Turkey Trot 5k recap

Sorry it's been a minute since I posted!!  I was waiting for my parents to send me pictures of my brother and I running the Turkey Trot 5k last week, but alas...they left their camera at their cabin, so I can't get the pictures until next week.  So...I figured since it's been awhile I would go ahead and write my recap, post the few pictures I took with my phone, and then add theirs in once I get them :)

My brother and I woke up nice and early Thanksgiving morning and headed into Blue Ridge.  Parking was a breeze and there were a ton of people lined up to pick up their race shirts and bib numbers.  We heard the announcer say that over 300 people has signed up early, and there were even more that were signing up that morning!  For a small town like Blue Ridge, that's an amazing turnout!

We did a warm up run to the car to put our shirts away, pin our numbers on, and shed our layers (well...I did...Chris decided to run in his pants since it was cold!)  As we were walking back toward the start we saw our parents and my other brother, Phillip.  We gave them our jackets so we would have easy access to them after the race, did some stretching, and then headed to the start line.

Since this was a run/walk, I'm sure a lot of people didn't know the proper race etiquette that if you're walking, please start toward the back.  I usually get right around the middle.

Ready to go!

The race started about 15 minutes late, but oh well...what can ya do?  I know they were being nice and letting the latecomers get to the starting line, but how can you be late for an 8 a.m. start?  It's not that early! :)  

Chris ready to start running

Finally, the air horn sounded and we were off!  I felt pretty decent at the beginning of the race, and then the cold air got to my lungs.  I felt like I was choking!  I had to do more stops to walk than I would have liked.  My hands and thighs also got pretty cold (I was wearing long shorts and compression sleeves as I had no running pants at the time).  My parents and brother were camped out just after the 1 mile mark, so it was nice to see them there cheering us on.  I kept going with my run/walk method, and when I looped back by my parents and brother, Phillip actually joined me and ran the last mile of the race with me :)  I tried to get him to actually run but he said he didn't think he could do it (I totally think he would have been fine).  We chatted a bit as we ran and walked, and he even pulled ahead of me at the finish line!

I think it should be against the law to put the finish line at the top of a hill!  I pulled through and finished in 37:18...not my best, but certainly not my worse.  Having not run a whole lot and not being properly clothed probably had a little to do with that.  

Love my arm sleeves!

We walked over and grabbed a couple of waters and a granola bar, then found my parents.  They snapped some pictures of Chris and I, then we all headed back to the cabin to get ready for Thanksgiving.

I thought the race was well run and the volunteers were plentiful.  I think my biggest complaint was when we came to the turnaround, people were running on both sides of the road, so those that hadn't made it to the turnaround were dodging those running in the opposite direction.  They should make it two lanes of runners.  I found myself running in the middle of the road until after I got to the turnaround.  Otherwise, a good race that I would do again.

Did you run a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving?  How did you do?

Until next time,

Jen

New Winners Announced

So I didn't hear from the original winners...even waited until tonight just in case they were busy over the holiday weekend and I checked my spam email everyday..so I have selected two new winners!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats ladies! You have 48 hours to email me at hellofitnessjen@gmail.com with your mailing address so I can get them out to you.

I will write a longer post about my weekend tomorrow.

Until next time,

Jen

Bondi Band Winners!

Thanks for all the entries!  The winners of the Bondi Bands are -


a Rafflecopter giveaway Congrats ladies! You have 48 hours to contact me at hellofitnessjen@gmail.com with your mailing address. If I do not hear back from you I will pick new winners. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Turkey Day with your friends and family. If you're traveling, please be safe, and if you're running, good luck! I look forward to hearing about how everyone earned their turkey and fixings. :)

Source

Until next time,

Jen

We're Going Streaking!!!

No...not Will Ferrell style in "Old School" -

Source

Runner's World is hosting a Holiday Running Streak, From Thanksgiving to New Year's, you pledge to run each and every day.  If you're training for a race, you would run an easy mile on your off days.  Myself, along with some of my Girls Gone Sporty Ambassadors, are jumping in and joining the streak.

