BibBoards are better than Safety Pins ALWAYS!

On my Youtube channel today I talk about saving your running shirts by using BibBoards rather than safety pins to secure your race bibs. 

For years I’ve poked holes and snagged my nice tech shirts using safety pins. When I received a pair of BibBoards at a runDisney event in my swag bag I was a little skeptical but once I tried them I never went back to the pins. 

They are so easy to put on. Just snap apart your BibBoards and push the front piece (the one with the stud) through the hole of your race bib. Then snap the back piece onto the stud from the inside of your shirt , securing the bib and shirt in between the two pieces of your BibBoard. 

 

To remove them, just snap the two pieces apart. They might leave an indent in your shirt, but this has always washed out in the laundry.

  

And if you are wondering like I was, if they are really strong – well they ARE! I tugged so hard that the bib torn loose leaving the four BibBoards still secure on my shirt. 

  

Their website is full of design options or you can create your own custom design. Check out BibBoards website HERE!

Check out my YouTube Video Click Here! to see me reviewing these amazing fasteners. 

Dopey Training Week 4 - Breaking Bad Habits

I have been so busy training for the 2020 Walt Disney World Dopey Challenge and all the other things that make life happen, I haven’t had time to write. I’ve competed one entire month of training and week 4 is all about BAD HABITS. One of mine is obviously not keeping up with my Blog. So here’s hoping that bad habit is about to be broken! 

How long do they say it takes to form a new habit or break a bad habit? I think I read somewhere it’s around 21 days. Well, I’m a slow learner so I’m right on track with this new “training” habit. (4 weeks in). Here are some of the bad running habits I had and sometimes still have and how I am correcting them. 

1. Swinging my hands across my body.

When you run all your movement should be forward or back, any other motion uses extra energy. Swinging your arms across your body, forces your upper body to work harder. It also causes you cross your legs over each other.

MY FIX: Keep you elbows moving front to back and your hands will follow. Relax your arms and keep your elbows at a 90 degree angle. When your arms are a little lower, it’s harder for them to cross. 

2. Looking at my feet.

I do this ALL the time. Mainly because I have fallen a couple of times, so I want to keep an eyes on what my feet are running over. Try this…. Look down at your feet and try to breathe, now look in front and do the same. When you look down you’re cutting off valuable oxygen. 

MY FIX: You don’t have to look directly down at your feet. Try looking a few feet in front of you. Focus on an upcoming tree or other landmark. Or like me, keep your eyes focus on the road or sidewalk a few feet ahead of me. 

3. Squeezing my Fists

The pressure you put on your hands moves into your forearms and shoulders. Making your whole upper body tense. I have a tendency to raise my shoulders and tense up when I run. 

MY FIX: When you feel yourself tightening up, let your arms fall down to your sides, relax your shoulders and shake out your hands.

4. Skipping your Rest days

To get stronger and faster, your body doesn’t just need a good workout….. it needs to rest.  Rest helps repair muscle tissue, which in turn will make your stronger over time. 

MY FIX: I make a point to schedule rest days in my training plan and on my easy days TRULY go easy on those days. 

5. Keeping the same Pace on hotter days

If you are following the runDisney plan by Jeff Galloway. He says to slow down in the heat, by a minute per mile when it’s 70 degrees and 2 miles per minute when it’s 80 degrees. Putting overdue stress on your body when the temperature raises is simply just not healthy.

MY Fix: If I know the temperature is going to be hot hot hot after work, I try to get out of bed early enough to put in the miles before heading to work in the morning. If that doesn’t work, I switch up my training runs to a day that might not be as hot during the week.

6. Not stretching

Some people ignore stretching before running. But you shouldn’t skip stretching after a run to loosen up your muscles to help prevent injury. Also as we age, are muscles are not as resilient as they were when we were younger. 

MY Fix: I don’t have a fix for this as this bad habit still haunts me. I know my running will improve and I’ll feel better if I stretch, but this one is so hard for me to break.

7. Fit cross training into your schedule

Hardest habit EVER! I sometimes barely have enough time to get all my training runs in and to add cross training to the list. This by far is my number one worst habit. 

MY Fix: Find a workout buddy. Someone that will help hold you accountable to your cross training and make it fun!

Here is a link to Dopey Training Week 4 on YouTube and all my bad habits. Hope you enjoy. 

Why run a Virtual Race, Divas Edition

This Independence Day I ran the Divas Virtual Fourth of July 5K, outfitted in my tutu and boa that I received in the mail. Okay, maybe I didn’t run in the Boa but I did wear the tutu and was proud of it, because everyone should run in a tutu!!!!!

I didn’t sign up for Disney’s Virtual 5K summer race series this year. Don’t hate me, but the theme this summer was not something that was worth the price for me. Just not a Marvel comic fan. However, being the girly girl I am. When I got an email about the Divas virtual 5K, I was all over it in a split second. 

The Divas Series has partnered with Breast Cancer Charities of America (iGoPink) to help raise awareness to fight breast cancer. Great cause to help stomp out breast cancer.

Some may question why you should sign up for a virtual race, you’re just paying for a medal. But you’re doing that anyway and spending a lot more for a physical race. For those that don’t have the budget to travel for races, and believe me it gets pretty spendy. This is a great introduction to running and it will determine if you like running before taking the plunge. It’s also a great way to stay motivated during training. You get some nice bling and encouragement over social media. Always make sure to post and hashtag your virtual runs. People will connect immediately with hearts and likes. Makes you feel more involved just like you would in an organized race.

To answer the age old question of why should you spend the money on a Virtual race, here are my top seven reasons you should give it a try. 

1. Flexible Timing

There are so many races I’d like to do but my calendar fills up quickly with work, hobbies, travel, etc. Being able to run a race at a time and place of my choice is spectacular and helps me to stay motivated.

