The Biggest Loser RunWalk Mobile Packet Pick-Up!

Disclaimer: I was provided a free race registration in exchange for this post. No other compensation was received. All opinions in the post below are mine and mine alone!

It's no secret that I LOVE the Biggest Loser! It's one of my favorite television shows! I absolutely LOVE that they have The Biggest Loser RunWalks around the US! This would be my third time running a Biggest Loser RunWalk Half Marathon. I ran the one in Panama City Beach in 2013 and the one local to me in Mobile last year. I was super excited they were coming back to Mobile again this year!

And I love that I wasn't going to have to travel far for this race. It's only about a 15 minute drive from where I live! Sweet!

My friend Donna and I headed downtown Saturday morning to pick up our race packet. Packet pick-up was being held in the Holiday Inn downtown. We were hoping to luck out with close parking but it didn't happen. We drove around a good 15 minutes trying to find a place to park. It was sprinkling rain and we really didn't want to park too far away in case the bottom fell out. Luckily we found a place to park a few blocks down.

We headed inside the hotel and the directions to the event were clearly marked.

Since we already had our waiver signed we were able to walk right in and grab our race bibs. Then we took our bib to another table where we were given our race shirts and a cute drawstring bag that would also serve as our gear check bag. There were volunteers everywhere directing us where to go. It was super organized!

Then we took a few minutes to look around. There were a few vendors there as well as some pretty awesome Biggest Loser RunWalk merchandise.

Of course I had to take my traditional picture with my race bib!

The best parts about packet pick-up at a Biggest Loser RunWalk race is that the former contestants speak. It's so inspirational to hear them tell their stories! When I was there, Gina from season 14 was telling her story!

I hated I didn't get to say hey to her. She is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet!

But I DID get to meet JJ O'Malley from Season 16! And he was just as amazing!

So much fun! I love the race shirt! It's a tech fabric and they even had a women's cut which was great! And the drawstring bag is awesome as well!

After packet pick-up I went back home. It was nice to relax at home before race day! And of course I had my pre-race pizza dinner! Yum!

And...Flat Road Runner Girl! I was going to wear a visor because there was rain in the forecast. I was hoping the rain would hold off but I was going to be prepared just in case!

Stay tuned for my recap of the race!

QOTD: Do you prefer local races or races where you have to travel?

The Weekly Chase #119!

It's Marathon Monday!!!! Good luck to all my friends (and ALL the runners) that are running Boston today! God speed!

My weekend flew by! But I think it was because it was a weekend all about running! I ran my last half of the spring season yesterday...the Biggest Loser Half! Because of my hip injury I took this race easy and had a blast running with friends! I can't wait to recap it for you!

Oh and I just HAD to show you one of my favorite gifts from one of my students this past week! It's a personalized Starbucks coffee cup! I LOVE it!

Now it's time for the Weekly Chase! It's a new week and I have new goals to achieve! I hope you will link up your own goals with me too! And feel free to use the badge below in your post too! You can grab the badge HERE! :-)

Here are my goals from last week!

• Goal #1: Run every day! Yes! My streak is still alive! I hit day 330 yesterday! Almost there!
• Goal #2: Roll, stretch, and ice daily. Yes! Especially since my hip has been hurting.
• Goal #3: Maintain my weight by logging my calories. 90%. There were a few days I didn't log everything. This week was tough because all my students gave me chocolate for Teacher Appreciation Week! Oy!
• Goal #4: Make an appointment with Dr. Justin, my sports chiropractor. Yes. He said my hip was way out of alignment. He adjusted it and did ART on my tight hip flexor and IT Band. He thinks I will be feeling much better after just a few visits. 
• Goal #5: Fuel and hydrate for my half marathon this weekend. Yes! And of course I had my pre-race Pizza meal! ;-)

Here are the goals I'm chasing this week!

Goal #1: Run every day! I'm still going to streak of course. I'm so close to my one year goal! I think my body is ready for a rest as far as long distances go though. My weekend long runs are going to be 6 milers for a little while to give my body some rest time.

Goal #2: Roll, stretch, and ice daily. Gotta keep this up especially so my hip will heal.

Goal #3: Maintain my weight by logging my calories. I hope to do better with this this week. I need to log every single piece of chocolate I put in my mouth lol!

Goal #4: Work on t-shirts for preschool graduation. My preschoolers will be graduating soon! We have t-shirts they are going to wear for our graduation program. I need to get them finished.

Goal #5: Get pictures uploaded so they can be printed. I am making memory books for my preschoolers. I need to upload all the pictures from the school year, get them printed, and get started on the memory books. Whew! It's going to be quite the task!

So that's my week! I hope you have a great week crushing your goals this week!

QOTD: What goals are you chasing this week?

Fitness Friday...April 17th Edition!

Well it was back to school week for me after a wonderful Spring Break! I came back to a fun week...it's Teacher Appreciation Week at my school! My students lavished me with all kinds of gifts each day! I feel so loved and spoiled!

