Tag Archives: marathon

5K Crate Product Review

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Disclaimer: I received a box from 5K Crate 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!

I’ve always loved the idea of subscription boxes.  No matter what your interest may be (quilting, make-up, clothes, gaming, running), subscription boxes are a fun way to go to guarantee trying something new, or discovering a product you may have not known about otherwise.

5K Crate is a quarterly subscription box that “curates premium apparel and accessories for runners of all types and fitness levels. Each box is carefully hand curated to include 5-6 items that you will use over and over again. We do not want to be just another box full of snacks and gels!”  (Love the personalized note that was inserted in my box!)

The box I received contained:

  • 1 Mission Vaporactive Running Shirt ($25)
  • 1 Mission Hydroactive Cooling Towel ($19.99)
  • 1 pair of Spigen Wireless Bluetooth Headphones ($49.99)
  • 1 pair of Zensah Compression Socks ($14.99)
  • 2 Epic Full-Size Body Wipes ($3 each)
  • 3 La Fresh Travel Sunscreen Samples

Who doesn’t love getting such a menagerie of goodies?!  I know I do!  Every single one of these items is of high quality and absolutely something I can use.  I took the body wipes and sunscreen on my trip this past weekend when I ran my half marathon, and the cooling towel helped me out on some very warmish runs I had.

I can’t praise this company enough.  I feel the products that you get are well worth the subscription price, not to mention… again… everything is usable!!  Their next box is set to be sent out October 16th, and rumor has it that there is Momentum Jewelry in it, saying “Be Awesome Today.”  See?  Totally worth it!

I did not receive any financial compensation for this review and all opinions rendered are my own. If you would like to see some other reviews on 5K Crate, please check out what some of my BRP friends have to say:

Tedrick; Jenna; Mai; Ang; Vanessa; Heather.

Have you ever tried a subscription box before?  Go ahead, don’t be shy… tell me your experience!

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!!

 

Back To Normal

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When I last left off, I had just finished a half-marathon and was mentally preparing myself for a hike the next day.  I’m happy to say that the hike didn’t happen as my legs were angry enough with me as it was.  We did, however, go up to Hurricane Ridge to check out the views.

There was lots of snow (yes, that’s my 12-year-old son dwarfing his grandmother and father):

Lots of wildlife:

A clear view of Mt. Baker, 180 miles away:

And lots of trees:

I even got to try the infamous Starbucks Mint Frappacino (it was heavenly and I earned it) while the boys had quite a bit of fun goofing around with the outback hats:

The view of Port Angeles at the base of the Olympics:

But alas, all good things and all holidays must eventually come to an end.  My mother-in-law went back to the Motherland this past Saturday… but not before we went out to dinner to celebrate both our milestone birthdays this year (we split this delicious morsel 3 ways):

And today was business as usual, or Week 0 Day 1 of marathon training, to which I went out and completed 5 miles plus 1.  James is still hurt, but he’s in the process of formulating my training plan as I write this.  He’s such a good sport.  He actually just gave me a breakdown of my long runs for August and September, including (but not limited to) the 2 back-to-back half-marathons I’m signed up for, preceded and followed by those gnarly 20-mile runs…  dear, oh dear, let the games begin…

Have a fabulous week!!

Day 30… Hallelujah!

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Today marked the last day of me being on The Whole 30 (you can read about the beginning here).  I started the program so I could detox my body from all the sweets, cakes and chips I had been eating, and I started it with enough time to complete it before my next half-marathon, which just happens to be this Sunday.  I wanted to see if detoxing could possibly help with my running.

The program was a total success.  I stayed true blue the entire 30 days, but I won’t lie, it wasn’t easy.

I had to dig deep to fight the overwhelming cravings in the first week.

By the third week, I had lost interest in cooking and food and all the planning required.  But I persevered.

By the fourth week, I was starting to look forward to all the food that was about to open up to me again.

However, by day 28, when I would think about eating bread or dairy or even sweets, I felt no desire to add these things back into my diet.  The thought of eating a donut or a piece of cake made my tummy hurt.

