joyful bath review & giveaway!!

on of my favorite activities is taking a long bath and reading a good book. when kyle and i were house hunting there were 3 things i wanted. an awesome kitchen, a backyard, and a fabulous bathtub. i got 2 1/2 … but most importantly i got my bathtub. 

i do not really know how or when, but i was introduced to the joyful bath company and was told to try them because “if i liked epsom salts, i would love their salts more”. so i bought a little packet of “green tea glee” to try them out and was pleasantly surprised!  i used them in hot baths and ice baths, baths to recover from runs and when i just wanted to relax. when it snowed in January i started to really really follow the joyful bath company on twitter and learned that they do something called #bathday on Wednesdays.   (explanation: they tell their faithful followers to tweet one of their product names and if you’re the 11th or 4th or 9th or 24th or *you get it* you win a free product). 

Ok… but in all seriousness.  I love this company for so many reasons. 1st and most importantly, their products are phenomenal.  Up until being introduced to them I swore by epsom salts in my ice baths and hot baths after long runs, blast900 workouts, & on days my legs just hurt. The glorious thing about their products are that many of them have epsom salts mixed into their concoctions.  2nd. The owner. Founder. Creator. She is an athlete so she understands muscle pains and aches. when i get to chat with her on twitter (or whoever runs the twitter page) she is always so joyful and encouraging! 3rd. they’re also wonderful because they ship CRAZY fast.  And I mean a package can get from Bethesda Maryland to Atlanta Georgia in 3 days.  It is like they have their own little postman! 4th. they smell glorious.

I like so many of their salts for different reasons.  post run or for sore muscle days I like Ginger Snap, ‘Nilla Buttermilk, and/or Oatsy Floatsie.  Long day at the office?  I really like Green Tea Glee or Oatsy Floatsie (the lavender. love.)  And when I want to just take a bath to relax or read… Citrus Buzz or Oatsy Floatsie.  (Guess, which one is my favorite!!)   I also enjoy mixing two kinds together… like Oatsy Floatsie & ‘Nilla Buttermilk :o) ….I have heard good things about Mellow Yellow, yet I have never tried it.  Maybe next?

Since I love finding new fun things and I like sharing new fun things… I am giving 1 reader the chance to win 3 samples of 3 products they love or just want to try.

what to do to be the lucky winner:

1. follow my blog. or tell me that you have been following. (+1)
2. follow joyful bath on twitter @joyfulbathco (+1)  …and once you follow them you can play #bathday on Wednesdays!!
3. scoot over to their website (link above) and tell me what 3 bath salts you have tried/want to try/like (+1)
4. your ice bath secret. what do you do to make it manageable?!

Happy entering and hopefully winning. this wonderful fabulous giveaway will end in 1 week. 7 days from now—next sunday the winner will be announced.

Rah Rah Shish Koom Bah - Atlanta 13.1 - new PR!

Disclaimer: I feel like a total dork for writing this right after my race. But I have soaked in the tub of ice, stretched, showered, walked the dog, put on recovery socks, and am now on the couch for eternity... and I am excited so I just had to put it all down now.

As another training run I ran the Atlanta 13.1 this morning.  I was pretty pumped after looking at the course map and turn by turn directions since most of the course was planned to be in my neck of the woods which meant I was familiar with the terrain, the hills, and pretty much most of the course. I checked the weather and learned that it was going to be in the 50's for the whole race - so I was feeling pretty confident in my run.  I was wondering how I would do since I gorged myself on spinach dip during the Alabama game the night before and I was a bit worried since Erin did a 13.1 series in Boston and they ran out of water and after seeing the less than stellar expo I feared the same thing, but I didn't want to carry my water bottle (man. I need a fuel belt) so I just hydrated really well and hoped for the best.

As always, race morning came early. 5:45 is not a pretty time and I don't like the darkness, but I got up and ready, took my dog out (the usual) and headed to the Marta Station for the quick trip up to Oglethorpe University for the start.  I got to the college with about 15 minutes to spare and felt really pressed for time but quickly stretched and hunted for my corral, only to learn there were not corrals but it was a test of honesty on your expected finish time.  I guess I am the only honest kid here in Atlanta since as I crossed the start line I was already veering from walkers (hey peachtree road race) and for the first 3 miles I was having to dodge the walkers with backpacks and khakis on.  I was cruising and having a great time and I noticed that my breathing was really under control which is a first for me.  I managed to stay steady and hold just about the same pace and the first 5 miles I was just rocking.  Around mile 5 is when fear set in. Not fear of "oh my gosh I am not going to finish" ... but fear of "why is there a Lexus on the course behind me" ... as the Lexus stayed on my heels and practically tried to run people off the road my heart rate went berserk.  Once the Lexus got around me and harassed other runners I calmed down and found my groove again.  We looped around all these neighborhoods and headed back towards Peachtree and after getting back on Peachtreee I was pretty much in familiar territory.

