It's Almost Time

Thursday is FAST approaching and that means it's almost time for me to get locked up!

That means time is running out for all of you lovely people out there to participate in my

 "Mystery Loot Giveaway"!

If you remember, my boyfriend and I are being "locked up" for the Muscular Dystrophy Association's fundraiser, and we need YOUR help to get bailed out.

Click HERE and Donate today!

Originally, I said every $10 would get you one entry, now every $5 donated will equal one entry

(for those who already donated, don't fear, I'm keeping track and your donations will be divided the same).

All I ask is that you please leave a comment on my blog so I know that you donated.

Winner will be randomnly picked on August 25th.

I know times are tough for a lot of us, but please dig deep and consider donating.

If you think about it, you're really only sacrificing maybe one or two Starbuck's beverages, so not only are you doing something super amazing for others, but I'm helping you save some calories too! ;-)

Thanks everyone!!

ING... B-I-N-G-O!

It's Official- I am registered for my 2nd Half Marathon in October.

HOORAY!!

I just sent in my payment and have 66 days to finish my training before I tackle the ING Hartford Half again. I'm actually very excited! I had a blast running the course last year and am very much looking forward to doing so again. I only hope the day will be as gorgeous out as last year.

Today is another long day at work. However, I intend on going to bed as soon as I get home so I can get up and put in some miles tomorrow. My back up plan is to run after work (in case I hit snooze sleep through my alarm clock again). I'm currently about 2 weeks behind on my training, which is okay because I had originally added in 3 extra weeks, just in case. However, I've decided I'm going to increase my short runs to be 3 miles, instead of 2 for twice a week, on top of my long runs. The only thing I'm worried about, with this upcoming race, is that I won't be ready. And, I know, I need to push those thoughts right out of my head otherwise I'm going to self-sabotage.

To keep myself sane, I'm carrying Kara Goucher's book around with me. That way, when I feel the negative thoughts creeping in, I can crack the book open and get some motivation! (It works, I swear!)

On another note, I'm not sure how many of you read my last blog post, but I am doing a "Mystery Loot Give Away". My boyfriend and I are raising money for the Muscular Distrophy Association, and I'm turning to all you lovely people to help us out. For every $10 you donate, you will get an entry into the give away!

Now, you may be asking yourself, "But, Cupcake, why would I donate if I don't know what I might win?"
And to that I would kindly answer, "Because you're such a wonderful, amazing person that it doesn't matter what you might win. You just know that your donation is going on to help millions of people who suffer because of MD." Then, knowing you would probably want a little bit more information, I would continue, "I can't tell you exactly what your prize is- just know it's going to be pretty awesome! There's some pampering stuff, something worth money, and maybe even something for your feet!"

So, once again, I get down on my knees and humbly ask all of you lovely blog followers to please reach down into your pocket/purse/wallet/manbag/backpack/fannypack/Spibelt/piggy bank and please DONATE to a GREAT cause!

I promise, it will be worth your while! 



A Fond Farewell to the Week From Hell

Today is going to be a long day. 

But, it's also going to be a good one. 

I can tell already.

I mean, I already did my run at the gym, took a shower, picked up the shirts for my half marathon (remember the tshirt I described in my give away post?) and am now relaxing before I head to work and then rehearsal. I feel so accomplished and it's only 8:45 in the morning. Perhaps I could get used to this getting up early thing? I read an article in Runner's World that gave tips/tricks on training yourself to get up early - I'm going to start using them on a daily basis and see if I can't become a morning person.

Anyway, as I was saying, it looks to be a stupendous sort of day! Hooray! I could definitely use a great day...or week, even. Especially after last week. Last week, I was sure the world was coming to an end. Monday I had to call out of work to watch my niece who was sick with a super bad ear infection. I didn't really have a problem with that, though once we started watching The Little Mermaid for the 4th time, I decided it was time to switch things up a bit (she LOVES mermaid) and convinced her that we should watch Finding Nemo instead. Thankfully, she agreed.

