SLS3 Review and Giveaway!

Is it already August and where did the summer go?  

I guess it is time to get those fall goals in check!  The wedding is just over 3 months away and I have a marathon in just over 2 months.  Time is flying by!

At the beginning of the month I began Half Marathon training and all summer I have been busting my butt at Orange Theory Fitness.  I am loving every second of OTF and running has taken a back seat.  With all the running on the treadmill with bursts of speed, inclines, and using different running shoes my calves, shins and ankles have been screaming at me!  Luckily the nice people over at SLS3 contacted me about reviewing their compression socks.  I have always been a fan of compression and their Butterfly Compression Socks are dainty enough for me!  Compression is said to help your body recover and body perform better, whether it actually is true or just my brain, I think it works.  

To get the proper size I sent them my shoe size and how large my calves were.  I was nervous because I am short and have massive baby cows (calves).  They fit fabulous and they are super soft.  I thought the heel would show when my sneakers were on and they did not.  There is a size chart on their website to help you out.  

The first time I wore them I wore them to sleep after a 90 minute Orange Theory class and my lower body was the only part of my body that didn’t ache.  I then wore them to class the next day.  I like wearing these socks to class because my ankles and calves often hurt and burn on that treadmill when we do inclines and they give me the proper support my flimsy shoes do not give me.  Since then not only do I wear them around the house and to class, I wear them on my “long” runs.  I say “long” because the longest I have gone since the Gasparilla challenge is 7 miles. These are perfect around my neighborhood because the county doesn’t like to cut the grass so in the wee hours of the morning having material there helps keep the pollen off my legs and I am less itchy.  I also haven’t had to ice my calves since wearing them and fingers crossed this stays true.  

Here is some additional information pulled from the SLS3 website that I found interesting:

SLS3 Butterfly compression socks boost bloodflow by about 34%. This increases oxygen delivery to the working muscles to enhance their performance. The circulation improvements also help the body eliminate metabolic waste products like lactic acid more easily. The combination of these effects allows you to work longer and harder, delaying the onset of fatigue.

The SLS3 Butterfly compression socks offer more targeted, significant support to the achilles tendons, tibias, calves and ankles, thus boosting the ability to reduce common ankle and foot injuries. 

They are recommended for running, cycling, walking, triathlon, skiing, traveling and lots of other uses.

The supportive effect and compression of SLS3 Butterfly compression socks reduce muscle vibration drastically, which leads to less soft tissue damage and less sore muscles. Your recovery time will be significantly reduced

• • 20-30 mmHG of graduated compression

• • Seamless TekWeb technology
  • Muscle Stability
  • Increased Bloodflow
  • Web knit for more support of arch
• • Cooling effect and UV protection

SLS3 is allowing me to host a giveaway for a pair of free socks or sleeves! You can enter here:

It will end on August 21st and I'll announce the winner and they'll hook you up.  

In addition to the giveaway they are offering a discount of 40% using code GENNA40. This is a seriously generous discount. 

Good luck!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Giveaway ends August 2015 at 11:59 PM EST. Open to Residents of the US only.  Prizes cannot be shipped to PO Boxes.  Winner will be selected by Rafflecopter through SLS3 and be notified by email. Winner have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. Please note that R is For Running is not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes.  I have represented the sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. I will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsor, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. I will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor, please notify the blog you won a prize from within 30 days for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you.  The product provided for the review was free of charge from the company. The product offered for the giveaway is free of charge, no purchase necessary. My opinions are my own and were not influenced by any form of compensation.  Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google+ are in no way associated with this giveaway.  By providing your information in this form, you are providing your information to me and me alone.  I do not share or sell information and will use any information only for the purpose of contacting the winner.

Fun "Outtakes" from my handy photographer Fiance!

March recap of my 2015 goals

How are my 2015 goals coming along?  Let’s take a look

In January I wrote what my goals were for this year and I am trying to be more well rounded.  You can find that post here.

Joey says HI!

