Massacre Marathon Relay Recap

This past weekend I ran in my first relay race. The Massacre Marathon Relay was held at Country Park in Greensboro, NC. The marathon consisted of doing 16 laps around the park.  I was on a team of 4, so we each did 4 laps. I ran last.

My running group, the RUNegades, had 4 total teams competing. We all set up our chairs together and cheered each other on. It was a really fun experience.

The teams were:

• Team Trust (my team)
• Team Believe
• Team Conquer
• Team Preserver

On my team we had Thad (our running coach), Margret, Karen, and Colin. Technically we had a team of five. Thad was having an open house at the studio and had forgotten it was the same day as the relay. So he ran the first 2 laps and Colin was nice enough to run the last 2 laps for his turn. It worked out really well.

Thad ran the first lap, which was the longest lap at 2.2 miles. Every lap after that was 1.6 miles. I was really nervous the first time I went because I was not sure about how to do the baton transition from one runner to the next. It ended up not being a big deal at all.

The baton was a hollow pipe. So the funny thing was that sometimes when I was running, I would naturally bring it up near my mouth. Every time this happen it would make funny sound when I would breathe into it. Kinda like blowing on a paper towel roll tube. It made me chuckle every time.

Country Park is pretty hilly. According to my Garmin I gained 935 ft of elevation during my 4 laps that totaled 6.2 miles. Going into the race I had no expectations of how I would do. I felt ok. Early on in the week I had been dealing with some pretty annoying calf pain. So I was a little worried about how my calves would like this course.

On my first lap I was nervous. It had been a while since I had raced and at a shorter distance. The whole strategy changes. You definitely put the pedal to the floor when you run one of these because you know you can rest in between your turn. I decided not to worry about my time and to only focus on how I felt. I would push it just past my comfort zone. The hills sucked, but I enjoyed the fact that through my training with RUNegades, I am becoming a pretty strong hill runner. Often times I would pass a good number of people on the hills. I would only look at my Garmin when it would signal I had completed another mile.


I could not be more ecstatic about my splits:

My Laps:
Lap 4: 12:22
Lap 8: 12:26
Lap 12: 12:30
Lap 16: 12:38

I cannot believe I went below 8 minute miles, let alone on this course.  I feel so excited, and so sore today, haha. I'm excited to see how much I've progressed in my running since joining the RUNegades.

I'm so proud of every team. We all did it in under 4 hours, which is so cool.

For overall teams this was our places out of 161 finishers: 

Believe - 23rd place in 3:12:56
Conquer - 68th place in 3:44:24
Trust - 76th place in 3:48:55
Persevere - 95th place in 3:59:29

This will definitely not be my last relay race!

Did I mention we got a medal and a hoodie too?!!!

Today I purchased my new best friend for when I have sore muscles, which I definitely have today. It is called the Gaiam Restore Pressure Point Massager. I bought it at Target for about $16, which included NC state tax. It targets pressure points to help increase circulation and alleviate sore muscles. It feels amazing! Why did I not buy one sooner? The foam roller is ok, but this really gets into the spots I need it to, like my calves.

Next up is the Tobacco Road Half-Marathon on March 15th. I plan to do another sub 2 hour half. My first sub 2 hour half  just  does not feel all the way right. My Garmin read only 12.83 at the end of the race instead of 13.1. So I want to do it and feel really good about it. The course was certified but I still feel like a cheater. That is just too big a difference.

Wish me luck!

Fitletic Hydration Belt Review

I run all my long runs with my Fitletic Hydration Belt. I absolutely love it. My first hydration belt had one big water bottle that you wore to the back. The waste strap had no give to it and was made of nylon. I hated it for my long runs because if it happened to touch my bare skin, it would rub me raw. Also, as I would lose some water weight as I would run, the whole belt would loosen and really start bouncing. Trying to adjust it on the fly was horrible. It drove me crazy. I hated spending so much effort on something I felt I shouldn't have to worry about.

Wearing my Fitletic 16oz Hydration Belt
during my first marathon.

The Fitletic belt is so comfortable. The waste band is elastic and never bounces. The material of the pouch and water holders are like a wetsuit. It is pretty waterproof, and it is a comfortable material. I have never had chafing problems with this belt.

The center pouch can fit a good amount of things in it. I keep 2 GUs, chap-stick, headphones, and my car keys in it. For my marathon I used the two exterior GU loops, which also worked great.

