Finish Chelsea's Run Virtual Race

This morning I thought it would be best to use my last training run to do my Finish Chelsea's Run Race. I started by going around the inside of the lake by my house.

I tied the ribbons Kayte gave me around my wrist while I ran. They had fun blowing in the crazy wind that comes when you run around here.

After running about a mile I saw a tree that had blue and orange flowers around it. Orange and blue were Chelsea's favorite colors, so I thought it was fitting. I didn't see another tree like that for the rest of my run, so I'm glad I stopped when I did and put them on there.

I finished my 2 miles in 24.30 and had a nice time doing it. I took my time and enjoyed the run. I'm glad I could be a part of such a great race.

I have a picture of me at the end of the run, but I look like I'm not fully awake and I look bad, so I'll spare you. Haha!

Go sign up!

Run with Kayte, me, and all the other virtual racers. :)

First Marathon Giveaway!!!

So since you guys are so great I'm going to have a giveaway to celebrate my first marathon! I want to thank all of you that have supported me though this process in training for my marathon. These last few weeks have been nuts, so thank you to all of you who've left comments of encouragement. It's really helped me. I can't wait to see how things go on Saturday. It's going to be a great day!

Onto the giveaway....

The awesome ladies at Runningskirts.com are donating a skirt to help celebrate!!

One lucky gal will win a skirt.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE their skirts! I'll be wearing my brown one during the marathon. :)

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Another lucky winner will win a pair of Stuffitts shoe savers thanks to the great people over at stuffitts.com

I'm thinking I'm going to have to get some of these for after Saturday cause heaven knows my shoes are going to be begging for some love. :)

To win one of these great prizes this is what you have to do:

(Leave a comment for each thing you do.)

-Go to Runningskirts.com and stuffitts.com and tell me what you love about their products and which product you'd want.

-Follow my blog and let me know if you are a new or old friend. :) The more the merrier!

-Give me some kind of tip that you think would help me with my marathon.

-What's your pre-race routine for the night before until you cross that starting line?

-Spread the word! Blog, tweet, Facebook, whatever...tell everyone about my giveaway. You get an entry for each  thing you do.

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Giveaway ends Saturday night and the winners will be posted Sunday morning.

 Good luck!!

Not bad for a Monday.

I got up at 6:45 and went for a 4 mile walk around the lake. I felt good. No aching, other than a blister between my toes from wearing new flip flops over the weekend. I stretched  and did my exercises.

My cross training consisted of hoeing, weeding, and rototilling a big garden for about 2 hours. (That counts right?) I had fun watching the kids play in the sprinkler and run around in the yard. Don't you just LOVE spring?

I also found out that my best friend and sister-in-law, Hayley has a running blog now, Beautiful Exhaustion. Go check it out and give her some love. Today's post is HILARIOUS!! She's such an awesome chick. We were best friends in high school, she moved away and about 5 years later she and my little bro met up and got married while they were in college. How cool is that? She's prego with her 2nd and having fun running while doing  it. :)

I also got a new toy to play with! I can't wait to try it out and see how it works.

Tomorrow will be busy, but I'm going to get my stuff done. I hope everyone had a great day today!

A new toy!

I was just sent a new toy to try out and review this week! It's a Sony Wireless Walkman MP3 Player. I love trying out new stuff. :)

 

Click here for the press release about the Sony W Series Walkman.

Here's some details about it:

· Design – its lightweight, water-resistant frame ensures proper functionality during extended periods of activity inside or outside – even in the rain.

· 2GB of maximum capacity – holds approximately 470 songs

· Quick Charge Option – for on-the-go or those who have forgotten to charge, charge 3 minutes for up to 90 minutes of play time. Full battery life is approximately 11 hours

· Easy Music Transfer – Content Transfer software allows users to move music files and playlists straight from a PC/iTunes library

· SRP: $60, available at www.sonystyle.com, Sony Style retail stores & other authorized retailers nationwide

 
Right now I'm syncing Harry Potter and the Camber of Secrets on it. We'll have to see how it does tomorrow during my walk. J tried it on when I opened the package and his first thought was "If you don't like all the wires of an iPod then this thing's for you." He really likes it. I'll give a full review in a week to let you know what I think about it.
 
