Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

Remember that one time I wrote a silly little post about my Summer Goals?

No? Well, you can find it HERE.

I posted a list of things i would like to accomplish during the summer, as far as fitness and healthy living are concerned. One of those goals was to try Zip lining. AND I DID!

I have been running around like crazy lately. So, since I didn't have anything too pressing to do at work, i took the day off yesterday. My boyfriend happened to have it off as well, and we decided we wanted an adventure day. He called up a local zip lining place, booked us for a 3pm tour and voila! There was a total of 4 people in our group, plus two guides. The course was 5 different zip lines with an obstacle course in the middle. The guides were great and a lot of fun and the zip lining experience was amazing! I can't wait to go back and do it again. Here's some of the photos the guides took:

 At this point, we were 3/4 of the way done and we were 75 feet in the air. We had just finished a 650ft line.

 This is me riding the 650ft line. I FINALLY figured out how to keep myself from twisting around backwards. It's not as easy as you think.

 In the middle of the tour, there is an obstacle course with a cargo net, an aerial bridge, an aerial step path, and a multi vine tight rope walk. I'm on the aerial step path.

This is our tour group (minus guides) after we landed back on the ground. We were hot and sweaty but all smiles!!

Have you ever done something fun and crazy like zip lining?

Baby, I'm Back

I am back!

Hooray!

You do remember me, right? Right?!

I certainly hope so. Even though I've been super lame the past month or so and haven't updated at all.

Let me sum the past month or so my life up for you in a nutshell.

Freak winter storm and no electricity/power for over a week.
Rehearsing two shows simultaneously.
Working two jobs simultaneously.
My sister's wedding in Black Island.
HOLIDAYS!!!
Starting a new full time job while rehearsaing two shows and working a seperate part time position.

Kind of hectic, yes? Well, maybe it doesn't seem hectic when it's all nicely listed like that, but if you had seen a snapshot of my calendar, you might have cried or run screaming from the computer and found yourself rocking in a corner. I know that's how I felt.
Needless to say, I haven't had any free time to do anything even remotely athletic. (Especially with the freezing weather that just decided to grace our area of the world.) However, I am officially done with 1 show and am out of rehearsals for the second show- and work is slowing down a bit (for now) so I'm hoping to get back to running this week. Maybe not necessarily outside, but at least I want to hit the gym a few times.
I am so severely behind on my Princess training that it stresses me out even thinking about it. I need to sit down and just review everything and reformat my plan of action for February. I'm sure I will find that time soon enough. But, for now, just to get myself up and moving again, I'm going to get myself to the gym and do some 3-5mile runs throughout the week.

My goal is to have a new plan of attack by next Monday. Sounds do-able, right? Here's hoping.
Now, I just need to fight this tickle that has started in my throat and cross all my fingers that I don't get a cold. Emergen-Cee, Airborn and apple juice will become my new best friends. Sickness is not allowed!!!

Anyway, sorry again for the sudden hiatus with my blogging. There's no real excuse other than that all my free time was used for sleeping, haha. But, I am back (again) and will be up and running in no time soon!

The MotherLoad

Dog sitting job= done! Yay for being home with internet connection again! It's not that I didn't enjoy being disconnected for awhile, but I missed my blogger friends and it's going to take some time to catch up on what's been going on with everyone. As promised, this is going to be a jam packed blog post so grab a beverage, maybe even a snack, and buckle in!

Alright, first things first. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I take immense joy in sharing with you the odd, interesting and hysterical things I come across while running. I happen upon so many odd things, that I've even started a separate tab on my blog to keep track of them. One of my readers emailed me the other day because she wanted to share something she had come across on a run with her friend:
"...one day my friend and I were doing a long run on a country road and I spied what looked like an old blue crochet hat.  Being the curious type, I picked up the "hat" which turned out to be a toilet paper roll cover---it felt like something was in it, then the bottom fell out and yes, something was in it---A LIVE MOUSE!  My friend and I both screamed and restarted our running!"

 Source

I couldn't help but laugh at that. I have seen some crazy things, but I've never encountered a live animal. I'm sure I would have knocked a few minutes off my run time if that had happened to me! Thanks Vicki for sharing your story, look for it to be updated on my other page as well. 

