Asheville Half Marathon at The Biltmore 2016 {Race Recap}

In March each year, the Asheville Marathon & Half Marathon is held on the historic Biltmore Estate grounds. Biltmore is America's largest home and is a private estate owned by the Vanderbilt family. It's over a 7 hour drive from the Baltimore area down to Asheville, NC so we decided to fly and make it into a little trip for my spring break.  This was definitely the prettiest race I've ever run!    

The race is at capped at 1,400 runners in the half on Saturday and another 1,400 runners in the marathon on Sunday, as well as the option to run a back-to-back race challenge over the weekend.  The Expo was pretty small and a little unorganized but convenient to get to. I picked up my bib on Friday and then spent the rest of the day relaxing in Asheville.  

Pre-Race: My boyfriend's sister was running this race as her first half marathon so we got to the race extra early. We bought tickets to take the shuttle from a local hotel onto the race grounds to be safe and avoid any traffic or parking issues getting on the estate grounds.  

It was actually pretty nice because we hung out in the Biltmore Village on the grounds so I got to use a real bathroom and had a place to sit before heading to the start line. It was a little chillier than I expected before the sun came up, but I knew that temperatures would be close to 70 degrees as the high for the day. 

 I was rocking a Lululemon Run Swiftly tank, Lululemon speed shorts, Pro Compression shamrock socks, Bondiband headband, November Project buff, and the Mizuno Wave Catalyst running shoes.    

As the sun came up over the grounds, it was already scenic and beautiful! 

I was really excited to #sharethespark with my boyfriend's sister and give her a little Momentum Jewelry motivation for her first half marathon! 

I got to meet some fellow Team Nuun ladies and snap a quick photo with them before the race, which was so much fun! I had a banana and peanut butter along with some Nuun as I was getting dressed and then ate a Munk Pack squeeze before heading to the start line. Since the race was limited to only 1400 participants, there were no corrals and lining up was very quick & stress-free.  

Miles & Pace Running Apparel {Review}

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Miles & Paces. I received Miles & Pace product for review. As always all thoughts & opinions are my own. 

Miles & Pace is a super cool and laid back active lifestyle brand that pairs running motivation with awesome graphic tees and trucker hats.  I found the company via social media and ended up winning one of their trucker hats in an Instagram giveaway.  I was really excited to get the chance to review a few items from Miles & Pace after reaching out to them. I love running and athlesiure apparel that is cute and graphic and goes perfectly with my almost daily uniform of yoga pants and leggings. 

I also love the fact that the company is run by an awesome woman from California and that her and her husband are both runners.  They hadn't really found the kind of cool and comfortable running-inspired gear they were looking for at race expos so decided to make their own!

Miles & Pace is all about not only creating cool laid back running gear, but also spreading inspiration and motivation in the running community that anyone can run. The little phrase on the trucker hats says "I run because I can", which is a beautiful reminder that all runners can relate to. My running motto and mantra is "stronger than you know", and during tough runs I always remind myself how lucky I am that I am able to physically run.  Miles & Pace has a message and brand philosophy that I can totally get behind!

I rocked their St. Patrick's Day green trucker hat at the Asheville Half Marathon this past weekend. It was perfect for keeping me a little shady after the race when there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining. Plus trucker hats instantly make you look cool. 

In addition to fun trucker hats that Miles & Pace sells they also have these awesome shirts and tanks in men's and women's styles. I picked out the Sunday "RUNDAY" scoopneck black tee. They have the tops in all different colors so you can choose your favorite! I will say in the ladies style of shirts it runs a little small & fitted so I would size up one size larger than your normal size. 

C'mon, I definitely needed a shirt that proclaimed I was the "original bling chaser, USA".  From my experience, it is also the perfect shirt to wear post-run at Sunday brunch. It also lets everyone know that you are a runner and are therefore awesome as well as shouldn't be judged for devouring a stack of pancakes because you ran today. Just saying. 

Miles & Pace also just came out with this awesome craft beer-themed shirt which I am definitely ordering ASAP because it combines two of my favorite things-running & craft beer.  I run for beer all the time! 

Go check out their hats and shirts and be sure to give Miles & Pace a follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

What is your favorite running motto?

