No power!

Right now, I have limited resources to post(I-phone only). The huge random October snowstorm hit us hard & we've been without power since Saturday afternoon. Luckily we have no damage to our house, but my dad got his car crushes, and my mom had her power lines ripped from her house.We're just really cold & trying to stay warm. My longrun was cancelled due to all the down trees & power lines, but I'm going to try & get out later today once it warms up. Wish me luck!! (p.s. The storm is not helping my nutrition, but I have stayed away from the candy!!)

Its Holiday Card Time! (giveaway)

The snow is on its way. 

I hate snow, especially when it threatens to mess with my long run plans.

The snow is making me feel like we're further into winter, which means I feel like I need to start prepping for the holidays.

Present shopping, decoration shopping, party planning, and holiday cards. I'm excited to pick out my holiday cards from Shutterfly!

Last year I picked the perfect design to show our friends and family what we've been up to all year...

see the post HERE

The design process is wicked simple. I uploaded the photos I wanted, then clicked and dragged them into the spaces to test out different designs and looks. The selection they have is unbelievable. It's almost tough to pick between all the choices they have!

possible option for this year?

Another Shutterfly product I love it the photo books. I've made them for gifts for people in the past and have some secret plans this holiday to make some more. they're the perfect way to put memories in a more permanent display to look back on easily.

You can make a greeting card for every occasion including birthdays, other holidays, get well and more. Shutterfly is the perfect place to hit up for all your photo needs.

Want some help with your holiday cards?

Shutterfly wants to treat some of my readers with 25 free cards, and there will be 3 winners each!

How to Win

please leave a separate comment for each entry

1. Be or become a follower of my blog

2. Like Running to Health on facebook HERE

3. Spread the word via blog, twitter, or facebook (1 for each)

Contest will end November 4th, and there will be 3 winners. Good luck!

Halloween Rules

In an effort to keep us on track throughout the holidays, Krystal (@ Bia Fitness) gave us a list of rules for each holiday and had us sign it like a contract. Let's review Halloween's rules today, and how I'm making out so far.

Halloween Rules

1. No Candy in the House until 10/29/11. Broken. Because of the party we had last weekend, I did need to buy some for the party, and while I was at Costco, got some for the tricker treaters. Good news? I haven't had a bite. Can't say the same for Kevin & my roomie though.

2. No eating ANY candy at ANY time. So far I have avoided candy at work and home repeadedly. I am really working hard on this one to build up my self control for all the rest of the holidays to come.

3. Reward yourself & your family for choosing fruits & vegetables instead of candy. So far so good! Tonight I had raspberries & tea instead of candy. My reward for working hard all week will be a manicure on friday night.

4. ALL candy OUT of the house by 11/6/11. I don't for see this being a problem. Initially I thought "maybe I'll keep a small bag with my favorites hidden for later." who am I kidding?! I would probably eventually find it and eat the whole bag. Plus, I'm trying to develop new behaviors and tastes by NOT wanting the candy. It will help a lot more if its not here, which is why I will bring it all to work to be devoured by my coworkers on tuesday November 1st!

Do you have any strategies to help you get through Halloween?
Want to join me in following the Bia Fitness rules?

TRX class this morning was awesome, I know I'll be so sore tomorrow. Most of the exercises were ones I haven't done before, and either I have horribly weak abs or the TRX is just wicked bad ass. Honestly, I think my core is just incredibly weak, so this will be the perfect opportunity to help strengthen it. I'm sure it will not only help with running, but with my back pain I get often too.

I made Buffalo Chicken Chili for dinner tonight from Joy Bauer's cookbook Slim & Scrumptious. Remember when I did my review of this cookbook (HERE)? This recipe is another that definitely did not disappoint. In fact, Kevin couldn't stop telling me how awesome it was. I could see it being a great football party dish thrown into a crockpot to stay warm. I wish I had taken a pic, but we were hungry! Maybe you're even interested in me sharing the recipe? Let me know!

