Cheese and Whine

I have to float to a department I have never been to today and I really have a bad attitude about it.  I am trying to have an attitude adjustment, but I just think it sucks that they float as all around to these departments we have never been to when the people in these departments 1. never really seem that busy anyway adn 2. could never come and help us when we are busy.  I know I would just be happy I have a job and only have to work part time, but this will be the 2 shift out of 3 that I have had to float. The OR nurses in the main hospital never have to float, but u slowly surgery center ones have to all the time.  Hopefully work will get busier again soon and I won't have to worry about it.  Wish me luck today!

What do you have to do at work that you resent?
Am I totally being a big baby here! Ha you don't have to anwer that one! :)

We Have a Winner

So many people commented on my abs yesterday that I am going to do a post soon and tell you all about how I got them. Thank you for all the great things you said.  I think I just got a little vain.  :)

 and Finally..

 

And the winner of my Running Chicks tank giveaway is ..

are you ready for this?

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway.

Xaarlin over at Pain in Nothing! 
Send me an email with your info and I will have them get in touch with you! 

Sneak peek and weird food

This morning I went out and ran three 2 mile intervals with a 1 minute rest break in between at my goal half marathon pace, which is about 8 min/miles.  Though I may run it a bit slower in two weeks depending on the heat.  I did a 1 mile warm up then just as I was getting ready to head into my first interval who shows up in the sky but a crop duster.  Oh great, just what I need.  So I had to readjust the route I was taking,  which was AWAY from him instead of towards.  

The  first 2 miles felt great, the second two miles I started to get a little hot and on the third I was struggling a little but I held it close to goal pace, okay I stopped for about 15 seconds to try and get the two bugs that flew into the back of my throat out.  Yuck

 I tried one my new Roctanes before hand and YUCK.  I pretty much had to gag that baby down with my peach tea flavored GU Brew (yum) but I felt like it did give me a little boost.  Anyone else use Roctane and like it?  Also tomorrow is the last day you can enter to win this tank!  I will be picking a random winner at noon my time.  I love this tank.  It feels so light and is so soft.  Thanks Running Chicks!

 But don't feel too bad if you don't win it because I just found out that my very favorite bra EVER is going to let me give one away to one of my lucky readers!  So if you really want one and don't win one over at Runninghood you could still win one here soon! Check me out in my pink one! 

 Did I mention I LOVE this bra? Ignore the weird stretch marks, courtesy of my Little Cowboy who I carried out in front of me like a basketball when I was pregnant.

 Check out the cute straps in the back.  These pictures were inspired by THIS post over at Discovering the Meaning of Stonehenge today.  Thanks to her I decided to do one of my intervals with no shirt on.  Okay, I was pretty positive no one was going to see me anyway so I felt pretty safe :)  It felt really good to run with no shirt, but I don't think I will make a habit of it. 

 Oops and I guess you know now that I have a little tatoo on my lower back.  I got it when I was 19 in college. Can anyone tell what it is?

My lil sis sent some Slovenian goodies with the Superhero capes including eucaluyptis gummies, not good, especially before a run.  Thought I was going to barf halfway thru my run.  Peanut butter flavored puffs- not bad.

 Twinki like things shaped like a bear and stuffed with gooey chocolate, these were a big hit with the kids.

 Chocolate bars full of pop rocks.  Personally I loved these. Yumm and I loved all the popping in my mouth.

 But my very favorite ketchup flavored chip type things.  SO good, the kids didn't get to eat very many of these.  Jessica if you are reading this I liked these a lot.. send more! :)

 These are full of chocolate that is great for dipping pretzels in. The indian on the front really cracked my up. The hazelnut ones are really good.

 What did you do great today?
 My run.  Yay!  Survived 5 kids that were 5 and under for 5 hours and now am going to make supper!

Am I ready?

A couple weeks ago I asked for podcast suggestions from people in this post and here they are:

• Fat2Fit Radio by Carrie at 5 Miles Past Empty

• Two Gomers Run a Marathon by Sarah at Uberlibrariana

• WNYC's radiolab by Xaarlin at Pain is Nothing

• "this American life" on NPR by both Falon at Falon Does Marathon and Xaarlin

• jillian michaels has some free podcasts by Holley at Lunges and Lashes

• Marathon talk by at Small Town Runner 

So thanks to all you gave me some ideas!  I haven't had a chance to listen to any of them yet, but I did start downloading "This American Life" and "Fat2Fit Radio" so hopefully soon I can.  Anyone else have any I could add to the list? 

I was paging thru an old issue of Runner's World yesterday at work and found an article on how to tell if you are ready to race a certain distance. For a half marathon, which is what I am doing in two weeks, it suggested running three intervals of 2 miles each at the goal race pace with a minute of rest in between.  So that is going to be my workout this morning.  I am going to do it before it gets too hot, but I am waiting for it to warm up a little more so I can simulate what it will probably be like on race day.

