My Oatmeal Review

Hello all!:) Hope everyone is doing well! I’ve been so busy with school, but it’s finally winding down! Hallelujah! My finals start in about 3 weeks, and I will officially be on break on May 7th. I just gotta keep going until then. Break is soo close!:)

Anyway, a while back I got the opportunity through Fit Approach to receive my own custom oatmeal from My oatmeal! I went to the website because this sounded like a fun thing to do! I LOVE oatmeal! It is one of my go-to breakfasts because it’s quick, filling, and delicious. I always eat breakfast before class because it helps me focus better on the lectures.

Using My Oatmeal was really easy! You just can go to their products page(which I linked above), and customize your own bag! They had so many different combinations you can make. I couldn’t decide what to make so I went with one of my favorites and decided to go with banana nut bread flavor. I added walnuts, chia seeds, and monk fruit to sweeten it. Another fun thing is that you get to name your oatmeal creation! I am not very creative so I name mine “Banana bread dream” because I absolutely love banana bread. I got the oatmeal in the mail in about a week, and I could not wait to try it!

I made an oatmeal bake! 🙂

Since I love banana bread, I decided to make an oatmeal bake! It was too good! I loved the chia seeds and walnuts in it, and I also love the flavor the monk fruit gave my oatmeal. I seriously recommend trying this if you like oatmeal. It’s fun to make create your own bag of oatmeal, and you can add whatever you want to it. They have a lot of great add-ins like dried fruit, nuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, among other things! They also have 3 different sizes of bags you can order, but I just ordered the 1 lb bag, which was plenty for me.

The finished product!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

What is your favorite breakfast?
Oatmeal for me, but I also love toast with pb and banana slices:)

*Disclaimer: I did receive this item via Fit Approach, but all my opinions and thoughts are my own.

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by busylivinghealthy on April 11, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Food, Healthy eating, Sweat Pink

Tagged breakfast, Fit Approach, my oatmeal, sweat pink

Posted by busylivinghealthy on April 11, 2014

https://busylivinghealthy.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/my-oatmeal-review/

Get Skinny Again! review

Hey y’all! It’s been too long since I’ve been on here! School has kept me super busy that I barely have any free time. I’m hoping to post a little bit more about my training though. I’m training for my 5th half marathon!!:)

A few weeks ago, I received the book Get Skinny Again! by Sarah Dussault through FitFluential.

Sarah says, ” I want you to feell sexy and confident again. I’m going to show you my favorite moves that will sculpt and lift your cute little butt. I’m going to teach you the sweaty interval workouts I love that helped me melt fat and I’ll list for you the ingredients to keep on hand so you can make nutritious, simple, delicious meals.”

COUNT ME IN! I want a nice butt!;)

I am loving the workouts in this book! There’s a bit of everything in this. From at home workouts, to workouts that can be done at the gym to workouts that can be done in 10 minutes if you don’t have a lot of time.

I personally absolutely LOVED the “Time to spare 10 minutes” workouts because like I mentioned, I’m super busy with school, and I don’t have a lot of time to workout. I’m also training for a half marathon, so if I do have spare time, I usually use it to fit my run in, and I neglect strength training a lot so these have helped me fit in some strength!
I also love that for every workout, there are pictures that show exactly how to do the moves. I sometimes struggle with workouts because I’m not sure if I’m doing the moves correctly, but having the pictures help so much!

I’ve been enjoying all these workouts. They’re a fun way to switch up your routine, and you can do them anywhere with no to little equipment.

Not only does this book have workouts, but Sarah also includes nutrition advice and super easy recipes that aren’t difficult or take much time. I love easy recipes that also taste good. One of my favorites was the “Post-workout On-the-go protein muffins.” I always like having a bar or protein muffins on hand for a snack or as dessert.

