Truthful Tuesday

Well my friends, yesterday was the last day of the Stridebox Virtual Two Week Marathon. And I'm super ashamed to say, I did not come anywhere close to completing it. Not only that, but the majority of my miles were only walking miles. #failure

Other runners always say if you really want it you'll make time. If it means enough to you, you'll find the time to get the miles in. But I keep doing the math, and looking for where I can fit them in. I only get 6 hours of a sleep at night, so I don't think I can eliminate more hours from that task... I think those runners don't have a full time job and four horses. And have a home to maintain on their own. Or maybe they do, and they're just magic? I dunno. If anyone has any tips, please share!

Do you have anything you need to confess today? Have you signed up for a virtual run and then not completed the miles? Do you feel guilty hanging that medal with the others?

Love 2 Run Virtual Race

Waaaaay back on Valentine's Day (right before I discovered I had no hot water, and a few hours prior to my truck breaking down in the middle of the road) I ran a virtual race. I had been trying to get back into running and figured signing up for a race was always the best motivation. But I was not motivated enough to run outside in the arctic air on icy roads. So I went looking for a virtual run. And since I had only been running a teeny tiny bit, I was excited to find the Love 2 Run virtual 2.14 mile race for Valentine's Day. I loved the idea of the shorter distance since my fitness was lacking. I still like to aim for a 10 min mile (or better!) on race day, so the shorter distance made that seem relatively attainable.
Since I planned to blog about my run, I decided to dress for the occasion:

I almost never wear race shirts in the actual race I get them at. And I pretty much never wear a bib for a virtual run because that just seems a little awkward. But I decided to wear both today because I miss racing.

I paired them with some old Nike Shorts and my Pug knee socks I found at Five Below a few weeks ago.

This pug looks bad ass.

And to complete my race outfit: My Mizuno Wave Hitogamis.

I felt great starting out. I was having a decent first mile when all of a sudden I hear a yelping. It was Artie. He waits until it's a dire emergency to let me know he has to go outside. Since I'm a good Mommy, I paused my awesome run to let the boy out. And then waited VERY impatiently while he took FOREVER to do his business. Seriously, this is why you should go OUT for your runs. No interruptions! But still, I appreciate him not going on the floor.

After all the that, I climbed back on the treadmill to kill the rest of my run. It wasn't as easy and as awesome as it started out. But I made it!

And more or less reached my goal too! Yay! This virtual run had the best loot too. Check out this medal!

The top actually comes completely off (I'm holding it in the top photo) to reveal little heart candies printed inside.

AND they sent actual candy hearts too!

Instead of the normal sayings, they have cute runner related quotes on them: Love 2 Run, Chase Me, You're my PR, Run 4 EVR. So CUTE!
I love a good virtual run. They aren't as exciting as an actual real live race, but it's fun to get out and earn a medal on your own schedule. And they're great motivation to get back at it.
Have you ever run a virtual race?

What's Up Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday everyone! It's been a little ridiculous here lately. Over the weekend we had some of the coldest temps I've ever experienced, and then yesterday it was 55 degrees! Crazy. I'm excited for the warmer weather, and hope the ring clears up enough to maybe get some saddle time in this weekend! Time will tell on that...

  In the meantime, let's take a look back at the past week!
I went back up to Mt. Purses the other day and finished weeding out and organizing. It's not perfect, but it's much better than it was before! I keep them in the same room as my shoes, so the photos below are the wall opposite my shoes.

I love these shoe chairs. I got them in college and think they're perfect for my shoe room!

I haven't been able to do much with the horses other than brush them and stare at them during their turnouts. I suppose I could be trimming their whiskers and pulling their manes, but I like to give them a reprieve from all the primping in the winter. I figure when they are outside, they'll want that extra hair to keep them warm! I mean seriously, look at these temps:

Cuddling with Rio has obviously been the best method of staying warm.

He has my entire messy bun in his mouth...

So glad I decided to heat the barn!

 

It was SO COLD this weekend that the short kids even wore blankets to go outside:

Sadly, their blankets are a little too small. Sorry kids. We'll get bigger ones next year!

Saturday I ran some errands, took care of the all the four-leggeds, and otherwise just hibernated. But Sunday I was ready to be a more productive member of society. Ah the best laid plans...
Sunday was Valentine's day which as a single lady, I don't really bother celebrating. But would obviously never turn away chocolates. Or cupcakes. I have a coworker who is also a good friend. He has a sister-in-law that owns a flower shop. So every year on Valentine's day, he and his wife bring me some flowers and a sweet treat. Isn't that the nicest?! My goodies were coming by around 1, so I had plenty of time be productive before that. The horses were groomed and tucked back in by 11, so I headed indoors to complete my Valentine's virtual run (2.14 miles-more on this later).

After that I turned on the shower only to discover I had no hot water. Ugh. Thankfully it was a quick fix. But not quick enough to have time to shower. Oh well. Hopefully I wasn't too smelly. My friend stopped by with some cupcakes and these pretty flowers:

His wife is a 911 dispatcher and works Sundays, so she couldn't come by. He and I hung out for a bit and ate too many cupcakes. I was meeting another friend of mine to go see "How To Be Single" at 3:30. I went out early to get my truck running and warmed up. It's a diesel so this sub zero weather can be tricky. He started right up though! I let him run for about 10 minutes to make sure he wasn't going to stall out. And then we were on our way to the movies!
Unfortunately, about half way there, my truck stalled. On a winding, narrow, road with no shoulder of course. Yikes! I had to have it towed.