I haven't really been following any particular training plan except, do a long run, get in a speed workout, and hopefully do a tempo.  SO I am really wondering how ready I am!

Last year I ran it with 8:47 pace.  This year I would like to be closer to 8 to 8:15 pace.  Not sure if this will be realistic given the heat, but I have to start with some sort of goal! It will not be a PR, I think the route is too hilly and the weather will be too hot, so I am adjusting my goal according to this.  Maybe I should wear one of my kid's superhero capes for the run this morning!

My husband and I took the kids to see a Custer's Last Stand Re-enactment.  My son LOVED it, unfortunatly it was an outdoor event and a very nasty thunderstorm was rolling in so they had to cut the show short.  The cut to the bid battle scene and then we all ran for our vehicles.  The show was pretty much out in a field and heavily attended by Californians in little cars and big RV's so when the rain started to pour down on us all I could envision was everyone getting stuck.  Especially since I had seen some very large ruts in the field where a tractor had sunk in and no doubt been stuck previously this spring in all the rain.  Thankfully we all made it out.

My son was very disturbed to see the "cowboys" aka the 7th Calvary losing to Sitting Bull and his warriors.  I hadn't told him going in what was going to happen. 

Even though it was cut short, it was a pretty good show they put on and my kids had a great time.  My daughter was very impressed with the indians in their face paint.

Don't forget about my giveaways.  Running chicks ends tomorrow!!

Any other podcast suggestions?

Superheroes and More

1.  I somehow have lost all of the contacts in my phone.. handy.  I think it may have something to do with a small little girl that was playing with my phone yesterday right before I noticed it.

2. My lil sister made her son a Superman cape and he loves it so much she made superhero capes for my kids, and my niece and nephews. The pink capes were a big hit with the girls.  Tell me you don't wish you had a superhero cape.  I remember running around the house with a pillowcase for a cape and tights on my head. 

3.  I ran in the HEAT  of the day today.. okay it was a whole 68 degrees when I ran, but talk about a sweaty mess when I was done.  I am trying to get aclimated for the Big Sky State Games half marathon.  I nearly had a heat stroke there last year. I am revising my strategy for this year's race.  Part of the strategy includes going out like I am running a half marathon not a 5k.  I am also going to take better advantage of the water stops this year.  What was I thinking skipping the first one?  I swore to myself last year I would never do that race again, but well you know how it is.  I just KNOW I can do better than I did!

4.  I got a package in the mail today YAY!  from Alicia. A prize from a virtual 5k I did.  I LOVE getting stuff in the mail. Very exciting as it is all stuff I have not tried before. There was also some Accelerade, but I seem to have lost that to the kids.  Hopefully I will find it soon.  I am going to try it out tomorrow on my long run at the crack of dawn.  Nope, no running in the heat tomorrow.  It'll be the 50's for me!  

5. And finally if you haven't have a chance and want to check out my giveaways for Running Chicks HERE and Twistbands HERE

Twistbands giveaway and Fridays Ramblings

First the ramblings.  I haven't run much this week thanks to some very congested lungs.  I did finally get in a pretty good 4.5 mile run yesterday.  It felt okay but just when I really thought I was cruising, I was running way slower than I would have guessed though. 

The week has been pretty busy with the kids having swim lessons four nights this week.  They also had a dentist appointment is which my little Cowboy found out he had a cavity and Little Princess got the thumbs up on her teeth.  

We then went to the park to hand out for a couple of hours until it was time for swim lessons, where I snapped this picture. The girl couldn't have been older than 3 and was already this obese.  So sad.  She was also with two sisters, who were obese and one was younger, one was older.  WHAT! How does this happen.   Should it be a crime when kids this age are obese?  The mother was not grossly overweight.  I was flabbergasted.

I find the situation heart breaking.  I feel like she is setting her kids up for a lifetime of weight issues.   Weigh in and tell me what you think!

Here is a picture of my lil dog Cola.  I tried to run Tuesday, but was feeling like a pile of crap so I ended up mostly walking.  He kept looking back at me with this "What is your deal? Why are we going so slow, Mom?" look. 

We walked past some beehives that are kept on the ranch.  Best. Honey. Ever.  

Okay now on to the giveaway!...

I found Twistbands on Facebook one day so I went to their website to see what in the world were Twistbands?  I sent them an email asking if they would be interested in a product review and giveaway, here is what I got in the mail!