Read more

I can say that I am dominating this one!  So far I have read:

• January- It was me all along by Andi Mitchell, I give it an A+
• February - Dark spaces by Gillian Flynn, and I loved this as well!  I love how she captivates an audience and pulls you in with that “need to know more”
• March- Book 1 of Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson.  I really enjoyed this too, it is a teen book that a student let me borrow and hopefully he has more to let me read.

Run Faster

I am not too sure how this is coming along, so far I have ran a few halves with the fastest time at a 2:15:56 at the Best Damn Race Half in Safety Harbor.  My current PR is 2:12: xx.  The weather was just perfect, the stars aligned and it felt wonderful.  Allergy season is in full swing which is really effecting my running but once the pollen is off the floor, I will be doing more speed training.

Be Happy in my Body

This is a work in progress.  I signed up to be a Beachbody coach because I really like the product.  I started the 21 day fix and can’t wait to see the results.  It is really helping me with eating clean, portion control, and I am loving the workouts.  I have been sore in places I haven’t been sore in a while!  (so, if you need any products, send me a message or e-mail me )
I also plan to use my ClassPass this month to try new classes and tone up! I am looking forward to a little running break!  In case you do not know what class pass is, it is a membership for a month and it allows you to pop into many studios and try classes out!

Save Money

This is another reason why I signed up for Beachbody, I hope it helps pay for a wedding!  I am trying to cut down on the non-essential purchases and put more into saving.  This is still a work in progress.

Not go crazy

I think the only one who can answer this is Behn.  I am trying!

Blog More

I wanted to blog twice a month, fail.  I didn’t blog in Febraury.

Enjoy life and be spontaneous!

I am enjoying life..

How are you coming along with your goals?

In other news...

• I said yes to my wedding dress

• I just completed my last half and running race of the season and I couldn’t be more excited about that! It wasn’t pretty, or fun!  (Hopefully I will recap that)

For my locals, what do you think the best place in Downtown Tampa for a rehearsal/wedding welcome dinner is?  So far we are learning towards Jacksons.

2015 Goals

2014 wasn’t such a bad year I just do not think it was able to top 2013.  I am hoping 2015 tops all the other years.  We are already though mid January and I have been thinking of goals I would like to achieve this year.  Some may seem obvious and easy to achieve while others will take a lot of work on my behalf.

2015 Goals

v  Read more

I love to read but find it so hard during the school year to get engulfed in a book as I have done in the past.  I also feel social media and being attached to my phone also hinders me picking up a good book.  This year I want to read one book a month, or 12 books a year.  I already finished one so I am off to a good start J

 

v  Run Faster

2014 was all about getting that sub 5 marathon. Unfortunately that did not happen but I did PR it.  2015 I want to get faster at shorter distances.  Maybe a PR in the Half, 10, or even the 5k.  The only races I have truly trained for is a half and a full marathon so maybe that will change this year.

 

v  Happy in my Body

This year I am getting married and we will be on a cruise for 5 days.  I want to feel confident and happy in my body.  My weight increases and decreases without me realizing it.  Since Behn and I bought our house my weight went up about 6 pounds or so, which may not seem like a lot but on my 5 foot (almost) 2 frame, my pants no longer fit and I have to remember what other people eat, I may not be able to.

 

v  Save Money

This one will be tricky with the wedding and also that my car needs about $2,000 in repairs but I am hoping to be less frivolous with my money so when an emergency happens, such as a car breaking, I can afford to get it fixed.

 

v  Not go crazy

I am one who freaks out or gets anxiety of the littlest things but big things may not worry me as much.  I hope this year with planning the wedding; I don’t go all crazy or bridezilla on anyone.  I know I will have my fair share of freak outs but I hope to keep them to a minimum this year so everyone is happier J

 

v  Blog More

I don’t want to get overly ambitious now because I feel this is a reoccurring theme but lets strive for a blog at least twice a month J

 

v  Enjoy life and be spontaneous!

Those are my goals and I think they are pretty well rounded.  I am excited to see what 2015 brings J

 

 

What are your goals for 2015?

Why I am not happy with a 38 minute Marathon PR

Shouldn't everyone be happy with a 38 minute and 50 second PR for the Marathon?