I feel that this "challenge" has come at a good time for me.  Lately, I have been feeling less motivated to get out and run.  I still get excited to do races, but the training runs are less than thrilling for me.  I have my first half marathon in a little less than 3 months!!  I've gotta get back into my groove, and I really feel that the Holiday Running Streak will help me do this.  So help hold me accountable!!

Last night I headed back into Big Peach Running Co - a representative from Mizuno was at the store with samples of the new Wave Rider 16s.  I had hopes of trying the shoe out, but he didn't have a sample big enough for my foot :P  They also had a haiku contest, and the best 3 won a new pair of shoes.  Guess who was one of those three??  This girl!  Here was my haiku -

I can't take all the credit though - my amazingly creative friend, Ali, came up with it.  No worries - she was rewarded for helping me win the shoes :)  I picked out these beauties - 

Source

Hubby and I are heading up to my parents cabin tomorrow after I get off work to spend the weekend.  We'll have lunch with his family on Thanksgiving day and then back up to have dinner with my family and spend the rest of the weekend with them.  All those mountain hills are going to be fun for my Running Streak!

I'll try and get a couple of posts up over the weekend, and don't forget to enter my Bondi Band giveaway!  It ends tonight and I will announce the two winners tomorrow.

Until next time,

Jen

Gobble Wobble 5k recap + Another Giveaway! (giveaway over)

So this past Sunday Sharon and I participated in the Gobble Wobble 5k.  It was a local race AND it started at 2 p.m., so it was nice not to have to wake up super early for a change.

It was held at the school that was sponsoring the event, and parking was less than desirable.  If you wanted to leave immediately after the 5k, you had to park in the grass.  Normally, this wouldn't be such a bad thing, but when people block you in AND they close off the road that you came in to park with, it doesn't make for a very easy exit.

It wasn't a chip timed race, so we had to depend on the time that we started.  The course was not my favorite...they just had us doing a lot of loops in and around the school and its parking lots.  There were a TON of kids there (which I understand since it was benefiting the school), but it made the first mile or so a little cumbersome in weaving around the kids that were walking 4 across.

I did enjoy the crowd support, even though I didn't have anyone particular cheering me on.  I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture, but they had some posterboards on stakes spread out around the course of pictures that some of the students drew.  One of my favorites was "Need motivation?  Imagine 10 million turkeys chasing after you".  They also had some thanking our veterans for their service, which I thought was awesome.

The course was hilly, but nothing too bad.  I didn't use an interval timer for this race...I just ran until I needed a break, gave myself a landmark to start running again, and did that through the whole race.  It seemed to work okay. 

As I rounded toward the finish line I knew I wasn't going to PR, but I wanted to make it under 36 minutes, and I did.

It wasn't a full 5k, but hey, that's not my fault!  :)  And my time matched what was on the timer as I crossed the finish line.  I ran my Nike+ app at the same time, and it was 0.2 miles off, so now I question all the other races I did with it.  Since getting my Garmin, I think it's time for Nike and I to part ways.

I've read other blogs about eating orange slices during and after a race, and I had never done so until the Gobble Wobble.  O.M.G...orange slices are amazing after a run!!  I had 2, plus two Oreo's and two small bottles of water.  I made my way over to the fininsh line to wait for Sharon.  All in all it was a decent race, but not sure it's one that I would run again.  The shirts were cute, though!

The awesome ladies at Bondi Band were nice enough to provide me with one to test out.  I love the one they sent me!!

It holds true to what I always tell myself - run your own race...your race, your pace.  I loved wearing the Bondi Band.  It kept all of my small flyaway hairs out of my face, and also kept any sweat from running down into my eyes.  It stayed put the entire race, which was probably my biggest thumbs up.  I hate when my headbands slide off the back of my head, but these really stay put.

Not only did they send me one to review, but they also sent me two to give away!