Needless to say, we did not make the movie. Never a dull moment! I'm still waiting to hear back on my truck's status. He's been giving me some difficulty lately. I'm confident this latest incident was due to the cold weather (he did this to me once last year on the way to work!) but he didn't want to start a few weeks ago when it was warm out. Best to get it figured out now, and not while I'm hauling horses this summer!
I borrowed a truck on Monday from work as we were getting snow again. My little Betty car is pretty much useless if it's snowing, so I am so thankful to have access to a four wheel drive vehicle! Seriously. So grateful.
The snow turned to rain during the night and then it poured all day Tuesday as it warmed up to 55 degrees. Ok by me as the snow is all melting away. Bring on spring!!!
Well, that's what's up with me this Wednesday! What's up with you? How's the weather where you are?

My long awaited running post!

I not only ran 2 5K's last weekend, but I also completed a couple of virtual runs. I used my two treadmill runs I mentioned a couple weeks ago, plus a 1 mile walk with the puggers to complete the Beat The Blerch Virtual 10K. This was supposed to be done in September... but you know, better late than never! I signed up for this one because I love stuff. And look at all the stuff you got!

Stickers, a t-shirt, a sweatband, a stressball, some mints! So much swag! Oh and don't forget the medal!
Virtual run number two was the Virtual Pug Run! This year the medal was a Puggerfly. Last year the medal was the Mystical Pugicorn. You can read about that one here. Last year I set aside a day to take my time and run the 10K all in one shot. But this year with the two 5K's scheduled, I just decided to use those two for my Pug Run. Check out this medal!

 Yes it has sparkles! I hope they keep having these every year. The Pug medals are my FAVORITE! And they benefit the Illinois Pug Rescue, so it's a great cause.

Enough about the virtual races though, let's chat about the real 5K's! Saturday was the Ivoryton Library's Run Local Read Local 5K. I've done this one every year since its inception. And not to brag... but every year I've won a costume award. The first few years were with groups, then I had a couple best female awards. Last year was a bit of a stretch, I won best purple costume... And this year I won best costume... I pretty much was the only one who dressed up. Whatever. I still won!

I went as french fries. We all know I run for food after-all! This race is pretty challenging as the middle mile is on a narrow, mostly uphill trail. I'm no trail runner, so that's tricky for me! The first mile is mostly downhill, which is lovely. Except that means you go up all the way to the finish. Why do races love to do that to us? I was super happy to finish with a not at all embarrassing time considering my lack of training and fitness.

I was raising the roof apparently at the end?

10:12 average! Not bad at all. And I ran the whole thing! No walk breaks! Good job self. Did I mention how cold it was:

Yeah. Dear weather, it's October, not November! Settle down. Sheesh. Here's my loot for winning best costume:

Sunday morning I awoke bright and early to get to 5K number 2 of the weekend. This one was the Run for the Cove 5K. This race benefits The Cove which is a support program for children who have lost a parent. My younger brother lost his mom when he was a teen, and this group was wonderful for him. My business is a major sponsor of the race, and I try to run every year. We are very grateful for the program.

I had thought Saturday was cold... right up until Sunday happened.

That's practically freezing! And I had no french fries to keep me warm. Sad face. I wore my pug pants though, since I knew I'd be finishing my Pug Run. 

The Cove race is held at a local state park which happens to be pretty close to where I live. The Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot is held at the same venue. The best part about this park? No it's not the beach. It's that it is FLAT! Of course being out of shape and frozen means that didn't translate to fast for me.... But I did manage to run the entire race with no walk breaks. And I was just a touch slower than the day before.

10:28 average! Really not bad! And I wasn't even sore until Tuesday... Not sure how the delay worked on that. Bodies are weird.

So that's my running post you've been awaiting. In true lazy runner fashion, I didn't run this week. But I'm hoping to get some miles logged this weekend. We'll see how it goes.

Have you run any race lately? Have anything on the calendar? Tell me some running stories in the comments!

Truthful Tuesday

Today's confession: I love virtual road races. I love that I can participate in them when it's convenient. I love that I can pick my own route. And I especially love when they send medals! For the most part I've been really good about actually completing them too. There was just one that I flaked out on. Not too bad really!

My favorite virtual run to date was the Virtual Pug Run, which you can read about here. Proceeds went to helping needy dogs, and I got the most amazing medal. EVER.

There are three virtual races I have my eye on for 2015 (so far at least). But they aren't super cheap so I'm dragging my feet with registering. They all come with amazing bling though, so it's totally worth it... Right?
First up is the "Do you believe in Magic Dash" from Agent Outerware. Race dates May 30 - June 7. This is the medal:

Obviously I need that in my collection. Duh.

Next up is the Beat the Blerch race. This one is both a real race held in a few different locations AND a virtual run. The closest actual location to me is New Jersey. And it's really not that close. It comes with TONS OF SWAG! Race date: September 12

I'm a sucker for all that useless crap.

And last but not least, A Christmas Story 5K or 10K. This one is also both an actual race AND a virtual run. Obviously I'm not going to Ohio for this one, but I would love to run it virtually. Race date: December 5th. They haven't revealed what the medal will be just yet, but here are some past years models:

I need in on that for sure.

How do you feel about virtual races? I don't think they replace the experience of being at a real, in-person race, but I do love them none-the-less! Do you have any upcoming races your excited about?