My friend asked me right after the race if I was still happy about the race and the answer is “NO”.  

It has been just over two weeks since the Best Damn Race Marathon where my time goal was to go sub 5.  If you read my last post you can see I did not reach it and I am very upset about it.  You can read it here.

Giving myself time to think about it I am starting to get over/deal with it.  I am setting new goals to reach and getting ready to train for them.  I am also taking it easy giving my body the appropriate time to recover.  I am still not happy about it nor do I know if I will ever be happy about the outcome of the race.  I am disappointed in myself.

Gifts from my wonderful support!

I wish I knew why I am so upset with missing my goal.  Maybe its the fact I missed it by just over the and a half minutes.  Maybe I feel I could have pushed harder at the end and not given up.  It could also be the fact that I trained for a specific goal and did everything I could have done to reach it and I fell short.  Maybe I am comparing myself to my friends I trained with and expected to do what they did?

I also think this was the first time I trained for a specific goal and did NOT hit the goal.  When I was reflecting on this I couldn’t believe that was true.  Maybe I set my goals too low but I often surprise myself because race day can be so tricky, especially for 26.2 miles.    

When I made my last goals this is how I came up:

Wanted a sub 30 5k- and came out with 29:03

2:15 half and came in at 2:12  *This race was a month earlier than anticipated*

Olympic distance and first triathlon 3:45-4:00 and came in at 3:38 and surpassed my run goal!

15k -I wanted under 1:45 and was surprised to see 1:35:11 at the gate River Run with the bridges!  This was actually a week before my half marathon PR!  

I do see that 38 minutes faster is fabulous and I am thankful for that! Last years marathon was 5:55 when I did the NYC Marathon.  I am so thankful for everyone who put up with me this training cycle.  I am ready to set new goals and reach those in time :)

I also think it is OK to not be OK with a race result..What do you think?

It's almost show time

... and by showtime I mean raceday

I still here writing his and it is just about 36 hours until I get into that water to start the 1500 meter swim for St. Anthony's Triathlon.  

So many thoughts are going through my mind right now I don't really know where to start nor am I going to put them out here.  My anxiety is elevated but I do know however long it takes me to finish.. I will finish.. Unless there is a flat tire then I really do not know what I am going to do, besides cry.

So here are my goals

1.  Finish

2.  Not die

3.  Be able to function on Monday :)

Ok, so here are my other goals.

Swim.

I want to make it out of the water and not be the last one out.  I have never done a tri before so I ideally have no idea how long it is going to take.  1500 meters, can I be out in 45 minutes?  I hope so.  

The Bike

Not fall or break the bike.

The Bike is 40k which is about 25 miles.  I am not a strong biker (yet) so I am hoping to finish under two hours.  There are turn on the course and well, knowing me, I will fully unclip for those and slow down.  Better safe than sorry in my book.

The Run

I am looking forward to this run.  I am looking forward to being done with the swim and bike and just going.  The temperate has been on the rise for the last few days and by the time I am ready to run it will probably close to 11:30?  My original goal was sub 11 min miles but with the temps being close to 90, I really don't know what will happen.  I will still strive for that goal..

so Final goal.. Finish around 4 hours.

And there you go ladies and gents, my very high goals for my first triathlon.

Also, thank you to everyone who has donated and supported me along the way.  This was NOT an individual effort.

What are your tips for my first tri?

How much am I completely forgetting?

Goals for the NYC Half 2014

I can't believe I head to New York tomorrow and my last half marathon of the season in Sunday, just 4 days away!

The Weather

The weather forcast is something I am not used to: A low of 25 and a high of 43.. I am not sure if this is something I am supposed to be happy about or not.  My last race was 70 degrees and 100% humidity at the start.  I am looking forward to not sweating before I cross the start line.  I am nervous for how to dress.

I just packed mot of my stuff and I have pants, capris, short, Procompression socks, tank top, tshirt, long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, gloves and a tiny hat.  I will be walking from my aunts Apartment on W 75th to W 59 to the entrance.  That is actually what I am most nervous about.  I am hoping the weather helps with making me a little faster.

