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Thursday, October 11, 2012

Fall Fashionista Event

   Welcome to the semi-annual Fashionista Events, ALL FASHION, ONLY FASHION, Giveaway Event. This is the Largest Fashion giveaway event on the internet, with 115+ blogs offering over $20,000 in prizes, hosted by Still Blonde after all these YEARS (http://stillblondeafteralltheseyears.com/) and Modly Chic (http://www.modlychic.com/), with co-host Ksquared Glamour (http://www.ksquaredglamour.org/)


So, what is Running Design offering?!

I have two amazing prizes that will go to one lucky winner and you can't foget the Grand Prize for the whole Event!!  There are multiple ways to enter the drawing so feel free to enter as many times as possible! (Open to US Residents only).

Grand Prize: A $1200 (retail) Louis Vuitton Red Leather epi speedy 25 via Bella Bag (bella bag price $795) WORLDWIDE!  For every giveaway that you enter in for the FALL Fashionista Event you get one entry toward the Louis Vuitton Bag. Want more info? Go here:  http://stillblondeafteralltheseyears.com/?p=14920
How cute is this bag?! Don't you want it??

 Second Prize: I love this prize because it is actually 2 in 1! It doesn't get much better than that!  The first part of this prize is from Girls4Sport - they offer sport swim suits that offer UV protection, modest, adjustable coverage but most importantly match your active lifestyle!  You get the adorable tank and boy briefs seen below, they even come in other color and pattern options!
 
    Part 2 of this prize is a Hobo Sling bag from BambooBlue!  How cute are these bags?!

Want to Enter??????????

Fill out the Rafflecopter form below.  Enter as many times as you'd like.

Want more giveaways?!  You can find all the other giveaways listed below!



Still Blonde after all these YEARS , Modly Chic, Kquared Glamour, Fall Fashionista Events or the Fall Fashionista Events bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Chicago Marathon Weekend Recap

   Let me start by saying that the marathon didn't go at all how I had planned but rather than dwelling on everything I am disappointed with for this weekend I am choosing to focus on the positives and the things I am so thankful for from this weekend.  I consider myself an optimist, so get ready for some positivity! Oh... and a long post... A quick summary so you understand why I'm not so happy with the day, I had a time goal of 4:30hrs, but thought I would be faster than that.  Approximately 6 miles in my hips started hurting like crazy and I slowly watched my time slip away from me.  I ended in tears and have been icing like crazy!  I didn't realize it at the time but my entire lower back is swollen, so I'm hoping that I didn't really do some damage by pushing through the crazy hip pain!  Ok, now for the positivity!

   Saturday was Marathon Expo day, for a marathoner this is an EPIC day!  If you aren't pumped for the marathon, I guarantee that by the time you leave the expo you are on cloud 9!  The coolest thing to me was the American Flag that the Bank of America was making out of red, white and blue water bottles that we got to sign and were sending to the troops.

There were booths set up all over the place with free samples of their products, items you could buy and just this incredible energy and excitement coming off of everyone that was there.  
I found this t-shirt and I almost bought it!  It's totally true, the number of people that tell you that you are almost there super early in the race is INSANE... I just kept thinking, man you have no idea how much farther we have to go!
  
After the Expo, I went to the Team Salute Luncheon.  Sheesh, I thought the Expo was inspirational, it didn't even compare to the luncheon!  I met a girl named Brittany who was running her first marathon, and she was so excited about it, her Dad was also at the Luncheon and I saw him a few times on the course and he just kept cheering me on! Thank you Mr. Taylor!  I also met this guy named Don, who was in the Army for a few years and was going to run the marathon in full Body armour! Woah.....  We got to hear a few other inspirational stories from people who the money that we raised helped.  Team Salute raised over $75,000 from those running the marathon!  AMAZING!!  It was a great Luncheon, and I ate a bunch of pasta - my favorite! No denying that I LOVE my carb loading!!! :)

   After the luncheon it was time to head home, go to mass, eat dinner and get prepared for the next day.  The most important thing for me was getting my t-shirt ready...
   I put the name of everyone I know, who serves or had served in the military.  It was my way of thinking of them throughout the entire marathon.  They truly are my inspiration!  Then it was time for bed - I'm pretty sure I woke up every hour but I woke up rested and ready to go!

