Thursday Thoughts and Fuel Belt Winner!

First of all, wow!! 96 followers?!  You guys ROCK!!  Hello and thank you to all of my new followers!  I love making new friends! :D

I had 131 entries into my giveaway!!  I plugged the numbers into random.org and this is what it came up with:

Congratulations Alanna!!  Please shoot me an email with your address sometime this weekend!  I hope to get your handheld and GU to you sometime in the next week Lord willing! :D   runners.luck@hotmail.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now onto the “Thursday Thoughts” portion of this post!  I’ve been thinking about a lot of things lately and don’t really have time to write about all my thoughts.  Of course, a majority of my thoughts are about running and blogging and everything else life has been throwing at me!

1.  I have been working extra hours the past couple weeks… 15/week to be exact and it leaves me with no time to do anything unless I stay up late.  Which I did on Monday.  4am late to be exact and mostly because I was too lazy to get up out of the recliner from watching tv with my dad to walk back to my bedroom to go to bed.  I can’t be the only one that does this right?!

2.  I’ve been feeling crappy lately.  I do believe it has to do with a lot more than just the late bedtimes.  It took me a week to get back to running after my half marathon… A WEEK!!  And still… I can probably count on one hand how many times I’ve been running since then!  It’s pathetic really.  It’s not that I don’t want to.  I really don’t like getting up early.. I’ve never made it a habit to because I didn’t have to.  My work schedule allowed me to run in the afternoons or evenings most of the time and now since I’m working more, the only times I have to run are early morning or late night… ugh!  So, that has a lot to do with why I’ve been feeling crappy PLUS I’ve been eating crappy too!  You are what you eat right?!  Ok, so I did have an excuse for last weekend because of the fair… but seriously… I  haven’t been eating any veggies or fruits and I’ve been eating on the go … ie: fast food!  GASP!!!  so… lack of sleep, lack of running/exercise, more hours of work, and a crappy diet have all come colliding down on me this week and I’ve felt like a bad human being lol…

3.  It’s not like I don’t have any motivation… ok, I don’t have any lol.  I do have a race on OCT 30th and my goal time for 5k is sub 25 right now and I really want it in my head lol… but I still don’t have any motivation… and its probably because of #2!  So I have decided to stop wallowing in my self proclaimed laziness and business and make some changes!

4.  Not only am I making healthy living changes, but I have thought a lot about changing around my blog.  First of all  I don’t believe in LUCK… I never have.  I believe that everything happens for a reason because God has a plan.  So… I have no idea why my blog is named “Runner’s Luck” other than it sounded cool and I had ZERO creative juices flowing the day I created my blog.  Also… I ran my half marathon on September 25th!  I think my blog needs a new tagline!  I also want to give my blog a little makeover starting with a cool picture header… except I have no idea how to do that … help?!  And maybe a new background?!  What do you all think?!  I would appreciate any opinions you guys have about changing anything on my blog or any help you can give me on creating a photo header!

So those are just A FEW thoughts I’ve had… I’ll save some of the others maybe for greater in-depth posts…  As always I love advice/opinions/comments from  you all! :D  I know a lot of you feel somewhat like I have after running a big race… I think making healthier choices will make a HUGE difference in the way I’m feeling though!  So starting tonight… I’m going to bed before midnight!! :D 

Giveaway Reminder!!!

This is the last day you can enter my giveaway!!  The winner gets a Fuelbelt handheld and GU!! Seriously, if you haven’t already, go enter! :D  You really have until tomorrow evening when I get off of work!

ENTER NOW!!!!

ok… off to job #2 of the day!  I better see more entries to the giveaway when I return later tonight! ;)  I hope everyone is having a great day!

A Little Friday Fun

Last Friday was such a fun day!!  My boyfriend and I had plans to go to the country fair Friday night after he got off work so I was so excited!! Something about fair food… yum!

I didn’t have to work so I had made plans to run with J in the morning.  I woke up around 7am and it was raining, but a little rain never hurt anyone right?!  Well I got a text from J that said she didn’t want to run in the rain so she would meet me at the Y.  I don’t have a membership to the Y and I have a treadmill here at home.  But I didn’t really want to run on the treadmill… I hate treadmills, they make my knees hurt for some odd reason.  So we cancelled our plans and I crawled back in bed under the covers to relax a little and catch up on some blogs before I got ready for the day.

Then my boyfriend text me and said he was going on lunch around 11 and wanted to know if I wanted to meet him so of course I said yes!  DUH!!  Time spent with the boyfriend is rare now-a-days since he has school and work and I have work and work.  We don’t live together so we get to see each other a day or two on the weekends.  So I drove to his workplace and when he went on lunch we walked over to the grocery store and then walked to Wendy’s.  It was a fun time especially since the rain had subsided.