I prefer to wear mine towards the back

It has two 8oz bottle holsters. In the summer I like to fill one bottle with a sports drink and the other with water. It did take me a while to like having two water bottles. I was used to having just one big one. I had to get used to drinking from two and having them balance. I hate when one is full and the other is empty. Not a big deal, it can just feel off balanced. So I just rotate drinking from each bottle back and forth to keep them balanced.

I thought I would like the race bib toggles, but the way I wear
the belt low makes it so the bib would hang down way too low. Plus I like to wear everything to the back. It just feels more comfortable.

I like to have my Galaxy S 3 with me for emergencies so I also bought the Running Belt Phone Holder Accessory. My ginormous phone fits in it perfectly. I also put a credit card and some cash in the interior pocket encase I need it. I have worn it during a lot of rain, and so far it has fully protected my phone. It gives me fast easy access to my phone, which is really convenient.

Overall I absolutely love this hydration belt. It is comfortable and durable. I like that it is mostly black and blends into my running clothes. It's a must need accessory for me, but not one that I want to be flashy about. I have ran 6 half marathons with it and one full marathon. Not to mention the hundreds of training miles. It is so comfortable that I even forget I am wearing it after the first couple of miles.

I highly recommend it!

OBX Marathon Weekend Recap

After months of training, the big weekend was upon me. My husband and I were making it a mini vacation with our 2.5 year old daughter, Hannah. We left for the Outer Banks on Friday. Crossing the bridge into the Outer Banks, we were greeted by the beautiful, huge, red moon coming over the water. I also noticed the Washington-Baum Bridge I would be running over at mile 23 of the marathon, gulp.

Colington Cafe (Picture from their website)

We went out to eat at Colington Café. It looked like an old B&B on the inside, only with all the rooms converted into dining rooms with many tables. The décor at first seemed a little old lady to me with lots of old looking flower patterns and old fashion hats and baskets. However, as the night went on the décor started to grow on me.

My favorite part was that they sat us in our own room, so we didn't have to worry about Hannah embarrassing us. Normally she does very well in restaurants. But of course she is a toddler, and at almost three, she is really beginning to test her boundaries. She likes to yell no on occasion and can talk really loud... The food was delicious!

We then went to the hotel. We were pretty tired, but Hannah was all wound up from sleeping in the car for almost four and a half hours. We tried having her in a bed by herself, but she kept jumping on it. I tried to sleep with her, and she kept kicking me when she would toss and turn over and over again. I had it when she head butted me. The rest of the night was a blur, so let’s just say I did not get much sleep that night.

Tim & Sally's 10K

The next morning I got up early to go see some of my fellow RUNegades / RunnerDude Fitness friends run the 10K and 5K. It was Tim’s first 10K, so I was excited to see him run it. I enjoyed getting to be a spectator of the race. It actually got me a little emotional as I started thinking about what it would be like to cross the finish line of the marathon.

Tim did awesome on his first 10K. I was really happy I got to be there for him. I know how awesome it is to have people you know supporting you in a crowd full of strangers. His wife Sally ran by his side the whole race. It was really sweet. Tim ended up beating his time goal by 5 minutes!!!

After the race we hung around a bit. Tim and Sally told me about their race and gave me some pointers, since some of the 10K course ran on the marathon course. Our friends David and Rachael showed up soon after that. David was running the 5K. Both Sally and David were doing challenges where you run two different races and complete them both to get a third bonus medal. It was very neat. To participate, I would have had to run the 10K and the Marathon. Not thinking that was a smart decision for my first Marathon, I opted to just stick to the main attraction. David ran the 5K and the Half Marathon. Sally ran the 10K and the Half Marathon.

I missed David's 5K as I needed to get back to the hotel to Jeremy and Hannah. I got his finishers results via text though. He had done a fantastic run and had earned himself a new 5K PR. So far this race weekend was going great!

When I got back to the hotel, Jeremy was in the shower and Hannah was still sleeping away at 9:45 am. Not surprising, the girl was tired from all her overnight shenanigans.

We hurried up and had breakfast, then rushed back for Hannah's diaper dash race. Upon getting out of the car Jeremy threw his back out. Not a very good sign for the rest of the weekend, but he was a trooper and proceeded to head to Hannah’s race.

