Resolution Run Recap

If the first race of the year was any kind of prediction for how the rest of them are going to go, then I'm in for one fantastic year of running.

This past Sunday I ran our local Boys & Girls Club Resolution Run, a 2 mile race in Downtown Lynchburg.

The race is held in the afternoon, and this year it was on the warmest day of the month! I opted for capris and a tshirt, but looking back I could have very easily worn shorts!

The course was a 1 mile loop that we ran twice, which included one lap around a track (the first quarter mile), followed by one giant hill, then a giant downhill, then another uphill, another down and then you get to do it all over again! (Or cross the finish line if you don't die).

I set out to run this race as fast as I could. Sometimes I just want to finish, but to be honest I really wanted to place at this one (I didn't see many other people my age.) I made the mistake of starting in the middle of the pack and spent almost the first half mile dodging people who were walking or jumping over small children who started out sprinting, but quickly burnt out.

Let me take this time to make a PSA: If you are going to walk a race that's wonderful! I'm so happy that you are out there moving and experiencing the joy of doing a race. However, please line up toward the back. This isn't just annoying, it's a safety thing. Runners can easily trip over or run into walkers, and it could mean injury for one or both parties. So please don't try to start up front!

The whole race I refused to let myself walk, even on the monster hill with a headwind slowing me down. I kept chanting to myself "It's just two miles... it's just two miles..."  and it seemed to have worked...

I crossed the finish line in 18:50, which amounts to 9:25 splits, a time I'm very proud of considering those hills. (True fact, I also kept asking myself why I still live and race in the Hill City for most of the two miles).

It came time for awards, and I didn't have high hopes because I hardly ever place. In the 3 years I've been racing I had placed twice. Also, the age groups for this race were ten year gaps, placing the 20-29 year old together. They called second place for my group and I had a second of, "Wait... I passed her soon after the first mile," right before they called my name!

Still a little stunned in this pic

Overall it was a great race, not only because I placed,but because I knew so many people there and it was for a great cause.

The swag was pretty cool, too. Someone organizing must know that runners have about a million shirts, and decided to give out blankets instead:

One of my life mottos is that you can never have too many blankets. 

So, like I said in the beginning, if this is only the beginning, 2016 is going to be great.

It was only appropriate that my running buddy Morgan and I got a pic here with all the things we have planned!

2016 Reading Challenge: January

As I have mentioned before, I'm challenging myself to read 125 books this year, with 12 of those being from this reading challenge.

I didn't really know where to start on this list, but the first book jumped out at me during a trip to Target. Lindsey Stirling had just released an autobiography, and there it was on the end cap, 30% off and begging me to read it. So the first pick was "a book published this year".

Pause. I know some of you are saying, wait who's that? Here is your answer:

I owe my discovery of her to my husband, who first started listening to her music on YouTube around 3 years ago. We both quickly fell in love with her music and I've probably watched all her videos at least 20 times.

We even saw her in concert back in 2013:

Okay, I'm getting off topic, back to the book. I knew a little bit about how she got her break, but I figured it would be interesting. So I put The Only Pirate at the Party in my basket and it came home with me. 

I'm the kind of reader who has to read a new book immediately. However, I also have a rule where I only read one book at a time. So, I came home, finished what I was reading (a Pretty Little Liars novel, no judgment), and cracked it open. 

I was greeted with this surprise:

The publisher had scattered a bunch of limited edition autographed (it's in real pen, not printed, I checked) copies to distributors! 

I flew through reading this book. I'm a fast reader, but the tone this was written in made it so I didn't want to stop. I've read a lot of autobiographies and a lot of them are written in a way that screams "oh I'm so cool look at all the great things I've done." But, Lindsey's is different. She's open about the struggles she faced in her life getting started as a musician. She's also very open about her battle with anorexia, something most celebrities don't talk about.

