Friday Confessions 5.31.13

It's Friday AGAIN! Time to confess and come clean before the weekend.
Here goes:
I confess that it has been 2 weeks since I have confessed. Last week I stuck to my plan all week long. I did not give into the temptation of Key Lime pie and Eclair cake on Monday, nor did I cave to chocolate cream cheese cake. I was making headway. Then, a holiday weekend. Things fell apart a bit.
I confess that I ate out several times, enjoyed every bite, spent an evening with friends for Memorial Day and enjoyed my food then too.
Then stepped back into full plan on Tuesday. I confess, I haven't been as steadfast this week, and I can tell a difference. I feel sluggish and yucky, so with the monthly lunch outing over with as of today, I can refocus and re-commit.
I confess that I tried my feet at running this week. A three mile run/walk with a running friend. I confess I was very thankful that she reached out to me. I needed a push to see what I could do.  Did my foot hurt, oh, you betcha. Was it worth it? Oh yes. I saw this on facebook this week:

And I am still very frustrated that I am not running like I want to be, like I was this time last year. So maybe, I am still a runner. I was beginning to wonder.
I confess that I have switched from my beloved Black tea to green and herbal blends. It wasn't a conscience choice or effort, it just kind of happened. I confess that my new evening tea has me quite enamoured. This Hibiscus tea is delightful! With a drop of raw honey, it it tastes like I'm really cheating.

Lastly, a good friend of our's has listed a unique vacation property in Northern California. We stayed there some years ago, and have very fond memories. If you find yourself headed in that direction, check this place out. I confess, and promise, that you will be glad you did. It's a bit rustic, so you've been warned, but also a place you will never forget. 

Redwood Tower on Wild Lost Coast

What are YOU confessing this week?

Head over to Aubrey @ High-Heeled Love to join the confessing!
Pin It Now!

Rock My Run!!

This is an endless Runner debate. Run with or without music? Most have a definite opinion and either love it or hate it. There is research that supports the benefit of using music, and there are purists who believe running "naked" - without any gadgets is the way to go.

When I first started running I didn't listen to music. But the sound of my gasping and grunting started getting to me, so I turned to tunes. And found I loved running with music in my ears.

But I usually run early in the morning - in the dark, with a headlamp on my forehead and a flashing light attached to the back of my shirt. I want to make sure I am seen by drivers. I want to hear cars, and feel I need to be especially watchful. And I have my dog with me too - so I have to kind of keep an eye on him. I can't take too many distractions - so no music on early mornings.

I started with music during races. It helped me with pace, and kept my mind off the fact that I had to keep running and breathing until the end. Most songs were inspirational in lyrics. "Titanium" by Rihanna has gotten me up many a hill - sometimes in my ears, sometimes in my chant.


Lately, I haven't been running to music at all. Weekdays, I've been running early. And on Saturdays I've been running with a group - it's much more fun to talk and chit/chat. 
But I will run with music again, hopefully soon, because it's a nice escape once in a while. I recently discovered Rock my Run. It's a really neat website that offers running mixes. And they are mixed together so that they transition smoothly from one song to the next.  DJ's upload their offerings, and each mix "costs" between 1 and 3 credits.  But, check this out, you get one credit just for signing up (and you can sign up with your Facebook account), and you get one credit each month after. So if you're not in a hurry for music, you could get one every month or two. And you can always buy credits as well. 
From their website - "Rock My Run is a product of Rock My World, Inc., a business focused on providing GREAT workout music for active people. Specifically, Rock My Run provides running mixes, designed by popular, professional DJ’s that will increase the enjoyment and performance of a person’s workout or race.

People interested in a more enjoyable running experience come to Rock My Run and are able to find mixes that have music they love, in a variety of lengths, genres and (eventually) paces. Plus, all of the mixes have a listing of the songs that are in the mix so runners always know what they're getting!"
I downloaded my first mix last week, and I LOVE it. It's fabulous 80's music - the title of the mix is (and I love this!!) Miles & Mullets!! How awesome is that? And unless you are an 80's graduate, you may not get  the whole mullet thing.
Description for "Miles & Mullets" - Dust off that leather Guns & Roses jacket and lace up your high tops! DJ Rock Right has 30 minutes of hair and testosterone from the finest rock bands of the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. It is straight up mullet madness as you look back at all the classics that gave the middle finger to pop music and banged their heads in rebellion. This mix is about 30 minutes.