It had stopped raining around 9:30am and I had decided before I left my house that I was going to run after our lunch date because I could walk from his work to the bike path.  So, after he went back to work I grabbed my SPIbelt with my cell phone and my Fuel Belt handheld and my IPod and my gum and  my chapstick…… wow, so does anybody else feel like they run with a lot of stuff?! lol

I had decided that I wanted to run about 5 miles.  I haven’t run a whole lot of mileage since my half marathon… anywhere from 1-3 miles at a time, so i just wanted to take it easy.  It had turned into a nice brisk fall day… just beautiful!  I had decided to wear my new NIKE running capris that I had bought for $6 at finish line (due to gift cards and rewards from the boyfriend… he’s the best!)  I really really like the capris!  They’re really comfortable and do keep the legs warm.  My route took me around a park and I loved the scenery!  I ended up running 5.49 miles in 56:34 so a 10:18 pace.  I did stop to take some pictures and stretch out a couple times… yowsa!  Getting back into running after my half has not gone so well lol… but maybe I’ll save that discussion for another post!  It was actually a fun run and it was nice to get out and get moving on a beautiful path!

 
Then after getting cleaned up and doing some work around the house, I went back to meet my boyfriend at 6pm to head to the county fair!!  We had so much fun!  We ate a lot lol… but I dont feel guilty!  IT’S THE FAIR PEOPLE!! Gyro’s, Philly Cheese steak, corn dogs, crazy taters, chocolate covered cheesecake on a steak, and cotton candy!  sounds gross now, but at the time it was delicious!!  And of course we had to ride the ferris wheel… its a 4 year tradition now! :)

View from the top

 
A fun board we saw on our way out

It got cold, and we had conquered everything we had set out to do, so we decided it was time to leave. (plus I was a little sore from my run)  yeah I know… I’m a total wimp lol!  BUT, I ran the farthest since my half marathon, so I was happy and I had gotten to spend some quality time with my man… EXTRA HAPPY!!  At the fair… Bonus happy points!! ;)  So in case you didn’t catch that, I was happy! :D

Do any of you have a hard time getting back into the swing of things after races?

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway!  You have 1 more day!

Saturday in the park…

Last Saturday, my family went on our “Annual Family Picnic”  and it was beautiful outside!  My youngest sister was home from college on fall break and we were joined by mine and my twin’s boyfriends.  We had a blast!  Here’s a picture I took of our beautiful surroundings… aren’t you proud Neil?! ;)  ok so its not as cool as his awesome photos but I thought it was beautiful!

We ate and then went on a hike and played on the playground… I guess the best way to explain to you the fun we had is in pictures… so enjoy! :D

My parents and I

 
Why yes, I am wearing my BIC band I won from Running Diva Mom.  If you dont know about BIC bands please click the words to read about them!  They are seriously awesome!  I wore it all day and it didn’t budge!  It was so comfortable I forgot I was wearing it and usually I have to keep rearranging headbands on my head because they keep falling off!

 

The Self-Timer is our friend lol

 
yes, my family is goofy lol… it makes for fun times!  AND YES, we are all adults… but we act like kids when it comes to play time!! ;)

It was a fun weekend!  I always enjoy spending quality time outside with family!  Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!  Can’t wait to read all your race reports!! Also, don’t forget to enter my Fuel Belt/GU giveaway HERE!

Three Things Thursday

1.  Jodi over at RunJodiRun has a weekly “Thumbs up Thursday” where she spotlights a runner by interviewing them.  This week she honored me by asking if she could interview me and I said yes!  Jodi, Thank you so much!  It honestly made my week!

SO… go check out her blog post featuring me and say hi to Jodi!

 

2.  I wanted to remind everyone about my Fuel Belt, GU, and chocolate #9 giveaway!  If you haven’t already entered, CLICK HERE!

 

3.  When it comes to blog awards, I am a terrible receiver!  It takes me forever to write about them and pass them along so without further ado…

The most recent award I got was the Versatile Blogger award from One Crazy Penguin!

*Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award
* Share 7 things about yourself
* Pass the award onto other bloggers who you know are fabulous

1. My name is Zaneta
2.  I LOVE ice cream!
3.  I spend too much time blogging
4. I have 3 siblings
5.  I secretly miss school
6.  I wish NIKE would sponser me!
7.  I don’t wear makeup

Another award that I received way back at the beginning of September (whoops!) was the Happy 101 Award from Char over at My Life’s a Marathon!

*Thank the Giver
*State 10 Things you like
*Give this award to 10 other people

1.  My family
2.  My boyfriend
3.  Sunny warm days
4.  Ice cream
5. Running
6. Laughing
7.  Knitting/Crocheting
8.  Fall weather!
9.  Realizing that I am growing as a person
10.  My blogging friends!!