I also really loved the “Summer Quinoa Salad” for a quick lunch or dinner.
The recipes included breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert. They’re all really clean, whole foods. She also includes a shopping list with categories that include dried spices and condiments to have on hand, staples you go through quickly, items to purchase every week and every 2 weeks. This is so helpful especially if you’re new to eating clean.:)

Sarah also includes advice for going out drinking with friends and also living life while losing weight or toning up. I really loved that she says that we need to find a happy balance. I know being in college it can be hard to eat super clean all the time, and I’ve had to find a happy balance so I’m not miserable and still enjoying going out with friends.:)

I really recommend this book to anyone especially college students that want to get healthier and fitter. It’s really such a great book, and I know I will be using this a lot to stay for and healthy with my busy schedule. I will probably be buying a few extra copies to gift to my friends because I truly loved this book so much!

What is your favorite way to sweat?
Mine has to be running, but I do like to switch it up with some HIIT workouts.

*I was given this book through Fitfluential to review, but all opinions are my own.

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by busylivinghealthy on March 22, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in FitFluential, Reviews, Running, Workout

Tagged FitFluential, get skinny again, sarah dussault, sarah fit, workout

Posted by busylivinghealthy on March 22, 2014

https://busylivinghealthy.wordpress.com/2014/03/22/get-skinny-again-review/

Route 66 Half Marathon & meeting Bart Yasso

This weekend was great! Cold, but great. I’ve mentioned before the week after I got back from San Francisco, I decided that I wanted to run the Route 66 half marathon. Signing up for it would work out great because my brother was already signed up to run it too. I wouldn’t have to drive up alone, and I would have a place to stay. Perfect.:) I signed up for this race so I could beat my PR. After walking the last half of the Oklahoma City Memorial half marathon due to my right IT band giving me issues, I’ve been really wanting to have a great race. For NWM, I was just determined to have fun, enjoy the view, but definitely not race it. I felt like I had a PR in me so I signed up for the Route 66 half.

So Oklahoma weather is unpredictable, and I’m pretty sure everyone knows that. Guess who decided this last weekend would be great to have a cold front come in? Haha. It started sleeting on Saturday, and I figured it would be cold all weekend so I packed my warm running clothes and some shorts (I was hopeful for warm weather. womp.) I drove to my mom’s house then drove to my brother’s house to spend the night since we were leaving early Saturday morning (like 9AM which isn’t too early ha). We ended up leaving around 10AM, then it was a 2 hour drive to Tulsa, picked up our packets, ate lunch, did some shopping, went back to the expo, and we were able to catch the last presentation by Bart Yasso.

The presentation by Bart was great. He talked to us about how we should dress for the cold weather (hello 26 degrees), then talked some about his book “My Life on the Run.” He told us we should get a hat and gloves for the race, and since neither my bro nor I had a hat, we kept saying “Bart said we needed a hat so we HAVE to get a hat.” Then we would laugh while everyone else wondered what we were talking about. Lolz bro and sis inside joke. Just kidding. Kinda.;) I was very glad that he mentioned getting a hat because it was very nice having it on race day, especially since it never got warmer than 27 degree!! (Thanks Oklahoma.) After his presentation, he said he had some books with him, and he would sign them. So of course, I had to jump at this opportunity! He was so nice!

Meeting Bart!

Bart and I! It was so great meeting him!:)

After the expo, we headed to Pei Wei to eat dinner with my sister-in-law’s family. Then, we headed to Dick’s Sporting Goods to find running hats. After that, we went to Panera to get some hot cocoa, then headed back to where we were staying since we were getting up early the next morning.

Race Day:

I woke up around 5:45(?) so we could go grab coffee before the race. I had a chocolate chip bagel and latte to get me going to the race, and I also hoped the coffee would warm me up. No luck. We waited in our car for about 30 minutes then walked to the finish line. I really like that the race didn’t open up the corrals until about 10 minutes until race time which gave everyone a chance to get to where they wanted to be in the corral.