In other news, right before I disappeared, I was nominated for another blogger award!

Yay blogger award love!!

Here is how it works:

• Link back to the blogger who nominated you
• Choose 5 blogs and leave them a comment
• Post the award on your blog
• Enjoy and share the love :)

I was given this award by the amazingly awesome Wells L @ My Story...Chapter 2. Honestly, she's such an inspiration. Her blog is heartfelt, funny, informative and just an all-around great read. And she is probably one of my all-time favorite bloggers ever! We have yet to meet, but I feel like her and I would make great friends lol I'd have to say that Wells is also probably one of my biggest fans. She comments on almost every blog post and DailyMile post as well. And every time she does, I just feel so flattered that she takes the time to encourage and support me. So, for realsies, go check out her blog for yourself and you will definitely see how amazing she is!!

The five blogs I am nominating are:
1. Amy @ Pumpkin to Princess
2. Vanessa @ Gourmet Runner
3. Victoria @ Finding Happiness in Health
4. Katherine @ Forward FootStrides
5. Wym @ A Tall Order

Alright folks, as we all know, I started this journey of training for a half marathon. And guess what? It's getting closer!!! I decided at the beginning of the year that to give myself some extra motivation and raise money for a great cause, I would solicit donations from friends and family for the half marathon. The charity I chose was the NSA- National Stroke Association. This cause is very close to my heart because my mother has suffered a series of multiple strokes over the past decade. Thankfully, she is still with us, but every stroke takes it's toll on her. I go into more detail on my fundraising page HERE.

Now, I'm sure you are wondering how you can help, right? Aren't y'all just the sweetest?! You can most definitely help by going to the above fundraising page and donating to my cause! Not only will you get the joy that comes with giving and the gratitude of this kid, but, for every $1 you donate you will get one entry into my newest give away!

Oh, you want to know what you might win? Sure thing! I've collected some random goodies for your running pleasure and they are:

• an 8 pack of GU chocolate outrage gels
• 2 packs of GU chomps (in watermelon and peach tea)
• Smartwool PhD running socks
• Foot Rubz ball (similar to a foam roller or other massage product)
• Eastern Mountain Sports Espresso hydration belt
• Running for Mama t-shirt (designed by yours truly)

Here's how you can enter this give away- first, go to my fundraising page HERE and donate some money to a great cause. For every $1 you donate, you will receive one entry into the give away. So, if you decide to donate $20, you get 20 entries! Easy, right?! Once you have donated, come back to this page and leave a comment letting me know.
 
This give away will be going on until 9/28- That's 3 weeks to scrounge together at least $5 for some entries!- And the winner will be chosen on 9/29. Even if you don't feel you can afford $5, PLEASE CONSIDER AT LEAST GIVING $1.... any little bit helps! My goal is $500 and I'm currently at $230, so not far to go!!

Well, that's all for now folks... but I will be back to update again soon!! Promise! :)

10 Miles of "What the Hell?"

I don't know how many of you saw my update to my last post, but in case you missed it, here is what I wrote:

"Update: Did my 10 mile run in 3:4:10. All I can say is OWWWWW! I started off doing well but by mile 7 my calves were in so much pain I had to walk the rest of the way. I ended up getting dangerously close to being dehydrated even though I had a bottle full of coconut water, 2 GU packs and had stopped into Dunkin Donuts for a large cup of water"

 Yes indeed. I finally hit double digits with my long run. And I can honestly say, it was the worst run of my entire running career (as short as it may be). I started off doing pretty well, up into mile 6 I was feeling good. Then, the leg cramps began. And with them came some stomach trouble. My stomach would gurgle with hunger one minutes and then I'd be fighting back nausea the next. WTH? I downed my second GU pack at mile 7 (having had the first at mile 5) and drank the last of my coconut water, but it didn't seem to do much at all. My legs were still fighting me- and winning. 

