I'm HAPPY to be back!

Ever have those times where you just need a break? Well that would describe me lately! I have been off enjoying two family trips, one to Sea World and one to Navarre Beach. Both were fairly relaxing and provided us with some down time with each other. Our little family three loves to travel so we enjoyed our road tripping! We are back to mostly normal routine and on the countdown to back to school for RJ! 

I have managed to keep up my workout / running routine while traveling. (With the exception of this past weekend when I forgot my running shoes, fail!) I even managed to complete another month of running 50 miles - YAY! Again, another hot & humid month but I didn't let it hold me back. Within those 50 miles I completed two 10K's virtual races. 

First, was the Mom's Run This Town Running Mad 10K. The medal for this race was super cute and swag bags from our chapter leaders were amazing. We ran this race in the rain and laughed the whole time. Our MRTT group might be the happiest people I know, everyone is always so encouraging and upbeat - not matter the conditions. We all run for different "purposes" and it's nice to see all smiles on the faces of these kick butt women! My time for that race was 1:01:42, guess running in the rain is beneficial! 

My bib number was #1 - love that! 

Our Swag!! 

Next up was the Happy 10K Virtual Race benefitting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I completed a previous virtual race with the folks at Run HAPPY Races and it was a great experience. When they announced the summer 10K race I jumped at the chance to donate and help them raise money the toward their Team in Training goal for LLS. I never pass up the opportunity to donate to LLS. I had two family members pass away within a year of each other from Leukemia. Uncle Bud was the favorite Uncle on my Dad's side of the family. Who cares that he was the only Uncle, he'd have been the favorite regardless! Uncle Ricky, better known as Uncle RicRic, was my son's best friend. Ricky always treated me like family, overlooking the fact that his nephew and I had divorced. RJ and I could always count on Ricky to be there for church and family activities, baseball games and swimming in the pool with his little buddy. These two men were both extremely faithful. They were honest, hard working devoted family men as well. Oddly enough they never met; however, I have no doubt they're having a blast fishing and hunting in plentiful fields of heaven now! Knowing that my simple donation of $25.00 might help in research for this cause is enough to get me out of bed at 5:00am to go run 6.2 miles before a hectic work day! It helps that our MRTT is very spirited in the mornings and we chat throughout our runs! So yesterday I completed 6.2 miles in 1:04 in honor of Uncle Bud and Uncle RicRic! 

It is not too late for you to take part in the Happy 10K Race. Check out their website and register! 

I also ended July with another 50 miles under my belt!! This is such a great feeling because last year all my training went downhill in the summer months, even my gym sessions. I saw several posts this morning from friends who completed up to 100 miles in the heat of July, I say "GO US" for keeping up our training in the HEAT and HUMIDITY of North Florida.

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer, 4 weeks 'til school starts! Get after those summer goals, NOW!

Drenched 5K : Giveaway!

2013 has been the biggest running year of my short running life! There seems to have been a race at every turn, ha! I had planned on the Peachtree Road being my last race for the summertime. That was until I recently discovered what may be the "coolest" race ever.... Drenched 5K - Run. Water Fight. Summer Party! You can imagine my excitement when I realized they are hosting an event in Jacksonville on the weekend we will be celebrating Scott's birthday in the area. I can't think of a better way to celebrate than with a FUN FAMILY RUN!

The Drenched 5K is all about bringing back those memories of summer fun.  Participants will run or walk from dry to drenched through “hot zones” and drenched zones which may include mist tunnels, foam zones, sprinklers, spectator “sniper” zones, bubbles, fire hoses, and a 100 foot slip n slide. Runners and walkers are encourage to form teams, don crazy costumes, and bring out their biggest water guns for a little camaraderie and competition against other teams.

For those not interested in building up a sweat but who want to get in on the fun, Drenched has a free spectator zone where they get to drench the runners any way possible! They are all about families getting active and so kids 5 and under run FREE and kids 12 and under receive discounted entries!

And at the finish?  They stage the best summer party in town!  The world's biggest water balloon fight, music, drinks and dancing. 

Drenched will be in 10 cities in summer of 2013:  Denver, DFW, LA, DC, Jacksonville, Columbus, Atlanta, Kansas City, Philly and Huntsville, AL.

Drenched 5K benefits local Children's Hospitals and fundraisers for local fire fighters.  

Register on a team of 4 or more and save $5 each!

So what's the big deal?? Not only am I super excited to try another fun race but you could win a free entry as well. I will be giving away two entries for a Drenched 5K location of your choice. I'd love for you to choose Jacksonville, FL on August 11th (hint, hint)! The raffle will end July 19th. Good Luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

That's a wrap!

