Sunday, July 14, 2013

Color Run recap, lots of pictures and tips!!

Last month I had the opportunity to participate in the Roanoke, VA Color Run!! I was given a free race entry in exchange for a blog review and pictures. 

This was my first color run so I was a little nervous about my asthma acting up because of the color dust, and how dirty I might get; but overall I was pleasantly surprised with how fun and organized the race was! 

Here is my race recap and pictures! 

I went to the civic center the day before to pick up my and my sons race packets. It was so fast and efficient with checking in and getting our numbers and our "swag".      




My race number bib, race bracelet, shirt, head band and color dye packet. 


Love the shirt!! it fit me perfectly and it felt so soft!! 


I bought fun purple net arm bands at the Color Run store because they were cheap and thought it would add color to my outfit! 



The morning of the race!! Off to meet my son there at the civic center! 




Getting ready to start the race! 
They started in multiple waves of people-it was very organized and fun!! They had music and were throwing free stuff out to the crowd as we walked slowly to the starting line. 



And we are off!! Ready to run this race!! 


Met up with my son (and ex-husband) during the race. He did so good running!! He mostly ran with his dad but I did see him through out the race which was fun!  


Going through various color stations!! 


Whoohoo!! The finish line!! 


They handed out "Kind" protein bars and water to people as we came through the finish line. 


Pictures of the "after party" where people threw their dye packets into the air. I stayed away for this, so I wouldn't have trouble breathing. It was really cool to see all the colors go up in the air from over on the sidelines. The kept doing the "after party" every couple minutes so as people finished the race in waves, everyone would get to participate. 




Taking my picture after the race to show my colors! 




Taking more pictures of the myself and the finish line... 




I got really dumped on by the blue dye in the face, which I was NOT happy about! The lady at that station was way too aggressive with getting color on people! :-( That was my only negative complaint. I scrubbed my face and ears off for quite a long time and still had color in my ear days later.


I was really happy my sneakers didn't get permanently dirty!! After I went thru each color station, I stomped off the color dust so it wouldn't stay on my shoes. 




My runkeeper stats from the race!!


After attempting to clean my face off and getting ready to go home. It was getting really hot outside! I am SO glad I brought towels for us to sit on in the car so we wouldn't get anything dirty.  


Look how much color my 11 year son got!! 




Me and my best running buddy!


The race was very organized and it seemed like they had alot of volunteers to help with keeping things going and with throwing color in each dye station.
I liked that the race was downtown because its pretty wide and open to go as fast or slow as you want to during a race.
I didn't have any breathing problems because I held my breath and pulled my shirt up to my nose every time I went through a color station, which helped alot!! So it is possible to participate in this race if you have asthma. Next time I think I will wear a bandanna over my nose throughout the whole race.
You can get as little or alot of color as you want during this race-I choose to not get plastered with color but still felt like I got enough color to have fun!
Bring tissues!! A couple of times I had to wipe my eyes or nose and it was the only clean thing I had with me!!
I also brought a ziplock bag that I carried my iphone, tissues, inhaler etc. so it would be handy but stay clean. I just carried it in my hand the whole time.
Wearing sunglasses was the best thing I did-kept the sun and color out of my eyes!!
Wasn't necessary to bring a water bottle because they had water stations through out.

Overall this race was alot of fun and I'm glad it was one of my "13 races in 2013" that I decided to participate in! I may or may not participate in another Color Run because it is alot of money for any particular race, but I think everyone should participate at least once in a Color Run to say they did it! :-)

Friday, July 12, 2013

Cover reveal from Annette Lyon for "A Portrait for Toni"

Cover reveal! Annette Lyon's NEW upcoming romance, A PORTRAIT FOR TONI, which will be out in about a month...

Her website is here:
http://annettelyon.com/
Her blog is here:
http://blog.annettelyon.com/
Her facebook page is here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Annette-Lyon/83034254518


I was introduced to this christian author thru another wonderful author-Heather Moore. (will do a separate blog post about her later) I am a part of Heather Moore's facebook group in which I have been able to review many books for her, subsequently also reading some of Annette Lyon's books.

