UPDATE: Coolest Giveaway E-V-E-R

August 17, 2009 by · 17 Comments

You are never going to believe this – but I’m the Day 12, lucky winner of a Dick’s Sporting Goods $100 gift card. No more Speedo day-dreaming for me: I have myself a brand new hot pink/black tankini that will “make me fast” (that was my reason for wanting the $100 gift card/ Speedo)

See, I told you that this giveaway was not a joke!

For those of you that have no idea what I’m talking about – I’m hosting an awesome giveaway sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods! The winner gets a $100 gift card to buy anything-your-(running)-heart-desires! Simultaneously, they are hosting a giveaway on Twitter – and as previously mentioned, I have been tweeting my @$$ off…only to f-i-n-a-l-l-y win!!! (Yay!!!)

So, you should tell all of your friends about it. Yes, I’m peer pressuring you – but really, who doesnt want free stuff?!

Official Rules (or click here):
1) Follow @dickssportcmo on Twitter
2) Comment on the Coolest Giveaway E-V-E-R post with an answer to the question “What would you buy at Dick’s with $100 and why?”

Extra points:
1) Become a I RUN LIKE A GIRL follower (if you aren’t already)
2) Post the “Coolest Giveaway E-V-E-R” on your blog and link back
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In other running/life news: being a fitness instructor is so much fun (the only kind-of-not-fun part is waking up sooo early, and even more-not-fun than that: a grumpy boyfriend because he “didn’t get enough sleep” and “I woke him up twice”)! Life continues to be crazy so I’ve had to squeeze my workouts in – but fear not, I leave for vaca on Saturday and I plan to train my butt off (last year, I actually lost weight on this vacation – we went biking, hiking, running, swimming everyday – and my friends call me crazy it was awesome!!)

Happy Running!

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Coolest Giveaway E-V-E-R

August 14, 2009 by · 68 Comments

This is officially my first giveaway ever on I RUN LIKE A GIRL – and I’m so excited. When Andrew at Dick’s Sporting Goods emailed me to see if I wanted to give my readers a $100 gift card (to Dick’s), I thought someone was playing a mean joke on me.

But fear not, Andrew is real – and so is this giveaway.

So, without further ado, pretty much the coolest giveaway e-v-e-r is: a $100 gift card to Dick’s Sport Goods!! I won’t waste any time – here are the rules to qualify for a $100 Gift Card to Dick’s Sporting Goods:

1) Follow @dickssportcmo on Twitter
2) Comment on this post with an answer to the question “What would you buy at Dick’s with $100 and why?”

Extra points:
1) Become a I RUN LIKE A GIRL follower (if you aren’t already)
2) Post this “Coolest Giveaway E-V-E-R” on your blog and link back

The contest will run for one week – so you have until Friday, August 21 to pick out/day-dream about the perfect Dick’s item.

Since (unfortunately) I can’t win my own give away – I’ve been tweeting my @$$ off @dickssportcmo for a $100 gift card. I’ve been dying for a new Speedo swimsuit – and secretly day-dreaming about the Quantum Splice Tankini and Midster for months. I literally stalked a girl at the pool because I just had to know where she got her awesome suit (Dick’s!!). I love it because it’s a two-piece without being too revealing – and it’s hot pink/black! (Plus a one-piece is so hard to take off – and they’re over-rated!).

Enjoy this awesome giveaway – and have fun shopping the Dick’s website for ideas. Pick something good – it’s 100 free dollars!!

Filed Under: Reviews & Go-To's, Uncategorized ·

Random(hot)ness

August 13, 2009 by · 7 Comments

Okay, I’ve officially been M.I.A. I hate it. And I’m sorry.

I have been so busy at work. BJ told me he “doesn’t even know who I am” since I’ve been working so much! Not that I’m a slacker, because I promise that I’m not, but I’ve had so much going on that I’ve even been working when I get home! Let’s just say that’s not very typical of me (and leave it at that). The cool news is that I’ve been working on an awesome ENERGY STAR campaign for EPA (EPA is my client) – but the deadline got pushed up 2.5 months – and we have been running around like crazy! When the campaign launches on September 1, I’ll be sure let everyone know.

