March 25, 2013

Half Marathon Training + Brady Bands & Piperlime Giveaway!!

Hey hey, did everyone have a good weekend?  I had a busy, but productive one, and as promised I got in my first training run for the Go St. Louis Half Marathon that is in oh…13 days.  Keep reading to see how my training went (follow me on Instagram, and you’ll already know how I did.) and to see how to enter today’s Brady Bands No Slip Headband Giveaway and a group giveaway for a $200 Piperlime Gift Card I’m participating in!
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So, I spent most of Saturday typing my 8 page Marketing paper.  Woke up Sunday, went to church and then visited with my family.  I got back home that afternnon about 3:30 and was going to sit down to do some more work on my paper for schoo, and then it hit me.  Holy crap, I forgot to run!  I already told yall that I was running 7.5 miles this past week for my training…crap.  Thank goodness for yall; I needed somebody to keep me accountable!  Luckily Shane was going to the Downtown Y to play racquetball with a friend.  I told him I would just run in the neighborhood.  I walked outside, and the wind had picked up down by the river, and it was in the 40s.  Hmmmm…was I really going to run if I stayed home?  I told him nevermind I’d do better running inside the gym (and yall know how much I hate running indoors!)  I wasn’t making the mistake I’ve made the last few times I ran indoors.  They do not have a good AC system, and it is always HOT in there.  I end up dressing for the outside weather since we have to park and walk a block, then I get inside and burn up.  I sported my favorite Nike Tempo shorts and my new Ruffles with Love tank top!  This made all the difference.  Whenever you’re running, especially for longer distances, make sure you’re comfortable, and don’t wear something new that you’ve never worn before to “break in.”  I felt comfortable, and I made sure I drank a full glass of water before I ran.  I have a habit of not drinking much water unless I’m eating food for working out, so I’ve been trying to make a conscious effort to drink water right before I run.  Nothing worse than a dry throat!  One thing I will do for the half though is carry some chapstick.  My dry lips starting bugging me only a couple miles into it.

So, I got to the Downtown Y, and if you’ve ever been you know they have a track upstairs that goes around the workout room.  It is between the free weight area, the machine area and the treadmill area, so basically everyone sees you running around the entire time.  If you’ve been you would also know that 16 laps=1mile=a freaking long of laps.  So, I had 120 laps to run.  Wow, this was not going to be fun but I had to do it.  That’s what happens when I haven’t began training yet for the half marathon that is in 13 days!!  I jumped right in.  I think the people working out thought I was crazy as many times as I went around that track.  Now I know that most of you will think this is ridiculously crazy, but I like to break my runs down into smaller little increments.  I even did that at my last 10K.  I can go ahead and tell you that my husband would rather gouge his eyeballs out before he would do this, but each time I would make one lap I would count down…119…118.  When I got to 110 laps left, I thought to myself, I’m 1/12 of the way done!  Could I do what I just did 11 more times?  Yeah, I can.  When I got to 1.5 miles, I knew I was 1/5 of the way done.  Could I do what I had just done 4 more times.  Yeah, I can.  I kept on at this, and it passed the time by, gave me little mini goals to meet and helped me to know that I COULD do 7.5 miles.  After I got to half a mile, I realized that I had completely forgotten to start my Nike running app.  Fail!  So, I started it right there.  I listened to some of my favorite tunes on my iPhone and just tried to set a nice, steady pace.  I knew I was going to run the entire time, and I knew that I could do it.  When I got to 7.5 miles (only 7 on the app), I decided to go ahead and run another half a mile.  It was only 8 more laps, and there was NO way I was going to finish running without that app saying 7.5 miles!  So, I ran 8 miles total.  I sprinted the last 2 laps or .125 miles.  My legs were a little sore afterwards, but overall I felt GREAT!  My breathing was great, my mouth didn’t get try.  I didn’t get tired, and I didn’t ever feel like my legs were going to just give out on me.
This is the FARTHEST I’ve ever run!  I have always ran 1-2 miles except during an organized race, and I’ve only ran 2 10K’s.  The others have all been 5K’s.  I’ve never trained for the 10K’s, but I knew that I needed to train for the half.  Not only was this my farthest and longest run ever…
It was also my fastest 10K ever!  I finished with a pace of 8:37, and I hit a 5K at 26:10 – my second best time ever!  First of all, I ran indoors with no heels, pretty decent controlled temperature, and there were about 50 people in the workout room watching me (mainly big men lifting weights lol.)  I think all this really helped me to up my speed and improve my time.  I feel good, and I’m actually looking forward to knocking out 10 miles this week.  Thank yall so much for motivating me and really keeping me accountable…it definitely helped!!
Alright, now to the giveaway stuff!  The winner of last week’s giveaway for the Evie J. Pink Elsie Necklace is…
Carrie!  Yes, this is my sister.  She has been entering for ever single giveaway since I first started blogging a few months ago, and she finally won.  She probably thought I rigged it so she couldn’t won, so I’m happy she did for once.  Don’t worry, I’ll be doing another giveaway for an Evie J. necklace this Wednesday!  And you can also use promo code evieinmemphis through march 31 to save 40% off your entire order!!!
The winner of the $20 Taget gift card from Danielle is…
Brandi from Brooklyn State of Mind!  Congratulations and contact Danielle for your gift card!
Now to today’s giveaway!  Have yall heard of Brady Bands?  If you’ve been living under a rock, I’ll give you the details.  Brady Bands is a small company that makes and sells great non-slip headbands at a great price.  Amy is the owner of Brady Bands, and she named her company after her son Brayden wo passed away from brain cancer back in June.  In his honor, she donates 10% off all sales to childhood cancer research.  If that doesn’t give you chills, I don’t know what will.  Amy is so, so sweet.  Please go visit her shop here!  Her headbands are only $6, but you can get 4 for $20.  Amy loves to make custom orders and can make any headband you dream up become a reality!  She has so many different styles and colors, but the ones below are a few of my favorites!!
The giveaway will run through this Friday, March 29 at 7:00pm CST.
To enter all you need to do is:
1.) Make sure you’re following me via GFC and BlogLovin.
2.)  Leave me a comment telling me which Brady Band you would want or if you would want a certain custom made one.
And now for the group giveaway!  Amanda is hosting this awesome group giveaway for a $200 Piperlime gift card!  You can use it at Piperlime, Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy or Athleta.  Use the Rafflecopter below to enter.  = )

