Marvelous March Madness SWAG

Being of Irish decent, March has always held a special place in my heart.  St. Patrick's Day and all that is green is gold. This month for our SWAG give-a-way we are doing a photo scavenger hunt.

The rules are as follows.

1.Photoshopping unless otherwise noted is strictly forbidden and you will be disqualified.  You may NOT use any internet photographs. Remember I also work and intern at a professional photography studio with National Photography Competition Judges we will know if it's your own photograph or if you have photoshopped your entries.

2. All photos must contain you. That means if your asked to find a shamrock you must be in the picture with the shamrock.

3. All entries will be judged on creativity and originality yes I will be asking Hubs and my photographer friends for help.

4. All entries must be received no later than March 31, 2011 at 11:59 pm CST. Submit all entries to DOAFCR@clearwire.net



Okay now that you have the rules how do you win?

Be the most creative and original Scavenger in finding all 10 of the following items.

1. A picture of you and Swiftwick socks. hint find a retailer near you (If you do not live in a country where Swiftwick is available please email for alternate task. DOAFCR@Clearwire.net
     (If you own a pair already give us your most creative shot of you in your socks)

2. A picture of you running in a race or finishing a race.

3. The best running outfit you own

4. How do you carb load?

5. Your biggest no no for race day. (remember be creative)

6. Do what moves you.

7. Confirmation for your next race showing your name and the race (on this picture only can you blur out all other information)

8. Your favorite running shoes.

9. Just can't do with out _______ on long runs.

10. Celebrating St. Patrick's Day

Remember this is all about being creative, having fun and being original.

1st Place will receive a sweet goodie bag from one of my favorite gear companies Swiftwick.

Valued at $35.00

2nd Place will receive a $10.00 Gift Certificate to a sporting goods retailer in your area or a pick out of the DOAFCR grab bag

3rd Place will receive a $5.00 Gift Certificate to a sporting goods retailer in your area or a pick out of the DOAFCR grab bag

FCR

One More Step, One More Mile, One More Finish. ©

I am back and I'm kicking tushie!

Or maybe it's the other way around, I'm back but I'm getting my tushie kicked? hrmm. Let me do some 'splaning.

I have either been injured, or sick for the last month or so. First there was the Christmas ankle roll off the stair I was innocently standing on, one week before a race. Then there was the I slid in the mud and fell on my right knee 4 days before a race. Then there is the fact that I didn't gain any weight over Thanksgiving and Christmas I snarfed my way through the New Year and Valentines day. Yup it finally hit I gained some weight back. Insert dramatic foreboding music here.

Last year I put two pieces of the puzzle together movement and good food. Well then a hard cold winter set into Middle Tennessee and I lost one of the pieces the movement. I'm not fond of snow and ice and running.  I on the other had became fond of comfort food and mindless TV.

After running the Predators 5k I remembered what it was I loved about running and realized that if I want to keep doing it I need to work on some core things.

1. Food garbage in garbage attacks hips
2. Movement is necessary. Going up and down the three flights of stairs at a rapid cardio pace once a day does nothing.
3. With out a strong core you go nowhere.
4. The more you train the fast you are.

So how am I to combat these 4 things. First of all back to good foods. I've added some Art of Strength  cross training 3 days a week. It's 30 minutes of intense strength and cardio work out. Then I do ten minutes on the stationary bike and ten minutes on this thing called the woodway. It's awesome. It's helping me work on making my stride longer and more efficient.

I've also had quite a few friends and locals people I've met at businesses want to know how I got stated. I need more motivation to get back out on the road so I've add a group run to my routine. On Wednesdays I'm doing what I call a low and slow group. Low miles and slow speed. That way I can reach out in the community and instead of telling people how I do it I'm actually showing them how to do it.

I would like my goal for this group to be 10 people run/walking consistently all year long. Yup HRC that means I'm trying to find more yahoo's to join our group.

OH yeah and there is going to be a give away in March.... Can't tell you what it is yet but it's going to be pretty awesome if I do say so myself.


FCR
One More Step, One More Mile, One More Finish. ©

New Gear Review

My find friends at Swiftwick socks called me up a few months ago and asked me to test out a new line of sock. The new line is called Aspire.

I love this sock. It is really hard to improve on Swiftwick but they have done it. The linked toe is so wonderful, no toe seam to rub or irritate my big and little toes. These socks are woven just a bit differently. 

From toe to arch is one weave then at the arch there is  a different one with some compression. It is not overly tight or uncomfortable. In fact I have come to really love that aspect of the Aspire sock. 