On a cooler (or hotter) note, BJ and I went to Florida last weekend and had a blast. My family lives on the beach and it’s the best little beach town ever. I love home! (BJ and my best friend, AC, are pretty much the only reason(s) I live in Virginia!)

Above: MP, LP, KP, KP Jr. and JP – the whole “P” family

We did some good working out on our mini-vaca. BJ, KP (my little sis) and I ran a couple of times (thank God I brought my Camel Bak) – including a beach run and a causeway run (the only hills in FL are the causeways aka the bridges that take you mainland to beachside). On Saturday morning, BJ and I woke up early and did an ocean swim. It was great – and as soon as we got in the water, we saw 2 dolphin swimming – it was so cool! We also have the most awesome family dog ever – LBM – or little brother Max (as we call him). He’s a yellow lab and too handsome for his own good. We took him to the beach everyday because he loves to play in the ocean and catch his whatever-toy-we-took-to-the-beach toy. It’s a blast to watch him in the water – he’s literally hilarious.

So, part of the reason we went to Florida was because AC’s little brother got married – he’s practically my brother, too – so it was so much fun to be a part of their special day. I’ll get mushy for 1.5 seconds and say: I wish them a lifetime of happiness! But, really, I do!

The only reason(s) I live in VA!

Now, back to my family. They are so awesome. It was just fun to hang out, swim in the pool, drink a couple of margaritas, go to the beach and spend time with my family. I am literally the luckiest MP in the world. I miss them already!

Also – more big news – I’ve decided to become a fitness instructor!! I’m working for this cool company called Custom Fitness Concepts – and teaching a Boot Camp M-F! This is my 1st week – but so far, so good. Eventually (like, when I am a wife with kids) I would love to be a personal trainer/fitness instructor/high school track coach. Until then, I’ll have to keep my government consulting job (dagger!).

I know, i know – this has been a random-hot-mess – but I had to blog about something because it’s been over one week and I’m having I RUN LIKE A GIRL (and margarita) withdrawal!

Happy Running!

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BIG NEWS (no, it’s not a diamond)

August 4, 2009 by · 19 Comments

I signed up for a Half Ironman today. NBD.

(I wish…)

I don’t even know what I’ve gotten myself into! BJ and I did it this morning – 510 dollars ($255/each) later we are going to die signed up for EAGLEMAN.

Later in the day, I went to lunch with two girls I work with, who are also triathletes. Too embarrassed to mention my unlikely-cause-of-sudden-death-at-26, our lunch went a little something like this:

Trigirl1: EAGLEMAN registration opened today. I wonder if I should do it (???).

Trigirl2: It’s a flat course, but the bike can be really windy (30+ mph) and the run can be really hot (not shaded).

MP: (in my head) Great…!!!

Trigirl1: I wonder if it’s expensive (??)… Do you think it’s already sold out (??)… [more questions I can’t remember because I’m trying to remember why I signed up in the first place…]

MP: (gulp) I signed up today….

So…I just stopped having “sign-up” anxiety, like, 5 minutes ago – but now I’m really excited and want to tell everyone! Blog World: I’m doing a Half Ironman. That’s right: 70.3!!

June 13, 2010 – here I come!

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New Jersey State Triathlon

July 28, 2009 by · 15 Comments

Four words: I ROCKED THE TRI! I had my best race ever and finished 18 minutes before my best time last year! Yay – a new PR (and a margarita)! Now, on to the race review:

The New Jersey State Triathlon was awesome. Mercer County Park is no-joke-legit – and a great place to have a race. I live in an urban jungle and while I see trees and grass and the sun, I have not seen a park like MCP in a very long time. There’s grass. Like, lots of it. And an awesome lake, an awesome playground for kids, tennis courts, a skating rink, a dog park, running and biking trails. I could go on but you get the point: MCP is nice.

Awesome thing #1 about the race: the location.