Tomorrow I have a quick 5 miler on the schedule and I need to take a muscle relaxer and get to bed with a heat pack. Cross your fingers that my back behaves tomorrow!

Couch Potato to Marathoner

I asked my brother Jason to share his journey from overweight couch potato to lean marathoner.

enjoy!

Strangely enough, I used to have absolutely no interest in running. I just wanted to get in better shape. In high school, I probably weighed around 270 lbs. My friends were extremely encouraging of my desire to become a runner like them (they were all cross country runners). During the first cross country practice, I fell far behind. My friend Mark Ecker came back, and finished with me, offering me plenty of encouragement along the way. Unfortunately, I just felt defeated, and that was that last time I would try running for a long time.

It was the summer of 2008, and I was living in Philadelphia. I had gained considerable weight since high school (at one point maxing out around 295 lbs) thanks to laziness and bad eating. In college I had started playing racquetball, and had improved my eating habits to a small degree. I had dropped down to 250 lbs but was still particularly unhappy. I’d had enough. Sure I’d made progress over the years, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted to be better, healthier, happier.

My sister was signing up for her second half-marathon in Hartford. Growing up, she had had weight issues just like me, and if she could lose the weight, get in shape, and become a RUNNER, so could I. So I started running that summer and I couldn't even run a single mile without stopping to catch my breath. But I wanted it. I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted something so bad in my entire life. At that time, it was an unobtainable goal. I signed up for the Hartford 5k and didn’t look back. The summer of training was difficult, but I’d managed to get up to running over a mile without stopping for a break, and around 2.5 miles total. I completed my first 5k in around 36 minutes (I don’t know the official time because I got confused with the black timing chips, and left it in the expo center by accident). Pleased with my first race result, I was excited with the challenge when my sister suggested running the Disney half-marathon in 2010. I signed up.

Hartford for Jason's first 5K!

The training was difficult, but little by little, I increased my mileage. Unfortunately, I was severely under prepared for the race. I hit the wall around mile 9, and not all the biofreeze in the world could make the cramps in my knees go away. I was at a run/walk (emphasis on walk), and Steph stuck with me like a good sister. We  finished the race at a rather lackluster 2:57:45. I’m pretty sure if I had finished over 3 hours, I would have given up on running altogether. Luckily that wasn’t the case, and I finished the race sore, tired, but proud.

After finishing Disney 2010

That winter, I took a brief break from running to do P90X. In addition to running, this was probably one of the best decisions of my life. Fresh off of my P90X training, I signed up for another 13.1 in June of 2010, with a goal to improve my previous time. When race day came, I knew I was more prepared than I had been for Disney. The course was EXTREMELY hilly, but I still managed a new PR, 2:34:53, to-date this remains my official half-marathon PR (though I’ve gone as low as 2:15:00 in 15+ mile training runs since then). I was extremely happy.

With a total of ten races, 2010 was a busy year. Among those races was  another half-marathon in Hartford (my favorite race apparently). Training for Hartford was tough -- I injured myself two weeks before the race (tendon strain), and was sick, but I did the best I could that day, 2:47: 00. Not bad, but I already had a new goal in mind: The Goofy Challenge, 2012. What is the Goofy Challenge you ask? The Disney half-marathon is Saturday, the full marathon is Sunday. Add them together and you get the Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge. Runners are crazy; I’m a runner; I’m crazy; let’s do this.

With the Goofy Challenge on the horizon, I enlisted the help of my high school friend Sara Bernard to be my coach. Having run a few marathons herself and having recently become a licensed coach, she gladly took me to be her first marathon trainee. She suggested that before running Goofy, I try running a full marathon so that I could get an understanding for the level of commitment required for training. I started 2011 weighing around 225 lbs. Unfortunately I developed Achilles tendinitis early in the season and had to push back my original plan of attempting a marathon in July, to October (Hartford again! Yey!).

