Reebok Spartan Race! (It's a GIVEAWAY!)

So, The Husband and I are venturing into the world of mud running for the first time this weekend.  We are really excited to get muddy and try out some obstacles.  However, it's not the Spartan Race, and this thing looks AWESOME! What a better way to test your limits than the race that was rated the #1 obstacle race by Outdoor magazine??


This series looks TOUGH.  They have 4 different levels: The Spartan Sprint, Spartan Super, Spartan Beast, and the Spartan Death Race (Sounds intimidating, huh?).  It should, this is their description from their FAQ page.

"What's the difference between Spartan Sprint, Super, Beast, and Death Races?

There are some staples in our repertoire. There are also some venue specific and terrain inspired obstacles.
We will not, however, spell it out for you. As well, you will get no course map to inspect. There is fire, mud, water, barbed wire, and occasionally Hell on Earth.
There WILL be obstacles to catch you off guard. Curve balls, so to speak.
Get over it.
We’re here to rip you from your comfort zone. If you need a road map for each step of the way, then maybe this race isn’t for you." 

 Basically it boils down to:

What is a Spartan Sprint? 3+ MILES / 15+ OBSTACLES
What is a Super Spartan? 8+ MILES / 20+ OBSTACLES
What is The Spartan Beast? 12+ MILES / 25+ OBSTACLES
What the #$%! is The Death Race?

source
 

 Their mission is also one that I am on board with!

"Spartan Race is on a mission to get you active, healthy, excited about change, and return to our ancient roots where running through woods, getting dirty, and facing adversity was part of everyday life. Our events are all about challenging today’s perception of normal."

Think that you have what it takes to push your boundaries and be a Spartan? I think you do! And what better way to celebrate that super strength than with a free entry to a Spartan race near you! Enter below in the rafflecopter to win a free entry to a race that has not sold out near you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


**Disclaimer: I was contacted by Spartan Race to do this giveaway.  I was not compensated in any way. 

Rock City Skirts Review & GIVEAWAY!

Look at this package of absolute happiness I got in the mail!  Isn't it beautiful?  This gem is from Rock City Skirts and I am in love! I am new to the running skirts world but who doesn't want to add some sparkle and shine to a run? I know sparkle always makes me a happy girl!

Photo Source

Last weekend while I was waiting in the start corral at the Flying Pig I looked over and saw the cutest skirt on a girl not far from me.  I just HAD to ask her where it was from. Her answer? Rock City Skirts, of course!

This is what she was wearing! Pretty in Pink

The next day, I was on Rock City Skirt's Website to see what other skirts they offered and I wanted them all! She offers solid color skirts, skirts for costumes, multi- colored options, as well as a "design your own" option for custom creations.

The best part of this whole company is that Amy is a runner herself and this company started when she wanted a way to express herself in races.  These skirts definitely make a statement and I can't wait to wear mine in a race!

So, on to the review!  Since this skirt is made by a runner, for runners, she knows the important aspects of the skirt.  It doesn't ride up, it's comfortable, and you have room to move while also not being to floppy (for lack of a better term).

So pretty and Sparkly

  I took mine out for a run the day after of opening the package and I am VERY happy with it.  The elastic waistband is very comfortable and not too tight and I felt great in it the entire run. The one thing to note about these skirts- they do not have shorts built in underneath so you need to wear tights or shorts underneath.  I wore my UA compression shorts.

I am loving the color of the one I chose.  I went with the Black/Silver option because I like to be able mix up my outfits and wear any shirt I happen to pull out of the closet and a neutral bottom helps with that since I don't have many neutral shirts.

Another thing that caught my eye from the website is that they offer children's sizing on the skirts as well.  My Curly is salivating over my skirt so I think she will have one in her hands soon as well.  I am looking for another race for her and she will love to sparkle while she runs.

In all, I think that you need to head over to the website and check out all of the options.  If you are looking to complete a costume or just make a statement in your next race or on a run Rock City Skirts is a top option!

Do you want one? Of course you do!! Enter using the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win one solid color skirt from Rock City Skirts!

