:: most versatile blogger award ::

Courtney over at Run Courtney Run passed on the “most versatile blogger” award to me.  But am I really versatile?  Versatile:  A. Changing or fluctuating readily B. Embracing a wide variety of subjects, fields or skills  …. the verdict is still out there…    But!  Thanks Lady, I feel so special and loved by you! :o)

ANYWAY…. Once someone passes this award onto you, you are suppose to post 7 things about yourself and then pass it on to 15 bloggers.   Think chain letter of the blogging world.  I am normally not one to pass on email forwards or chain letters, but I thought this would be a good chance to break out of the running, weight loss, and fitness mode for many of my favorite bloggers.  So with that introduction… onto 7 things about me and then the 15 people I nominate to pass on the award.

:: 7 fun facts about barbie ;:

1. I am a reality television show junkie.  The fact that Jill Zarin from the Real Housewives of NYC finds me awesome and entertaining enough to follow on Twitter makes me happy.
2. I work in the staffing & recruiting industry. some days it drives me nutty other days i cannot imagine myself doing anything else.
3. I have an odd obsession with highlighters, wrapping paper, and lip balm.
4. I feel like my life is in a holding pattern since I do not know if I am staying in Atlanta or moving back to DC.  I want to volunteer with an organization called Girls on the Run, but I do not want to get too invested & involved and then up and move. I want to be loyal.
5. I wish I had more time to sit on the balcony and read my book and drink wine or blue moon beer.  There just isn’t enough time in the day.
6. I would love to spend a summer doing nothing but traveling the country going to concerts (with lawn seats).  I wouldn’t follow just 1 band… I would see as many bands as I possible could in 3 months.
7. I met my boyfriend while working at Logan’s Roadhouse.  We bonded over sweeping peanuts off the floor.

:: 15 bloggers that I love … in no particular order ::

1. Erin - From Fat to Fab
2. Tammy - My Quest to Tackle the Charleston Distance Run
3. Allie - That Girl is a Running Fool
4. Laura – My Reason to Run
5. Adam – I Am Boring
6. Aron – Runner’s Rambles
7. Lee & Isis – The Running Couple
8. Jess  - Stardust
9. Ericah – I Run Because… I can
10. milegemayvary
11. michele – run michele run
12. beth – shut up and run
13. jamie – running diva mom
14. amy – live laugh love run
15. Team in Training Georgia Blog !!

…now lets see who actually does this in their spare time. 

Rocks.

Mulligan decided to eat rocks this past week and decided to throw them up on Saturday morning at 6:19 am. It was awesome.

Mulligan sleeps with Kyle and me.... by our feet, under the covers. At 6:19 I heard dry heaving.. he got booted out of bed and then blah. Needless to say it was an easy throw up to clean up since it was rocks and more rocks.

The vet of course wanted to see him. $175 & 1 x-ray later we learned that Mull "dodged the bullet" and that rocks in the intestines = surgery. ....yeah, we couldn't have afforded that so luckily he puked them all up.

He is on playtime probation. We watch him like a hawk now. Oh dog.

Puppy for sale ... only 50 cents.

Friday Favorite - Words To Sweat By

A lot of blogs lately have been talking about these cute little towels created by Words to Sweat By for their in the gym workouts. They are created to make you giggle, motivate you, or motivate you while you're giggling. After trying and trying to win one in a blog giveaway and never doing so, I decided to pull the trigger, spend $8.00, and buy one. Afterall, I have been needing a towel for spin class since my dog has shredded all the little towels and no I am not brining a big towel to the gym like a fool. I know, I know... how can a towel be a favorite thing... but if you have ever done spin class you know how key a towel can be and what I like most about these towels are that they are cute, funny, and motivating (the price tag isn't too bad either). Not only are these towels great for spin class, but they're perfect for sessions on the elliptical & treadmill - not only to wipe your brow but to also cover up the timer so you aren't tempted to keep looking down. I love how the towels are actually soft (100% cotton), hold up well in the wash, and are shipped insanely fast. *after some investigative research I learned that all the towels are prewashed to ensure they do not shrink and I am guessing that is why they're already soft.* They also are great conversation starters but what I love most is that they're just unique and fun.

