Color Run Baltimore Recap

As I read my new issue of Runner's World this past week which featured the popularity of Color Runs on the cover, it was only fortuitous that I was planning to run my first Color Run on Saturday! I had signed up with my boyfriend and bunch of my non-runner friends for the "Happiest 5K on the planet".

In case you haven't heard of it, the Color Run is an untimed 5K in which you are run through color stations where volunteers spray/squirt dyed cornstarch at you.  It mostly makes for really awesome photos when you are covered in a rainbow of color.  It was a drizzly morning in Baltimore as I was waiting in line for the 9 AM race (there was a 2 PM one as well due to popular demand).  I knew the event had sold out with about 25,000 running during the day. I hadn't slept well the night before so I was a little extra cranky and irritable.

I had rushed down to the start  line near Camden Yards baseball stadium to find a massive line (if you could call it that?) of people waiting to run.  It's nice because these kinds of runs are solely for fun so there was lots of teams, kids, and families running together.  I was really disappointed though because I thought the whole event was very unorganized.  It seemed at first they were letting really small waves of people start causing me to wait in line for almost an hour before I started.  There were also lots of people jumping a nearby gate and just starting to run which really messed things up.  I didn't think there was enough Color Run staff monitoring the crowd.  

Keep Smiling!

Well last weekend was my birthday which was fabulous, though I do miss celebrating them at home with my mom who gets me birthday balloons and puts a birthday place mat at my seat at the table. Yes, I like pretending I am 5, not 25 :) I got a little blue box (another one! So lucky!) from my favorite guy which had a really elegant, simple ring along with some coconut gluten-free waffles on my birthday morning.  Oh and a nose piercing happened finally :) I definitely don't have a problem celebrating my birthday and treating myself! 

My birthday involved one too many adult beverages like these

and sweets including these amazing lavendar honey goat's milk doughnuts with coffee ice cream. What?!

And then some sushi dinner happened this week. And then skipping a workout to go see Iron Man 3.  I was feeling anxious yesterday because I should be hitting the gym and clean eats hard after a bunch of dinners out this past week. I also didn't feel like going grocery shopping on my birthday after a late night out so I've been buying my lunch at work and not drinking enough water.

Sweaty Survey & Vitacost Reviews

A few weeks ago I saw this survey from Kim at My Healthy Nest  and thought it would be super fun to fill out!
Her super sweaty questions were: 

1. Which are you more responsive to during a workout: positive encouragement or peer pressure?

Definitely positive encouragement.  For example, I feel really self conscious at Crossfit but having a coach tell me I'm getting stronger and giving me a high five makes me feel awesome and keeps me coming back!

2. What’s something on your fitness bucket list? 

Running a full marathon is (which I'm signed up for in the fall!) and also getting that elusive Boston qualifying time one day.  I'd also really like to run Big Sur after reading about it recently!

3. Would you rather be in a group fitness class that’s overwhelmingly crowded or awkwardly empty?  

I hate feeling awkward but I'm going to have to go with the empty class. I hate when it's crowded and I have to be super conscious of not bumping into people. It takes away from my focus and makes me feel anxious. 

Quarter of a Century

Guess what all, Cinco de Mayo= my birthday and this year I turned a quarter century old.  YIKES!

Turning old (yes old, not older) scares me because I feel like my twenties have been so full of change and uncertainty. Age is just a number but fear pushes me to try things I never thought I would or was afraid to before because I want to live life to the fullest and be happy.

5 Things I Love That I've Done In the Last 5 Years(Because 25 would take me all month to write)

1.  Lived away at university and had some wild and crazy times while I was young and stupid but had good people watching my back.

2. Tested multiple career interests out.  I've tried out multiple jobs and possible fields of interest throughout internships in college and two full-time jobs I've had out of school. Some days I'm frustrated that I didn't automatically start with the ultimate job I want, but I'm glad to have taken the time to find what I want to do. You never know where  life leads you and picking a dream career out of the air without actually doing it is unrealistic!

3.  Went on a crazy last minute vacation to Scotland . I went my best girls in college to crash on our friend's couch, who had been studying abroad. It was great to just buy a plane ticket and have a little overseas adventure.

Just Another Nike Women's Half DC Recap Part 2

Here's to the actual Nike Women's Half Marathon race! Part 1 recap is here if you missed!

The race started at 7 AM and as always I was got into the 7:30-8:59 corral with 15 minutes to spare. I was really anxious and slept really crappy, getting only about 5 hours of sleep including me waking up in a panic in the middle of the night. I was also nervous because I was kind of in the front and had lots of room in my corral. Oh yeah and I started flipping out because I was right next to the stage where OMG Shalane Flanagan was. 

She is my running idol, and I just read the issue of Runner's World  with her and Kara Goucher on the cover so it was a big deal.  They had Shalane and Joan Benoit Samuelson there for a moment of silence for Boston.  Both of them were "jogging" the 13.1 miles. You know, just an easy run, haha. I saw Shalane at one point around mile 4, and it totally pushed me. 

My legs had been really tight from cross-training all week and even though I did my best to foamroll and stretch all week but it didn't seem to help much race day. My goal was to run sub 1:40, or a 7:30 pace. The run itself was pretty basic though I had never run through a tunnel so that was really fun, minus how it messed up my Garmin satellites so my pace and distance seemed a little inaccurate.  

I thought Nike did a great job having water and Nuun about every 2 miles with lots of volunteers.  The course was mostly flat, which is nice, but I was a little disappointed that most of it was like the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler which I had just run.  It actually got a little boring, especially that stretch around Mile 8, that is completely straight.  There were no on course photographers for me to try to smile at which I thought was pretty lame of Nike, especially with the hefty registration fee. 