We arrived on Saturday, just in time to catch Uberman – “The world’s fasted triathlon”. 20 elite men and women race the fastest course ever – 200 yard swim, 4 mile bike and a 1 mile run. It’s over in, like, 17 minutes! It was cool to watch these athletes just totally grind it out. We stayed for the race briefing (not mandatory), checked out the swim course (I asked the race director if it was an Ironman-distance swim because it looked about 10 miles long!) and figured out where our bikes would go. I remember a time when I was annoyed that we had to rack our bikes the night before but now I really look forward to it (it makes race day so much easier). Unfortunately, we couldn’t rack our bike the night before. And while there were signs indicating the area where our bikes would rack, it was a free-for-all from there. Approximately 45 bikes per row of numbers had to find a way to fit while still trying to be in an ideal location. Fortunately for me and my crew, we showed up early and I got a great spot – but then there was the girl who showed up about 2 minutes before transition closed and asked people to move their bikes so she could fit on the first rack and not have to go to the end. It’s a good thing she didn’t ask me because I would have laughed in her face – too bad the girl next to me was a sucker!

5 am wake-up call on race day. We woke up to the sound of rain. We were all a little bummed because every race we have done this season has been in rain. Mentally, I think we were drained and couldn’t fathom another race in dagger conditions. But (thank you, God!) the rain stopped about 5 minutes before we left our sweet penthouse suite. The sky looked promising so our spirits improved.

We got to transition around 6 am and set up our gear. My transition looked great and I was ready to rock some awesome T times! Transition closed at 7:20am – and we had awhile before our start times, so we ate an awesome peanut-butter-on-wheat-bread-with-bananas breakfast and did some yoga.

Crew Start Times:
8:50am – BJ
9:10am – MP
9:20am – JJ

Swim: Wave 20: Women 25-29. First time in years that the race was a wetsuit legal race (thanks rain!). I rocked my wetsuit because I love the little extra buoyancy that it provides. The swim course was really well marked with buoys everywhere and plenty of kayakers. I felt pretty good in the water – but not my fastest swim. (I really need to join a Master’s swim team) Time: 33:08

T1: Thanks to a new little trick I’ve been testing with my wetsuit – it was easier than ever to get off. I also wore my race top under my wetsuit so I didn’t have to put on a shirt. I quickly dried my feet, socks on, bike shoes on, sunglasses on, helmet on. After my last race, when I had to fix my hair in transition because my helmet wouldn’t fit, I tested out a new hairstyle, too. It worked like a charm. Time: 2:06

Bike: I love my bike but it has been giving me some issues lately – it made a funny noise the whole time – and I just prayed that nothing bad would happen (like at The Columbia Triathlon). At one point, my chain did come off (ughhh) – but after TCT, BJ told me to back pedal if it ever happened again – and that’s exactly what I did. I back pedaled and the chain went back on. I didn’t have to get off the bike (thankfully) but it was still a 30-45 second ordeal. Fortunately, the bike course was flat and fast. I told myself that I needed to average 19-20 mph to “get a good time” – so I really powered through on the bike. I felt strong and the conditions were close to ideal – some strong wind at times but nothing detrimental. It was my fastest bike ever (at first BJ didn’t believe that my average mph was that fast!) Time: 1:11.29

T2: Let’s just say: I love my bungee laces! I took my bike shoes off and slipped on my running shoes. It was that simple! It took me a minute to get my visor on but once it was tight, I was off. Race belt in hand, I ran out of T2, feeling good! Time: 1:09 (62 second improvement)

Run: By the time I started running, it was a little before 11am and it was hot! Thankfully, the run was sometimes shaded because running on the black asphalt was painful. The course had 8 water stations (awesome!!) and cooling rags at 2 stations (even more awesome!!)! The course was nice and flat – 3.1 miles out and back, run by transition and another 3.1 miles out and back (picture a figure 8). I felt strong on the run. I mean, don’t get me wrong, my legs were tired but I was feeling good and passing people. Until mile 3… The run by transition runs by a water station with Heed (the worst drink in America) – and a volunteer accidently marketed Heed as water! It’s easy to confuse the two because Heed is clear like water BUT it does not taste like water. It tastes like the worst drink in America. I took a “water” and after one big gulp realized that I had just made a huge mistake! I have a very sensitive stomach. I can not take any type of gel or electrolyte drink or eat anything, I mean a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g, within 1.5-2 hours of running. I kept running, wishing, hoping and praying that I would be fine. Unfortunately, I wasn’t. I had to run and walk the last 2 miles due to a bad case of throwing up. It was not fun – and I was mad! My run was still a run PR – but I know that it could have been better. Moral of the story: NO Heed for me (angry post to come). Time: 51:50