We had told Hannah all about the diaper dash the week before, and she had been excited. This morning she was having none of it. As soon as they said "go" she just sat there staring off into space. When I prompted her to go, she firmly sat down. I tried to get her to stand up, but of course she was planted. Finally I picked her up and crossed the finish line, laughing, and grateful that this race had been free. As we were going back to our car, Hannah started saying she wanted to run in the race. Oh toddlers!

Diaper Dash

We went back to the hotel. Hannah and I enjoyed some time on the beach, while Jeremy took a nap to hopefully help with his back. Hannah loved walking in the sand and finding sea shells. It was very relaxing. I loved getting some alone time with my bean.

The beach right outside our hotel room

Wild Horse Adventure Tours

We spent the rest of the day on a Wild Horse Adventure Tour in a hummer. We got to see the Wild Horses, which was really neat. It was a great way to spend the rest of the day.

We enjoyed the tour. The 13 passenger hummer was very comfortable. The ride back was pretty cold though, due to it being open, but they provided blankets and I had brought a hat and blanket for Hannah. So we survived.

It was pretty neat riding on the open beach and then pulling into random areas looking for the horses. The horses traveled in small herds of 2 to 4, that we saw. They were funny because they would wait for each other. Hannah really seemed to enjoy it. I would definitely recommend Wild Horse Adventure Tours.      

The morning of the marathon, I woke and got ready just like any other race. Everything felt kind of like a dream. I was more worried about what I ate and how I felt. Luckily everything felt great.                            

Am I really doing this?!!!

We drove to the course start in Kitty Hawk, NC. I was happy that we got there with plenty of time to spare so I could just focus on the race. We took a few pictures by the start banner, and I made my way into my corral. The corrals were not very defined. They just had signs for A-D. The elites were placed in the A corral. I was assigned to corral D because when I had signed up I had projected my time to be 5 hours. I literally had no idea how long it would take me.

This year the event organizers had added pacers for the first time. I had trained for 4:30 and then had my plan adjusted to 4:15. I had been having an internal battle about what pacer I was going to use. The decision was made for me when they ended up not having a 4:15 pacer.

When I got in the corral, I could not locate the 4:30 pacer and by the time I did there were a good 500 people ahead of me to get there. Knowing from past experience in half marathons I knew that the beginning of the race is the most congested, and that I should be able to catch up to them without a problem once things thinned out.

The journey begins

I met two other ladies in the corral who were also running their first marathons. It was nice to be around other newbies dealing with the nerves. Then before I knew it, it was time to GO.

When I hit the starting chip mat I took a deep breath and thought to myself "here we go, we are really going to do this". I spotted Jeremy and Hannah up ahead. Luckily I was on the same side of the road as them, so I was able to wave to them and blow kisses to Hannah.

I felt really good and just kept reminding myself to run a smart race. I knew I needed to hold back and not start too fast. I wanted to have enough in the tank to finish the race feeling good and strong. So I just started listening to the conversations around me and enjoying the beautiful fall trees. I eventually found myself clustered up to the 4:30 pacer. The group was pretty large, and was pretty congested, so I decided to go ahead of them. From then on I just focused on effort and running my forever pace.

One of the funny things I saw was a pastor standing outside her church dressed in her robes along with some other men dressed in robes. As we passed, she said she was praying for our health and that we would get a PR. Then I heard one of the men with her ask what a PR was, and she told them it was a personal record. It was definitely entertaining and made me smile. Not something you see everyday out running.

I would not say any of the race was a blur. I was pretty aware of everything the whole time. I focused on making it a really good, positive experience. I got a lot of joy interacting with spectators. I high fived kids with signs saying "free high fives". I hit signs that said "hit for energy". I said good morning to just about anyone I made eye contact with. I also thanked volunteers. Most of all I kept a smile on my face. Why do something like this if you are not going to have fun?!

Going into the marathon I had been worried that I would get lonely as I had done all my really long runs with friends. The funny thing is that I never felt lonely. I didn't even listen to music. I brought headphones just in case, but never took them out. I found an inner peace that kept me company throughout the race. I focused on the scenery and the perfect weather conditions. I found all the positive aspects of the journey and just lived in the moment.

