Merry Christmas

From my house to yours!

Final Long Run for Dopey!

Dopey is right around the corner! Today's scheduled run was 26 miles but since the longest we have done is 15 we decided to shoot for 20. The weather here at the Jersey Shore has been crazy lately and today was no different! 60' and humid when we started out! Crazy! 

Colleen and I decided to go to the Manasquan Resevoir for our run. It is a somewhat hilly trail loop that is 5 miles around. We parked near the entrance to to the trail so that we could stop for fuel or water every 5 miles. 

The weather was perfect but the sky looked ominous. The rain was due at 2:00 though, so we didn't worry about it. The trail was full of walkers, runners, and riders and everyone was super friendly! We were having an amazing run!

Hmmmm this is not a good sign! We stopped for fuel and water at 5 miles and the sky was looking worse! We knew that our time was growing short! We hit the trail again for our second lap!

At mile 6.1 or so, the rain started. And by rain, I mean full on downpour! We decided to turn back instead of finishing the lap. One wet mile was more than enough!

 Ugh! Luckily, Colleen's mom lives in a Senior Community with a gym so we headed over to finish our miles. I was dreading it already, treadmills and I do not get along! 

Yikes! Check the date, Mother Nature, it is Winter! 

As suspected, the TM was pure hell. Iworry  about shin splints so I walked a lot of it. While Colleen banged out the rest of her 20, I walked. A lot.

Twelve done so far, when I stopped to get a boulder out of my shoe. I was sure it was enormous, and I was correct!

Look at that monster! I banged out two more for a total of 14 and then quit. I have had a cold for weeks, and when the headache started I knew it was time to call it a day! I am actually writing this up while Colleen finishes. I am a multi tasker!

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas! I will probably post tomorrow with pictures from our all day bake-a-thon but no promises!!

Colleen is my hero!!!

Race for the Cure Pink Honor Roll

Whew!
I have a shiny new mac to replace the one I fried the other day. What a sad day that was for me! I loved that laptop, and I am sad to see it go. My new one is the same make and model, with none of the saved passwords and pics waiting for me.
::::sigh::::::

source

Anyway
After spending all day Friday at the mall dealing with this mess (visiting my genius, having him tell me the laptop is dead, mourning my laptop, buying an ugly Christmas sweater, buying new laptop) I was definitely not feeling the love.
And then the mail came. Mail is a wonderful thing. Our box of deer antlers came from Wyoming. This dude is the bomb. We send him $50 and he sends us 12 antlers. Before you get weirded out, these are for the dogs. They are a healthy alternative to rawhide, and each one lasts about a month. At least. One antler at Petsmart can cost from $10-$25. For real. Did I mention this guy is the bomb?
Then I checked out the Christmas cards. I love the ones with pictures! My favorite this year came from my dearest childhood friend, Grace. We have been friends since second grade! We lost touch after High School and reconnected through Facebook a few years back. She is a supermom. For real. Her kids are awesome, she bikes everywhere with them and she makes the most amazing stuff. Just in the last month she re-upholsterd an armchair, is tiling her fireplace with seaglass, and made trees out of driftwood to sell at a local boutique. See? Supermom. Her card was signed by all of the kids, and she wrote the most amazing message on the back! I am still smiling.
And then there was the letter from Komen telling me that I made the Pink Honor Roll for 2014!

 I am so excited to be on this Honor Roll! Fundraising for Komen, and other Breast Cancer Research organizations is my most rewarding job, and it so great to recognized for my efforts! I look forward to more fundraising in 2014, for Komen and for 26.2 With Donna!

Do you like getting real mail?

Wordless Wednesday

Can you guess why this is a thing?

Disaster has struck in the form of iced tea on the laptop! Ugh! 

2014: Races I want to do! Part 1

The other day, I posted about races I have scheduled for 2014! I am totally looking forward to those races, but there is a whole list of races that I hope to do as well! Most are not open for registration yet, so they are on my to-do list!
It is extensive, so get comfy!

Halfway to Brielle Day 5K. This is always a cold race, and very hilly, and I love running with my friends! This past year we got a long sleeved tee *and* a sweatshirt! Bonus

Celtic Tribute 5K, which benefits a scholarship fund in the name of Fallen Officers. This runs along the ocean in Long Branch. It is also a cold race, but it is not hilly!

St. Barnabas Blue Claws 5K. I am waiting on a date for this one, and I fear it will fall on a weekend that I am already racing. It is a fun course, and you end in Blue Claws Stadium, which I love! I did this 2 years ago, but couldn't go this past year!

Spring Lake Five. I have done this race the last two years. It was super hot 2 years ago and people were vomiting everywhere! This past year it was cool and breezy and a little damp! Both races were awesome, and I loved every minute of them! It is super hard to get into, and this year they are changing the process, so I hope I get in! It sells out faster than a Disney race. For real.