The other thing about her book is that its like having a conversation with your cool, goofy, slightly disgusting(there's a very colorful description about meeting fans while having the stomach flu) best friend. 

One thing the media nerd in me has always found interesting is her climb to fame through YouTube. Until a few years ago, that just wasn't something that happened. People had to get discovered the traditional way, which she tried. She even made it to the semi-finals of America's Got Talent before being shut down by the judges. In the book she talks about how she kind of blazed her own trail in every part of her success. Dubstep violin music was a new thing. YouTubers who listened to their fans was a new thing. 

Overall, it was a fantastic read, and I highly reccomend it if you are interested in violins, music, humor, pirates, or just like reading books about YouTube sensations.

Rating: 5 Stars

#CovergirlVoxBox

It's been a long time since Influenster has chosen me for a Vox Box, but I finally got picked last month!

The best part? I got chosen to test out some new products from Covergirl, the Plumpify Mascara by BlastPRO and Colorlicious Oh Sugar vitamin infused balm.

 

The Mascara:

I've said before on here that mascara is my favorite type of makeup. I'm not ashamed to admit that I have great eyelashes, and a good mascara only makes them better. This was my first time using a non-waterproof mascara, but to be honest I didn't even notice that it wasn't. It stayed on really well (even when I forgot to take my makeup off before going running). It doesn't get clumpy and gross like some mascaras do, and it dries quickly so I didn't have those funny marks below my eyebrows from wet mascara. I give it 5 stars.

The before and after

The Lip Balm:

Recently I've been liking lipstick more and more. It used to seem like an old lady thing to wear, but after Covergirl released their limited edition Star Wars collection, I jumped right in to the lipstick world and haven't looked back. I bring up lipstick because that's what this is more like. It says lip balm, but it's pretty heavily tinted and wears very well. I would call it more of a "hydrating lipstick" than a balm. I have the "Sprinkle" color and it looks great with my pale complexion!

A big thanks to Influenster for letting me try out these products, I can't wait to test more!

Blog Refresh

If you've been around a while, you may notice that the blog got a facelift (and a new URL) today!

I've been playing around with changing my blog for the last few weeks. While I do want to blog about running and fitness, I also want it to be about other thing, more of an all encompassing blog for my life.

Running isn't my only hobby (*gasp*). I love reading, and I have a goal of reading 125 books in 2016. I want to be able to highlight the ones that stand out.

I also want to incorporate the 2016 Book Challenge into my blog.

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I also enjoy movies, something that I don't always have time to explore, but something that I make time for around Oscar time. Stay tuned as I watch and review all the Best Picture nominees (announced this morning!)

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I also want to document places I travel this year (although those trips may be mainly running related, that won't be the only thing I'll be doing there. I hope to at least visit a few tourist spots)

The final thing that I wanted to incorporate a bit of professional blogging. That is, about the advertising campaigns and marketing efforts I see around me.

All of these things together have led me to change the name of the blog from "See Leah Run" (which I never really liked to begin with) to "Leah Elizabeth", to more encompass all the aspects of my life.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for my first Oscar viewing!

Monday Motivation

Training in winter is both the best and the worst.

It's the best because it's not 95* with 100% humidity.

It's the worst because of pretty much everything else. It gets dark at 5 p.m. The precipitation is cold (Summer rain is amazing to run in. Winter rain, not so much. Snow is bearable.) Figuring out the appropriate layering combination is a skill that takes weeks to figure out, and by the time you finally get the hang of it, it starts to get warm again.

I decided I needed an extra motivation push to get through what is sure to be a cold run tonight, considering it's noon and only 33* outside.

This week's motivation is:

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Yeah it's cold and gross and going home and curling up with a book sounds a lot better than running at night in the freezing cold. But I have an ultra in 33 days to conquer. I've got this.

Edit later: Of course there's also the treadmill when you have unexpected things come up and won't be able to get your run in until late. One way or another some miles are calling my name tonight!