Wright Brothers National Memorial

Around mile 9, I was surprised to see Jeremy and Hannah. It was right after I had passed the Wright Brothers National Memorial. It was so good to see them. I ran over and gave them a hug and kiss. I laughed when Jeremy said "keep going", as if I was wasting precious time coming over to see them. I smiled about it for quite awhile.

Around mile 10, we entered the Nags Head Woods Nature Preserve portion. I found this section to be somewhat challenging but the beauty of the trail kept me focused and happy. Most of it was on a hard packed dirt road, however, there were loose rocks everywhere. I was careful not to roll my ankle or fall on any of the rocks. I smiled when I thought of my "I Run 4 Buddy" Ava, telling me not to fall in a video she had sent me.

Then we came upon an awesome water stop that was handing out orange slices and banana bread. I helped myself to both. They really hit the spot. The woods portion ended on a single track trail. I actually really enjoyed this section. It felt like pillows after being on the rocky road. It was also rolling hills, which I enjoyed. A lot of runners were struggling through the woods portions and were complaining about the rocks and the hills. I actually really enjoyed this section. I liked the change of scenery and terrain. The trails were lined by beautiful live oaks splashed in beautiful autumn colors. I truly felt like this was an adventurous journey of different lands.

As we came out of the woods a volunteer would say "Congratulations, you made it out of the woods". I thought it was cute.

I hit the halfway marker, and evaluated how I felt at that point. I was still feeling good and had found my groove. I thought to myself that I had just started a half marathon now. My own mind game.

Around mile 14, we turned onto a road that was lined with the biggest crowd yet. I was a little overwhelmed, until I noticed some amazing familiar faces. There Jeremy stood smiling with Hannah telling me I was doing an amazing job. Such an energy booster. I had figured I would only see them at the start and finish. I was really happy to have seen them two times in the middle of the course as well.

The rest of the run leading up to the Washington-Baum Bridge went well. I made sure to fuel and hydrate. The only time I walked the whole time was through some of the water stops to make sure I ate and drank properly.

When I hit mile 20, it felt surreal. I had ran 20 miles twice in training, but this time by far, I felt the best about those 20 miles. I knew every step after this was a distance PR. I had been really worried about these last 6.2 miles in the days leading up to the race. Yet, as I was actually staring them down, I felt a sense of determination and fire. I would do this!

Washington-Baum Bridge
(Pictures from Marathon Website)

Soon I saw the ominous Washington-Baum Bridge in the horizon. I had wondered how I would feel at the bridge when I would think about the upcoming race. I had wondered if going up the bridge would feel terrible at mile 23. I actually found myself excited to see the bridge. I knew I would finish this marathon at this point, no matter what. The bridge was a landmark. I yelled out "yeah the bridge". Runners around me looked at me like I was crazy, haha.

Running over the bridge was breath taking. The day was perfect, and it was hardly windy at all. I found myself passing lots of runners, as I ran up the bridge while many were walking up it. I actually found the bridge to not be that bad. I think it helped to train in hilly Greensboro. When I reached the top, I did a little fist pump for the cameraman. And then welcomed the downhill portion.

Reaching the top of the bridge

The last 3.1 miles did seem to take the longest, but I still felt really good. At this point many runners around me were struggling. There were some stretching out tight legs, and some that were walking. We passed the big inflatable crab. I got really excited when we passed a bagpiper. It was so cool. I got chills.

The last mile was by far the hardest. I could feel my left calf starting to cramp up a bit. It was on the edge. I was so happy to know I just had one mile and I would be done. The crowd started telling us the finish line was just around the corner. I laughed and told the runner near me that they better not be lying. She laughed and said "Right!". I looked down at my Garmin and knew it was true.

I turned that corner to a roaring crowd cheering for all the runners. Then I started to hear my name. I looked around and spotted Sally and Tim. Then Rachael and David. David ran out behind me and ran for a bit cheering. It was so awesome. I missed seeing Jeremy and Hannah, but Jeremy said I had almost looked at them. I was so overwhelmed with what I was about to accomplish.

I crossed the finish line as a marathoner. I thought I would cry, but instead I just had a stupid grin  that I could not get off my face.

I met up with everyone, and it was awesome. I really was happy to have so many familiar faces at the finish. I loved hearing that both Sally and David had ran great races as well. They both got PRs and earned their bonus challenge medals.