I am excited about this run to be here and I am also excited for it to be done with.  I entered the lottery so long ago and wasn't accepted.  NYRR changed the route to allow for more runners and I accidently pressed the button to allow me to re-apply.  I got it.  I am using it to go up and visit family.  I am excited to see family and hopefully friends but I also would love to lay in bed and relax the rest of spring break.

While training for the NYC Marathon my speed did not increase, it may have stayed the same or decreased actually.  A few weeks ago I started working on speed but nothing major.  After the Gasparilla 15k which I ran with Behn, I set a time goal for this race.  I really surprised myself at Gasparilla.  I hardly give myself enough credit.  Then I got a cold.  I am still battling with the aftermath of a cold; the cough, headache, sinus..No fun.

My Goals

But here are some of my goals for you *Knowing this may be a challenging course with hills* My current PR is 2:12:11 and when I signed up for this race, I wanted sub 2.  I also plan to have my camera out because after all, I will be running through my favorite part of the world, Times Square!

A Sub 2:16  Not sure this is possible, but I will try!!!

B:( This was my original A goal but I think I can do a little better if I really push it )Sub 2:20:  This allows be right over 10:30 miles.  This is a hilly course and I have not been training on coursed.  This is very doable as long as my snottiness goes away and I am not too effected by the cold.  (last time that happened I peed 9x during a marathon)

C: Sub 2:30  I went 2:26:XX at the Best Damn Race and I was hurting for days afterwards.  Maybe it was due to the humidity, lack of training, but anything really.  Getting to that pace was damn hard!


I really am looking forward to seeing how far or how close to my PR I can make it.  I want to see where I stand in terms of last year.  My PR is exactly a years difference in time.

Questions for you:

How do you determine your goal time?

Are you running the New York City Half?

Have you tried the new Ben & Jerry's Core flavors?  I tried the Karamel Sutra Core and I am obsessed!

Have you donated to my fundraising page for my first triathlon?  It's quickly approaching!

24 days in training

*Warning* This post may be a little disjointed and don't mind the random pictures everywhere, my computer stinks!!

24 days later and I finally sitting down to write a post about my next marathon.  If you follow me on facebook, twitter, instagram, or daily mile, or even my blog, then you already know I am training for the 2013 New York City Marathon.  My emotions for this race are everywhere.  I am excited, nervous, and ready for it to be over (sad to say).  There was so much hype last year about this race and with it being cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy I feel as if I am in a rut.  I was already up there, I picked up my packet, went shopping, and in an instant, it was cancelled.  It is hard for me to be overly excited because what if that happens again.  The weather and other events may be out of my control but the training, that is not, and that is my main reason for writing this post.

Getting my pedicure right before training starts before my toes fall off with some leisurely reading

I "officially" started training July 1 giving me about 16 weeks to train.  I didn't come in with much of a base that I anticipated due to tendinitis in my ankles.  The lack of running is also why you all haven't seen many posts from me in a while.  The tendinitis came about right after my amazing PR at the Sarasota First Watch Half Marathon.  If you know my track record with training and following a schedule, I may not be the best of it.  I am determined to rock NY! Surprisingly, I have only missed 2 runs and they were due to a really sunburned butt and I knew putting on a running skirt was not going to be fun.  I couldn't even sleep on my back.  With that being said, except for today and one other run, I hit every run!  

I am very lucky to have off for the first month of training.  It is allowing me to set a routine.  Once school begins, I will be out of the house by 5:15 which doesn't allow for a run in the morning, but I will make it home to run in the evening.  I have recruited my boss to run a half marathon so I can't wait to have a running partner on that side of town along with many other runners I know up there.  I will be calling them in for reinforcements! Training this year has been done alone for the most part, I miss my running buddies but I live so far from most of them.  I was finally able to meet up with my BRF Christa and she pushed me!  We did unexpected hill training which is always fun and torture.  This heat is truly something else.  I am thinking about getting some type of water pack back such a a camelbak or the nathan hydration packs.  Any thoughts?  I do not like carrying stuff n my hands and the fuel belts give me a stomach ache.