Before the race! My mom said I looked “sleepy.” Thanks mom! haha

My brother was in corral A so he got started fairly quickly, but I was in corral D, so it took me about 17 minutes to cross the starting line. My toes were frozen, and I probably didn’t warm up until about mile 3. My head sweats a lot, which is gross, so I had a few people tell me I had icicles in my hair. No biggie right? Haha before that I felt something hitting my back, and I couldn’t figure out what it was so I touched my hair and there it was.

New hair trend for the holidays?

The course was great overall. There were some hills, but what goes up must come down. Sometimes. It did in this race though. The half and full marathon split at about mile 12, I believe, and I was really happy I was not turning with the full marathoners. I was so ready for a hot shower. I saw the finish line, and I decided that I would sprint towards it, but when I tried to sprint, my legs really wouldn’t go anywhere. My body clearly wasn’t on the same page. I was satisfied with just not walking at this point. I finally crossed the finish line, and I got my PR. My brother finished in 1:54:xx so he did awesome too!

After the race!

I’m so glad I have someone who loves running as much as I do. It’s much more fun having someone to get to the starting line with and check out the expos with. Also, just to talk about training with since I know my mom and dad probably get tired of hearing me talk. Heh.:)

I’m definitely more sore than I was after the Nike Women’s half, but I loved this race too! I would definitely recommend running either the Route 66 marathon/half marathon or the OKC Memorial marathon. They are both amazing races! I love my home!:)

Any races coming up?

What’s the best race you’ve run?

3 Comments

by busylivinghealthy on November 25, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in FitFluential, Races, Running, Sweat Pink

Tagged Bart Yasso, half marathon, marathon, Race, route 66, running, Tulsa

Posted by busylivinghealthy on November 25, 2013

https://busylivinghealthy.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/route-66-half-marathon-meeting-bart-yasso/

On to the next half marathon.

Soon after getting back from San Francisco, I was ready to sign up for my next half marathon. I had been eyeing the Route 66 Marathon half marathon race for a while, but since I got hurt after the Memorial marathon in April, I decided to take it one race at a time. My big/fun Fall race was obviously the Nike Women’s half Marathon so I just wanted to make it healthy to the starting line. I knew that if my IT band didn’t cooperate, I would still finish then take the rest of the year off to get better. I was very blessed that I came out from this race with a small PR, but a PR none the less, but also I came out injury free! I also recovered a lot faster than I expected to!. I didn’t even feel that sore the day after the race.

Anyways, a few days after the NWM, I started eyeing the Route 66 half again. My brother is running it too, so I wouldn’t have to worry about transportation or having a place to stay. I am happy to say that I signed up for this one, and I would love to run a lot faster than I did at San Fran. I’ve continued with my training, and I am just enjoying it so much right now. I’m very excited to see what I can do on the Tulsa course. I’ve been running a little faster. Guys, I want to run fast. And I want to run long. My body just wants to go. I’ve never had such an urge to just go. I’m trying to enjoy it as much as I can.

So my training recently has been pretty great. For me, anyways.:)

I know for some, this isn’t a lot of mileage per month, but this is pretty high for me. I really want to increase my mileage slowly so my IT band cooperates. I eventually do want to run a marathon, but with school and work, right now just doesn’t work for me. Also, I really enjoy running the 13.1 distance. I’m going to try to enjoy it as much as I can. If I ever get tired of it, then I will focus on something else or maybe take a break from racing because I cannot take a break completely off running. It keeps me sane.:)

I’m really excited to have another half marathon in a few weeks. My biggest goal is to get to the starting line healthy and to have fun.

Did you guys see the interview with Meb? I absolutely loved it so much. He’s seriously so inspirational.

http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/250963-New-York-City-Marathon-2013/video/723682-Meb-Keflezighi-body-shut-down-from-lack-of-training-in-NYC-Marathon-2013-full-interview

Watch more video of New York City Marathon 2013 on flotrack.org

Any races coming up?