Rachael, David, Me, Sally, & Tim

The marathon seriously could not have gone better. I am still in shock. I ran a smart race. I never hit a wall, and I remained positive the whole time. The weather was absolutely perfect. The Outer Banks was beautiful. The event coordinators run an amazing race. There were ample water / fuel stops. There were lots of energetic spectators. I highly recommend this marathon, so much so that I think I want to do it again next year.

I really believe I did so well because I followed my training plan from Thad at RunnerDude's Fitness. It is so valuable to train well, and to have a coach that is so supportive and helpful. Thanks Thad!

I also could not have done it without my husband Jeremy. He was super supportive, and made it possible for me to get in all my training runs. He spent many hours watching Hannah, and for that I am truly grateful.

I am lucky to have so many supportive friends and family; who blew me away with all their well wishes on Facebook. I feel so very blessed and loved. Seriously, I still can't get over it. I spent the whole trip home reading messages from all of you.

A special thank you to my "I Run 4" buddy Ava. I thought about you a lot during the race, and am so lucky to be paired with such an amazing little girl. You were worth the 3 month waiting list. My shoe charms were my lucky charms.

Last I'd like to thank all my awesome running buddies who ran with me at various times during my training. I could not have done it without your help getting me out there, and helping me get it done. Especially my friends Brittany, Laura, Melanie, and Cara who got me through the really long runs. You ladies rock!

I cannot believe I ran and finished a marathon! 

Here are all the stats:

Official Results

Garmin Splits on Strava

New Distance PR!

What's next.... Maybe the Charleston Half in January. I'm thinking I need a new Half Marathon PR.

Race 13.1 Midtown Raleigh Fall Review

I had a great time at the 13.1 Mid-Town Raleigh Fall race. The weather was finally beautiful. We did not wake up to nasty, muggy air, making us sweat as soon as we stepped outside.

I stayed in a hotel with my friend Brittany, about 10 minutes from the start line, which again was really nice. We were able to just get up and go.

From the beginning of this race, I had planned for it to be a training run. I had learned my lesson from my 5k incident. Plus it really helped that I had finally gotten my sub 2 hour half marathon. I felt relaxed and excited to just enjoy the race, not having to worry about a PR.

Our friends Cara and Melanie were pacing the 2 hours 15 minute group, so we decided that would be perfect. It is really easy to get caught up in a race, and before you know it, you are running much faster than you are supposed to be for a training run. Plus, we had 5 more miles to run after the race, for 18 total miles (my longest distance yet).

The plan went without a hitch. The course was beautiful, running mostly on the Crabtree Creek Greenway. We got to meet a group of great runners with different goals. Katie and Janine were the two I got to know the most.

My favorite experience of the race was helping others reach their goals. Cara and Melanie do an amazing job of being race pacers. They are high energy, and really help keep everyone around them in good spirits. I really enjoyed getting to be a part of it in this race. They almost make me want to be a pacer, ALMOST. (I think it would be stressful to have to watch the clock so closely. Mad props to them!)

There was one lady around my age, that had a young son at home, her name was Katie. We had a lot in common. I really enjoyed getting to know her. She was trying to PR a 2:30 half marathon. She had ran two in that time. The second time she was like 7 months pregnant! She told me she really wanted to get a 2:15 half marathon. She picked a hard race to PR but she did it. She stuck with our group the whole time.

Around mile 10, Brittany and I pulled a little ahead of the 2:15 group. Up until this point I felt great. Problem was during this section, you come up near the finish line, only to be detoured onto another greenway for another 2.5 miles. At that point, I just all of a sudden wanted to be done. So I started to pull ahead from the group. Plus, I knew the dreaded Lassiter Hill stood in front of me and that finish line. I think Brittney was feeling the same, because she paced right along with me, as did Katie. We were all pretty quiet  at this point.

Then we came across Janine. She had started the race with us, but had pulled ahead pretty early. At this point she was walking. This was her first half marathon, so as soon as I saw her I knew she needed some support. So we started cheering for her, and telling her we were almost there. She started running with us again.

We hit the last water stop before Lassiter Hill. We walked through it knowing the hill in front of us was going to be a bear. You know it is bad when you can purchase a shirt that says “Conquer Lassiter Hill”.

We hit that hill all “Brave Heart” style yelling "Conquer the Hill". Brittney ended up pulling ahead. I just kept telling myself to just keep running no matter how slow. Katie paced right along side of me. I lost sight of Janine, but I never turned around to look for her, as I was fighting my own battle at this point.