What do you think? After reading the info about it, do you think it's something you would want?

7 miles and no chafing

I did it! I wore my running skirt outside without capris!

Ok, so I'm no TMB I could only wish, but I was proud of myself for getting up the guts to go out and do my miles in my awesome running skirt, crazy capri tan lines and all.

Holy cow, I didn't think my legs were that white. I knew my tan line was bad and I figured that this would be the best way to get rid of it, plus fat looks better tan...right? lol! Oooh, and you know what I'm a BIG fan of...Body Glide. That stuff works! My thighs rubbing together for 7 miles, you'd think there would be some chafing, but noooo. I wasn't sure it would work, but it did!

Since I decided that I would do my miles walking rather than running for the time being, that's what I did. I went 7 miles around the lake and guess what...NO PAIN! No aches, nothing... Isn't that nuts? I'm hoping to find out something tomorrow at my PT appointment about what causes the pain. Maybe it's the way I run or land or something.

I was proud of my walk. I did good keeping at a fast consistent pace. I'm proud of myself. I feel like I'm doing good keeping with my marathon training.

Anyway, maybe I'll jump on the P90X bandwagon and get some muscles and then I will totally rock a Black Polka Dot Athletic Skirt or an Orange RunningSkirts skirt. They are SO comfy. They don't roll up or slide down. I even had my iPhone in my pocket the whole time and it didn't pull the skirt down. That's a good skirt! :) I've been trying to get a RunningSkirts skirt for a giveaway with no luck. Maybe I'll call 'em up and order one. You girls would want one, right? We'll see what I can do to celebrate my 2nd half marathon in 15 days.

Ha, ha, Mother Nature...really funny.... + a Ryder's Drill Sunglasses Review.

I think Mother Nature was trying to be funny today by pulling a LAME April Fool's day joke. I woke up this morning to at least 6" of snow covering the ground & sidewalks. Ha, ha...funny. I woke up and thought, "You've got to be kidding me. I missed my last 2 runs cause Reno was ghetto and now Mother Nature's trying to pull a April Fool's joke on me." So, I held off my 5 mile run until about 3:00 when Mother Nature figured out her joke was lame and the snow was pretty much melted.

See, MUCH better!

I was even able to try out my new cool Ryder's Drill Sunglasses!

They were AWESOME! I love how I didn't feel like they were there. They were light and stayed in place. There was no bouncing around or feeling like the sides were squeezing my head. It was nice having a pair to wear. This is coming from someone who was a lifeguard forever and hated wearing sunglasses in the bright Georgia sun cause I thought that I looked like a dork. If only I had these back then I would have worn them everyday.

The run was good. I ended up going around the outside of our neighborhood and I LOVE this one spot. There is such an awesome view of the valley. You can't really tell in this picture, but it's really beautiful, snow and all. :) The temps were great I ended up wishing I would have left my jacket at home, but it's all good.

Since I missed yesterday's run I'm thinking I might do an easy 2-3 tomorrow. I gotta start April off on a good note, right?  :)

Tomorrow's our big pasta party! It's fun being 1/4 Italian (even though I don't look it). We eat some GOOD food! My mom and pop are in town and we gotta fuel up before out 10 mile race through the canyons on Saturday. Exciting!

1st Half Marathon Giveaway!

I'm SO excited about this giveaway! There's no better way to celebrate my first half marathon than by giving away some awesome gear to the people who help encourage me and cheer me along.

So, lets get down to business...

The great people at Sugoi Gear (and Outside PR) are giving a Sugoi Verve 3/4 shirt to one lucky winner.

"The Sugoi Verve 3/4 is a great looking piece, but is also performance-oriented. The flat seam construction and neck tape make it super comfortable and it has great little details like mesh inserts in the shoulder and sides and a hidden zip pocket. The Finotech material is super-wicking and comfy, too."