   We left the house at 5:30am and headed to my Dad's office, we ate breakfast (two hard-boiled eggs), rolled out on the foam roll and used the bathroom for the zillionth time! 
I was ready to go! So I kissed my Dad goodbye and headed down to the starting line.  Again the energy was overwhelming! Thousands of runners, thousands of spectators to cheer on the runners.  I met someone in the Charity corral who asked me if it was my first one since I seemed so nervous... nope, it's my fourth! Why am I nervous?!  They sang the national anthem which was amazing and next thing I knew we were off! Woah... I'm really doing this thing!  I saw my Dad around mile 2 or 3 and received a customary high-five and a "You go Girl" and I kept trucking!  Around mile 6 or 7 I heard a "Go Emily!!", I figured the person was cheering on another Emily but when I looked I suddenly realized it was one of the guys from my Tri team! YAY!!! I said, "HEYY!!!" and kept on running.  I then ran into my Team Salute Coach Joe, who asked how I was doing, we chatted for a little as we ran and then he left me in the dust... man he was fast!  At mile 9 I ran into some more of my Tri team friends who were working the aid station.  They cheered me on and off I went again!  I ran into my Dad at mile 10 and gave him my Underarmour shirt, man I had warmed up ALOT!  Off I went... At the half way point I was at about 2:20, slightly off from my goal of 2:15ish but not too bad.  My hips started bothering me at mile 6 or so - not sure what that was about, but on I went.  I went quite a few miles without seeing my Dad, even though I guess he saw me.  At mile 18 or so, I was really dragging and a woman jumped in and started dancing with me!  It was random and strange but it made me smile and kept me going... so Thank You random stranger for that little break!  I found my Dad at mile 20 and went over to chat for a few minutes and so he could get a picture of me and then I lost it... I started bawling!  I asked him, "WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF!!?"  The girls that were standing next to him spectating looked at me with pure horror on their faces.  But, "No pain, no gain", right?!  So off I went!  At this point my time started dropping off really fast.  I found my Dad again around 25.2 - only 1 mile left!  The finish line was within my reach!!  I rounded and corner and finally saw the finish line and started crying again... Sheesh, I was emotional or just in a lot of pain and eccstatic to see the finish line!
I DID it!!!  Not how I wanted to but somehow I managed a 2min PR! WHAT?! 

   So Thank you, to my Dad for being there with me on the course, I know you had other plans!  Thank you to my family and friends who couldn't be there but were incredibly supportive and kept me going!  Thank you to my Cross Country team for the amazing Good Luck gift and the AWESOME card!  Thank you to my Tri team for cheering me on and keeping me going!  Thank you to the random strangers who cheered me on throughout the entire course.  Thank you to Team Salute for letting me run for you!  But most importantly THANK YOU to the men and women who serve this beautiful country.  I LOVE you all!

Time to rest up before training for the next one... ;)

Monday, October 1, 2012

Marathon Week

  
    The one thing that is brutal about marathons, well atleast the Chicago Marathon is that you have to register so far in advance!  I signed up in February and it felt like Marathon Day was forever away and yet here we are in marathon week... woah...
   
    I received a text from my friend Sabrina this morning saying, "It's marathon week!!! How r u feeling??"  and I just got the official email from Bank of America talking about Marathon week.  So it has really been on my mind today! I honestly don't know what to tell people when they ask me if I am ready, how I'm feeling, etc.  I am a complete mixture of emotions!  My first marathon was pure excitement with the slightest bit of uncertainty, would I be able to conquer this challenge?  After the first marathon it was just about running it for the fun of it, never really focusing on time, but more on the people I was running it with and they were great experiences!!

  This year though is totally different though, I'm beyond nervous... Maybe it's because I am running it for Team Salute and don't want to disappoint them...  Maybe it's because I am a Cross Country coach this year so I have 18 girls interested in how I am going to do... Maybe it's because I have been knee pain free for a little over a year and don't want to re-injur it...  Maybe it's because I put more emphasis on strength and conditioning than running 6 times a week... But whatever the reason is, I'm nervous!

   But even with being nervous I'm also excited!  Excited to feel the energy of the crowd!  Excited to accomplish this milestone!  Excited to give back to the men and women who give so much to this country!  Excited to just be there at the starting line!

Bring it on! And as my Cross Country team says, "May the course be with you!"