2015 Race Calendar.... So Far!

Putting together my race calendar is always so much fun! There are just so many to choose from, that sometimes you have to make decisions between races, skip races, try new races, keep doing some of the same old races. You know how it goes!
Here are some of the races I have already registered for in 2015.....





Train-ing Run. This is an unofficial, untimed race. You take the train for the distance you want to run back. There is beer and pizza and a tee when you get back.

Asbury Park Train Run at Johnny Mac's

E Murray Todd Half Marathon. This race is always frigid and it is super hilly. It is our way of starting back up. It never ends well. Last year it snowed. We lived. This year they will have bling! The tee is always long sleeved and comfy. I *just* put last year's tee in a quilt, I couldn't stop wearing it, and that is rare.

Rock n Roll DC. I ran this a couple years ago, it is a beautiful course with a couple challenging hills. We are staying an extra night to visit the museums.

I was supposed to run the Kilt Run, but just like last year, something else came along that peaked my interest. Last year, it was the 13.1NY with Gigi, Kaseedee, and company. This year, it is the Sleepy Hollow Half with Gigi. That girl is a bad influence! I will spend the whole race looking for this guy....

For my birthday weekend, I will be in Philly with all of my running besties! It will be the best weekend ever! Hot Chocolate 15K, and loads of fun!

Not being one to break tradition, I will be doing the April Fool's half marathon in Atlantic City. To make it a little more interesting this year, Eileen and I have signed up to do the Jester.... which means we will run the 11K the day before, and score a sweet Jester hat.

Another tradition for me is Runapalooza. My first year running I volunteered at this race, and the last two years I ran it. I also met my Disney running bestie Colleen for the first time the year I volunteered.

Ahhhhhh Long Branch Half Marathon. I have volunteered twice at the expo, run it three times. It was my first ever half marathon! Next year, I might go for the full

before the race 2014

Super Hero Half. This will be year three. Still deciding on a costume. Last year I dressed as a soldier. Nobody got it. I think the pink camo threw them off. This year, I am thinking policeman, but I am not sure.

Spring Lake Five. This will be my fourth year. There are over 10,000 runners and it is crazy hard to get into. It sells out halfway through the first day! I got up at 5 am to sign up for this thing!

Spartan Sprint, Tuxedo NY. Team Motley Shues. I.Can't.Wait. The only thing better than doing an obstacle race is doing it with the Shues.

Father's Day 5k. I do this every year. It runs right past my house, and the last several years it has been dedicated to my friend's brother who lost the battle with Melanoma. I will run this race forever.

Firecracker Five, another tradition. It is always crazy hot, and the last two years it rained, but it is the perfect way to start the Fourth of July off!

Via Half Marathon. We ran this last year, but Gigi and I were both injured so it was slow going. It was SO much fun, though, and we are going back to kick some butt!

Adams County Half Marathon. Ohio. Little basket-like  medals. Need I say more?

Steamtown Marathon. This was not planned. Gigi is the devil. But it is part one of my road to double agent status.

Delaware Monster Mash Marathon. Part two. Double Agent. PLUS I am running in honor of my Dad and fundraising for Muscular Dystrophy . I will be dressing up as a police officer or a hunter in his honor. Probably a cop, involving wither a tutu or a sparkly skirt. Duh.

Jingle Jungle 5K. Because I am there, and I like to run/walk with my PbRC friends.

Why am I there? For Wine and Dine. You would think that last year I would have learned my lesson. Friends renamed it Splash n Dash. It was wet and cold. My friend Shannon wants to go back, and I have to be supportive, right?

Well, that is it so far. I am sure there will be plenty more. I can think of several already, but I don't know when they will be, so I can't add them in yet! I would love to another Biggest Loser 5K, if they come back to Six Flags. There are some Halloween ones that are done locally. The list goes on and on!

Will I see you at any of these races? I hope so!

Achievement Board, January update

 

 

 

I have to admit, I wasn't really expecting to fill in more than many one space on this board in January! It was a good month, however!

Let's start at the top.