I of course bought the pink one that talks about cupcakes because I love pink and well am obsessed with anything cupcake and honestly, I have been quite happy. Sure, any towel would work fine... but why not have a fun, funky towel to make you WANT to go to the gym?!

Also! One of my fellow Team in Training people (who I have never met but her and I motivate each other via social media) is hosting a fundraiser with Words to Sweat By. SO! If you're interested in purchasing one of these snazzy towels, a portion of the profits will go towards Courtney's fundraising efforts to raise money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Between May 15 and June 15 30% of each towel & 25% of each keychain will be donated back to her. All you have to do is enter the code "runcourtrun"

Proposed Marine Corp Marathon Training Plan.

I need a schedule to keep to.  I have my planned out schedule on miles and long runs but I think I need to keep to a schedule for everything.  Organized, I think so.

If anyone has suggestions, please feel free to throw them out.

On top of all this, I want to really do the 200 sit up program.  I need to build my core. 

Sun.	Mon.	Tues.	Wed.	Thurs.	Fri.	Sat.
Long Run 200 situps	Planned miles - Run	1 hour Spin Class + 2 mile run 200 situps	Rest Day 200 situps	Speed Work & 30 minutes elliptical 200 situps	Planned miles- Run	30 minute swim 200 situps

I do not want to throw in any 5ks or 10ks unless I think they will be super beneficial to my training… like notoriously hilly or a known hard course. I do want to plan for a half marathon before Marine Corps and I am thinking the Nashville Women’s Half.

I knocked out my 2nd swim and it is getting easier!  wahoo!! Hope everyone had a good weekend!!

brookhaven bolt 2010 & my runiversary

I guess you can call this my runiversary. this time last year, i laced up for my first run in over a year to begin training for the Nike women’s half marathon with team in training. yes, you read that right. i went into a 5k to start training. i went into a 5k 100% unprepared but because i just wanted to do it. i remember thinking ehh how hard can 3.1 miles be?! Well, I remember it not being easy, the hills kicking my butt, and being thankful that I ran into friends that I could walk with …i cannot fully remember how long my first ever Brookhaven Bolt and first ever 5k took me, but I feel like it was pushing 40 minutes.

I decided to celebrate the event/day with running the Brookhaven Bolt again this year and had many hopes that I would have a better showing. Well… I kinda did, I was no where near happy with my performance as I hope to be, but the day started off a bit rough.  I overslept.  My alarm went of at 6:30 am – M-F Alarm – and I hit dismiss thinking I could rely on Kyle’s alarm… the one he never turns off until this weekend!  Yikes.  I woke up at 7:18 for a 8:00 start.  Thank god I slept in my running shorts & sports bra.  Threw on a shirt, popped in the contacts, brushed my teeth, threw my hair in a pony tail, grabbed my shoes, and ran out the door. A sign that this was going to be a mess of a race was when I parked my car, got out, passed a volunteer on her cell phone, and then was chased down to say I couldn’t park there.  Why wasn’t I told when I got out of my car, oh oh because she was too busy chatting it up with a girlfriend. As I got up to the packet pickup table the disorganization really started.  I waited in line and as I moved up and got to the front the table workers greeted a group of 5 who just walked up and cut the line. Whatever. Fine. But then another volunteer walked up and approached the person BEHIND ME! With a hello flip of my hands the table finally noticed the 5’9” runner in hot pink.  I grabbed my number, put it on my shorts and went to warm up… a little irritated and thinking to myself “I knew I should have pulled into Big Peach on my way home to get my number”.   As I am warming up I see a car of volunteers driving the wrong way down the road into a mass of runners and another volunteer running to the car screaming YOU CANNOT GO THAT WAY!! I shake my head and I slink to the start line and realized that my Garmin, which I pulled in last night did not charge.  so with 34% life left, I prayed that it would make it through the race.