 Right off I was loving all of the fun colors.  You can see even more on the website.     I wore one on my wrist for the greater part of a day and it didn't leave a mark on my wrist like most hair bands do. So that is another plus.  They can be purchased with fun buckles on them.  I was sent the Anchor and the crown.  I am keeping the crown, but the anchor will be given to a lucky winner. 

Here is the twistband story:

Like all great inventions, Twistband was born out of necessity. After having a baby, Jessica Frandson grew tired of having her hair tugged by the little one and quickly learned the least painful hairstyle for a new mom was a ponytail. She made sure to always have her hair up and kept a second band on her wrist as a backup. Traditional hair bands hurt her head and her wrist, so she twisted a soft piece of elastic trim to hold back her hair, thus creating the first Twistband. 

Drawbacks:  I did find a couple 
1. I felt like I had to tighten the knots in them before I used them 

2. I didn't feel like they held my hair as tightly as a regular hair band would in a ponytail.  

 Here are some of them on my wrist.  They are pretty shiny though it doesn't show up well that way in the pictures.  Note the pretty sparkly buckles. 

 Here is one in my hair.  Not a great picture, but it is harder than you think to take a picture of the back of your head. At least it is for me.

I did run with them several times now and though my ponytail did not stay as snug as it normally does it never fell out either.  They are great for every other thing that I do.  I love being able to just put one on my wrist and not have it cut into my skin, and then be able to put my hair into a ponytail when I am tired of it being in my face.  I love that it comes in so many pretty colors.  My daughter also loves them.

They also have headbands, shoelaces, do it yourself dye kits and more.   You can have custom orders made with the logo or message of your choice on them. 


How to enter
1. Go to their website and tell me what you like http://www.thetwistband.com/
2. Like them on Facebook, tell them I sent you
3. Like me on Facebook

Leave a comment for each.  Ends  7-04.  Don;t forget about my Running Chicks tank giveaway HERE 
 

Nuun says "we love you, just not as much as these other 20" but I'm an alternate!!!!!!!

http://nuunblog.com/2011/06/22/meet-nuun-2011-hood-to-coast-lady-bloggers/

I of course had an appointment at 10 today, so I had to call my little sister to see if I made the team or not and the very first thing she says to me is  "Alternate"?  What?  I made it, but I didn"t.  I am cool, but not quite cool enough.

So I am excited and happy to be an alternate, but not nearly as ecstatic as I would be if I had made the team.  I don't really want to wish for someone else to not be able to do it, but now I am a little.     Sorry guys  :)

Congrats to all who did make the team!  I saw so many AWESOME entries I am happy have even made alternate.

Oh yeah, if haven"t already, check out my Running Chicks tank giveaway!

Running Chics giveaway!

I saw an ad for runningchics.com in a magazine and thought they were so cute!  I wrote to Andrea at the company and asked if she would be interested in letting me do a review and a giveaway and she wrote right back and said " Of course!"  She even let me pick what I wanted to do a review on.  I picked the mesh back tank since it is summer!  You even get to personalize it by choosing what chick you want to put on it

Here is what they have to say

"Whether you're running a race or just running around town, you should feel comfortable. And there's no reason you shouldn't look good, too! We're Running Chics… just like you. And we know that fashion and performance can go hand-in-hand.

Every piece of Running Chics practical, fashionable apparel is designed just for you, the casual jogger… the marathon enthusiast… or just someone running from here to there on a daily basis. Soft breathable fabrics for ultimate comfort. Fashionable colors and designs to match your sense of style. All adorned with those cute little Chics scampering right along with you.

No matter how far or fast you go, whatever gets you running, count on Running Chics to be with you stride for stride. Because life is a race, and you deserve to be comfortable!"

I picked this chick to go on my shirt

The shirt is made by ALO and is divinely soft.  I keep telling people "Feel this shirt, can you believe how soft it is?" My only complaint is that the small seems more like a medium and there is no extra small.  I ran my 10k in it last Saturday though and loved running in it.  It felt light, comfortable, and had no irritating features. Additionally I also LOVE that the shirt in nice and long.  Two pregnancies have left me with a handful of belly skin that I do not appreciate peeking out EVER. 

The website describes the shirt as 
"100% polyester Birdseye Jacquard Knit. Dry wicking and anti-microbial performance. Underarm gusset for comfort. Contrast sleeve facing and bartacking on key pocket. Droptail hem."

I also love that it is antimicrobial, I need all the anti stink help I can get some days! It also comes in 6 different colors.  They also have a lot of other really great clothes, tops and bottoms.  Check out their really cute clothes!

Do you want one?  One lucky reader gets to win one in the color of their choice with the chick of their choice.