I think there were a few wrenches in my plan for this run. Firstly, I ran during the WRONG time of the day (11:30am... cause it's not hot around noontime, right?). Even though I loaded up my water bottle with coconut water to hydrate and replenish, it just wasn't enough for how fast I was sweating everything out. Also, my body was just too physically exhausted before I even started running (dancing and rehearsing for 4 hours a night and only getting 5-6hrs of sleep a night will do that to you). Seriously, I was up before 7:30 am every single day this past week, and as we all know, that is not like me at all. And considering I wasn't getting home from rehearsals until 11pm or a little later, I wasn't falling asleep until 12am or so. I was pretty tired.

Once again, I did see some interesting things on my run. During the first few miles, I ran past an empty pregnancy test box, which was lying next to an empty condom box. I guess it was negative so they decided to celebrate. Yay for protection, right?  I also ran past, what looked like, a dog poop mine field. Seriously, it was every where, I couldn't even go around it. So, I played a very dangerous game of hopscotch for a couple of minutes, trying to not to get my shoes all mucked up, and decided to write the following letter to the owner.

"Dear Pet Owners of CT,

Please learn to curb your dogs and pick up after them. Bringing a small baggie with you when you walk your pet is not a difficult thing to do. And as much as I appreciate your attempt at fertilizing nature, having Vietnam War flashbacks because of your strategically placed dung mines is not something I intended on doing today. Please take responsibility of your pet, and their waste, and help make the roads a little bit cleaner for those of us who enjoy and participate in exercise outdoors.

Thanks in advance, Kristin."

But you know what? Even with all the issues I had; the hot weather, the leg cramps, the doggy doo,  and this having been the Worst run EVER for me,  I'm not at all discouraged. I'm actually more determined to make my next long run even better- once I can get my legs to function properly again.

Who is this crazy determined person inside of me?! I kind of like her :)

Mine Eyes Have Seen Some Crazy Stuff

Today was a relatively interesting day. It was really warm and humid (something of which I am not a fan of- I much prefer a nice, breezy 70 degrees to the muggy 90 degrees it was outside). I had to work a lunch program and was home by 2pm. I was out running by 2:30. I had intended on going running so I made sure to drink plenty of water beforehand (4 glasses to be exact) and I downed my PowerBar Vanilla energy gel to give myself some electrolytes. The vanilla flavor was kind of weird in gel form. I think I was expecting it to taste more like frosting and less like goey stuff. it also didn't help that I managed to spill it all over my hands (love having sticky hands as I run). But, it definitely helped. Around 2.75 miles I could feel the heat starting to get to me so I had to slow down my pace. It would have probably been much worse without the energy gel though.

The first 1.5 miles was pretty easy and I finished in about 23minutes. y entire run was 3 miles and it took me a little over 45 minutes. Not my best time, but not my worst either. I was taking a slow pace for multiple reasons:

1. I wanted to focus more on endurance than speed as this was a maintenance run

2. It was REALLY frigging hot out!!

I did see some rather odd and intriguing things during my run today though. First, as I was crossing my half mile marker, a man passed me on a bike. That's a normal thing, right? Well, what if the guy was riding his bike while holding an AC unit on the handle bars? Slightly odd, yes? Power to him for being able to do it because I wouldn't and he is most definitely saving on gas. I applaud you random biker man. I mentioned this siting on Facebook and one of my friends told me that during the Madagascar unrest she saw 4 men running down the street all carrying a refrigerator on their backs. Crazy! I've henceforth decided that there needs to be an ultra-marathon where people have to run carrying some sort of household appliance- television, AC, fridge, etc. I may call it the "Moving Out Marathon" or possibly the "Running with Crazy Shit Race".

Oh! I have some rather exciting news! On Facebook I liked a company called Zico. They make coconut water, of which I am a HUGE fan (seriously, it's SO yummy!). On their page they were having a Pledge posting where they were encouraging people to post things they would like to do/change/etc. If they like your pledge, they will send you vouchers for 12 bottles on free coconut water. 

Guess whose pledge they chose?! 

This Kid's!!! 

 I feel like such a celebrity!

So, as soon as I get my vouchers in, I will be doing another give away. 

I love coconut water and I am willing to share some with my wonderful readers! 

Also, don't forget, my current Bondi Band give away is still open for entries, but not for much longer! 

Enter HERE!