Giveaway ends on 5/26 and winner will be announced on the blog on 5/27! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway **I was not required to give a positive review.  I was provided a skirt to review for my honest opinion**

Why I Run

I have been thinking a lot about why I decided to run recently.  Who in their right mind, that has never been a runner in their life, decides to pick up running? And not just running but half marathons and hopefully soon to be marathons as well?

When I think about it I have actually always wanted to be a runner but I always lacked motivation for the follow through.  Looking back on my student teaching I remember mentioning to a fellow teacher that I would like to run a half marathon someday.  Even further back, in college, I remember going to the gym and just being happy I survived a mile.  Over these years I have been in different stages of weight/shape and somehow running never "clicked."

Then, last year, I decided I HAD to do something about my weight.  I had gained a lot with my first child and at that point I was already on a mission to lose weight.  6 months following my son being born I was pregnant with my daughter.  It took me probably a 9 months or so to really get on board to losing weight after she was born and I was FINALLY within about 15lbs of my first (and possibly final) goal depending on how I felt at that weight. I had started running for the first time, was up to about 3 miles, and was feeling good. Then my husband left town for work and I started gaining all of what I had lost back.  It was completely my fault because I had fallen into bad eating and exercise habits again and it took awhile to pull myself out of that hole.

Then December came and I had decided to watch my intake and then The Husband got my treadmill for me for Christmas and I was able to start running again. I have steadily upped my mileage since and ran 2-5ks and ran my first half marathon 10 days ago.  I do have to say that losing weight was one of the primary reason for me wanting to run.

However, in reality that is not my main reason for wanting to run and thus lose weight.  These guys are!

I want to be healthy and active for them.  I want to teach them a healthy lifestyle and how to have a healthy relationship with food.  I am finally on my way back down in my weight and I am glad to have running to help with that.  At this point, I don't just run to lose weight but I truly enjoy it! I love the feeling I get after a run and the feeling of my feet hitting the pavement during.  It really is a "runner's high" and I am glad that I finally actualized my dreams of becoming a runner.

These kiddos see The Husband and I eating healthy, working out, and teaching them the importance of those things.  I am glad that is something I am able to pass on to them so they, hopefully, don't struggle as I have getting to this point. They need and deserve a healthy Mama (and Daddy) and we are doing everything we can to make sure that is exactly what they get!

Asics to Ariats and a WINNER!

This post most likely won't be running related but I have to say that this Mother's Day was an excellent one.  Last year my Mother's day was pretty blah.  It rained hard all day and on top of that, and most significantly, The Husband was leaving for his out of town job.  He had to leave right in the middle of the day so it made it almost impossible for us to relax and enjoy the day.  We were thankful for the work but not so much for him having to essentially move 4 hours away for almost a year.  This year we have him back, though!

My mother's day continued over into today when I traded my Asics for Ariats and my Momma and I loaded up the horses and headed out for a ride.

About ready to go

 MAN have I missed that!  It has been so long since I have been on my horse.  Life gets in the way but thankfully my step-dad loves him and rides him often!

We rode somewhere that I have only ridden maybe twice since I started riding almost 20 years ago so it was nice to be somewhere new.  We also rode a trail Mom hasn't ridden on so we broke out the map so we wouldn't end up out there for hours on end.  We ended up on about a 4 hour ride with lunch and grooming at the camp before and a pre load groom again when we got back. 

  I can't wait to get Curly back on the buddy saddle.  I wanted to take her today but the horses have only been out about 3 times since the weather has broke and they have been re-shod and sometimes it takes them a little while to settle into the sights and sounds of the woods again.  Curly is BEGGING to go on another trail ride so I will definitely make that happen again soon.

There were some really pretty views. (also ignore the giant face. I was trying to get us both!)

This is one of my best Mother's days to date mainly because of my cards.  This is the first year that both kids have been big enough to really know what is going on and they woke me up with a "Happy Mother's Day" and these amazing cards that they signed themselves. Love those guys to the moon and back!

