Almost Wordless Wednesday, #Giveaway reminder #REALwomenmove #skirtsports

Just a quick reminder that tonight at midnight, the giveaway ends for the 13er Registration from Skirt Sports. This registration is for the live or virtual option, and it includes a gift certificate and a skirt!

What are you waiting for? Enter!!!

Superhero Half Marathon Recap

Sunday I ran the Superhero Half in Morristown NJ for the third time. I was keeping an eye on the weather all week and was glad to see that the call for rain changed, but not at all thrilled to see the 81' it changed to. I had originally planned to wear red leggings but changed it to red calf sleeves at the last minute.

I got almost all the way to the race before I hit traffic, but I only sat for about 10 minutes, and still had about 30 minutes until the race started. I searched for my friends and the portapotties at the same time. I found them simultaneously. Just as I was getting on line for the bathroom, I saw my friends. We posed for a quick photo and then I got back on the very long line for the very small amount of potties.

The race was beginning just as I was stepping out of the potty. Yikes. Luckily, they were a little behind, and it was chip timed anyway, so I rushed over it the start and tried to squeeze in among my fellow slow runners. The race was running differently this year, however, and was running towards the middle of the park instead of away from it. They were headed right towards us, and it was hard to.get through the sides at first. I managed to squeeze in and get started. 

The first 5 miles were mostly out in the open, with very little shade, and it got hot very fast. I stopped at every water stop, and sometimes I doubled up. The 5 mile mark brought us back into the park where the relay was swapping out. I'm not gonna lie. I totally considered cutting my losses and hitting the road. It was unbelievably hot, I wasn't going to hit my first goal, and was beginning to doubt that I would make my second one either. I was in a bad place. The  crowds were cheering and calling us by name, and I decided to chuck all my goals and just run.

At mile 5.5, someone had left out shorty water bottles. At mile 6, someone finished theirs and threw it deep into someone else's yard. Ugh.

I can't  believe I got this far without mentioning the hills. They started and never stopped. They were everywhere. 

Insane.

I really need to hill train.

Between the hills and the heat I was wiped out. I wanted to walk, but I also wanted to be done. I was miserable. We finally entered the park, which was shady, and that was a little better. It was also flatter. We got to run through there a couple miles before going back out into the world. And the hills.

See how red my face is? Not a good sign! After some time out in the sun, we entered the park for the final miles. Everyone was miserable. I was starting to weave. At mile 12 there was the final water stop. After checking for dirt, I doubled up and moved on.

yup. You read that right. I was checking for dirt. You might be wondering why. After all, the volunteers wore gloves, and were pouring from gallon water bottles. At the three previous stops, however, there was dirt in my cup. At one of them, I noticed 2 people cleaning up the discarded cups. One was taking the crushed ones, and one was taking the whole ones. And reusing them. 

Gross.

Unfortunately, dehydrated runners can't afford to be choosy. 

Just after that last water stop, a motorcycle cop riding by stopped me and asked me if I needed more water. He reallllly wanted me to take more water. I couldn't understand why. I just had water. I was fine. He drove by me twice more on that last mile. 

When my watch signaled mile 13 I almost cried. There were still some spectators and they were cheering me by name. It was nice. I crossed the finish in 3.01 missing my second goal by one minute and not caring at all. I just wanted water and a bagel. An EMT was at the finish asking each finisher how they were feeling. I told him I felt like crap but it wasn't anything he could fix, which satisfied him enough to let me by.

The water they provided was in small Dixie cups. Really? It's over 80 out here people. I took 2.

 The bagels were gone. 

I got a power bar that was melted and gross.

I went back to the start to check on my friends. I passed them at mile 2 and never saw them again.

 I did run into a friend who was pacing the 3 hour runners and she said that one friend left at mile 5 with an injury, and the other finished way ahead of me. I later found out that my 2nd friend was just behind me and made a wrong turn somewhere and ran an extra mile. Ugh.

I walked slowly back to the car, drank some leftover iced tea from the drive in, and chilled until i was sure that I was ok to drive. I stopped halfway home for Starbucks and got some iced tea and grapes for the ride home. I wasn't even remotely hungry, but I figured grapes were mostly water anyway right?

I don't know what it is about this race. It definitely caters to the faster runners, and I have never been happy after I finish. But I always go back. Mayne it's the costumes?