Funny how marathon training changes things. I now weigh about 185 lbs, am leaner, fitter, healthier than I’ve ever been. I started to get cranky towards the end of my training, but I guess that’s to be expected when you’re running 44 miles a week. It’s been just over 3 years since I couldn’t even run a single mile. Now I can call myself a marathoner, having ran 26.2 miles, at a steady 11:14mm pace, for a final time of 4:54:28. So not only did I finish, but my 13.1 split thunder-crushed my current 13.1 race PR. Am I proud? ABSOLUTELY.

I’m addicted. I’m a marathoner.

(Oh and I’ve given my sister permission to post these before-middle-after photo’s of me so you can get an idea of where I was circa 2005 in college, to 2010 at the Disney half-marathon, to now at the 2011 Hartford Marathon)

Before shot

Disney Packet Pickup 2010

Run to Home Base 2010

Run to Home Base 2011

Hartford Marathon  Packet Pickup 2011

Sister, Brother & Mom, all race finishers 2011!

-Jason


I'm such a proud sister!

Life Moves Fast, Run Faster.

I missed my run yesterday.

I'm not dwelling on it.

Am I disappointed?

Yes.

But, I'm not gonna let it drag me down. 

The Halloween Party was awesome, and I behaved with only 2 drinks and a couple nibbles, thinking I would make it for the 12 miles. A couple late night drunkies stayed past 2am, leaving me cranky and exhausted. I could barely drag myself out of bed at 9am (horribly late for me) to get to church, then spent the day dragging along and cleaning up with a nap late afternoon.

Look at this spread!

Holy desserts!

Kevin & I were mile high pilots!

My future with this marathon is bright, with many future training runs to get in. Some runs or workouts may not happen, and thats ok. In reality, probably taking a little long run break may be better for my knee. With the switch up from bootcamp to TRX, my runs will now be tuesday, thursday, sunday, so I'm looking forward to tuesday's run!

Week 5 Training Recap

Monday- Rest Day.

Tuesday- Bootcamp. TRX sprinter squats, ladder work, kettle bells. My legs were killing me by the end!

Wednesday- Speedwork day! 3 x 1600m @ 6.4mph. I thought the speed would be tougher to handle, but I actually made it through with no problem. It felt great to rock this run with no knee pain after the Hartford Half last weekend.

Thursday- Bootcamp. TRX plank walks/push ups/knee tucks, slam balls, band rows. My abs were dying after this workout until sunday.

Friday- Skipped run. Tired, and decided to sleep in. whoops!

Saturday- Made up Friday's Tempo run. I actually hit the gym with my mom on side by side treadmills while she did her long walk/run for the week. She had 8 miles on her schedule and I had 6. I pumped it out, and headed home to do the party prep.

Sunday- Skipped long run, after a late night to bed.

Nutrition- Win this week! While I wasn't perfect (a few too many Kashi Pita Crisps), I tracked everything monday-thursday which was a big step for me! I avoided alcohol all week, with only half a drink friday night, and 2 drinks saturday. This week I didn't buy any Kashi crackers, and am going to aim to track all 7 days.

How was your weekend?

Do you beat yourself up over a missed workout or push along?

TRX & a winner

This week, I'm switching things up.

After a discussion with Krystal (@ Bia Fitness), I've decided to make the switch from bootcamp classes to TRX. I fell in love with TRX the first time I used it, and I'm so excited to start a class solely dedicated to using it to tone up. Krystal is so excited I'm switching. She feels like it is an excellent way to get my strengthening in for running, she uses it herself while training for marathons.

My abs are still sore from the plank walks, and knee tucks on thursday. I'm not sure if its because my abs are just incredibly weak, or if the TRX is just that badass. Those sore abs however, did lead me to make some smart decisions (like a salad at On the Border, and practically no alcohol or food at my party last night). I  am feeling skinny this week and love it! I guess thats what happens when you actually count points and eat smarter?

Do you try switching up your workouts?

The winner of the Sparkly Soul headbands is Roxylytte!

email me at sgrigely at  hotmail dot com to claim your prize.

