Wednesday, September 25, 2013

A lot of stuff!!!

Hey there strangers.  Sorry I've been super MIA, we've been traveling to Maryland EVERY weekend for special events and all my littles have been sick. No excuse for being absent but it's life and yes it happens a lot!!!
Half training is going well.  I've switched my runs around a bit to get ready for the 5K on Saturday with my mom and the half on Sunday with a friend.  This week I have the 4 miles on Thursday morning and then 12 miles on Friday morning.  We're four longs out from the race so I figure I'll get the 12, 13 and 14 in that I was hoping for even with a flare up of plantar fasciitis.

After the half in October I have another half in November and then I get a few weeks off.  Thinking of trying T25 and joining up with BeachBody and becoming a coach.  I love their stuff and actually don't mind their shakes so I think it may be a good fit for me.

Recently I had the opportunity to attend a Sugar Detox Telecourse presented by Laura Piefer from Mommy Run Fast.  She and the course were awesome.  Topics covered included: how to start a sugar detox, 10 tips on overcoming sugar addiction, types of natural sweeteners, and sweeteners to avoid.  At the end of the course we all had the opportunity to discuss and ask questions which I found to be helpful as there were other people in the group who can not tolerate artificial sweeteners like me.  Check for out at Mommy Run Fast or on Facebook.  

This actually feeds well into my next giveaway that I will be posting next week. I have fallen head over heels for Hammer Nutrition products. I love the gels, HEED, vegan recovery bars and whey.  I will be giving away some of my favorites along with a code that will get you 15% off your first order and free shipping.  Look for it next week!!!

Last bit of FANTASTIC news....... I am now a TDF (Train Dirty Fitness) Ambassador.  This is a group of supportive, kick ass women who I am so humbled to be a part of.  Keep an eye out for great things to come with this wonderful group of women!!!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Diamond Candle Review and giveaway

Diamond Candles reached out to me and asked me to review their product so I thought, I love candles, I love jewelry!! 


I decided on the Orchid Meadow.  I love the scent of orchid and thought the piece of jewelry would be in the purples family and that's what I was shooting for!  Here's some product information from the company.
100% soy candles; eco-friendly and natural. We don't want to be just another candle company using poor quality wax - we want to bring you premium 100% soy candles that truly display beauty and environmentally friendly materials. We want to provide you with a stellar product that promotes continued sustainability through the use of soy beans straight from mother earth.
When you light the wick of one of our Diamond Candles, you'll experience unsurpassed bliss - a clean fragrance that fills up a room to take you away to paradise. We give you fair warning: These candles become addictive. Once you light one, you'll be begging for another soon to come!



I loved the fact that the candles are all natural and environmentally friendly.  I was hesitant to try them as some candles I have burned in the house have given me a headache but this one didn't. Great scent and no headache = happy me!!  So I burned it for a day or two and here's the piece that I discovered.
Very pretty and I like I said, I love purple.  
Now to the good part, the giveaway.  Diamond Candles is giving away a candle to one of my lucky readers.  Follow the rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, September 2, 2013

Goals, racing and a giveaway!!

Posting a day late but thought I would check my August goals and set some September goals and a GIVEAWAY!!

Let's start with August goals:
1. Run 85+ miles (I started my half plan on the 30th of July)..... Totally killed this one, ran 100 miles this month
2. Complete the August Core Focus Challenge with Sneakers and Fingerpaints..... once again nope, didn't do it.  I wasn't feeling challenged so I stopped.
3. Foam Roll 3 x week..... lucky if I did it twice a week
4. Complete Plank challenge (doing one, 1 minute plank for the day #)... was doing fantastic and then the monthly stomach issues started and I took a break and then restarted.

All in all, I think August went pretty good. I was plagued again with stomach issues, handled a bachelorette party, bridal shower, two orientations, sending my oldest off to kindergarten, sending my twins off to preschool for the first time, soccer practice, gymnastics, sports class, work and training/racing.

New goals for September:
1. Run 100 miles (PF flare up right now, hoping to still meet this goal)
2. Complete personal plank, tricep dip and push-up goal
3. Give up soda
4. Foam roll 3x week

I think they are all attainable.  The rolling and soda goal are going to be tough.  I drink probably one a day and LOVE them but we'll see what drinking more water does for me!!


Now onto the review of the Charlottesville Women's 4 miler and the giveaway. I decided to sign up for this race on a whim one Saturday morning. A person from my running group posted on our page that registration was that AM and I signed up right away. It literally sold out in the first three hours so I was happy to get it.  There were 3000 women total (not huge by any standard, but big enough).
The race is in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Not sure how many people are familiar with the area so here's the gist of the area.  It's in the mountains, not real big ones but mountains none the less.  The course thankfully was more rolling hills than steep inclines.
I almost bagged the race, was not feeling it all week or the night before but I rolled out of bed a 530 and headed out.  I have no pictures of my racing outfit but I thought I was cute.  I wore my pink skirt, black "Sweat Pink" tank and my awesome compression socks from Sockguy.
I decided to line up in the front of the 8/mile coral. I'm so glad I did.  I ended up having to weave a lot but that's because the first two miles I was rockin out at a low 7/mile pace.  I know I was doing it all wrong but it felt good to keep up with the teen aged cross country runners and young 20-somethings. So when I hit the 2 mile mark, my lovely GPS watch decided to kick in and I could watch my pace.  I slowed it to 8:20 and cruised the rest of the race at this pace.  I was shooting for a 35.  I caught a glimpse of the finish line and saw 31.  I about lost my mind.  The time was ticking down and I decided I was going to finish sub 32.  That I did. I grabbed my water and bagel (thank you Panera) and got on the road.  I had to work right after the race so no post race celebration for me. So GLAD I dragged my negative Nelly butt out of bed and ran that race!!! But sadly now, PF has flared up and I am going to have to rest for the next few days :(

So here's the giveaway. The Sockguy gave me a pair of compression socks to review and wear during the race.  I love great socks and love compression socks so here's the low down.  They looked awesome and I did not cramp.  The heat and humidity was super high and a lot of people were having trouble with the heat but I did fine.  I loved them and will continue to hit up the site for more socks.

Here's what they sent to me for a giveaway.  They are a pair of "Save the Tatas" compression socks size small (womens 6-10).  You know the deal, follow the rafflecopter giveaway!!



a Rafflecopter giveaway