Summer Running - MUST HAVE

Frogg Togg Chilly Pad is a MUST HAVE for running in the Texas summer heat!



Though they won't win you any style points, these "towels" keep you cool while you're out in the heat. Irina and I got ours last summer and used them all the time. You can purchase online or go to Dick's Sporting Goods.

http://www.froggtoggs.com/#cooling/

Summer 2011 - Races

Let's keep our running up during the summer!

Here's what my 2011 race schedule has been so far:

January - Hot Chocolate Run 10K, Addison, TX

February - Austin Livestrong Half, Austin, TX

March - Leapin Leprechaun's 15K, McKinney, TX

April - Big D Half, Dallas, TX

May - Katy Trail 5K, Dallas, TX and Aquarium Run 5K, Tulsa, OK

June - Firefly 5K, Plano, TX

Here are my suggestions for races for the summer - all 5Ks you'll notice :)

Sunday, July 10th

Too Hot to Handle 5K - White Rock Lake, Dallas

Saturday, August 6th

Melon Dash 5K, Downtown McKinney

Saturday, Sept 17th

Oktoberfest 5K, Addison Circle

Leslie's Spring Races

Having not run since the Big D Half, I am trying to get back in the swing of things with 3 5K races scheduled over the next month. . . .feel free to join me in my efforts!

Running this one with my dad!

Upcoming Races

So some of us have been discussing upcoming races we would like to participate in over the next few months. . .the first requirement of adding any new races to my schedule is that they are NOT half marathons! The seconf requirement is that they are NOT in July!! Take a look at these options and let me know if you are interested:

• April 16th - Sprint for Cancer 5K and 10K (collaborating with them for Head for the Cure so I thought it would be nice to show some support and run their 5K!) DPSG DISCOUNT! Use this code to receive $3.00 off registration: DRP11DFW http://www.sprintforcancer.com/dallas/index.htm


• May 14th - Head for the Cure 5K - join the Diet Dr Pepper team and help defeat brain cancer step by step! https://secure.eventunited.com/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fHFTC%2fhftcnt%2fRegister.aspx http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bY-oVvj4g


• June 4th - Firefly 5K and 10K - Race through the dusk aglow in glimmering LED lights! http://www.fireflyrun.com/dallas.htm

Maybe after these races my new shoes won't look quite so new! :)

Big D Goals

With our next half marathon only 20 days away, I thought we should establish some race goals. . timing or otherwise.

Personally, I want to beat my Austin time of 2:42. This means I need to do a little thing called TRAIN! I plan on doing sprints once or twice a week leading up to the race and running a little bit of a faster pace on my long runs to help me prepare. I will set my goal at 2:35.

Who else??

Leapin Leprechaun 15K

Oh Stonebridge race course, how we have a love/hate relationship with you.

Let's break down the March 12th race in my favorite black and white categories: Highs and Lows. . .

High Points
1. Beautiful weather - a whole week before the official start to spring and we had gorgeous running weather!

2. We finished! Sheila had her best 15K time (it was her first, but still her best!) and I beat my other 15K time (Too Hot to Handle where I'm pretty sure I walked the last two miles because it truly was too hot to handle)

3. Sheila recruited a friend to run - Dustin ran his first race and did it in an awesome time. He will also be running the Big D half. . .yay for more runners!

4. Being confident that we are DONE with the Stonebridge course - seriously, why didn't we learn after the Resolution Run or the Memorial Day race??

Low Points
1. Hills - this is where the hate portion of our love/hate relationship comes in

2. X-Large shirts. . . .ok, ok, technically this one is our fault for not picking up our packets prior to race day, but they are pretty good Dri Fit shirts. . .Happy birthday to my dad! :)

3. Pretty sure they were re-using water cups on the mile 7 water station. Oh I still drank the water. . .just sayin' it was a low point

4. No photos! What?! How did this happen? There was even a leprechaun at the race, which was a perfect photo op, but alas. . . .

NERVOUS!!!

I have to admit, I've never felt quite so nervous about a race before!

I have run a whopping twice since the Austin Half and neither time out produced a good run. My legs pretty much felt like I was running through mud.

Do you all have any last minute tips or tricks to help make tomorrow a success?

On the bright side, it is supposed to be beautiful weather so I can just psych myself out that I'm just out for a leisurely run :)

Check back for a recap of how this thing goes!

Austin Half Recap

Official Times:

Irina - 2:13

Cathleen - 2:22

Leslie - 2:42

Race Highlights:

- Having friends there to cheer us on! Our sweet friends, Brittney, Erin, and Jennifer, came with us and cheered for us at miles 4, 7, and the finish. It was so great to having something to look forward to at those mile markers!!

- SWAG! We got a spi-belt, messenger bag, free samples of water tablets, and Irina even got a free GU

- Beautiful weather with beautiful views of the city

- The LiveStrong Mile: around mile 9 there were LiveStrong banners, tons of people cheering, and fun sidewalk chalk messages

- The Expo: particularly the booth with the FUNNIEST running sayings.

My faves were:

- I thought you said "rum"

- This IS my race pace (i bought the magnet. . . it suits me!)

