Renewal By Andersen of Detroit & A FREE Race Entry! July 25, 2012

Remember this blog post about me winning a race entry courtesy of Renewal by Andersen of Detroit?

Well, guess what??? Now it is your turn to try to win a race entry for yourself! You heard right! Brandon from Renewal by Andersen of Detroit has generously offered a free race entry to one of my blog readers and it could be you!

Before we get to the specifics on the contest you may be asking yourself the same question I posed to Brandon. Why does Renewal by Andersen of Detroit sponsor runners into races? Afterall, they are not a running company…. Well it turns out that Brandon has a passion for running and found a way to incorporate his love of the sport into his career. His persistence about the idea has encouraged others in the company to take up running and it has allowed the company  the opportunity to be actively involved in the community by promoting a healthy active lifestyle. I don’t know about you, but if I ever need replacement windows this is the company I would want to buy them from. 🙂

All right, back to the contest.

The premise is simple. I have 1 race entry and 1 Renewal be Andersen race shirt to give away to 1 lucky reader. That reader will get to select a race entry to 1 of the following races.

– Run for the Hills in Farmington 8/18

– Merrell Down & Dirty 8/26 (I’ll be at this one!)

– Milford Labor Day 30k – 9/1

– St. Mary Mercy Run for Cancer – 9/9

– Run for Ribbons 5k in Plymouth – 9/23

– Brooksie Way Half Marathon  – 9/30

Awesome selections right?

And an awesome race shirt!

An added bonus is that entering the contest is simple. Just click here to go to the Renewal by Andersen Facebook page and “like” their page. After you have done that come back to this post and leave me a comment that you did. You can also get a bonus entry into the contest by following Renewal by Andersen on Twitter. Click here to do that. And make sure you leave me a comment that you followed them so I can make sure you get your bonus entry. Feel free to post or tweet something to them about how awesome they are for sponsoring runners into races. It won’t help your chances of winning but good karma can’t hurt. 🙂

So what are you waiting for?? Enter now as this contest ends at 8pm est on August 1st!

Good luck!!!

Mud Run Fanatic July 16, 2012

Recently I entered a contest on Facebook to win a sponsorship for a free race entry! I love free! Especially a free race entry! The contest was held by a local windows and door company Renewal by Andersen who also happens to sponsor local runners in local races! Love, love, love that! The contest was simple. All I had to do is post a running pic of myself on their Facebook wall and the top 3 people with the most likes got to be sponsored in a race. Here is the one that I posted.

My Tough Mudder pic, of course!

Unfortunately, I did not place in the top 3 BUT they gave EVERYONE who posted a pic a sponsorship into a race. WooHoo!

I was asked to email my top 3 race choices from their list of sponsored races. After looking at their races my top pick went to a mud run race (a no brainer choice), second pick was a 5k race (I still need to hit my 27 mins or less goal) and my third pick was a popular local half marathon (why not?). And guess what? I got into my first choice race!

So I will be doing this race in August! 🙂

Click to go to site.

Can. Not. Wait.

Speaking of mud runs. In just about two weeks I will be returning to the site of my first EVER mud run. And the one that got me hooked on doing them. The Warrior Dash!!! Woot! Let’s hope they don’t make me age by 60 years again.

In case you haven’t already guessed, I may have an addiction to mud runs. What is your running / workout addiction?

Learning to Love the Treadmill June 25, 2012

I’ll be honest, I am in the very beginning stages of learning to love the treadmill. In all reality I pretty much loathe it. For clarification purposes….. I L-O-A-T-H-E the treadmill! I try to trick my brain into liking it by calling it cute names like the happymill or the thrillmill but let’s face it, it’s still the dreadmilll.

I find the treadmill to be incredibly boring. It doesn’t matter if I watch TV or listen to music, I still find myself thinking that stabbing myself in the eye with a sharp object would be a less painful undertaking. My longest run I have ever done on a treadmill was 10 miles. That was TOUGH! Even the treadmill thought that I should have thrown in the towel as it turned itself off after 60 minutes. But I was training for my first half marathon and I was determined to get my long run in despite the snow storm that was brewing outside.

Now that it is Summer in Michigan, I am dealing with a whole different kind of weather debacle. Heat and humidity! I like running outside when it is warm but 80 degrees is my cut off point. Lately it has been in the 90’s and that is just not smart running weather. My choices are either to get up early in the morning to run (I already get up at 5am for work so that is not an option) or to enter into a truce with the treadmill. Obviously I have picked the latter option.

Knowing the tumultuous history the treadmill and I have had with each other, I knew that I needed to do something to dull the boredom of it and get me on the path of at least liking if not loving the treadmill.

Here are my 4 tried and true tactics to take the boredom out of running on the treadmill.

1. Race on the treadmill – Find an open treadmill next to a runner and race them. The person doesn’t even need to know that you are racing them but if you are competitive like I am, that will be enough to get you through your miles.

2. Speed Work – Speed work is very simple to do on the treadmill and it helps break up the run!

3. Hill work – Again another thing that is easy to do on the treadmill and it helps break up the monotony. The Nike Women’s half marathon is just about 4 months away and it is rumored to be hilly. The heat is a great opportunity for me to start training for hills!

4. Get in the zone – Pick a spot on the wall or some other stationary object in front of you and just get lost in your running. This is easier for me to do on the treadmill than outside as I tend to get distracted by the sounds and sights of the outside world and it is important to be aware of what is happening around you when you run outside. Running on a treadmill frees me of those responsibilities.  I would like to think I look focused when I do this but I may just look possessed.