• 2500 Twitter Followers. Getting there! I am at just over 2300. Not following me? You can find me here.
• A Year of Small Changes Challenge. This will not end until December 31st, you work towards it a week at a time.
• Raise $500 for Muscular Dystrophy. I have raised $75 so far, and will be having a Virtual Race in April to raise money. Stay tuned for details.
• Add two new states. I will be running in Louisiana in April, and racing in Ohio and Delaware on the Fall.
• Complete NASM studies. I should probably crack the book. Ya think?
• 2 obstacle races. I registered for Spartan and will probably do the 4H one for the third time this summer.
• Money Challenge. This is another that will not end until around November. I actually started two jars, and may add a third. For now, I have one for Wine n Dine that ends in November and one for Marathon Weekend that ends in January.
• 1000 Instagram Followers. Done! I thought that this was a lofty goal, but I conquered it! I actually added a new goal of 1200. Yeah. Conquered that as well. New goal? 1500. I am at 1442 right now, I think. Follow me!
• Lose 5 Pounds. Done. Next is to lose 10 total, and then 15, 20, and 25.
• Hold a plank for 5 minutes. I have been doing lots of short planks, haven't gone for the big time yet. I will start aiming or longer planks once a week, now that I have been planking a little every day.
• 30 Day Yoga Challenge. DONE!!It was a nice challenge, 15 minutes or so a day.
• Do a Pull up. I have not attempted this yet. I have been working on upper body and will attempt one soon, probably starting with bands to assist.
• Run 3 Five Milers. I have registered for one, have one on my radar, and will look out for a third.
• Run 12 Half Marathons. I have registered for ten so far.
• Lose a marathon in pounds. Like I said, about 5 pounds gone right now, and holding steady.
• PR. I didn't really set a specific goal for this one. I ran my first 4 miler which is an auto PR. I am hoping to beat that time in the next few weeks.
• 500 Pinterest Followers. I am at about 430. Follow me!
• Meet Me On Mars: 1000 miles run. January was bad. I didn't really plan to run. I think I ran about 12 miles. March 1 starts my official  marathon training. It can only get better.
• Master 4 new yoga poses. I mastered crow and am working on a headstand so far.
• 1500 Facebook Followers. I am almost to 1300.  Follow me!
• Run 2 marathons. Fall. That is all.
• Read 30 books. I have read about 5 or 6 so far. I also added the Pop Sugar Challenge which gives you specific missions. Should make it interesting!
• Meet Me on Mars: 2015 miles total. This uses my daily fitbit steps. I had 122 miles for January. This should get larger when I start marathon training! I sure hope so, because I need about 170 miles a month to hit that goal!
• Run a 10K. I don't have any on the radar, but I am running an 11K in AC this April, which is really a 10K with a bonus lap. Right?
• 100 Day Challenge. This was a bust. It started in January and you were suppose to run as often as you could the first 100 days of the year. I cannot run outside right now, no treadmill access. I  might try my own 100 Day Challenge once the weather improves. You have run at least once every three days, and I cannot do that right now.
• Declutter 365. This is a year long challenge. So far so good!
• Lean and Clean Challenge. This was a bootcamp challenge. DONE!
• Run fifteen 5Ks. I don't see any problem here, I usually run at least 20.
• 5 Stray Boots tours. These are tours you do with your phone in major cities. There's an app for that, and it's sort of Amazing Race like, with no competition. You are given tasks and it helps you see the nooks and crannies of cities. We plan to do 2 in New Orleans in April and hopefully one or two in DC in March. NYC has TONS, so lots of opportunities there!

 

Have you made any mini goals for 2015?

#FITGiveaway2015

I have teamed up with some AMAZING bloggers to thank out followers for their never ending support! There are three incredible prize packs  that include gift cards from Lululemon, Nike, and and UnderArmor and other prizes including training and workout gear!
These are HUGE prizes so it is important that you complete the entire entry form. Trust me, it is totally worth it!
Click the link below to enter for a chance to win!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Special thanks to all the bloggers who contributed to this fabulous giveaway! Be sure to enter before February 13!




