Race Expo Fun!

Posted on May 11, 2013 Written by Leave a Comment

It´s been a while since I have been at a race expo, and this time I am on the other side of the table! It’s been fun chatting with all of the Cox Rhode Races runners.

photo (56)I have seen a lot of Boston Marathon gear and Boston Strong t-shirts—so cool! I got to catch up with a Boston runner who was stopped at mile 25 and went back to finish the race two weeks later!

She was very emotional telling the story, but it was so nice to hear the support she got when she went back to finish. She said that random people all along the way were clapping for her as she kept repeating “I’m going to finish what I started.” AMAZING!

Last night I went to dinner to catch up with an old friend and then hit the sack early. I have to say it was complete heaven to have a king size bed all to myself!

photo (57)After today at the expo, I will be heading back to the Cape to finish out the weekend with some more home improvement projects and Mother’s Day fun. My husband has made some plans, and I hope the weather cooperates!

Have a great Mother’s Day to all my mother runner readers! Enjoy the day and rest and relax (or do whatever makes you happy!) Smile

Filed Under: Racing, Travel Tagged:

Updates, Race Discount Info, and More!

Posted on April 9, 2013 Written by 1 Comment

I know, here I am taking time off from blogging again! I think the next month or so will probably be only weekly posting instead of three days a week.

I have finally finished redoing the boys’ room, and I will do a post with pictures as soon as it’s complete! Since we are knee-deep in home improvement and other associated issues, I am cutting back on posting frequency.

Unfortunately, I have also cut back on running frequency! I am trying hard to squeeze everything in, and I know things will normalize again someday soon!

logo_capecodNow for some cool race discount information!! ZOOMA Cape Cod will be this September again, and I am super psyched to be a race ambassador again! I recently received a promo code to share with you guys:

Use code CCAMB5 to save 10% off the registration fee for the half marathon or the 10K. Grab your running partner or other girlfriends and sign up for a weekend race on the Cape. September is hands-down my favorite month here!

While you’re at it, you can also sign up for a cool sweepstakes ZOOMA is running for their inaugural Chicago race! Check out details HERE.

If anyone is interested in running the Falmouth Road Race this year, and you want to make sure you get an entry (it’s a lottery system for non-residents), the Melanoma Foundation of New England has some entries available for those interested in fundraising.

Raise $1,000 for the Melanoma Foundation of New England, and you get guaranteed entry into the race. It’s a great race AND a great cause! Win-win!

In other news, I am SO glad spring is finally here, and I can’t wait to hit the roads more often! Smile

Filed Under: Racing, Training Tagged: ,

The First T-Shirt and Shorts Run of the Season (and a Larabar Giveaway!)

Posted on March 12, 2013 Written by 15 Comments

Yesterday.was.awesome. I was super psyched for a lot of different reasons, the first of which being the milder weather and the sunshine that appeared just in time for my late afternoon run!

logo_capecodI had a very nice 5-miler in shorts and a t-shirt and loved every minute of it. The other great part of my day was finding out (the night before) that I was selected once again as a ZOOMA Cape Cod Ambassador.

I had a FABULOUS time at ZOOMA Cape Cod last year, and I can’t wait to do it again this year! I love the race series and all that it stands for, and I am proud to be an ambassador.

Lastly, I have a Larabar über Bar giveaway. For those of you that are Biggest Loser fans, you know that the über bars were featured on the show a few weeks ago. I love the traditional Larabars and the über bars are just as yummy! The combination of sweet and salty can satisfy just about every craving, with natural, whole food ingredients.

One lucky reader will win a 4-pack of über Bars, just leave me a comment below with the flavor you would most like to try (just click on the link above). I will draw a winner using www.random.org. The giveaway will end on March 19 at 7:30 a.m. Good luck!

Filed Under: Giveaways, Nutrition, Training Tagged: ,

ZOOMA’s New Personal Best Program!

Posted on January 24, 2013 Written by Leave a Comment

There are a lot of reasons why I love the ZOOMA race series, and they just gave me a new one! The ladies behind ZOOMA have rolled out a brand new program called the ZOOMA Personal Best Program.

zooma cc badgeStarting this year, ZOOMA is going to give you the extra push to get a PR in a ZOOMA race. So whether it´s your first time racing the distance (automatic PR!) or a new personal record, you will get a special PR medal at the finish.

For more information on the new program, you can click HERE. I will be running ZOOMA Cape Cod again this fall and hopefully scoring a new PR, will you?

Filed Under: Motivation, Racing Tagged: ,

ZOOMA Cape Cod is Back Next September (with Every Mother Counts)!

Posted on December 14, 2012 Written by Leave a Comment

I was so excited to find out that ZOOMA will be back on the Cape next September. For those of you interested in running, the race will be held on Saturday, September 28.  I can’t wait to run it again, and I am almost 100% sure that my two running besties Jenn and Michaela are in again too!

In other exciting ZOOMA news, ZOOMA is partnering with Every Mother Counts in 2013. Every Mother Counts is a non-profit (started by supermodel Christy Turlington) that helps to increase education and support for maternal mortality reduction around the globe. Below is a great little video that gives you some insight into what they do:

ZOOMA runners will be able raise additional funds for Every Mother Counts (above what you can do through the app Charity Miles) and compete to win some great swag! You can find out more details HERE.

Who will I see next year at ZOOMA Cape Cod?

Filed Under: Racing Tagged: ,

I Finally Found a Running Skirt I’m in Love With!