Who ran/spectated the NYC Marathon?

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by busylivinghealthy on November 4, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by busylivinghealthy on November 4, 2013

https://busylivinghealthy.wordpress.com/2013/11/04/on-to-the-next-half-marathon/

Nike Women’s Half Marathon San Francisco

Guys, I ran the best/most difficult/challenging/amazing race of my life. San Francisco was amazing. I had the best weekend, and I’m so thankful it didn’t end too fast. I didn’t get to explore very much of San Fran, but the few places we did see were amazing.

Also, not only was I visiting California for the first time in my life, but I also flew on an airplane for the first time. Crazy stuff:)

All last week, I seriously could not wait for Friday to come. I have never been so excited to travel. The fact that the destination was my dream race did not make being patient easy at all. I packed all my stuff Thursday night and made sure to have my race clothes, shoes, and anything else I needed in my carry-on just in case my luggage were to get lost. Luckily, we all made it there and back with our luggage.

Friday:

I woke up Friday morning around 7:30 since our plane was supposed to leave at 12:30, and the airport is about an hour away from my house. My brother was supposed to pick me up at 10 to get to the airport, but he was running late. I was really scared that we were going to miss our flight since I’ve never been on a plane before. We got there with just enough time before we had to board our plane. I ended up sitting behind my brother and sister-in-law, and I luckily got to sit next to a really nice lady. We chatted almost all of the way to Vegas. We finally arrived in Vegas, and we ate lunch, then played a bit on the slot machines while we were waiting for our next flight. I won $60 which I thought was pretty awesome since I have only played once in my life. We finally hopped onto our plane to head to San Francisco. It took less than 2 hours to make it to San Francisco. We hopped off the plane, grabbed our luggage, then waited to get a cab. Once we stepped outside and saw all of the cabs, we knew we weren’t in Oklahoma anymore.

Outside the San Fran airport

Traffic was insane. I was definitely not used to it so I’m glad we took a cab instead of getting a rental car.

Our cab driver took us to our hotel, we checked-in, then headed to the expo. I was so happy it was only 2 blocks from our hotel.

#WerunSF

I picked up my race packet, then got my goodie bag and walked around the expo a bit since it was about to close. We then walked across to Macy’s to eat because my sis-in-law wanted to eat at The Cheesecake Factory, but there was an hour and ten minute wait for a table. We decided we didn’t want to wait that long.

We ended up going to the next floor and eating at a burger place. After that we walked around a bit then headed back to our hotel since we were tired from traveling almost all day.

Saturday:

We woke up the next morning, got ready, grabbed some Starbucks, and headed to the Nike store because I wanted to grab some of the race gear. We had to stand about 15-20 minutes in the line before they let us in. Once we were in though, it was packed. I grabbed a hat, water bottle, t-shirt, jacket, and socks, then headed to pay. By the time I went to line up to pay, the line had died down a lot. I had mentioned to brother earlier that outside the Nike store, they would put all the runners name on the glass windows, so while I was paying for my stuff, he found my name!!

My name on the Nike wall!!

I have always wanted to see my name on their. This was definitely exciting for me. It also made me more excited because my brother was excited that he found my name, and he thought it was awesome.:)

After that excitement, we went to grab lunch, then headed back to the hotel. My brother and sister-in-law took a nap, and I watched Modern Family and ate a snack. When they woke up, my brother went back to the expo so we could check it out. It was pretty awesome.

I got this airbrushed on my arm for inspiration!

The expo was about to close so we went to grab dinner at Subway and headed back to the hotel so I could get to sleep since I would be waking up pretty early. I foamed rolled my legs since we had walked quite a bit during the day.

Sunday: Race day!

