Three Things Thursday

1. I did an outdoor run today. It was pretty good! Except for the path being all icy. Which is dumb, since it hasn't snowed in over a week. I got to try out FOUR new items I've never used... I'll probably review this more in depth later. But for now:

• Nike ear warmer thing. It's cute. And it kept my ears from freezing off and my headphones from slipping.

• Athleta Hindsight Half Zip top. Now. I don't normally wear long sleeves, but I figured this year I'd try being comfortable and warm. I got this awesome top as a Black Friday special using a gift card from a friend. I absolutely LOVED it. It breathed really well which kept me from getting too hot, yet it felt like air moved through. Never got cold either. Please it had the thumb holes (which I love), and a back zippered pocket. I put my keys in there and NEVER felt them. LOVE. THIS. TOP.

• Adidas Gloves - Touch screen compatible!! I loved these, never took them off. And yes, they worked as promised!

• Newton trail runners. I have had these for over a year. I even forgot my socks, wore this for a 35 minute run. So comfortable, no blisters. I think I will train my outdoor runs wearing these, and possibly race my 100 in them...

2. Field trip for Daisy Girl Scouts to the Butterfly Pavilion. They had the whole exterior decked out with lights... and a Fire Dancer. In 25 degree weather.

3. FINAL GRADES ARE IN!!

Five Things Friday - Short and Sweet

1. Unimpressive Customer Service - Runningskirts

My sister placed her Black Friday order two days after mine and had it last Saturday. It took TWO days of calling, emailing, posting on Twitter and Facebook to get a response from someone. I was informed my orders shipped (yesterday), even though I had confirmations that they shipped last week. Not impressed.

2. Impressive Customer Service - Athleta

I purchased some winter running gear on Black Friday. One of the items I received was sent in the wrong color. Even at 8 pm I was able to get someone on the phone who was able to help me out. After posting on Twitter I even received a personal message apologizing for the error and asking if I still needed help. Awesome.

3. Ultra Training - Success!

Monday - Speedwork (6.46 total miles, fastest 400 @ 1:42)
Wednesday - Easy-ish (4.4 miles)
Thursday - Easy-ish (10.02 miles)
Friday - Mostly easy-ish (24 miles)

Total running miles for the week - just under 45 miles!

In celebration of an awesome week, this is the shirt I'm wearing today

4. Three races registered for this week:

Austin Marathon (yes, the full)
Platte River Half Marathon (local race, did it this year too)
Pittsburgh Half Marathon (Will be excited to see the other B run her first FULL marathon!)

5. Plane tickets obtained to Peru for a STEAL - Inca Trail to Machu Picchu Marathon is definitely happening!!!

Dear Santa,

A is always wondering why I never have a Christmas list. Well, partly because Christmas isn't really a big deal around here. This will be the 4th Christmas since I got divorced (wow, time FLIES), and A spends the Christmas break with her Dad in Texas. Really all I do is sleep late while she is gone. But this year, sure, I'll make a list. You know, if any of my bloggy friends really feel like they want to get me something this year :D

1. Remember my awesome medal displays? They are full. Which means I am in the market for new ones... All my running buddies rave about the Allied Medal Displays. I think they FREAKING ROCK. I mean, check this out:

Obviously they also have a Half Fanatic one that is more appropriate since I don't run that many full marathons. Although. Hey. Did you know that I already have more than 4 that I plan on running in 2012? It's gonna be an epic year.

2. I want this. A lot. But it is SO much money. I'll probably never own it. But it looks like even someone as camera-dumb as me could take awesome pictures with it.

Also will accept Amazon gift cards in lieu of the super expensive camera... I have been saving them for a while and I'm sure they sell the camera.

3. Totally impractical. I work for a roofing company and wear jeans and a hoodie to work everyday. However, I am currently in school going for my BA in Criminal Justice and would like to think that I will eventually have a job again that requires some degree of professionalism. I think these are the cutest ever.