Today wrapped up the 8 week Tabata Bootcamp classes! There were 20 of us that went on this journey together. We met M-W-F at 6am or T-Thu at noon or a mixture of both, regardless we comitted to taking class 3 days a week for 8 weeks.  When we started this journey I was not sure what to expect. We were given these lovely little tubes which have become known as "the bands from heck" and gliders.  

At first we all giggled because we knew we'd either grow to love these items or hate them! I will say it's hard to hate something that shows such great results! We learned new workout movements that incorporated each of these, a couple of those movements I will continue to use in my workout routines. 

That nervous giggling quickly led to encouragement amongst new friends. We all looked forward to seeing who could conquer a new move each class from the best Burpees to the meanest Skull Crushers to the Hover to the Perfect Pushups. Every class meant someone would have a personal best and we celebrated that together or growled together in some cases! We became a team known as the Badass Brigade! 

At the half way point a few of us felt like all we could hear was the "Constant Chatter" in our brains. The negativity was creeping in ever so slowly. Our CEO had to snap us back in place to remind us the number on the scale is just a number! Watch this video of the Badass Brigade telling the scale what we really thought that week : (here's the youtube link for your convenience - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCmumu-ts7Y&feature=share&list=UUD8zuKmZ2V7f5B2tFNrV1Og) 

Since that day most of us didn't even think twice about the assessments. Our CEO was seeing results, our friends and family were seeing results; however, most of all WE were seeing results. We all had more energy, we all were happily expressing that our clothes were fitting better. Again, we celebrated each other! 

Today marked the end of the 8 week program for me, Friday will be the end for the rest of the crew. Sadly, I will miss the party (y'all know I like a good party!). I'm really going to miss the friends I have made through this program. I'm glad several of the girls have decided to join us for a few road trips in the fall! I'm going to miss the almost daily encouragement of this group and celebrating the end together! 

Today was my final assessment! I was excited to see the numbers on paper. I was a little surprised when I saw this graph: 

This graph shows that during this program I lost 6 pounds. YAY! However, this graph doesn't show that I am down an inch in my waist and an inch around my thigh.  It doesn't show my new confidence. This graph does not show how thankful I am to have the ability to get up in the mornings and go to the gym at 6am. It doesn't show how much I appreciate the ability to be able to meet a group of ladies to run before the sun comes up. It doesn't show my excitement when my husband suggests we get up early on a Saturday morning and go for a training run together. The past few weeks has been about more than just this class. For me, it was pushing myself to a new limit and showing myself that I could do it. I am thankful for all the blessings that came along during this program! 

Here's a few fun pictures...the before and the after! 

May 13th - Day 1

 

June - Half Way Day 

 

July 10th - Final Day

 

Just for fun on the final day... 

 

As I was trying finish up this post today I received this photo from a friend of mine. 

And it's very true! God could careless about any of the before or the after photos, he only cares about the before and after story. My hope is that my before and after will inspire someone else to get active and stay active both in their faith life and their fitness life. 

This may be my a wrap of the Tabata Bootcamp, it's not a wrap on this overall journey. Lucky for me, I can drop in on the next round of classes to continue to push myself! 

Peachtree Road Race Recap

As most of you know I traveled to Atlanta last week to take part in the Peachtree Road Race. When we arrived in the city we went straight to the PRR expo. It was awesome! 

Tuesday and Wednesday were full of great food and browsing around the Lenox Mall. This was a great way to stay out of the stray rain showers! I say browsing because we did not come away with any shopping bags, this was a strange occurrence for our usual girls trips! We enjoyed several great laughs throughout the two days! Me driving in downtown is enough to make most people that know me well double over in laughter! 

Sadly, while enjoying a great meal at TWO urban licks on Wednesday it began to pour and continued to rain throughout the evening. As we made our way back to the hotel we all agreed that we would run no what matter the weather report may have said about storms. 

Upon waking up on Thursday morning the first thing I did was check the weather report. 

This was the radar... 

The picture on the radar wasn't what we hoped for but we all decided to continue with our plan to just run, not worry about the weather. We weren't overly concerned with this forecast, it was just rain, no red spots indicating a storm. Listen, if there had been red in that radar I would've been headed back to bed not headed to the MARTA station to get to the start line area! We donned our ponchos and rain jackets never giving it a second thought! The Badass Babes were focused on celebrating the traditions of July 4th, the freedom and most of all the ability to run (even in the rain). This was our last group shot as we headed to our various start waves, don't we look thrilled to be in the rain?! 

