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| Who's got big plans for the weekend!? Yay for Friday! |
Friday, February 13, 2015
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Thursday Thoughts
One of the reasons I got into blogging initially was I started reading other running/runDisney blogs this past fall to get me as amped up and prepared for my first big race last month in Disney World last month.
I don't think I need to tell you that the Internet can be a black hole once you start searching things, but I was lucky to find some really awesome bloggers out there, that I still continue to follow today. While I know my little Podunk page pales in comparison to ones I read (...does anyone even read this!? haha) I plan to work on it more this year, especially as I will be working on running my 2nd half (who knew I'd do more than one!) and whatever else comes my way in 2015!
One cool thing about really awesome bloggers is they have giveaways. While I'm not that cool (yet!) in the past week I have one not one, but two different blog giveaways!
I found out over the weekend that I was the lucky recipent of some snazzy Kloss Fitseries Earbuds from the fabulous Karla over at Run Karla Run.
I will definitely be putting these to use as the temps get warmer and I'm able to hit the pavement again. Thank you so much to Karla for the shoutout on her site, and for the fab new running accessory!
Today I found out that I won an adorably cute pair of handmade hand warmers from the fantastic Katherine of Mouse Runner! Katherine was actually one of the first blogs that I came across in my blog searches and I really enjoy following her runDisney runs, as well and her tips to running, and more recently her crafting skills!
There is something so nice about offering up a handmade giveaway! Katherine also has a shop on Etsy - who doesn't LOVE etsy...another black hole of searching for me! - where you can purchase her fabulous crafts!
I feel doubly thankful to have won 2 giveaways so close together. It's the little things like this that can really make your day (....and work has been rough this week for a variety of reasons) so thank you to the awesome bloggers out there that brighten up our day!
Have you ever won a blogger giveaway? What's the coolest thing you've won?
I don't think I need to tell you that the Internet can be a black hole once you start searching things, but I was lucky to find some really awesome bloggers out there, that I still continue to follow today. While I know my little Podunk page pales in comparison to ones I read (...does anyone even read this!? haha) I plan to work on it more this year, especially as I will be working on running my 2nd half (who knew I'd do more than one!) and whatever else comes my way in 2015!
One cool thing about really awesome bloggers is they have giveaways. While I'm not that cool (yet!) in the past week I have one not one, but two different blog giveaways!
I found out over the weekend that I was the lucky recipent of some snazzy Kloss Fitseries Earbuds from the fabulous Karla over at Run Karla Run.
 |
| Woo new headphones! |
Today I found out that I won an adorably cute pair of handmade hand warmers from the fantastic Katherine of Mouse Runner! Katherine was actually one of the first blogs that I came across in my blog searches and I really enjoy following her runDisney runs, as well and her tips to running, and more recently her crafting skills!
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| Handmade by Katherine herself! |
There is something so nice about offering up a handmade giveaway! Katherine also has a shop on Etsy - who doesn't LOVE etsy...another black hole of searching for me! - where you can purchase her fabulous crafts!
I feel doubly thankful to have won 2 giveaways so close together. It's the little things like this that can really make your day (....and work has been rough this week for a variety of reasons) so thank you to the awesome bloggers out there that brighten up our day!
Have you ever won a blogger giveaway? What's the coolest thing you've won?
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday
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| 2015 DDD! |
WoooHooo!
Well folks, the Coast to Coast 2015 medal should be mine in just over 200 days! I am SO happy to announce that yesterday I was able to get my bib for the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge!
It was really a no brainer after the fun that was had last month at the Walt Disney World Half Marathon that my running buddy and I would make the trek to California in September to get not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 (!) additional runDisney medals. Let's be honest, we were planning this PRIOR to the fun at Disney, but that just further cemented everything, AND now we actually have 13.1 miles under our belt!
Why so many medals you ask? Well, that would be because with the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge (now in its third year) I will be running a 10k on Saturday AND the Disneyland Half on Sunday. By completing these 2 races, I will obtain my DDD medal, as well as, meet the requirements for the Coast to Coast medal since I will have run in Disney World and Disneyland in 2015!
I AM SO EXCITED!!
