Race Recap: 2013 Seattle Seahawks 12K

Yep, this race was totally unplanned.  I knew it was coming, I heard twitter rumblings of people I knew running it, but I didn't really decide to participate until late last week.  I'm not gonna lie, all the Boston bombings happenings have really lit a fire under my running shoes and I feel the urge to run and race a lot more lately.

So...with some encouraging from my twitter friends I registered for the Seahawks 12K and then convinced Meghan to do it as well and carpool with me...win win! Plus, I finally got the chance to wear my Nuun singlet for the first time.

Now, I'm no dummy and I know how to do math. I know a 5K is 3.1 miles and a 10K is 6.2 miles but for some reason in my racing brain a 12K equaled 9 miles...NOT TRUE.  I actually didn't realize this until the morning of the race so I was insanely excited to only be running 7.46 miles instead of 9, especially considering the most I have run since the Sedona half was 6 miles.

I picked Meghan up bright and early Sunday morning and we got to the race start in Renton pretty early to pick up our packets.  We both immediately agreed...BEST RACE SHIRT EVER! Also, another dumb moment when I realized why the race is a 12K...the 12th man...the fan...DUH!

We basically sat in my car to keep warm until right before the race start.  We stopped by the Nuun tent to hang out with Oiselle sister birdies Nolana and Morena and met up with Lindsay and Nicole.  Then we literally went through the crowd control barriers to take a spot near the front since we knew the race would have a good amount of walkers.

Nuun and Oiselle representing!

At 9AM the race started with a slight drizzle to keep us cool.  The first mile was pretty boring and wound through the industrial part of Renton until we made our way onto Lake Washington Blvd.  We followed this all the way north to the Seahawks training facility before making our way back.  Evidently, Seahawk players handed us water...totally lost on me. I had also assumed it was a rather flat course, NOT the case.  But for every uphill there was a downhill and I like the challenge a short hill provides.

Just imagine this photo is of us together because that is my arm in the right side of Meghan's photo :).  I like that they cropped individuals but if it obvious people are running together it would be nice to have a photo together...just sayin.

I felt pretty strong most of the way but my quads definitely let me know they haven't run more than 6 miles around mile 6.5.  Luckily, I knew I could push them for one more!

Meghan and I ended up running all the way up to 7 miles together, which was awesome and we kept around an 8:40 pace the whole time...hey consistency! She had more juice her in tank than I did and sped off to the finish.

Look! A decent race photo!

I ALWAYS looks like death with horrible form in race photos so this one really surprised me!! I actually bought it, the $12.99 price tag was actually quite reasonable in my opinion. Be certain I'll be overusing this photo in the months to come on this blog ;).  I hope Nuun is proud I actually made their singlet look semi-decent...I tried really hard!

I finished in 1:06:04 which was an 8:51 pace according to the official results.  Meghan said the course was about .2 miles long which would make sense since her watch indicated we were doing 8:30-8:40 the entire time.

Thanks for pulling me along Meghan! This girl is running her first marathon this weekend, good luck in EUGENE!

Meghan and I proceeded immediately to Panera Bread to warm up with coffee and soup.  I am most definitely not in racing shape right now because I crashed hard the rest of the day and my legs are still a little tired...oops!

So, what is next for these running legs? The immediate future is not yet known but I need to start piling on the miles because I'm running the Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage as part of an ultra team...SCARY!

QUESTION: Have you ever run a 12K or 15K? I think I might like this distance...longer than a 10K but not as challenging as a half marathon...perfect in the middle.

TGIF - A Nuun Winner and Seahawks 12K

TGIF everyone!

Firstly, major congrats to the 20 lucky ladies who made the 2013 Nuun Hood to Coast team.  Of course I would be lying to say I'm not majorly bummed I didn't make the team, BUT I have already been super lucky to run with Nuun before and I can't wait for other ladies to experience the awesomeness that is running a relay and running it with Nuun...you are all going to have the time of your lives! And...Ragnar team Nuun Kids on the Block will still be representing with Holly though... congrats lady.