Munk Pack oatmeal fruit squeezes {Review & Discount Code}

Disclosure: I received a complementary brand ambassador package of products from Munk Pack for review. This post contains an affiliate discount code. As always, all opinions are my own. 

As a lady on-the-go and chronic snacker, I love sharing my new favorite finds with my readers. I discovered Munk Pack oatmeal fruit squeezes as one of the showcased new products at Expo East 2015.  I loved the outdoorsy booth and as an oatmeal fanatic, was intrigued by the idea of oatmeal in a pouch as a snack. I later learned it's also great for hiking and running!  After learning more about the brand philosophy, I'm super happy to be working with Munk Pack to fuel all of my adventures! 

The scoop: 

Munk Pack oatmeal fruit squeezes are vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free and made with whole grains. They also are made of BPA-free packaging. Munk Pack oatmeal fruit squeezes contain 3-4 grams of fiber each and omega 3s. The only sugar in the oatmeal fruit squeezes comes from the fruit. The pouches have a twist-off cap and then you just eat right out of the pouch. Each oatmeal fruit squeeze ranges from 90-110 calories which makes it a great small snack.The four different flavors of Munk Pack are: Apple Quinoa Cinnamon, Blueberry Acai Flax, Raspberry Coconut, and Peach Chia Vanilla.    

Get MOTOvated with the Moto 360 Sport

Fitness trackers and wearables are all the rage and are only getting more advanced and integrative as we move into 2016. Through my partnership with Fitfluential I was given the chance to try the new watch on the block from Motorola, the Moto 360 Sport. My boyfriend was super jealous because he had been reading about it for a while so I was excited to try it out. 

Now this isn't just a GPS watch, it's a watch for an entire active lifestyle. It has what I need for my everyday life including fitness, run-tracking, music, social media, weather updates, and calls or texts. Now all I need is for it to make me dinner and do my homework for me.

Sleek, easy-to use

The Moto 360 Sport works with both IOS and Android platforms, but integrates more of the functionality through Google if you have an Android Device. It connects via Wifi and Bluetooth to your device, and you can download Android Wear™ like I did so everything from my Android phone automatically synced up to the watch. When I first unboxed it, I immediately noticed how sleek the design was. I loved how it looked like a regular watch with the not too larger round LCD screen and silicone band. The watch comes in 3 colors-Black, White, and Flame Orange.

The standard screen is the sport watch face which shows daily steps, number of calories burned, a stopwatch, and how close you are towards a daily goal of 30 minutes of elevated heart activity. However you can change the watch face or download a bunch of other really pretty faces for your watch which completely makes it look more stylish and less like a fitness device.

The Moto 360 Sport features Anylight hybrid display which means it looks like an LCD screen indoors but if I'm outside and it's sunny it will use the natural sunlight to illuminate the screen so it isn't all washed out.

Run free

Of course you want to know just like I did how the Moto 360 Sport works as a running watch. It's really easy to just swipe over and open the Moto Running app on the watch. You just choose if you are indoors or outdoors and then can hit quick start or choose a workout goal based on time, distance, or calorie burn and GO! It synced to the GPS easily and allowed me to easily swipe or tap to see my heart rate, and lap details or pause/end the run. The main screen had exactly what I wanted to see displayed during my run-clock time, activity time, miles, and pace. You can also download music onto the watch to listen with Bluetooth headphones or even sync up the app Spotify like I did.

Good Luck Box Review {CUCB Edition}

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary Good Luck Box as a Credit Union Cherry Blossom Race Ambassador. No other compensation was received. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Subscription boxes and gift boxes having become increasingly popular in the last few years. There is a box of goodies you can buy for every interest it seems. I was intrigued by the idea of Good Luck Box when I heard I'd be receiving one as a Credit Union Cherry Blossom (CUCB) Race Ambassador because it seemed unique. It's a box you can order online that comes with surprise handpicked running essentials for before, during, or after a race. It can be a gift for you, a friend, a family member, or teammate and is delivered the week before the specified race. 

You can even tell the team a little bit about the person as well as selecting the gender of the box recipient to further tailor the items. 