My frustrations really got high after the race started.  I like to consider myself a mid-packer, not the fastest but also not the slowest so I tend to line up in the middle.  Well, the runners had a 8:00 start and the baby joggers had an 8:05 start at the back.  Imagine my surprise to find baby joggers walking with all the runners and said baby joggers were impossible to pass. (couldn’t race volunteers enforce the baby joggers in back thing!?)  On top of the baby joggers I felt sandwiched in with the moms who wanted to walk for the school & gossip so I had to pick them off one by one and swerve everywhere to get around them. I was trying to find my groove & settle into my run only to have to walk .13 miles in. annoyed.  On top of everything it was really hot and really humid and with water advertised at mile 1 and 2 and I was longing for some water.  Mile 1 comes, no water, mile 1.10 no water, 1.20 no water.  I am at this point thinking ok, note to self, if I do this race again next year it is BYOW (bring your own water).  So I get to mile 1.35 or something and there is the water station with the water cups filled just enough for 1 gulp, no where near enough water to begin to hydrate.  Same thing went for the mile 2 water stop and by 2.34 miles I wanted/needed to vomit since I had sweat everything out… thank god for mile 2.4 something at the Post Properties girls and their water stop.  Midway through the race I was at 15 minutes so I really thought that I had the chance to PR.  Ehh.. not so much.  The start of mile 2 is when I body quit and wanted no more and it became a fight with my brain to just keep moving and run.  I was sweaty, thirsty, felt like I needed to vomit, and just a hot mess.  Mile 2 was spent mainly walking up the hilly back end of the course (per the elevation map thanks to Garmin Connect, the slow up hill climb to Ashford Park started at 1.49 miles and we just went up and up and up, with a few small downhills).  Near the finish, I was stopped by a volunteer to let a car out of their driveway … I do not know why I thought that I had the right away, I was mistaken I guess, but a 30 or so seconds later of standing there, not moving I was okayed to continue on...  The hunt for water at the end was awful too.  Spectators and previous race finisher had taken 3,4 cold iced water bottles leaving everyone else with hot gross Fiji water bottles.  I have never wanted my AC blaring car more than I did this morning.

The disorganization was just too much for me and I honestly do not think I will be adding this 5k to my 2011 calendar.  It made me wonder if the race director was even a runner or had participated in other local races to get a feel for how a race was to run.  Last year I thought it was a great event, but then I became a runner and was able to compare this one to others and yikes.   …or maybe I should just stick to big 5ks, 10ks, and half & full marathons, they are just run so much better.

Race Stats:

Mile 1: 9:56 pace

Mile 2: 11:25 pace

Mile 3: 13:03 pace

.1: 9:28 pace

Finishing Time: 35:23 – not a PR but also not a PW.

Overall Pace: 11:24

i have accomplished SO much in 1 year.  I am getting faster. I have run 2 half marathons and 1 full marathon. I have begun to realize that “just getting out there and running” is not enough. I have started to incorporate cross training. I guess I am able to call myself a runner.

So, happy 1 year to me… I am excited for another year of one foot in front of the other right left right left.

Winter Coat Pics.

Yes. Yes. I know it is May and a dog should not be in a winter coat, let alone a black dog.  No, Mulligan is not in a coat … these are just some awesome pictures I forgot to post awhile back.  Incase you missed it, my mom made Mulligan a winter coat … you can read about it here.

Some are pictures of him running around in it like a good little boy.  Others are of him treating it like a toy.  Sorry Mom, but he must semi love it since he thinks it is a toy.  We still are unsure his true feelings about it.  We will give it another whirl some fall/winter.  Hopefully he rocks it next winter all the time.  But that is my wishful thinking.  I am more than positive my mom’s real intentions were for said coat to be worn and to keep the little monster warm on winter walks and winter outside playtime, but for some reason he just didn’t think the coat would attract the ladies and he told me and kyle “no, no I will not wear that coat” … which I guess that means Kyle won the “to put clothes on a dog or to not put clothes on a dog” argument – and you do not put clothes on a dog.   …but then again, Mulligan is not quite the little yappy lap dog that you normally dress up.  I guess he will just have his collar on and that is it.  =)

 

First Swim.