I personally have read: Band of Sisters, Coming Home (sequel to Band of Sisters), Paige, and Timeless Romance Anthologies.

I have loved all the "Newport Ladies Book Club" books which included Paige by Annette Lyon and can't wait for the 2013/2014 books to be released from this series. I truly enjoyed the Band of Sisters and the sequel which I read last month. They were so "real" and "emotional". I love when books are realistic and have good and not so good endings. It makes me realize that I should be grateful for what I have in my life and my own circumstances and that even though life is not "happily ever after", its all about attitude!! :-)

Check out the links above to read more about author Annette Lyon and check out her facebook page for a change to win her new book "A Portrait for Toni". Hopefully I will win it too so I can do a blog review for you all!!

Monday, July 8, 2013

Ellie July SNEAK PEEK of new collection!!


Summer Splendor is inspired by jewel tones and the life of luxury!!



Click on the link below for an exclusive 
SNEAK PEEK 
of the July collection: 

EVERY piece will be offered in XL
ALL tops will have removable cups for added support



You can click on this link to get 20% off your first month subscription (making it $39.96) or you can click on my side toolbar as well.


Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Pretty Muddy & partnership with MyFitU !!

As some of you know, I was selected earlier this year to be a blogger for "Pretty Muddy" which is an all women's obstacle race!! You can check out specifics about the race here:

http://prettymuddywomensrun.com/



I'm personally signed up for the one in Richmond VA the end of September.

Yesterday on Facebook they made this announcement:

Pretty Muddy Ladies, have you ever looked at a picture of Kenny Chesney's abs and wondered what his secret was? We won't lie, we have.
Well, have we got news for you! Kenny Chesney's personal trainer Daniel Meng has come on board as Pretty Muddy's Official Online Training Partner!!!
Through his unique all in one training website https://myfitu.com/,
not only will you be able to prepare for your Pretty Muddy, but you will have a one stop fitness and health tool literally at your fingertips!
Check out My FitU today, and stay tuned for more exciting updates!
 
 
 
Since I'm a Pretty Muddy blogger, I've been offered the chance to try MyFitU for free for the next 3 months!! I'm so excited!!
I went to the website: https://myfitu.com/ and did "sign up now". I signed up for 3 months which is a value of $54.00.
Anyone can sign up for a FREE 14 day trial NO CC required!!
 
After I signed up and entered my specific information (height, weight, exercise level and goal), I then watched a tutorial about the website features.
 
 
This is what the side toolbar looks like where you click on your different options:
 

This is what the profile screen tab looks like:

 
This is what the workout tab looks like:
It will show each day whether its a strength or cardio day, what equipment you need, and what exercise you will be doing.
If there is an exercise you don't want to do, then you click on the "swap exercise" and it will pick something else in that body group for you to do instead.
It also allows you the option to print your workouts and also view videos so you can make sure your form is correct.
 
 
 
 This is what the nutrition tab looks like:
I already downloaded my pdf file for the 1500 calorie meal plan.
You can search for specific recipes as well.

 
This is what the education tab looks like:

 
They also have a safety tab where you fill find video links to help with form and exercise safety.
 
And then lastly is the settings tab. This is where you can update or view your cc info, profile address, goals, etc.
 
I personally set my information to:
Exercise Level: intermediate
Goal: lose weight (which means 1500 calorie diet)
 
In preparation of starting this 3 month program tomorrow: I've printed off the 1500 meal plan, printed off the strength day exercise sheet for tomorrow, and the cardio exercise sheet for Friday.
I set my rest days for Saturday and Sunday.
I also swapped some exercises for tomorrow because I don't have a pull down machine or weight bench-what an awesome feature!! 
I'm so excited to start this program and can't wait to see what MyFitU can do for me over the next three months!!!
 
Make sure you visit the website: https://myfitu.com/ to sign up for your 
FREE 14 day trial-NO CC required!!
and check back with me in a couple weeks to read another blog post about how I'm doing.