Hartford Half Race Recap

I wasn't super pumped for this race, since it was really just a long run for my marathon training, but I was excited to see my brother finish his first Marathon!!

The day before the race, my brother headed to pick up everyones packets. My mom was awesome enough to cook us a fabulous dinner. Chicken parm, spaghetti, meatballs, and garlic bread. Delicious, I wish I had taken pictures. After dinner, I started worrying about the weather... it seemed like it was going to be windy, and I may have to wear long sleeves. booo!

Luckily when I woke up, it was warmer, so I decided to go with my lululemon tank & arm sleeves. My brother rode with his girlfriend, and went to pick up his coach. My mom picked up Kevin and I & we drove the quick trip to Hartford.

After a muddy trip to the porta-potties, we worked on meeting up with our whole crew.

My mom & Kevin ready for the 5K!

Me & Mom getting ready to race

We lost my brother after he went to bag check, so Shelley, Speedy Trooper, A and I headed over to the start. Soon, we lost trooper and A, and Shelley and I were on our own. The start was horribly disorganized. There were pace signs, but it was impossible to get near them. The crowding and start to this race is always awful.

Shelley and I started off at a good pace, we ended up finding my brother on the course. He ran with us until the marathon split. Shelley and I were flying. My knee was feeling great, the hills weren't too bad to start, and we had fun catching up. I even saw a woman from my gym & chatted with her for a minute.

mile 1: 10:35

mile 2: 10:25

mile 3: 10:15

mile 4: 10:33

Then it started. That damn right calf started acting up and the knee started aching. Thoughts were running through my head. I should have stretched more, foam rolled more, maybe ultrasound. Why did I go out so fast? Why did I think my calf was better after the Divas Half? I hope I can keep up with Shelley. But the hills got bigger, and I felt myself dropping back. I told Shelley I had to stop and stretch a little after the 10K. I told her to go on without me.

mile 6: 10:42

mile 7: 11:01

mile 8: 12:11

The scenery was beautiful. We ran through West Hartford neighborhoods and Elizabeth Park. There were lots of bands along the course, and course supports. So many people in their front lawns, and along the roads cheering. Seriously some of the greatest crowd support I've had in a race. I limped along, running when I could and stopping to walk or stretch when I needed to.

mile 9: 12:52

mile 10: 14:09

mile 11: 12:50

Right after the mile 11 water stop, a house was playing a little Britney Spears Toxic and pumped me right up!! For a minute I flew down a hill feeling no pain, but that was shortly loved. I figured I could hold it together for a little longer, and kept plugging along.

mile 12: 13:17

mile 13: 13:36

Right before mile 13, I saw my mom & Kevin waiting for me in our usual viewing spot. I was so glad to see them. I smiled & let them take a few pics. I told them I was hurting, and I'd see them at the finish. I blew a few kisses, then hit the road.

The finish line approached. People cheering everywhere. I was in incredible pain and wanted to give up. I knew I couldn't stop with all those people cheering. I gritted my teeth, and charged through. Normally, I empty the tank at the end of race, passing at least 1-2 people in my sprint to the finish. This time, I limped through the finish. So disappointing.

I headed straight to the Med Tent for some ice. I came out and saw Kevin & my mom. Kevin commented how I didn't seem tired or out of breath, and he was right. My endurance wasn't lacking, my lungs weren't tired, my knee just gave up. After icing I got my medal and headed to meet the fam.

We grabbed some yummy post race food, and headed to the beer tent to meet up with Speedy Trooper and A. Shelley wasn't feeling well, so she took off right after finishing.

A, Speedy Trooper & Me!

After a beer, I headed over to meet up with Kristen @ Bigger Girls Can Run Too after she SMASHED her goal time!

I headed back to the beer tent, then my mom, Kevin & I went to the marathon finish to watch out for my brother. His girlfriend had been following him around on her bicycle all day, but wasn't doing a great job keeping us informed of his miles. Finally she said he was at mile 25, so we thought he had a 1.2 mile window to wait, so we were goofing off, then almost missed him go by! We waved, but missed the photo op, so we caught him after he got his medal and water.