I survived my first swim since I was like in high school not that I was actually scared that I would drown, but I knew it would be a challenge.  I had heard that swimming is great for runners – easier on the joints, helps build endurance, blah blah blah so I thought what the heck and gave it a whirl.  Honestly, it wasn’t bad – hard – but not bad.  I think I shall make it my Saturday workout and every week shoot for more laps than the week before.  …you know make me work harder and get better… kinda like running.

I will have to say that I feel there should be some unspoken rule that you do not speak to others in the gym pool.  There I was in my one piece bathing suit like a 4th grader who’s parents won’t let her wear a 2 piece just yet and my bright purple goggles chugging alone, trying not to sink or swallow water and there was two different fellas who wanted to chat it up.  I wanted to swim, they wanted to learn about Barbie, I wanted to tell them to shut up but I am too nice and talked back … which killed my workout because I wanted to swim for 30 minutes and get in 30 laps (1 lap = down & back).  Well I hit the 30 minute mark and had only done 16 laps.  no biggie… but next time I hope the chitter chatter does not happen.  OR I could just save my pennies and invest in a H2Audio (if i really make swimming a weekly thing).

If you swim … has it benefited you?!

In other news, Kyle & I are on a pretty set schedule when it comes to work outs.  He goes to the gym Monday & Friday, I go Tuesday & Thursday.  He asked me to flip flop Thursday & Friday so I would go on Friday instead.  Being the nice person I am, I agreed and I am actually pretty excited because I have been wanting to give this Bootcamp class a try and it is only on Fridays.  So, now I will have Tuesday Spin & Friday bootcamp with runs during work hours on Mondays & Wednesdays.  I also think I am going to take my dog on “mini runs” instead of walks because it will use up more energy, I will get more miles in, and I really do want to make my pup pup a running buddy. …I will report back on how that works out.

That is all.

Who has a spoiled dog?

WE DO. WE DO!  From before we got to bring Mulligan home I said “no dogs on the couch or in the bed” … I think I forgot that statement when the cute little furbaby came home (all 7 lbs of him) and I wanted to cuddle on the couch and in bed.

Now take a look at our not so little one.  He practically owns our couch and when he is really treated like royalty he has a pillow and a quilt to cover him up.  No these pics are not staged… and I can only imagine my dad rolling his eyes and telling my mom that that last thing Kyle and I ever needed was a dog.

But how can you not love this little buddle of amazingness?  So much for a guard dog, right?  He is too busy snoozing on the couch waiting for someone to fan him with leaves and bring him treats.

Oh Mully how we love thee! :o)

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.

FRIDAY HELLO! I guess I will get to the reason everyone has tuned in on this lovely Friday to announce a winner of the BodyGlide for Her.  I do not know why but there is something fun & exciting about hosting a giveaway!  I think next giveaway I am going to make you all work for it and put on your thinking caps and give me a creative reason on why you want the free schwag and I shall pick the winner on creativity.  Later.Later. Well thanks to random.org and their random number generator number 20 was chosen. 

20 = Amanda – Run to the Finish!

Congrats! Message me via email (barbara.a.vines@gmail.com) your contact info and I will drop that bad boy in the mail ASAP. I have really enjoyed getting to read my new follower’s blogs and I am excited to share moments with so many of them.  YAY!

I tried to start my for real Marine Corp Marathon training this week – I was scheduled to.  Granted, I was not off to a GREAT start … skipping cross training and pounding out only my 3 miler I have a long run (8 miles) planned for Sunday morning and I WILL wake up and do it.  My 3 miler was an easy one and I really got in the groove at the beginning…  I was actually bummed about missing my 5 miler for a client happy hour (and found a new beer to love. hello blue moon).  I am really thinking about incorporating a Saturday swim into my weekly workout too.  ….which means I should be swimming (and drowning) tomorrow at some point.

