President's Day 5K Race Report

Well, Bobbie and I love races, so when a friend of her daughters called and told her about a race her KUNA club at her high school was having, she couldn't resist. So, off we went. We drove about 30 miles down the road to a town called Springfield, Kentucky. The race was at Washington County High School.

We arrive and sit in the warm car for quite some time. Well, I think I sat in the car longer than everyone else. All around, there were costumes of all types. Let's see...Abraham Lincoln, the Statue of Liberty, 80's chic, World War I costumes, etc. They were adorable!

Bobbie and I knew we had a 12 mile run that we had to get in that day for our marathon training, so our plan was to take it easy on the 5K. But, we all know how that goes, especially when you're racing! :) Neither one of us took it easy, especially considering the 2nd half of the race was ALL UPHILL! And when I say uphill, I mean hills that lasted for 3/4 of a mile and felt like they were never going to end. But, we both made it. I was the 3rd female through the finish chutes and Bobbie was the 4th. We placed 1st and 2nd in our age groups! Way to go us!

Rolling on toward the finish line!

Bobbie crossing the finish line!

Sometimes we feel like we might, kind of, sort of...be a big deal! :) (Just kidding!) And yes, we do have on the same shirts! We plan on dressing alike quite often.

Heart, Glove, and Sole 5K Race Recap

The Heart, Glove, and Sole 5K Race was held at Coldstream Park in Lexington, Kentucky and was put in place to benefit diabetes, which is a very serious disease, even though some people don't think it's that serious. I have three students at school who are Type I diabetic and can assure you that it's a serious disease.

Onto the race! Well, it was cold, very cold. But, we never let weather stop us! So, we were off. One thing that can kill me in a race is starting too fast. And EVERYONE started too fast. I looked down at my watch and my average was at 6:35 per mile, which is way too fast for me. So, even though there was a man in front of me that I knew I could come through the finish chutes before, I made myself slow down. I knew he had started too fast also, so that meant he would lose his steam before the end of the race.

After slowing down, I kept about an 8:30 pace and caught up with the man around 1.5 miles, passed him, and never saw him again. If that doesn't show me that pacing myself isn't important, I don't know what will. I also caught up with my running buddy, Bobbie. When I got to her, she was walking because she didn't feel very good to her stomach. I know that doesn't feel good, but she still finished with a 26 minute time, so that's awesome! Also, Katrina, Angie, and Melinda all had great finishing times as well. We all started the year off great! I crossed the finish line at 26:36 by my Garmin. Pretty good time for the first race of the year, considering my PR is 26:23.

I finished with a ribbon. I got 3rd in my age group! Great way to start the year! Hopefully, I will set a new PR this year!

Don't forget my Fit Chic Headband giveaway. Today is the last day to enter. CLICK HERE!

Another Training Week - CHECK!

Well, the mileage was supposed to be 4, 5, 4, and 11. I figure as long as we stick to it most of the time and don't cheat on the long runs, we are doing pretty good. I did 2 at boot camp on Monday, 4 on the treadmill, 4 more on the treadmill, and 3.1 in a 5K race on Saturday. As far as I can tell, this is the correct mileage, just not in the right order and not in three runs. Oh well!

All of the shorter runs during the week were very pleasant runs. Still hate the treadmill, but I'm definitely getting faster on the treadmill. Boot camp is hard to stomach at 5:20 in the morning, but the speed work and the stronger core are definitely things I was lacking as a runner. It may be hard to get out of the bed in the mornings, but it is making me a better, more efficient runner.

Now, as for the 11 miler. Bobbie and I knew that after running a 26:36 5K on Saturday, we wouldn't be that swift for our 11 on Sunday. Our goal? To stay under an 11 minute mile for the entire length of the run. Did we meet that goal? YES! That's all that matters, right? I finished my 11 in 1 hour and 56 minutes flat. Not the best time in the world, but perfectly fine with me if I need to add 15 more miles onto that. It didn't help that the wind that morning was brutal. If I had been running on the treadmill, the wind would have been the equivalent of bumping the incline all the way up on the treadmill. Not to mention the hills on our course were ungodly!

But, all in all, a good run. The weather was fabulous, as you can tell in the pic. I didn't post all the pictures Bobbie took. You can see them here: Bobbie's Blog.

Don't forget my Fit Chic Headband Giveaway: ENTER HERE

Have a good rest of the week!

Fit Chic Headbands REVIEW and GIVEAWAY! You will love them!

Awhile back, I came across some headbands on Etsy. They are called Fit Chic Headbands. Their motto is "Look Fit and Fashionable While Working Up a Sweat". Julie started running after her son was diagnosed with autism. She started training for a race to raise money for the autism foundation in Tulsa, OK. As many of you know, insurance won't always pay for autism therapy, so Julie started making headbands to pay for her son's therapy. Her headbands are now in running stores in 3 states! They also have a fabulous website where you can view all they offer. CLICK HERE to visit the website!

Julie sent me six headbands and a pair of arm sleeves to match one of the headbands. I chose 3 headbands to keep and the arm sleeves. The other 3 are up for grabs in this giveaway.

First, let me tell you about them. Well, having short hair that won't make a ponytail, I have to have something to hold back my hair. I've always gone with Bondi Bands or Sweaty Bands, but when I saw how cute these were, I was so excited to try them! And...they are fabulous! They don't slip back off of my head, they don't roll up on the edges when they get sweaty, and they are the perfect thickness to cover my ears on a day when it's not quite cold enough for a hat. Not to mention, they are super CUTE!

And one of them has the arm sleeves to match! I've worn the arm sleeves on chilly runs, not quite chilly enough for a fleece, but chilly enough for long sleeves and the arm sleeves. They are super cute too!

Here is a picture of the headbands that are up for grabs!

Ways to get entries (leave a separate comment for each):

1. MANDATORY: Visit the Fit Chic website and tell me what you like.

2. MANDATORY: Visit the Nat'l Autism Association website HERE and comment with a fact you learned about autism.

3. MANDATORY: Become a follower of this blog or leave a comment if you already are.

4. Post this giveaway to your blog.

5. Post this giveaway to your Facebook.

This giveaway will end on Sunday, February 20, at 11:59 p.m. EST. GOOD LUCK!

Marathon Training Update

Well, another week finished! This week we had a 4, 5, and a 4, with our long run being 10 miles. I ended up doing one 4 miler, two 5 milers, and our long 10 miler. So, I ended up with an extra mile, not to mention the extra workout at boot camp 3 days a week.

I ran one of the 4's on the treadmill (37:33). Bobbie and I ran one of the 5's together (50:04). And I ran the other 5 on Friday at boot camp (48:21). Altogether, good short runs!

We had our long run planned for Saturday morning, but having run Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, we decided to give our legs a rest and go on Sunday instead. Absolutely fabulous idea!

It rained on an off all morning on Saturday, was about 29 degrees, and the wind was absolutely horrific! On Sunday for our 10 miler, it was 40 degrees with the sun shining every step of the way! :) We maintained a pretty steady pace throughout the entire run, stopping twice for water and GU. Our constant pace was 10:06 per mile, finishing at 1:41:00. To us, this is fabulous because our goal is to finish in under five hours. If we averaged an 11 minute mile for the entire marathon, we would finish in 4 hours and 47 minutes. This would definitely meet our goal!! Especially if we maintain 10:06 for 26.2!

So far, so good!!! Thanks for following our marathon journey!