But wait! Not only do they get the shirt, the great people at Ryders Eyewear (and Outside PR) are including a pair of Ryders Drill Sunglasses!

"The Drill have optically-correct, shatterproof, scratch-resistant polycarbonate lenses that will protect your eyes from 100% of UVA, UVB and UVC rays. They have ultralightweight TR90 frames with low profile , high-strength pinned hinges that will survive the harshest treatment. And to keep them on your face- where they should be- these sunnies also have non-slip, hydrophilic nose pads and temple tips that actually get tackier (in a GOOD way) as you get sweaty. These sunglasses are tough as nails but light as a feather -perfect for running in any type of weather. Ryders are super-premium, high performance eyewear with a pricetag that loves you back."

Pretty cool, huh?!

Oooh, I can't forget! Just because you guys are so great, one lucky runner up will also get a pair of Ryders Drill Sunglasses.

Ok, so how do you enter? Leave a comment for EACH thing you do.

1. 
   
   Go to Sugoi and check out their gear and tell me what other cool stuff you like on their site.
2. 
   
   Follow me or let me know you already do! The more followers the better!
3. 
   
   Check out Ryders Eyewear and tell me which sunglasses you like.
4. 
   
   Link this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or Facebook. (Comment for each one you do.)
5. 
   
   Tell me about your favorite race/run that you've ever run. I love hearing people's stories, it's very motivating!

The winner will be announced next Saturday!

Thanks for all the support!!!

I did it! I did it!

I got my run in!

Ok, so, today I'm all about the exclamation marks cause that's how I'm feeling right now. Things are going great. I'm feeling awesome and I can't wait for my first half marathon on Saturday!

I went out to do my run after C got on the bus to go to school.

 It was kinda weird, it was sunny, but very windy and I could tell that any minute the clouds would be coming in. I went around the lake today and when I'd run one direction it was freezing, but when I'd turn the corner it was hot. I wore my North Face Women's Windstopper Jacket (LOOOVE IT!) and a Champion tank under it that I got at Target. I'd stop for a second and take the jacket off when I'd turn the corner and burn up and then when I'd reach the other side I'd stop and put the jacket back on. If it wasn't so windy I could have just worn the tank.

(Don't mind me, the wind was blowing and I look like a major dork.)

The thing about the tank...I've never just worn a tank running before. I kinda felt like a "real" runner. It wasn't too long ago that I didn't have any technical shirts and I'd wear old cotton race shirts to run in. I felt so weird wearing the tank, but I really liked how cool it was. Plus, when summer comes I'm not going to want to have a major farmers tan so I'll have to get used to it. Which by the way...I'm getting a capri tan from my capri length running tights and that means that I'm going to have to start wearing my running skirts the way they were meant to be worn, but that means I'm going to need to get some of that BodyGlide stuff so I don't rub my legs raw.

Anyway, the run went well, my knees were a little sore, but nothing to complain about. I did 6.16 in 1.05 and came home and ate this...

YUM!

Today's a good day and I'm feeling great! Ooh, and I have 30 "official" followers now! YAY! All those in the wood works come out and play, I won't bite. :)

Tomorrow I'm going to be posting a pretty awesome giveaway in celebration of my first half marathon so keep a look out!!!! Exciting!

Rest

I got up early this morning to take my man to work and my knees ached going up and down the stairs. My thighs and calves didn't hurt at all, just my knees and that muscle right above my thigh and right below my hip. Anyway, I feel good today. I had 2 scheduled, but I took today off to relax. But, Princess and the Frog came out and I had one of those $10 off coupons so I ran around to 2 different Walmarts and 2 different Targets before I finally convinced a lady to hold it for me so I didn't have to run through another Walmart and find it not there. So, even though I didn't "run" I ran about 2 miles through 4 different stores. The things mommas do for their kids. It was worth it, I got a $30 Bluray combo for $15.