This race was also the first time I had to stop and use a port a potty during a race. It was mostly my anxiety and nerves, but thank goodness I didn't have to wait for one to be open.  Around Mile 8 or so I found a 7:30 pacer (I didn't know Nike was having pacers?) so to keep pushing myself during my hardest miles 8-10, I kept up with the pace group.  This race was a really mental one for me where I had to push out all the negative thoughts saying my legs were too tight and that I wasn't good enough.  

Just Another Nike Women's DC Half Recap Part 1

Well, like many others I too ran the Nike Women's Inaugural DC Half this weekend.  I've always read great things about the Nike events and really wanted to run their San Francisco marathon or half marathon so I jumped on the chance when I read they were doing an inaugural race in DC! It's a female focused, Nike focused race which is super popular because you get a special Tiffany's necklace in lieu of a medal.  

What lady doesn't  love a little blue box after running 13.1 miles? 

Since the races are so popular there is a lottery to ensure a field of only 15,000 runners.  I was accepted automatically through the college student registration which still had a hefty registration fee of a little less than the normal $160, but still, that's the most I've ever paid (and probably will) for a race. I think you are pretty much paying for that Tiffany's swag.

My best friend lives in DC, and I just crashed on her couch for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler so she didn't  mind seeing me again :)  I got down to the city on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon the day prior to the race. I was expecting it to be crowded, and it was. The Georgetown Nike store was mobbed because it was full of Nike race gear, and the expo was in a tent a few blocks away near the water.  

When I got there the line for packet pickup was around 0.25 miles long. YIKES!  

The boyfriend went to go grab us Baked and Wired cupcakes for lunch (best cupcakes in Georgetown, IMO) which included a big red velvet cupcake for me.   The line ended up moving pretty quickly, but still, it was long. Finally I picked up my bib and pace wristband that I needed to get into the corral and headed to the Expotique. 

I was really disappointed with this.  The tent was small and crowded. It only had major sponsors such as Luna bar and Nuun, which had samples of what they would have on the course, along with Team in Training.  

The main focus I felt was the Nike shoes and the limited edition collection of NWM DC shoes.  

They had a little game where you could type in a code on three different wall spots to see if you won a prize which was neat, but again, it was crowded so less fun than it seemed.  The limited edition Nike shoes are very pretty and an appropriate Tiffany blue color but a little expensive for my budget.  I ended up getting the half zip (pre-birthday gift to myself) from the Nike Store which was less crowded on the way back. 

 I also got to find my name on the wall outside the Nike store with all the runners names which I thought was really cool.  Afterwards I had a fairly relaxing afternoon and dinner to gear up for the race the next morning.  

Next up, race recap Part 2 of the actual race :) Keep reading!

Friday Favorites 4/26/13

 I'm super excited to be running the Nike Women's DC Half this weekend! I'm starting to feel sick today (OH NO!) so I'm loading up on vitamin C, echinacea, and getting lots of rest! I'll be rocking a black running skirt, black arm warmers, and mint green sassy tank I made so if you're running it, look out for me! I'm getting into DC tomorrow and worried about all the crowds of lady runners since it seems like everyone is running this. I am hoping to make a little informal Sweat Pink Ambassador meet up for some cupcakes so hopefully I can get around the city quickly.

Getting a Tiffany's necklace at the finish is going to be pretty baller also. 

 Anyways, once again it is Friday so here are some things I'm loving lately!

1. Favorite Nighttime Snack: 

I've have finished off a box of these this week. It's the perfect little non-dairy dessert for only 100 calories per sandwich. It tastes like a regular ice cream sandwich and satisfies my late night sweet tooth!

2. Favorite Workout Song

Red Hot Run 5K Recap

Last night the local running store, Charm City Run in Baltimore, held a Boston Strong run .  We all wore yellow and blue ribbons and went for a great 3.5 miles along the inner harbor to the Baltimore World Trade Center and back to the store. Most people were wearing Boston team shirts or yellow and blue.  It felt great to be part of a such a strong running community.  

By the way, I found Betty Lou's snacks via twitter and sampled one of their cherry gluten free fruit bars the other day. It was amazing and even my boyfriend tried it and said it tasted just like cherry pie! 

If you are looking for a new sweet snack, check them out online or on facebook! Their snacks contain no wheat, refined sugars, genetically modified ingredients, or hydrogenated oils! 

Finally here's a promised recap of a really awesome 5K I ran a week or so ago. I was itching to do another short race post Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, before the Nike Women's DC half (this weekend!).  I saw there was a local 5K benefiting a school just a few minutes away so I registered online.  I woke up, got dressed and realized I forgot my Garmin. Yikes, I really like having my Garmin for 5Ks to help pace myself but looks like I was doing this race without it.  

The Red Hot Run 5K was a local race and was really small with a little over 200 runners in the 5K, not counting the kids 1 mile fun run.  It was a gorgeous, sunny morning and there was lots of families and kids from the school which made for a nice, happy atmosphere.

I started right in the front of the pack with some really fast guys, who later left me in the dust.  The course went through a wooded neighborhood which was all hills up and down pretty much the whole 5K so it was more challenging than I had expected.  Eventually as I turned the corner from the last hill onto the final (flat!) stretch a spectator yelled out that I was the first girl so far! Even though it's a small race it was still really exciting to hear that so I pushed it until the end.  I ended up PRing by a mere 1 second in 21:21!