The whole registration process yesterday did cause me some anxiety...thankfully I work in an office that is supportive of my craziness, as the bibs went on sale at 10am my time when I should've been working, and I was able to get in fairly quickly and complete the whole process. I have to say though, for the crashing (white page of death runDisney...no!) and delays of the page initially loading - the actual "Congratulations" of the whole thing was very anti-climatic. So much so, I almost felt like I didn't actually just purchase a DDD bib! haha
I'm fairly certain my bland confirmation email proves otherwise though. ;)
If you didn't have a chance to get on yesterday morning within the first 40 minutes or so, the only way to get a DDD bib now is via a charity or travel agent. The 10k and Half have also now sold out individually, along with the Kids races.
This Disney weekend is sure to be a grand one - given the 60th anniversary of Disneyland (celebrations beginning in May!) and the 10th anniversary of the Disneyland Half Weekend.
again, I AM SOOOOO EXCITED!
Who else is up for a Disneyland run this September!? Anyone else getting their Coast to Coast!?
Monday, February 9, 2015
Week In Review
HOT DOG! Week In Review...ON TIME! Yahoo! Lots of fun stuff happened last week...I'm on a role!
Training Schedule (2.2.15 - 2.8.15)
2.2.15 // Today I did the 30 Day Shred, Level 2 video. I decided to change it up each week, since I've done them all before (though it's been awhile). Jillian kicked my booty in a short 28 minute video - and I was feeling it! This is proving to be great 'cross training' for me, as my abs and arms definitely feel it!
2.3.15// Rest day. Unplanned? haha. Just didn't have the time.
2.4.15// Another round of Jillian's 30 Day Shred, Level 2. It's amazing the sweat you can work up in such a short amount of time... ;)
2.5.15// Rest day.
2.6.15// My boss gave me the afternoon off today for all of my fab work I've been doing and coverage over the last month for a co-worker whose been out - which was GREAT timing given the super warm temps here in Denver. The hubs also took a half day, so we decided we would go for a run once I got home. We decided to just do a 2 mile run...which turned into a fab 1 mile run (9:48 pace baby!) and then a mostly walked 2nd mile chatting (14:57 pace, haha). It was nice though, to get out and run the open road in February - and just to have the afternoon off spent with my hubs. =)
I also decided to return the Forerunner 15 that I had purchased just before the WDW Half Marathon, as my husband was convinced I needed a FitBit Charge HR instead.
He had one prior to the whole issue last year, and got the newer version just after Christmas, and loves tracking everything. I have to say, having used it for the weekend, it is pretty fab, and not as bulky as wearing that watch on a daily basis to track my steps. I really wish it were more fashionable though - and I still really don't like sleeping with it (though the sleep stats are interesting!) but I'm definitely tracking myself more with things and starting to track what I eat - which is a little scary since I love food, haha, but it's been ok. So far, so good!
2.7.15// As I said on Friday's post, we had plans to continue to take advantage of the super warm (see: 70 degrees!) temps, and check out a park in Boulder. The hubs had sent me a link earlier in the week, but I didn't really look at it - he said it was dog friendly and we could bring Toby, so I was like sure!
We went to Chautauqua Park, which is located a few minutes from the popular Pearl Street in downtown Boulder. This place was POPPING. Now, given the beautiful weather, it was obviously easy to see why, but it was just great to see people out and about enjoying nature. We had stopped to pick up bagels on our way up, and found a picnic bench to enjoy a yummy late breakfast and just bask in the sunshine. We then made our way to the closest trail, which turned out to be a legit trail, as in hiking.
I have never really hiked in my life before, not that this was anything MAJOR, but it was a steep climb, involving mud and rocks - which I wasn't really mentally prepared for as I was just expecting a stroll through a park. While I got over the sadness of getting my Mizuno's dirty ("they're shoes," my husband said, "it's fine!") There were tons and tons of people of all ages, shapes and sizes - some even sans shoes! - on the trail. With every twist and turn, something new was discovered. Toby was a bit unsure of things at first as he can be, I'm sure it was the even higher altitude! haha but really got into the higher we went.
As if the mud wasn't bad enough, the trail soon became rocks, and when I say rocks, I mean legit ROCKS, like that was the trail. My first thought was Toby, but he took to it like a champ - he is a Cairn Terrier after all, it's in his DNA! The next thought was, holy hell how are we going to get down said rocks, but hey - that was a later problem.