Plus I still have Ragnar Adirondacks with Nuun to look forward to in September!

So without further ado, with 81 entries the winner of the 3-pack of new Nuun flavors is:

Lucky number 20 is EMILY! Please email me at marathonlar@live.com to claim your 3-pack, CONGRATS!

In other news I signed up to run the Seahawks 12K after pretty much making Twitter tell me to do so.  I discovered a whole slew of blogger/twitter friends also running so now I'm extra excited. PLUS, I get to wear my Nuun singlet for the first time...yahoo! Never mind the fact that I haven't run over 6 miles in months, I'm sure 3+ more will be no problem...right??

Race ready!

We are planning to meet at the Nuun tent before the start and probably after as well.  Come say HI!!

Question: Who else is racing this weekend?

Triumph Turned Tragedy - Boston Marathon 2013

I've thought a lot about what I could post after the tragedy that unfolded yesterday at the Boston Marathon and then thought about not posting anything, but I have a blog, I write stuff, I have feelings about this so why not share them in an attempt to provide some therapy for myself and maybe others.

At first I was filled with such pride watching the elite runners cross the finish line from my desk at work Monday morning and then obsessively waiting to hear people I knew had finished - CONGRATS to Mason and Meaghan!

THEN, I was actually at home having lunch watching The Chew when it was interrupted with a news broadcast.  I admit I was a little pissed at first, I wanted to see the recipe of the day on The Chew! The second the news came on and showed the bombing at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon my heart immediately went a million miles an hour and tears flooded my eyes.  I immediately thought of the people I knew racing and spectating and became paralyzed with fear for what was unfolding before my eyes.  The news was NOT censoring anything and seeing blood stained sidewalks in MY country was way too close to HOME!

Thanks to the wonders of social media (thank you Twitter!) I discovered everyone I knew that was there was safe within minutes, but from the images I saw on the TV I knew there was no way this was the case for every one spectating or running the marathon in Boston.

Following the flood of news reports coming in and hearing about amputations, deaths and stories of heroism I found myself reflecting back onto my marathon finish in Chicago in 2011.  I had TONS of friends and family there supporting me and would have never believed such a joyous day could have the potential to turn into a nightmare.  I was texting with my cousin who cheered me on yards from the finish line (like so many at Boston) and we both were feeling nostalgic and sad at the same time.

Cousin and her son post race in Chicago

Running buddies and best friend cheerers

I absolutely HATE that this completely senseless act of terrorism took away joyous marathon memories for so many people yesterday!  I hope that the thousands of people who realized a dream come true just by running the Boston Marathon yesterday will be able to remember the wonderful community of runners, spectators, and especially those who sprinted to the aid of those hurt during the bombings.  Don't be afraid to take pride in your accomplishment yesterday because we can't let this act of terror ruin everything that makes running, marathons and the United States still a wonderful place to live.

I'm proud to wear my 2011 Chicago Marathon shirt today to remember Boston today and even more proud to be part of such an amazing community of runners that continues to inspire and amaze me every single day!!

XOXO,
Lauren

Some NUUN for You - A Giveaway

It's Giveaway time!!  And given the fact that I have surely less than 100 readers your chances of winning this one are pretty good :).

Unless you have been living under a blogger rock I'm fairly certain you know a few things about my favorite hydration company...

I LOVE NUUN and more importantly, the people behind it

Are you sick of seeing this photo on all my blog posts? Too bad, I LOVE IT!

NUUN just released THREE new flavors - Cherry Limeade, Lemonade

You can buy a special 3-pack right now!!

And on April 17 we can all breathe a sign of relief when they post the Nuun Hood to Coast Team 

Nuun received about 100 applications for a 20 woman team and from all the videos I've stalked on YouTube, blogs, and twitter I can't even imagine the impossible task they have in front of them.  You can watch mine HERE.

The good news for you? Nuun has graciously agreed to give a three pack of the new flavors to one of my readers!!  I have tried all three flavors and love them all, but Lemonade has climbed it's way to one of my all time favorite Nuun flavors and I already have a summer supply of it in my basket-of-Nuun.