This past Saturday, I had a 5K race - so I downloaded my second mix Grrl Power 2!  This mix was created by world-famous DJ Mike Czech, and 100% lyrically powerful, 100% clean and (nearly) 100% powered by female vocals. The BPM in this mix does vary a bit over the course of the mix and rather than finishing with a high BPM thrust at the end, drops down into some lower tempo, but equally motivating tracks, before finishing with a brief cool down. This one is about 45 minutes long.

They have at least 100 different mixes, and when searching for your perfect one, they can be filtered by genre, BPM,  length, DJ, and clean or explicit lyrics. I really like the fact that I can search for only clean lyrics. 

I've tried creating my own mixes, with Itunes, and other software that supposedly groups songs together with the same/similar BPM. But it's tedious and there's always a song or two that I skip over during the run because it doesn't fit. I love the fact that these mixes are seamless, and I can preview all the songs included before I decide to download. I'm looking forward to more awesome mixes to add to my shuffle for those days I do run with music.

Check them out for yourself! And remember, you will get your first credit just for signing up!

What say you? Run/exercise with or without music? What's your go-to song?

Pin It Now!

Ache or Break - Ache Around the Lake 5K 2012

Beautiful Lake Lanier

This was the 7th Annual Ache Around the Lake. A great fundraiser race for our small, local hospital. Every one wins with this race. There are two options - the certified 8K Ache (and it is an Ache) or the 2-mile fun/run/walk Ouch (it still hurts too).

My goal going into the Ache 8K this year was to PR (get a personal record). This was my third consecutive year, and each year I've improved. A good sign. Last year's time was 58:07 minutes. So all I had to do was get 58:06 or better and I would PR.

I trained a lot for this race, followed the Tryon Running Club beginner training plan almost to the "T". I surprised myself with my determination and focus.

Then a week and a half before the race, I started thinking that I wasn't going to be able to beat my time. It is an awful head game. I didn't think I had run enough, or run fast enough, or far enough. The Saturday before we had a training run around the lake. My friend, Laura (who blogs her own experiences at My Healthy Challenge) was my coach for the day. She gave me super racing advise and made me sprint up the hills. Not just attack the hills, but then we ran a little bit more over the top. "I've. got. to. stop." I would gasp. "Not, till the sign", or fence, or mailbox, she would say. Pushing us to go farther. At one point I truly thought I was going to vomit. I mentioned this in passing. She said something like "it's okay to throw up, then keep going"...something like that. Thankfully I didn't toss my cookies, and I did bust the hills, at least in the beginning. I got a little too zealous on one particular hill and I hit a wall for 1/2 mile or so.

She told me to go with the downhills, use the pull of gravity to my advantage, putting time in the bank. I usually slow down at the top of hard hills, to catch my breath, but I started going faster downhill, and practiced catching my breath at the same time.

After this training run I was pumped, I was going to PR! Awesome.

Then about 3 days later, I was worried again. Thinking I wasn't going to make it. My head was messed up. I was driving my husband crazy, so I just let it go. That night we watched the movie "The Vow". I was stressed thinking about the race, and a few other things on my mind as well. The movie was emotional, I cried through just about all of it. And boy, did I feel better when it was over. I slept great, decided I was going to have a good run, and it would be enough. Settled.

I had family coming in, so took Friday off to clean my house. That's the best time to get your cleaning done - when people are coming. I should invite people over more often.

After registration, sporting my fabulous Bia shirt.

Team Leaphart

Saturday morning came really early, like 4:50am early. And I could not go back to sleep. So about 5:30am I got up, dressed, made hot tea and started my breakfast - 1/2 bagel w/ peanut butter, 1/2 banana slices and drizzled honey. The same thing before every race. My sister and nephew were up, fed, and we took off. Met my parents at registration and went to the start.

Just a brief side note -- thank goodness for the porta-potties!

My biggest question early Saturday morning was "Where is the 58 degree weather we had Friday???" It was 70 degrees and humid! Not great at all. I was congested, and had trouble breathing the first 2 miles.






At the race start I was among friends. That is one of the best things about our running club - such a nice, 

supportive community. I honestly don't feel competition with anyone, I was there to beat myself. And to my surprise I was not nervous. I normally feel slightly agitated and anxious before a race. I was the calmest I had ever been before a race, maybe because I had cut the mind game off mid week.