My brother wanted to pose badass for my blog

Me, brother & Mom all race finishers today!

After another beer at the beer garden ( and missing meeting Kari because of her crazy vertigo), we headed for home with a new piece of bling to add to the wall.

Official Time

2:36:22

11:56 avg page

261/330 Athenas & Clydesdales

493/554 Females 25-29

Update: The knee is feeling much better!

Bia Love...

This past sunday, I went to a "stretch & learn" class @ Bia Fitness. The class was awesome, it really reignited my commitment to losing weight. We focused on a few things...

1. Fitness is our sport. Not just my running, or triathlon, but overall fitness. Making plans to reach my goals to reach my highest potential to be healthier.
2. Finding a way to integrate fitness into the community is a great way to spread the love of fitness. Krystal enthusiastically talked about having us come to her with our ideas. My idea, I've been thinking about for awhile is Girls on the Run. Its a nonprofit organization working at helping girls in grades 3-5 learn to run and build self-esteem. There is currently no chapter close to us, so Krystal & I talked and we're going to try and start one in western mass!
3. EPOC is powerful calorie torcher. Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption. Pretty much the afterburn of calories after your workout is over. It can last anywhere from 15 min to 48 hours. You can maximize this by increasing the intensity or duration (greater afterburn with increased intensity), and with optimum fueling. This reinforces my work at Bootcamp with the high intensity intervals and with my speedwork runs.

It was such a great session, which ended with her having us sign a Bia Fitness Challenge agreement for the holidays. It included rules about Halloween candy, cocktails, party food, and exercise. She left us with a great quote that I hung up on my fridge...

"A serious athlete is one with a drive that can not be deterred, a will to accomplish that does not accept failure, and the mental toughness to make positive advances each day to reach one's goals. As athletes we have made a commitment to ourselves to perform at the highest level of our potential and we are driven to take steps to ensure our success. Success can only be achieved with a well laid out plan fixed to specific goals."

This morning I counted my speedwork run as my Cupcake Classic 3.7 miler for Run with Jess' virtual race!

I finished in 38:50!

5 min warmup

1600m x 3 @ 6.4mph, 1 min rest intervals @ 3.8

cooldown

I celebrated with a bite (only a bite!) of the pumpkin cupcake with creamcheese frosting the speech therapists brought us in at work. YUM!

guess what?
I've counted all points the past 2 days!!

Spread the running Love

Todays Quote:

‎‎"My goal has always been to introduce other people to running. They might accomplish something they never thought they could." 

Grete Waitz, Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder

A little over 2 years ago, I convinced my brother to try running.

I lured him and a few other friends in with a trip to Disney World and a shiny medal to hang on the wall. My brother was severly undertrained for the race, and I stuck by his side, helping him to push through and finish in the sleet, snow & rain that cold January morning in Florida.

Saturday, he ran his first marathon. I am insanely proud. I know when he first started running, he thought it was a crazy idea, but now he's basking in the post marathon glow & starting his Goofy training for January. Plus, he's lost another 20 pounds to push his total weight loss to 100+. amazing. Look for a guest post from him in the future.

Me, brother & mom, all post race!

Saturday, my mom walk/jogged her first 5K. My mom never thought she could do a 5K, but then she really wanted to come to Disney and join the fun. So she started training to walk/jog the Jeff Galloway training plan for the half. My mom, who has NEVER really exercised, now hits the gym 4-6 times a week for walking/jogging & strength training. She works out with a trainer once a week and loves it. She is looking fabulous, and I couldn't be more proud.

Who have you introduced to running?

My running buddy Shelley & I completed the Hartford Half on saturday. While things did not go as planned for me (the knee crapped out around the 10K), I finished and did not give up. Same thing goes for Kari @ Running Ricig.... we were supposed to meet up after, but she had a horrible vertigo attack hit mid race & did not give up. Please go send her some love HERE! I'm recovering well, I think I need to focus on more stretching & foam rolling.