The best post race treat! A popsicle after 9 miles.  5 of which were the Run for Pride with NYRR

My goals for this training cycle and race is to have fun and get back into running shape.  I miss when 10 min miles were easy, now I struggle with 11 min miles for 3 mile miles.  Have fun come race day and not want to kill myself.  If I have to set a time goal, it is 4:59:59.  Truthfully, I am not sure it is going to happen at New York due to the bridges and my lack of base before training.  I hope to update my blog weekly on my runs.  Once school starts again, who knows what will happen.

I hope everyone is having a great summer!

What are you goals this summer?  How do you power through the heat?

Christa and I after 11 sweaty miles

2012 Goals Recap

I can't believe it is almost 2013?  Where has this year gone?  I have to say, this one one hell of a year!  The beginning of the year was a rough year for me!  I don't know if it is even possible to recap it?

I started the year out with a running injury..Damn IT Band, and was not running until end of April.  That was 4 months of no running, and to make things better, I wasn't doing much else in the sense of cardio.  My work life stressed me out beyond belief, and if you know me, you know what happened there. (or would like to hear more about that, feel free to send me an email. )  I managed to pack on almost 20 pounds with the stress!  Once I started at my new school, things defiantly got better, well until Sandy hit New York and the New York City Marathon was cancelled.  That was a really hard, and what was even harder, going straight into Goofy training.  I thought I would have a nice recovery period where I would get to sleep in, nope, that didn't happen.  I burnt out, and I burnt out quickly.  You can see all that here.

I am not going to go into much details of what happened this year, I am going to leave that for another post.  I did want to go back and look at my running goals from last year.  You can find that post here.


As I read them, I am not sure how attainable they were.  I am not sure how often I even looked at them.
                                         ---------------------------------------------------
I would love to be 123 pounds...which isn't too far off :) Finally!! When I wrote this, I was maybe 7 pounds away, which I could have done, if I chose to watch what I ate.  Instead, stress and emotions got the best of me!

I want to run a 5k in 28 minutes What was I thinking when I made this goal?  I wonder if this was achievable if I wasn't out of commission for 4 months?

I want to run a Half Marathon in 2:17.  This was a far off goal, and I knew that going into it.  My real goal was a 2:28, because I will never forget what my now X, and X, for many a reason said. "I ran my first half, without training, faster than my girlfriend".  I did, I did accomplish that.  You can read all about that amazing race here!

I want to run a Full in 4:30  (I will happily settle for a 5 hours marathon though)  Again, what far off planet was I on when I made these goals?  My 2013 goal is 5 hours or NYC :)

June Goal Recap time

Wow! I cannot believe June is over.  This month has flown by and I guess that means it is time for a recap of the goals I made for June.  To be honest, I haven't looked at them and cannot even tell before looking at them if I accomplished the.  You can find the post here for my June goals.

Goal 1: Portfolio..Accomplished, and even was offered a job!!!!

Goal 2: Try new classes at the gym..Sort of?  I haven't tried any new classes yet, but I did do Yoga at the Park and Spin once a week

Goal 3: Triathlon..YES!!!! You can read all about there here and I am even thinking about another one.  

Goal 4: Save Money..big fat negative, again

Goal 5: Blog.. For the most part this was complete.

Goal 6:  Not obsess over my weight.. As I still weigh myself often, I have not obsessed or gotten upset.  What is the point?  Oh, maybe the fact my clothes do not fit but I am busy busting my butt on the runs and I can tell a difference in the way my legs feel..ROCK SOLID :)


Check back tomorrow, or the next day for my July goals!!!

Going for the Goal: May

It's May.

School is almost over.

Summer is almost here.

It's time for another month of goals.

This time, let's work harder at achieving them.

Goal 1: Get a haircut

Get a haircut.  Pretty simple, I have not gotten my hair cut in about a year.  Last May, I chopped my hair off and donated it to locks of love.  It was my second time doing this.  I am growing my hair out again to donate it.  My hair is gross and needs a trim.  

Goal 2:Run 6 miles.  