Here is what you have to do to enter:  Leave a comment for each one
1. (Mandatory) Be a follower or become one! 
2. Like Running Chics on Facebook and tell them I sent you.
3. Go the website HERE and tell me what color of tank you would get if you won, or go HERE and tell me which chick(s) you would pick for your shirt. or you can do both for 2 entries!
4. Post this giveaway on your blog.
5. Finally I created a Facebook page so if you want you can "like" me and receive another entry!

I will select a winner from random.org on June 29!  Good luck!
FTC disclaimer I was provided this shirt free of charge.

and the winners are...

The winners of the Chocolate #9 giveaway are as picked by random.org are...

Sarah (59) from Running for Myself

 and

Carrie (#72) from Family Fitness Food

congrats on your wins, send me your info so I can get your prizes sent off to you! Thanks to everyone who entered and to all the new followers..THANKS for following me, I love you all!  :)

 

In other news found this really great post by Drazil  that I think everyone should check out!  I follow a  lot of blogs and love doing it, but I do have some frustrations and apparently I was not alone.. check out her post called "I need a favor.."   I find it voiced pretty much all I was feeling! Thanks Drazil!

I ran 11 miles yesterday and had wanted to do 14, but I was so pooped by 10 miles I knew it wasn't going to happen. I was being hard on myself until I remembered I HAD run a 10k the day before.  So I cut myself some slack and allowed myself to quit at 11.   Four weeks until my first half marathon of the year.  It is a doozy one.  No shade, hot, and hills.  Not very many people do it, but I can say that I do!

The kids start swim lessons this week.  Two weeks of Monday thru Thursday half hour lessons, then two more weeks at the end of July.  It seems like a lot, but they really benefit from going nearly every day.  Last year my son wouldn't even get in the water the first two days.  He is my cautious child.  The second session he just jumped right in like a pro!  I have two giveaways to post this week, hoping to get them done today.

Happy Monday everyone!  I am off work this week so it is fitting that I am finally getting the cold everyone else in my family has had.  Boo! 

Heart and Sole 10k Race Recap and a PR by default

I got up early as usual and caught up on a few blogs before i started getting ready for my 10k today.  I decided to try out my new compression socks since my right calf has felt crampy.  I don't think it really helped, but I guess I don't think it hurt either.  Here is a pre-race picture.  Look at me all bright eyed and bushy tailed!  The race was 8:45 and I wish they would have started earlier.  It felt like I had too much time to wait around, plus it started to get a little hot during the race.  I think an 8 o'clock start time would have suited me better, but they didn't ask.  Whoever they did ask had the 5k start at 8:30 and the 10k and 8:45 which seemed a little backwards to me, but once again they never asked me.  What do you guys think does this seem messed up to you?


 My goal was to try and stay around  a 7 min/mile pace.  I wanted to finish around 44 minutes.  My Garmin time was 45:10. somehow the official time was 45:27, so not sure how that happened as I started my Garmin as I went across the starting line.  I do know that they never even had a time for the girl who won the 10k?  So I am wondering how messed up the timing was today.

Anyway the starting line is on a hill so the whole first part is downhill and right at the end of the first mile is a nasty hill.  I did the first mile in 6:38, I kept trying to slow myself down, but it was really hard.  I am a fast starter and am more used to the 5ks where it is just balls to the wall running the whole way.

Miles 2, 3 and 4  felt like they had a lot of uphill going on and I slowed considerably.  The route was straight for all of miles 2 and 3 which was really boring and a little hard mentally.  It just felt like we kept going and going.  The sun was really beating down and there was a pretty good little cross wind going on that made it feel a little harder.  At mile 3 we turned and started another uphill section that then wove through a residential area.

At mile 4 we were going straight again.  By this point my right hamstring and calf muscle started to feel a little crampy and I was tempted to stop and stretch it out, but I decided it wasn't that bad yet and kept running through it.  I was also feeling some dry heaves coming on.  I took some water at the 5 mile mark and that was a mistake as it only made the feeling that I was about to throw up worse.  After half a mile or so it went away though

Close to 6 miles we ran into a parking garage and up 4 levels of the garage, my legs were starting to feel like jello at this point, but as soon as we were out of the garage we were rewarded with a downhill all the way to the finish line.  Yayyy!!! 

I grabbed a couple popsicles and headed back to find my sister to run in with her.  She finished in just under an hour!  Yay!!

I ended up 9th female in the 10k and 2nd in my age group.  I wasn't ecstatic about my time, but I am not disappointed by it either.  Best of all though it is a PR by default since it is my first one.  I am signed up for another one in August so I will have something to shoot for.  I am not going to lie, it was tough for a girl who is used to 5ks.  I think I would have been closer to my goal time if the course were flat.

Here is a picture of me running my sister in, you can't see my purple popsicle in my other hand, but it was soo good!  She wouldn't look at the camera...pooper pants.