Week 4 training recap

Monday- Speedwork. 5 x 1K @ 6.6mph w/ 400m RI. My knee was acting up a little, but I made it through strong.

Tuesday - Bootcamp. Outdoor for another cold morning doing sprints, slam balls, battle ropes & the TRX rip trainers.

Wednesday - Felling sore from tuesday's bootcamp, so I skip my tempo run.  I wonder if bootcamp is starting to affect my running training. No good when you're training for a marathon.

Thursday- Another skip. This time bootcamp. After feeling so sore from tuesday, I definitely don't want to get more sore for saturday's race.

Friday- Swim. An easy swim of 750m, mostly to test my H2O audio set. I haven't been swimming since my last triathlon Sept 11, so it was good to get in.

Saturday- Hartford Half Marathon. 2:36:22, not too disappointed for the trouble I faced during the race. I'm more mad at myself for not taking good enough care of the leg with stretching, rolling, and pretty much doing physical therapy on myself. recap to come later.

Sunday - Stretch & learn class @ Bia Fitness. Krystal got us a yummy breakfast (organic hard boiled eggs, whole foods biscotti, fruit, organic yogurt), and we stretched, had free chair massages, and talked about training. Why we train, how we should train, how to make fitness part of our everyday lives & improve our community with fitness. It got me excited and motivated to train again. I talked to her about switching from Bootcamp to TRX to improve my running.

Nutrition- Improving. Did not count my points again. Why am I struggling with this!? I need to reign it in! I definitely did better with making smart choices and decreasing the beer though.

How was your training week?

Don't forget my Sparkly Soul giveaway HERE!

h2o Audio Review

You know I've been having trouble getting myself motivated to swim this season. For some reason, my drive to dress in a speedo and swim lap after lap, bores me. So I started looking for some motivation & stumbled across h2o Audio...

I found out that among many waterproof cases and headphones, they make a unit that is specifically designed for lap swimming, the interval.

The interval holds a 4g ipod shuffle, and has built in surge 2g headphones. It attaches to the back strap of your goggles, and has easy button controls to change songs, and play with the volume. It comes with 5 sets of earplugs, to get a perfect fit & is 100% waterproof for up to 12ft.

After touching base with Dana at h2o Audio, she offered to send me one to review, all I had to do was buy the ipod. So I placed an order for a new pink one on Amazon & waited for both to arrive.

My new toys!

When it came, I made sure to read the directions twice through. I was so nervous I would mess it up and  ruin my new ipod! In the directions, it said to test out the seal in a bowl of water with the ipod inside. I crossed my fingers, and gave it a try...

Soaking in a bowl of water

Next up, we were off to the pool! It was easy to slide the interval onto the straps of my goggles, and rest it in place on the back of my head. The earbuds seemed like a good fit, but I brought the extras to the pool just in case I needed to swap them out.

Self pictures of the back of your head at 5am don't come out great!

Off I went. I swam a couple laps with Rhianna singing in my ear. Fun, I could see how this could make time go faster. But then the left ear bud started shifting loose, and falling out. Apparently I picked the wrong size. At the edge of the pool, I tried to change out the earbuds but was having a hell of a time. My wet fingers, coupled with the low lighting at 5am was making it impossible. I swam the rest of my laps without.

After talking with Dana, she told me that finding the right earbud would make a big difference and that it can be tough to change them mid swim. So later that week, I worked on it in the comfort of my living room, and felt like I had a great fit.

Then I lost my goggles at my last tri, and waited for new ones to come in, and slacked on swimming. FINALLY last friday I got back in the pool to try out the new buds. 

Inside bubble is up at the pool!

Much better.

I felt it coming a little lose at times, but with a quick adjustment they stayed in place. For this product, finding the right ear piece is key, so be patient. You may have many trials, in fact I may try another next time.