I have tried this sock in the zero, one and two cuff sizes. I am still a zero girl but have found that I like these other cuff lengths. The "taller" cuffs are nice to tuck under the running tights when it is cold out. I ran both the Frostbite 5k and the Fangtastic 5k in these socks. 

I have noticed with other socks that as my feet swell during a race the weave can and does irritate the bottom of my feet. I did not find this happening with any of the Swiftwick socks that I have tested so far. 

I am looking forward to see any new advances in socks and compression gear from Swiftwick, and I'm not just saying that because I was able to test out this new product. I was a Swiftwick convert prior to having the chance to try this new line out. It also helps that they are a locally owned and operated company. They source their materials from the US and they are made right here in Middle Tennessee. They are a green company that also encourages their retailers to be green as well.  

So if your looking for that perfect sock, I have to give it to Swiftwick yet again.  from their zero olefin socks to the merino wool's to the 12 Ole compression socks there is a sock to fit your style. 

Look for my next review of the Swiftwick compression sleeves. 

FCR
One More Step, One More Mile, One More Finish. ©

Fangtastic 5k Re-cap

I've been having some mental road blocks. I ran the Frostbite but it wasn't anything to write home to HRC about.

Today I got up felt good. Headed out the door and it was nice and warm. I was so glad I changed clothes right before I left. I dropped a layer and was so glad that I did around mile 1.5.

Leon was supposed to run but he had a church leadership meeting and couldn't make it again this year.

So Dominic ran as Hub, he says thanks for the time btw.

I felt really good. I wasn't trying for a PR I was going about it as a training run.

Due to the really cold weather it's been so hard for me to even breath when I go outside for work or errands, running has been a no go.

Mile one was nice and easy, mile two with the hill was pretty fast I felt really good. The route was different this year. We went down hill where we trudged up hill last year. There was only one real tough hill and that was coming up to Charlotte Ave.

I met a woman that was doing her first race and training for Country Music Half, sounded awful familiar. She's been training mostly alone. I channeled my best Charlene and Leslie and we started challenging each other to go faster with shorter walk breaks.

Mile three was so fast, I think I had a 15 or 16 min mile. Then we came up to Demonbreun, I felt so good. We hit the exact spot where Leslie and Charlene found me last year and my new friend and I kicked it in gear, I kept snarling and growling and yes we did pass not one, not two but five people as we came to the mats.

It was such a different experience this time around. Last year I never thought I would get across the mats, this year I was running hand in hand arms raised crossing the finish line.

I felt really good and it was a really good kick in the tush to get working again.

Hubs and I have planned on doing a 5k race every month. So next month we are doing the Springer Mountain Farms Chicken Healthy 5K Run & Walk
at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, it starts at the Grand Ole Opry house and was only $6.50 to register.

Our next one for April is going to be the Purity Dairy Dash and I'm pretty sure Moon Pie is on the list this year.

I'm so thankful for HRC and all the inspiration that Hubs and I get from the club.

Here's to a great 2011!

FCR
One More Step, One More Mile, One More Finish. ©

Hubs: My Country Music 1/2 Marathon

I asked hubs a few weeks ago to do a post. Due to how busy we have been I am just now able to get that wonderful post to you.


Ladies and Gentleman, friends and runners may I present Hubs. 


 FCR asked me to write an entry for the blog. I'm still not entirely sure what she wants for this entry but here goes anyway. I guess I'll tell you about Country Music 2010. I starting running about the same time my wife did. For me, the enjoyment comes from the challenge, finding out what I can do. I found out early on that breaking my leg is one thing that I could do.

FCR and I had made a goal to run the Country Music 1/2 Marathon 2010. In January I break my leg. So much for that goal.

Or so I thought. Despite having surgery to repair my bone, my leg healed very quickly. I was up and about by mid-March, and walking without any brace or anything by early April. Surprisingly the metal plate and five screws did not even cause any discomfort. Maybe I could attempt this race after all.

We had already paid the registration way back in December (no refunds), so when race day came along, I decided to give it a go. I can always drop out if I need do. So with my new bionic ankle, I take off. It was a struggle but I managed to do it! To this day I'm not sure how. It took pretty much every ounce of strength I had.

But the point is, I made it. I finished in less than four hours, which still vexes my wife to no end. In the end I found out what I could do and if I do say so myself I didn't do too bad at all.

Hubs

One More Step, One More Mile, One More Finish. ©

January Swag Winner

I'm here been some blog issues. But we are back up and running.

Our January poll winner is hseabrooks. Congrats! Can't wait to see you in your new piece of gear.

We are going to skip February and March is going to be all about the green! Oh and keep on the look out for a post from Hubs all about his 1/2 Marathon experience.

FCR
One More Step, One More Mile, One More Finish. ©