Tag Archive for runners

Spartan Race {Giveaway!!}

Happy Friday!! Isn’t Friday always happy?! I think so. ๐Ÿ™‚

I have some REALLY exciting news….but I can’t share it just yet.

I know, I know….I’m THAT annoying person….but it really is awesome! I’ll be able to share it in just a few days!!

Spartan Race

I was recently contacted by the awesome folks at Reebok Spartan Race to see if I wanted to participate in one of their Southern California Spartan Races this December or January. If you know me, you know this is RIGHT up my alley! If it involves jumping, running, climbing, crawling, and any other extremeness, you know I’m all for it!!! I love adventurizing (as I like to call it) so this was really exciting news for me.

If you remember, last year I ran a 5k mud run and absolutely LOVED it. I actually did a back to back race. It was pretty small and they had the option to do a 5k race followed by a 5k mud run. I did them both and although super exhausting, it was an absolute BLAST.

mudrun2 mudrun1

GIVEAWAY!

What’s even MORE amazing, is that Reebok Spartan Race gave me an extra FREE race code to give away to one of my readers! Weee!

Here’s how to enter (open to Southern California races only, so you either have to be local or willing to travel):

1. Go to the www.Spartan.com and pick a race in Southern California in either December or January.

2. Leave a comment telling me which race you would like to do.

3. I’ll pick a winner using www.RaffleCopter.com on Wednesday, November 12th, 2014.

That’s all I’ve got for now! I’ll be back later with an update on the Sugar Challenge! (It’s officially Day 18…woah!!!)

Day in the Life…

I always love Day in the Life posts, so I thought it’d be fun to do one myself! Here goes….

Tuesday, October 14th

7:15am: Charlie’s alarm goes off….I open my eyes and promptly close them again.

7:30am: OK, OK, Time to gay-sauna-nice get up.

7:45am: Brush teeth, throw on clothes and stagger out the door to get some coffee w/ CW

coffee

8:00am : I go back home and open up my laptop. Check e-mails and consult with my to-do list. Post this Fit Lizzio Movement of the Day video on Instagram

http://instagram.com/p/ulzin5qhgg/

8:15am: Start writing a blog post for work….not sure what to write about…..come up with a topic and just start typing. Words are flowing today!

8:30am: Send off blog post to get proofed

8:45am: Eat an apple and get on a phone call w/ a co-worker to talk about a project

9am: Google Hangout Meeting with the boss man…we have a bad connection and it’s super duper annoying

9:15am: Eat a Fage 2% Strawberry Greek Yogurt and a Peach

fage peaches

9:20am: My brother calls me and we catch up…he updates me on my mom and we laugh about our crazy, awesome dentist

9:25am: Write a reminder that I need to go to the dentist

9:30am: See a sale on flights, start perusing flights and dates to go see family for either Thanksgiving or some other reason…

9:35am: Do 10 Squat Jumps for no reason at all other than I’m trying to decide if I want to work out before I tackle my work day

9:45am: Clearly I wasn’t ready. I start checking/responding to e-mails and doing social media work.

10:15am: OK, I’m ready to move. Even though I haven’t run in over 6 months, I decide to go for a run…and simultaneously question who I am today

runtime

10:50am: Finished with run, come back inside and take a shower.

11:15am: Grab a 2nd coffee and head to a meeting

12pm: Stop at FedEx to ask printing questions for a job that needs to be doneย as soon as the file is received

12:15pm: Walk around Santa Monica with a co-worker while we wait for said file to be sent. It’s a gorgeous day!

smbeach

12:45pm: File still hasn’t arrived, so I stop into Simply Salad and get a make-your-own salad. It has Romaine Lettuce, celery, cucumbers, red bell peppers, tomatoes, granny smith apples, feta cheese, double chicken, and balsamic vinegar on the side. I don’t get to eat it right away, so I take it to go.

monstersalad1

1:30pm: Back at FedEx; Wait for document to print (it’s a big job)

2:30pm: Meet w/ co-workers to go over document and have one final look before sending off

3:30pm: Head to the gym to sign some documents, catch up with co-workers there, and do a bunch of admin stuff. I eat a Justin’s Honey Peanut Butter pouch because I’m STARVING

justinspb

4pm: Head home and tackle more e-mails + edit another document for work

4:15pm: Finally eat my salad!!!

monstersalad2

4:30pm: I’m totally full. That was a monstrous salad. I read blogs, peruse Facebook, text & catch up with CW

4:45pm: Sit down to write this blog post

I plan on heading to boxing at 6:45 tonight, doing a bit more work, and then going to SLEEP. It was nice to have a lighter day today…it doesn’t happen very often!

