2013 June

Run for the Pies 5K

June 30, 2013 · By Kristin Smith · 10 Comments

I’m super late with this race recap and I’d love to say that it’s going to be worth the wait.. but, well, it’s probably not.

At first I was waiting for the race pictures, then I got them and there weren’t really any great ones. It happens, no big deal.

Then I forgot about it. My brother reminded me last week, he thinks I just don’t want to write it because he beat me. That’s not it either, I’ve just had a serious case of writers block, which may possibly stem from a bit of runners block. I think I made that term up. It’s like writers block, except for running. Instead of not being able to come up with what to write about, I just can’t get my toosh out the door to run. That makes it really hard to talk about running. I will though, because I miss it. I just need to convince myself that I miss it when my alarm goes off at 5am. I keep turning it off, rolling over to snuggle my sweet girl, and falling right back to sleep. No bueno!

So, back to the race.

Run for the Pies was a lot of fun. I had been dreading it – it’s Florida and it’s summertime. That means it’s hot, really hot. Humid too. Thankfully though, we had a bit of cloud cover and the heat and humidity let up a bit, so it was warm but not miserable. The whole atmosphere at the beginning was just fun and happy. It started with a Nike 5k championship with some super speedy runners. The winners finished in like half the time it takes me to run a 5k and I’m not that slow!

Once the championship race was finished, the rest of us lined up at the starting line. Because of the heat, we weren’t planning to run hard, just to have fun. It was crazy packed though, so my brother and I squeezed in where we could around the 9 minute/mile pace sign. We were packed in like sardines, so thankfully we weren’t there long before they fired the starting gun.

As usual, I set a few goals for the race.

A – Beat my previous 5k PR (27:23, for an average pace of 8:49)

B – Run under a 9:15 pace.

C – Finish in under 30 minutes.

My official finish time was 27:47, for an average pace of 8:58. I have to admit, it was a hard pill to swallow at first. It was the first time I’d run a race and not PR’d (obviously still a newbie in the running world!) and I was a little bummed. I knew going into it that I wasn’t going to push myself and I hadn’t really trained, but even knowing that, I was still bummed. It happens though, and I’ll get over it. I had totally positive splits too – 8:48, 9:06, 9:11, and 7:16 (last .1). This is the first race where I finally remembered to start and stop my watch on time though – yay for little victories!

My brother and I ran close to one another and kept passing each other throughout the race (he’s a few people behind me in orange in the photo above). I thought he was behind me at the end, but he managed to sneak past me in the very last stretch and finished in 27:43. Sneaky, sneaky little brother. I’m the type that doesn’t get annoyed all that easily when it comes to races, but I did get a bit frustrated at the end of this one. I was in the last little stretch, running hard toward the finish line and there were two girls ahead of me that just stopped. They went from running to just slowly walking, right in front of me. I tried to go around them and they moved back in front of me again, super frustrating. Since I wasn’t trying to PR, it wasn’t a huge deal, but was definitely annoying. It was a good reminder to me to pay attention to runners around me if I slow down or stop, especially that close to the finish line.

I loved seeing all of the jogging strollers out there too – actually, scratch the jogging part. We saw all kinds of strollers. There was a guy who passed me at the end pushing a Graco travel system stroller. I have no clue how he ran with that thing for the entire race, but he did.

We had so much fun at the race – we’ll definitely be running this one again next year. It was great to watch the elite runners before we ran and then to hang out afterward to watch them pass out awards and do the big giveaway and all. 1st Place Sports provided free beer and pizza at the finish line (holy deliciousness, beer after running is GOOD). We didn’t stick around long since my parents had the kids and my mom has a broken leg, but it was nice to sit and chat with my brother and his girlfriend, Amanda, for a bit.

Our next race is on the 4th of July and I’m looking forward to it. We originally planned to run and get my parents to bring the kids after we were done so Braden could do the 1-mile fun run, but then my mom broke her foot so we decided to just leave the kids home with them. A few days ago, Braden asked when we were going to run in our next race because he wanted to do one, so I decided I’d push him in the jogging stroller for the Celebration 5K and just let Mackenzie have some one-on-one time with my parents.

Prepare to see some impressively high splits for that – I have no clue how I’m going to run and push 50+ pounds of boy in that stroller!

Also, don’t forget to enter my giveaway — you can win a great Aquaphor gift set, Camelbak water bottle, and a $50 Visa gift card. Head over to the Aquaphor facebook page as well for some great coupons and suggestions on new ways to use Aquaphor!

Filed Under: Race Recap · Tagged: 5k, adam, fitness, jacksonville, kristin, run jax, running, uncle d

June Phone Dump!

June 30, 2013 · By Kristin Smith · Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Us · Tagged: phone dump

Product Review & Giveaway: Aquaphor Healing Ointment & Lip Therapy

June 28, 2013 · By Kristin Smith ·

One of the things I love about the running community is how supportive we are of one another, there is a camaraderie that I haven’t found in other sports — perhaps because we’re not competing against one another, just ourselves? I am not sure, but the willingness to help each other out and try to find solutions to problems other runners are encountering is simply amazing to me. That’s a big reason why I’m excited to review this product for you today. It’s something that I use nearly every single day and something that can help treat and prevent one of the most annoying running problems out there — chafing.