Now to try to figure out why my calf and hamstring on the right side are giving me grief.   I have the week off coming up, so I may try to get a massage this week and see if I can get it worked out.

Here are the splits from the race from my garmin.  I am going to go with my garmin time for my PR and not their official time, which I think is messed up. I didn't stop it right away, but when I looked at it after I was across the line, it was at 45:10.

Last chance to enter the giveaway for Chocolate #9, did I forget to mention there will be 2 winners?  Yup two winners will each receive   3 packs of  Chocolate #9.  I will draw tomorrow around noon.  

Only 5 more days until I find out if the Nuun people thought I was creative enough to be on their Hood to Coast Team.  Someone asked me about voting, I am pretty sure no one votes except whoever in judging the entries, but thanks for wanting to vote for me!  Everyone has been having a good laugh at my expense anyway if I don't win and if you can't laugh at yourself I think that is pretty sad, so I have been laughing too!

If I find any fun race photos I will post them later!

Any running chics out there?

Yay, it's Friday, that means only 5 more days until I find out if I got on the Nuun Hood to Coast Relay team or not.  Right now though I have a 10k to get ready for tomorrow, and I am starting to get some jitters about it.  Mostly since it is such an unknown distance to me, I am not too sure how to approach it.  I think I will treat it kind of like a 5 mile with a touch less gusto.  Not sure why this picture won't rotate for me, but here is the tech shirt and bib for tomorrow.  Bib has the chip on the back for this one.  We also got some Gatorade prime in the bag.  Nothing else fun was in there, a few coupons and a map of the race. The shirts were unisex, which really means they are mens, which makes me not like them quite as much.  I am a woman, I want a shirt made for me.  Sigh, it will still be a nice shirt for long runs.

 I had to float to another department today, ugh.  I went in with a bad attitude, but ended up having a great time.  Sometimes it isn't so bad to get out of my comfort zone and do something different for a change.  I just have such a "I am an operating room nurse, not an office nurse" mentality.  OR nurses are very specialized, like a lot of nurses are, and we think we are very special too!

On a completely different not my right claf muscle keeps getting a funny crampy feeling in it.  Just a brief twinge, but it has me a little worried it might be wanting to do something crazy during the race tomorrow.   :( Behave little muscle, behave.

 This poor little guy will have to skip the race tomorrow, good thing we got some good runs in this week!

 I got these in the mail yesterday, you will be learning more about them soon and have a chance to get some in the mail yourself soon! They are from Twist bands, giveaway coming next week. Check out all the pretty colors!

 I got this in the mail also and one of you lucky readers could be wearing one soon in the color of your choice.  It is very lightweight and comfy.  I am in love with it already. Here is how it looks from the back. 

 It was sent to me by runningchics.com for a review and a giveaway, which I will post early next week. This is what is on the front of my shirt, it doesn't show up very well in the picture.  There are a bunch of super cute chics to pick from to personalize your own shirt.  The shirts are by ALO. 

Happy Friday everyone! 

Who is racing this weekend and any last advice for a 10k?

Two days left until I have a week off!

Still in a little bit of shock that not only did I rap, but I put it on the internet, but if you can't laugh at yourself what fun is life!  The idea came to me while I was trying to sleep off the 6th migraine I have ever had in my entire life.  Those are no joke, they suck and I am so lucky I hardly ever get them.  Once I got it in my head I couldn't let it go.  So whether or not it gets me in, I had a lot of fun with it and learned how to use my movie maker! The kids kept telling me how much they loved the song so hopefully Nuun does too! Thanks to everyone for their super great comments by the way.  I love you all!

If you haven't seen it yet check it out HERE!  I have seen a lot of really awesome entries that really really want me to get on the team so I can meet these other awesome people.

Also if you haven't checked out my giveaway, do so!  It also works great to make chocolate milk if you are out of chocolate syrup or just want an alternative! Seriously love this stuff and am ordering more.

No fun pictures today, I used up all my creativity yesterday, just kidding, so I will leave you with this pretty cloud picture from my run yesterday morning.  Have a great day everyone! The kids start swim lessons next week and go to the dentist.  Crossing my fingers for no cavities!

What have you done to step out of your comfort zone lately?
Rapped for a national contest, when I can't really rap, haha!!!

Fun new running gear!

And here it is Tuesday already. I am so excited for the weekend and finally a race, not just any race, but my first 10k!  I am pretty much over being nervous about it for now until Saturday morning and at this point just want it to be Saturday so I can do it! I am sure that Saturday morning I will be a ball of nerves and have to pee eight times before the start of the race.  I hate running with a bladder that even feels half full though.  I think more of the speedy speedys will be doing the 5k since it is an RRCA 5k Regional Championship race.  Which kind of makes me want to run the 5k just to see if I can get a PR, I did last year :) What I was really getting to there was that I think I will have a good chance of placing high in my age group.  No matter what though it will be a PR!  Gotta love that!