Hope you enjoyed my day in the life post! It was fun to document my day like that. I’ll have to do it more often. ๐Ÿ™‚

Question of the Day:ย 

1. Are you a runner or a weights person?

I’m most definitely a weights person, but a good run definitely has some mind-clearing capabilities that cannot be matched with anything else!

Vegas, Calico, Running, and a Purple Bell Pepper

Okay, first thing is first.

There are PURPLE BELL PEPPERS?!?!?! I had no idea. I stopped by the local Co-Op after my run today and happened to see this little guy. There was no way I could walk out of the store without it, even though they were $4.99/lb. When in Rome. Or Santa Monica. Is this something the rest of the world knew about?!

purple bell pepper

Speaking of my run……today I hit a BIG P.R. for myself. Ever since I started working out/running back in 2006, (I’ve never been just a runner and it comes in waves) I’ve always wanted to hit a sub 24 minute 5k. The goal is finally in sight and I’ve been training hard for it. (Oddly enough, most of my training comes in the form of plyometrics and weight training, but another topic for another day. I still run once or twice a week.)

I have a 5k trail run/5k mud run (they’re back to back and I’m completely stoked about it) coming up next month, so I’ve been really pushing myself.

Since I was out of town the last few days (I’ll get to that in a minute), I’m trying to play catch up on my training. I was planning on doing a long-ish run today, but once I started going, I realized how good/fast I felt. I changed my training plan on the spot.

My first mile was 7:48. I’m an 8:15-8:30 runner normally, so this was my first sign that good things were coming. Keeping this up for two miles isn’t too hard for me, but I typically hit a wall at around mile 2 when I’m running this pace. As I hit my 2nd mile and realized I still felt decent and was coming in under 16 minutes, my competitive face went on and I decided I was going to hit 3 miles in under 24 minutes no matter what.

That 3rd mile was tough. The first half of it was hard, but manageable. The second half is where it got rough for me. I started getting feelings of “oh shit I’m gonna puke” mixed with “holy shit i can’t breathe” mixed with “ouch, my lower back hurts”. But I honestly didn’t care. If my hip went out and I puked all over the place while losing all oxygen to my brain, I was just not going to stop. I can be dangerously competitive at times and this was one of them. Had someone walked into my path, I would have absolutely shoved them down and felt no remorse. I promise i’m not normally that evil. ๐Ÿ™‚

As I hit mile 3, I heard the little lady on my Map My Run app tell me that I had run 3 miles in 23:47. I immediately went into party dance mode in my brain (still trying not to puke at this point) as I pushed for the last tenth of a mile. I hit 3.15 miles in 24:10. Ma-jor-vic-tor-y!!!!!!

While I didn’t hit the PR I’m hoping I get on race day, this was the first time I’d ever run 3 miles in under 24 minutes. And for that ladies and gentlement, I’M STOKED!!! ย The second accomplishment in this run was that I didn’t actually puke.ย  High fives are welcome.

As I posted on Facebook, if I accomplish nothing else this week, I’m totally fine with that. But as we all know, this confidence boost is going to push me to conquer the world this week. Majorly awesome day. ๐Ÿ™‚

3 mile pr

So back to that vacation. A few months back, I purchased a smokin’ deal for a hotel in Vegas. I love little getaways, and when I can do them cheap, it’s even sweeter!! My man and I hit the road Wednesday and spent a few days laying by the pool, playing Blackjack, eating ice cream, and walking the strip in search of….nothing. All in all, Vegas is pretty boring when you’re not a partier and don’t want to spend a gazillion dollars on shows. I do like playing Blackjack, but I tend to lose money, which I don’t like. Either way, a few days off with my man is always a good time!

aliante hotel room

Our room at the Aliante Casino & Resort (not bad for $40/night)

On our way back to LA, we stopped in Calico. I have a weird obsession with ghost towns (and really anything abandoned or ghostly. actually anything weird for that matter), so we made a last minute decision to check out the town. If you’re ever in that area, it’s a fun little stop. It’s a bit commercialized for my taste (lots of gift shops/food stores), but the history there is pretty cool and you can pay $2 to walk through an actual mine. Freaking awesome. The views aren’t too bad either!

 

 

charlie_me_calico

And just for some cuteness overload….my awesome nephew. He can already tell at almost 9 months old…his aunt Lizzy is crazy. ๐Ÿ™‚

matty face time

1. What’s a fitness accomplishment you’ve had lately?

2. What are some of your favorite weekend getaways?

3. Any ghost town recommendations?!?!?!ย