- Does this shirt make my butt look fast?
- I run have marathons because I'm only half crazy

- Awesome finisher's medal and shirt

Race Lowlights:

- The hills!

- It was great weather, but it was a tad windy

- The line to get our finisher's shirts was a little unorganized

It was a great race! And to top it all off, with the donations from friends, family, and co-workers, I raised +$1200 for Living Water Int'l!

May Race!

I am so excited to announce a May race for us to run. It's the Head for the Cure 5K on May 14, 2011 in Frisco. This is the first ever Head for the Cure 5K in Texas and is honoring local resident, Stevie Patrick. Stevie just happens to be BFFs with DPS' own Dusti Zundel and has been battling grade 3 Anaplastic Astrocytoma since last May. Dusti and several of Stevie's friends and family have been working closely with Head for the Cure to bring the race here to honor Stevie. All proceeds of this race will benefit MD Anderson in Houston.

you can read more of Stevie's story here: http://www.teamstevie.com/ and here: http://prayforstevie.blog.com/

Stevie is a local business owner (Texas Boot Camp) and an avid Diet Dr Pepper drinker(particularly Route 44s from Sonic!). . . http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=106155956097984 and Dusti is working to get Diet Dr Pepper to be a sponsor of this race! How awesome would it be then to have DPS employees show up in full force to support Stevie, other North Texans battling brain cancer, and MD Anderson research!

Registration is officially open so get registered and then help spread the word! https://secure.eventunited.com/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fHFTC%2fhftcnt%2fRegister.aspx

Who has the time?

I am fessing up....I did not run one mile this weekend! I feel like I am cheating myself out of cutting some minutes off my time in Austin due to lack of training. BUT....the goal is to run 5 miles everyday leading up to Austin....and pump up the music on my iPod and push the 10 minute mile to 9 minutes.

Also, shout out to Kari for making us some "sweaty bands"....but please don't call them that...reminds me of Alex Baldwin's SNL skit...you know what I am talking about!

Good job ladies on your committment to the running...we will be thankful when we are more in shape for summer than most :)

Sweaty Bands

Have you all heard of Sweaty Bands? At first it reminded me of an episode of Saved by the Bell. . . but they are all the rage among female worker-outers. Basically they are cute headbands with a velvet bottom layer that keeps them on your head. BUT they are $20!



My friend had one on the other day and I commented on how cute it was so she started telling me about them. But she had a secret. . .she had made her own sweaty band and apparently they were really easy to make! My sister and I got ribbon yesterday, and she's going to make us some this week for a lot less than $20 each. I'll let you know how it goes!

Weekend Running Updates

Saturday was a beautiful day so I got out and did 7.5miles. They were pretty slow, but I powered through and got them done. Anyone else?

Suiting up!

Look what came in the mail. . . thanks to Joshua Ibarra at LWI for making sure I'm ready for the big day! I can't wait to wear this during the Austin Half and other upcoming races to raise awareness for LWI!

So far so good for me this week. Have done 3 of my 4 planned runs on the days planned! I'm at 12 miles for the week with a 5 mi run scheduled for Sunday. Any one else?

Weekend Running Goals

Does anyone have a long run planned for this weekend? I need to do 9-10 miles to get ready for Austin!

Weekend Running Update

Ok, ladies. Time to fess up with how your running went this weekend! I was supposed to do 3 easy on Saturday. Didn't. But I did do my 5 long run on Sunday night (treadmill). Pretty good run. I did 3 fast miles this morning - it was my first morning run in almost a year! Felt really good to be awake and going by the time I got to work. Anyone else?

Hot Chocolate 10K Recap

Unofficial Times:
Irina - 59min
Leslie - 1hr 7min

Race Highlights:
- Free Mug!
- New place to run
- Being part of inagural Hot Chocolate run
- Great finishing times
- Dream Cafe breakfast after

Race Lowlights:
- Freezing hands
- Wet feet
- That dang Addison bridge!
- Drizzle

Leslie's fave songs for this race:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZsjCHJ9GkY
Francesca Battistelli - Blue Sky. . . seriously, did you look outside Saturday morning?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV8NHsmVMPE&ob=av2nm
Maroon 5 - Harder to Breathe. . . . came on during my second trek uphill on the bridge. . .approporiate title!!

Racing Schedule

Irina and Leslie will be running in the Hot Chocolate 10K on January 15, 2011 in Addison. . .yay for free mugs!!

Irina, Leslie and Leslie's friend Cathleen will be running the Austin Half Marathon on February 20, 2011 in Austin (obviously!). . . check out the First Giving link to see how you can participate!

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/leslie-eden/leslieeden

Sheila and Leslie will be running in the Leaping Leprechauns 15K on March 12, 2011 in McKinney. . . let's wish them the best of luck!

On April 10th at Fair Park in Dallas, Leslie, Sheila, and Irina will be running the Big D Half while Marinela and Jen will be running the 5k!

Irina will be running the DRC White Rock Lake Centennial Celebration Half Marathon on May 7, 2011. . .should be a huge party!

Stay tuned for more 2011 races!!