I did a short interval workout yesterday that felt really good.  I did 6 x 400s with a mile warmup and cool down and 2 minutes easy jogging between.  Other than an easy run tomorrow that will be about it for the week, I am not even going to do a BodyRock workout the rest of the week as I want my legs FRESH on Saturday.

I bought some Asics compression socks in town yesterday when I took the kids in to play at the park.  I haven't decided if I will wear them for the race or not.

  Just curious how many other people race in them and if they notice a difference?

They seem really comfortable. and the aqua in them matches some of my running clothes.

I really wanted the more expensive ones, but couldn't bring myself to pay $60 for a pair of knee high socks.



I also got an SPI belt.  I can't seem to win one in any of the giveaways so I broke down and bought one.  I wanted it mostly for my camera one runs.  Right now I am having to strap on the big old fuel belt every time I want to bring my camera along.  The kids help pick it out.  I got a blue camo one.

Yesterday ended up being busier than I thought it would be so I guess I will have to catch up with everyone tomorrow! I did see a big snake in my garden the kids thought was pretty neat, unfortunately I didn't have my new camera with me, so I couldn't get a picture for you.  Happy Tuesday everyone!

Don't forget about my Chocolate #9 Giveaway Here

What fun new running gear have you got lately?

When you run with a camera what do you carry it in?

Product Review and Giveaway

I got up early this morning and did a 8.5 mile run with the sunrise.  It was beautiful out and then I had to go into work for a couple hours to finish doing inventory..boo to that!  Good news is.. I got a camera today a newer version of the one I had before.  I am still learning to use it, but it has some funner features than my old one.  I can't wait to really get out and get some good pictures.

I have been meaning to do a giveaway for quite awhile.  I was very lucky and won several, so I wanted to spread the fun around some more.  I was going to do it when I got to 50 followers, but I was so busy, then I thought I would at 75, but time flew by and here I am finally getting around to it, and the good news is I have several more lined up that I am really excited about !  :)

I was paging through a Runner's World issue from last year and saw an ad in the back for a free trial of this energy gel, that is made with agave and dutch chocolate.  Yum!  I am recently started to experiment with agave nectar a little so this perked my interest.  I love that you can use less of it and it is sweeter than sugar. So I went to the website, but the free trial time had expired, so I wrote to the company asking if I could still get a free trial and do a giveaway on my blog.  He wrote back right away and agreed.  So here it is my first giveaway!  Yeah so that one in the picture is open because I wanted to taste it again as I was writing this (it's pretty good) then I remembered that I hadn't taken any pictures yet. the one on the left is all crinkled from being in my fuel belt this morning but the one in front is still pretty :)

Here is what the website says about it:

Chocolate #9 is different because it:

• is sweetened only with organic agave.
• contains no refined sugar or other HIGH glycemic index sweeteners.
• has been – tested and certified – as a “LOW” glycemic index (GI) item.
• Chocolate #9 LOW GI gel reduces the negative effect of repetitive insulin “spiking” during sustained exercise.
• won’t cause a sugar high or a sugar low – bonk.
• is an excellent energy choice for endurance athletes.
• is suitable for most diabetics – and used by Team Type 1.
• is an excellent choice for those not wanting to eat refined sugar.
• is vegan, low fat and gluten free.
• contains no synthetics – no unpleasant aftertastes – tastes great.
• contains no “mystery” ingredients, colorings, or preservatives.
• is easy on the stomach.
• best of all — Chocolate #9 tastes great.

My take:

It is pretty good. It has a dark chocolate taste to it.  I used it this morning on my 8.5 mile run.  I don't normally use gel at the start of a run, but since it was 5 am and all I had eaten was one piece of toast with peanut butter, and I am trialling it I went ahead and tried it.  Initial taste was good.  Has a smooth texture and is chocolaty, but would I like it during a run?  Five miles in I decided to try it again.  Pouch was easy to rip open as I was running along.  I was able to enjoy the flavor and swallow it easily.  I remember some runs last summer where I felt like I was gagging my gels down with water, but this went good.  And tasted good.  If you like chocolate flavored gels I definitely recommend this one.  I never felt a big burst of energy from the gel, but I could feel a steady increase in my energy that lasted the rest of my run.  I  will be taking this along on runs again.

In case you were wondering what is so great about Belgian chocolate (I was) read here and if you want to learn more about agave nectar go here. It is a pretty informative website about agave nectar and its health benefits. 

Does this sound like something you would like to try?  Here's how you can enter for a chance to try it yourself.