2016 Goals

2016 will mark my 4th year of running, and I have some big goals this year!

1. Run as many Race 13.1 races as possible. I bought myself a season pass and my friend Morgan and I have a pact to fit in as many as possible! (We've already signed up for Wilmington).
2. Run in at least one new state. Considering I've only ever run in Virginia and North Carolina, that shouldn't be hard. (South Carolina, Maryland, and Tennessee are on my radar).
3. Finish an ultramarathon. I'm signed up for Holiday Lake 50K on February 13, so here goes nothing!
4. Run at least 1000 miles. I signed up for the 2016 Gold Challenge to keep myself accountable. I've knocked out 10.5 miles and have some more on tap on my treadmill tonight. 
5. Be more selective about races. My husband will appreciate this goal since it will mean I spend less this year ;) But really I'm aiming to be more strategic about the races I sign up for to get the most bang for my buck. This is one of the main reasons I purchased a race pass for Race 13.1 this year.

Other fitness related goals:

1. Do some kind of fitness activity every day. So far I'm 3/3 (I'm not counting today yet since it's not over). Running, walking the dog, strength training, and even stretching count! Because I'm sure I'll need a few days of foam rolling after my 50K.
2. Be better at meal planning. I'm so bad at planning out what I'm eating for the week and it usually ends in me eating one of the Easy Mac containers I have stashed in my desk. I've learned that spending an hour portioning out things and making all the lunches for the week is so worth it! I just need to actually commit to doing it. 

 On top of these, I'm also hoping to blog more (I know I say this all the time, but I'm going to try!)

Stay tuned for more 2016 adventures :) 

I Like Medals, Okay?

2 years ago today, I ran my first half marathon.

This past weekend, I ran my 9th. Both in the same place, and both a crazy experience. So let's take a little look back at the whirlwind that was this weekend.

I was originally scheduled to do the 8K and Full Marathon challenge. However, after suffering through 26.2 miles at Marine Corps, I wasn't too fond of doing that again so soon. So I transferred down to the 8K and Half Marathon Challenge. Why the challenge? I like medals.

So when Outer Banks Sporting Events posted this photo on Wednesday, I had a change in plans:

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I immediately sent the picture to my mom and said, "Look at that Fun Run medal! We have to do it!"

After some quick searching to see if I had to be under a certain age (all ages welcome!) we signed up. Then I looked at the schedule of events and noticed that the 5K was in the middle of the two, perfectly timed to do all 3. And so a weekend of bling was born.

Friday (Expo Day)

I don't normally write about race expos, but I felt like this one needed to be written about. This is my third time running with Outer Banks Sporting Events (OBXSE) and I found this expo to be extremely unorganized. Since I hadn't registered for the Fun Run and 5K in time for my name to be on my bib, I wasn't assigned a number prior to the expo. I was sent around to 3 tables before someone could help me and everyone seemed like they were already tired of answering questions (the expo hadn't even been open an hour). So after being tossed around and assigned a number on the spot (which felt a little sketchy), I went to pick up my shirts.

Normally, OBXSE shirts run super huge. I rarely wear my 2013 OBX Half shirt because it looks like it's eating me. They tend to stick to unisex tech shirts. This year, I had seen Women's XS as an option and picked it thinking, "Oh boy! Finally a shirt that will fit me!" Well, that was a wrong assumption. This year they went for a long sleeve cotton blend. That XS was way too small! I eventually got to trade it for a Medium, but I had to wait until the next day to do so. Apparently it was a wide-spread problem and they were going to rush print some more. Working in that world, I know there was a very stressed out race director somewhere trying to solve this problem and I commend them for trying to make it right with everyone.

After the chaos that was the expo, I got to lay on the beach. That's right, the beach. In North Carolina. In November. The weather was apparently very confused, but hey I'll take it.