At any rate, my plan was to run my ass off for the first mile and get time in the bank. Then run strong on the hills and fast down them. I ran the first mile and a half without stopping. Up and over "Grunt Hill" - which is one of the worst first hills on a race course EVER. My first mile was 10:26. My second 10-something mile, ever. I was rockin it. Then about mile 2, I hit a wall, had to ease up a bit. But kept going, kept strong.

I caught up with a 60-something guy and we were together for the last 2 miles or so. We'd pass one another, catch up, walk a bit together. He looked over at me and said, you look familiar - what's your name? I told him. Then I said "I think you've probably cleaned my teeth a couple of times." I knew who HE was - a local, retired dentist, who also lived on the lake. We chatted of and on about the course - gasping and grunting through our conversation. At the end I pulled away, seeing that I had very little room to make my PR. I busted the last quarter mile and he came in shortly behind me. When we could breathe, we congratulated each other. Later I checked the finishing times from last year, and he and I were within the same amount of time last year as well. Both finishing a little bit faster this year.

One of my nephews did the 2-mile Ouch - his first race. He started walking, then the running bug hit and he ran/walked the rest of the way. He SAYS he wants to do it again next year with his brother, we'll see. But I'm thrilled that he was there and had a great time!

Here I am - almost to the finish and SMILING! I love the way my hair is catchin' some air.

I can see the end, digging in!

My official time was 57:18.44 - so I beat my time by 49 seconds. I was elated! I saw the clock with 57-something on it and I ran as fast as I could. My friends and family were rooting for me, calling out my name and taking pictures. What more could a girl want? It was a beautiful way to end a race.

What's next?

Moonshiner 5K Night Trail Race, this Friday.

Have you met a fitness goal lately? Do you need to set a goal? Do you have any races on your "bucket list'?

Pin It Now!

Friday Confessions 9.21.12

Well, it's time to 'fess up again. Time flies - seems like I just did this!

I confess that I'm borderline nervous about my 8K tomorrow - Ache Around the Lake. I'll be glad when it's started. Once I start I can focus on my steps, my breathing and getting up and over the hills (they are pretty torturous). It's not called an "Ache" for nothin'. 

My 90 day challenge is going well, and in fact today is day 30 - so there will be an update post soon, hopefully by the end of the weekend. I'll retake my sexy porn photos (my before, during and after photos), take my measurements and weigh myself. I confess, although it's been a good month, I'm not keen on taking those pictures!



Yesterday was baking day at work, and since the first day of Fall is almost upon us - we celebrated the Great Pumpkin with "Pumpkin Dump Cake". 

Oh. My. The recipe makes one 9X13 pan, so we doubled the recipe and made 4 8X8's. We have a reputation on Thursdays that we have to live up. Lots of goodies for whomever (almost) wants some. And the group I have is not interested in watching me do all they work, they actually want to stir, mix, crack the eggs and be involved in the process. So we have to make lots of whatever we make.

Our group went over time, so I confess that this is not a picture of the one we baked, but it's really close.

It was super-easy - has to be for us to use it in our baking group, and EVERYONE loved it. I myself could have eaten an entire pan, but limited myself to a semi normal sized portion. 

The recipe I had printed out read "serve with whipped topping or ice cream", and the resident I had reading the recipe for me kept going to that. "Caroline, this says 'serve with whipped topping or ice cream.'" The first time or two I am very patient - "Yum, wouldn't that be good?" After 4 times I say "Well, sorry, we don't have any of either." So there. After we all tasted it though, it didn't matter anymore. It was really good. This would wonderful for Thanksgiving. 

Here's the recipe if you are interested for yourself:

Pumpkin Dump Cake

Ingredients:
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
3 large eggs
1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 (18 oz.) box yellow cake mix
1 - 1½ cups chopped pecans 
1 cup butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease bottom of 9x13″ pan.  

Mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  Pour mixture into greased pan.  Sprinkle dry cake mix over pumpkin mixture and top with pecans.  Drizzle melted butter over pecans.  

Bake 40-50 minutes or until edges brown.

Let sit 15 minutes before serving.


What are you confessing this week? What's your favorite fall-season food?

If you want to join in - hit the button to head over to High Heeeld Love. She's hosting while Mamarazzi takes a bloggy break.

Pin It Now!

Friday Confessions 8.31.12

Confessions, confessions....