I woke up around 4:15am to eat breakfast, get ready, and stretch my legs. I ended up being ready with plenty of time to spare. I had my usual coffee, toast with almond butter, and banana pre-race breakfast. I took my chews in my spibelt, along with my phone. Even though the starting line was only 2 blocks away, my brother walked to the starting line. It was so awesome because he was so amazed that there were so many people there to run. He couldn’t believe there were so many people dedicated to this. It’s cool when other people who aren’t runners realize how cool races are. He told me “I really respect what you all do.” I finally got to the starting line, and it was crazy! There was loud music, and everyone was pumped up to start. I think I finally crossed the starting line about 6:50 which wasn’t too bad.

The start!

I absolutely loved the scenery of this race! Running by the bay was amazing, and the weather was almost perfect. It was a bit humid, but I was too distracted either by the scenery or the hills to pay too much attention to the humidity. I tried not to think about the hills too much before the race. I knew there would be intense, but I didn’t realize how intense they would be. I felt like I was climbing mountains.;) I tried to just take one hill at a time, which worked out pretty well for me.

One of the hills.

I was feeling pretty strong until about mile 8. My energy dropped a bit, and I felt pretty thirsty. I had my Gu chomps, but I don’t think I ate enough of them to help keep my energy up. Or maybe the hills took a little more out of me than I expected them to. At one point, I did pass the 2:15 pacer which made me really excited, but I think they passed me when I was walking up a hill. Ooops. I finally made it to the end, and I was sooo happy. This was definitely the most challenging course I ever ran, but it felt so great to complete it.:)

TIFANY & CO NECKLACE!!!! EEEEE!!!!:)

I’m so obsessed with my necklace! I’ve been wearing it proudly because I definitely worked hard for it, and it’s also from my dream race.:)

Isn’t it beautiful? 🙂

After the race, it did take me a while to find my brother, but I was so happy when I finally did. He found me, gave me a hug, and told me congratulations for finishing. It’s really awesome to have people to be supportive of something you love and work so hard towards. My two other brothers texted me good luck since they were there with me and told me they also were very proud. My parents did too. I’m very blessed with an awesome family.:) They knew this race meant a lot to me, and they supported me through all of it.

Back at the hotel with my finishers medal:)

We headed back home after the race, and we didn’t arrive until about 11pm. It was a quick trip, but so fun, and I loved every minute of it.:) I really think the weekend didn’t go by too fast because I was soaking in every moment.

Overall, this was one of the best races I have ever ran. I thought it was well-organized and there were so many great volunteers along the course. I would definitely love to run it again if I can.

It was seriously such an amazing weekend, and I’m so glad God kept me healthy and injury free all the way to the start and finish of the race. I’m happy to say that finally

I RAN SAN FRAN!

Who else has run the Nike Women’s marathon or half?

Did you have any big races this weekend?

22 Comments

by busylivinghealthy on October 22, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in FitFluential, Races, Running, Sweat Pink

Tagged half marathon, Nike, Nike Women's Marathon 2013, NWM, races, running, San Francisco

Posted by busylivinghealthy on October 22, 2013

https://busylivinghealthy.wordpress.com/2013/10/22/nike-womens-half-marathon-san-francisco/

Back in full swing with training.

Hey y’all! I hope everyone has been great! It’s been wayyy too long since I’ve been on here, and I definitely miss it! School is back, and I’ve been knocking out my classes.

I’ve been training for the NIKE WOMEN’S HALF MARATHON, and it’s going pretty great! 🙂 Other than some discomfort with my IT band, things have been good. My mom and dad are the best and bought me some new running shoes for my birthday. It was an early birthday present since I have the Red Coyote Runtoberfest 5K run this Sunday. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned how much I love Red Coyote Running in OKC, but they seriously have the best staff. They were so helpful in helping me find a shoe with more support. I also got a strap for my IT band. I’ve used it on my 10 mile long run and on a short run, and so far, it has worked great.

My new shoes! Nike Structure 17.

My IT band strap.

Besides running, I’ve been eating. A lot. Or at least it seems like it. I’m pretty sure everyone can relate to feeling like a bottomless pit at times especially when training. One thing I’ve really enjoyed is a pumpkin spice mugcake. So good, and it helps control my sweet tooth.