As soon as I crested the hill, I could hear the crowd and could see the finish line. I pushed to go faster, but nothing crazy as I knew I still had 5 miles to do after the race. I was just crossing the finish line, when Katie went whizzing past me. Normally I hate getting passed right near the finish line, but this race had been about so much more. I smiled so big, and was so proud of her. I love getting to be a part of her PR story. I’d love to hear how she tells it J

Here were our finish times:

Brittany 2:13:40

Katie 2:13:55

Me 2:13:56

Janine finished her first half marathon in 2:14:53. I was so proud of her. Not only did she complete her first half marathon, but she did it under her 2:15 goal. I’d like to think we had something to do with that, but seriously she gets all the credit.

After race photo op

Race 13.1 Greensboro, Fayetteville,
and Midtown Raleigh

In some ways, this half was more satisfying then my sub 2 hour in Fayetteville. It was a tougher course in elevation, but it was way more beautiful. I also loved running with some of my sole sisters. I enjoyed not having the pressure I put myself through to PR. Most of all, I enjoyed meeting new people and helping them to reach their goals.

This was also my third finished race in the Race 13.1 Series. I received my X3 medal. That brings my half marathon count to lucky number 5.

Fun race stats:

Official Results

Course Elevation Profile

Garmin Forerunner 220 Review & Storage Solution

Earlier this year I got a nice little bonus from work and decided to treat myself to a new GPS watch. Up until then I had been using my cell phone and the MapMyFitness App to track all my runs. After doing some research I settled on the Garmin Forerunner 220.

I loved the purple color of the watch. I also liked that it is really simple to use. I liked that it had the built in accelerometer for tracking treadmill runs. (I have yet to try that feature as all my runs have been outside.) I spent the extra $50 to get the added heart rate monitor strap.

I like that while I am running I can quickly look down and see what my current time, pace, and distance is. I love that you can set vibrating alerts. I have mine set to tell me my current pace at each mile I hit. I can choose to ignore it or see how I'm doing. You can also set up workouts. I have only played with this feature a little bit but you can use it to set up workouts like intervals, progression runs, and Fartleks.

The GPS on the watch seems to work very well. It connects quickly and even caches your location so you can get quicker connecting times for the next time you run in the same area. The watch is comfortable. I'm also in love with the fact that I can upload my data to any site that allows me to. I am no longer only married to MapMyFitness. I have many running friends that use Strava so now I can link there as well. So definitely no regrets on this purchase.

I am very happy with my Forerunner 220. It was pricey at $300 for the Garmin Forerunner 220 Heart Rate Monitor Bundle. I bought mine at REI and got the REI Membership plan. I get 10% back at the end of the year. So I paid $300 and will get $30 at the end of the year. Membership was $20 so in the end I get $10 back. However, now I am a life long REI Member and can get money back on other eligible purchases.

My next mission was to find a solution to help protect my purchase when not using it. I looked online and found a Garmin case but it had soft sides, which in my opinion does not keep it very safe. I wanted a case I could throw in my gym bag and not have to worry about it. I also wanted it to fit the watch, heart rate monitor, and the charging/upload cable. After searching and not finding exactly what I wanted I decided I would have to come up with my own solution.

While shopping in Marshalls I came across a cute Vera Bradly Hard Sunglass Case. Bingo this would be perfect to use to keep all my Garmin Forerunner 220 parts together. Not to mention it is cute and was only $7.99!!!

Any large sunglass case would work. There are so many options for colors and designs. Some even have little handles. Jackpot!

Show me your GPS watch case ;)

Asics Gel Cumulus 15 Review

So true!

At the end of February I had determined I needed to switch out my Brooks Ghosts 6's as my left side of my foot kept really hurting after my runs. The outside of the shoes still looked brand new. Even the bottom tread was not too bad. It was the insides that started wearing down. These were my first pair of actual running shoes that I had gotten fitted for at the local running store. I have never experienced wearing down a shoe from the inside out. I'm estimating I had put around 400+ miles on them. It is recommended  that you retire your running shoes between 300 and 500 miles, so it was time.