On day 30, I had the best peach ever for dessert which signaled my eating shut-off valve.  I have won my battle.

So let me break down some of the good for you:

  • No more cravings.  I only “want” something nowadays; however, with a small amount of willpower, I can say no.  I don’t have to have it.
  • No tummy issues.  No heartburn, no stomachaches, no nausea, nothing.
  • Increased energy.
  • I never feel bloated.
  • I don’t have to measure my food, nor do I have to count calories.  I eat as much as I want and whatever my body requires, sometimes an entire cookie sheet of roast veggies.  Even if I reach the level of “full,” I never feel “stuffed,” as if I ate too much.
  • I can eat fruit again without any GI issues!

I mentioned before that I would share a couple of numbers.  The third week of the diet, I went to my doctor and had some labs drawn.

  • While I was in the normal range to begin with, I still managed to take another 5 points off my total cholesterol.  All other values are also within normal.
  • My glucose remains in the normal range (a biggie for me because of the hypoglycemia).
  • And the final important number that you might be wondering about… yes, I lost weight…14.6 pounds to be exact, which is 6.6 kg, or just over 1 stone.

Me with a baby squirrel. They eat all the time too, 😀

I’m ready to stop obsessing about food now.  Moving forward, I’ll follow the program to the letter every other month and I’ll relax a bit in between, although I’ll still follow the principles (at the very least up until my marathon).  At the suggestion of a fellow blogger, Chocolate Runs Judy, I’ll give my next Whole 30 update in 6 months.  Will I stick to it?  Will I lose more weight? Will I finish my very first 26 point 2?  Does The Whole 30 have staying power?  Stay tuned…

In the meantime…

It’s a new dawn; it’s a new day; it’s a new life for me… and I’m feeling good…

17 Years

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2000

Today is mine and 50 in 50 Marathon Quest’s 17th wedding anniversary, so in honor of this special day, I found some great words of advice for anyone who may be interested in having a loving, long-lasting relationship:

To keep your marriage brimming

With love in the loving cup,

Whenever you’re wrong — admit it, 

Whenever you’re right — shut up.

2017

Happy Anniversary James!

Week In Review… with Pictures!

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I’m not feeling very wordy about last week’s training, but I do have some pictures to share!

Skunk lilies! Pretty, but stinky!

Okay, truth be told, marathon training started last week with The Motivator… although that is certainly not what I was calling him by the end of our 5K together.  From here on out, until I run my marathon in October, he and I will be running together at least once a week.  This is not going to be fun, nor is it going to be pretty.  But because of it, I will succeed at crossing the finish line in the allotted time.  So I will suck it up, get pissed off, and get over it.

The Motivator’s 5K PR is 23:16, whereas I’ve not even left the chute yet. Training is about to get ugly.

But hey!  Good news!   Last week I was also able to get outside on the bike for the first time in 2017! Yay!  That means we had sunshine!  The other good news?!  My sit bones didn’t hurt!  I’m so pleased about that.  The god-awful mind-numbing bike trainer did its job… at least for now. As the weather improves, hopefully my distance and speed improve.  Then possibly I will ultimately have a picnic at the barn (my 50-miler)!!

See the above trees?  We’ve had lots of rain and wind here, which in turn have resulted in fallen trees as the ground is saturated. It won’t be long before the above fallen tree that is leaning will cause the standing tree to collapse as well.  Right across the trail.

And yes, the Easter Bunny made his annual appearance.  Probably not good to have all that chocolate in the house, but I’ll try hard not to complain.

I also have to thank Renee from The Revenge Wogger for the beautiful tulips!  She visited the Skagit Valley Tulilp Festival in my area and sent some to me as we didn’t get a chance to meet up!  So very sweet!  Thanks Renee!  They’re gorgeous!

I #spottedthe… game:  A bunny.  He was too quick to get a picture though.  Not that a bunny is on the list, but I do challenge anyone to get a good picture of a bunny.  😀

Daryl, above, is not wild, he’s domestic. I bunny-sit him during the day at work. #shakaears #imhisfavoriteauntie

Week in mileage:  20.  Keeping track so I can watch the number climb.