Colleen @ Parties and Cardis | Bekah @ Matters of Merrymaking | Laura @ Walking In Memphis In High Heels

Natalie @ My Crazy Busy Life | Amanda @ The Sequined Spaniel | Jaime @ Mommy On A Mission

Tasha @ A Sunshiny Day | Jen Marie @ Southern Belle | Lia @ Sunkissed & Southern

Sarah @ Moske Monkey Business | Bree @ aBree Fashion | Terri @ Peace, Love, & Applesauce

Misty @ Handbags & Handguns | Wendy @ The Sweet Life of Second Grade

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63 thoughts on “Half Marathon Training + Brady Bands & Piperlime Giveaway!!”

  1. Courtney Kassner

    You are crazzzzy! I could never do 120 laps and count down like that! Whew! Made me tired just thinking about it! But congratulations to you! It's quite an accomplishment! If you can run 8 without "training" for that, I'm sure you'll be great in the half!

    Happy Monday!
    P.S.-Where do y'all go to church?

    Reply
  7. Sarah

    Great job on the run! I cannot lie, it makes me totally J that you can just up and run 8 miles with that awesome pace!

    I would love that leopard Brady Band! Adding a little bit of leopard into your workout can only make it better, right?! 🙂

    Reply
  10. Laurie Tester

    That's great. I don't think I could count like that. I have trouble counting the 30 seconds on my treadmill intervals (and mind you the machine is counting them also). I've got my first 10K in two weeks. The farthest I've run to train is 4 miles, but I think I'll be just fine….slow, but fine!

    Reply
  14. Alison Beckham

    That's exactly how I run!!! Or really how I do any workout. I have to break things down into increments or it seems way too overwhelming! Anyways, I pretty much NEED some kind of a chevron, glittery brady band. It would probably have to be custom made, but it would be amazing!

    Reply
  20. Kara

    I can't believe you just ran 8 miles like it was nothing.. that is awesome! I def get what you are saying though about running faster with people watching! I tend to lift heavier weight if I'm working out wiht a lot of guys around. I follow you on gfc and bloglovin. Would love the leopard band since leopard goes with everything 🙂

    Reply
  21. JMc

    I'm following you on GFC and Bloglovin. If I won the giveaway I would probably get the leopard print one. I can wear it working out or just out and about. I love the sparkly ones and he cute brown one with flowers. So many options!

    Reply
  31. Jamie Toft

    I do that while I'm running, too! I'm glad I'm not the only one…breaking it down really does make it seem like the miles and time are going by faster 🙂 I'm entering for the sparkly blue brady band, it would definitely keep my hair out of my face!

    Reply
  32. Courtney

    When I used to run XC in school I always broke everything down into halfway points, as weird as that sounds, so I think your way was so great to get through the long indoor run!

    If I win the Brady Bands giveaway I would be all over the Color Me Chevron in teal. Perfect for my renewed dedication to getting back to the gym.

    Reply
  33. A J

    AMAZING JOB! I must say, I doubted you a little bit when you said you were going to run a 1/2 with very little training, but this post totally proves that you can do it!! You rock, girly!

    I follow on GFC and Bloglovin! And I spotted a gunmetal sparkly skinny brady band that looks awesome!

    -AJ
    FitTravelerAJ.blogspot.com

    Reply
  40. Alicia

    Great job on the run.. Running is not my friend at all, I never have been a runner. I would run maybe if I was chasing after JT or Channing Tatum. lol I would love the skinny sparkle and shine in black..

    Reply
  41. Vicki S

    I follow you via via GFC (sswpss) and BlogLovin (Vicki S)
    I love the Skinny Sparkle and Shine Headband- Black
    I used to do more long-distance running but now I just do HIIT because weight-lifting has become my focus and I'm now addicted to that 🙂 But this would be great for my sweaty HIIT sessions! Ty for a great giveaway and your blog is awesome 🙂

    sswpss at yahoo dot com

    Reply
  46. srjones03

    Great job on all of the running (and indoors none the less!) I'm a swimmer, can't run to save my life, but would LOVE to have a Brady band. Anything sparkly would be wonderful – keep my hair in place while I take the pup on a long walk!

    Reply
  51. Kirby Miller

    I am trying to hard to become a "runner". My mind gets the best of me! But I am up to 2.5 miles and am determined to get to as many as you! 🙂

    There are so many cute brandy bands and I am sure I'd love them all!

    Kirby

    Reply

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