Flat Mama Friday

Tomorrow I will be walking the Gingersnap 5k in Waxhaw NC. It’s a Girls on the Run race, but I will be running with the ladies I coach. They have been training for the last 8 weeks in a twice weekly 5k program I coach at night. It should be a fun way to end the season!

The swag was good, too!

Are you running any Holiday themed races this month?

Warm Winter Hands with Turtle Gloves

I received a pair of Turtle Gloves Lightweight Turtle Flip Mittens as part of being a BIBRAVE Pro (ambassador). Check out BIBRAVE.com to find and write race reviews. 

Weather is finicky in the South. I know that I have talked about this before! I will use last week's Turkey Trot as the perfect example!

The day started off close to 40, which is frigid for SC! It will drop to 30 and sometimes below in the morning, but....

Race begins and I am running in full Turtle Glove splendor!

I stopped to fold them over at about mile one, because I was starting to get too warm. I folded them down a bit as well. You can adjust the length after you fold them down, which I love!

By the end of the race, they were in my pants pocket, you can kind of see them there on the right. They fit right in there with no problem, which is good because in the hour that I was out there, the temp rose 10 degrees and the sun was shining hard! 

So let's talk about these versatile mittens! 

They are interchangeable so you can wear them on the right or left, so no worrying about which mitten goes where.

When you flip them, there are no awkward lumps or bumps, the thumb tucks right in! As you can see above, they are adjustable so that you can have the length you want!

The wrist portion is LONG. You can tuck it under you shirt for extra warmth!

The tech fabric wicks moisture, resists wind, and repels water!

I am loving these mittens, they are just what I need for this crazy state I moved to, especially with how you can change them with the weather! Check them out, and be sure to use the code in the graphic above to get 15% off! Be sure to check out all the styles, so you get the right ones for you!

How cold does it get where you live??

The Giving Season with Aftershokz

I received a Give Good Vibez box set from Aftershokz as part of being a BibRave Pro (ambassador). Check out BibRave.com to find and write race reviews.

Have you ever done a good deed or participated in a Pay it Forward event? I love things like that, and I try to do it all year round. I volunteer my time at Girls on the Run whenever I can, I volunteer weekly at a local book store that fundraises for their town library (that's right, *their* library, I live over the border in another state), I donate my books to them or to Little Free Libraries. Just to name a few. It makes me feel good, the way Christmas feels. All.Year.Round.

When I heard about the Give Good Vibez program, I knew I had to take part. I even had the perfect recipient, but we will get to that in a bit. 

The program was simple. If you signed up for the special email before Black Friday, Aftershokz would email you a link. Using that link, you could buy a pair of their amazing Aeropex Bone Conduction Headphones, and get a FREE pair of open box Titanium Bone Conduction Headphones, with the hopes that you will use them to gift someone amazing in your life: a teacher, a firefighter, perhaps an amazing nurse.... 

Since I received the Aeropex to try out, I passed on my old Titaniums to my Dad. He may have walked around for two days bopping around to music. 

This past Saturday, I finally had my chance to pay it forward. I was hinting on Instagram about it, but I didn't want to give it away! I was so thrilled to be able to gift a pair to my amazing friend, Ali.

I know that I don't have the right words to convey how truly selfless Ali is. Besides being a nurse in the Charlotte area, Ali recently donated one of her kidneys to an extended family member. Y'all. She donated a vital organ. I would like to think that I would do that, but I just don't know if I am that brave. I have nothing but mad respect for anyone that does something like that! Special thanks to my peeps at Aftershokz for giving us both this special gift!

I have also been testing out my new Aeropex headphones over the last week or so. They are so lightweight! They came with not one, but two magnetic charging cords as well as earplugs for those times when you are indoors and do not need to hear what is going on around you. They also stay charged for two extra hours, which is always a nice bonus! They are water proof as well, so bring on the rain, and there is a moisture detection alert! The blue tooth range is about 33 feet, a friend of mine dropped her phone and didn't find out until her headphones stopped working. She used them to find her phone! Fun fact!!

Aftershokz is currently having a Black Friday sale, so hop over there quick and score some new headphones at a discount!!

What have you done to Pay it Forward?

NYRR Virtual Turkey Trot, Powered by Strava

I participated in the NYRR Virtual Turkey Trot, powered by Strava, as part of being a BibRave Pro (ambassador). Check out BibRave.com to find and write race reviews.

Happy Thanksgiving! The last few years I have been taking part in Turkey Trots that take place on Thanksgiving morning. This year, I signed up for the NYRR Virtual Turkey Trot. This is a FREE race that works along with Strava (also FREE) and you get to run it wherever and whenever you want, between November 23 and December 1. You can sync you watch to the app or even use the app itself! 

