Bondi Bands Galore

Yes, I am sure you are tired of my continuous posts about TNT and fundraising, but hey--it IS helping to save lives.

In order to raise some additonal funds, I contacted the wonderful people at Bondi Bands about participating in their TNT Fundraising program.  They sent me 100 Bondi Bands, which I am itemizing below.  If you are interested in buying any, please let me know.  All of the bands will be $8.00, which is what Bondi Band sells them for, but with me, you save on both sales tax AND shipping!!  Win-Win right???

If you are interested, email me here so we can work out the details.  I will keep this page on a side bar and update it periodically to let you know whats available.

First-The Lyrca--light sweat wicking.

1-Pink/Orange Animal Print
2-Green and Gray Xs
3-Green and Gray Xs
4 - Blue and White Swirl
5 - Pink and Black Animal Print
6 - Black and Silver Tiger
7 - Red and Black Tiger
8 - Blue Animal Print

1 -  Purple Polka Dots

2 - Multi Colored Dots

3 - White with Small Flowers

4 - Brown Tropical

5 - Hot Pink Print

6 - Orange Print (2)

7 - Black, White and Print Print (2)

8 - Blue and Black Leaves

1 - Brown and Blue Hearts

2 - Blue and White Herringbone

3 - Black and Silver Diamonds

4 - Spiderwebs

5 - Solid Black with White Dots

6 - Pastel Print

7 - Brown with Tropical Motif

8 - White with Dots and Flowers (2)

1 - Black Tropical (2)
2 - Pink Camo
3- White with Pink and Navy Flowers
4- Black with white and Pink floewrs
5 - Baby Blue with White dots and small hearts
6 - Light Blue with hearts
7 - Multi-colored stripes
8 - pink with Silver Metallic stripes

1 - Black with Silver Peace
2 - Black with Love and Peace
3 - Blue with Flowers and Peace
4-Tie Dye with Peace
5 - Pink, Navy and silver Peace
6 - Hot Pink with Silver Peace
7 - Red with Gold Ovals
8 - Brown with Gold Ovals

1 - Black with Sparkle Flowers
2 - Black with White Flowers
3 - White and Black waves with blue dots
4 - Whitw and Black Waves with Pink Dots
5- White with multi colored dots
6 - Purple, Blue and white
7- Green, orange, and white flowers
8--Orange, Yellow and Maroon

1- Orange Stripe

2 - Green Stripe

3 - Pink Stripe (2)

4 - Multi Color Polka Dot

5- Black w Red Polka Dots

6 - Brown with multi color dots

7 - Blue with Small Dots

8 - Black with various dots

9 - Light blue with white dots

1-Yellow Bandana Print
2- Pretty Purple
3 - Orange Print
4 - Brown Print
Team in Training--Heavy Wicking

1 - Black (2)
2 - Forest Green
3 - Brown
4 - blue (2)
5 - Gray
6 - Pink

Solid--heavy wicking

1 - Blue (2)
2 - Brown (2)
3 - Grayish Green (sage green)(2)
4 - Black (2)
5 - Pink (2)
6 - Grayish Blue (2)
7 - Green (2)
8 - Cream (2)

1 - Kahki

2 - Navy

3 - Hot Pink

4 - Green

5 - Yellow

6 - Orange

7 - Sky Blue

8 - Texas Orange (Courtney, this made me think of you!!!)

1 - Pink w Tiara

2 - Blue w Tiara

3 - Black w Tiara

4 - Will Run for Wine

5 - White with Red Hearts

If you see one on Bondi Band's website you like better, let me know and I will see if I can exchange out a few of what I have for other items.

Check back in the next week or so--I believe I have gathered enough items to have an online raffle .

I am off to make sure the house is ready for the 6 inches of rain we are potentially going to get tomorrow. 

Happy Running all!!!

Happiness 101

Today, I'd like to give a big THANK YOU to Jamie for the Happy 101 Award! Jamie is a relatively new runner who just finished her first half marathon over labor day weekend (and rocked it, I might add) She has two super cute kiddos and we have our first running date this Sunday.