The views as we continued to climb were beautiful. We could even see Denver in the distance at one point! We took a lot of pictures on our "good" camera - aka the Cannon DSLR that was my wedding present =) - so I only took a few phone snaps.
We ended up doing a mile up, so we had a mile back down on the same path. Going down was so much easier (duh!) but it was treacherous going back down the one really rocky part. There were many other dogs on the path that we encountered, including TINY dogs, to the larger types you'd expect to see hiking with their people. We happened to encounter a tiny, tiny Pomeranian on our way down on the rock part, and I joked that if she could do it, Toby sure could! He probably did better than I did. ;)
After our descend, we headed down to the Pearl Street to continue on our travels. Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed on the 4 main blocks to Pearl Street. While I noticed the sign, and mentioned it to the hubs, he said we'd continue on as we saw another dog in the distance and if we were told to leave, we would. We were actually stopped by some nice bystanders that told us we really shouldn't be there with him, and that they do ticket if we would get caught - sooo our jaunt around Pearl Street was cut short - as we did not want a $100 ticket. Boo. It was definitely a cute area though, and we will be back (sans Toby) in the future.
2.8.15// I knew that I wanted to keep up the active weekend, and we started the day on a 2 mile doggie walk with Toby around the neighborhood. It is so nice having this weather - I can't wait for the real spring to be here and stick around...let alone summer time!
After a little breakfast fuel, I knew I wanted to go for a run. I have yet to run on the track (we live next to a high school, so it's convenient) and the hubs wanted to run there, as it's better for his knees. So, off we went. I have to say I enjoyed the track better than the treadmill, and could find it good for doing interval work, but I still just like running on the fee road the best. haha I ended up running just over 2 miles, and then decided to run/walk the mile home (we drove as we had plans to go to the grocery store afterwards). All and all it was a solid day - let alone weekend - working out.
Looking forward to more Jillian and runs this week!
Training Schedule (2.2.15 - 2.8.15)
2.2.15 // Today I did the 30 Day Shred, Level 2 video. I decided to change it up each week, since I've done them all before (though it's been awhile). Jillian kicked my booty in a short 28 minute video - and I was feeling it! This is proving to be great 'cross training' for me, as my abs and arms definitely feel it!
2.3.15// Rest day. Unplanned? haha. Just didn't have the time.
2.4.15// Another round of Jillian's 30 Day Shred, Level 2. It's amazing the sweat you can work up in such a short amount of time... ;)
2.5.15// Rest day.
2.6.15// My boss gave me the afternoon off today for all of my fab work I've been doing and coverage over the last month for a co-worker whose been out - which was GREAT timing given the super warm temps here in Denver. The hubs also took a half day, so we decided we would go for a run once I got home. We decided to just do a 2 mile run...which turned into a fab 1 mile run (9:48 pace baby!) and then a mostly walked 2nd mile chatting (14:57 pace, haha). It was nice though, to get out and run the open road in February - and just to have the afternoon off spent with my hubs. =)
I also decided to return the Forerunner 15 that I had purchased just before the WDW Half Marathon, as my husband was convinced I needed a FitBit Charge HR instead.
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| My fancy new Fitbit Charge HR! |
2.7.15// As I said on Friday's post, we had plans to continue to take advantage of the super warm (see: 70 degrees!) temps, and check out a park in Boulder. The hubs had sent me a link earlier in the week, but I didn't really look at it - he said it was dog friendly and we could bring Toby, so I was like sure!
We went to Chautauqua Park, which is located a few minutes from the popular Pearl Street in downtown Boulder. This place was POPPING. Now, given the beautiful weather, it was obviously easy to see why, but it was just great to see people out and about enjoying nature. We had stopped to pick up bagels on our way up, and found a picnic bench to enjoy a yummy late breakfast and just bask in the sunshine. We then made our way to the closest trail, which turned out to be a legit trail, as in hiking.
I have never really hiked in my life before, not that this was anything MAJOR, but it was a steep climb, involving mud and rocks - which I wasn't really mentally prepared for as I was just expecting a stroll through a park. While I got over the sadness of getting my Mizuno's dirty ("they're shoes," my husband said, "it's fine!") There were tons and tons of people of all ages, shapes and sizes - some even sans shoes! - on the trail. With every twist and turn, something new was discovered. Toby was a bit unsure of things at first as he can be, I'm sure it was the even higher altitude! haha but really got into the higher we went.