I have not ran more than 4 miles since December.  Marathon training begins this month.  Hopefully I will work my way up to 6 miles. :) 

Goal 3: Loose Weight

Wait, are you surprised this is on the list because I am not.  Weight is a battle I have been fighting since High School.  After packing on the pounds since being injured, I need to get them off.  My goal this month is 135.  On this note, my next goal is:

Goal 4: Tome it Up

I purchased the Tone it up diet plan because I have hit rock bottom.  My goal is to start utilizing it

Goal 5: Veganesque

I have been reading up on a Vegan diet, and I want to incorporate it into my diet.  I will not be totally vegan, but modified.  I will still eat fish.  I was to slowly ween myself into this lifestyle.  I think this will be my hardest goal.

Goal 6: Resume

I need to finish my resume.  I will probably be looking for a job because of how the Hillsborough School system works.  I am a temporary employee and will not be guaranteed a job after June 11.  

This is also were you come in.  If you know of anyone that is hiring, let me know!  I am amazing and people love :)

Go For the Goal: April

Umm..Is it really April?  Where has the time gone?  

I saw that some people and my some, I mean A LOT, of people post monthly goals so I figured maybe I will do the same.  Since it is already the second week of April I am not sure how to the bone they are going to be accomplished.  I am posting these to keep myself accountable.  Feel free to check in on me and ask me how they are coming along.  

Goal 1:  Save Money

I had a goal in mind.  I was going to immediately put $400.00 aside and not touch it until I bought a road bike.  Then life happened and plenty of doctors and student loans need to be paid.  As it is still the beginning of April I am going to try and save $300.00.  I have never actually tried to save money before.  HIDE THE CREDIT CARDS, too bad I know my numbers by heart

2. Loose Weight

I have been sick too much this month already but I would like to loose three pounds this month.  That doesn't really sound too bad.  That would man I need to be 131.8 by the end of the month according to my weight this morning.  That is changing every day though.  And now I have just declared my weight to all my "stalkers".  My goal weight it 122 :)

I LOVE MY STALKERS

3.Do my Hair 1x a week

Now that my hair is getting longer and I am lazy, I shower and throw my hair into a braid for the next day.  My goal is to do it at least once a week.  By "do" I only mean blow dry it so I can leave it down.  This should be the easiest of all my goals

4. Train

I keep forgetting that I have signed my Ass up for a triathlon for June.  I do not have a bike, cannot swim more than 25 meters with out stopping and haven't ran more than two miles in 4 months.  That my my goal.  Spin class at least 1x a week until I get a bike, 3.1 mile run at least 1x a week and a 225 swim at last 1x a week...

I think these goals are VERY attainable.  I will let you all know how I do with them.

WISH ME LUCK!

Running Goals for 2012

Some of you may know that I have had a rough few months but slowly they are getting better.

2011 had a lot of ups and down.  Many great memories and many memories I wish I didn't have to have.

I am determined to make 2012 a better year.  A year about me and making myself happy.  A year to reach goals.

A few weeks back when I was getting back on my feet from heartache, I made a set of goals I wanted to reach in 2012.  They are really life goals.

I state them for everyone to see.  As I think about them, I am not sure how attainable they are, they may need to be adjusted as time goes on but it is a starting off point.

So, for all my "loyal readers" a.k.a myself here they are:

I would love to be 123 pounds...which isn't too far off :) Finally!!

I want to run a 5k in 28 minutes

I want to run a Half Marathon in 2:17

I want to run a Full in 4:30  (I will happily settle for a 5 hours marathon though)

I will certainly go into more detail of these goals and if they are attainable and how I may possible reach them this year, or the years in the future.

What goals do you have for 2012?  How are you going to reach them?

Maybe this will help

i have been going back and forth deciding if I want an iPad or not. I finally broke down and purchased one. with this purchase, I hope this will help with my frequency of blogging.

happy blogging everyone and once I am back in town my training WILL be kicked up a notch!!

I have already made pretty unrealistic but hopefully attainable goals for 2012 which I will share with you all soon.

keep on running,

G$