Two Giveaways in One Week!! Day 2: Nuun!

Thank y'all so much for being so supportive of my second half marathon and for entering my giveaways this week! I am loving all the comments and hearing what everyone's goals are for 2012. And can I say I am amazed with what everyone has accomplished in 2011! You are so inspiring!

The second giveaway in honor of my second half marathon is sponsored by Nuun!

Nuun is just plain awesome! Nuun is electrolyte enhanced drink tabs that dissolve in water. They fizz like Alka Seltzer and leaves your water with a light, refreshing flavor. It has only 8 calories and contains no sugar! (FYI-it does have artificial sweetener). It isn't too sweet and has just the right amount of subtle taste and slight fizz. I love the strawberry lemonade and the lemon-lime! I want to try all the flavors!

Hydration is so important before/during/after workouts! I am hugely guilty of not drinking enough fluid, especially after long runs. This usually results in headaches for me, but as long as I drink a huge glass (or 5) of fluid with electrolytes in them (usually Nuun or Powerade Zero) I can avoid headache central.

Nuun is giving away a 4-pack of tabs and a water bottle to one of my readers! The flavors are grape, tropical, strawberry lemonade, and fruit punch. Each tube has 12 tabs so that's 48 tabs!

To enter this giveaway, tell me this:

1 entry: What is your favorite way to rehydrate during/after workouts?

1 entry: Who inspired you to start on your fitness/healthy living journey?

1 entry: Do you listen to music while working out? What's your favorite song to rock out to?

This giveaway will close Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 11:59 pm CST. I will announce the winner on Monday, January 16 as well as notify the winner by email.

Good luck!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a $25 gift card to Go Sport ID! I'm giving away two of them! Enter HERE!

A Giveaway in Honor of My Second Half Marathon!

As you all know, this past weekend I ran my second half marathon!

In honor of this event, I'm hosting two giveaways this week!

The first giveaway is sponsored by Go Sport ID!

They have so generously given me two $25 gift cards to give away to you all, my fabulous readers!

Since I believe safety is one of the most important and often overlooked factors of running, I wear a Go Sport ID on every one of my runs.

You can personalize your Go Sport ID with whatever you want on it!

Your name, any allergies you have, your blood type, your in case of emergency contact info, a favorite motto - whatever comes to mind!

There are four types of ID you can choose!

I have the Glide, and I LOVE it! I personalized both the front and back of my ID (I blurred out personal contact information). In my experience, my ID is so comfortable, I don't even notice it's there!

You can also get different colored bands for all three types of the wrist IDs! I rocked red during Christmas season, and now I'm feelin' purple. I'm thinking I'll bust out the red again for Valentine's Day.

I gave my mom a Go Sport ID for Christmas, and she loves hers already!

I was a Go Sport ID customer before hosting this giveaway. I purchased my Go Sport ID, my pack of bands, and my mom's ID. Their customer service is top notch, and the shipping is incredibly fast. I have received every product I ordered from them within days. Communicating with Go Sport ID has always been easy, and they respond incredibly quickly to comments. Go Sport ID is also very involved with the running community via their Twitter account, @GoSportID. I couldn't recommend them enough!

To enter this giveaway, comment below with your email address and tell me:

1 entry: Which GoSportID you will order if you win

1 entry: What healthy accomplishment you made during 2011

1 entry: What goal you have set for yourself for 2012!

This giveaway will close Friday, January 12, 2012 at 11:59 PM CST. I will announce the giveaway winners and contact you via email Saturday January 14, 2012.

Good luck and Happy Running!

Mississippi Blues Half Marathon Recap and Review

Saturday I ran my second half marathon, the Mississippi Blues Half Marathon!

Friday, as you all know I went to pick up my packet and went to the race expo.

The expo was way smaller than the Savannah Rock 'n Roll expo, but I enjoyed the smaller crowds and less frantic atmosphere. Packet pickup was really easy and fast and the volunteers working at the expo were incredibly nice and friendly.

There was a blues musician playing at the expo. I enjoyed hearing him play while I walked around the booths.

After a lunch at PF Changs and a relaxing evening at Zach's grandparents watching the Arkansas game, 5:00 am came fast!

Since this was a relatively small race, parking was a breeze, there was no traffic, and only a short walk to the start line. The line for the port-a-johns was about 10 minutes, then I just walked right up to the start line. There was no corral start at this race; just fast runners in the front and slower runners in the back.

The first 5 miles was fairly easy. I had been warned that this course was hilly, but the first part of the race wasn't too hard. There were some inclines, but they were slight and I ran up all of them. I took my first gel at about mile 5.25 and kept on truckin' towards Zach. He was waiting at about mile 7.

Here I come! (Ridiculously good picture, I know ;) )

I was glad to see Zach because the course had gotten really hilly after mile 5 and I definitely needed a quick hello break.

Off I go!

After mile 5 the course definitely had some rolling hills. Don't let the little ones from miles 5-8 trick you-they were steeper than I was expecting. However, while this course definitely has some challenging hills, I can't imagine that they would be difficult for someone used to running in the mountains or New England. I'm used to running in Mississippi so it was a bit challenging for me.

