops and a few pics it was already time to start. It was in the low 50s and a little misty and I was ready to run!



I decided to run with Tasha, she was worried about her pace, and I was worried about going too fast, so soon after my injury, so we were a perfect duo.

The hills were seriously scary, y'all. I went line dancing last night and my hips and calves were really sore from the start. After a few miles they definitely loosened up, and I was running easier. But those hills. Damn.

The maximum pace for the race was 15 minutes per mile, and we basically stuck right to it. I never once saw the sweeper, and there were always people behind us.



At about mile 7.75 Tasha had pretty much had enough. She hadn't been focusing on running lately and I was super impressed that she kept it up that long! She decided to walk it in, and I ran ahead.



Lissa had finished long before, with a shiny new PR, and was waiting when I finished.



She waited for Tasha, and I met up with my club friends. Time to get my chocolate! It was a bit of a walk but so worth it!



I drank my cocoa and had a few snacks and then went to meet up with Tasha and Lissa.



We talked for a bit and then it was time to have lunch with my club friends.

It really was the perfect morning, there is nothing quite like running with friends. Since Hot Chocolate has a 5k and a 15k, there really is a race for everyone!



Oh, hey! Before I forget, are you on Athlinks?

It's an amazing website, and now an app, where you can claim your results from past races! They have made some exciting additions to the site, so now you can add friends and rivals, plus future races so that you can see who will be there running with you! SO much fun!

Check out my results for Hot Chocolate Charlotte here!

Flat Mama Friday AllState Hot Chocolate Edition

I received an entry into the AllState Hot Chocolate 15k in Charlotte as part of being a BibRave Pro. Check out BibRave.com to read and write race reviews.

Today was kind of a repeat of last week, I'm not gonna lie. I just didn't have to drive as far! My little South Carolina town is actually a suburb of Charlotte, so it's just a hop skip and jump away.

I drove into Charlotte this afternoon and picked up my bib and jacket...



I won't go into all of the crazy details since it is just a repeat of last week, maybe a little smaller scale.



I came home and prepped for race day. It's going to rain again, y'all. I'm dying. Really. But. It will be almost 20 degrees warmer and lighter rain! This time I am prepared with a poncho, just in case.



I will be driving into Charlotte with some of the girls from my running club, and will also be meeting up with some BibRave Pros, I hope!
I also went with a different set of BibBoards this time, just to mix things up! Hopefully I have better pics for you this weekend!



Happy Friday, y'all!

Are you racing this weekend?

Almost Wordless Wednesday, Facing Your Fears

Still deciding on September!

What are you afraid to do?

That Time I Froze at the AllState Hot Chocolate Atlanta Race

I received entry into Hot Chocolate Atlanta 15k as part of being a BibRave Pro. Check out BibRave.com to read and write race reviews.



I want to preface this with a bit of a disclaimer. The weather sucked on race day. It was literally freezing cold, pouring rain, and miserable. I'm going to whine a lot during the review. None of this is the fault of AllState Hot Chocolate 15k. They cannot control the weather!

Ok, so I already posted about the expo, so let's move on to race morning. We woke up around 6ish to the sound of pouring rain. Legit. Pouring. Rain.
Ugh
My weather app, which has been deleted from my phone, said light rain and 40s. This is what I packed for. No poncho. 2 long sleeve tech shirts.

not warm enough!

Not even my toasty running pants. This is gonna get ugly.
The Facebook page was updated with the weather report, and the race director was on point with replies. Races never delay or postpone unless conditions are dangerous. This weather sucked but it was in no way dangerous.
We stalled as long as possible and then walked over to the race. Luckily, we were close by. We were still soaked by the time we got there. We each went to our corrals to wait for the race to start.



The anthem was sung and we heard from Taylor, who benefited from Make a Wish, the charity that the race sponsors. The corrals started on time and we waited our turn to begin the race.



While we waited, the emcee mentioned that mile 1.7 was decision time. This is where the 2 races separate. I had read on the Facebook page that morning that if we wanted to run the 5k we could still get a medal if we had a 15k bib. Hmmm.

Looks pleasant, right?

Did I mention that the weather sucked? Before the race even began, I was soaked to the skin. I couldn't get warm, and my legs were like lead. I was running a 15:30 pace and the limit for the 15k was 15:00. Ugh.

poor, wet little chocolate chips!