Enter using Rafflecoper below.  The contest will run until midnight next Tuesday, November 20th, and I will announce two winners on Wednesday.  The two winners will have 48 hours to contact me.  Hopefully I can get them shipped out before Turkey Day!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Has anyone registered for a race on Thanksgiving?  My mom found a Turkey Trot 5k up near their cabin, so my brother and I will be running in it Thanksgiving morning...we'll definitely be running for our lunch and dinner!

Until next time,

Jen

My 31st Birthday Weekend!

Yesterday I turned 31, and I had an absolutely fantastic birthday weekend!!

Friday night, J kept asking me if I wanted to open my gifts, and I finally gave in.  He got me a very cool medal rack for my growing running medal collection - 

I guess he's getting tired of them hanging in the foyer -

THEN he got me what I REALLY wanted...the Garmin Forerunner 10!

And no...that's not my time...that's the sticker that comes on the watch...but maybe one day I will get that fast!

Saturday, I went to a couple of wineries with some friends.  The food, wine, and company were all wonderful.

They were filming a new reality TV show for Bravo at the winery while we were there.  It's called "Married to Medicine" and the women were having lunch there.  They walked right by our table while being filmed, and I snuck a picture of some of them through the window looking out to the patio where they were sitting.

It comes out in March, so I'll have to watch just to see if maybe my shoulder makes it onscreen.  :)
 
We made it back in time for the UGA/Auburn game.  A couple of friends came over with their pup, Henry, and he and Guinness had a ball playing together.  And...UGA is the SEC East Champions!  Fingers crossed that we don't embarrass ourselves when we play Alabama in a few weeks.

Sunday morning I drove out to the paintball field to support J and his paintball team - they were hosting a tournament to raise money for their team to participate in events, buy new jerseys, etc.  Afterward, I headed to the Gobble Wobble 5k - I will recap this tomorrow as I have another giveaway to post!

Monday morning, J and I drove up to my college town of Dahlonega, then hit up the outlets.  I met Sharon for lunch and then treated myself to a pedicure.  For dinner, J took me to Casa Nuova, an Italian restaurant I've been wanting to try for awhile.  It. Was. Amazing.  We had an app, each had an entree, and ordered creme brulee for dessert.  One of the waiters asked if we were celebrating anything, and when we told him it was my birthday, they brought over two shots of something very yummy and ANOTHER dessert - flan.

We were absolutely stuffed (and I was a little tipsy after wine and the shot).  I'll be having my leftover tortellini for lunch today - 

I'm looking forward at what the next year has in store for me...and (totally cheeseball moment here) next year my birthday will be on 11.12.13...how cool is that??

Until next time,

Jen

Larabar winner!

Thanks for all the entries! The winner of the 16 pack of Larabars is...

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Congrats, Steph C!  Please email me at hellofitnessjen@gmail.com with your mailing address in the next 48 hours.  If I do not hear from you I will choose another winner.

No worries everyone - another giveaway is coming later this week!

Off to enjoy the rest of my birthday weekend :)

Until next time,

Jen

New ENERGYbits Ambassador here!

If you remember a couple of weeks ago I blogged about receiving a sample of ENERGYbits to try out before exercise.  I took them out for a test run before the Armstrong PT 5k and I liked how they worked for me.  So....I applied to be an ambassador and was selected!

So what exactly is in ENERGYbits?

ENERGYbits have many great effects on people who use them before exercise.  They increase energy, stamina, endurance, and mental focus.  The bits help provide your body with glucose and protein, and they have the highest concentration of protein (60%) in the world.  They are in amino acid form so they are able to convert to glucose very quickly, so taking them 5-10 minutes before exercise is plenty of time for them to start working their magic.

I got my first bag earlier this week and I'm looking forward to using them Sunday during my 5k

 If you'd like to learn more about ENERGYbits, check out their website!

I have a super busy weekend planned, and even more fun, it's my birthday weekend!!  It will be filled with wine, friends, paintball, running, and football :)  Will fill you in when all is said and done.