Another thing I think I need to work on it with? My song selection. I think some of the songs made my strokes a little choppy, and uncontrolled. I wonder if I went with an all John Mayer mix if it would be better (<3). 

All in all, I was glad to have it. I think that it will be good to keep me entertained during the lonely lap swims (like the one I'm planning on tomorrow). I mean afterall, if this helps out the olympians to get their training in, maybe it can rub some mojo off on me too.

Check out the interval HERE & h2o Audio on facebook HERE.

Thanks h2o Audio for letting me try out a great product!

Sparkly Soul Review & Giveaway!

On my girls weekend away for the Divas Half Marathon in Long Island, I stumbled across a new athletic headband. I was originally eyeballing some sweatybands, but decided to check around the expo first & see what else was available. Then I saw Sparkly Soul....

All Sparkles.

Swoon.

What did I notice first?

These headbands were elastic the entire way around, where most athletic headbands only have a small elastic piece.

They are also non-slip the entire way around, where most other companies are NOT no-slip where the elastic is.

There is sparkle & color the whole way around, most places have no design or color where that elastic is in the back (boring when your hair is up!).

Shelley & I tried them on, and we were sold! We bought them to wear for the Divas Half. I went with a wide pink band to go with my new running skirt.

post race with my Sparkly band still in place

After testing it out for 13.1 miles, I just had to get in touch with the ladies at Sparkly Soul & tell them how much I LOVED their headband. I only had to do a minor adjustment once, and loved that it was a thick sparkle band. The band felt more comfortable & secure to me being elastic all the way around. 

Sparkly Soul was started by a Marathoner & Triathlete that wanted a headband to stay in place & look fabulous. I can 100% say, that these do both! The fabulous ladies at Sparkly Soul sent me a couple more bands to try out...

Black sparkle wide...

thin red sparkle

I'll definitely be wearing one for tomorrow's race in Hartford!

Do you want to wear some too? Sparkly Soul has gifted one reader a wide black & thin red headband!

How to Win

please leave a separate comment for each

1. Be or become a follower of this blog

2. Visit Sparkly Soul HERE & let me know what your favorite headband is

3. Like Sparkly Soul on facebook HERE & let them know Running to Health sent you!

4. Like Running to Health on facebook HERE & leave me some love!

5. Spread the word via blog, twitter, or facebook (1 for each)

Enter until 10/21, good luck!

Around the house...

My new favorite wall in my house...

Want a close up?

"You don't know, until you try"

so true.

Many of us wouldn't be where we are today without giving something a try that we never thought possible. Seeing this reminds me to keep trying, working hard, and go after my goals. I can never say can't unless I've truly tried and exhausted all possibilities.

This is my new Allied Steel Medal Display that I finally hung up after winning it from Watch MeGo Run! Joel helped me create a custom hangar that I absolutely love. I can't wait to add my new medal on saturday to it!

From Whooha gear

This is the picture I have framed above it (my picture had a glare, so this is from the website). I bought it at my last Tri of the season and LOVED it. I found a great long sleeve tee that I bought from them as well.

I love to have things around the house to motivate me. What's on my list?

1. My medal display & Tri wall

2. My race schedule on the fridge

3. My clothes laid on the dresser the night before

4. My "hat" hangar on the closet door that only holds 1 or 2 hats, but mostly running headbands

5. My supply of Stinger waffles and chews by my running gear

6. Your blogs to check in with on the computer and iphone

7. My foam roller in the living room

8. My bike & trainer in the living room/dining room

9. New packages arriving in the mail often with new running gear and fun things

10. magazines and flyers for more races!

What motivates you around the house?

I have to admit, I did miss this morning's run. I had about 5 nightmares last night, and thought sleeping in would be better. Plus, I think in the long run it will help my calf for saturday's half marathon. Did I mention I bit the bullet & bought new black CEP socks, so I now have a pair to match every outfit. They have become a must have for me.

Tonight we worked on our plan for our big Halloween bash! Remember last year's fun?

I cannot wait!

What are your Halloween plans?