Also the big announcement!! The winner of the ProCompression giveaway is MARY CATHERINE MILLER!! Mary, I emailed you so be sure to check your junk mail. =)

Flying Pig Weekend- Part 2

I am pretty tired right now but I want to get the details of the half marathon out before I start forgetting things but you will have to forgive any typos I happen to miss! Also, I don't have as many pictures for this post.  Sad. =(

Ok, so I left off last time with finishing up the kiddos' races and the day being great.  I had forgotten one very important detail of our weekend! On Friday night, around 1am, Curly woke up vomiting out of nowhere.  It was pretty bad while it lasted, thankfully only about a half hour, and then it was gone like nothing had really happened.  She didn't really want to eat anything until around 10am the next day but she seemed to feel great.  Then right after their races when we were getting ready to go back to the hotel she started showing signs of a UTI or something of the sort.  It was very obvious and she was crying quite a bit.  So that means momma and baby girl walked into the hotel just long enough to Google urgent cares before we left again.  I ended up needing to drive about 20 minutes over to Florence, Ky to find an urgent care and poor Curly was MISERABLE the entire ride.  I felt so bad for her.

We get to the urgent care and miracle of miracles it was completely empty! We were next in line and were in and out within a half hour with a prescription for an antibiotic and a pain medicine in hand.  I was so very thankful for that pain medicine because it worked almost immediately for her and we all got a good nights sleep that night. Another bonus- the trip to Walgreen's was short and sweet as well and we were back at the hotel in time for dinner!

That night we watched a bit of Twister on t.v at Rex's request and then got the lights out at around 9:30. We were all exhausted and fell right to sleep.  I, apparently, was incredibly nervous because I ended up waking up at 11:30, 1 something, and again at 2.  I couldn't fall back asleep no matter how hard I tried that last time so I finally just got out of bed around 3:54.  My alarm was set for 4:10 because I wanted to get up, ready, and in the car by 4:30 to get close parking.

I got to the parking lot pretty early since our hotel wasn't far away and sat there fiddling around on my iPad and crossing my fingers that the rain would stop.  As I sat there I kept debating on what I was going to do in case of rain.  I had brought a poncho but also had my everyday Columbia rain jacket with me and was considering wearing it because it looked like it was going to rain the entire race based on weather.com. I finally decided to just do the poncho if I needed it and headed in the direction of the start line at 5:30. I didn't make it far! I got to the port-a-potties that were on the far end of the parking lot and then realized I was freezing so I headed back to the car to get my jacket and my bag check bag in case I ditched it.  Back I went and walked back to my corral.  I was in F which seemed to take forever to get to.  By the time I got there, guess what? I was burning up.  So back I went, all the way around to the busses that were checking bags.  Finally, I used the restroom again and headed back to my corral.

Once I got into my corral I chatted with a few people and then when the 2:30 pacers arrived I edged up to where they were standing.  That's where I met Alicia and Trisha! They were the pacers and they were AMAZING!  I am pretty sure the race started on time.  We were pretty far back from the actual start so we couldn't hear much.  However, we got a good omen right before the start.

 

Pretty rainbow just as we started moving

It probably took us 15 minutes or so to cross the finish line and it was insane how many people were moving in one direction.  it looked like a giant wave as you watched people go up hills.  I am not a huge fan of crowds but it was pretty amazing to watch.  After a mile I was starting to get into a good stride.  The first few miles took us over a bridge into Kentucky, along the river and then back into Ohio.

From the bridge crossing into Ohio

Both of the pacers were pacing for their very first time but each mile they had us right where we should be.  The group started out with probably 8-10 of us and we were all chatting and pointing out our favorite signs.  I started the race with both earbuds in for music, eventually dropped to one, and by the end of the race I had them both out.  We talked about the whole race except in the tougher portions.

I was feeling really good and then we started approaching the dreaded hill.

 I saw people start going up and I asked Alicia if that was IT and she told me it was.  Up until this point I had told them that my intention was to hang with them until the hill and then I would most likely end up dropping off.  I underestimated myself! I ran the entire hill.  On occasion I would drop a few people behind them but as soon as we got to one of the flat stretches I would rush to catch up with them. It really wasn't as bad as I had imagined it would be. Finally, the top was in sight and the view of the river and KY opened up to our right.

From the top of the hill

From this point on it was essentially downhill and I was pretty happy about that.  Up until this point my longest run had been 11 miles and I had run the first 8 of that before a short walk break and then ran the final miles so that was the next goal I set for myself.  8 miles.  8 passed, I was still feeling good, and I knew The Husband, the kiddos, my dad and my sisters were going be at mile 9 so I had to push through to there.  I was pretty anxious to see them.  Finally, Tricia told me that the street I knew they would be on was coming up so I started looking for them. 

Rushed up and gave the kids toes a wiggle and kept trucking

From this point, it was just myself and the pacers.  Some of the group had drifted ahead, some fell behind, and I was determined to stick with them the rest of the way.  I have never been a talker while I run but we talked just about the entire race and really just reveled in the sheer amount of people who were out on the streets cheering.

As we got closer to the finish the crowds got denser and somewhere between miles 12 and 13 there was a church group? football team? I am not sure but they were amazing! They were twirling towels, screaming, jumping up and down.  I couldn't stop smiling.  We made the final turn and saw the "Finish Swine." I was so happy at this point! I had run the entire way, was on track to finish in my goal time, and had met some awesome people along the way.

After crossing the finish line (2:29:52) it started raining again! My wishes that morning had come true and it held off long enough for me to cross the finish line.  Alicia, Trisha, and myself decided to get a picture together.  We spotted one of the big flying pigs that were everywhere and scooted over to get our picture taken with it.  Well, somehow I trip over my foot and end up scooting the thing about a foot.  We thought it was anchored somehow.  Nope!  Not a few seconds later Trisha (who is about 25 weeks pregnant BTW) knocks into it and tips the whole thing over! There were tons and tons of people around and I know we were pretty red!

See all the people looking at us? Yup, that's what happens when you knock a giant pig over!

In all I loved this event.  It was a record setting year on how many people were there.  The girls kept saying the whole way how they could tell there were more people on the course and we dodged and weaved a large amount of time.  I think that maybe they hadn't sufficiently been prepared for such a huge influx of people which made certain aspects of the event a scheduling nightmare I am sure. They had sufficient water/Gatorade stops and the volunteers were really nice. The family events were fun and they have the unique options: 4way (5k+10k+full) or 3way (5k+10k+half).

Cons: The starting line was kind of wonky and the corrals didn't have enough port-a-potties, in my opinion. I wish the kids races had been longer for their ages.  They really love to run.  I am not sure what the ages were for the 26th mile (a 1 mile race) but if they are old enough we will do that one next year.  In all, I believe if we don't have any other races on the agenda at this time next year I think that we will be going back.

Flying Pig Weekend- Part 1

I have to say that this weekend was AMAZING! We had such a great time and my husband is already talking about going back again next year. =)

We started our weekend on Friday afternoon. Around 12 the house/dog sitter showed up and we got on the road. Cincinnati is about 2.5 hours away and we wanted to get to the expo while the kids were still fresh and we may be able to look around without them getting crazy. Those of you with preschoolers probably know about how well that worked out for us!

We ended up getting into the expo at around 3. We picked up our race bibs and got the papers filled out to sign the kiddos up for their piglet runs on Saturday. They were so excited about racing. It was pretty cute. After I filled out their paperwork we went to sign the Boston Strong banner. The boys ended up not signing but Curly and I did. She is getting so big.

 After this we walked through the maze they had set up, looked at all the vendors, spoke with team in training, had the KT tape guy retape my foot for me, and tried lots of yummy snacks they were giving away.

These were pretty delicious.  We also tried the Cranberry Apple and Tropical fruit varieties.

The kids were pretty good through the expo minus a few mishaps because they were getting pretty tired.  We ended up finding a handheld bottle for The Husband to carry on his runs and a 13.1 magnet for my car to put on after the race.  I would have to say that we did pretty well on our goal to not go overboard at the expo.