Oooh, so since I'm not running today I've been looking at some races for the next couple months and I am SOO excited to run this 4th of July race. It's going to be my first post marathon race and I'm really hoping to get Jason and his bro Jon to run with me. I think it would be a fun family race. They are gonna have some great race shirts PLUS you get a finisher's metal even for the 5k. Cool, huh? I love it!

Wow, this is some really salty popcorn... LOL! Sorry...random thought.

I'm excited to see how I feel tomorrow morning during my run. Just an easy 2-3 miles. My thighs are starting to ache a little, but I think it's cause of all the stairs I've been climbing.

Well, today's a good day. :)

Sick+Snow=No 14 Mile Run

I'm still not feeling 100%. I'm probably about 70%. I woke up this morning and thought about running 7 miles and then having Jace pick me up at the half way if I couldn't go the whole way, but when I stood up out of bed....WHOA! There is NO WAY I can run 7 miles let alone 14. So, I slept in for a while, went and weighed in really quick at WW. Lost 4.8 lbs thanks to being sick and not eating for 3 days. I need to get food in my tummy I am completely empty and I don't have the energy to run. Going down stairs is hard enough. Maybe when I get food in me and lots of water I'll feel great. I'm hoping to get my 14 miles in on Monday.

About an hour after going to WW, it looked like this outside....

Yeah, I don't think that would mesh too well with a sick momma trying to run 14 miles.

The video doesn't do it justice...those were HUGE flakes!

PS. I have some new Sauconys that I can't wait to try out. I love Saucony shoes!

12 miles + Weight Loss + Over 200 Miles Run This Year= GIVEAWAY!

Today's 12 miler went really well! It probably wasn't the best time to try out new shoes, but that's what I did. My right butt cheek hurt towards the end and also the back of my thigh, not sure if it was the shoes or not, but we'll see next time. I got up at 5 and ran and ran and ran until the sun came up and then ran some more. :) I took a water bottle with me and put it at my 4 mile marker. I was planning on doing laps around the neighborhood so each time I hit 4 miles I'd get a drink. It was pretty nice having that set out like that. I ran the 12 miles without walking and only stopped for a water break for about a minute. I ran the 12 miles in 2.17.31! GO ME! It feels good! I'm a little sore, but nothing I can't manage.

So, I weighed in right after my 12 miler and lost 1.4 lbs. I'm only 6.6 from my goal! I really think my sprints this week helped me out. You should check out Runner Dudes blog, he has some good posts about running and weight loss.

I have officially run 213.76 miles so far this year!! How awesome is that?! I would have never thought last year that I could run that much in just 2 months. I am well on my way to run 1010 in 2010! :)

Ok, so now onto the really fun stuff!

THE GIVEAWAY!

Since there's so many things to be thankful for today I thought I'd thank all of you out there who read my blog and follow me along on this journey.

The awesome people over at Road ID have donated a Road ID for my first giveaway!

Here's a little something about Road ID: "Our mission is two fold: One, to educate outdoor enthusiasts (runners, cyclists, triathletes, skiers, snow boarders, kayakers, walkers, and anyone that doesn’t spend all of their time on the couch) about the importance of wearing ID. Two, to provide these athletes with innovative identification products that they will want to include as part of their gear."

They're an awesome company that's privately owned and are committed to serve and support their community.

I have a Wrist ID Elite in the bone color!

So, here's how you enter:

(Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry!)

Go to RoadID.com and tell me which one you would choose if you won.

Link this giveaway on your blog, Facebook page, or tweet about it.

Join Road ID's fan page on Facebook.

Follow my blog or let me know if you already do.

Tell me how a Road ID would benefit you in your running/jogging/biking endeavors.

If you tweet follow Road ID on Twitter!


(The winner will be announced next Saturday after my race.)

So, there ya go! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and be careful out there on all of your runs and races!!!

Slow run + a new do + a future runner.

