Category Archives: BibRave

This And That

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I think when last I left you, I had been in Hawaii then sadly came home to the freezing cold.  I did post a picture of some snow, but here… I have a better one.  My first day back at work, I got stuck, even with studded snow tires.  I’m the blue SUV.  I didn’t feel half as bad as the yellow JEEP who also got just as stuck.  (Okay, so we both only have front-wheel drive.)  No one got up the driveway that day.  Eventually when it was time to go home, we who were stuck had to dig ourselves out.  Gotta say, I have some really great co-workers as everyone helped (which basically consisted of 3 other women, but damn, we killed it with the snow shovels… boys, take note, 😀 ).

It’s the beginning of March and with all the snow and cold weather, we’ve yet to see any babies at the wildlife rescue center, for which I’m extremely grateful.  History dictates that first up will be the baby cottontails or the baby raptors.  But while we don’t have wild baby bunnies yet, I do have have one big baby that I care for and hug on daily… the clinic manager’s bunny that hangs out with me and guilts me into feeding him treats.  Daryl got himself a nice polar bear knitted cap which he doesn’t really like wearing, but it doesn’t matter, he’s too freaking cute.  (Just FYI… I do not cuddle on the wild baby bunnies… wildlife remains wild.)

This weekend was the Seattle Allstate Hot Chocolate 15k that James and I both signed up for to represent BibRave.  It was the first race of 2018 for both of us.  As this is a partnered event with Bibrave, I’ll cover the legalities now:

Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Allstate Hot Chocolate Seattle race as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!”

Saturday had us going to the race expo and practicing travel logistics for the race on Sunday.  But, I have to say, this race support has been great from the very start.  Once I signed up, I was emailed a 10-week training plan based on my pace.  They then emailed me every week to remind me which week I was supposed to be on for training.  Fabulous support throughout the training.  Kudos to them.

If you want to know how I did, you’ll have to stay tuned.  Spoiler alert:  I did not have a good day.

 

 

Lastly, today would have been my mother’s 81st birthday AND my brother’s 60th birthday.  Yes, my mother’s first child was born on her 21st birthday… what a fabulous gift.  For those who are new to my blog, my brother died in 2015 from cancer and my mother died several months later in 2016 of complications from a GI bleed.

Today, on their special day, this song is for them:

Lyrics:

Sorry I never told you
All I wanted to say
Now it’s too late to hold you
‘Cause you’ve flown away
So far away
Never had I imagined
Living without your smile
Feeling and knowing you hear me
It keeps me alive
Alive
And I know you’re shining down on me from heaven
Like so many friends we’ve lost along the way
And I know eventually we’ll be together
One sweet day
Darling I never showed you
Assumed you’d always be there
I, I took your presence for granted
But I always cared
And I miss the love we shared
And I know you’re shining down on me from heaven
Like so many friends we’ve lost along the way
And I know eventually we’ll be together
One sweet day
Although the sun will never shine the same
I’ll always look to a brighter day
Lord I know when I lay me down to sleep
You will always listen as I pray
And I know you’re shining down on me from heaven
Like so many friends we’ve lost along the way
And I know eventually we’ll be together
One sweet day
Sorry I never told you
All I wanted to say

North County Wine Run

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Tonight I’m in Battle Ground, Washington, preparing to run, I believe, my 13th half-marathon Saturday morning.  Battle Ground is about 200 miles south of where we live and about 20 miles north of Portland, Oregon.

One of the reasons James and I race is to explore new areas.  We’d never heard of nor been near Battle Ground before, and as this event is in our home state, we needed to check this race and area out.

Unfortunately, on September 2nd and about 40 miles south from here, some careless teenagers were lighting off fireworks during a burn ban, which ultimately started the now infamous Eagle Creek Fire, a fire that has burned so massively we have got smoke and ash all the way up where I live.

As of September 20th, the fire has consumed over 48,000 acres and still is only about 50% contained.

The proceeds from the North County Wine Run will go to the Eagle Creek Fire Relief.

Thankfully, the air cleared enough this past week to where we could still run.

This is the first race I’ll be running representing BibRave as a BibRave Pro, but I did pay for my entry.  I will be running through a winery, with wine offered at the aid stations and a wine truck coming up along the course… you know… just in case.

Really looking forward to it!  Cheers!

 

Be Brilliant, Be Safe

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Disclaimer: I received some Brilliant Reflective Strips to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find and write race reviews!  All opinions are my own.

I was actually excited to receive some of these strips to test out.  I had seen others using them and I wanted to know for myself if they actually were as bright as they looked.  I’ve never been comfortable with running in the dark, mostly because it’s hard to be seen no matter what you do.  That makes training outside very difficult in the winter when the daylight hours here in the Seattle area max out to about 9 hours.  We also get quite a few rainy and dark days, so sometimes it’s even hard to be seen at 3 p.m.

Enter Brilliant Reflective strips…

What are they?  Brilliant Reflective Strips are strips of reflective and colorized material that you can add to various surfaces (clothing, bikes, helmets, backpacks, shoes, etc.) for maximum visibility.  They are made from retroreflective material, which means when light shines on them, the light will reflect off the strip and go back directly to the source.  Way cool.

To test them out, I ironed some onto a running shirt …

… stuck some on my child’s backpack, shoes, and hat …

The only light we used was the flash from my camera; otherwise it was pitch black outside.

… and just for fun, I stuck one on my remote control so I could find it in the dark.

Cost:  $14.95 per pack in the color of your choice (black, red, purple, blue), either iron-on or stickies, free shipping.  You can get a multi-pack which includes one of each color for $49.95, free shipping. If you choose to buy their multi-packs, you can use the code “BRPmulti” to get 20% off.

The Cons:  I suck at ironing, so it took me forever to figure out how to get the iron-ons to stick (and at a higher-than-recommended setting). However, that’s my own personal disability and ineptness… you may not have the same problem.

Bottom line:  In my opinion, I think they’re fabulous if you want to be seen.  They’re not just for runners as these will stick on anything.  Get creative!  Put them on the cat’s collar!  But most importantly, I don’t have to worry about my child not being seen in the dark because he now lights up like a Christmas tree.

Visit Mai’s blog at If I Just Breathe to see her review of the Brilliant Reflective Strips.

Join us on Twitter (#BibChat, @BibRave) on September 12 at 6 p.m. Pacific for a chance to win a pack of these handy-dandy safety strips!  I know come Halloween night, AJ won’t be stepping out the door without being decorated in them from head to toe.

BibRave Pro!

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I have a fun announcement!  I’ve been selected to be a BibRave ambassador, otherwise known as a BibRave Pro!

What is BibRave?  BibRave is a website that provides a community forum for runners to research and review races.  Anyone can submit a race review and there are no fees to use the service.  There is already a great online community and a weekly twitter chat, #bibchat, hosted each Tuesday at 6pm PST.

What is a BibRave Pro?  BibRave Pros are run bloggers who help spread the word about BibRave and BibRave-partnered races and brands.

What does this mean?  It basically means I’ll be reviewing races and products right here on my blog and continue to write race reviews on BibRave.

I’ve updated my website to include some discount codes.  If you’re interested in a race discount code, such as any Rock N Roll or Hot Chocolate race, you can visit my Race Discounts tab, and for gear and product discounts, visit my Gear Discounts tab.  These discounts are for runners and non-runners alike!

If you’d like more information on BibRave, you can visit http://www.bibrave.com.

I’m super excited to be doing this!  Wish me luck!!  You may be seeing a lot of orange in my near future!!