That day wasn't too bad, mostly because even though my niece was sick and somewhat cranky, she is still completely and utterly adorable.

Please note, this was taken a few weeks ago, when she wasn't sick lol

Tuesday I ended up covering a shift for one of my co-workers, which was fine because I had missed hours the day before. Wednesday I had girls night with one of my best friends. And then Thursday happened. (insert a DUNH DUNH DUNH noise here) I was up at 5am on Thursday morning. No, not to run or go to the gym. I was up because our basement was full of smoke and my parents had to call the fire department. It seems we had a small electrical fire in the basement. The firemen (all 20 of them) deduced that the compressor on the fridge in the basement/family room went up and is what caused the problem. So, after the 4 fire trucks departed from our street (I apologize to our neighbors), we started cleaning out the fridge and freezer in the basement, the area around it, etc etc. I even went so far as to clean bathrooms and hall ways (when you're on a roll, it's hard to stop). Needless to say, I didn't go to work that day either. What time wasn't spent cleaning was used searching for a new fridge. Oy. On the up side, I'm thankful that my dad was up early for work and saw the smoke and that everyone is alright. That definitely could have ended much, much worse.

Friday brought a small ray of sunshine into my life though. Not only did I get up early to go to the gym with Tina again, but after I got home, I remembered I had made plans with one of my mother's friends to go on a short run! Woot! Double duty workout day! At 10am, Heather showed up and even though she is still recovering from being sick, she wanted to try a run. I decided 2 miles would be a decent enough distance for a trial run with her. Heather does Zumba so her cardio is pretty good, but she is a smoker (trying to quit though!) and recovering from bronchitis, so her breathing was causing her havoc. I let her set the pace and told her when/if she needed to walk, we could. I have to say she did very well! We did 2 miles in about 35 minutes. Heather had a good time, as did I, and we are hoping to do another short run again this week. Hopefully, I can get her addicted and have another running buddy muahahahaha.

One last thing to mention- PLEASE don't forget to check out my Donation Give Away HERE! It's a fantastic cause and the stuff you can win is fun! Only a few more days left to donate for your chance to win!

Donation Give Away

Ok, so maybe it's my lack of awesome posting that has everyone missing the fact that 

I'm doing a GIVE AWAY!

That's right folks. This kid got together a bunch of fun stuff and one of you lucky people is going to win it. 

I mean, seriously, check out all this fantastic gear.

 

There's some amazingly fun stuff in there, including: GU Chomps, GU gels, a hydration belt, a foot massager, and a pair of wool running socks (so good for running). I will also be including a pink "Running for Mama" tshirt in honor of the fact that I am running my first half marathon for my mother. 

You may be asking yourself, "What is this 'Running for Mama' business and why do I care?" Well, let me explain (for those who don't know or remember). Back in 2001 my mother had a severe stroke. She was barely able to speak and lost feeling on the entire right side of her body. She persevered through months of rehabilitation (learning to walk, talk, cook, and do every day activities all over again) and finally regained the use of her body to the point where you couldn't even tell she had had a stroke. However, since then, she has had 4 other minor strokes, each taking their toll on her both physically and mentally. My mother has struggled through so much; she can no longer dance or go to the gym, as her right side does not fully cooperate with her. I intend to run (and finish) my first half marathon race in tribute to my mother and all that she has had to combat in her life. All donations raised will go to the NSA in her honor. 

So, how do you get a chance to win this banging collection of loot?

It's EASY!

Go to this page HERE and donate to the National Stroke Association.

For every dollar you donate, you get an entry into the give away!

Therefore, $5 - 5 entries!

See how easy that is? 

And once you have donated, leave me a comment to let me know.

Not only will you get the gratitude from this kid, but there's a good chance you could win the give away!

I am going to extend the give away until Sept. 29th. The winner will be drawn Sept. 30th!

Ouch

I feel as if I may have completely and utterly destroyed my body. 