Thank you so much ladies for the awards!  It really is an honor and makes me happy to know that people read my blog and like it enough to give me an award!

Seriously… I follow and have MANY amazing followers!  If you feel like grabbing one of the awards (or maybe have nothing to blog about or are having writers blog) than feel free to grab the awards!  You all deserve them! :D

What makes you happy?!

10-10 Virtual Race Report

Click on the picture to go to the race website (or Neil’s blog)

Ok, Sorry Neil for being late on my race report!  BUT here it is in all its glory boringness! I know I already wished you a Happy Birthday, but I wanted to say it again cuz it looks like you had a wonderful birthday celebration with family! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEIL!!!

On to the race report!  On Saturday 10-9-10 I went on a run after work and the day was beautiful!!  I originally signed up to do a 10k but I’ve been sick so I decided to run the 1/2 10k race!  Here’s me before the start:

I ran my 1/2 10k (or 5k if you wish) and although I felt terrible… I enjoyed the run!  I don’t know how fast I went, I can tell you it wasn’t very… maybe just under a 10min/mile pace?  I just enjoyed the view on the bike path and when I got home, I found out that I had only done 2.8 miles… whoops!  But it’s the effort right?!  So, here’s my finishing photo (official of course):

And, because you can see that I used my Fuel Belt Handheld in the picture, I have to promote my giveaway!  If you want one for yourself and a couple GUs as well CLICK HERE to enter my giveaway that ends on 10/20! 

Lesson Learned – Fuel Belt Giveaway!

Well, after dragging out my race report for two weeks lol… I decided you guys deserved a giveaway! Aren’t you glad I told you about my weekend in 5 posts now?!  No, the giveaway isn’t one of the “I <3 Zaneta” Bracelets! 

Remember how I learned some lessons after my race?  If you don’t remember, that’s ok, I’ll refresh your memory!

Lessons Learned:

1) Don’t wear new shoes to race in!
2) Grab the first flavor of GU available just in case they don’t have the flavor you’re waiting for!
3) Take flip flops with you in your after race bag
4) Don’t start out to fast so you have energy at the end and can take pretty finishing photos
5)  Register with just a “Z” as my name if it’s going on the bib so that people can cheer for me by name too!  (only one person tried, and she did get my name right!)
6)  Take a handheld or belt next time because I got a little thirsty in between stations and it would’ve been nice to be able to drink whenever I wanted

Well, the reason I refreshed your memory is because this giveaway has EVERYTHING to do with those lessons.. well a couple of them anyways!  The winner will receive:

1) One Fuel Belt 10oz Sprint Palm Holder in the Surf Blue Color
2) Two Tri-Berry GUs (because 1 just isn’t enough)
3) Three Chocolate #9 Gels (I actually haven’t tried them yet, but chocolate is always good right?! Click HERE to find out more about them)

*I was not contacted by any of the above companies to do this giveaway, I purchased the prizes on my own with the intentions of giving them away… with the exception of the Chocolate #9 which I won, but have a butt load of so I decided to share.

Now you can learn my lessons too!  Awesome right?!  You have until 10/20 to enter, the winner will be chosen using random.org or something equally as random on 10/21 and posted right here on my blog.  So here’s what you have to do to enter (leave a comment for each entry):

Mandatory Entry
- Be or become a follower of my blog

Extra Entries
- Leave a comment telling me what lessons you have learned while running… it can be anything from lessons like I learned or life lessons
OR
Tell me how you like to stay hydrated during races; do you use a belt or handheld or something like that

- Link back to this giveaway on your blog.

- Follow me on twitter HERE

- Tweet about this giveaway.  You can copy and paste the following phrase to make it easier.

Checkout the @Fuelbelt and @GUEnergyLabs #giveaway @superwoman4002 is having on her blog!  http://tinyurl.com/3yvxs6c

 

If you have an awesome product that you would like me to review, or would like to host a giveaway on my blog please send an email to runners.luck@hotmail.com

Women’s Running Magazine Half Marathon Race Recap Part 2: Before the Start

 

 

PREVIOUSLY:  Women’s Running Magazine Half Marathon Race Recap Part 1: Traveling and The Expo

 

Ok, so I know I said in the last post that this would be “Part 2: The Race” BUT, I changed my mind 1) because I’ve picked up a few extra hours at work, 2) I chose to watch my evening of Thursday night TV instead of write up my race report, and 3) now I’m tired!

BUT I did promise you that I would take a picture of the “Ultimate Goodie Bag” so here it is:

The bag came with the pink shirt and a few samples… I bought the jacket and sweaty band.