Saturday

The schedule for the morning was the 8K at 7:30, 5K at 9:30, and Fun Run at 11:15. The weather at 7:30 was gorgeous. The forecast the day before had called for rain but it was warm, and sunny, and actually pretty humid. I felt like I was lining up for a June race instead of one in November!

8K
All 3 races were pretty uneventful, and they all followed the same course, just cut shorter and shorter each time. The 8K took us pretty far into Nags Head Woods, which I had ran during Flying Pirate back in the Spring. I was glad to see they had sprayed the dirt parts down because they can get really dusty with so many people running on them! I was pretty nauseous this whole race so I had to stop and walk more than I would have liked. I'm pretty proud of never having thrown up during a race and I wanted to keep it that way!

5K
I must have sweated out all the bad things that were making me nauseous because this one felt great! The heat was disgusting since it was getting later in the morning. It was almost 80! We didn't go into the Woods as far, so a lot of the course wasn't shaded. Since it was so hot, I ran slower but still managed to run the whole thing. I also finished fast enough to land 4th in my age group!

Fun Run
Mom and I stuck together for this one, and by that point the sun was boiling. I really wanted that cute stingray medal, though.

At the end of the day, I got my first 3 medals for the weekend!

Of course I had to a) wear my medals to lunch (I was not the only one in Barefoot Bernie's doing so) and b) get a picture with the tiki!

The weather was so nice that we even got to lay out for another few hours after we got back! There was a surf competition taking place right in front of our house and we had prime seating for it. I might have fallen asleep though...

Sunday

Overnight, a huge storm moved in, making the weather turn a complete 180. It really wasn't that cold (mid-50s when I woke up) but man, the wind gusts were bad. They were approaching 30mph at some points and made it feel a lot colder. Like the cold natured person I am, I put a quarter zip shirt on over my t-shirt thinking I would be fine the whole time and I pinned my bib to it.

Well, that lasted all of about a mile. The wind was at our back about 90% of the entire race (which was amazing, by the way) so the true temperature was really taking effect. I awkwardly had to stop and take off my jacket and re-pin my bib to my shirt. I'm kicking myself for not just tying it to my front with the bib facing out, because I can almost guarantee I would have PRed the entire race! But, it's too late to fuss over that now.

Sometimes, I have races where I feel great the first couple of miles and then bomb about halfway through. This was (thankfully) the complete opposite. I felt awful the first 4 miles and just mentally switched gears to "just finishing". I was running without a watch and had no clue what my pace was, and there were no clock on the entire course so I was just running by how I felt. Then, around 4.5 I started to feel good. Really good. That tailwind was making my life easy! The weather was great! Life was fantastic!

The first time I ran this race, the bridge killed me. But I went up over the "hill" easily (while mentally chanting "This is not as bad as Farm Basket hill" over and over... it really wasn't even comparable) and on the other side, I got a shark selfie, something I had done in my first race!

The shark was totally flattered that I wanted a pic with him. He was really into it. 

After the bridge (and shark) was mile marker 11. At this point I felt really good and kicked it into gear. At this point I was actually passing more people than were passing me (which lets be honest, rarely happens to me).

The last stretch to the finish line was right into the wind and it made me extremely happy that we weren't running into it the whole time. I crossed the clock and it read 2:25, but I was in the 3rd wave to start so I know it had to be faster than that.

I did a really bad job of centering my bib when I moved it!

My official time was 2:19. My current PR is 2:15, so if I would have pushed a little harder and not adjusted my stupid bib, I probably could have beaten it. But the important part here is that my first half time on that course 2 years ago was 2:43. I've got a special blog post for when I hit #10 but let me say so much has changed in those 2 years, and I've loved every step of the journey.

And now for the really important part. The final haul!

Overall, I LOVE this race, and am already considering doing it again next year. It kind of helps that it's in my favorite place in the world, but it's a high quality race with great swag (once they got the shirt situation fixed) that included a finisher hat and a pint glass!

So until next time, I leave you with this fantastic shirt I found in a gift shop later that day: