Category: Reward

Bright, shiny and new!!!!

Shoes!!!!!! As I mentioned in a previous post, my Mizuno Wave Inspire 9 were getting a little tired. In fact, I probably shouldn’t have run my half marathon in them. But I loved them so much! I set a PR for 5K, 10K, and half marathon distances in them. So, ok, maybe I was a little attached, a little overly sentimental.

Monday’s short little run brought the mileage total up to 444. The wear was showing and the support has faded. Poor shoes. 😦 It was time to do something. Mizuno has been teasing the release of the Wave Inspire 10 for sometime in mid-November. I had mixed feelings about this for a few reasons. #1 was that I didn’t want to wait that long. I needed shoes now, so I could break them in for November races. #2- I loved these shoes, 10 were redesigned, what if I hated them? Plus by the time I would figure that out, I may not have been able to find the Inspire 9.

I have been checking websites off and on for about a month now, hoping I could find the Inspire 9’s for a little less. Monday after my creepy run, I decided to just buy my shoes. I have bought (been gifted) every pair of running shoes from The Running Warehouse. I love them, great selection and customer service. I am probably a very annoying customer, as I usually try on like 7 pairs of shoes each time. This time I knew exactly what I wanted, so I figured I would go online. Easy peasy right?

Strike 1, they had the 9 in two colors but not my size. Well crap. Ok, how about the Mizuno website? 3 colors available, but again not my size, strike 2. I was starting to get a little nervous. Did I wait too long? Next I checked out Road Runner Sports. I had never been to the site before but kept seeing it on Twitter. Success!!! They had my shoes in my size!!!!

I ordered them around 10PM Monday night. They had a deal with their VIP account, so I figured why not. I got 20% off plus free shipping. Score! And yes, I paid for my first pair of running shoes. Tuesday morning, I received an email that they had shipped. Well that was fast. I still expected them to take a while. After getting home from work school on Wednesday, I found my shoes!!! Less than 48 hour turn around! I was impressed. Part of me wanted to go for a run but my neck was freakishly sore and stiff after class, so I held off.

Thursday, I headed out after work, before more school, for a little 3 mile run. The weather was amazing, bright shining sun and blue ocean. It was a little windier than anticipated; the water was choppier than I had seen it. The shoes were great, no issues, I could really feel the support.

Only one slight quirk, the shoes are pink, like in your face, bright pink. (Sorry, Mizuno, Beetroot not pink) I think this is the brightest pair of shoes I have owned. I could see the pink out of the corner of my eye while running, that will take some getting used to. 🙂 I can count the number of pink things I own on one hand.

On the shoe subject, I rewarded myself for achieving my 10K goal with these super cute platforms-

I wore them today for the second time 🙂 Love them, but almost walked out of the right one 3x today, my right foot is smaller. 😦 I need to buy one of those heel inserts. It’s hard to believe I am a runner when I sometimes have troubles walking!

Can’t wait to get my next run in with my new shoes!!!

Anyone else have any favorite shoes?

Anyone racing this weekend?

HOB Fun Run-Race Recap

Race day!!!! However, I was so comfy this morning; I had a very hard time getting out of bed. I pushed it as far as possible before getting up and ready to go. I ended up choosing to go with my new capris and a green running tank. I have a problem eating food before a race but I got one Belvita cracker down, grabbed my Gatorade and candy corns and was out the door.

As I wandered down to the starting line, it was so cold. My arms and toes were so cold but I had nowhere to stow a jacket, so I made sure to stand on the sunny side of street. Waiting to line for the starting gun, I always have a sudden moment of panic. A dizzying array of thoughts that all lead back to “oh my god, why am I doing this, I’m gonna fall on my face”. There was a little delay with the starting gun, had to wait for the police escort to get back! Another thing I like about this race- a motorcycle cop leads the way for both the 10K and the 5K. He arrived and we were off!

I normally start out too fast and slow from there. This time I wanted to maintain pace as best as I could. I had a goal in mind but wasn’t sure if I could pull it off, but I was going to try. So I focused on my breathing, picked someone in front of me to pace-stalk and kept going.

Mile 2 I was feeling good, hit the turn-around at 2.2 miles and headed back to complete the first loop. Here I discovered a new running fear. I have always been afraid of being the last to finish a race and yes I know that last is better than never started. However at 2.5 miles, the leaders with the lovely pace officer were heading towards their mile 5. Umm, what? Was I going to get lapped before I had even completed the first lap? Yikes!

It didn’t happen, whew. I rounded the corner to finish lap 1 and the Grizzly Academy in uniform was standing in a line over half the block, cheering runners on. Good pick me up! Now, here’s a question, does a 5k PR count if it’s during a 10k? When I ran passed the clock, it said 27:44… hell yeah! But now I had to maintain it, and I really wanted to take a walking break. No! This was partially practice for my upcoming half, so I pushed on. By mile 4.5, the person I was pace-stalking graduated from a 1 block lead to a 2 block lead. I was actually maintaining pace, so they must have been one of those people talented enough to pull negative splits. Finally mile 6 and the finish line was just around the corner. Just keep running, just keep running, just keep running and done! 55:57. Only by 3 seconds but still 55 minutes!!!! Part of me wanted to do a little jig but I was tired! And I had another race in 15 minutes.

Met up with my mom (photographer) and C and her husband at the finish line. I was running the 5K with them. Took some photos and had a quick shirt/ bib/ chip change. I also refueled with some Gatorade and a few candy corns. Yummy, carbs and sugar. Ok, time to line up again. I told C and her husband that I would probably tire quickly and drop back. The gun rang out and we were off!

I was able to stay strong with them for the first 1.5 miles. Plus it was kind of nice having someone to talk to while running. The halfway point was a little rough, but I hung in there and we kept running. Around 2.2 again, I really wanted to walk but forced myself to pick it up a bit. Yeah that lasted for like a block. Just before the 3 mile mark, C’s husband starts telling us to pick it up; we could do it, just run! Seriously dude? But we did, rounded that last corner and finished at 30:22. C and I managed to finish at the exact same time, he finished a few seconds ahead. I’ll take it!!! Way better than I was aiming for. I told him thanks because without his prodding, I so would have walked at least part of that.

We didn't plan to match,we're just good like that, hehe — We didn’t plan to match,we’re just good like that, hehe

Then I realized, I had just run a 10K and a 5k without any walking! Where did that come from! We took some more pictures and waited for everyone we knew to cross the finish line. I also ran over to the race truck to check the official finishing times, have to see it to believe it you know.

Then C and I lined back up. We were running the half mile with a co-workers son. Yep, another race. I think I lost my mind. He was so cute and so excited, though, I was hoping he would go slow. Starting gun sounds and he was off like a bullet. Woah, C and I had to bolt to catch him. He held strong till about the 3^rd block, and then he needed a walk. Oh, thank you. So we walked half a block and then ran the other half. Rounded the corner and he slowed. It was piggy back time! C carried him for a block, then he ran/ walked another 2. 2 blocks from the end, we rounded a corner at the park and there was a park bench. Perfect time to take a seat! We got him moving with another piggyback ride before he ran the final block and collected his super cool dog tag. All in all a success! And fun, too.

I was so done then, but M showed with Baby G. I stuck around a little longer.

Eventually it occurred to me that I really needed food and a chair, so I headed out. I met my mom for lunch and re- fueled with some amazing pizza! Later in the afternoon, I indulged in some racing of another kind. We went to the movies and saw Rush. It was seriously good. Very loud and very intense, but very good. Don’t hold the popcorn in your lap; you may tip it when you cringe! Not my usual cup of tea but I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.

Tomorrow should be an easy 3, but we will see how it goes.

Hope everyone had an amazing weekend! Any one run a race or see any good movies?

Not so bad…

Today is shaping up to be a busy one. It started with a dentist appointment this morning. I am not a fan of dentists; I think I would rather go barefoot across some Legos, first. I went to the appointment with no pain, and now my jaw hurts. 😦 And that chair just aggravated my neck.

No More Sorting or Stepping On Legos Thanks to Box4Blox (Giveaway) | 5 Minutes for Mom

Still left for the day, I have work, then a chamber mixer, and finally followed by school. If I am lucky I will be home by 10:30. So no run planned for today. Tomorrow’s not looking so good either as it is always a long day at work. Plus, I work this Saturday for a partial day. Well, crap.

So last night, I gave into my mother (aka new gym junkie) and we went back to the gym. I was still feeling discouraged so I had a goal of 4 miles, however long it took me. After a quick warm up, I upped the pace of the treadmill and started running. I figured since it was the treadmill, I would try a quicker pace just to see if I could hold it for any decent amount of time. After all it’s easy to slow down on a treadmill. I finished 4.11 miles in 40 minutes which is closer to where I need to be come race day but it was a very erratic 4 miles. It also included 3 walking breaks. After that 4, I walked another 1 waiting for Mom to finish her workout. I didn’t feel like using any of the other equipment. We then went for frozen yogurt, orange-vanilla, so yummy! 🙂

So while it was better than it has been, I don’t think I can maintain it. Plus it was on a treadmill not a road, so that makes it harder to duplicate. Now, my upcoming 10K is flat, but my half marathon is not. I would like to get in some miles at the track this weekend before next weeks race.