 

Wordless Wednesday

Official photo from the frigid four miler

My first yoga challenge picture

February Challenges

 

It's no secret that I love challenges. Monthly challenges, year long challenges, anything to keep me motivated! I thought I would share them with you today. I print most of them out, and have them on the white board next to my desk. The photo challenges I save in my phone, since that's what I use to do them each day.

First, is the calendar challenge. I almost always use Sisterhood of the Shrinking jeans for these. If you don't like the one they are using currently, they keep all past calendars in one place on their website! This month they are focusing on abs:

 

 

I am taking part in Run This Year, a running challenge to hit 1000 miles. I am cautiously optimistic that training for a marathon will get me there, just so long as the next 11 months are nothing like January. In February, they are adding a Photo Challenge. I am squealing right now. I LOVE photo challenges!

Did I mention that I love photo challenges? Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans is having one as well. Score!

 

In January, I did a yoga challenge, and was thrilled that FitApproach has started one as well. It began yesterday, and lasts 30 days. Best part? You do your own thing, and there are prizes! You do not have to be a Sweat Pink Ambassador to play along, just do at least 5 minutes of yoga every day, post pics, and hashtag #TakeTheLeap #SweatPink and #prAna so they can see you!

 

This challenge carries over from January, and I found it at John Bingham's facebook page. Simply move your body every day for 30 minutes. Easy peasy! Plus, you get to color. I love to color.

 

 

Run With Jess is hosting a Winter Miles Challenge. I think this is week 4 out of 8. I have failed at every week, due to sickness and snow. Sigh. I just keep truckin'.

 

 

This is a year long challenge. It is my 3rd year trying, and I have yet to make it to the end! I have 2 jars so far, one for Wine n Dine and one for Marathon weekend. I may have to add a third if my friends and I decide to add RnR Dublin to our 2016 calendar!

 

 

Another annual challenge is the Declutter 365. Each month there is a printable calendar with daily assignments. So far so good on this one! There is a facebook group as well, for extra organizational ideas!

 

 

PopSugar Reading Challenge! I do the Goodreads challenge every year, but this one gives you assignments! I cannot wait to figure them all out! Good reads even has a handy search feature to give you choices for each category! fangirling!

 

52 Small Changes, also run by Sisterhood using the book below. They have a facebook page, and we are reading a chapter each week. Past chapters from January involved drinking water, proper sleep, journaling, and getting your 10k steps.

What challenges are you doing this month?

OCR Winter Series Four Miler

 

 

Yesterday was my first official race of 2015! Technically, this is week 2 of the series, but last week the park cancelled it, because of ice on the course.

SO

This was my first time racing a series put on by the Ocean Running Club. It was a four mile race, which is another first for me. In addition to the snow, I have had a pretty bad cold for the last week, so I went into this race with very low expectations. My goal: finish. That's it. I don't know about other areas, but every local race series I have ever been to has been filled with super speedy runners. Die hard marathoners who run all year round and make me feel slow. Which is fine. I am slow. This does not bother me, so everyone is happy.

Back to the race!

I showed up, paid my whopping $6 (I LOVE race series!) and filled out my raffle ticket for the enormous TV they are giving away at the end. The race started at exactly 11:00, with just a little fanfare, and lots of happy runners. I started Map My Run, and off  went. It started on an uphill and my lungs burned for the first half mile. I settled into a rhythm, but when I hit the first mile, MMR didn't give me a time check. I wasn't surprised, there were trees on both sides, very tall, so I figured the mileage might be off by a bit. I felt like I was slogging though, and there weren't many behind me.



 

 

 

 

As I approached the end of the first loop, a guy passed me. He was about 70. A very speedy guy, apparently, because my slog was actually a 10:45 mile average! What?!?! This was unexpected! The second lap felt harder. I tried to keep up with speedy old guy, but the longer we ran, the further ahead he got. Just before mile 3 MMR told me I ran a mile. Darn trees!

 

 

I turned the last corner, looked up the last hill, and saw the club photographer. Almost there! I wondered how much I slowed down.  Darn phone. Darn app. Darn vision, because I cannot see far away, and the time was blurry up until the last minute! I finished in 43:30, which was easily 5 minutes faster then I hoped, and about 10 minutes faster than I expected! Score!