MANDATORY:
1. Be a follower or become one.

Extra Entries
2. Like Chocolate #9 on Facebook HERE and tell them I sent you.

3. Visit the Chocolate #9 Website  HERE and tell me what you liked
4. Post this giveaway on your blog

Drawing will be held June 19, picked by Random.org

Sugar Free Challenge Final Day

I kept meaning to post on this, but in my everyday rush I always forgot until after I had finished my post and was busy doing something else, like trying to avoid sugar!  I have a very hard time with this challenge on multiple levels.  This will brief since I have to leave for work in ten minutes, but here is a quick synopsis of the last nine days of the challenge.

Two small kids and a husband that love sugar.  I can't believe how many times I popped a chocolate chip or piece of cereal in my mouth because it had been spilled on the counter. I did spit many of these back out.

I tried dried fruits like raisins and craisins for long run fuel, but didn't like it as well.  It felt like I had no energy so I went back to my gels and GU chomps for my longer runs after 5 days, did I give up to soon?

The whole challenge did make me very conscious of all the sugar added to foods.  Especially my favorites like ketchup and salad dressing, even added to bread.

I had about three days of complete no sugar and the rest have been very low sugar, except for the maple bar donut that I inhaled at work on Tuesday and immediatly regretted.  It just smelled so good and I was so hungry.  You would think nurses would know better than to bring in sugary fatty donuts for their co-workers. 

I know that I will not stay with a sugar free diet, but I am making an effort to keep it much lower in sugar.  I haven't missed adding honey to my oatmeal or whip cream to my coffee and I am going to stick to that.  I am going to continue to not eat ketchup on everything and have found some great alternative salad dressings.

I will indulge myself with a little sweetness now and then so I don't panic and consume a large donut in two bites again.  I did learn a lot from all the others, so thanks to everyone who did the challenge and thanks to Amanda for bringing it on.  However it there were prizes for least sugar consumed, I won't win :)

Have a great Friday everyone!

Psyching myself up and out

After a very rainy morning, the clouds let up this afternoon and I was able to go for a run, YAY.  I was so excited.  I wasn't sure I was going to get to run dry today.  Although I am thankful I don't live in the parts of the country that are busy having a heatwave.

Here are some reasons why I know my 10k next Saturday will be faster than the 55 minutes it took me to run it in today.

1. I will be running on city streets and not slippery mud.
2. I won't feel like my shoes weigh ten pounds each from so much mud caked on each shoe.
3. I won't have to keep pausing to get small rocks out of my shoes that were thrown there by mud flying off     my shoes.
4. I won't have a coat and hydration belt competing for space on my waist weighing me down.
5. I will be wearing my fast racing shoes, not my muddy Kayanos
6. I can run 5 miles in 35 minutes in a race, so another 1.2 shouldn't take me twenty minutes.
7. I always race faster than I train .. duh :)

Here is why I am freaking out about the 10k

1. I have NEVER done one.
2. That extra 1.2 miles could be killer
3. I want to do it fast, my goal is under 44 minutes (is that crazy?)
4. Did I mention I have never done one?
5. What if I have a bad day?  Aaack

Here are some cool blogger posts that are giving me some ideas to help me meet my goal :

1. Jim at 50 after 40 posted a great one called Don't Be A Follower  about running the shortest possible route.  Very helpful check it out if you haven't already.

2. Cynthia at Run, Dream and Laugh Out Loud did a great recap of an article she read on Mental Strength. 

I have inventory at work starting tomorrow and even worse we have to go in on Saturday for 2nd counts.  Yuck, totally dreading it.  I am planning to get my long run out of the way before I go in.  I warned them I may come in smelly and sweaty, but running is more important to me than counting inventory.  What do you think are my priorities misplaced?  I think not!

On a very fun note, I have several fun product review and giveaways coming up starting next week so stay tuned.   Also wow I  checked my blog this morning and saw I cracked 100 followers.  A little bit I feel like Sally Fields and her Emmy winning acceptance speech "You like me"

How is your day going?  Hope the weather is nice where you are! As always thanks for stopping by!

Virtual 5k for Autism

I did my 5k for the virtual run over at Alicia Runs .  I ran a warm up mile very slowly into the wind.  The cold cold wind, I had on mittens even, on June 8th (WTH?)   My legs were not feeling it today and the road was MUDDY from all the rain, but I decided what the heck and went for it even though I kind of  really wanted to just turn around and call it a day.  I want nice weather, boo.  What fun is it having fun running skirts if it is too cold to wear them comfortably.  I know WAH right? The first mile was slow and I couldn't seem to find a rhythym, maybe it was all that mud I was slogging through.  I started to feel better for mile 2, and the third mile I did in 6:49.  total 5k time 24:42.  Not a PR by any stretch but on a day like this I will take it!  It's for a good cause anyway.  This is an older mud picture but since my camera is dead and I don't have a new one yet, but you get the idea!

