Color Run - Denver, CO - June 16, 2013

Color Run is the hot thing in 5ks right now. After going to one I can see why. It was super. My friend Tasha and I ran the one in Denver on June 16th this year. The one rule is that you have to wear white shirts so we got these lovely matching numbers with colorful Daleks on them.

 

 During the race you run through 4 "color zones" where people throw and spray colored powder at you. The zones were blue, orange, yellow and pink. There are also people along the course with spray containers full of colored liquid. People come out with varying degrees of colored-ness and we were no exception.

We had an awesome time and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again! After the finish line there was quite a party with music and tons of vendors including Jamba Juice which we quite happily indulged in. The race cost me $45 and included a t-shirt, sweatband, temp tattoos, a packet of colored powder to use at the race and a ton of fun. They also had stands at the race to buy more color and lots of swag including our sweet bandanas, wrist cuffs and sunglasses.

My bib holder now has two friends!

At the after party there was a photo booth we took advantage of to get these super great shots.

There was also people with leaf blowers to blow some of the powder off which was nice for people that had to get in cars afterwards.

Advice to anyone doing one of these.
1. Bring something to sit on in the car afterwards, we had blankets and it worked great.
2. Don't wear anything you don't want to have a slight color tinge to afterwards. Including bra, socks and underwear (the color seeps through everything). Most did come off but not all.
3. The color does come off in the shower but it took quite a bit of elbow grease.
4. Go early! We were an hour early and we still had quite a time finding parking!

If you have a chance I say do it. Totally worth it!

Stridebox June

So sorry this is late in coming. My Stridebox came on Monday June 10th and it was an awesome one.

It included this amazing ball that relaxes your muscles. Works great on feet and hands!

 I LOVE Lock Laces! I LOVE THEM! I already have them on my trail runners and my everyday shoes. I cannot say enough wonderful things about them! These went straight onto another pair and work just as great as all the others! Never having to tie shoes is what I consider a win!

 Skratch exercise hydration mix. Lemon & Lime flavor. Add to 16 oz of water. 80 cal, 0 fat, 240 mg sodium, 21g carbs, 0g fiber, 0g protein.

 PocketFuel. Banana Blueberry flavor. Is almond butter "with a kick". Per container 398 cals, 26g fat, 76mg sodium, 24g carbs, 6g fiber, 10g protein. For those who care that is 10 WW+ points. A little too much for me. And I can't lie that flavor is really not my cup of tea. But I will make sure it gets into the hands of someone who would like it!

 Electro Delytes energy citrus bars were the first to go. I had them that day and they were great. I tend to like the "gummy" type of energy eat-ables anyway and these were quite tasty!

 Blue Steel Sports-Anti Chafe Cream with Tea Tree Oil (2 packets). I have not had a chance to use these yet.

PowerIce Frozen, Refreshing Ice Bar with Electrolytes. Lime Kicker flavor (x2). 30 cal, 0 fat, 25mg sodium, 8g carbs, 0g fiber, 0g protein. Quite tasty and a very nice change of pace. Especially great coming in from a run in the middle of July!

Another super great box that was well worth the $15 price of admission!

Mickelson Trail 1/2 Marathon - Deadwood, SD - June 2, 2013

So my sister and I recently did the Mickelson Trail 1/2 Marathon in Deadwood, South Dakota. It was our first one and we had a great time. We are still training ourselves to run so it was mostly walking - but we finished!

13.1 beautiful miles of the George S Mickelson Trail

 Finally got to wear my Boston shirt.

My friend Rochelle from work ran it also.

Mandi enjoying the local scenery.

Finishers! Not quite sure what is going on with my shorts here though...

  

These are the shirts we were given for racing. Pretty sweet. My sisters in pink.

A close-up of the shirt logo.

 

A while ago I got this really nice Bib/Medal holder from Running on the Wall. It finally has something to show!

Things I learned from this race:
1. It's not that bad. Once we were going I had a great time. It didn't feel like 13.1 miles.

2. I read somewhere recently to buy running shoes that are a half to a full size larger than you normally wear. I totally get that now!  My feet were KILLING me when we finished. They were swollen and my toes were curled in the ends because I didn't have enough room. Buy the bigger shoes!

3. My hips need strengthening. My joints started protesting pretty good around mile 10, they were less than thrilled at the end and punished my severely the next day. My joints and feet hurt a lot and would have ended me when I still had energy. I have since been looking up strengthening exercises and will begin that post haste.

4. I have a long way to go but I've come a very long way from where I started. A year and forty pounds ago I never would have been able to do this. Onward and upward!

Crazy May

Sorry I have not updated for a while. May was a little crazy.

On the plus side I am running Week 12 of the chart which means I have reached the end and now need to work on adding time and distance.  I also finished my first half marathon (follow up post on that soon).

On the downside I had quite the plateau month as far as weight/inch loss is concerned. But it didn't go up so I guess that is a plus.

I will do update posts soon on my half marathon and I should have my June Stridebox soon.

In the meantime my new tank top came from Sunset Designs

Love it!