We arrived at the start line very early as to beat the crowd. Although at one point we felt we were over-thinking the crowd issue, surely people weren't as crazy us to run in this weather! Much to our surprise there was a crowd, a large crowd of 47,000 runners! This was a welcomed sight. The race began promptly 7:30am with the first wave of regular runners taking off, the elites had taken off at 7:15am. Our crew was spread out from Wave B to Wave U, we each had left our PR goals at the hotel and just focused on getting to the finish line. 

As I approached the start line I noticed it had stopped raining. This made me pretty happy; however, it was still very humid. My wave took off and I noticed there didn't seem to be as many walkers to weave through but there were plenty of runners. All seemed to be going well with my pace until about 2.5 miles down the route when I had to get that jacket off because it too hot. It was clear that my prayers had been answered and the rain was giving us a break! I caught up with another Mom from our local Moms Run This Town group and we chatted for a bit. It was nice to see a familiar face amongst the thousands of runners. As we approached the hills of downtown Atlanta I could feel my stomach taking a turn for the worse. Knowing this stomach issue was happening because I was getting overheated I took a quick walk break through a water stop and ditched that rain jacket altogether. It was a cheap one so I didn't mind loosing it along the way! I began to run again; however, I could tell my stomach was just not feeling it so around the 4 mile mark I made my way over to the side and threw up. Yes, for the first time in 3 years of running I got sick in the middle of a race. I was smart enough to know that I'd probably feel better if I just let it go! I had no idea what my pace was at that moment but I was aware enough to pause my Run Keeper. I did manage to quickly get myself together and get back on the route to finish the race. I ran a good portion of the remainder 2.2 miles with only taking walk breaks through the water stops. I reached the finish line with a time of 1:05 according to Run Keeper and 1:07 according to the official PRR clock. 

Once I found the girls in the midst of a very muddy Piedmont Park we all shared a few laughs about the run and various things we'd see along the way. Now, I have my own "I threw up" story including a pretty good finish to share with fellow runners! 

I am not too bummed about my time either. This was not an overall PR but it is a PR for the Peachtree for me!  This moment also reminds me that no matter how well I train and prepare my body for a race or any event that things just happen! I do not doubt my training for this race, I was very prepared. I also cherish the simple fact that I finished, I ran and walked 6.2 miles in downtown Atlanta on a day we celebrate our freedom! That alone is enough for this "Wife, Mother, Runner" to celebrate! 

My finish line shot... lots of people back there! 

The Badass Babes in Piedmont Park

I'd love to hear some other "I threw up" or "I felt sick" during a race stories! Up next for our crew is the Women's Running Series Half Marathon in Nashville, TN. I will spend the rest of the summer weeks focusing on that race and praying I feel just as prepared as I did last Thursday morning on September 28th! 

Favorite Finds at PRR Expo

Every runner I know looks forward to the expos that accompany the larger races. My BRB and I were spoiled early on in our running lives by attending our first race expo at the Peachtree Road Race in 2011. Now, I think we run this race just for the expo itself! HA! 

This year was another awesome year for the Peachtree Road Race Expo. It was housed in the World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta for a 2nd year in a row. The packet pickup was easy and smooth, it helped that we attended on day 1 for this purpose. Once everyone had their packets it was time to shop or browse at least. 

The expo was filled with shoe vendors, clothing vendors, food vendors and other race series offering discounted registration fees for expo sign ups only. We had a great time meeting new people and making new fitness contacts. 

Here are a few of my finds from the 2013 PRR expo: 

#1 - The Atlanta Journal Constitution always provides a fun photo booth. These can be a little cheesy but to be honest they're great photos!! 

Day #1 - Photo 

Day #2 - Badass Babes Photo 

#2 - Lift Your Sole - An Atlanta based company that features running jewelry and accessories. They have the best running jewelry as well super cute t-shirts. This necklace describes me almost perfectly -"Wife, Mother, Runner"! I love the slogan on the little bags "Do What Moves You!". 

#3 - Bondi Band - I was introduced to these little gems through our own Badass CEO. I received a "Badass Fitness" Bondi Band as a reward from being a top finisher during week 2 of our Tabata Bootcamp 8 week program. I love them, they stay in place and soak up all my gross sweat! They have the best quotes on most of them, too! If you haven't tried the Bondi Band, I'd highly suggest placing an order. We were excited to see them at the expo. Only down side was we had to dig through a huge pile of bands to find a few that we wanted to bring home with us! Here are the three that called my name (ha!) : 

#4 - SF-7x Super Fruit - Yummy! These little fruit snacks are not only healthy but very delicious! They are vacuumed sealed and preservative free source of 2 fruit servings in each packet. They are the perfect little snack for pre-run energy or maybe a mid-long run boost. The packets can be easily stored in a running belt or pocket on your favorite running shorts. They come in 3 great flavors - Raspberry, Strawberry and Watermelon. 

