Runner Spotlights #101

I hope everyone is having a great Labor Day weekend! We sure are!

It's time for another runner spotlight...my favorite time of the week! I love reading other runners' stories about their running journey! If you are interested in being spotlighted on my blog please email me at mindy@roadrunnergirl.com! I'd love to spotlight you! You don't have to have a blog to be spotlighted...you just have to be a runner! ;-) And I'm running low on spotlights so now's your time to shine!!!

Today I'm spotlighting Kaella from Kaella On the Run! She lives in Canada but has run a race in one of my bucket list cities...New York City! She also did a run streak...just like me! Keep reading to learn more about her and her running journey!

Name: Kaella

State: Alberta, Canada

When and why did you start running?

I started “officially” running in December 2012 as a way to lose the baby weight (60 pounds) and ran my first race in March 2013. I was hooked! I signed up and finished 9 more that year. In March, 2014 I completed the NYC half marathon (my dream race) and have many more on the horizon. My goal is to get faster and stronger and keep enjoying myself.

Along the way, I decided to start streaking (run streaking) and recently completed 397 days of running at least a mile every day. Thankfully my husband is (mostly) supportive of my crazy habit. I usually get up and run before my family is up (5-5:30am) or else I take my son, London, in the running stroller after work. You can read more about my running story here: http://www.kaellaontherun.com/2013/06/my-running-story.html

What is your favorite race and race distance?

The half marathon is my favorite running distance. My favorite race was the NYC Half. I love New York City and was so excited to get selected in the lottery. Running through Central Park was beautiful and the energy running through Times Square was amazing! I think I ran my fastest mile there, haha! It is also my half PR which is pretty cool! You can read about my NYC Race experience here: http://www.kaellaontherun.com/2014/03/2014-nyc-half-marathon.html

What is your race day routine?

I don’t eat before a 5 or 10K race but I also eat before a half marathon. I get up three hours before the start time and have a piece of toast, or waffle, with peanut butter and a glass of water. I’ve laid out my clothing, gear and fuel the night before so I don’t have to worry about that. I usually have to use the bathroom a number of times before I leave the house and at least once, or twice, before I line up to start. I have Crohn’s disease so I my stomach is also a little upset when I’m anxious, or nervous, about something! I like to be on site at least half an hour beforehand.

What is your most favorite piece of running gear?

My running shoes. I’ve always been a Mizuno Wave Rider girl. They are so comfortable and light! I wear my retired ones on park dates, and long walks, with my son. I own far too many to admit. I’m saving for a new Garmin, though, so that may be my favorite item soon ;)

What do you wish you’d known when you first started running?

I just wish I would have started sooner. The runner community is amazing, both where I live and online, and they motivate me every day!

What is your fondest running memory?

I know I’ve mentioned it three times now but the NYC half is my favorite running moment. You couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I ran through Times Square or when I crossed the finish line in under two hours (my goal!)

What is one thing that most people do not know about you?

I used to host a kids television show when I was a teenager. I got to learn how ice cream was made, meet some real-life heroes and go hang gliding. I was also an extra in some movies.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
I love meeting new people and interacting with other mother runners online. Thank you for reading my story!

Here are all the different ways you can connect with Kaella!

Blog: http://www.kaellaontherun.com/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kaellaontherun

Thanks so much for sharing with us Kaella!

QOTD: What are your plans for Labor Day?

Fitness Friday...August 29th Edition!

Happy Labor Day Weekend y'all!!! I am looking forward to my 3 day weekend! We don't have much planned but it will be great to just relax after a busy week! We are still trying to get adjusted to our school and work routine around here!

This week was filled with school and work. We did get to see my sister Christy and niece Ella yesterday! I was missing them like crazy...it's been 2 weeks since we've seen them! I had to get lots of Ella love! :-) We went to a new park and it was so cool! The boys didn't want to leave!

It's time for Fitness Friday! I got ALL my runs in this week! But I've been getting up early to run. Running at night last week was just too hard for me! It was too hot and my legs were just too tired after standing on them all day at school. Running in the mornings has worked out better for me this week....even though I do not like it when that alarm goes off lol!

• Friday- #plankaday 1:10, 2.06 mile run in 17:55 average pace 8:43

• Saturday- 6.2 mile run in 1:00 average pace 9:43

• Sunday- 3.11 mile run in 28:20 average pace 9:06

• Monday- #plankaday 1:02, 2.05 mile run in 17:42 average pace 8:38

• Tuesday- #plankaday 1:05, 2.06 mile run in 17:15 average pace 8:21

• Wednesday- #plankaday 1:01, 2.07 mile run in 17:39 average pace 8:32

• Thursday- #plankaday 1:10, 3.11 mile run in 27:25 average pace 8:49

Weight loss this week: 1.8 lbs.

Weight loss total: 31.6 lbs.

Running was great this week! I really enjoyed (once I got out of bed) running with the sunrise! And I really like starting out my day with my run! Hopefully I can keep it up! I'm almost to day 100 of my streak. I'm still not sure if I'm going to continue streaking or stop. I'm hoping I will just know when the time comes lol!

I had a pretty big weight loss this week...almost 2 pounds! I really don't need to lose much more but I still have about 2 more pounds to go. 

I'm also hosting another DietBet called Road Runner Girl's September Slim Down! If you read my post yesterday then you know all about this! Hosting the DietBet was so much fun and I'm excited to host another one! I would LOVE it if you would join in and play!!! You can sign up HERE!!! :-)

This weekend for half marathon training I have a 10 mile run on schedule! I am running with my Sole2Soul Sisters! One of our sisters that moved away recently is going to be in town and is running with us and then we are all going to breakfast afterwards. It should be fun! My half marathon is in TWO weeks! I can't believe race season is already here! Yay! 