4. This sweatshirt. If anyone comes across it EVER, in a small or medium, BUY IT FOR ME. Please. I will pay you back. I found it, bought it, then got the message it was out of stock and for over 6 weeks I have been searching and searching and cannot find it anywhere. Le sigh.

5. I heart this skirt from Team Sparkle. I was hoping to get one in time to run the New Year's Double half marathon on December 31, but I'm short on cash. Size XS, Fuchsia, please :D

6. A Lululemon skirt. I will never shell out the cash for them since I've never personally worn one, but they are adorable and I have seen lots of them during races.

See? I'm not that hard to shop for.

Happy Holidays!!!

Panerathon 5k (Race Recap)

Westminster, CO

Sunday, September 18
A's 3rd 5k
Weather - Warm, Sunny

This was a spur of the moment decision to run this race. I knew A was going to be upset that I was going to be gone for the weekend (we haven't traveled sans kids since mid July), so I asked her if she wanted to run the Panerathon 5k with me, and of course she said yes. I had never run the 5k course, but I had run the 10k in 2008 and 2009.

Emergency was that A wanted to matchy matchy, BUT she wanted to wear a sparkle skirt... Luckily the gals at Team Sparkle got me my turquoise skirt in just a couple of days. A picked out our shirts and socks. What a fashionista!

The race is SUPER close to home, and is super accessible and family/dog friendly. Not the best course if you are looking to PR, but an overall good time. We got there just in time to see the kid's race, which H was doing (A had done that in 2009 and 2010). For one of the first times, there was no falling. Yay!

H is sparkly too!

A's VERY FIRST timing chip!

We didn't have long before the race started, but we were parked really close to the starting area, so getting our shirts and running back to the car to drop stuff off and leave our sweatshirts was no big deal. It was 47 degrees on our drive in, but already warming up. (It was actually WARMER temperature-wise in North Dakota... just goes to show you the difference wind and humidity can make).

The 10k was starting at 8:00, and we were starting at 8:05. We were getting in line for the bathrooms when we saw my mom (walking the 5k), and I had her take this picture of us:

We pretty much walked right from the bathroom to the starting line. Even though we were "running," that pace is pretty much a walking pace for a lot of adults, so we started in the back and figured we would work our way up closer as we were running. I just love getting pictures of A in action!

Rocking her Razzy Roo headband and Team Sparkle skirt

We got TONS of compliments on our outfits. The race is mostly women and they just thought it was so cute that we were dressed alike (matchy, matchy), and the sparkles are ALWAYS a big hit.

It was starting to warm up already, and I knew that A had started out a bit too fast. She took a lot more walk breaks than she usually does, but I have to take into consideration the circumstances. It was warmer, she has never raced at elevation, the course was more hilly, and, let's face it, this race NEVER stood a chance as being as fun as a Disney race... But, she still kept a smile on her face! And she was already asking me, "Mom, when can I run a 10k with you?" I told her to ask me again after she turns 6...

The only aid station on the course was about 1.2 miles in, and we stopped and took some water. As we headed back out, we saw the leaders in the 5k already heading back. SPEEDY! That's when the course really got congested. As you can see, the trail is not that wide and we were finally having it be a "two lane road" - and just imagine the strollers and dogs mixed in! Not to mention the people running side by side (GUILTY). The turnaround was in a tunnel (strange), and it's a good thing that I was running with A because there was no volunteer there telling people to turn around, just a sign, and I'm not sure if she would have known what to do. The course isn't QUITE an out and back, so the turnaround was around 1.75 miles in. I know the course REALLY well, since it's the trail  L and I did all our long runs on last summer. I was able to keep A pumped by letting her know where we were. We saw my mom right at this mile marker! A gave her a hug and "bumps" and we headed out.

She was getting tired and walking more, but she was still really energized. We stopped at the water station, and for the way back, it was only about .75  until the finish line. A kept HERSELF pumped by chanting things like "Victory!" with her arms in a V or saying "I'm a champion" or "I'm a winner." Hilarious. When she started to get REALLY tired, she kept grabbing my hand for "energy."