I will admit it was a little hard retiring my Brooks Ghosts 6's. They carried me through many personal distance records including my first half marathon race. They are still sitting in my closet in a shoe box. I figure I can wear them just walking or when I do obstacle 5K races. -- Anyone else have an attachment to your running shoes? Hehe

Back to the new shoes-

Again I went to my local running store Off n'Running to get fitted for new shoes. I had a different sales person this time which I was happy about as I wanted to see if she had the same recommendations as the last guy I had consulted with. She analyzed my gait and came to the same conclusion. I have a normal arch with neutral foot alignment. So the shoe that they recommend for me is Neutral. Which is a nice cushioned shoe.

Asics Gel Cumulus 15

I had gone to the store half expecting to come out with a brand new pair of Brooks Ghosts 6's in maybe a new color. However, I was open to trying anything that they recommended. I tried on probably 5 pairs of shoes including the Brooks Ghosts 6's. I actually found I liked the Asics Gel Cumulus15's the best. They felt really nice. I especially liked the cushioning around my heels. So I went ahead and bought them for around $115.

I immediately took them out for our first miles together.  I ran a nice easy paced 5.44 miles. Overall the shoes felt pretty good. I did notice my toes felt like they were rubbing from underneath which I had never experienced with my other shoes. This went on for a couple of weeks and usually happened towards the end of my runs. Just when I wondered if I should take them back and try something different it stopped.

First time out of the box and hitting the asphalt

I'm glad I am reviewing them now because I think it took a couple of weeks to really break them in. I have about 150 miles on them now and I have absolutely no issues with them. They are very comfortable and have fantastic ankle support. The colors are fun and bring me back to when I was 5 and my favorite colors were pink and purple. My 2 year old loves them and when she sees me wearing them she says "Oh, pretty mama." I would definitely buy them again.

I just completed my 2nd half marathon race with these and have another race in a month that I will wear them in. Before I know it, it will be time to retire these. Who said running is cheap?!

I give these shoes 5 out 5 stars after 2 weeks of breaking them in. They get a 3 out of 5 until broken in.

Shorter Days

Wow, is it fall already?!

I'm excited that fall is here because I enjoy running in the cooler temps and getting to see the leaves change. However, I do not love the shorter days. As of now the sun is rising around 7am and setting around 7pm here in North Carolina. So what is a full-time working mom to do? I'm not a big fan of running in the dark mostly for safety reasons. I picture scary men or animals chasing me. Especially since I prefer running on the greenways which are not lit and are back in the woods.

I work a 9-5 full-time job so I can usually only run before or after work. My best chance is to run after work since I am not a morning person. Dark mornings make getting up even worse. As the days go on and the sun sets sooner I will need some light for the end of my runs. So I did some research and came across Knuckle Lights.

 Let me tell you these things are great. They are really comfortable to wear and they are easy to turn off and on. They provide a good amount of light. I can use them for running, walking the dog, and camping. You could also put them on your bike to add a quick light.

I got the pink  Knuckle Lights. They are really cute. Installing the batteries was a breeze. There was no need to read directions, which is always nice.

 

Let me know if you have any questions about these cool little lights. :) I may do a follow up video review once I've used them more.

Excuse my appearance, this was after a 5 mile
tempo run that kicked my butt.

 

Sweaty Bands Rock!

I am a headband girl. I wear them all the time because I hate hair wispies (the new short pieces of hair that grow at your hair line).

The problem with headbands are that they never stay put. Usually I have to wear little clips on the sides to help keep them in place. Even then they usually have to be readjusted throughout the day as they tend to slip back and eventually off my head.

I had heard of Sweaty Bands and was skeptical that they would actually work. I have used many brands that all claim the same thing but always would still slip off. Well I am happy to announce that Sweaty Bands are no joke. They actually work! I wore one on my 6 mile run last night and it stayed put the WHOLE TIME! I didn't have to adjust it once. I wore no clips to keep it in place.

I am super pleased!

I even decided to wear it to work today to see how it would hold up all day. Again it is great. I have not had to adjust it all. My only complaint is that it is a little tight on my head after hours of wear. However, I will take it. I'm guessing over time it will stretch out a bit to your head and not be so tight. I'm just so impressed that it actually stays put. Plus they are so cute. I have already gotten a couple compliments on mine.

The inside has a velvety material that helps keep it in place.

Check out their website. They have a lot of really cute designs. They are a little pricy but if you have tried a million headbands like me then you will know that these are worth it because they actually stay.

I got the Chevron Dots one and I love how cute it is.