We trekked down Peachtree heading towards my apartment, turned on Johnson Ferry and onto Keswick and we were in the neighborhood I run for giggles.  My confidence was still high, my breathing was great, and I was just rocking the roads I already run.  I would be lying if I said the hills didn't still kill me because they did but I liked the comfortable feel.  As we turned on Harts Mills I hoped I wouldn't see Marist but we saw Marist and I was not thrilled about the awful Ashford Dunwoody hill.  Lucky for me there was a water stop and water stops = it's okay to walk. :o)  i walked and loved every second of it.  We then headed into Blackburn Park which is another area I run and I just sailed over the hills and around the soccer fields (enjoying the writing on the sidewalks).  We came out of the mark and headed up a hill that I do run and I do hate - I noticed a turn around coming up and I just prayed that my Garmin didn't freak out like it did last weekend and luckily it handled it just find. *phew*  ... as we headed towards Johnson Ferry and onto Johnson Ferry back to Peachtree I knew the rest of the course was 100% familiar territory and was confident that I was going to do well.  As I hit mile 11 I looked at my Garmin and thought "hey, I just may accidentally PR" and just chugged along, listening to my music (my marine corps play list is ah-may-zing).  I headed back up the rolling hills towards Oglethorpe and I knew we were in the home stretch so I just kept going even though I so badly wanted to take a walk break.  We hung a right before campus and then a quick left and was home free. Ms. Miley Cyrus and "The Climb" got me across that finish line in 2:27:53 - a 8 minute personal record - and I got my medal from Mike B who cheers me on via dailymile.com.  It was just a really cool race with a really pretty course and awesome volunteers who made pretty much everything run really smoothly (even the water stops and those are normally chaotic).

I don't know if it was the pasta that I ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner or all the spinach dip I gorged myself on last night during the game ... or if it is because Alabama stomped Florida last night and well Alabama and people who went there are just winners, but it was an awesome race and it gave me just the confidence that I need heading into Marine Corps.  I went into this race not worrying about my finish time and I think my "whatever happens happens mentality" helped a lot.  I was 2.39 miles ahead of the bridge closing and I knew that for MCM I need to do about 5 miles per hour and I was ahead of that today.

And in the Erin vs. Barbie competition I totally accidentally beat her last half time by 2 minutes. 

And I am l-o-v-i-n-g running to the Glee kids. Seriously, add them to your iPod. Stat.

Oh and the only bummer - I have a baby blister on the tip of one of my toes, I felt it forming and it surprised me. My wonderful Wigwam Socks usually never blister me, this is my 1st blister EVER. Not cool, not cool at all. Help me. How do I make it go away?!

So rock on 13.1 Marathon Series, you and your volunteers put on one awesome race this morning. The only thing I would change is to add corrals so we can all run easily at the beginning so we're not all jumbled.  BUT  I will be back next year!

women's half marathon elevation map

so here is the elevation map for my half marathon in Nashville on Saturday. doesn't look too bad. slow gradual hill from 1.5 miles - 4 ... then flat for the most part and then downhill for the finish... i am most excited about touring Nashville by foot. i have never been there, but heard it is a cool city. ...depending on how this goes it will make me decide if I want to do The Country Music Half in April...

race starts at 7:00 AM. I am in coral 2. I figure I will be done by 9:30 AM - 9:40 at the latest. Gotta be back on the road to Atlanta by 10:30... Need to be back in Atlanta by 3:30 PM for the Alabama/Arkansas game. I was kinda excited to see a 12pm checkout time for my hotel, it was shattered when i saw the 2:30 pm (CT) kickoff for the game. Oh Alabama Football how you rule my life in the fall. depending on my true finish time and the ice situation at the hotel, i may get in a 15 minute ice bath... but that's me being optimistic.

I know I want to run it in about 2:21 - so I can beat Erin's most recent time. (love you girl!) a


Saturday is going to be busy, busy, busy with the race and trying to get back to Atlanta...