Monday's blessings!

Tuesday's blessings!

Wednesday's blessings!

Thursday's blessings!

Thursday night my preschool took all of the teachers out to dinner! We went to Stix...a Hibachi restaurant. I made sure to run a little longer that morning so I would have extra calories to eat lol! It was so yummy!

It has been a great week! I can't believe that I only have 4 more weeks of school left until summer break!

Now it's time for Fitness Friday! I've had some great runs this week. I also went to my chiropractor, Dr. Justin, about my hip. My hip was out of alignment so he adjusted it. He also did ART on my tight hip flexor and IT Band. He taped me for my half marathon this weekend so hopefully I will have a good race. :-)

• Friday- #plankaday 1:05, 1.69 mile run in 13:58 average pace 8:16

• Saturday- 8.06 mile run in 1:10:22 average pace 8:43

• Sunday- 2.27 mile run in 18:33 average pace 8:11

• Monday- #plankaday 1:05, 1.67 mile run in 14:07 average pace 8:27

• Tuesday- #plankaday 1:06, 1.68 mile run in 14:13 average pace 8:29

• Wednesday- #plankaday 1:15, 1.68 mile run in 14:02 average pace 8:22

• Thursday- #plankaday 1:05, 2.27 mile run in 18:59 average pace 8:22

My runs were great this week. My hip didn't bother me as much as it did last week. And now that I'm getting treatment from Dr. Justin hopefully the hip will recover quickly. 

This weekend is the Biggest Loser Half Marathon! The weather is looking nasty though. There are thunderstorms in the forecast during the time we are running. Hopefully the rain will hold off!

My DietBet has started but it's not too late for you to join in and play! Sign up HERE! 

Have a great weekend everyone!

QOTD: What was your best run or workout this week?

Biggest Loser Half Training...Taper Week!

Currently training for:
Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Half Marathon
Disney Glass Slipper Challenge
Seaside Half Marathon
Azalea Trail Run
Crescent City Classic
Biggest Loser Half Marathon
Fiesta of Five Flags 10K

I've had a super busy past few weeks of racing! I've really been in taper mode for about 3 weeks now since my last long run of 10 miles was 3 weeks ago. Then I ran two 10K races the past two weekends. So this weekend I needed to run a little more than 6.2 miles. I opted to run 8-10. My hip has been bothering me and I didn't want to aggravate it too much. So I just told myself if I felt good I'd try for 10. Otherwise I'd just run 8.

Luckily some of my Sole2Soul Sisters had planned a 10 mile run so I decided to run with them. Rain was in the forecast so we played it by ear that morning to see how far we would be able to run. We were hoping the thunderstorms would hold out until we were done.

It was pretty humid. But there was a little breeze so that helped. We started running...and right away I knew I was starting out way too fast. But I kept going. Running fast doesn't bother the hip as much as running a slower pace does.

It was nice to talk to friends that I don't get to run with often. That kept my mind off of the run. But I could already tell it was probably going to be an 8 mile day. I just couldn't get in my groove. I also kept getting a side stitch. And the hip was getting sorer and sorer.

We stopped for water around mile 4. Then we kept pushing on...but I slowed down some. No negative splits this run. Around the 6 mile mark I knew that I just wasn't feeling it and the smart thing to do was to just run 8 miles.

I said goodbye to my friends around mile 6.75 and headed back to my car on my own. And...it started raining at this point too. Luckily it was just a light rain.

It didn't take too long and I reached my 8 miles. I had a short walk back to my car.

It by far wasn't a very good run for me. I struggled both physically (because of my hip) and mentally during this one. But it's done.

I have the Biggest Loser Half Marathon this weekend. I've been kicking butt in my races lately so I know it's ok if this one doesn't go as well. I'm not planning to PR. I'm just planning to finish...hopefully pain free.

This long run doesn't have me feeling very confident...but hopefully that just means the race will be one of those great days for running. My fingers are crossed!

QOTD: How do you deal with bad runs?

Visit to the Florida Caverns State Park!

One of our days this Spring Break we traveled with my husband's parents 2.5 hours away to Marianna, Florida. We went to visit the Florida Caverns! My husband and I visited there 14 years ago on our honeymoon but haven't been back since. I was super excited for my boys to tour the cave! I knew they would love it! Here are some pictures from our cave tour! After the tour we took a 20 minute hike through the Hardwood Forest. We had so much fun!

The boys in front of the statue of the workers that dug out the cave!

Heading down into the cave! It was amazing how the temperature dropped! Inside the cave it is 65 degrees year round!

There was a tiny bat at the entrance of the cave! He was so cute!

We weren't allowed to touch anything in the cave because it damages it. But they did have one stalactite (or stalagmite) that we could touch!

It was a really fun day trip! The boys thought the cave was super cool! And all the adults did too! ;-)

QOTD: Have you ever been inside a cave?