I chose to participate in a 4 mile race that takes place in the neighborhood near mine. It's a pretty basic race, perfect for a Thanksgiving morning. 

I ran the first half mile (darn that torn meniscus!) and then walked the rest. It was pretty cold out at the start, but I warmed up quickly!

The race looped all around the neighborhood, up and down so many hills, with lots of residents out cheering for the runners. It was a fun way to start the morning!

The hubs came along and got some pics of me starting and finishing which was handy!

Definitely not a PR, unless we count it as my first walked four mile race! Let's not go crazy!

I also earned two Garmin badges so it's a win win!

Thanks to NYRR for giving me a push out the door on a Holiday morning! 

Did you run a Turkey Trot today? How many miles?

Dealing with an Injury.... Torn Mensicus Edition

ok, y'all, it's time for some real talk. 

Just after Halloween, I ran the Two Course Challenge at Wine n Dine in Disney.

It was amazing, but slightly painful, nothing that kept me from attending the After Party at EPCOT, or walking around Disney Springs the next day.

While getting onto the plane that final night, I twisted my knee. It was such a stupid thing, really. I was twisting to get into my cramped seat while simultaneously pushing my tote under the seat in front of me. Sudden flash of excruciating pain, and so uncomfortable for the rest of the flight. I kept hoping that when we landed, the pain would be gone and I would be on my merry way. I was also worrying about all of the races I would have to cancel if it still hurt.

When we landed, I couldn't put weight on it at all. I had to lean on the seats to deplane, and the railing to get off of the gangway. I had to ask a very rude ticket agent to call for a wheelchair because there was no way I could walk close to a half mile to get out of the airport. Mortifying.

I went to the doc the next morning. A sure sign that an injury is bad! I could hardly sleep and the next morning I still couldn't out weight on it. The doc drained fluid from my knee and gave me a cortisone shot. And then he said the dreaded words: No running for a week. Followed by more dreaded words: We will reevaluate next week. 

So I went home and put my feet up.

I ordered new shoes for my dramatic comeback.

I read. A lot. I finished four books that weekend.

I went back a week later, found out there would be no surgery (hooray!) and was told to take two more weeks off. That's tomorrow y'all. Tomorrow I get to run. But I digress.

I went to the expo for the 5k I was going to run. I decided to walk it. 

I bought more shoes.

I walked the 5k. It didn't hurt. 

I went out with friends.

I did some goat yoga, and stopped doing poses that caused any discomfort, no matter how minor.

I watched more TV. 

And I healed. Mostly. Let's be honest, I have a ways to go. I have to ease back in to running, which means that tonight I get to run a quarter mile. That's it. Seriously. 

If the quarter mile feels ok, I can run a half mile at the Turkey Trot on Thursday. If that feels good.... well, you get the point. I learned a few things while I healed...

1. It's ok to cry when something hurts
2. That thing can be emotional as well as physical
3. Giving up your bibs due to injury sucks
4. Gifting those bibs feels good
5. Hallmark Christmas Movies cure all ills
6. So does Baby Yoda
7. I realize that there are more than a few things here
8. Physical Therapy sucks, but when the doc lets you do it at home. it sucks less
9. Following orders is the key to success in healing
10. I miss running
11. I still need to try for a 50k
12. I miss running

I think a dozen are good enough. Have you ever had an injury that wrecked your goals? 

Wordless Wednesday

Charlotte Marathon 5k

I am promoting the Charlotte Marathon 5k as part of being a BibRave Pro (ambassador). Check out BibRave.com to find and write race reviews!


Brrrrrr
Yesterday was a cold and windy day to walk a 5k, but I was determined to finish, even though I wasn’t allowed to run. I haven’t blogged about it yet, but I tore my meniscus just after Halloween, and the last two weeks have been hell. I’m still thinking about how I want to talk about it, so stay tuned. If you have any workouts for runners to get stronger, though, let me know. I rarely strength training, and I really need to!
In any case, I met up at the Westin with my running club to get a before pic and to talk anyone off the ledge that might be nervous! There was a marathon, half marathon, and relay as well!

Then we went to the start as a group and separated for the different races. I ran into Angela, who was volunteering, and got some selfies with other friends as well.

The race was fun! We had a lot of laughs and got to pass by Panthers stadium twice. The scenery was fun, except for the pesky police car that was behind us for awhile!

We finished, got our medal, toured the swag tents, and then rented scooters so that we could spectate!

Spectating is hard work! It was so cold, and we were freezing, but we cheered our hearts out before heading back to the finish to see our friends!

Have you ever spectated a race?