I confess that I won't get to age 45 without needing glasses. For the past 2 years my eye doctor has told me that my vision is slightly worse than the year before, but not bad enough to do anything, yet. Yet is here. She actually told me I could get two pairs of glasses, one pair for driving, and one pair for reading. She also said I could just pick one, or none if I wanted to slide by one more year. I opted for reading. You see, I tried on an old pair of my hubby's the other day, and wow, there really was a difference!!

My new specs have red frames (of course), and hopefully they will make me look smart, as well as read a little better.

I confess I finished week one! Check it out here.

I made a scrumptious cake this week for a birthday. I confess that I wanted to eat more of it than I did. It was a Peanut Butter Fudge Cake.

I confess that I am enjoying my 8K running training program. So far I've gotten all the suggested runs. Only three weeks left until Ache Around the Lake!

After running for over a year, I finally feel I can call myself a runner. To celebrate this fact I bought myself this:

I love it!

What are you confessing this week? To join up, hit the button below and start your confessing!





Pin It Now!

Better Me Countdown - Days 9, 10 & results!

Counting down to the 10th day of this Beach Body Challenge...Results will be revealed at the bottom of this post.

My sister, Mary and I decided to take the plunge and jump into a 90 day challenge with our coach. Mary is blogging her experiences here.

I'll still be running 3x a week, and then supplementing with a Beach Body program called Chalean Extreme. So I probably won't follow the BB program exactly, but I will be working hard.

I still have my 8K coming up in September - Ache Around the Lake. It's a very hard course, with lots of hills and switchbacks. But it was my first race, so it's one of my favorites.

I'm a bit nervous about 90 days - can I commit for that long? I will be a part of a face book support group, will continue to post my food/exercise daily (hopefully daily), get support, give support and continue to make a positive difference in my life.

I've learned a few things during these very short 10 days:

• planning is imperative, and for my OCD self - this means planning breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner and workouts. It just makes the days easier and smoother.
• early morning workouts are getting slightly easier. it's great to get it out of the way. And if I tell someone I'm going to do it, that makes me much more likely to actually do it (instead of just thinking it would be a good idea to get up early....)
• supportive friends and family are worth more than a pound of cheesecake (well at least equally tied, just kidding silly). having someone cheer you on and make you do the things you don't feel like doing is real love and commitment.
• real food just makes you feel better - in lots of ways, and I won't count them, just trust me. I'm trying to eat food that doesn't have a shelf life, has ingredients I can pronounce (and recognize), and that will go bad in a hurry if I don't eat it.
• exercise that makes you sweat really does give you a nicer  mood, and in my two-person family - "if Caroline is happy, we're all happy."

I won't be blogging everyday, but will shoot for weekly updates, and monthly results.

Soooo, drum rolllllll please.....

The results from my 10 days to a better me challenge:

Weight loss - 4.6 pounds
Waist - 1 inch

Very impressive! Can't wait to see what the numbers (and my body) will look like at the end of 90 days!

Pin It Now!

Better Me Day Three (7 to go)

I really, really wanted rain this morning. Buckets and buckets of rain. It stormed and rained most of the night, so when I got up at 5:30am (my alarm worked, and no snooze), I immediately checked outside for rain. None. Just lots of humidity. So my 5-mile run was still on. Oh boy.

It was a tough run - my feet and hips were hurting, and it's been a while since I've attempted 5 hilly miles. I was slow, and not so sure. But did get it done. It wasn't my worst time, but it did take me and hour and nine minutes.

Lots of room for improvement between today and September 22 - Ache Around the Lake 8K. Last year I finished in 58 minutes, and I would like to beat that time this year, even if it's only by one minute.

But the good news is that exercise is DONE for today!! I had thought about trying to get out of it last night, but then heard from my sister who is also doing this challenge that she was going to have to do her run this morning. Well, hell, then I felt like I HAD to do mine this morning too. So we suffered together, so to speak.

Food has been on track today:

Pre-run - 1/2 banana, water

Recovery - 1 cup 1% choc milk

B  - Shake, 1/2 banana, honey, water

MS - Oats & Blueberries, almonds

L - Grilled chicken on greens, blue cheese, strawberries, balsamic dressing

AS - nonfat fage w/ minneola tangerine, almonds

D - salmon, brown rice, sauteed onions, peppers & spinach

Workout - 5 mile run/walk Pin It Now!