Posted on July 16, 2012 Written by 10 Comments

A while back I wrote about the chafing I was getting from running skirts during long runs. After posting the article, Skirt Sports reached out to me to try their skirts to see if they could help me with the chafing issue.

I received a Gym Girl Ultra Skirt and one of the Marathon Chick skirts. For those of you who have not checked out Skirt Sports yet, they have an UNBELIEVABLE selection of colors and prints for skirts. The Gym Girl Ultra skirt is a beautiful turquoise color and I chose pink for the Marathon Chick skirt.

I have worn both skirts numerous times now and I love them! The Gym Girl Ultra is great if you like a little more length to your skirt and you prefer the compression shorts underneath. Plus, it has a pocket on the right side of the shorts that can hold an iPhone! I went running the other day and loved the fact that I could stash my phone there and it stayed put and was comfortable for the entire run.

The Marathon Chick is shorter and has the spankies (underwear) instead of the compression shorts. I majorly HEART this skirt! I wore this skirt in my last race and loved how comfy it was. The people cheering must have loved it too, because the kept yelling “Go pink!” SmileI am a total convert to the skirt with spankies—I think a lot of my chafing was from the fabric rubbing together between my legs and that’s just not an issue with the spanks. I can’t wait to wear it for the ZOOMA Cape Cod Half Marathon!

I also love that Skirt Sports was started by a fellow mother runner and triathlete, Nicole DeBoom. She believes that if you look good, you feel good, and your training and performance follows! I think she is spot on.

Skirt Sports offers new specials every Monday, so check out their Facebook page and sign up to be on the mailing list (and find out where you can by Skirt Sports skirts locally) to get updates on the latest sales. Sometimes you can snag a skirt for up to 50% off!!

Skirt Sports provided 30 Something Mother Runner with two skirts. I was not obligated to write this review, but I chose to do so because I LOVE them!

Filed Under: Gear, Reviews Tagged: , ,

Lunch with ZOOMA and Blogger Friends!

Posted on June 7, 2012 Written by 3 Comments

I wrote a guest post on the Attune Foods blog this morning, describing the relationship between diet and training and how it works for me. Check it out!

Yesterday, I attended a ZOOMA lunch on the in Falmouth at the Sea Crest Beach Hotel—sharing the race with the local running community. I haven’t been to the Sea Crest in quite a while (pre-renovation) and let me say it was BEAUTIFUL!

Me, Michelle, Nancy, Anne Curi Preisig, and Brae Blackley

We had lunch at Shutters, overlooking the water. It literally felt like we were eating on the beach! I was so excited to finally meet Brae Blackley and a few fellow ZOOMA Ambassadors who I have met online but not in real life: Nancy and Michelle. They are both so sweet and I can’t wait to work with them over the next few months!

Lunch with a view and great company was fabulous. We got to take a quick look at the proposed course, and I will post more when it gets the final approval. For anyone who wants to spend the night Saturday at the Sea Crest, they have a special ZOOMA rate which is $199. They are waiving the standard two night minimum, so this is a FABULOUS deal (especially at this location and at this time of year). There are some very nice rooms included in the block, so the sooner you book, the better!

ZOOMA Goodies!

All in all, a great way to celebrate National Running Day (complete with the morning’s four miles!).

Filed Under: Racing Tagged: ,

Assembling a Racing Schedule

Posted on May 16, 2012 Written by 9 Comments

Last night I finally decided to put pen to paper (actually keyboard to Excel spreadsheet) and hammer out a racing schedule for the summer and early fall. I kept going back and forth about when to run my first comeback race. After talking it over with my coach, we decided on a preliminary schedule that looks like this:

  • July 4th weekend  – 5k or 10k (rust buster, motivation for May and June)
  • July 28-29 – 10k (“training through” type race to assess progress and fitness)
  • August 12th  – Falmouth Road Race (training run)
  • August 18-19 – 5k (work on speed a little)
  • Sept 1-2 – 10k race (final tune-up)
  • Sept 22 – ZOOMA Cape Cod Half Marathon (goal race)

One of the reasons I love having Coach Jeff is that he can help me with this type of dilemma. While I am sure I could put together a race schedule, I don’t know that it would be the smartest one—i.e. I would probably sign up for a ton of races!

I already found a race for July 5, the Cotuit Firecracker 5k. This race will be my “rust buster.” Hopefully all of the rust is busted off by then! One of the hard things about planning a comeback race is that you don’t want to just show up and run. You want to run it well. I freely admit that I will be very nervous when I toe the line for that first 5k.

I am sure there will be a million questions running through my head. What if I don’t finish? Will I be able to keep the pace I want? What if I am too slow? In the end, I know I need to take a page from Nike’s old playbook and just do it! I think like a lot of things in life, the first time can be the most difficult.

I am having a bit of a harder time finding a couple of 10ks. I feel like there just aren’t as many any more. Everything is either a 5k or a half marathon! If you know of any 10ks that would fit into the above schedule (and are in RI/MA/CT, please let me know. I will be forever grateful. I can only scroll through the Cool Running listings so many times! Winking smile

Also, if you happen to be looking for a fun 5k to run in early June on the Cape, a family friend has organized the Falmouth Flag Day 5k to benefit the Falmouth Education Foundation. This will be the second year for the race, and it will be held on June 10 at 10:00 a.m. If you would like more information, visit their web site HERE. The beautiful course runs right along the beach in Falmouth Heights.

Filed Under: Racing Tagged: , ,