In other news, I updated my phone to iOs 7, very odd. Not sure about it yet.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Shine On !!!!!

Happy Saturday everyone! Thanks again to BayRunner Jamie for the nomination for the Shine On Award 🙂 The rules are as follows:

1. Visit and thank the blogger who nominated you.

2. Acknowledge that blogger on your blog, and link back.

3. Share seven random, interesting things about yourself.

4. Nominate up to 15 bloggers for the Shine On Award, provide a link to their blogs in your post, and notify them on their blogs

5. Copy and paste the award somewhere on your blog

Numbers 1 and 2 done, so here goes #3:

Seven Random Things

1. I watch too much TV, I really do. Netflix and I get along great. It’s very helpful for marathon sessions of Doctor Who or Supernatural. Or whatever else strikes my fancy.

2. I’m a natural blonde who dyes my hair darker. I currently have a couple shades going on, blonde, red and brown.

3. I love Diet Coke and can’t stand coffee. Drink way too much Diet Coke, but I’m working on that.

4. I have posted Harry Potter fan fiction online.

5. I love to read, a lot.

6. I put on foundation and mascara before every race, it may be ridiculous, but it’s part of my race ritual.

7. I am in my early 30’s, and on my 9^th car.

Ok, that was hard! Now on to the fun part, the blogs that I would like to nominate for the Shine On Award are:

AttemptedRunner

Run, Hemingway Run!

The Princess and the Jog

I Sweat Pretty

eatbreatherun

Move Eat Create

I chose ones that I really like to read and that I don’t think have been nominated before. If I am wrong, I am sorry!!!

This also made me realize that I need to read more! If you haven’t read any of these, you should check them out.

Since, I am working on having a nice Slacker Saturday, I think I will work on finding more blogs to read. You can never have too much inspiration right?

Hope everyone is having an awesome day!

Oh, vacation…

I have been on vacation for the last two days. I had planned to run a couple miles Wednesday after work; however after leaving “work school” I was so tired. And I still had to drive home. I was supposed to meet my mom for a run/ walk but wanted to cancel so badly, but was gonna tough it out. I made it back home and found out that my mom wasn’t feeling it either. Yay for a rest day!

Thursday was my first vacation day. I had originally taken the time off because I wanted to head up to Sacramento to attend Aftershock, but wasn’t able to make that work out. 😦 If anyone who reads this is there, I am so jealous! But a 4 day weekend is still pretty awesome, right? I spent Thursday running errands (boo- DMV) and catching up on school. After not having to commute to work, I really did not want to drive to school, but I did. What do you know the teacher was late and the alarm in the nearby chem lab went off every 5 minutes for the next 2 hours. Ugh, really? Thankfully, the teacher couldn’t take it either and we were able to leave early.

Today rolled around and I should have gotten out of bed and done my long run before it hit triple digits but I didn’t. Instead I slept in, went to lunch with my parents and did a little antique shopping with my mom. I have been looking for a headboard for years now, but never found one that I liked and was in my price range. Wandered into a booth today and one was leaning up against a wall. Blue-gray in color, good, right bed size, check, and the price? Steal of the day-under $50? Sold!!!!

Since it was still around 100 outside, and the first home football game was tonight, I decided not to run around my neighborhood. The stadium is within walking distance of my house, so Friday nights often mean crazy traffic and crazier drivers. So what the heck, I went to the gym. Haven’t been since February, oops.

Walked into the gym and was confused. When did it turn into the Biggest Loser gym? I was waiting for Jillian Michaels to come out and start yelling at me to run faster. Hmmm, guess I missed a remodel in the last 7 months. So I got on a shiny new treadmill (way too many buttons) and started running. 10 miles later, I still hate treadmills. And I am a little over the movie Hancock, it was playing on one of the numerous TV’s when I got there and then it started over. No!!!!!!

But, long run done!!!! Also while I was on the treadmill, I had a little notification from Word press pop up. I was nominated for a Shine On Award! Talk about a great pick me up when running 🙂

I was nominated by BayRunner Jamie, who has a really great blog, if you haven’t checked it out, head on over and catch up! Since I am still trying to figure this whole blogging thing out, I need to read more on what I need to do now so that will follow soon in another post. But thanks for shout-out BayRunner Jamie!

Tomorrow I am looking forward to being as much of a Slacker as possible. Is it sad that I really like this shirt?

Hope everyone has a great weekend ahead, either great plans or just good general lazing around. 🙂