I got up at 5 this morning and ran my 4 miler. I was really slow...like really slow. But, I consider it a recovery run, so I'm not worried. Tomorrow I'm doing 4x100s. That'll be fun. I felt good during today's run. I could have gone faster, but it's all good.

Guess what I did...I got my hair cut!

It's a little short, but I really like it. I chopped off about 6+ inches, thinned it out, and got it highlighted. I was wanting it long enough to put into two little pigtails for when I run, but I think it's just a little too short for that. Boy, am I glad I got some bondibands from Kayte cause I think they're gonna work perfect to keep my hair outta my face while I run.

Ooh, and guess what...on Thursday I will have run 200 miles so far this year! How cool is that?! I don't think I've run 200 miles ever before in my life, let alone in 2 months.

My future runner! :)

The Wild Goose Chase!

Here's Delta, UT. It's a nice little town, it makes me think of my gma Cook's town in Montana. The trip out there was a little crazy, it wasn't snowing until we hit a little mountain pass and then it was so bad with snow and fog that we couldn't see 6 feet in front of us. But, then when we got through the mountain it was all sunny with some clouds. You could tell that it snowed the night before on the race route cause there was lots of mud and snow that was still melting.

I met a new friend today. :) I was going to the port-a-potty before the race and I heard "Hey! Are you Cathy Twitchell?" This really cool woman named Sue Peterson got an email from one of her friends telling her about my blog and that I was going to be racing in the Wild Goose Chase. I didn't think there were very many people out there that even read my blog so I thought it was awesome that I was spotted at one of my races. The other cool thing, we both ran in 5 of the same races last year and didn't even know it. Cool, huh?! She won first place in the 5k and when I crossed the finish she was there to see if I reached my goal of running the 10k in under an hour.

(Warning! I don't take good race pictures! LOL!)

Well....I ran 6 of the miles in under an hour. LOL! But, the 10k I  ran it in 1.02.04. I almost had it. I didn't place, but I wasn't really expecting to. I'm more concerned with beating myself each time.

I tried out some new socks today. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my drymax socks! They are SOO comfy. You know how when you run in some socks you can totally feel them the whole time you're running, these ones are so awesome you can't even feel them. I can't wait to use them on my long run next Saturday.

The picture doesn't do it much justice, but holy cow, it was muddy! The back of my legs had splatters all over them. It was a fun race. I kept it under 10 the whole time. Go me! When I turned the corner to start the 2nd half of the 10k there was a field of cows mooing and it totally sounded like they were mooing "Go, Go, Go!" Then at the end of the race there was this one chick who totally helped me out, if it wasn't for her I would have dropped my pace that last mile, but I wanted to stick with her and that's what I did. So, thanks chick for helping me out that last mile! :) I was going to tell her thanks for letting me stick with her, but I couldn't find her after I finished.

After our two hour drive home I came home to 3 packages! I got my marathon shirts, my bondibands, and my Nike rain coat! I had to try on the coat and a bondiband so, I thought why not go finish out my last 2 miles for the day. :) The coat is nice and light and the bondiband felt really good and stayed in place.

Today was a fun day! I enjoy going out to Delta every year for this race. :)

Why I Run Alone....

I am once again reminded why I run alone. Today I attempted to run while my kids were playing at the school playground. I figured it was all fenced in and the distance around the baseball field and playground was a little more than a quarter mile so I could just do my 4 miles right there. Boy, was I wrong! Each time I'd circle around by the slides both kids would run up right in front of me and yell, "Mom! MOM! Push me on the swings! Help me climb this! Help me do that!" Yeah, it makes running SOO much more stressful. When I run alone the only person I have to worry about is myself. Sure, I fight with myself sometimes, but I can also tell myself to shut up and I'll listen. LOL!

Anyway, my run was pretty good. I didn't really get into a groove until 2.5 miles into it. I tried keeping my head up and looking forward instead of down, but it's SOOO hard! I kept looking down without knowing it. But, the interesting thing was whenever I'd look up my shoulders would automatically drop and relax. The other thing I noticed was whenever I pass by someone on a trail my posture and pace fall right into place and I start running and I feel comfortable. I wish I would do that without having to pass by people.