Topped with almond butter, of course. 🙂

I hope everyone is great!

Are you training for any Fall races?

What is your favorite thing about Fall?

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by busylivinghealthy on October 2, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in FitFluential, Life, Running, Sweat Pink

Tagged half marathon, Nike Women's Marathon, races, Red Coyote Running, running

Posted by busylivinghealthy on October 2, 2013

https://busylivinghealthy.wordpress.com/2013/10/02/back-in-full-swing-with-training/

Coming back from an injury and signing up for my dream race.

Hey! I hope everyone has been having a great summer!:) I have been so busy, so a blogging break happened without me planning it.

I’ve been working a lot, I completed my 3-week internship, and I’m happy to say that I learned quite a bit. It was really cool working in a different environment than I’m used to, but I did miss my job.

I’ve been so excited because I have been back out running again.:) I never realized how much I would miss running until of course, I couldn’t run anymore. I think I ended up about two months off altogether which I think was the best thing for my IT band. I appreciate the advice everyone gave me because it was super helpful. I also got some advice from Janae since she had dealt with an IT band injury. I’ve been stretching a lot, and doing some exercises to strengthen my glutes. This post that Janae wrote is really helpful.

Besides getting back into running, I did something I thought I would not do until a few years later. I signed up for the Nike Women’s half marathon in San Francisco!!! Since I started running, my ultimate goal was to run this race, whether it was the half or full marathon. I seriously cannot wait! My best friend, Kate, is coming with me for the weekend, and it means the world to me that she will be there to support me.

I’m thinking that if the NWM half goes well, then I might try to run the Tulsa Route 66 half marathon also that’s about a month later. My brother, Adrian, is running the full marathon so I will probably be there anyway. I’ve never done back to back half marathons so I think it would be fun to do if my knee cooperates.:)

Who will be running the Nike Women’s marathon in San Francisco?
Are you training for any fall races? How’s it going?

7 Comments

by busylivinghealthy on July 31, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in FitFluential, Life, Running, Sweat Pink

Tagged half marathon, injury, IT band, Nike Women's Marathon

Posted by busylivinghealthy on July 31, 2013

https://busylivinghealthy.wordpress.com/2013/07/31/coming-back-from-an-injury-and-signing-up-for-my-dream-race/

Injuries are…frustrating

Workout:

2 mile run: 21:00 minutes
40 minutes on the elliptical

Hi all! First off, I would like to ask everyone to please still keep Oklahoma in your prayers. My beloved, home state has gone through some tough days, but in the midst of tragedy, I see how truly great not only Oklahomans are, but everyone else in the world. Seeing all of your posts saying that you guys are praying meant so much to me. I was very blessed that the tornadoes did not come in my direction, but the scary thing is that it could have been my hometown that could have gotten hit by those tornadoes, especially since I live about 30-50 miles away from where all the tornadoes hit. So again thank you so much for praying for my home state. This isn’t the first tragedy Oklahoma has faced, but I’m glad to know that with the help of others, we will rise again stronger than ever. 🙂

Alright, so on my last post I mentioned that I had issues with my IT band during the half marathon. It has gotten better, but I can only make it barely 2 miles before I start feeling some pain again. I don’t like to push it because I don’t want to make it worse, so I’ve been just running the 2 miles then cross training like crazy so I can keep my endurance. I’ve been hitting the gym a lot lately which I am loving. Gotta love those endorphins. 😉 I have also been doing a zumba video in my garage for fun and to switch things up. 🙂 I’m loving that too.

I bought myself a little gift to help with cross training. I finally got a Polar heart rate monitor!! It’s a FT4. My best friend, Kate, bought one and loved it so I knew it would help my workouts. I love that it helps me push myself especially since I can see how hard I am working.