I am still toying with the idea of running the Women’s Half Marathon in Nashville in September and treat it more as a training run than a real race to set a PR.   It would be a quick easy thing and I could change my clothes real quick, throw on some compression socks (provided I break down and buy some between now and then), and head back to Atlanta right after, whereas if I did RnR VA Beach I will up there for a long weekend.  Still thinking thinking thinking.

Have a wonderful weekend all!!

No need to spend $8 on a toy, Mull will take a teeny tiny box to play with. Oi.

I do not know why we buy Mulligan toys – actually we don’t anymore.  He has enough plush toys to last him his whole lifetime, both destroyed and waiting to be repaired and untouched in the bathroom closet.  But leave it to our spoiled pup to love the box that something came in from FedEx or UPS.  …So note to self, no more toys, just cardboard boxes that do not come up past his knees.  Do dogs have knees?!  

….Oddly enough Mulligan is actually terrified of large cardboard boxes and we use one to block him from the front door and areas we do not want him near because he is that scared of it.  Think baby gate in the form of cardboard… but he embraced this little box with love and affection and played and played.   But like all new things that are destroyable Mull will find a way to destroy it and for once we decided to not allow it and took the box from him before he had the chance to rip it to shreds and our floor was covered in cardboard. 

We had a sad little puppy for oh 5 minutes. ….he then found something new to enjoy and forgot all about the box. 

birthday wish list.

my quarter life crisis is ending soon – not that I really had a quarter life crisis, but i still like to use that phrase. i will be 26 on june 1… 4 years closer to 30, then 10 years closer to 40 … why can’t I be Peter Pan?!   I have decided to let all my blogger friends what I want for my birthday.  And yes, if you want to buy me anything I will provide my address – just do not stalk me and show up at my front door unannounced.  Thanks!

1. I really want a pair of recovery socks.  I see people sporting them all the time post race and I have heard they do wonders.  I have even heard of people running in them, but I feel like my poor legs would get too hot too fast, so I would love to have them in the after race packed bag.  And yes,  I do want Pink.  Duh.
2. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my foam roller. Literally, I use it for every ache and pain – running & non running related.  I probably love it more than my stick and I would love to upgrade to The Grid.  When I was asking around about foam rollers vs. the stick – foam rollers won hands down & 7 out of 10 (I am not sure that stat is legit, it just sounded cool) people recommended The Grid.  Yes, I love my $14.50 Gold’s Gym foam roller from Walmart (my dog thinks it is a toy and likes to protect me from the rolling action by sitting on my legs) but I think I would love the “beat me up” grooves of The Grid.
3. A new pair (err… more pairs) of running shoes (brooks ravenna) size 10 please (yes. i have huge feet).  BUT, they have to be the awesome blue, silver, and lime color.  I know you’re not supposed to pick your running shoe based on color and I am not – it is just that rumor has it this color scheme is being discontinued this month and if I can stock up, it would be great.  If not, I will still run in them in the new colors.
4. Socks to run in! I swear by Wigwam Ironman Pro socks but at $12.00 a pair I do not have nearly enough.  I did have enough when my boyfriend did laundry EVERY Sunday but now it is touch and go.  These socks have the perfect amount of padding on the heels and toes, breathe just right, and I have never ever blistered in these bad boys.  Oh yeah, size medium.
5. Nike Tempo Shorts. Medium. Any color. These are the only shorts I wear when I run (with the exception of the 2 pairs of Under Armor shorts I bought before discovering Tempo Shorts).  I actually wear these just about anywhere I can – the office?  I would if I could!!
6. While we are talking about running attire, I really want these Lululemon shorts (in every color, including the black and white plaid) with a matchy matchy Lululemon tank.  Honestly, a gift card to Lululemon would go a long way since I love that store, but refuse to buy full running outfits due to money.
7. I really need a new pair of headphones for my runs.  My iPod buds work well, but if/when one falls out or I have to take it out to give directions I can never get it back in right.  After reading many blog reviews I want a pair of Yurbuds.  Evidently they stay in your ears and you also do not have to play your music as loudly because, well I do not know why, but that is what I have heard. 
8. Treadmill reading material.  Runners World is my normal long car ride reads and recently I have discovered Women’s Running which I am falling in love with too.  I would love subscriptions to both.

