Giveaway!!

I recently found katieRUNSthis tanks to Katye!

She is a very inspirational running blogger from Louisana. She is also in the league of running mommy-to-be's! (no secret that I'm seriously trying to join that club :) )

She's hosting a giveaway for Go Sport ID bands. (like RoadID but fancier) Since I already won a great RoadID from LongLegsOnTheLoose, I'm hoping to win this for Sister. She needs one! But you should click on over and check it out too!

ALSO!!!!

Tall Mom is hosting an Active Band giveaway on her blog. Ends tomorrow! Check it out!

My Awesome Husband!!!

Check him out! He ran the Tough Mudder with friends on Sunday. This video has him right up front and in all the action a the start. He's the tall, bearded guy on the right with the "Operation Filth" shirt and the bondi band! (That's right. I got Husband hooked on the Bondi!)

I won the battle!

It was bright and sunny this morning....just like it has been for the past week.

The only difference?!?!

It wasn't hot!!! I didn't check the temp for sure, but I was rather cool out.

After struggling to get out of bed, I started to gather my things for water classes. The sun kept calling to me. The breeze kept rustling the leaves outside. Did I really want to go to class?!?!

NO!

Bentley played his part in convincing me. I just couldn't resist his whining anymore.

We only made it 2 miles because I'm really out of practice and the Brown Monster was lurking around.

Now I'm off to Yoga! I can feel some ITB tightness and really need to get back into stretching.

Did you check out Sister's new blog yet? Well, do it already! Stealthy and Healthy!

New Blog Alert!!

No not mine :)

Sister has a new blog up and running and would like a few visitors/followers.

I may or may not have spoken of my lovely Sister before, but I will now. She is younger than me and almost as pretty ;) But that doesn't really matter. What does matter is that after graduating with a degree in nutrition and dietetics from The University of Minnesota, she is finishing up her dietary internship at Crappy-Middle-Of-Nowhere-Hospital and is looking for some useful way of spending her free time. I will list her full credentials when I know them for sure, but I do know she knows her stuff! She's using the Interwebs as a way of conveying her knowledge of nutrition and practical way of being healthy. As runners, we need all the nutrition we can get to make our bodies the best they can be for our sport! Her whole concept is ways to make nutrition a part of your life, not something you have to go out of your way for.

Please visit Stealthy And Healthy for actual, fact-based articles and reviews of healthy things like food, exercise, and general nutrition/healthy-stuff!

Feel free to leave her comments about your favorite recipes, healthy foods, exercise, etc. Also feel free to ask her questions about nutrition and healthy lifestyles. She isn't a certified RD (registered dietitian) yet, but the only thing that's keeping her from being known as Sister, RD is a simple little test which she can't take until her internship is done in December. So....whatever advice you take away from her blog is "at your own risk," but I will tell you she isn't just making stuff up. She'd like to eventually write for nutrition journals or fun magazines like Runners World (any idea how to hook her up with that Katye?!) and she needs to start somewhere. Real nutrition articles need to be fact-based, not just opinions. She won't make her goal if she writes a blog that she just makes up!

So......check her out!!!

Haven't run in a while....

I'm not being lazy, I'm just not feeling it.

Locker #53 at the gym and I are becoming very good friends. I have logged all of my workouts on DailyMile and am loving seeing the green bars almost every day :) I am missing the mileage numbers that used to go with them though...

We seem to have entered a tropical heat wave here in IL. As much as I want to go running, I don't think my body will cooperate with this heat. Will make a greater effort to get in a few treadmill miles this week :)

What motivated me in the past was a race. I need to choose an August 5-10K. I sent the SIL's a link to a local race calendar, but I haven't heard anything back. I'm really the only one who plans anything. Ooooh! Just had an idea! I'll check Sister's local race calendar in Middle-Of-Nowhere-IL :) She'd like a visit! (I'm smart sometimes!)

Let you know what I pick when I pick it :)

Things I love about summer...

Here's a list I was thinking about this morning as I watched Bentley play at the dog park:

I love summer because:

- I have all the time in the world to run and workout :)

- I get to sleep late whenever I want to!

- I get to spend time outside. Yesterday I sat on the patio with a good friend for a few hours. It was warm, but we had shade and a good breeze. I even spent an entire day outside last week reading a book! Plus, my tan is looking good :)

- I get to read for fun! I've read a total of 9 books so far this summer and I'm working on my 10th :)

- We have a CSA share and get a box of veggies from a local farmer once a week. I love summer because I eat healthier! My recipe box is full of recipes to accommodate all the veggies we get in the summer. Some of these recipes are so good that I even cook them in the winter with grocery store veggies. Interested in finding farmer's markets and CSA groups in your area? Check out LocalHarvest.com. That's how I found ours!

- We have time to get things done around the house. Husband has spent the last 3 weeks finishing our basement. I'll post pictures when he's all done. It's going to be great! And we even bought a new stove on the 4th. Let the baking begin!

-I get to spend time with my animals. Bentley and I run, walk, or go to the dog park almost every day. Doozer enjoys cuddling with me while I read. And we all enjoy family-bed time in the evening.
- We can go see movies on weekdays! I don't know what the theater situation is by you, but around here our local Kerasotes theaters have been bought out by AMC. Kerasotes used to have a great program called the 5-Buck-Club. You could see movies for $5 any day of the week after they'd been out for a while (2-weeks or so). They also gave military and senior citizen discounts. But when AMC took over, they ruined everything. No discounts for anyone! And they raised the concession prices sky-high! It's insane! After enough people complanied they changed their weekday (Monday-Thursday before 5:00 PM) prices to $5....except on holidays. All other times are $10 a ticket. For those of us that have jobs, that means we're looking at paying $20 for tickets and another $20 for concessions (because who can resist a movie w/o popcorn?) all the time. The only option we'd have for catching a $5 movies is on a holiday, but that doesn't count. But because Husband and I are teachers, we can finally see movies during the week for $5! Long story short, we only really see movies in the summer. Netflix and RedBox are awesome!

- Another thing I love is time for vacations! Money's tight and we don't go too many places. But it's nice taking a weekend away every so often. Plus, this year we went to Disney!

- I see kids playing outside. Our neighborhood has a ton of kids. But from December-March you wouldn't know it. As soon as the temps are warm enough though they all end up outside. It's nice that we live in a safe area that is great for bike-riding, walking, and just being outside as a kid.

- I still get a pay check even though I don't have to go to work! Now don't get me wrong, I practically work 24-hours a day from August-May. I'm constantly planning lessons, grading papers, and thinking about school and my students during the school year. Their success with education is my life! During the summer, I need my break. I still take classes, I've been to one in June and am thinking about another in early August. I'm even taking an hour here-and-there to work on SMART presentations for next year. So, I guess I'm still working....from home....but it's worth it!

There are many other things I love about summer. Those are just a few that I thought of today.

What is your favorite thing about summer?

4th of July 8K

Just got back from the 8K this morning with Husband and SIL#1. I'm so proud of her! She accomplished the whole 5 miles without walking and at an 11:30ish pace :)

I stuck with her the whole way....until the end. I just had too much in me not to sprint to the end. I sent Husband back for her when I passed him during the last quarter. He had finished before us and was walking back to cheer us on.

It was nice race. Good temperature and a pretty location--down the bike path by the river. We felt very accomplished that we ran the whole thing all before 8:30!

Now we're off to a baseball game and then to go appliance shopping. There's a really good sale right now and we're in need of a new fridge! After that, we're watching fireworks somewhere....just not sure where yet.

Happy 4th and Happy Running!!