#5 - Women's Running Series - As most of you know we are heading to Nashville, TN in September to run the WRS Half Marathon. We stopped by their booth to check out medal for the upcoming race. We picked up these awesome little head bands from the sweet ladies working their booth. This will go perfect with my pink and green that weekend! 

Perfect color - PINK!

#6 - Ragnar Relay Series - I have always been intrigued by this race series. After visiting their booth at the expo, I am more than intrigued by this series. "12 friends, 2 vans, 2 days, 200 miles"relay style! Each runner hits the road or trail three times with each run ranging from 3-8 miles,. This race is for everyone, turtle or rabbit. They offer races all over the country and the medals are amazing! This is a must for our crew. We may not be able to pull it off for 2014 but 2015 better watch out because we will be relaying! 

I can't wait to earn one of these great shirts!! 

#7 - Hot Chocolate 15/5K - Amercia's Sweetest Race! A 15K in January 2014 that runs through the Atlanta area and ends at Turner Field with Hot Chocolate and Smores - Yes, Please! The race packet includes a "sweet" sweatshirt and a super cute coffee mug. Looks like the Badass Babes need to invest in winter running gear! If you don't have plans the end of January then you should join us, too. 

Love this keychain they gave us! 

Last but certainly not least we attended the running seminar hosted by Bart Yasso, running legend turned writer for Runner's World Magazine. We enjoyed listening to him tell stories of various race experiences and answer questions from the audience. I'm a little more willing to give Yasso 800's a try after hearing him describe the training plan, the half marathon version of course! 

Bart Yasso and the Badass Babes 

All in all the PRR expo was a blast, both days! We felt well prepared for the race itself after attending the expo. 

Up next on the blog : Peachtree Recap: the good, the bad and the ugly! 

xoxoxo-

Mitzi 

Did I meet all my goals for June 2013?

It's that time...a recap of June!! 

I listed my June Goals as : #1 - continue my growth in the Tabata Bootcamp, #2 -Run the Watermelon 5K, #3 - Embrace Paddle Boarding (there will be a blog update with photos for this one - HAHA!), #4 - continue training for Peach Tree Road Race & #5 - Enjoy lots of pool time with family and friends! 

When I wrote my blog about my May goals and looking into June we didn't know that Riley would be chosen a few days later to play on the Allstar team for our little league park. While this was super news, I was selfishly worried about missing my gym time in the afternoons. Knowing that I needed to stay focused on my workouts to complete my training I devised a new plan that would include me running and/or walking while Riley was at practice. The team had practice every night for two weeks so there was no excuse for me to miss an evening run/walk. Riley made me one proud baseball momma!! He had a great Allstar season, only for to end on Saturday afternoon. It was a bittersweet ending for everyone. 

I secretly set a goal of running 50 miles in June. I'm happy to say that I crushed that goal! I ending June on a great note and can't wait to see the final results of my training on Thursday at the Peachtree Road Race! 

The girls and I had a great time paddleboarding. If you missed the recap you can read it here. We are already planning another trip to paddleboard. All we need is this Florida weather to straighten out, the summer afternoon rain showers are turning into all day rain showers. We are determined to ma

I obtained another PR at the Watermelon 5K, even though I missed being sub-28 by a few seconds it was a great day. Here's the recap from that run! It was the last local 5K until fall and I already miss my Saturday mornings with our runner friends. See y'all in September for The Color Run! 

Tabata Bootcamp has been great. My measurements and weight number haven't changed all that much since my last update. I am stronger and I think it's starting to show, haha! I am close, very close, to having the "hover" movement perfected! I've got until July 11th to get it! I'm closing out these past 8 weeks with a new motto "Strong is the new Skinny". I can't wait to see all the ending results  from this inaugural Badass Fitness Tabata Bootcamp. I can't wait to celebrate everyone's success. 

I'd say June was a very successful month and kept me well on my way to achieving those 2013 goals! Now, what will July hold?? 

First, July will test my running legs! Peachtree Road Race - July 4th...finish is the idea, under an hour is the goal! July 7th brings about VBS at Fellowship Baptist Church. I love spending the week with our church friends. Our goal is show the children the love of Christ, if one child comes forward to be saved then we've done our job! VBS is always an awesome time of year.  July 11th will be the final day of Tabata Bootcamp for me, I will miss finishing off the program with the morning crew! I will be excited to see all the before and after photos!! Scott, Riley and I have a few trips planned for the month of July, we are all very excited to escape town together for a few days! 

I hope you have seen success throughout the month of June as well. If you haven't set your goals for July, you need to get busy! It's July 1st so no time like the present!! 

xoxoxo-
Mitzi