Hello my name is Lauren and I'm addicted to NUUN!

I'm sure I don't have to remind you all of the amazing benefits of Nuun, but to summarize I'll let the Nuun website do the talkin...

• Find out which Nuun product is right for you on their Product Page 
• Hydration 101

Now, what you have all been waiting for and I'm sure what you scrolled down the page to find out...how to win your very own 3-pack of Cherry Limeade, Lemonade, and Watermelon

MANDATORY: Tell me which flavor you are most excited to try!
+1 entry for following me on twitter @marathonlar
+1 entry for following Nuun on twitter @nuunhydration
+1 entry for liking Nuun on Facebook

Make sure to post a comment for each entry.  I will count up all the Intense Debate comments as well as blogger comments if those slip in so don't worry about which one your computer/mobile device uses.

Contest closes at midnight (Pacific time) on Thursday, April 18 (but I'll be sleeping so really you have until Friday morning...hehe).  Winner will be announced Friday, April 19 and will have 5 days to claim prize before another person is picked.

Best Body Bootcamp - Weeks 1 & 2

I haven't talked about my workouts in a while but I'm actually following some sort of routine right now so I thought I would share! 

Over the past year I've been reading the buzz about Tina's Best Body Bootcamp from various bloggers but never really looked into it until a couple months ago. I've really enjoyed doing my own circuits at the gym but finding workouts to do online takes times and motivation...both of which sometimes I'm lacking.  Enter, Best Body Bootcamp. Tina puts together an 8 week program and the best part...it costs $25 bucks!!  I mean what do you have to loose for that price!

We were given workouts for week 1 and 2 and I have to admit they seemed pretty simple to me, but I learned my lesson when each day after a lifting circuit I was super sore!  Touche Best Body Bootcamp!

The workouts so far have been 30 minute full body circuits with one focusing on balance which I found to be incredibly challenging and a great workout. Just imagine doing all your weight lifting on one foot or only one arm at a time...try it!  Obviously, I wish I could share the workouts with you but that would defeat the purpose of paying right?! I just wanted you all to know about this super cheap resource online from one of our fellow blogger friends.

To help hold me accountable here is what I plan on doing for Best Body Bootcamp Week 2

Monday - Workout A circuit
Tuesday - Cardio - maybe treadmill sprints?
Wednesday - Workout B circuit
Thursday - Cardio
Friday - Workout C (the balance one!) circuit
Saturday - possibly a run while visiting my parents
Sunday - REST

Question: Have you heard of Best Body Bootcamp or done any online bootcamp before?

2013 Nuun Hood to Coast Application

BREAKING NUUN NEWS: Hood to Coast application deadline extended through the weekend, you now have until Sunday, April 7

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I could not be more excited about the potential chance to run Hood to Coast with Nuun this year.  I hope all my readers and especially Nuun know that I already consider myself to be VERY lucky when it comes to everything I've been involved with with Nuun over the past year.  Of course I would be lying to you if I didn't tell you that running Hood to Coast with Nuun would definitely be the high point of my relationship with Nuun if I was chosen!

Without further ado, here is my video application for the 2013 Nuun Hood to Coast team.

Special thanks to LindsayOnTheGo for some great feedback (and more pun ideas!)

Phew, that was a lot of work...super fun work though!  I had virtually no experience with iMovie until this project so I had a pretty big learning curve and every time I would throw a new picture or transition in there I would learn something new.  I also learned that video taping myself is super awkward and even after writing about 20 different scripts, just winging it and being myself was definitely the right way to go.  Some things to NOT pay attention to in the intro:

• Dogs playing and whining - in one take they were squeaking toys so I figured a little whining wasn't going to be noticed :)
• My "running career" - no idea why I think I have a running "career" but it just came out so I went with it.
• The fact that I'm not looking at the camera...I was looking at myself in the computer screen, call me selfish!

Running is fun, running a relay is funner, running a relay with amazing lady bloggers is the funnest!

Mt. Si Relay 2012

2012 Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage

Question: Who else applied?? Link up your application here if you want and I'll compile a big 'ol list!