Race 1, Nellie Bennett Fun Run

Today was race 1 of 2 this weekend, a fun run at our local elementary school. The teenie and I walked the three blocks to the start and registered on site. They had a snafu with tees so we have to wait for ours. I wasn't expecting one anyway, so it's a nice bonus.
We talked with some friends  until it was time to start. The race started suddenly, and my app wasn't ready so I was a little behind. I tried to speed up to catch up with my friend Paul, but it was too thick out and I just wore myself out.
I pulled back and just enjoyed the race. I felt slow and sluggish, so I wasn't expecting much. It also ended kind of soon, and when I checked the app it sated 1.7 miles. Turns out, one of the volunteers stood on the wrong corner and misdirected everyone. Oooops.
My friend Paul won for the adults, which was a fun surprise. Week three of marathon training is over!
Tomorrow is the Superhero Half.....

Flat Mama Friday

This weekend I have two races. Sort of. On Saturday, the elementary school my kids went to is having a two Mile fun run. It runs right past my house. The teenie and I are going to register tomorrow morning on site and cross our fingers that we still get a tee!
Sunday is my third time running Superhero, a Half Marathon in Morristown NJ. It's SO much fun, but I have never finished very well. My first year, I ran with a great friend and we had a lot of fun, and finished in about 2:44. This would be great for me now, but not so usual then! Last year I ran with Gigi, who had ankle issues, and I developed toe issues, and it took us about 3:14! I wonder what 2015 will bring?

@skirtsports 13er Half Marathon #giveaway #REALwomenmove

As a Skirt Sports Ambassador, I am thrilled to be offering a registration to the 13er Half Marathon. Can't make it to Colorado? They have a virtual option! The race is held on June 14th, in Louisville, Colorado and is run by Skirt Sports.

As part of your registration, not only do you get the awesome grey Finisher Skirt, but you also get a gift certificate to spend at Skirt Sports. The giveaway is for the Basic Option, which includes the race registration, the finisher skirt, and a gift certificate for $50! You can also upgrade to the Upgrade Level, which includes a $125 gift certificate, or the Skirt Lover's Paradise, which includes a gift certificate for $275. Simply pay the difference at Check Out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So how do you enter? Simply enter with rafflecopter, and check back on May 21st to see if you've won!

 

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


If you win, will you run it live in Colorado, or run it virtually along with me?

Terrific Tuesday

Ever have one of those awesome days?
Mine started off with a nasty humid sweaty run. Yuck.
I went to work and the little princess I babysit, with the help of her  brother, made me a Mother's Day card. So cute!
Then I got the notification that some packages were delivered. Hooray. My old Buddy Pouch is too small so I upsized, and I needed some fancy pens for my planner and these from Pilot are the coolest. They use friction to erase. No little bits on your paper!

The teenie took the purple one!

I checked my email and found out that I am a Rungo Ambassador. RUNGO is a cool new app, free app I might add, that lets you record, share, or follow a route to run, with step by step directions! It's so cool!

I also found out that I earned $50 through Achievemint. This is an iphone app, or a website for those with droids, that allows you.to sync your steps and your My Fitness Pal to earn points. It took awhile, but $50 is on its way to my PayPal account as we speak!

Now I am off to curl my hair and put on some real clothes for my Girl Scouts Award dinner! 

Have you ever had one of those days?

Marathon Monday, Week 3

I can't believe it's already week three!

Monday.... on the schedule was four rounds of intervals. 8 minutes running, 3 jogging. I hate wearing my watch when it's hot, so I used my ipod instead. I ran for three songs and walked for one, which resulted in roughly 11.30 miles. Not very scientific, but it works.

Tuesday.... two miles at the boardwalk. It was insanely hot and humid so we ran one mile and then walked back on the beach.

Wednesday was a rest day, although there was much walking to be had.

Thursday.... 30 easy minutes with strides. I got the strides down but not the easy! 2.7 miles at an 11'17" pace. Crazy warm that day as well.

Friday.... 45 minutes at a medium pace. I ran through the next town and back, which includes two bridges. It was a nice day for a run! Four miles in about 48 minutes, an 11'51" pace.

Saturday was the Fun Run I ran with the teenie. On the schedule was 25 minutes of easy running an do did 18 minutes of speedy running. Oooops. Week three is done!