Here she is with less than a half mile to go!

I could tell when we had less than a quarter mile to go, and even though she was definitely exhausted, she really wanted to sprint to the finish line. A woman came out of nowhere and tried to get around us at the beginning of the final stretch. A saw her out of the corner of her eye, turned her head and snarled at her. Probably not nice, but it was hilarious. L got a video of us sprinting toward the finish!

Super pleased with A's performance. Even with all her extra walk breaks, she still got a new personal best! And my watch even measured the course long. Here are her stats (I let her cross JUST before me, so all mine are one place off, and her time is 1 second faster):

Official Time - 43:07
Official Pace - 13:55
Overall Place - 262/380 (WOW!!!)
Gender Place - 163/257
Division Place - 14/20 (12 and under)
Garmin Time - 43:10
Garmin Distance - 3.22 miles
Garmin Pace - 13:24
Mile 1 - 12:07
Mile 2&3 - 29:10 (oops)
Mile 3.1ish - 10:49

Disney spoiled her, and one of the first things she asked was, "Where is my medal?" I told her the satisfaction of being able to run a 5k was her reward. She was ok with that. The best part of this race? The food. Since Panera Bread is the main sponsor, the food ROCKS. Three types of sandwiches, 4 types of pastries, cookies, bagels, apples (you know, if you want to pretend to be healthy). SO GOOD.

After we got done eating, A went for a ride around the parking lot in an old fire truck (no good picture, sorry), and got her face painted (she says it's a puppy):

We hung around the area a bit, Road Runner was having a special sale for race day... 25% off for VIPs. The Pearl Izumi's I had tried seemed SO heavy and bulky that I decided to exchange. Next up (after this weekends race), Nike.

Random picture, thought it was cute

Overall, it was an awesome race, and a pretty much awesome day. We spent the afternoon at an amusement park, enjoying a late summer day of mid 70s.

What's Up Wednesday

There is some "new" stuff going on that I haven't shared with all of you yet.

1. I did it. I registered for the Bear Chase 50 Mile race. I must be completely insane. I am really going to have to up my training so I don't die. I mean... 50 MILES??????? In one day?????? That's like half of what I normally run in an entire MONTH...

2. I know I said I wouldn't have anything international on the horizon for a while. But... this is one of the cheapest places to travel in Europe, and I've always wanted to go. I'm not OFFICIALLY registered, but I am pre-registered for the Edinburgh Marathon in SCOTLAND!! (Where I hope to meet Silly Girl!!)

3. And speaking of "not really registered" races... I'm "officially" on the wait list for the 13th Annual Metal Sawing Technology Texas Marathon. Why this race? Other than being on New Years Day, I have to admit it is for the glory of the bling. Rumor has it that the medal rivals that of the Little Rock Marathon's ginormous hunk of metal.

4. In NON-race related running stuff... I have managed to get yet ANOTHER person hooked on running!! When I took A down to Texas my ex sister-in-law commented on how fit I look (awww, thanks) and said she has been thinking of taking up running but can't find the time/energy (excuse, excuse). I convinced her to download the C25K app and she is already a few weeks into the program. Not loving it yet, but doing it!

5. This is more of a question... Many of my blogging buddies are doing the "Run Less, Run Faster" program. I was in Borders the other day and glanced at it and it seemed (for lack of a better word) too "textbook" for me. Anyone care to share their experiences and more of how it works? I don't necessarily want to "run less" per se, but I want to run more efficiently.

6. Anyone else lost their running mojo?? It used to be that just dressing up for a run and I'd feel better about it. I seem to be dreading my training runs lately. Suggestions for making my super boring treadmill runs suck less?

7. Speaking of... It's like Nike KNOWS ME PERSONALLY... I wish I could find this stuff locally, buying off their site is a total rip off in shipping charges unless you buy a TON of stuff.