My splits:
Mile 1: 11.33
Mile 2: 12.25
Mile 3: 11.51
Mile 4: 10.22

Not bad, not bad...

The weather's getting nicer. When the wind would stop blowing the sun would come out and it felt SOO nice! I can't wait to get my Bondibands, my fleece ear warmers are starting to get a little hot. :)

Tomorrow's another 4 miles and then my 10k!!! Cross your fingers, I really want to run it under an hour! :)

A little SUNSHINE!

Aww, thanks Kayte for the sunshine! :)

I'm gonna give a little sunshine to....

• 
  
  My Daily Discovery
• 
  
  Racing With Babies
• 
  
  Asthma and The Gift of Running
• 
  
  That Girl's a Running Fool
• 
  
  Finishing is Winning
• 
  
  Running Barefoot
• 
  
  Tall Mom on the Run
• 
  
  Endurance Isn't Only Physical
• 
  
  The Happy Runner
• 
  
  Mom vs. Marathon
• 
  
  One Foot in Front of The Other
• 
  
  Adventures in Running

Our Race Shirts!

My mom and I thought it would be fun to make some shirts to wear when we run our marathons. It's always been a theme in our family that we can do hard things, so we had to make it a part of the shirt.

Here's my shirt. I really like it! Orange is my favorite color so I had to include it in there some where. The little words at the bottom are me thanking everyone for helping me along my journey.

Here's Jason's shirt! I thought it was funny. I'm really excited to see him in it!

Here's my momma's shirt! As you can tell and in case you didn't know, I was named after my mom which makes this race/shirt even cooler. :) I'm so excited to do this with her. She's going to do the 1/2 marathon and I'm doing the whole. Technically we won't even be running together cause she starts at the 1/2 way point and she will finish about 2.5 hours before me, but it's still awesome to be able to do this together.

My dad's shirt! I can totally see my dad wearing this one. :) The little words say Sierra Leone Freetown South Africa Mission 2010-2113 We can do hard things! He's gotta represent! lol!

I'm SOOOO excited for my marathon! It's going to be AMAZING!
The shirts will be coming in the next couple weeks! Yay!!

Oh, I forgot!!! I had been looking EVERWHERE for a place to do our shirts, but they were all wanting $47+ for shirts plus shipping and they weren't even that cool, but last night I saw Long Legs on the Loose's post and saw her cool sports bra. customizedgirl.com  has GREAT athletic/wicking shirts and they're great priced too! Oh, and you can find coupons for 20% off here.

Runnin' without music.

I got my 3 miler in today. I was putting it off until about 1:30 when I started crashing. The past couple of days at around noon I start to crash and feel REALLY tired. I really gotta change my diet around. I think I'm eating too much sugar and not enough protein. Yeah, I don't think 2 cookies and a Reese's heart was a great lunch. I crashed hard. But, rather than take a nap I got all ready and went for a run.

I tried out my new running skirt. It's still too cold to run in just the skirt and I'm still not 100% comfortable with just the skirt, so I wore my capri length tights too. It kept me pretty warm. It was in the low 40s this afternoon, but the wind was blowing pretty good so it was nice to have an extra little layer.  My ipod was dead so I ran without music, which kinda sucked, but not too bad. I felt SOOO slow, but I was actually going faster than I thought. I was running around an 11min mile the whole time.

Tomorrow is the big 9 miler! I can do this!!! I've gotta get myself to bed cause the alarm's going off at 4:30 so I have LOTS of time to run before my 7:00 weigh in. I'm so excited to run it and then weigh in at WW.

 I don't think I'll lose this week, but oh well. This next week I'm going to do MUCH better with tracking my food and eating healthy. With all the running I'm doing I really need to eat better. I need more protein and more veggies.

Tomorrow's going to be a good day! :)