 On a not so bright not...SEATBELTS save lives, so does driving SOBER.   I found out yesterday that a guy I had been friends with in college died last weekend when he rolled his truck while driving under the influence and he was thrown from the truck.. I lost a cousin this way 6 years ago, and my brother lost a friend this way 1 and a half years ago.  So sad and such a waste.  Totally bummed me out. I hadn't seen the guy in years, but I remember him as a really great guy with unfortunately a drinking problem. 

Montana’s rate of alcohol-involved traffic fatalities remains more than double the national average. No other state is in that category, although Wyoming came close in 2008 with a 34 percent increase in its alcohol-related fatality rate. Montana’s DUI death rate actually declined 9.7 percent from 2007 to 2008, but our numbers are so high that we’re still the worst. How sad is that?!

Quick Tuesday update

Crazy weather here last night. I was trying to watch the Bachelorette last night but every ten minutes the National Weather Service would break in with another update. Tornado watches, tornado sighting, flash flooding. Luckily it was all to the north of us. We could see some pretty wicked lightning from our house and about midnight we got some heavy rains. Sounds like everyone is okay this morning. Seriously why is Ashley so in love with Bentley, what a frigging jerk!?

I had a very busy Sunday, I got up early to run and after dropping off the kids at riding lessons, my husband and I planted the garden. Took all morning to get it rototilled, planted and the watering system set up. I was surprised I wasn't more burned than I was. Hopefully the heavy rains last night didn't wash away all my seeds! Got a horrible sideache on my run Sunday morning that I could still feel the effects of on Monday. What the hell? I must have ate too much for breakfast? Beats me I haven't had a sideache like that in years.

Me and Cola ready to head off on our run Sunday am.

My cat Tip wanted in on the picture. This was also the last picture my camera took before it somehow sat in a small pool of water and DIED. Ugh. Camera shopping is in the future for me I see.

I have been listening to podcasts on my long runs for the first three quarters of the run then I switch to music to pull me through the last little bit. How Stuff Works has some great ones.  My favorites are Stuff You Missed in History Class and Stuff Your Mom Never Told You.  Though there are some others I haven't tried yet.  They are free to download on iTunes and really seem to make the time fly by.   Short post as I am off to work and tomorrow I get to catch up with everyone YAY!  Have a great Tuesday!

Anyone else know of any great FREE podcasts?

Anyone recommend a great cheap camera?

Sunshine Saturday

Today's run was BEAUTIFUL!  What a great day in God's country.  I got out of the house about 7:30 and was loving the sunshine and the slight breeze.  This horse I ran into about 4 miles in the run and he ran along the fence with me for awhile so I stopped to pet him and get his picture. What a beautiful horse!  I think he was lonesome there were no other horses around.

I run along some gorgeous creek bottom for a couple of miles and was loving the green so much I had to stop again and snap some more pictures.

Some more of the awesome creek bottom.  I kind of wanted to just stop and sit on that log and meditate or something for awhile it just looked so peaceful and relaxing, but I kept running!

On a clear day I can see the Beartooth Mountains from my house.  They still have a lot of snow on them for this time of year.   I can even see the ski runs, but they don't show up well in this picture.  I live about 90 minutes from theses mountains.

I ran 13 miles then hopped my sweaty self in the car and picked up my sis so we could pick up our Bountiful Baskets food, which if you live in the western states you should check it out. They just started up in Montana recently and I have been loving it.  After a quick Costco trip I headed to my Mom's to get my daughter, dropped my my groceries, dropped off sis and her groceries then headed over to my Aunt's to pick up my son. WHEW!

Little Bitty had to run to my Aunt's house from the lane. I know I recently posted a running picture of the kids, but seriously checkout her purple glitter tutu skirt.  She is so in love with it right now.

OMG could this little cowboy be any CUTER?  He makes me heart melt 10x more when he is all decked out in his cowboy gear.  He was getting riding lessons from my wonderful Aunt Linda today.

Here is the little miss in her purple tutu getting a quick ride on Strawberry also. She is very determined to be riding too since everyone else seems to be and she considers herself one of the big kids.

Had a great run today, mostly took it pretty easy and finished in 1:55.  I was hoping to do a 14 miler today but I had no time.  I had to be in to pick up my Bountiful basket at 10:15 and they don't wait if you are late!!  Now I am going to pick out a BodyRock workout to do and then mow the lawn!  I love warm weather, YAY for no rain! The kids are both napping after their very busy mornings so it is nice and quiet here.  Loving it!