 

 

I was second in my age group, but prizes are only awarded to first place finishers, so back to the car I went, where the hubs was waiting with my chocolate milk. What a good sport!

 



I am lactose intolerant, but usually a run over 45 minutes allows me to drink this without repercussions. Today was not that day. Note to self: take a Lactaid next time!

 

 

I am looking forward to next week, to see if I can improve my time!


Did you race this weekend?

Preserving Memories with Project Repat

*****I was super excited to be given the opportunity to have a tee shirt quilt made by Project Repat! I was given a credit towards a purchase in exchange for this review. As always, all opinions are my own!*****

 

 

I LOVE tee shirt quilts. Every one tells a story. Whether it is a shirt from every play my daughter has been in, or teams my son has played on, or races that I have run, every time you snuggle under one, it brings back so many memories!

Over 25,000 customers have trusted their shirts to Project Repat, and having a quilt made is SO easy!

 

Step 1: Pick out your shirts. This is probably the hardest step, but the most important! You need to know what size to order, so choose wisely!  This is easier said than done, chances are you will have wayyyyy too many shirts chosen, and will have to make some hard choices! You can use anywhere from 16 shirts (for a "lap" quilt) to 64 shirts (for a King sized quilt). I chose a lap quilt. I didn't have that many shirts leftover from past races, so this was an easy decision to make. I only had about 3 left afterwards.

 

Step 2: Decide what size square you need. A standard square is 12x12, but you can go smaller for baby sized shirts or larger for men's XL shirts.

 

Step 3:Choose your fleece color for the backing. I went with red, but there is also navy blue, magenta, light blue, gray, and black.

 

Step 4: Pay for your quilt and wait for your email! The email will tell you how to prep your shirts, and even includes a handy email. It also tells you where to send them! You can send your shirts whole, or you can cut the backs off and save on some shipping. I went with option #2. I cut the sleeves and back off of each shirt and then crammed them into my envelope, along with the printout that came with the email. You pay to ship the shirts to them, but they pay to ship the quilt back. (well, mostly, you pay $1.99 for shipping, but let's be real, they are paying most of the cost themselves.

 

Step 5: Wait. They really keep you apprised of what is going on. I got an email when they received my shirts and an email saying the quilt was being shipped. I shipped the shirts to them on January 15.

 

I stuffed sixteen shirts into this Priority Mail bag!

 

On January 23, this arrived. For real, they turned my shirts into a quilt in less than a week, and I had it in 8 days. 8. Days. Now, it can take anywhere from 2-3 weeks if they have a lot of orders, so this turnaround may not be typical!

 

 

See that sticker. Cut and sewn in the USA! Everyone involved in this company works in the USA. How great is that? They take an amazing idea, and use it to give jobs to people all over the USA!

A few other fun facts:

• Repat stands for repatriate, which means to return to the country of origin. Project Repat is bringing jobs back to the USA!
• The quilts are backed with PolarTec fleece made out of recycled bottles! Each yard recycles 23 plastic bottles! I.Love.This.
• Precision Sportswear in Fall River, MA employs people in the USA and they earn fair wage, receive full benefits, and paid vacations and holidays!
• Opportunity Threads in Morganton, NC employees add input to the production process and have the opportunity to earn an ownership stake in the company.

 

Look at my awesome quilt! I love all of the memories that it contains!

 

 

 

Each square reminds me of the races I ran, and the friends who ran with me!



MRTT, Kim C

Pacebook Running Club! Stacey, Tony, and David
 

MRTT, and friend! Ronnie

Digital Running Ambassador

the view at the Trick or Trot

meeting Dan from the Biggest Loser

 

I cannot seem to get the pictures to line up, I apologize!!!

 

 

If you would like to have a quilt made, use the discount code below, and hop on over to their site!

You can stalk Project Repat on Twitter and Instagram as well, and check out other awesome quilts!

What kind of shirts would you have made into a quilt?