Father's Day 5K. This race runs right past my house, and we have been watching it go by for almost 13 years! My FIL has run it, and we would cheer as he went by. The past 2 years I ran it, and it is a great, fast, flat course! Even better? It now benefits melanoma research in the name of a friend who has passed, Kevin.

Firecracker Five. This race is a hot mess, run on July 4th. It is hilly, and it is hot, and it is sloppy. I love it! I ran it for the past two years and look forward to a third year! It is held in Wall Township, and part of the course is a great park that our running club uses to hold its Summer Series. Oh, yeah, they give all the gals roses when they finish. Bling baby!

This brings me to the Summer Series. Jersey Shore Running Club hosts this series every summer. It consists of 5 weeks of racing, held on Thursday nights, and you get points for finishing. The better your finish (age group or overall), the more points you get. It is $20 for the whole series, and there are weekly prizes and overall prizes. I loved it two years ago, but this past summer the dates were bad, so I didn't do it. I am hoping for better luck this year! Two years ago, I won this super sexy bucket hat for being 2nd overall in my age group (I didn't consistently place well, but I didn't miss a week, which helped!)

Still with me?
Brielle Day 10K. This is a longer version of Halfway to Brielle Day. (get it?) Very hilly, very hot, very tough. I have done this race for 2 years and plan to add a third! They have awesome prizes afterwards, randomly drawn. I haven't won yet, but I have high hopes that the third time is the charm!

Knoebel's 5K. I ran this race in 2011, soon after I started training, and it kicked my butt. The flyer said moderate hills. I disagree. It felt like it went uphill. For 5K. With no downhill. It killed me. I want to go back again and kick those hills' butts. I am hoping my schedule will allow it in 2014!

Race for the Cure. I have done this race 4 times since 2009. It runs through Six Flags! My teenie goes with her school every year and does the walk as well. LOVE it!

WOW! That is a lot of races already, I will save the rest for another post!

I hope I am not the only one with a list like this! Do you have one?

Blog Hop Swirlgear Winner and a gift from Energybits!

I am so excited to be announcing the winner of

Last week I posted the giveaway and what fun it was! A simple question: What is your favorite Holiday movie. I saw so many of my favorite movies listed and they all made me smile!
The winner gets to choose one of these awesome shirts:

I know that it is cold outside, but these will be great for those gym workouts, or home workouts, until the weather gets warmer. (Unless you lived in Florida, at which point I would be super jealous).
The winner is a fellow Jersey girl, though, so I know she is fuh-reezing right now!
Anyway, as I read your awesome answers, I wrote your name down and assigned a number from 1-47. Double answers counted as one, and that one bizarre answer about aggressive information for runners doesn't count since it didn't answer the question!
I went to Random.org and put in the data:

 And the site randomly chose #2:

Meridith!

Fellow Jersey girl, you are the winner!
Congratulations!

Email me at kprytherch@gmail.com and let me know:
Tee or tank?
Size?
Mailing address

I also mentioned a gift from energybits, didn't I?
I was checking my email for last minute entries before I wrote this post, and I had an email from energybits. They sent me a code to get my readers free shipping this season.
Here is what it said:

As Founder and CEO of ENERGYbits and Bits of Heath I want to personally wish you a Happy Holiday Season and let you know that if you or your blog followers are looking for the perfect healthy gift, ENERGYbits® could be the answer! Our clean, green, plant-based protein tabs have quickly become the fuel of choice for athletes, runners and active consumers worldwide.  Loaded with 64% protein, 40 vitamins/minerals, our spirulina algae tabs provide steady energy and mental alertness withoutsugar, chemicals, caffeine, gluten, soy or stomach distress, all for one calorie per tab. Even better, they come so attractively wrapped, just add a bow and you're ready to go!

SPECIAL HOLIDAY OFFER! FREE SHIPPING!! Just enter the discount code HOLIDAY when you or your followers check out at www.energybits.com and you’ll receive FREE SHIPPING (USA and Canada only).  

GIFT WITH PURCHASE! FREE STOCKING STUFFER! For every two bags ordered of any brand of bits, using any discount code, we are including a GIFT WITH PURCHASE! Your gift makes a great stocking stuffer! It includes a full tin of ENERGYbits® and other swag - a $15 value. This Holiday Season, why not give ENERGYbits® to stay energized, SKINNYbits® to stay trim, RECOVERYbits® to stop colds, prevent hangovers and kick off a New Year's detox!  We make it easy to love everyone to bits!

This deal is valid until December 31st! Thanks energybits!

Have you finished your Christmas shopping?

2014: a Year of Races

Instead of looking back on all of the awesome races I ran in 2013, I am going to look forward, at all of the amazing races I have scheduled (so far) for 2014! I know there will be more, especially 5Ks and 5 milers, these are mostly long distance races.
Let's see if we will be at any of the same races!

E Murray Todd half Marathon

Long Branch Half Marathon

What races have you added so far for 2014?