The Happy 101 Award requires us to list 10 things that make us happy. So here are mine:





1. My family, especially my cute nieces and nephews who brighten my day and make me laugh constantly.


2. Coffee on a chilly morning, sitting on my deck looking at the water. Total relaxation. (happy national coffee day, BTW)


3. The beach. The sounds of the waves, the beautiful water, and the amazing peace it brings me is irreplaceable.


4. My friends. We are sometimes too busy to see each other, but we always have each other’s backs if need be.


5. Meeting new people. I am a social creature—I love interaction!


6. Running and exercise. If only I had found you earlier in my life and recognized the true blessing you are.


7. Seeing my husband really come into his element in law school and watching his passion and love of it grow every day.


8. Training runs on the trail, especially in beautiful fall weather!


9. Carlos Santana’s new CD.


10. Seeing how far I have come in all aspects of my life with hard work and dedication. Seriously, my life had turned out 1000 times different than I planned when I was 18 (seriously, what the heck did I know then), but I wouldn’t ever change it for the world!






I am supposed to pass this along to other bloggers, but I hate to pick out just 5, lets say if your most recent post is about something other than running, consider yourself tagged!

Looking Back

I guess I am in a reflective mood lately. I just started thinking about how the MCM10K is a little over a month away and how that was the race that started this whole crazy running journey I am on.



Back in July, August, and September of last year, I was thinking “How in the HECK am I going to run 6.2 miles?? What in the world did I sign myself up for??” I trained the best I could, with a 10K plan a friend wrote for me and battled knee bursitis (I guess my knees are reflective as well, since its flaring up again) and on a bright, chilly Sunday morning, I headed down to the National Mall in DC with my cousin’s husband (who was also running his first race and is celebrating his running anniversary with the full Marine Corps Marathon-and hopes to run sub 4 for his first---GOOOOO B!!!!). I was nervous to run the race by myself, convinced I would be the very last runner and that marathoners would beat me too (the MCM 10K runs the last 6.2 miles of the Marine Corps Marathon), but I ran the race, enjoying the course support, the runners camaraderie and the ABSOLUTELY beautiful morning we were blessed with.

 Maybe they put something in the water on the course, or maybe it was the chance to run RIGHT in front of the Pentagon and Arlington Cemetery, but I finished the race (a slow, but respectable 1:18 or something like that) with a huge grin on my face. I was able to push my body past a point it had ever been and I felt like I could keep going!  I signed up for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler the next day. 



This race, as cheesy as it sounds, changed my life. I learned a lot about myself, learned a lot about my body and what it’s capable of, and over the year have made some wonderful friends and have become a part of a big club. If you had told me two years ago that I was going to run several 10 milers, a few half marathons and even a marathon, I would have laughed in your face. If you had told me I would enjoy going for a run for nearly 3 hours, I would have thought you were crazy.



So, it’s amazing to think what a difference a year makes. I went from really questioning what my body could handle to KNOWING that it can go that extra few tenths of a mile, and I can still push myself and my body can handle whatever I throw its way.


I guess I had to give myself that pep talk too. Sometimes, I can get focused on the negative aspects of the running, overlooking the huge benefits and positives I get from it. Katye and TMB have now decided its time for me to pick up my pace and push myself a bit harder than I do and get faster. So to my dear feet, legs and mind (especially you, mind), get ready, and suck it up, buttercup!!! We are throwing a few more things your way, and it’s nothing you can’t handle!

Unrelated, but still important, go check out Courtney's Coach Key Chain Giveaway.  She is trying to raise money for TNT and this is an awesome giveaway!  Go help support her!
Happy running everyone! 

Busy weekend

Saturday turned out to be a pretty exciting day.

Liz (my running partner for the Baltimore Half--20 days) and I had plans to meet up at the trail which was going to be super packed because of the fall TNTers taking on their longest runs to date (it was exciting to see them knowing they were once in the same place I am in right now with my training).  The place was packed by 6:45; people were running all over the place, cars were parked all over the place (and some illegally--Thank you MSP for coming out and writing tickets for people who were running for charity).  After some nice pep talks and instructions from the coaches, the fall TNT group set off.  Liz and I found each other when the crowd cleared, and soon, the winter TNTers were off too.  