Obviously because it was a box of surprises, I was excited when it arrived on my doorstep a couple weeks ago. Once I opened it I was even happier. The box was adorably wrapped with teal shoelaces and contained a little note card with some cherry blossom petals. I definitely "awwed" out loud when I saw how cute it was. 

I loved the message of good luck as well as the small touches such as the "lucky penny", safety pins, and printed words "Good Luck" on the shoelaces. 

30 Minute Treadmill Pyramid Workout

One of the biggest challenges in my life right now is making time for everything and attempting to keep a good work-life balance. With a really busy semester of school plus work,errands, life, and some blogging I always feel like there is never enough hours in the day. With a busy schedule, that means there is a lot of quick workouts that I need to sneak in. Luckily I have a treadmill in my apartment so if it's a reasonable hour (sorry to my neighbors for the treadmill noise!) I can hop on the treadmill to squeeze in a few miles. I honestly find anything more than 5 miles unbearable recently so my go-to treadmill workout is a 30 minute interval run. 

Today I'm sharing my go-to treadmill workout. The speed changes incrementally in a pyramid fashion so it keeps me from getting bored and is a great workout that only takes 30 minutes.  The pyramid takes 15 minutes and when repeated once it makes a nice 30 minute workout. You could always repeat the pyramid more times to increase the length of your workout too. 

This post was linked up with Wild Workout Wednesdays, Inspired to be Fit, and Tuesdays on the Run.   

Do you run on the treadmill often? What's your favorite workout when you're short on time? 

Thinking Out Loud: Lattes and Love

Whew, with a snow day Monday and a completely packed week with school and some other things, it has been a long week. It's not even over yet! I'm gearing up for a couple of really crazy stressful weeks before spring break fun. So all I've got today is some random thoughts from the week in a thinking out loud post.  

1. Valentine's Day was really low-key for my boyfriend and I this year. He did a good job with my gift though-flowers, macarons (there was a 2nd box that were eaten quickly before a photo, oops) and some Lush bath bombs.  I definitely see a long, warm bath in my near future. 

2. We stayed in and he cooked a nice steak dinner. Besides the beautiful flowers he made a whole chocolate cake recipe he made once ago years ago that is the best and called That Chocolate Cake. It's completely full fat, full sugar, and deliciously chocolatey. He said we'd give some it away, but we never got the chance to and literally have both eaten 3/4 of the cake this week. Oops. 

Also because I love supporting local businesses, the flowers below are from a small Baltimore florist called Steetcut Flower Co. They are a couple who runs the business out of their basement and held a little Valentine's weekend pop-up at Doobys.  Definitely check them out if you're in the area and need some flowers or floral arrangements. My bouquet is still looking great days later! 

5 Friday Favorites featuring Mizuno Running & Snacking

Disclosure: I was sent a pair of Mizuno Running Wave Catalyst shoes as a part of a sponsored campaign through the Fitfluential Network. I was also given a complimentary code for 3 meals through Galley Foods. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Workouts have been not too great this week because of being so busy plus trying to avoid running outside in the below freezing windy temperatures we've been having this week. Apparently it's going to be in the single digits this weekend. Um, is it spring yet? I plan on knocking out a workout and then getting nice and cozy and warm and watching the Olympic Marathon Trials from LA on Saturday, rooting for my #TeamNuun lady Kara Goucher, Shalane, and Meb of course as well as some other awesome runners.  I have a lot of exciting things planned for the spring, but need to survive a lot of work this semester and this crazy winter weather. Here are some of my favorite things from the past week:  

5 Friday Favorites

1. Favorite Package: Mizuno Running Wave Catalyst

Thanks to a campaign with Fitfluential I was sent the new Mizuno Wave Catalyst shoes. Besides loving the neon color, I was really excited to try a lightweight shoe from Mizuno since I've only tried their more supportive shoes. I'm a fan of more lightweight shoes and so far like it. The bottom is still a little stiffer than I normal like, but I appreciate the light weight feel and the thinner upper on the shoes.  I skipped a bitter cold run last night, but still took these babies to yoga class!

2. Favorite Dinner: Lamb Bolognese Fettuccine from Galley Foods