After the expo we headed over to the hotel to check in and figure out what we were going to do for dinner. We were in bed pretty early, maybe around 9:30, since we had to be up at 6:00 to get to the 10k on time on Saturday.

The Toyota 10K:

The Husband was running the 10k Saturday Morning.  It started at 8am and we probably got there around 7am, I think.  We had a fairly close parking spot and hung out at the start with him.  They took off right on time and the kids and I headed down to watch him cross the finish line.  On the way there we had to get some pictures by the river.

if you look REALLY close the bottom right picture shows the runners across the river in Ky.

After this we looped around a block so we could get into a good position to keep an eye out for The Husband.  We got there in time to watch the first person to cross around 33 minutes.  I knew we should be watching for him around the 1:15 mark because that is about what he had been running at home.  Boy, was i wrong! He came in at the 1:07 mark!  He did awesome and is now looking for a new PR!

After we reunited with the Husband we headed over to the Family Fun area where they had some fun stuff set up for the kids and where the Piglet Runs were going to take place. We were there super early so there were no crowds at the beginning.  They had free chair massages, a greyhound adoption place, a play area, free hotdogs, Skyline Chili, and a few games at various other vendors.  We let the kids play for awhile and then, realizing we had a lot of time to kill, we decided to go down by the river for a walk.  The kids loved watching all the boats.

 

Then, with even MORE time to kill we decided to walk across the bridge but as we were heading that way we got distracted by a park.  It was really pretty and had the perfect thing to occupy my Rex.  A timeline that had descriptions and years of all kinds of prehistoric animals and plants!

Rex reading about an Apatosarus

 By the time we walked the whole timeline and back it was time to head over for their races.  Curly is 3 so she was first out of the kiddos and ran a 25yard race.

Rex is 5 and ran the 50 yard race.

They both had a blast and had huge smiles on their faces after finishing.  They have caught the bug! It was such a fun family day and I can see us going back in the future.  I know they kids are wanting to do more races as well!

ProCompression Review and GIVEAWAY!

Ever heard of ProCompression socks? Of course you have! Especially if you are a runner.  Though they have many uses if you go to any large race you are going to see compression socks everywhere.  I came across the ProCompression through a few reviews and recommendations and just knew I had to try them.  With the running and race schedule that I have planned for the year the benefits of these socks would be great for my legs.

What benefits you may ask? According to ProCompression:

"Compression technology helps improve blood flow, resulting in better, more consistent performance with less fatigue and faster, more efficient recovery. In addition to improving vascular performance, Marathon compression socks provide support to critical muscles and tendons, helping reduce inflammation and soreness."

Who doesn't want better performance and less soreness?? I know those were the main selling points for me! But, do they work??

On Sunday, I ran my first half marathon.  The Flying Pig in Cincinnati which is  known for it's giant set of hills around mile 6.  I broke a big race day no-no and tried something new and wore the new ProCompression marathon socks so I could have a good distance for review.

One thing I was concerned about are my giant calves.  Any other knee socks normally don't want to fit or are too tight or distorted around my calves.  That was not the case with these socks. They fit comfortably and were not too tight.  It was mostly a gentle snugness which was great.  I wear a 7.5-8 in shoes normally and they sent me a S/M and they were perfect!

I felt great the entire race and I even ended up leaving them on for our 2.5 hour ride home and for awhile after I got home to take advantage of the recovery benefits.  I do have to say that though my I am slightly sore today I know that it could have been worse based on my 11 miler a couple weeks ago.  Thanks ProCompression!

Want to win a pair of your own? ProCompression has been generous in letting me give a pair of Marathon Socks away to you! Just enter through the Rafflecopter below and I will  draw a winner on May 13th and will announce on May 14th.  Good luck!



a Rafflecopter giveaway Also, if you just can't wait and want to order now the folks at ProCompression have also been nice enough to provide a 40% off coupon code for their Marathon Socks and Compression Sleeves. Isn't that awesome?!  Just enter BLG13 at checkout!

I wasn't compensated for this review. ProCompression provided me with these socks in exchange for my honest opinion.