Happy Birthday to Me super super soon!   I will be home in the DC Area for the big day and I have high hopes of running part of the Marine Corps Marathon course.

What is on your runners wish list?!

big peach 5k race.ARPRIL is gone

I decided at the last minute (on 4.24) that I wanted to run the Big Peach 5k. My reasoning: I could ride the Marta to the start – run 3.1 and then run myself home. I have been needing to get in the miles in preparation for Marine Corp and with Big Peach being about 3 or so miles from my apartment, I said WHY NOT! Plus. it benefited the Leukemia & Lymphoma society and if a race is attached to that organization 9 times out of 10 I am in. I did not know anything about the race so I checked out the course map and realized that it was roads that I run every now and then while taking breaks from work so other than the hill heading up Roxboro I thought it should be a fairly easy race… then this past Monday I ran the course backwards and realized it may be a little bit harder than I initially thought so I kinda went into the race siked out which is never a good thing. Then for the past 3 or so days I have been all out of sorts, body rejecting food, crazy tired, achy legs even though all I do is climb stairs and look for my lost car in the parking garage ….. On top of all that, Erin and I went out for a much needed happy hour/dinner so after margaritas and tacos I was not quite sure if I was even going to make it to the starting line & I thought that even if I skipped it my race entry went to an amazing cause. Before going to bed I checked the weather and there was like a 30% chance of thunderstorms (with lightening) from 6am – 11 am (prime racing hours) so I turned on “Lovely Bones”, set my alarm, and said lets play this by ear…. and if I do not run I WILL get 6 miles in this weekend at some point – whether is was pavement or treadmill.

SO. Race Day: I flaked out and stayed in bed and slept some much needed zzz’s. I took the dog on 2 long walks to make up for it and Sunday I had this great big plan to hit LA Fitness and knock out 6 miles on the treadmill and call it a day. Well, the treadmills decided to be difficult and 2.42 miles later I was calling it a day. Long story short it is common knowledge that I would rather hit the pavement than step onto a treadmill. But with this heat (84 degrees feels like 95) and the humidity, I had to take it inside. Well I was flying high, I got into a groove on the dreadmill, was rocking and rolling and them bam I read “belt stopping” at .83 miles. WTF?! So I started it back up again… same thing but at .26 miles the belt stopped. So, I moved 1 machine over and could not get back in the groove. I was hot, sweaty, annoyed, and then BAM at 1.33 miles – belt stops. I decided to call it quits and just head home. THAT IS WHY I LIKE RUNNING OUTSIDE THERE IS NOTHING TO STOP ME .83 miles in or .26 or 1.33

April is OVER! Thank God. Where in the world is 2010 going?! April was a fairly unproductive month for me in regards to running, work has been so busy and I fear with my new role it is only going to be busier so it will be a true test of learning to balance life.  I even titled this entry “big peach 5k race.march is over” to start with and started this paragraph saying “march is over” – that is how fried my brain is and has been.  I need a vacation. I ran 26.47 miles which is much less than my 50 some last month and my 50+ goal for the month. Why do I always seem to have low miles the month after a BIG race. I did not hit my 50 mile mark, but for me to get as high as I did, I am surprised. I did a 5k (and PR’d). I got a rocking free sample of Body Glide (remember, you can win a free stick). The pollen was (and still is) outrageous and makes it really hard to breathe. For the most part I slaved in the office, spent a lot of quality time with my dog and kyle, and just tried to enjoy life.

Here is hoping April is full of miles and I am really stoked about a friendship that was so unlikely but is becoming awesome with one of my fellow Nike Team in Training Gals. We’re talking about treking to Nashville together in September to run The Women’s Half as training for Marine Corp for me and her first full at the Nike Women’s Marathon! I love friendships that come out of no where!!!

Don’t forget about my FREE Bodyglide giveaway.