We started on a nice, but maybe quick pace, but I could tell it was not going to be my best run.  The humidity was up and my knee has been acting up (thank you bursitis--I'm glad you left my hip, but you couldn't abandon me all together, could you?) so we did various intervals, some longer runs, some sprinting runs, but a nice mix.  I was in true motor mouth form and talked poor Liz's ear off (and apologized a bazillion times for being slow) but it was a really nice 12 miles. It was also great to have the water stops and support along the run.  My handheld was dry by mile 8, and luckily a water station wasn't too far away.  I was topped off (and had some delicious PB filled pretzel bites) and we continued on our way.  We hit the end of our run feeling great (minors aches and pains aside) and are hopefully going to meet up next weekend to get another training run in.

I had to rush home to get to my hair appointment (color and cut--I feel far less straggly than before) and then to the anniversary dinner with my husband.  I was fairly indulgent and had a HUGE steak and flourless chocolate cake for dessert, but hey--I did run shuffle 12 miles, so I deserve it, right?

Today, more of the same.  I took a rest day since I woke up with a stiff knee (lots of walking around Annapolis last night) and running errands (and looking at bedroom furniture--did you know that wood is the traditional 5 year anniversary gift--my husband surprised me Friday night by telling me he had been saving for a new bedroom set for me to pick out )with my husband.  Its hard to believe the weekend is almost over with  and the workweek is almost here again.

I hope you guys all had a great weekend!  Did you do anything fun???  

Happy running!!

You the winner, chicken dinner!

My youngest nephew says that when playing a game he made up, and it always makes me smile to say it!

The winner of the 50th follower giveaway, selected by random.org was 32, which makes the winner

Kilax

Congratulations! 

Send me an email here so I can get your goodies out to you!!!!

Happy Running Everyone!

Quickie

Kind of a crazy day, after a day off of work, so this will be brief!

Couple of quick reminders

1. Tomorrow night at midnight EST is the last chance you have to enter my iTunes, Birdie Band and Sharkies giveaway.  Everyone needs more tunes, so make sure you enter! 
2. Tonight from 5-8, I am having a fundraiser at California Tortilla in Annapolis MD.  If you are local, or know anyone who is local, have them stop by.  Make sure you mention Disney at the register and California Tortilla will donate a whopping 25% of the sale to my TNT account.  Help support a great cause  JUST by having dinner.  I will also be there from 5:30-8, so make sure you say hello if you stop by!
3. You can always donate to my TNT account here too!  Just sayin'.

Make sure you go over to Katye's page and give her some props for yet another PR on her half this weekend.  She smashed her last time by 7 minutes.  Seriously, this girl gets faster and faster every week!!

I will be having another giveaway within the next week or so--so keep your peepers peeled for that!

Thats all for now runners!  Happy Running!

What a difference training makes

So, I write this not from a romantic vacation with my husband, but at home. *sigh* My husband has some work issues pop up, which means we couldn’t go celebrate. Don’t worry-we had a great weekend together, regardless of missing the trip.




Not going meant I got to go to my TNT training Saturday, which was really nice. I had 13 on scheduled, so it was great to know I was training in a group. Two weeks ago, a woman was grabbed in broad daylight off the trail I frequent. Lucky, a person who lived nearby heard her screaming and she was unharmed and the man was caught, but since the news broke, husband has been VERY adamant that I no longer run solo.  Very sweet and caring, but kind of hinders the ole training.




I was a bit nervous to take on 13 miles. After my first half marathon, I was pretty defeated. Sure, I did it, sure, I finished, and sure, I lived, but there were a few points in the last two miles that I wanted to give up, cry, or just lay down and go to sleep.




This 13 miles was completely different. We started bright and early at 7am on the trail (which means I am up by 5:30—blah—I am so not an early morning person) and the air had this beautiful fall chill to it.  Armed with Olga (Helga the Garmin's nicer, gentler, kinder sister) I felt great, I felt strong and I felt light on my feet. I was running by myself, but was never really alone on the trail at any point. Before I knew it, 5 miles has passed by in a blink of an eye.


At mile 7, I took a quick stop, ate a few sharkies (yum) and drank some water and headed back to the group’s meeting spot, which would put me at 10 miles. I wanted to check in and say goodbye to everyone before I headed out for my last three miles. Heck, I felt so good, I was considering another mile, for a total of 14.


10 miles was done in 2:02, which is pretty good for me. I stopped to chat with the group until everyone started to leave. I started out and noticed that my left hamstring was feeling tight. Stopping for as long as I did was probably the worse thing about the run, so the last three miles were a struggle, though I never got to the point of quitting or crying—I just walked a bit more than I would like.




