2016 Esprit de She Ambassador!

I'm so excited to announce that for the 4th year in a row I have been selected to be an ambassador for the Esprit de She race series!

It's been such an honor to represent this series since they first started back in 2013. They have a great message to send and it's been really cool to see them grow!

If you're looking for a great race experience for runners of all ages and fitness levels, this is definitely one to zero in on!  Before the race starts, you can walk around the marketplace and check out the different vendors, or stop by the beauty bar and get your hair braided or a mini massage to loosen up those muscles!

After the race is over, head into the Park Tavern's Southwest Porch and grab some SUPER tasty treats!  This past year we noshed on veggies and hummus, wraps, and spinach artichoke dip!  Don't forget to swing by the Bubbly Bar for a glass of wine to toast your race!

They know how to treat a girl right!  They always have a great race goodie bag and finisher shirts...and new this year for Atlanta, all finishers will receive a finisher's medal with a removable charm!  You can flaunt your medal after the race and have a small keepsake to wear every day to remind you of your race experience!

The Esprit de She race series offers many races across the country...even a few triathlons and duathlons along with running events!  You can check out where they'll be here. 

The ladies at Esprit de She were nice enough to give me a discount code to share with my readers...it gets you $5 off and it's good for ANY of their races!

Check them out and join me at the Esprit de She Atlanta 5k/10k on Thursday, November 3rd!

Until next time,

Jingle Jog 5k recap

I'm still trying to play catch up on my blog.  As I mentioned in my last blog post, I started a new job and my hours haven't exactly been consistent, so it's been hard for me to sit down and write up some blog posts.  

Last month I decided to run the Jingle Jog 5k in Cumming.  I ran this a couple of years ago and, while the course is a bit hilly (hey, it is Georgia) I wanted to see how I would do since my 5k time had been consistently improving.

I was fortunate enough to get a bib through J's company (thanks Hansgrohe!).  

As tradition has it (and to make it easier when I get up in the morning) I lay out Flat Jen - it made me laugh that I ended up with Bib 1....ha!

The race was only about 5 minutes from my house (yay for local races!) and it had a later start time, so I always welcome getting a few extra minutes of sleep.  Parking was super easy, and I had some time to stop by the Hansgrohe water table to chat with them as well as walk around to check out the fun outfits people were wearing.

 

As I walked around the race area, I heard someone yell "JEN!"  I turned around and saw my sweet friend, Zoila, and her hubby, Chris (who I went to college with).  




I hadn't see her since the Peachtree Road Race so it was wonderful to catch up with her!  Chris was running with some of his Army buddies, so Zoila decided to join me.  The only goal I had for this race was a course PR, and Zoila wanted to push herself a little more.

The race started right on time, and we were off!  Within the first half mile you go up a decent hill, but we stuck with our intervals and made it up.  The course has rolling hills (as do most race courses in Georgia) but we kept a good pace and enjoyed each others company.  The volunteers on the course were great, but there were some super creepy looking "gnomes"...they reminded me of a bad version of the dwarves from "Snow White".  I didn't get to take a picture of them, but just trust me on this one...

The nice thing about going up hills is that you have to come down, and we had a very nice downhill finish.  Once we crossed the finish line i saw that I got a 6 minute PR!  We walked up and got our shirts, some water, and then hung out for a bit.  One of our OTF members was also running so I walked back to the finish line to try and see her finish, but sadly I missed her! :( 

 

Although the website said "No dogs allowed", there were a couple of cute pups who trekked the 3.1 miles with their humans.

Local races are always fun to do, and this is one that I really enjoy.  I'll be back again next year gunning for that PR!

Did you do a Christmas race this year?  

Until next time,


 
 

Esprit de She Atlanta 5k recap

I have had the privilege of serving as an ambassador for the Esprit de She Atlanta race since it first came to Atlanta in 2013.  That year it was chilly and SUPER windy!  In 2014, I was unable to run as I was at Walt Disney World for the Wine and Dine half marathon.  But in 2015 I was ready to run again!

The awesome people at Lifetime and Gildan sure did know how to treat the ambassadors.  A couple of months before the race, I got a surprise pink package stuffed with shirts, socks, a hoodie, water bottle, and other goodies from Gildan!

Race day came and I wasn’t feeling super confident.  The weather was a little dreary but luckily, it ended up being a great night!  I recruited one of my OTF friends, Kimberly, to run the race “with” me (she’s faster than I, so we started together and she waited for me at the finish).

We arrived with time to spare before the race, so we checked out all the pre-race areas – they sure know how to make a girl feel special!  There was a “marketplace” full of vendors…Gildan, Girls on the Run, Aspire Beverage, Yoplait, Sunset Grown, and a beauty bar where you could get a mini massage, a manicure, and/or your hair done for the race!