Hope everyone had a nice Easter, Passover, and weekend!  For those running Boston, may God bless you all!  Happy running!

 

 

Marine Corps Marathon… I’m In! Oorah!!

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I think the title pretty much says it all.  I put in for the Marine Corps Marathon lottery, and I got drawn!  Oorah!  Looks like I’ll be running my very first 26.2 in October!!

And guess what?!!  The Motivator is going to pace me the entire time.  I am probably “one and done” with this marathon (but never say never), and this may very well be the only time I’ll have a chance to qualify for Boston.  Sooo, if I can hang with James the entire time, I’m a guaranteed “in” for Boston as my qualifying time is… dunh duh dunhhh… 4:00.  If he can bring me in at 3:55:00, I’m a shoe in.  (Well, I can dream, can’t I?!)

Shit just got real…

May the Good Lord have mercy on my soul!

For MMM, I choose this:

You got me begging you for mercy
Why won’t you release me?
You got me begging you for mercy
Why won’t you release me?
I said release me

‘Nuff said…

 

Hiya!

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Hey!  How’s that for a catchy title!  I’m brilliant that way, you know.

I got an email from my sister today saying I’d been awful quiet, so I thought I’d write a quick update to say, yes, I’m still here.

Over the weekend, we had snowmageddon.  I am not a snow person.  I do not do snow.  And yet, this winter, snow insists on showing up on my doorstep and wreaking havoc on my roads. That nonsense is about to end though as the forecast is predicting rain, rain, and more rain. Hallelujah!

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Last Friday, AJ twisted his ankle at school and sprained it.  Yep… snow.  Or ice.  Same difference. But did I mention it’s going to rain?  Hallelujah!

It’s so cold in my house that the fishtank heater can’t even keep up with warming the water.  I had to get a backup because I know this current one is going to fail any day now as it’s been running 24/7 just lately.  But it’s about to be 50 deg F here in the next day or two.  That’s right… dare I say it?!  Hallelujah!

And don’t you worry about the raccoons… we’ve got them covered.  They’re getting plenty to eat, snow and all. The cats are kind of hungry, but those little raccoons are sure sitting pretty!

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Because this little sweetie is probably thinking, “It’s good to be alive right about now” (hallelujah!), he deserves a little Andy Grammer!

  • Winter got you down?  Or are you used to it and loving the snowy days?
  • Who wishes they were in Hawaii right now besides me?
  • Who’s running Reno in April?  Anybody?  Anybody?

Go check out James’s most recent post at 50 in 50 Marathon Quest… he has an exciting announcement about BibRave!

Thursday’s Happenings

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It was a gorgeous day in the Pacific Northwest today… unseasonably sunny and warm.  I hope this isn’t the warm before the storm, BUT, I’ll bask in it for the short time we have it.

And when it’s sunny, this usually happens at the center:

All kinds of animals were released into the beautiful sunshine today (yes, even some squirrels), but the above red-tail hawk was especially happy to be sprung.  He was none too pleased to be in a hospital for the short time he was there.  Fly and be free, little guy!

Also, James and I were contacted by the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa coming up.  We have been chosen to be on the blogging panel at the expo for the marathon as their first ever “couple” bloggers.  We will be at the expo on Saturday, November 19th, from 3 to 4 p.m.  If you happen to be running Route 66, please stop by and say hi!  We would love to meet you!  This will be the next-to-the-last race for us for the year, with the Mukilteo Turkey Trot the following week being the last and final race for 2016 (phew!).

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James’s site is still having problems showing up in the reader, so if you follow him, he’s just posted about his October goals.  You can see his latest post here.  He can be quite funny at times you know, 🙂

That’s it, that’s all I’ve got.  Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

  • Will you be in Tulsa on the 20th?
  • If you run, is a Turkey Trot on your schedule?
  • Do you prefer hamburgers or hot dogs?  😉