So what about you? Do you love or loathe the treadmill? What are some ways you beat the boredom of treadmill running?

Taking it to the Puke Zone June 15, 2012

Click for Source

You may remember that one of my running goals for 2012 is to PR the heck out of a 5k race or more specifically to run it in 27 minutes or less. A time that is certainly achievable with a little hard work. On Wednesday I decided it was time to start trying to complete that goal and I set out to do a 5k training run to see what kind of time I could manage if I pushed myself. Not to mention, I needed to run off a lot of stress so I knew it would be a perfect opportunity to see what I was made of.

The weather was perfect for a run. It was sunny and in the low 70’s with a light wind. My kind of running weather! From the beginning to the end of the run I pushed myself as hard as I could. At the end of the 3.1 miles I clocked just under 27 minutes 40 seconds. So just 40 seconds shy of my goal time. I was incredibly happy with that considering I am still not anywhere near the kind of shape that I was in when I ran the Tough Mudder. My knee pain and crazy work schedule are to blame for that but I know I will get there again.

Although I was happy with the time I was able to complete the 5k run in, I felt miserable at the end as I was feeling dangerously close to the puke zone. If you run or workout, I am sure you know what I am talking about. A lot of people see the puke zone as a positive sign that you pushed yourself to your limits and while I understand that, I still don’t like going there. I have had many runs where I have felt like I have given it my all while not going anywhere close to the puke zone. And those are the kind of runs I prefer.

At the end of this run I peeled all my running gear off and threw them half- hazardly on the floor where I eventually landed myself until I could will myself back to feeling human again.

How do you feel about the puke zone? Do you view it as a negative or positive part of training?

I am Stubborn and I Know It! May 4, 2012

I will be the first to admit that I am stubborn.

I can’t take all of the credit for it though, I got it from my Dad. My Dad gave me his love of country music, his competitive spirit, his athleticism and his stubbornness. You gotta take the bad with the good right? And in all honesty being stubborn is a bit of a family tradition. EVERYONE on my Dad’s side of the family is stubborn. You should see us when we all get together!

In honor of being stubborn, I should confess that I may have “injured” myself at the Tough Mudder. I say “injured” because I can’t pinpoint what or when exactly it happened but I know that ever since the Tough Mudder my back and my left knee have been hurting. Hurting to the point that it brought me to tears during a run last week. Common sense would say to back off from running and give my body a rest. And if it were you asking me for advice, I would tell you just that, let you body recover. But I don’t like to rest. I like to run. And when I am being told I can’t run, even if it is by my own body, I am determined to run even more. For me running is more than exercise, it is the one thing that I can do that keeps me mentally strong. No other form of exercise has that same effect on me. I NEED to run.

In retrospect, running my impromptu half marathon just a couple weeks before the Tough Mudder was probably not the greatest of ideas. I had no taper week before the half and no rest week after the half. I was after all, training for the Tough Mudder. Perhaps that is what did me in. But I got a PR!!!!

I ran again this past Sunday. A short and easy 3 miler. The first half was pain free but the second half was mildly painful. And then when I woke up the next day I was in full fledged pain again. And of course I tried to run, but only made it a half mile before I gave up and jumped onto the elliptical. Being a runner who all of a sudden can’t run is very demoralizing. Ugh! So I finally caved. I have not ran since Monday. I have done other types of workouts that are low impact. But not running. I’ve also been doing lots of icing, stretching, taping and foam rolling.

I’m crossing every body part that I have that I can get back to some sort of a normal running routine next week. Hopefully the running Gods will be smiling on me again very soon! As a side note, I feel very badly for the people that have had to endure my crankiness for the past week or so. I promise I will be back to normal as soon as I can run again!

How do you cope with not being able to run?

Wordless Wednesday #10 May 2, 2012

Wordless Wednesday #9 April 11, 2012

Fit March March 5, 2012

With February behind us, that means the Fab Ab February Challenge is also!

I am still having a hard time believing that I mastered a 2 minute plank!!!  It is super hard to do and I am pretty darn proud of myself for doing it I think I am going to do planks on a regular basis so I don’t lose the ability to hold it for 2 minutes. You know what they say, use it or lose it. ;)(The longest one I have held was 2:32, when I challenged ViewSPORT to a plank off. I lost by the way, as he clocked in a plank over 3 minutes!!! )

Now just because February is over, that doesn’t mean that we should place fitness on the back burner. No way! Besides, swimsuit season is right around the corner! Don’t believe me? Every retail store is already selling swimsuits! With that in mind it is time for our March challenge!

Looks like fun, right? It’s up to you if you want to do this every day, every other day, a few times a week or whatever you come up with. That’s the best thing about exercise, you can customize it to make it work for you. I am going to try to do it a couple of times a week as right now I am in full training mode for the Tough Mudder and I need to stay on track with that. (Which reminds me . . . . I still need donations for my Wounded Warrior Project fundraiser. Click here and help a girl out!)

If you decide to join in on the challenge and you are on Twitter, use the hashtag #FitMarch so I can follow your progress. If you are not on Twitter feel free to let me know how the challenge is going by posting a comment on my Facebook page.

In the meantime, I want to know what goals you have for the month of March. I can’t wait to hear to hear about your fitness and non-fitness goals!!!

Wordless Wednesday #6 February 29, 2012

Wordless Wednesday #2 February 1, 2012