I’ll be honest, I’ve been really fortunate and have not encountered any chafing issues while running, so I don’t have any personal experience with using Aquaphor for running-related chafing. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my luck continues and I don’t need it for this issue, but if this is something you struggle with, Aquaphor can help. It can be used to help prevent chafing — simply apply it to chafing-prone areas before your workout to help avoid the chafing burn. If you forget to apply prior to working out, Aquaphor can also help soothe the burn after your workout. Definitely nice for the forgetful types like me.

What I do know, is that Aquaphor is a product that gets a LOT of use in my house, by every member of our family. We have stashed everywhere — in drawers and baskets around our house, our cars, the diaper bag — because we use it that often. I prefer the tube, it’s a bit less messy (aka, Mackenzie can’t stick her little fingers in it) for us and it travels well in the diaper bag. Here are a few of my favorite ways to use Aquaphor:

Flip-Flop Feet

My absolute favorite use. I live in flip-flops most of the year and it is not kind to my feet. I slather Aquaphor on after I get out of the shower, put on a pair of socks, and by the morning my feet are soft and not-so-scary.

Random Baby Rashes (Diaper Rash, Drool Rash, Neck Fold Rash)

I know, those of you who don’t have little ones are looking at the screen wondering what I’m talking about. Diaper rash is pretty self explanatory, but drool and neck fold rash? Trust me, this stuff is amazing. Teething babies drool. A lot. So much that it can leave them with a not-so-adorable rash all around their mouth. Apply just a bit of Aquaphor to the area and it protects their delicate skin, keeping their sweet little faces rash-free. As for the neck fold rash, this one was new to me with Mackenzie. When itty-bitty babies are too small to hold their heads up on their own, all kinds of lovely things (drool, sweat, milk) make their way into the folds (aka fat rolls) in your little ones neck. The moisture causes raw, irritated skin (aka drool rash). Spreading a thin coat of Aquaphor in the neck folds will help the rash heal faster, and protects the skin against future rashes.

Burns, Scrapes, Cuts & Other Boo-Boo’s

This is what we’re using Aquaphor for most often these days. With a 5-year-old and an almost 2-year-old in the house, we get a lot of boo-boo’s. I pull out the Aquaphor anytime one of the kids gets a minor skin abrasion and after some hugs and kisses (okay, and sometimes a cookie) they are good-as-new and back to driving each other crazy again.

Aquaphor also makes a great lip ointment, which pretty much lives in my fuel belt during the winter months. You can use it to protect yourself from chapped lips, obviously, but it also works great at protecting your skin — I use it a lot on the area right under my nose. My nose runs like crazy when I’m running and always ends up a bit chaffed because I constantly rub it. This stuff seems to last forever too, you can feel it on your skin even hours after you’ve applied, but without that gross/slimy feeling.

So, now you totally want your own Aquaphor, right? Lucky for you, Aquaphor wants you to love it as much as I do! One lucky reader will win the prize pack below. What’s in it? Good question! You’ll get a few full-size samples of Aquaphor to try for yourself, a Camelbak water bottle to keep you hydrated on your runs during the hot summer months, and a $50 Visa gift card so you can stock up on your favorite running gear — and maybe some more Aquaphor?

So, what’s the catch? There isn’t one! Simply enter the giveaway below using the rafflecopter! The giveaway starts today and runs through next Friday, July 5th. To increase your odds of winning, you can tweet about the giveaway every day between now and next Friday and come back to get another free entry. That’s it!

Also, be sure to head over to the Aquaphor page on facebook and like them – they post coupons and great tips on ways to use their product that you may not have thought of yet! My favorite find is to help with applying nail polish – a thin coat on your cuticles and you can wipe away the “oopsies” when you’re done!

Good luck everyone, I hope you all love it as much as I do!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: Aquaphor provided me with the products shown above to review. The opinions are my own based on my experience with their product.

Filed Under: Giveaway, Product Review · Tagged: giveaway, product review

Five Things Friday

June 28, 2013 · By Kristin Smith · 4 Comments

I always have these ridiculously random thoughts or cute pictures that I want to share that aren’t really worthy of their own post. I figured a once-a-week post would be a good place to throw them all, and I’m limiting myself to five because.. well, it goes well with Friday, and if I post too many of my ridiculously random thoughts, y’all would be looking at me like I have two heads or something. I even give myself the side-eye sometimes.

So, here we go, my very first “Five Things Friday” post!

1. I have a product review and giveaway post coming up later today that I’m really excited about! It’s something that we already use a few times a week and love, plus they threw in a few extras that make the giveaway extra sweet. You are definitely going to want to enter, trust me!

2. I came across this picture yesterday while looking for another one, it’s from Braden’s 1st Christmas. Oh my goodness with the reindeer toosh jammies, I’d forgotten all about those. How stinking cute is he?!

3. I haven’t done a training run since the beginning of June. I’m just being a sack of lazy bones and not getting up in the morning, even thought I promised Adam that if we bought the pretty new BOB stroller, I’d get up and run in the morning. No excuses since I can take Mackenzie, our early riser, with me.. right? Right.

4. I bought Adam the most awesome gift for his birthday and I’m super jealous because I want to keep it for myself.

5. I’m 99.9% sure that I’m going to run the half at Space Coast instead of the full. I think it’s the right decision for me. That time of year is just insane and trying to run two marathons on top of just keeping up with my normal life? Quite indimidating!