They also provided a super easy and convenient bag drop off inside the Southwest Porch at the Park Tavern, which was great as it was nice to have something a little warm to put on after the race was over!

I got the opportunity to meet Abby, the National Brand manager and one of our ambassador contacts for the Esprit de She race series!  It was great talking to her and hearing her passion for the race as well as to hear inspirational stories of women who had participated in their various events throughout the year across the country.

Before we knew it, it was time for the race to begin!  Esprit de She brought in a very entertaining Zumba instructor to lead us in a warm-up.  I most certainly do NOT have the moves he does, but I had fun attempting them :)

After warm up was done, we lined up in the corral.  There were a lot of women who were running their first 5k!  It’s such a great first step and a huge accomplishment.  I remember running my first one and am thankful for taking that step in life.

Soon, we were off!  The course was fairly well lit…there were a few dark spots but I just slowed down when I felt like I needed to…my biggest fear was slipping on wet leaves as it had rained the entire day before.  I stuck with my intervals and felt great during the whole race.  The course winds through Piedmont Park with very little incline.  It’s mostly on a paved road/trail but there is a small part of it on a gravel/dirt trail.
I kept going back and forth with a woman in front of me and made it my goal to finish before her.  As I approached the finish line I kicked it up a notch and managed to pull ahead!

After crossing the finish line I went to turn off my GPS and noticed my time…could it be?  Did I just PR?  WOW!

Considering the conditions I was crazy proud of myself!  It was the 2nd time I’d PRed the 5k in 3 weeks!  This called for a celebration, so Kimberly and I headed into the Southwest Porch to grab some food, take some pictures and redeem our free drink from the bubbly bar.

We also walked around a little more and checked out some of the awesome vendors they had.  Those tomatoes were AMAZING!  They also had a pizza but we missed out on trying a slice of that.  Oh well!  I highly recommend checking out Aspire Beverages…it’s a sports drink with much less sugar than Gatorade or Powerade…I loved it and will be getting some of my own soon!

 

We had a great time at this year’s Esprit de She Atlanta 5k/10k race!  It’s a great event to get a bunch of your best running friends together, run a race, and party it up afterward!

Next year’s race will be on Thursday, November 3rd, at Piedmont Park again.  Mark it on your calendars and sign up today!  Use my referral code “EDS015” too for $5 off any registration in the United States!

Thanks for another great race, Esprit de She…see ya again next year!

Until next time,

River Run for Hope 10k recap

Since I registered for the Disneyland half marathon a little late, I panicked a bit since I hadn't run a 10k race since the 2014 Peachtree Road Race.  When I entered my finish time on the runDisney proof of time page, I was not pleased with my estimated finish time for the half.  I started looking frantically for a 10k race that I was in town for and thought I was out of luck...

...until I saw a post in one of my Facebook running groups.  There was a 10k race on Saturday , May 30th!  Talk about getting one in just in the nick of time!  I immediately signed up, hoping for the best for the race.

Race day came, and I woke up with a very unhappy stomach.  I was not feeling very confident about the race, but I knew it was my last chance, and even if I shaved off a couple of minutes from my proof of time, it would be better than what I already have, right?

The race was in Roswell, GA and started and ended at a Catholic church.  The race benefits the work of the Ghana Friendship Project's work.  It helps to supply medical and health care supplies, educational material and clothing to the people of Ghana.

Getting to the race was super easy.  I arrived at around 6:30 and had plenty of time to grab my bib and shirt, walk back to my car to get ready, and get to the finish line.  I kind of liked that I didn't have a lot of time to stand around.  I went to the race solo so I took some time to give myself a little pep talk (and a couple of pictures)

 

The race started promptly at 7 a.m. and we were off!  The weather was perfect....low 60s and overcast.  The humidity was a little high but the cool temperatures helped.  I wasn't able to find my interval timer the night before so I depended on my Garmin to tell me when to run and walk.  As the race started I skipped over the intervals until I got away from the crowd.  Mile 1 felt pretty good.  During mile 2 I started to struggle mentally and actually considered cutting my race short and making the turnoff for the 5k course.

But I didn't.

I pushed through and kept going.  Mile 2 I slowed down a bit, but really picked it up the rest of the race.  We ran for about a mile on a dirt road, which my knees enjoyed.  At this point in the race I started to make it a goal to pick people off in front of me.  Each time I passed the person in front of me I aimed to pass the next.  During mile 4, I realized that I could actually PR my 10k time.  I kept with my intervals and was shocked at the average pace per mile each time.  As we came up on the finish line I really kicked it into gear.  There was a nice little downhill toward the finish line and I sprinted toward it.  When I stopped my watch, I was at 1:16:55...a new PR!  I haven't PRed a 10k in over 2 years, so I was absolutely ecstatic with myself.