Better Me Day Two (8 to go)

I woke up a little after midnight with a splitting headache. I'm sure it was the toxins crying out for more junk in my body. Only one healthy day, and my body rebels. That should tell you what kind of a diet I've had lately. I was awake about an hour, then drifted into a very deep sleep.

This morning did not start well. Yesterday my alarm didn't go off at all. Today it alarmed on schedule at 6:15am, and I immediately hit the snooze button - about 4 times in a row. Then turned it off completely, and when I woke up it was 8:05am. Ugh! Not good! And I really should have washed my hair this morning, especially since I knocked out 3 miles last night in high humidity, but just no time.

I texted the girls at work and let them know I was running late, and then focused on getting my food ready. No time for the blender, so I broke out my new blender bottle for my shake this morning. It has a little wire ball inside that mixes everything up. It worked really well.

I had all my food ready in the frigde, so I just had to throw it in my lunch bag this morning. It really helps me to take a few minutes each night to get my snacks/lunch ready. 

Lunch today was soooo good. I had sauteed veggies last night, and made enough for my chicken pita sandwich today. I heated the veggies with some raw spinach in the microwave and it was just really good. I also had a couple slices of an heirloom tomato and 1/3 of an avocado. When I stuffed it in the pita, it all fell apart, so I just cut it up and ate it like a salad. I used my balsamic dressing to drizzle on it all.  For dessert I had a Minneola tangerine. A great meal. Can you tell that I really enjoyed this lunch? Everyone at the table kept telling me how good it looked. And the best part? It was healthy! 

Here is my food for the day:

B - Shake w/ PB2 & unsweetened almond milk
MS - plain fat-free Fage greek yogurt & strawberries - I really like the plain Fage, even though it's 0% fat - it tastes creamy to me.
L - Grilled chicken pita w/ veggies & avocado, tangerine
AF - small apple w/ peanut butter
D - Salad w/ grilled chicken, sunflower seeds, strawberries, blue cheese & balsamic dressing

Workout - Ripped in 30 (Jillian Michaels) 

Recovery - 1/2 cup 1% Choc milk

My yummy dinner salad:

By the way, I'm doing this with my sister Mary - you can read about her experience here on her 40 by 40 blog.

Pin It Now!

Better Me Day One (9 to go)

First day of my ten day healthy challenge. First day of training for my upcoming 8K (Sept 22). I set my alarm for 5:55am. The plan was to be out of the house and running 3 miles by 6:05am. And I would have too...

If my alarm had gone off....it's on the fritz. It's done this before, and no, I did not hit the snooze button (this time).

So this had me frazzled. I didn't want to start off both challenges in the hole so to speak. But didn't have time to run before work, so focused on food.

Fixed my shake - added a small banana, PB2, ice, chocolate shake powder and blended it all up. It was very, very frothy. Very thick, and very chocolaty. Next time I will add more ice. It wasn't terrible, it was actually tasty, but I think it would have been better colder. So more ice next time. Next time meaning tomorrow.

My food choices were all clean today - no junk. I'm already feeling withdrawals from my many-cookie a day habit I had. 

I got my run/walk in about 45 minutes after dinner. It's very humid, and for some reason my hips were feeling the run, so I had to walk more than I wanted to, but I felt good about getting in the distance.

Tomorrow will be Ripped in 30 DVD, then 5 mile run/walk on Wed.

Our coach wants us to eat every 3 hours so MS - Morning snack, AS - Afternoon snack.



Here's my food for the day:

B - Shake w/ banana, almond milk & PB2

MS - 1/2 cup oats & strawberries

L - salad w/ grilled chicken, blue cheese, sunflower seeds, w/ Balsamic dressing

AS - WASA cracker w/ laughing cow cheese, red pepper slices, 1 cup popcorn

D - Grilled chicken, 1/3 cup brown rice, sauteed onions, peppers, mushrooms, spinach - drizzled with balsamic vinegar

Exercise - 3 mile run/walk

Recovery - 1 cup 1% chocolate milk

Here's a photo of my fabulous dinner:

Pin It Now!

Sweat Your Thorns off - Virtual Race Report 8.4.12

This was my first Virtual Race. And it was interesting. I printed off my race bib - it was very cool. I was psyched that I got the #1 , then I forgot it when I left the house. Bummer. 