Besides crosstraining, I’ve been trying to clean up my diet. I hate to say it, but finals took a toll on my good eating habits, and they were kinda thrown out the window. But with this injury, I also want to lose a bit of weight to maybe help with taking some of the pressure off my knee to see if it will help. It could help, or it could not, but I just want to get back into running pain free.

Favorite Kind bar

This is my favorite flavor of Kind bar at the moment! It’s so delicious, and it reminds me of pecan pie filling. So good. If you like blueberries and pecans, I really recommend this. 🙂

Yesterday, my niece and nephew had their final gymnastics class so I went to watch them because they were going to get awards. It was so adorable to see all the kids going up on the podium and showing off their medals. It made me miss my days when I was in tumbling. I tumbled for 8 years and cheered for 7 years. I had a good time, but I traded my cheer shoes for running shoes. 😉

After their class, we went to eat at Chik-fil-a!! I love that place so much, and their lemonade is my favorite!

I clearly couldn’t wait to take a bite before I took the picture.

I decided to grab some fries because I was really craving them and rarely eat fries anyways. SO GOOD.

Anyways, I hope everyone has a great day and gets their sweat on. 🙂

I’ve asked this before, but if you had IT band issues, how did you deal with them?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Favorite meal??
Chik-fil-a grilled chicken sandwich. 🙂

16 Comments

by busylivinghealthy on May 21, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in FitFluential, Life, Sweat Pink, Workout

Tagged FT4, heart rate, issues, IT band, knee pain, Polar

Posted by busylivinghealthy on May 21, 2013

https://busylivinghealthy.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/injuries-are-frustrating/

OKC Memorial Marathon 2013

Hey guys!

So last weekend was awesome! The OKC Memorial Marathon is awesome. Everyone that ran the race or spectated the race was awesome. Have I ever mentioned how much I love the running community? It’s seriously the best filled with such amazing people. All of last week, I was PUMPED for this half. More excited than I have ever been for ANY race. Not that I wasn’t excited for other races, but this is what I spent the last 4 months training for. I was so ready to go out there and get my beloved PR. I really felt I could beat last year’s half marathon time by AT LEAST 10 minutes which to me was so so exciting.

My oldest brother and I headed to the expo on Saturday morning to pick up our packets. This is when things started to get real.:) Being at the expo made me even more excited than I already was (I’m surprised I didn’t have a heart attack;). We were looking around the expo, and of course, I still didn’t have any idea of what I wanted to wear except I knew that I wanted to wear a tank. I was walking past one of the booths, and I spotted this super cute tank. I went over and decided that THIS was my race day tank. Then I noticed it was completely see through. Crap. I knew this was meant to be when I found the gray tank to go underneath the pink mesh tank in my size. Perfect.:) I had to buy it (of course), and they were also offering a 20% discount.

Brooks tank with another gray brooks tank underneath

We walked around a while longer then I saw the wall of bibs for the people who were in the OKC bombing.

No one gets a bib number below 169. Every victim gets their own bib which is just amazing. By the way, the lady clearly didn’t realize she was in my picture. Oops;)

After the expo we headed home, then around 7, we went back to OKC to spend the night in a hotel. My brother and I flipped a coin. I lost so I had to sleep on the pull out couch.

Race morning:

I woke up two minutes before my 4AM alarm went off. I was excited. I had my usual breakfast, and I took my Keurig with me for some coffee.

Adrian and I in the port-a-potty line

We waited like 30 minutes for a shuttle to pick us up so when we arrived at the race, we kinda had to hurry to go to the bathroom and get lined up. We didn’t end up in our corral so we didnt’ start until about 10 minutes after the starting time.