I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!!!

QOTD: What was your best run or workout this week?

DietBet Recap...Plus Another Game!

I had a BLAST hosting and playing my first DietBet game!!! It was such a fun way to lose weight! And the best part about it....winning money!!! It was so successful that I decided to host another game!!! This game is called "Road Runner Girl's September Slim Down" and it starts September 1st!

To refresh your memory, here's how DietBet works:

1) Join a game. You can join my game HERE!
2) The pot grows as players join
3) Whoever hits the goal splits the pot!

Sounds easy, right? The game I'm hosting is a 4 week game with a goal to lose 4%. You start out with a bet of $25. During official weigh in time (August 30-31st) you will submit two digital pictures to the DietBetter referees. One picture will be a head to toe shot of you standing on the scale in airport security attire (that's light indoor clothing with no shoes, belt, hat, outerwear, pocketbook, watches or accessories and empty pockets).  The second picture will be a close up of your official weight on the scale with a piece of paper in the shot showing the word of the day (will be distributed by Dietbetter at the time of the weigh in and serve as an official timestamp). No one will see your weight or pictures except the Dietbetter Referees.

At the end of the game you will have a final weigh in (with photo proof). If you made the 4% goal...you split the pot with the other players that also made the goal! It's a win win situation! You win by losing weight AND you win by earning some money! The more players that play...the bigger the pot!

Sounds fun right? I promise you it is!!!

I told you I had fun playing didn't I? Well here's how it went for me. I started the game with my official weigh in photos. 

To win the DietBet I needed to lose 4% in 28 days...or 5.1 pounds. The weight I needed to be at the end of the game in order to win was 121.7. 

So for the next few weeks I counted my calories using My Fitness Pal. I ran. And I checked in on my DietBet page every day to see how all the other players were doing. We commented on each other's posts and encouraged and motivated each other. It was great! I could weigh-in as much as I wanted (they weren't official weigh-ins so I didn't have to submit photos) to see my progress. 

Was it tough? Well yes. Dieting IS tough. But when you have money on the line it makes you even more motivated. And I had all the other players in the game that I felt like I couldn't let down. 

The 28 days FLEW by! Before I knew it it was time to do my last weigh-in to determine if I had won. I was so nervous stepping on that scale. I thought it was going to be close! 

I was shocked to see that I lost 7.3 pounds during the DietBet!!! I had lost 2.2 pounds more than what I needed to win! I was so excited!!! I ended up winning $34.96!!! 

Because it was such a blast I was super excited to get asked to host another DietBet! I LOVE encouraging and motivating others in their weight loss journey so I'm super excited to host again!!!

I hope you will join my Road Runner Girl's September Slim Down DietBet!!! Sign up to play TODAY!!!

QOTD: Have you ever participated in a DietBet game? Are you going to join my game? 

A Beachy 10K!

This past weekend we stayed out at the beach. So my long run and #RRGRunStreak had to happen at the beach! I know what you are thinking....how awesome to get to run at the beach right? Well...it's definitely very pretty...but it is about 10 degrees hotter and the humidity mixed in with the salt air is so not fun! But I was determined to get it done! I made sure to wake up early enough to try to beat as much of the heat as I could.

This scene was gorgeous! It was worth being hot and miserable!

The sweat hadn't started pouring yet in this picture!

The first mile and a half led me into the historic Fort Morgan. I've run here many times but it never gets old!

Of course once I reached the Fort I had to turn around. I usually go out the same way I came in. But this time I decided to take one of the side gravel roads. I had to watch my footing here because of the rocks. But it was a nice change. And it looked like I was running straight towards the sunrise for a bit!

This road took me right in front of another part of the Fort...Battery Dearborn!

From this point I headed back on the main road. But then I saw a side street that headed towards the beach so I decided to take it. It lead me straight to the sand!

Then I turned back around and headed back to the main road. This is where I started to struggle. It was soooo hot! It was soooo humid! I was soooo thirsty! We WERE under a heat advisory so it wasn't a surprise that I was struggling. Luckily I knew that in the back of my hubby's truck was a cooler of waters. So I kept telling myself to make it to the condo parking lot and I could get some water.

I reached mile 4....and the parking lot! I grabbed a bottle of water out of my hubby's truck and I drank the ENTIRE water bottle!!! Usually I only drink a few ounces of water during water stops. But my body needed that full 16 ounces of water!

I headed back out knowing I only had to go 1 mile and then I could turn around and run a mile back to make my total of 6 miles. The water refreshed me a bit so I didn't struggle as badly those last 2 miles. But I will say that I was so happy when my Garmin reached 6.2 miles!

The best part about running at the beach? Stretching on the beach after the run! I love stretching and listening to the waves and seagulls! So peaceful!

QOTD: Are you ready for fall temperatures? 

Sawyer's Birthday Beach Weekend!

This past weekend we spent the weekend at the beach! We were able to stay in the hubby's Aunt and Uncle's condo! And Andy's parents stayed with us! We had an absolute blast! You may remember we stayed at the beach a few weeks ago for Hayden's birthday? Well Sawyer so wanted to do the same thing for his birthday but we didn't think we would be able to. Well thanks to Grandma she got it all worked out so we could! I had a very excited birthday boy!!! :-) Enjoy our weekend in pictures! :-)

It was an absolutely amazing weekend! The summer crowd was gone so we almost had the beach to ourselves! The water was calm (just like I like it) and crystal clear! We saw tons of fish, crabs, dolphins, and stingrays! It was so relaxing and just what we needed after the hectic first week of school!

QOTD: What is your favorite way to relax?