I managed to finish 13 miles in 2:52, which I am really pleased with. Baltimore Half Marathon—a PR will be mine by a long shot.

I am excited to have found someone to run with too! Liz, who also ran the MD Half (my first half marathon) is another blogger and I think we came across each other by chance but I totally recognized her from her blogger picture! She is running with her friend that also ran the MD Half and I am excited for running buddies for the race, and I hope we can push ourselves to kill our goal time!


Today was a rest day--and I needed it.  My body is sore and I want to keep the wonderful feeling of a great run for another day :)

Happy Running everyone!  I am off to enjoy some football with the husband!

Hats off to you Garmin

As you might recall, I sent my beloved Helga to the Garmin Hospital Friday.  As in 5 days ago--with one of those being a no mail day.


So, imagine my surprise when I came home and found this in a package on my doorstep.

Sadly, it does not appear that Helga survived *tear* as this beauty has a new serial number.  This unnamed Garmin has come in the nick of time.  This weekend, the husband and I are going out of town to celebrate our 5th (I KNOW!!) anniversary (which is next Friday but we needed to make sure he was around for a golf tournament) and I will be running in unfamiliar territory where she he it will really come in handy.  So, Bravo, Garmin.  Bravo, indeed!

Speaking of this weekend--I am super excited to tackle some mountains (ok, yeah, they are really just BIG hills, but still--they are bigger than the hills around me) and get some work on elevations.  I AM SUPER PUMPED and sane, I swear.

Also, just curious as to my lovely readers thoughts on this. Lately, after a really intense workout, I get really nauseous.  After my sprint (or fast shuffle--whatevs) up the big hill on the Run to Remember, I wanted to yak as soon as I stopped moving.  After my spin class this evening, same thing.  Its a recently new development, so I was curious if anyone had any thoughts or suggestions?

Well, that's all for tonight!  Happy (and safe) running everyone!!!

50th Follower Giveaway

Ok, I know I promised this last night, but honestly I passed out, courtesy of two weeks of no sleep and a unisom, at about 9 last night (and forgot to set my alarm and was late to work--WOOPS!)

So, the lucky winner of this giveaway will win-

1. a $15 iTunes giftcard
2. a package of Sharkies (I LOVE these on a long run)
3. a Birdie Band (ok--a band I made, but I am calling them Birdie Bands--I will be selling them later to fundraise for TNT)

What do you need to do?

1. Become a follower of my blog and comment to let me know.  If you already are, just leave a comment.
2. Post this giveaway on your blog and comment to let me know.
3. Tell me about a topic you wish I would write a blog post on. 

Thats it!! 

You have until next Wednesday, the 22nd.  Entry will close at midnight.  The winner will be announced on the 23rd!

Good luck and happy running!

a Run to Remember

Friday night, I planned to wake up in the morning, head to Panera and meet a friend for a 10 hour study session (I received word from the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy that I was officially accepted as a candidate for the CPA Exam—but if you were my friend on facebook, you’d know that by now), but those plans were all derailed when I got on facebook and noticed that Katye had two extra bibs for the Run to Remember Saturday morning in Baltimore.



After a little encouraging from Katye, I pushed my study plans to later in the day and decided at 9 to run the race and I am ever glad I did. It was her 5K groups first 5k and having run with them before, I was excited to head out and support the group however I could. They are some awesome people who had a GREAT coach and did fantastic.


After parking, I started to the race start and was followed by approximately 50 BCPD cadets who were running in formation and singing. It was really something to see, so I stood to the side and watched them head up the street before continuing. I found Katye and her group in the am and then we headed over to the port a pot line. Bib securely fastened, I noticed the girl in front of me look A LOT like a blogger I just started following last week. Finally, after a few minutes, I decided to ask her if she wrote the Blissful Runner (AKA Olivia—go check her out—she is super fast and writes really well) and was glad I received confirmation (mainly so I didn’t look like a crazy lady, but it was REALLY nice to meet another blogger). We chatted briefly, and then her turn came for the port a pot and we all wished each other well. I was a complete goof, with my phone in my spibelt and me forgetting and getting no pictures!