As if the mud wasn't bad enough, the trail soon became rocks, and when I say rocks, I mean legit ROCKS, like that was the trail. My first thought was Toby, but he took to it like a champ - he is a Cairn Terrier after all, it's in his DNA! The next thought was, holy hell how are we going to get down said rocks, but hey - that was a later problem.
The views as we continued to climb were beautiful. We could even see Denver in the distance at one point! We took a lot of pictures on our "good" camera - aka the Cannon DSLR that was my wedding present =) - so I only took a few phone snaps.
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| Check out the rocky pup! This wasn't even the worst of it. |
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| A look up! |
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| Action shot! |
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| This picture doesn't even really do the muddyness justice, but my shoes need a bath! |
Another cool thing we happened to see was a group of free climbers at one part of the trail. These kids just started climbing vertical on the wall! I couldn't help but stare lol it was SO cool! I don't think I could do something like that without being tethered, but it was awesome watching them. The clouds were just moving along above them too - it was hard to capture, but it was an awesome scene.
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| Can you see the people making the climb? Talk about vertical! |
After our descend, we headed down to the Pearl Street to continue on our travels. Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed on the 4 main blocks to Pearl Street. While I noticed the sign, and mentioned it to the hubs, he said we'd continue on as we saw another dog in the distance and if we were told to leave, we would. We were actually stopped by some nice bystanders that told us we really shouldn't be there with him, and that they do ticket if we would get caught - sooo our jaunt around Pearl Street was cut short - as we did not want a $100 ticket. Boo. It was definitely a cute area though, and we will be back (sans Toby) in the future.
2.8.15// I knew that I wanted to keep up the active weekend, and we started the day on a 2 mile doggie walk with Toby around the neighborhood. It is so nice having this weather - I can't wait for the real spring to be here and stick around...let alone summer time!
After a little breakfast fuel, I knew I wanted to go for a run. I have yet to run on the track (we live next to a high school, so it's convenient) and the hubs wanted to run there, as it's better for his knees. So, off we went. I have to say I enjoyed the track better than the treadmill, and could find it good for doing interval work, but I still just like running on the fee road the best. haha I ended up running just over 2 miles, and then decided to run/walk the mile home (we drove as we had plans to go to the grocery store afterwards). All and all it was a solid day - let alone weekend - working out.
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| A celebratory homemade Vanilla Chai after the active weekend. <3 |
How did you spend our weekend? Do anything fun and exciting outside?
Friday, February 6, 2015
Furry Friday
Yes. Oh yes. Haha
However, with beautiful weather in the high 60s, maybe even 70s this weekend here in Denver, we will be enjoying the outdoors. A trip to Boulder is planned for tomorrow - we haven't been yet and I've heard great thing!
Any big plans this weekend? Plans to sleep in? :)
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Wordless Wednesday
My commute this morning. Bumper to bumper almost the whole freakin' way.
Why do Coloradians not know how to drive in the snow?! No accident. No traffic signal issues. Just stupid drivers. Haha. Half an hour late to work and there was a backup getting into my parking garage. Meh.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Week in Review
I am trying really hard to stick with my Week in Review posts on Monday to really hold myself accountable. (Maybe I should hold myself more accountable for my runDisney review, eh? haha That is coming!)
Given I have big aspirations for 2015...and possibly even bigger ones for 2016...Even though I don't have anything formal yet on my running docket, I have got to keep up with my training, enough slacking!
Training Schedule (1.26.15 - 2.1.15)
1.26.15 // I decided to kick it back to my girl, Jillian Michaels, and her 30 day Shred video, level 1. I really like her videos and the fact that I don't have to leave the house, plus I work up a decent sweat in half an hour, so it's a win win!
1.27.15 // I had a lengthy chat with my runDisney BFF about upcoming plans - let's just say the Coast to Coast medal should hopefully be happening in 2015!
1.28.15 // I ended up staying late at work, and thusly it ate into my workout time. I didn't get home until almost 7pm, so I really didn't feel like popping on Jillian.
