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?