I grabbed a bottle of water and saw runners with freeze pops, so I scoped them out at the refreshment table and snagged an orange one.  So tasty after the race!

I was shocked when I looked at my splits....with the exception of mile 2, I had all negative splits!  Usually I get slower as the race goes on, but to run faster?  Go me!  When I got home I immediately entered my new proof of time into the runDisney website and was much happier with their estimated finish time for me.

I have to give so much credit to my trainers at Orangetheory Fitness.  I haven't run outside much lately...the only runs I've been doing have been on the treadmill during our workouts.  My workouts have really helped build my endurance and got me here.  I really got back my love of running during this race and I am already looking forward to meeting up with some friends on Saturday morning and getting some more miles in.

If you're looking for a great 10k race, I highly recommend the River Run for Hope.  Flat, fast course and it supports a great organization.  I'll definitely put this race on my calendar to run again.

92 days until Disneyland!!

Until next time,

Esprit de She Atlanta race entry giveaway winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered!   I know it was last minute but I'm glad that someone is getting to use the entry :)

And the lucky winner is....

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats, Elisabeth!  Shoot me an email at hellofitnessjen@gmail.com to claim your prize!  Have fun at the race!

I've got some race recaps to post in the next few days as well as my Wine and Dine trip coming up!  Stay tuned :)

Until next time,

Jen

2014 runDisney Wine & Dine medals revealed!

I was driving to work this morning when my BRF messaged me about the Wine and Dine medals...I had seen the first reveal of the medal for the half (you know...the one where everyone said it looked pink?)  Well this new picture squashed that...I love it!

While I'm not running the 5k, the medal is super cute!  And I'm loving Santa Duffy on the Kids Races medal!  The ribbon is interesting with the maroons and oranges in it.  I can't wait to have it hanging around my neck in a few months!

I know I haven't posted a Weekly Workout in awhile, but I am keeping up with my runs.  I had a really good 5 mile run this past Sunday :)  I'm feeling good about my training runs and am trying to work on not starting out so fast so I don't wear myself out.

What do you think of the medals?  Will I see you at Wine and Dine half weekend?

Until next time,

Jen

Beats by Dr Dre Review + Giveaway (closed)

Disclaimer: I was offered a complimentary set of Beats by Dr. Dre earbuds in exchange for a review and giveaway.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Before a run or a workout, one of the first things I do is grab my headphones so I can jam out to some music during exercise.  Hearing the upbeat music keeps me motivated and even helps with my cadence.

I’ve been using yurbuds but am always open to checking out new products.  Staples was kind enough to offer me a pair of Beats by Dr Dre headphones of my choice (up to $250 value) to review and share my thoughts on.  I chose the urbeats in-ear headphones as they had a feature that my yurbuds do not - the ability to answer phone calls and control my music all from the cable.



I’ve read good things about the urbeats headphones so I couldn’t wait to try them out!  I had intended on using them during the Esprit de She 5k back in November, but silly me forgot to check how they fit in my ear…too big :(  Luckily, they come with 4 different size ear bud attachments, so you’re bound to find one that fits your ear like a glove!

I always have an issue with the cord on my headphones getting crazy tangled up.  These ear buds have tangle free cords AND came with a handy little pouch to store them in when you aren’t using them.  Super clever!  I also love that they come with a clip to help manage the excess cable during your workouts.  I always have an issue with figuring out where to tuck the extra cable so it doesn't get in my way - the clip makes that so much easier.



Once I found the perfect size ear bud for my body, I took them for a spin on the stair climber at the gym.  They.Didn’t.Budge!  The sound quality was also fantastic.  I couldn’t hear anyone else around me on their machines or their conversations.   I love having the volume adjustment on the cord as well.  It’s so much easier to use than using the volume control on my phone.  Answering phone calls is easily done from the cable without having to fumble to pull an ear bud out and pick up your phone to your ear.  (I forgot to take a picture of myself at the gym, but I’m using them now to listen to Christmas music while I type up this post!)



Want a pair of your own?  Staples has graciously offered the winner of my giveaway their choice of Beats by Dr Dre product (up to $250 value) from here.  I know you’re probably busy buying gifts for friends and loved ones, so why not take a shot and enter to win something for yourself, right?

Enter using the Rafflecopter below.  The giveaway will begin on Wednesday, December 11, and end at midnight on Friday, December 20.  The winner will be announced by Friday afternoon.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Until next time,