Katye’s group took some pictures and before we knew it, it was time to head to the start. There were some really lovely words given by Josh from Charm City Run, Baltimore’s mayor and police chief. We also had a wonderful color guard ceremony with someone from the Police Department playing the bagpipes. In front of the start, a HUGE flag was suspended from two fire truck ladders, so the whole prerace ceremony was extremely moving.


Before I knew it, we were off. I had no race plan for this, since it was so last minute. With Helga on her way to the Garmin Hospital (they are either fixing or replacing her) and a dead shuffle (which I found out just as we were starting---grrrr) I wanted to enjoy the beautiful morning in a beautiful city.


The first mile and a half went by quickly as I took in the people around me (the SWAT team, the cadets). In typical graceful Erin fashion, I managed to step in a hole in the road and twist my previously broken ankle (from stepping in a hole---hmmmmm, maybe I should watch where I walk/run), so I took a little walk break to make sure it was ok. Shortly after I started walking, I saw two people from Katye’s 5k group and decided to stay with them for the rest of the race. I clearly could run faster because I was cracking jokes left and right, and every cross street thanking the police officers for their service. I encouraged them up the hills (because I am sick like that and ENJOY hills) and totally understand why Katye likes coaching so much---its awesome to help people push themselves!!


Before I knew it, we hit the three mile mark and were making the final turn. As we turned, I noticed a girl beside us who was struggling, especially at the sight of the final hill. I hung back, encouraged her, tried to pep her up and get her to the top. When she finally told me (in annoyance maybe???) to keep going and she needed to walk, I took the opportunity to kick it up the rest of the hill (it was no joke), wave to Katye and pick off a couple people before the finish corral.


My only gripe—they had more people than they expected (which is AWESOME because it benefits the city) so there was a pretty serious delay in getting across the finish line (to the tune of about 90 – 100 seconds) and in a non-chip timed race, it added some serious time to my final time. We came to a dead stop after my sprint up the hill (no good—I wanted to Ralph) and I was fidgety to cross the finish line and get some water and a banana (which they ran out of not long after I finished).  My final time was 40:50, but I figured I was closer to 37 (Hey---I did say I was clearly not running as fast as I could)






We all met up in the park and it was so awesome to see how excited the group was as they finished and continued to cheer their group members on (seriously, how awesomely supportive is the running community???). They took some more pictures (check them out here) and finally, the group started to break apart and head to our cars.






For a small race (that will get bigger every year), this was one of the best races I have ever done. Maybe because of the cause, maybe because there was no pressure, or maybe because it was a time to reflect and support those around us who serve; either way, it was a can’t miss race that I almost missed! I am sure this will be making this a regular run on my fall schedule in upcoming years.






I promise tonight I will have the information about my 50th follower giveaway--just busy with this whole having to start studying again. It’s worth the wait, I swear!!

Happy Running!

The Line of Death

After my Labor Day adventures, I put Helga (my trusty Garmin 405CX) in my purse. I took a rest day on Tuesday (my legs felt like they were going to fall off) and went to spin class last night. When I came home last night, I decided to put her on the charger to get ready for tonight’s tempo run.


Before I clipped her in, she was fine. She was showing the date, I pushed a few buttons—all was well. I clipped her in, expecting the beep indicating that she was charging, but instead, she went blank. I freaked out.

I promptly got on my computer and did some Google searches and found some advice--keep her on the clip and try a master reset. I attempted that, and after about 8 seconds, was greeted with the line of death. I left her on the charger all night and was getting the same results this morning. NOOOOOO!!!!


Maybe I should have seen it coming. Saturday, during my seven miles, she was temperamental and quit about 4.5 miles into it. I charged her on Saturday once I got back and she appeared to be fine. On my Labor Day adventure, she handled all 11.5 miles, so I guessed that Saturday had been a fluke.


I have heard this is not uncommon with this model, so I am hoping it will be easily remedied. My husband had a similar problem with his golf Garmin (line of death and all) and Garmin was super friendly and fixed it with no problems. Fingers crossed that Helga will make a rise from the dead with the help of Garmin Customer Support.


In other news—Spin class has become my new favorite type of cross training. It’s hard, it kills my thighs, and I am a sweaty, messy beast when I am done, but boy oh boy; it’s a killer workout.