Swim: 33:08
T1: 2:06
Bike: 1:11.29 (improvement)
T2: 1:09 (improvement)
Run: 51:50 (improvement)
Total: 2:39.39

Age Group: 10/46
Female: 56/295
Overall: 255/743

Awesome things about the race:
1) Location – MCP was awesome
2) Race Support – volunteers everywhere!
3) PLENTY of water stations (!!!) and cooling rags
4) Post-Race Event (food, including pasta and soft pretzels and drinks, including water, coke, beer)

Not-so-awesome things about the race:
1) HEED (worst thing in America – and I’m not the only athlete that hates it)
2) Transition area/bike racking free-for-all

Verdict: This was an awesome race and I can not wait to do it again next year. The volunteers were great and really helpful! I had an awesome race – my only wish is that the Heed episode would have been a bad dream instead of a reality.

Overall Score: 9

Filed Under: Race Report, Uncategorized ·

Sanity Check, Please!

July 23, 2009 by · 16 Comments

So, I have a triathlon this weekend. The New Jersey State Triathlon. Triathlon #3 of the season.

I have been training like crazy. More 2-a-days than I can remember. Adding more mileage to my runs. Tacks workouts. Brick workouts. Plyometrics workouts. Trying to tone with weights. Losing a couple of lbs.

Until this week. The seemingly most important week before the triathlon.

I’m minutely frustrated. Nothing seemed to go right this week and I had something to do everyday after work.

On Monday, I had to babysit. Fortunately, they were home earlier than expected and I was able to squeeze a quick* run in.

On Tuesday, I had plans to workout after work but before I had to volunteer at the local women’s shelter. Instead, I had to work later than usual and missed my workout.

On Wednesday, I had a quarterly volunteer training I had to attend. From 6 – 9pm. I knew that there was no way I would be able to workout after work so I woke up early and ran. 30 minutes.

Tonight I have a work happy hour. I don’t have to attend but I have to attend (if you know what I mean). I’m new to the company and attending is always good PR. I tried to get up early and swim but my alarm didn’t go off (I accidently set it for PM). I guess I’ll have 1 beer and then attempt to run…

On Friday, I’ll attempt to bike. On Saturday, I’ll attempt to swim before we leave for NJ.

I don’t feel like I trained enough this week (and that’s not a good feeling). I need a sanity check from my fellow runners and triathletes, I’ll be okay on Sunday, right?


*I’m not joking – it was like, 15 minutes.

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This makes me laugh…

July 20, 2009 by · 11 Comments

In June, BJ and I flew to Chicago to participate in the MS: Tour de Farms bike ride. For those of you that read my post, you might recall a very long and delayed start. For those that didn’t, here’s a quick recap:

4:30am – wake up
5:40am – leave the house (torrential downpour)
6am – arrive at Northern Illinois University, the race Start/Finish (torrential downpour)
7am – official race start is delayed until 8am (torrential downpour)
8am – race start is delayed until 9am (torrential downpour)
9am – race start is delayed until 9:30am (torrential downpour)
9:30am – race is delayed until 10am (torrential downpour)
10am – race is delayed until 10:30am (torrential downpour)
10:30am – race is delayed until 11am (torrential downpour)
11am – RACE FINALLY STARTS (lightly raining)

As you can imagine, we were bored to death, starving (food and coffee ran out at 8am) and freezing (I was not planning on a cold/rainy day). Sleep was pretty much our only option (to forget about how miserable we were) – and thanks to an un-named genius, our nap (Hurricane Katrina style) was documented for the world to see.

I think this picture is hilarious!

P.S. Check out “Tall Mom on the Run” – she is hosting an awesome giveway for a supercute shirt!

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Bungee is Better

July 15, 2009 by · 15 Comments

Check out my new (bungee) laces:


Claimed Benefits:
-Turns any shoe into a slip-on (I like slip-ons!)
-Never tie laces again (Yea, T2 here I come)
-Adjust instantly (Easy as 1-2-3)

I mean, seriously, could my running shoes look any cooler (one pair is hot pink, the other pair is lime green)?! I’ve been scheming for ways to cut down my T2 time – and I hope these bungees are the magic answer! I can tell that I’m getting faster and stronger in all three areas – but these little guys might just push me over the edge to “elite”. Cue: reader’s laugh!