My bros and I before the race started

We finally made it across the starting line. It was a little congested at first, but by mile 1, I was in a good pace. I felt awesome the first half of the race. Around mile 8 things started to go downhill. My IT band started bothering so I stopped at a medical tent to see if they could tape it. Unfortunately, that didn’t help. As I kept going, it got worse, of course. By mile 10, I was walking. I finished the race walking because no one was there to pick me up. We rode the shuttle so we didn’t have a car. I finally finished in 2:44:xx. I’m not going to lie, I was pretty disappointed. But not every race is going to be great, and I just have to keep reminding myself that. It’s hard, especially when you know you’re goal was within reach…until my IT band decided to be a jerk. lol.

I really really want to do another half marathon. Unfortunately, there aren’t any in OK until the fall. I guess it’s better so I can give my knee the rest it needs. I’ve been icing, stretching, and foam rolling A LOT this week, and it feels 20 times better! I hope to get moving again soon. 🙂

Have you ever had IT band issues? How did you make it better?

3 Comments

by busylivinghealthy on May 3, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in FitFluential, Races, Running, Sweat Pink

Tagged issues, IT band, marathon, Memorial, OKC, running

Posted by busylivinghealthy on May 3, 2013

https://busylivinghealthy.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/okc-memorial-marathon-2013/

Here We Go Again (OKC Memorial Half Marathon #2)

Hey y’all! I hope everyone is doing great. I’ve been super busy with school especially with finals starting next week. I cannot believe this semester is coming to an end. It seriously feels like we just started school yesterday. This semester has flown by. Besides being busy with school, I’ve been training for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. I’m not going to lie, I’ve missed quite a few training runs during the week, but I have completed all my long runs. A couple of weeks ago, I did a 14 mile run because I wanted to make sure my body could handle the half marathon. I was so excited when I finished because I felt great! Needless to say, I am very excited for Sunday! 🙂 This half marathon will also be more fun for me because I have two of my brothers running it with me! 🙂 Last year after I came home from the race, they both said they wanted to run it with me this year, and they both stuck to their word. I always try to convince people that running IS fun, but now my brothers have been able to experience for themselves. This will be our first race together for all three of us, but I’ve run a couple of shorter races with both of my bros.

Jose & I at the OKC Turkey Tracts 5K

Adrian & I at the Strides of March 5K in OKC

Like I said, I’m really excited that we will start the race together. I know eventually they will take off because they are quite a bit faster than I am, but just being able to have them there means a lot.

When I ran the half marathon last year, I felt like I had something to prove. A lot of people thought I was crazy and didn’t really think I was going to go through with it, and it felt so good to finish knowing that I had proved everyone wrong. Last year, I needed to finish this race to bring up confidence in myself. I had been through a semi rough year the year before so this race helped realize that if I set my mind to something, I can accomplish it. This year, this half marathon is about having fun. I would love to run faster than last year, but I just want to have fun especially since I’m running it with my brothers. This race will be a nice little break from the finals coming up.

What will I fuel with? I’ve tried a couple of different things, but my favorites have been the Gu chomps and Clif bloks.

Watermelon is my favorite flavor. I tried the gels, but they were just not agreeing with my stomach. It’s also easier for me to just chew these. I’m hoping to find a Spibelt or something similar to it so I can carry my chomps and phone with me during the race.

What’s on my half marathon playlist? Well as of right now, I don’t have a set playlist. I’m a slacker. I’m definitely a Top 40s hits girl so anything upbeat that is popular right now will likely be on my playlist.

Race day outfit and shoes? I don’t have an outfit picked out yet. (oops). I do have my shoes and socks picked out though. I’m wearing the Nike LunarGlides and some Lululemon socks.

Anyways, I’m off to get some studying done.

Are you racing this weekend?
Good luck to everyone that has a race!

Favorite running songs?
Help a girl out? 🙂

What do you carry your belongings in?

xoxo
Jessica

Leave a comment

by busylivinghealthy on April 26, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Life, Races, Running

Tagged family, half marathon, OKC Memorial, running

Posted by busylivinghealthy on April 26, 2013

https://busylivinghealthy.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/here-we-go-again-okc-memorial-half-marathon-2/

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