So, I got up around 4:30am on Saturday Morning (September 25th) and stayed up… shut off my alarm since it wasn’t supposed to go off til 4:50am, and got ready.  I ate 1/4 of a bagel with peanut butter and drank lots and LOTS of water!  I made sure I had everything and we were out the door by 5:30… except I didn’t have everything! We had to go back up to our floor of the hotel because I completely forgot my Nike+ sensor that was in my old pair of shoes (since i was wearing my new pair).  I had no idea if they’d have every mile marked or not… remember its my first half!  Then we were out the door and on our way!

I can’t really remember if I was quiet or talkative on the way there because I was really nervous… maybe I was both… but I was never so grateful to have my parents there with me because I had no clue what I was getting myself into!

We found a parking spot but they had “special event parking” for $15 instead of the $7 the website had told us but we paid the fee and walked around the corner to the start area… we got there pretty early and there weren’t any crowds so I took the opportunity to use the porta pot even though I knew I would have to go again before the start of the race.

The start/finish line was right in front of the Country Music Hall of fame and I thought it was cool how the windows were like the keys of a piano!

I decided to take a video to kind of introduce myself to you all a bit…  a couple of you have asked me how to pronounce my name this week…

it’s Zuh-net(like a basketball net)-uh … I say it in the video:

Ok then… can you tell I’m really REALLY really nervous?! (and tired) lol  Also, I lied in the video!  I didn’t mean to…I was so emotional and excited and happy and not even thinking about you guys at the finish… sorry, but its the truth… so I didn’t get another video!  Hope you can forgive me! ;)

Right after taking the video I overheard the group behind me say they wanted to pray before they headed to their corrals so I asked if they would mind if I joined them… It was awesome!  Then I took another potty break, but had to wait in line this time for about 5 minutes.  I also decided that I didn’t want to carry my new fuel belt handheld because it had looked like they had plenty of water stations and I didn’t want to carry something like that after only carrying it for about 2 miles before Saturday.  So, I strapped on my SPIbelt with my cell phone and one tri berry GU since they had a GU station as well around mile 6 or so and handed my bag and handheld to my dad.

After getting loosened up a bit and doing some breathing exercises to calm myself (and giving hugs and kisses to my parents) i headed to Corral #2 since my bib was #2203 and I had an estimated finishing time of 2:30:00  … yeah, i totally guessed when I registered cuz I had NO clue what I was doing or if I could even finish 13.1 miles and how long it would even take me!  Spoiler alert… I did finish! Just not in the time I thought…

After talking to a few people and getting really excited (I think it helped that it was an all women event for my first half marathon) the guy from the magazine did a few announcements and then Jo Dee Messina sang the national anthem…

You can click on the pictures to make them bigger

 

In front of me:

Behind me (and yes, that girl is wearing the same shirt as me):

 
AND THEN… after a reminder that the 5k would start after all the Half Marathoners were on their way…

BOOM! We were off!!

 

NEXT:  Women’s Running Magazine Half Marathon Race Recap Part 3: The Race (for real this time)

Reactivated!

Well, I was going to post yesterday, but I was having major internet malfunctions, so now I’m just going to post a bunch of random stuff including a recap of my first run back in business!

1) I went running on Monday, which was my first run in almost 2 weeks since my health issues.  I woke up kind of expecting wanting to be back to 100% normal … wasn’t the case... duh! I still had some chest pain… but not as bad, and my breathing is getting easier… just not as fast as I had hoped.

The run itself had me feeling tired and really out of shape.  I ran for about 27 minutes… I dont know how far I went, but I wore my new shoes and used my new fuel belt handheld… you can see it in some of the pictures I took before the run I took them just because I felt like it…  (the outfit is probably my race day get up, what do you think?)

 

**I tried to flex… I dont have much muscle lol ;)  and yes, i love nike, and yes…i am a complete goofball, thanks for asking ;)  glad we cleared that up…

2)  I also ordered GU last week for my half marathon and got it in the mail today!  I was sent some GU last month to try out in exchange for a review so look for that in the near future… I have one more flavor to try.

3)  I got my bib # and corral # in my email this week… wait for it…..

BIB #2203
CORRAL #2

I’m actually kind of nervous… my race is in 4 days!!  Judging from my run yesterday, and how sore my quads are today… I don’t think I’ll be running it straight through like I had planned… I may have to run/walk it.  But, I’m super excited I get to go still! :) 

4) Also, I thought of a bunch of questions regarding my first half marathon… but now I kind of forget them.  It could be in part due to the 4 hours of TV I have watched because of season premiere night of my favorite shows including NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles (2 new episodes!), and Glee… woohoo! What are your favorite shows to indulge in?

5) Since I forgot all my questions… feel free to still give me some advice or fun little tidbits or your favorite things about racing… stuff like that!  If I remember my questions, I’ll post them later!  But, for now, off to bed I go! 

PS – Don’t forget to enter my Clif Bar Giveaway!!  ENTER HERE!