In a spin class, you have an instructor who comes up with various scenarios for you to peddle to, along with music with a beat similar to your cadence. Based on the tension, and your sitting or standing position on the bike, you are able to create a resistance similar to what you should be visualizing.


The hour goes by super fast. The instructor I have taken the last couple of times is really great—she explains how you should have your bike set up, how you should sit and how you should peddle (flat feet—no pointed toes). She does a great job creating a challenging workout and she really encourages you to crank up your resistance in order to get a better work out (she uses a lot of “this is your workout—you know what you can handle” guilt) and I find myself really turning up my resistance.


I followed the spin class up with some ab work and some arm work with EB (coworker) and felt like I had an awesome, complete workout. My arms are sore, my legs are tired (in a good way) and my abs might have muscles in them now!


Sadly, after feeling so great following my workout, I had to deal with the line of death on Helga, but I am still feeling the afterglow of a great workout this morning.

I am going to call Garmin in a few minutes, so wish me luck. Somehow I will get my tempo run in tonight!

Happy Running All!!


PS—check back tomorrow. I should have my 50th follower giveaway posted by the evening!

Adventures in Running

If you read Katye’s blog, you probably heard about our adventures in running yesterday. Haven’t heard it? Be prepared to shake your head in sheer amazement.


 Sunday, Katye sent me a text to see if I wanted to run. Since I was already planning on getting 6 miles in, I thought it would be fun to go up by her and run together. We started out at a great pace (for me—more like a slow jog for her—but whatever) and carried on for about 2 or 2.5 miles. I started running intervals and urged Katye to keep going at her pace because I hate feeling like I am holding her back. And that was the last I saw of her. She was hard to miss (bright yellow tank, blue and yellow skirt, super tall with a crazy ponytail) I kept going, thinking she decided to try for a further mileage and I felt good so I might as well up my mileage.

 I hit 4 miles and after looking up and down the trail, I decided to track back, sure I would see her at some point. I was looking ahead of me, behind me and all around and no Katye. I figured maybe she was feeling great and taking advantage of it, much like I had.


I got back to our starting point, tried to fill up my handheld  at the water fountain(seriously, no water??) and peeked down the trail in both directions. I decided to head back up the trail, convinced that Katye was doing 15 miles or something crazy like that. I got another mile and a half up the trail and still never saw her. At that point, I decided to turn back and head to my car. Since I was not running with my phone on me (because I was running with Katye after all, AND I had my trusty Road ID on me) I made sure to grab it from my car before I grabbed my extra water bottle. I had about 4 missed calls, a voice mail and several text messages from Katye. I felt so bad that I worried her so much that I have ordered a spibelt so I can carry my phone with me from now on (when I run solo, I always carry my cell on me).

 The only thing I can think that might have caused us to miss each other (and I am thinking it happened more than once) is the number of people on the trail and the large groups of bikers. Did I mention this trail can get pretty narrow too? At the time, it was pretty scary and worrisome (not to mention puzzling), but knowing we are both ok, it’s kind of funny.


So, I managed to nearly double my planned miles (11.5, thank you very much) which brought my labor day weekend total to 18.5 miles. I ran 7 Saturday (2.5 with my TNT group, 4.5 with Katye’s 5K Group). My legs feel like they want to fall off. I was too much of a chicken to take a full ice bath after our running adventure yesterday, so after my shower, I stayed in a bit longer, turned the water all the way to cold and let the stream hit my legs. It wasn’t bad, temperature wise, and it felt great on my legs. Honestly, I might be able to up the ante and go straight for a full ice bath next time.
In other news, I now have my 50th follower (hi Kim!!) so it means a giveaway for you guys. Keep your eyes peeled for the next couple of days for what its going to be!!
Also, make sure you go over to Jamie and tell her congrats. The Girl ran her first half marathon down in VA Beach with a wonderful time. Make sure you give her all the love she deserves!!!
Happy Running everyone!

Maybe I have the golden horseshoe!

A quick post to let you know that I got picked from the waitlist to run the Baltimore Half Marathon on 10-16-10.  Soooo excited--I think I squealed at my desk when the email came across.

Also--I may have one bib for the Army 10 Miler up for grabs for a friend who can't run.  Email me here if you are interested and I will let you know if you would be interested in the race. 

Look for a full post tonight.  I had my first experience with a spin class last night, and there is lots to tell!