Today was a planned track day with my local running club, TRC. So, good thing this was a virtual race. I could lie and say that I did a normal 3.1 run. But that would be a total lie. So I did the track workout with my buddies (which came out to about 1.5 miles), then added on the extra 1.6 miles to bring my total to 3.1.

Our club had a running clinic this past Tuesday with local Coach Katie Malone of Malone Coaching. So the track workout was a practice of what we learned - skipping (thankfully there was hardly anyone there this morning at 7:30am - unlike the night of the clinic when we skipped by soccer players and their fans, IE moms & dads), butt kicks, high knees and recovery laps.


The only photo i have to show for my efforts is the group photo we took this morning. I'm the one on the left with the pink hat. Not entirely embarrassing, but not great either. I SHOULD have my cool #1 bib on that black & white tank!!

Sure didn't break any records out there today! It was my personal worst 5K at 39:11. But did sweat a lot due to the very high humidity and had fun with other runners. I waved and said hello to all the runners and stayed hydrated. That's all I have to say about the pointers offered from our Race Director.

If you are interested, "Sweat Your Thorns Off 5K" is sponsored by The Boring Runner.


Next race is, hopefully, the Maggie Valley Moonlight 8K in August and ongoing Ache Around the Lake 8K training (Sept 22). And while I won't be running the Tryon 1/2 this year, I will be training for it. 


Till next time - run to live!

Pin It Now!

The Runner Clean Bottle - Why didn't I think of this?

Last week, I was reading one of my many stacked up magazines and came across this cool new bottle. The Clean Bottle. You can open it from both ends, so you can get all the nasty, yucky junk out that builds up in the bottom of  these types of bottles. Gross, yea, but also cool.

Even cooler, is The Runner, which is a pouch that attaches to the bottle and is designed to stay put. Large enough for iphones, ipods, smart phones, keys, gels - all the stuff you think you might need on your run, walk, bike, whatever.

I just ordered The Runner and two bottles off their website - Clean Bottle.

I could have thought of this myself, but I didn't. Kudos to Dave for this superb idea! Check out the video - I think you'll agree this is a terrific product. 

(This are entirely my own opinions!)

Pin It Now!

Bia: A GPS Sports Watch for Women that Men Want Too

I just found out about a new Ladies sports watch that will be on the market in April 2013. I have a Garmin 305 now, and for those of you who know - this thing is humongous. Very unladylike. Very bulky. And I am constantly fidgeting with it on my wrist. Don't get me wrong, I love what it does for me - shows my pace, my time, my distance, heart rate and all the data I've come to love.


But wouldn't it be awesome to have all this, with a safety alert for peace of mind on solo-runs, and a smaller, sleeker design? Well, if the funding comes in, we could have all this - by April 2013.


This watch was designed by women, for women. Of course when it comes out, men are going to want one too. This is what we've been waiting on ladies - please take a look.


This watch not only provides (quick) GPS technology (without the awful standing around, staring at my watch syndrome), and has a built in safety alert to send information to loved ones and emergency services with the push of a button when you can't grab your phone. One of the founders, Cheryl Kellond, says they designed it because they heard over and over from women how they were afraid to run alone, or at night, or early in the morning, or on trails (basically this sounds like everywhere). Cheryl agrees that while this won't solve everything, and it's only part of an overall defensive running strategy, it plays a roll in allowing us to keep our freedom and give our loved ones peace of mind. (info retrieved for this paragraph from Shut Up + Run)


The safety feature alone is worth good money - it will send an email with coordinates of your location to a loved one and emergency services. A three-second click that could save your life.


I've checked out the info, and I believe in this product -so much so that I've backed them. 


You can too (for as little as $1) - check out the Bia Sports Watch, watch the short video on their Kickstarter page and see for yourself. They have until July 14, 2012 to get their pledges in order to get Bia ready for market. Go support them!

OH, AND ABOUT THE NAME BIA...

Bia is the greek goddess of force and power; she is also Nike's younger sister. 

Still have questions? Check out their FAQ page.

Ergonomically designed.

Much smaller than standard GPS watch

I would love to have one of these on my wrist next Spring!

Pin It Now!

Gone to the dogs.....Coon Dog Day 5K

This is how I felt from the start of this race! It was really, really hot and humid. I hadn't run any length in almost 2 weeks. But I had registered, so I was going to do this race run. And I got a very cool tech t-shirt.

The Coon Dog Day festival in Saluda, NC is the 49th annual celebration for dogs and their people. What began as a chicken supper fundraiser for the local Coon Club has grown into an event that attracts 10,000 people each year. 

Live entertainment started at 9am, and continued until the end of the street dance at 11pm. The parade is a favorite event, and consists of mostly homemade floats, tractors, fire trucks, horses, motorcycles, dogs and the reigning Coon Dog Royalty Court. All in all, a lively local event.

But to be honest, I skipped the whole festival because I wanted to attend my best friend's annual Floatilla. What on earth is a floatilla? A Tubing extravaganza on the Green River, Saluda, NC. It was the perfect conclusion to an ill-run race. I LOVE tubing.

This is my friend's mother. Notice the paddle in her hand - we all have these wonderful paddles. She gave me mine for Christmas after my first year attending. Each year we wood-burn the year onto the handle. Proves we were there I guess. But the paddles really make us the envy on the river.

But, I digress, back to the 5K race report:

Of course, there were coon dogs there too.

I don't like it when races start out with hills, and this one did. When I do my training runs, I always carry water or watered down Gatorade. I should have had some with me today, but I was thinking - it's only 3 miles. And I didn't want to look like a wimp. But it hurt me today. There was only 1 water station, right after the first mile. I could have used another one at mile two.

There were rolling hills until the last mile, and for the most part, that was all downhill. That was nice. I wasn't going for a PR - I haven't been running regularly for the last month, well, really since the Mud Run in June. I haven't gotten my groove back. 

Here's a picture of me near the finish line - I look pained. And I guess I was. I picked up my pace when I knew the end was near. Not one of my better races, at all. I just wanted it to be over.

But I have two 8k's coming up in August - Maggie Valley Moolight, and in September - Ache Around the Lake. 

Ache Around the Lake was my very first race 2 years ago. It was an ambitious beginning, because it's a very tough 5 mile course. Big hills until the last 1/2 mile. I thought I would actually die the very first time I attempted to run the route.


But it just happens to take place on the little lake where I live, so I was faced with it every year for the past 11 years, so two years ago I decided to go for it. Three years ago, I started with the "easier" 2-mile Ouch. I walked that with  a 90 year old woman, and we came in dead last. Of course, I later overheard her telling someone that she "couldn't get rid of that girl that walked with me". I was standing less than 2 feet away, but maybe she wanted me to hear...


So this week I will work on getting back on a running schedule. 


Our Tryon Running Club is offering a Running Clinic the end of July with Katie Malone of Malone Coaching. Katie is a triathlete herself and coaches other triathletes and runners. It will be a great learning opportunity for me. 


Will I participate in the Coon Dog Day 5K next year? Mmmm, the jury's still out on that one. 

Pin It Now!

Friday Confessions 6.29.12

It's time to get it all on the table - if you want to join in, just click the link at the bottom (hosted by Mamarazzi)


I've been running just over a year now. And I confess that I have aspirations to be able to run farther, regularly (than 3 miles) and faster (than I am now). But I am just glad to be pounding the pavement.


Also, with running, I confess that one of the reasons that I like running with music is that I can't hear myself breath - and believe me, that's a good thing. I am huffing and puffing and sound like someone gasping for their last breath. After about a mile it calms down a bit, but that first little bit is kinda disturbing.


I confess that I have discovered body glide. Without going into details that will leave you with mental images you may not be able to shake, I'll just say body glide is a wonderful thing.

Says "Great for Feet" - that's not where I use it.

I have been home all week on my "stay-cation", and I confess that it has been rather relaxing. I've been able to shop during the day, get a spa peddi, and hit the tanning bed (no judging, please).


I confess that I am super-duper excited about seeing "The Lion King" this weekend at the Peace Center in Greenville, SC with a good friend. I bought the tickets for her birthday, (and for me too!).

I confess that the crock pot bread (which you can find here) did not turn out as well as I'd hoped. But my normal method for Almost No-Knead Bread did, which made me happy.

I confess that I checked out Coast to Coast blogging,  (thanks to Aubry at High Heeled Love). Whispering Sweet Nothings has created a cool interactive blogging map.

Click the button and check it out, then add your bloggin' self as well.

Lastly, I confess that I when I figured out how to add a blog button on my blog, I was oh so proud of myself! I also created an avatar. I love all things google - and last night it was Picasa coming to my rescue. 

What are you confessing this week? Hit the link to join the fun!

Pin It Now!