2. Worry Free

When you’re running a virtual race and the weather is cold, wet, snowing or whatever, you have the option to hit the treadmill. You also have the opportunity to run another day if your feeling sick or have last minute plans you can’t get out of.

3. Gear Testing

Just bought a new running belt or earbuds or costume? Test it out on familiar ground rather than on an actual race course. If you haven’t seen my Disney’s Star Wars Virtual Half Marathon video and the skirt malfunction click right here and see how important it is to always test out your running gear. 

4. Fuel Testing

You never want to try something new on race day. But running close to home is your opportunity to try out some different pre-run and during run snacks. Better to find out now if your digestive system doesn’t like your choice.

5. Break up training monotony 

18-24 weeks of training for a single race may lead to feeling burned out. If you sprinkle in some fun virtual 5k’s or 10k’s along the way it allows you to work on speed and have a little fun.

6. Feeling Embarrassed

When I first started running, I was always worried that everyone was looking at me and thinking “What is she doing on the race course” A virtual race allows you to start treating yourself like the runner you know you are without worrying about what other people of thinking. We all have our own style, embrace it, don’t hide it. 

7. And of course the BLING, BLING, BLING!

Virtual races have come a long way with the fancy medals and great shirts along with additional race goodies.  

Most Virtual races benefit a charity, so you get that added feeling of helping a worthy cause. To watch my YouTube video of the Divas 4^thof July Virtual 5K click right here!

Here’s the link to the Divas Virtual website so you can sign up for their next race Run Like a Diva Enjoy and happy running!

2019 Missoula Big 3 Challenge

Missoula Montana is only a three hour car ride from Spokane, which is probably why I’ve done the Missoula half marathon so many times, seven years to be exact. This year by far was the BEST YEAR EVER! I believe this is because they moved the race date from the second weekend of July to the last weekend of June.  Just those few weeks made such a difference in temperature and air quality. Normally we are running in 90+ or 100+ degrees, inhaling smoking air from the surrounding fires that have become the norm during our summers here in the Pacific Northwest. This year, it never even reach 80 degrees and it was actually a little chilly at the start lines. Best decision by race organizers in creating perfect running conditions.

On to the races. I started participating in the Big 3 Challenge several years ago. This challenge includes:

·      3 mile beer run on Friday, no charge and free beer at the end

·      5K on Saturday

·      Half or Full Marathon on Sunday, again free beer at the end 

After you finish the Sunday race, you head to Caras Park for a little extra bling for doing all three. More on that later.

We arrived in Missoula around 2:00pm on Friday and checked into our hotel. I recommend staying at the Holiday Inn on Pattee Street. It’s one of the nicer hotels in this quaint college town. It is also conveniently located to ALL race activities. 

We walked to the race Expo which is held at Caras Park, right next to our hotel. Normally a pleasant experience. However, this year seemed to be a little disorganized and super over crowed. Not sure if this was because we arrived right when it opened, they were understaffed or if more people registered than usual. Whatever the reason, we picked up our bids and shirts and left. We didn’t feel like pushing through the masses to visit the vendors. 

First race of the challenge is a 3 mile beer run on Friday at 6:00pm. 

Since moving the races to June the weather was better than any of the other years I’ve run this race. Just to compare, last year it was 101 degrees for the Beer Run, this year it was around 75 degrees. The race starts and end at Caras Park Pavilion and runs briefly along the Clark Fork River to and around the campus of the University of Montana stopping only for a photo op with their mascot the grizzly bear. 

This is not a timed race, but we all knew who crossed the finish line first MY SON. He was being interviewed by the local news channel when I finally finished. Even though this race is free you are awarded a free beer from Big Sky Brewing Company to anyone 21 or older. Tasty and refreshing as always. 

The 5K on Saturday doesn’t start until 8:00am so you’re not doing the walk of the zombie to the start line. I like a later start time for the 5K, you feel more rested and since its only 3.1 miles you’re not losing a chunk of your day running. The race starts on Higgins Avenue just north of the Higgins Street Bridge. The first mile runs through neighborhoods, then along the Clark Fork River to McCormick Park. After mile 2 you run on the Kim Williams natural trail, over the Madison Street Bridge then finishing just below the Higgins street bridge at the Missoula Marathon Expo. Not a lot of hoopla at the finish line, but the medals are always nice.

My final race of the weekend was the Half Marathon on Sunday. Start time was 6am, however bus transportation ran from 4:15-5:15am. So I was up at 3:30 for my usual pre-race routine and out the door by 4:30am in order to be at the Adams Center on the University of Montana campus where buses take you to either the Full or Half start lines. I hooked up with some other runners for the short (but dark) walk along the Riverwalk trail to the campus. Once on the bus, it was about a 15 minute ride to the half marathon start at the Alpine Physical Therapy /PEAK Health & Wellness. The first couple of miles were at a slight decline – always welcome! The course winds through the beautiful Montana countryside, photo ops at every turn.  Every year this man hauls his grand piano out to the road and dressed in his tux plays during the entire race. So classy. 

One pleasant addition was located at mile 10.3, the Blaine Street Adult aid stations, offering complimentary cocktail samples. Yes please, I’ll take the Mimosa – and I did. 

Crossing the Higgins Street Bridge for the final stretch before crossing the finish line is all downhill YEAH! 

The half marathon race medal was awesome as usual and the food after the race was also great: a free beer, pasta salad, watermelon, bananas, bagels, cookies and nuts. If you participated in the Big 3 Challenge you get to pick up your “extra” bling right after the race located at the site of the expo. This year was this really cute refrigerator magnet. All said and done you walk away with 2 really nice shirts, 2 medals and magnet, and oh yea 2 cans of FREE BEER!