1.29.15 // No workout. I had better things to do! Namely, seeing a sneak peek of the new Backstreet Boys doc, Show 'Em What You're Made Of! I have been anxiously awaiting this, and was excited that there happened to be a screening happening close to where we live in the good ole burbs of Denver. I have been a Backstreet Boys fan since 1997 and this film was like living the back in the glory days of boybandery. I hope to do a formal write up about it - but I STRONGLY suggest you check it out - now available on iTunes! - as it is a REAL look behind the scenes of their last album, and a look back at the highs, and lows, of their fame.
1.30.15 //Went to the gym after work with the hubby. I really didn't feel like it, but I made the commitment to him earlier in the day that I would go with him, and didn't want to let him down since he could've gone before I got home from work. I ended up doing 20 minutes on the treadmill, and did a 1% incline. I figure it's time to up the anty a bit, plus I read this was something good to do as it more so mimicked running outside - you mean the world isn't flat!? I didn't really push myself, as I'm getting back in the swing of things. Then I did about 10 minutes of arm workouts on the weight machine, and while the hubs was using it, I use free weights to continue to work my flabby arms! haha Glad I went. =)
1.31.15 // A nice doggie stroll and play session with the hubs and Toby. We knew that snow was a possibility, so we had an early morning jaunt over to the high school field to run around and let Toby get out his energy. I hope to do this more as the weather improves (back into the 60s this week, woo Colorado!) as its being active without running, but still getting our 'steps' in...since we are all about hitting those step marks these days!
2.1.15 // 30 Day Shred - Jillian Michaels, Level 1. I really do enjoy this. It's quick and easy and figured I'd squeeze it in since it was snowy out and I was already gross from cleaning (does anyone else sweat from vacuuming!?)
Let's hope the streak continues this week! =D
Do you have a favorite workout video?
Given I have big aspirations for 2015...and possibly even bigger ones for 2016...Even though I don't have anything formal yet on my running docket, I have got to keep up with my training, enough slacking!
Training Schedule (1.26.15 - 2.1.15)
1.26.15 // I decided to kick it back to my girl, Jillian Michaels, and her 30 day Shred video, level 1. I really like her videos and the fact that I don't have to leave the house, plus I work up a decent sweat in half an hour, so it's a win win!
1.27.15 // I had a lengthy chat with my runDisney BFF about upcoming plans - let's just say the Coast to Coast medal should hopefully be happening in 2015!
1.28.15 // I ended up staying late at work, and thusly it ate into my workout time. I didn't get home until almost 7pm, so I really didn't feel like popping on Jillian.
1.29.15 // No workout. I had better things to do! Namely, seeing a sneak peek of the new Backstreet Boys doc, Show 'Em What You're Made Of! I have been anxiously awaiting this, and was excited that there happened to be a screening happening close to where we live in the good ole burbs of Denver. I have been a Backstreet Boys fan since 1997 and this film was like living the back in the glory days of boybandery. I hope to do a formal write up about it - but I STRONGLY suggest you check it out - now available on iTunes! - as it is a REAL look behind the scenes of their last album, and a look back at the highs, and lows, of their fame.
1.30.15 //Went to the gym after work with the hubby. I really didn't feel like it, but I made the commitment to him earlier in the day that I would go with him, and didn't want to let him down since he could've gone before I got home from work. I ended up doing 20 minutes on the treadmill, and did a 1% incline. I figure it's time to up the anty a bit, plus I read this was something good to do as it more so mimicked running outside - you mean the world isn't flat!? I didn't really push myself, as I'm getting back in the swing of things. Then I did about 10 minutes of arm workouts on the weight machine, and while the hubs was using it, I use free weights to continue to work my flabby arms! haha Glad I went. =)
1.31.15 // A nice doggie stroll and play session with the hubs and Toby. We knew that snow was a possibility, so we had an early morning jaunt over to the high school field to run around and let Toby get out his energy. I hope to do this more as the weather improves (back into the 60s this week, woo Colorado!) as its being active without running, but still getting our 'steps' in...since we are all about hitting those step marks these days!
2.1.15 // 30 Day Shred - Jillian Michaels, Level 1. I really do enjoy this. It's quick and easy and figured I'd squeeze it in since it was snowy out and I was already gross from cleaning (does anyone else sweat from vacuuming!?)
Let's hope the streak continues this week! =D
Do you have a favorite workout video?
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