No, really. 

It hurts. 

A lot. 

Someone pass me the Icy Hot please. 

 (And a glass of wine.)

So, after my fail-of-a disappointing run yesterday, I decided I was going to take it slow today and just enjoy my run. A short 3 miles was all I had planned. Then, I realized I could save myself some gas if I ran to and from rehearsal tonight. Rehearsal is only 2.5 miles away, so why not do it? I love having these brilliant ideas that end nothing like I expect.

I, once again, strapped on my frisky back pack (I had to carry my sheet music, water bottle and towel somehow) and off I went. It took my 38 minutes to go 2.55 miles there, uphill. Not too bad if I say so myself, especially considering how tired I still was from yesterday's disaster run. And even with the back pack STILL persisting in dancing with me, I feel I made decent time. (Probably because it was only carrying 2-3lbs as opposed to 10lbs this time.) I had a good rehearsal, but, sadly, it meant I was sitting for about 2 hours before I could run back home. Whenever we stood to sing, I would do a couple of stretches, but to no avail. My muscles got tight and stiff. Perfect.

After rehearsal I ran back home. Thankfully, the first half mile was ALL down hill. Sweet! I picked up a bit of speed and cut some time off my first 1.3 miles. Eventually though, my muscle stiffness came back to haunt me and I ended up walking almost all of the last mile. Sadness. I finished the second half of my run in 40 minutes. Yay. Still, not too bad.

I am rather excited that this run, even though it was split up, was a decent one. My times were rather steady (2.55 miles in 38 minutes and 2.57 miles in 40 minutes) and I felt good up until the last mile. My mother wasn't too happy that I was out running around on my own at 9:45pm, but I had my phone, ID and mace with me so I felt safe. It's not something I plan to make a habit of though.

Also, because I ran to rehearsal people were impressed and donated to my cause for the half marathon! I was so excited! So far, I am up to $190!!! HOORAY!  

My goal is $500 by October (check out my donation page HERE ) 

Endurance.....ENDURANCE (to the tune of Tradition from Fiddler on the Roof)

I have to say I'm impressed. I'm impressed with myself. Normally I don't like to toot my own horn, but lately my running has been getting SO much better! Yesterday was my run in the rain where I felt like I could have run forever. And today's run, even though it was on the treadmill, was awesome as well.

I had to run 35 minutes today. When I woke up, I had an odd urge to treat my room to a massive spring cleaning- so I did. I spent a few hours before work cleaning out my closet, dusting, vacuuming, and trading out my winter clothes for spring ones (a girl can hope can't she?!). After my room was neat, tidy and spotless, I headed out to work.

Work was rather entertaining. Today's afternoon program with the girls involved using Fitness Dice. Yep, it's exactly how it sounds.

Two large, rubbery, multi-sided dice- one has photos of different exercises and one has random numbers. You roll the dice and whatever exercise it lands is what everyone has to do, and whatever number it lands on is how many reps of the specific exercise. It was a lot of fun! Even the girls thought so haha. We ended up doing oush-ups, sit-ups, arm circles, and crab legs (this one was interesting).

After work I had rehearsal for my chorale which went to 9:30. One of my friends in Chorale is planning on running in the October 15th race as well, so we made plans to run together this Saturday. It's nice to run with a partner sometimes. When rehearsal was over, I high-tailed it to the gym to run for my 35 minutes. I'm proud that I managed to run for 23 minutes straight, which took to me 1.5 miles. Then I walked for 4 minutes and ran the remaining 8 minutes. FRIGGIN SWEET! My total miles run was 2.6 after 35 minutes. That's probably the best I've ever run. (And I know I've said that a lot lately, but it's true.)

In other news, I have decided that I'm going to do the ING Half-Marathon in honor of my mother. I have made a donations page HERE. All money raised will go to the National Stroke Association in her honor. (Details of the story are on the page, so please check it out). There is also a link on the right side of my blog- aptly labeled "Donation Page".