Even this little ray of sunshine couldn't motivate me. It was mush after the first taste. The volunteers were amazing though! The course had 2 big hills, one at the beginning and one at the end. I heard that the 15k was worse! Atlanta is very hilly, so I expected it. Add those hills to the bad weather and I wanted my mommy more than once.

finisher chute. still raining.

I finished the 5k (you knew that was going to happen!) And let a group of ladies take selfies with my medal before I headed to the chocolate tent. A Mylar blanket would have been perfection here. I'll have to remember to bring one next time there is weather like this!



Photo cred to Lissa on that one! They wrapped it in plastic which was awesome! I drank my hot chocolate right away, while I made my way to the merch tent to wait for Lissa, who was having a PR day at the 15k!

It was still cold but much drier in there. A very nice man gave me his hand warmers when my teeth started chattering!

this is the back of generous dude's head

After about 20 or 30 minutes, Lissa finished and we headed back to the hotel.

yes. I do have chocolate on my chin. don't judge.

Ok, maybe not too much whining. We cleaned up and put on our super cozy race jackets for the drive home.



One very important thing to mention...all of those race photos above? FREE! Y'all, they give everyone race photos for free. FREE! I'm gonna live off that until my next race! Way to go, Hot Chocolate peeps!

My sad results are finally up on Athlinks! Check them out here!

I'll be running again on Saturday in Charlotte, that's how much I love this series!

Have you run a Hot Chocolate race?

#SavetheShirt with BibBoards

I received 3 sets of BibBoards as part of being a BibRave Pro. Check out BibRave.com to read and write race reviews.

Use the code #BibChat

You know how the story goes. You run a race, which requires pinning a bib to your shirt. If you're anything like me, it's a really cute shirt, a favorite, one that you wear all the time. After the race, you pull it off, bib and all, because you're so disgustingly sweaty, and toss it in the back of the car. When it's time to do the laundry, you go to take the bib off, and the cheesy safety pins won't come off easily, you end up with little pin holes in your shirt.
Sound familiar?



Even worse is when you pin another bib to the back. That's 2 sides of your shirt with holes in it!



BibBoards helps make all of that a faint memory! No more pin holes, no magnets that slide around in the porta potty, just an easy to use system that takes care of it all. They are simple to snap on, easy to take off, and reusable!
They won't tear your race bib, either, so if you store your bibs in a binder like I do, you don't have to worry about how to snap the bibs in!



I just used mine at Hot Chocolate 15k Atlanta. It was pouring, freezing, and miserable. My bib was a mess, but it was still fully attached with no damage to the holes from the crazy wind. No rust either!

Being the mature individual I am, I got poop emojis, but they had all kinds of other cute emojis, plus race distances, and more! You can also order custom BibBoards with whatever logo you want!



Some of my friends have even snapped them onto their watches or their sleeves as a reminder of the distance they are training for. So creative!

With all of the races on my calendar this year, I am so lucky to have these in my arsenal. I need my shirts to last, especially my coaching shirts. BibBoards definitely helps with that.

Since I have 3 sets, I will be bringing them to the Disney Princess weekend. I'm running all 3 races, so I can snap these on to my race shirts when I get my bibs and not worry about them again! I'll only have to remove the challenge bib and transfer it to a new Shirt, which will be easy peasy!

Check out all of the cute BibBoards here. Which ones will you order with the discount code above?

AllState Hot Chocolate 15k Atlanta Expo

I received entry into Hot Chocolate Atlanta 15k as part of being a BibRave Pro. Check out BibRave.com to read and write race reviews.



Lissa and I left SC this morning and road tripped to Atlanta for the Hot Chocolate 15k. It was a quick and easy drive into Atlanta and after we parked at the hotel, we walked over to the expo.

I have to say it again, I love the way Hot Chocolate does bib pickup. You bring your email with your QR code in it to an open volunteer. They scan it, a label prints out, and they slap it on a bib. DONE!
Genius!



After that, you go to the swag table and they give you a super comfy jacket. Winning!

After our speedy pick up, we walked around the expo.



We found a booth selling Bib Boards...



Then we tasted some Kind Bars, and took one with us...



Time for treats! They had a marshmallow and a cookie straw thing dipped in chocolate, along with a sample of hot chocolate. Yum!



On our way to check out the course map, and how close the start was to our hotel, we ran into fellow BibRave Pro Samantha!



She is sweeping the 15k tomorrow.
We did visit Centennial Olympic Park on the way back to the hotel, which was beautiful. I will leave you with a few pics....