Okay, so I’m not even close to elite or anything close to what comes after elite – but I’m trying to cut down my Olympic distance time (for personal accomplishments) and not tying my shoes sounds like a brilliant idea!

I rock Mizuno kicks – and have for a couple of years (although I have been known to date and dump a number of other brands) – and I just love the way these bungees look with my running shoes. Oh yea, I tested them out the other day and they work just fine (but more importantly, look cool).

I’m noticing a trend in recent posts: that there are quite a few things that make me feel cool – so if you would, please add these to the list!

On a side note – do any other runners use Bungees (or Yankz, etc.)? What do you like/dislike about them?

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P.S. A special shout-out to Stephanie at 50 Marathon Challenge for my super cool new banner – I love it! You rock!

Filed Under: Reviews & Go-To's, Uncategorized ·

My New Bike, Jr.

July 8, 2009 by · 14 Comments

A few months back I wrote about MNB – the awesome Fuji that BJ surprised me with – and I [still] adore it! But yesterday, I got another new bike! Now, I promise I am not cheating on my Fuji with MNB, Jr. I would never do that! She is much too pretty and fast but, I just had to do it – and you’ll understand why in a minute.

So, without further ado:

MNB #2 is: a Trek Cruiser!! It’s SO freakin’ cute and totally perfect for me. I’ve wanted a cruiser for f-o-r-e-v-e-r. I’m from Florida, my family lives on the beach and we ride them everywhere. So, imagine my surprise when I moved to DC and realized that there’s not a beach in sight (????) – WTF! Okay, okay, I knew there wasn’t a beach and I knew I wouldn’t be riding a cruiser to Dulles Airport with my flight attendant bags strapped on back… But that was then and this is now. I recently got a new job and now I live 1 mile (that’s right, one) from work (0.5 if I stay at BJ’s)!! So I decided to take the plunge and buy a cruiser to ride to work, around town, to Whole Foods…pretty much anywhere my heart desires. It’s awesome!

Don’t be jealous – but this lime green basket is going on the handlebars -to hold my stylish heels and purse (or tomatoes from Whole Foods). Either way, I’m going green.

I don’t mean to brag, but I’m gonna look pretty cool riding around Arlington!

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Fireworks, Beer and an 8k

July 6, 2009 by · 12 Comments
I hope everyone had a great 4th! I certainly did!

BJ and I woke up early on Saturday morning to run a local 8k. It was a super low-key race put on by the Potomac Valley Track Club – and it only cost $5.00 – even better! The weather was insanely perfect (cool breeze, sun shining) which resulted in a record number of runners (260) for the “Go Fourth” 8k.

The DC area is blessed with some hundred miles of trails – and the run took place on the Mt. Vernon trail (yes, the trail starts/ends (whichever way you look at it) at G. Washington’s house). It was an out and back, mostly shaded, with a few hills for some variety.

I started the race at the front of the pack aka with the super fast runners. I crossed mile 1 in 6:20 – yikes!! Too fast for me, so I eased up the pace and settled into my 7-something pace. I typically pass people because I start in the middle of the pack and work my way up; however, I did no passing on Saturday and instead only got passed. It was a little disheartening but I knew that I was running the pace I should be running and was still on track for a great race.

Okay, I lied; I did pass one person, at the end of the race, while I was sprinting to the finish. As a former college sprinter, I can typically pass people at the end with my strong kick – finally, my sprinting days paid off! I crossed the finish line in 35:45 – and grabbed a piece of watermelon, the delicious after-race treat!

I got 3rd in my age group (20-29) and 8th overall for women – so I feel pretty good about the “Go Fourth” 8k! BJ had a great race, too. He ran a PR pace – and was in a better mood than he typically is after a race! (haha)

I had a great time running the 4th of July race – and we were really able to enjoy our day together because we got our workout in early and didn’t have to worry about it for the rest of the day. I (we) can’t wait to run it again next year! At night we had a bunch of friends over for appetizers and drinks – and then went to the rooftop of BJ’s condo building to watch the DC fireworks. America’s 233rd Birthday was a good one!


Stats
Time: 35:45 (7:11 pace)
Overall: 46/260
Women: 8/116
Age Group (20-29): 3/47

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