I hit mile 13.1 at 2:44 (according to GPS, which is 16 minutes faster than my first half marathon). The course wasn't over yet though! The last leg of the race was an uphill finish. My GPS said 13.6 miles at the finish in 2:49, an 11 minute PR!! Regardless of the time, I'm really happy that I improved that much in 2 months. I'm really looking forward to continue working hard this year and improve even more! I want to reach my time goal of 2:20 this year!

Here I am after the finish! Glad to see Zach and walk around! My legs were super tight so we got some food and I stretched them out and we headed back to Zach's grandparents!

After a shower, nap, and some football we saw Zach's parents, brother, and sister and her boyfriend for dinner, which was fun. We hadn't seen them yet since we got engaged so we had a great time.

Here is the race tee shirt (bottom left), a shirt I got at the expo (top left), and on the right side is the bag, a blues CD, and a MS Blues Marathon and Half Marathon harmonica!

The race shirt was a little loud for me so I got a more subdued one at the expo.
Here is an up close of the medal! I love it!

Overall this race was a great experience. The volunteers were amazing on the course and were always cheering for the runners and had plenty of water and Gatorade ready. They thanked every person for running the race. The expo and race execution was perfect - everything was on time and super organized. I highly recommend this race, plus I can tell y'all all the good places to eat in Jackson!

Great Things on the Horizon!

I have some exciting this coming up next week to share with y’all!

I’m running my second half marathon tomorrow in Jackson, MS – the Mississippi Blues Half Marathon!

I went this morning to pick up my race packet and bib! The expo was small and low key but everyone was beyond nice and helpful and I enjoyed being able to have one on one conversations with people!

There was even a musician playing blues music at the expo!

I’ll be recapping the race for y’all on Monday!
Also, in addition to the race recap, I’ll be hostingtwo giveaways next week! So make sure to check back and enter to win two fabulous items!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

2011! What a Year! My Recap in Pictures

2011 was such an INCREDIBLE year! I can't believe how much I've done and how much has changed since this time last year.

In January, I watched MSU win the Gator Bowl and started my fourth semester of graduate school.

In February, I celebrated Valentine's Day.

In March, we visited Destin...

...and adopted Zoe, who I can't imagine life without.

In April, we tailgated for Super Bulldog Weekend...

...went to Talladega...

...and celebrated Easter.

In May, we visited Jacksonville, where Zoe went to the beach for the first time...

...and visited St. Augustine and got to see my parents!

In June, I worked a lot and ran a fair amount.

In July, I turned 24, Zach turned 24, we vacationed in Destin...

...Jacksonville...

...and Charleston.

We also celebrated Zoe's first birthday!

In August, I worked way too much.

In September, I taught Zoe to Gator chomp...

...ran a lot (despite my hurt knee)...

...and tailgated after way too many months sans football.

In October, I cheered on the Vols in Rocky Top...

...cheered on the Dawgs in Starkville...

...and celebrated Halloween.

In November, I became a half-marathoner...

...visited Kentucky...

...and tailgated for the last time as an MSU student.

In December, I got engaged(!!!!)...

...spent 10 days in Yankee land...

...celebrated Christmas with my fiance(!!!)...

...and rang in the New Year in Charleston.

I can't believe all the things I did in 2011. It was such an amazing year and I'm so glad I could share it will y'all. You have made blogging an incredible journey and I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store!

Carolina on My Mind

We had a great weekend in one of my favorite places, Charleston! We arrived way late on Thursday night so we enjoyed sleeping in and relaxing for the first part of the day on Friday. We chatted with Caitlin until Dan got home from working a half day, then went out to lunch. Friday night we went to some of their friends' house for a Music City Bowl viewing party. It was a lot of fun and our Dawgs won!

Saturday I started out New Years Eve day with a five mile run! Charleston had some awesome running weather this weekend!

After running we got ready, had lunch, and toured the plane Dan flies at the Air Force base!

His plane was huge and it was really fun to see it!

This is one of the planes they had on display in a different area of the base.

After the Air Force base we went to downtown Charleston for a walk by the water. We parked right near the Battery and walked down to Waterfront Park.

The houses are AMAZING in Charleston! I love the brick and the Christmas decorations were also great to see!

Cobblestone streets!

The weather was better than we could have ever imagined and the day was perfect for a walk by the water.

The Pineapple Fountain!! I LOVE this fountain!

Fabulous friends!!

We sat by the water for a few minutes enjoying the weather and the sunset.

Love my fiance!

We also got chocolate gelato which was magnificent. I freakin' love chocolate!

Then we headed back to Caitlin and Dan's house to relax before New Years festivities!

We spent New Years at a local restaurant/pub and had a great time! It was low key and the food was fantastic!

They gave us noisemakers and party hats as well as a champagne toast for midnight!

Happy New Year!!

Sunday we slept in and then got Carolina barbecue for lunch! I made sure to have black eyed peas for New Years luck! We went to a few shops post lunch before relaxing and hanging out watching movies for the night. It was an absolutely fantastic weekend and I can't wait to go back and look at wedding venues and see our friends again! I LOVE Charleston!