Have a wonderful weekend, and make sure to go out and get sweaty!

Until next time,

Jen

Wordless Wednesday

Catching up + a GIVEAWAY! (giveaway over)

So I've been a bad blogger (again) and haven't posted in a week.  I have to admit that I was slack with my running last week, but I'm ready to jump back in and get it done this week.  This time change is really going to screw me up on the weeknights I have runs scheduled.  I may have to resort to stopping at the trail on my way home from work to get my runs in since the sun will have already started to set by the time I get home in the evenings.  Gotta do what ya gotta do, right?

So last week I registered for the Gobble Wobble 5k on November 11th.  I wanted to do a Turkey Trot but we'll be out of town for Thanksgiving so this was the next best thing.  And I can't remember if I already posted about it, but I'm signed for for my 2nd half marathon!  On March 17th I'll be running Publix Georgia Half Marathon.  I also found a 10k to run while in Hawai'i!  I decided against the biathlon since I'm not very comfortable swimming in the ocean, so I'll be running the 21st Annual Seabee Run on Ford Island.

I also signed up at my local running store, Big Peach Running Company, to participate in a Mizuno test drive of the new Wave Rider 16s on November 19th.  I currently have the 15s and have fallen in love with one of the 16s, so to have the chance to try it out is awesome.  They're also hosting a haiku contest, and the winners get a new pair of shoes!  Gotta love that!

Saturday J and I went on a search for my next pair of running shoes.  I've had my eye on these for awhile but wanted to try them on first before we bought them.  I have not been able to find them in any store!  We went to Fleet Feet Johns Creek and, while I didn't find the shoes, I did make this purchase - 

I cannot wait until February when I can put this on my car!!!  I also bought a small round "Run" sticker that I put on the back glass of my car.

Yesterday I got exciting news...I was one of ten winners of an invitation to Mizuno's Mezamashii Run Project from The Faster Bunny.  From Mizuno's website - The Mezamashii Run Project is an effort by Mizuno to help create a more euphoric running experience — a more "brilliant" run — for more runners everywhere. The word "mezamashii" means "eye-opening" or "brilliant" in Japanese — it's a word that captures the euphoric feeling of a brilliant run.  I love my Mizuno's and can't wait to get my hands on another pair!

A few weeks ago Stacy from http://www.larabar.com/ sent me 4 samples of bars to try out.  Last night I enlisted the help of J to sample the bars with me and give me his opinion on them.  The idea for Larabar began in spring 2000, and they hit the shelves of stores in Winter 2003.  What started out as 5 flavors grew to 20 flavors, as well as two other types of Larabars - Uber and Jocolat, the first pure organic chocolate food bar.  

While looking at the wrapper, I noticed that the base ingredient for the bars are dates (which I really enjoy).  There are no more than nine natural ingredients in each bar, and most are kosher, vegan free, gluten free, dairy free, soy free and all natural.  There are a few exceptions and you can read about them here.

So onto our review.  First we tried the Peanut Butter Cookie flavor.  I'm not a huge fan of peanut butter, and this bar didn't have a super strong PB flavor, but I would have liked to have a little more peanuts in it.  We gave our pup, Guinness, a bite and he approved.  Second, we tried Pecan Pie.  I really enjoyed this one as it had tons of pecans and almonds and it gave it a really nice flavor.  Cherry Pie was next and my favorite.  The cherry flavor really stood out.  I love cherries and this bar did a great job of showcasing them. J was not a huge fan of the cherry pie - he found it to be bitter. Finally we tried Carrot Cake.  It had the most ingredients out of the four bars we sampled, and while it was good I felt it had too much going on. J liked the flavor of this one, but Pecan Pie was his overall favorite.

Have you ever tried Larabars?  Would you like a chance to win a 16 mixed pack of them?  Enter my giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway will run until next Sunday night, and I will announce the winner on Monday morning.  Good luck!

Until next time,

Jen