my favorite things:::: giveaway #3

so here's the last giveaway in my 'marathon must haves".... the pro compression marathon sock.

i love them for running:

i love them for recovery:

riley even loves them:

pro compression was the third compression company that i tried, and luckily, the third time was a charm! :) i have no reason to look any further!

how i use pro compression::::

• running
• recovery
• i sleep in them the night before long runs to make sure my legs are fresh
• as my mid week runs got longer i even wore them to work so my legs would be ready to run when i got home... then i noticed how much they helped [i'm on my feet for 10.5 hours straight] so now i wear them to work a couple a times a week!

what sets them apart::::

• higher quality materials [helps with comfort and also great moisture control]
• great compression level [mmHg 22-26]
• great colors and fun prints
• they're constantly working and finding ways to improve their products
• i have larger calves and i like that while these socks offer great compression, they don't cut off my circulation right below my knee
• they're made in the USA
• i know first hand that their customer service is amazing. seriously. timely, considerate, attentive, and really a pleasure to work with. 

pro compression has generously offered up a pair of marathon socks to one of my readers! you can gain entries by:

• checking out their website and telling me what color you'd choose.
• follow pro compression on twitter
• tweet about the giveaway ( include @courtneymelson and @procompression)

FYI::::

pro compression also does a sock of the month and check out this month's socks!!!

how cute are these? you can use the code SOM3 to get 40% off [it works for calf sleeves too!]

leave me a comment for each entry. this giveaway will end at midnight [est] on tuesday march 5th. 

pro compression is providing one pair of marathon socks to the winner, i purchased my own. all opinions are my own. 

if you're looking for rainbows and sunshine, just skip this post!

today is not my day. 

i mean, seriously. tell me i'm not the only one who has days like this. 

i haven't had a day like this in a long time, but when i have them i should probably consider locking myself in the spare bedroom until i snap out of it. because it is not good for my reputation or relationships for me to interact with the general public. 

i've pretty much been mean to everyone that has spoken to me today. 

ugh. 

bless brad's heart, he's trying to help. he's made me 2 margaritas so far tonight [and i'm head margarita maker in this household] and letting me watch new girl and duck dynasty. 

some of this has got to be anxiety about the marathon. i 'kind of' get the point of a taper, but it's 'kind of' killing me. i have all this free time and i'm even having trouble sleeping because i'm not worn out! and while i know i made it through my long runs just fine, that seems like ages ago!!! doubt of course creeps in and i begin my ability to run 26.2 in 4 days. i need a good solid long run to boost my confidence but i only have one measly 2 miler left! what a conundrum. need the long run to boost my confidence, but have to save my legs. 

i'm going to drink these margaritas and try to laugh and relax. hopefully tomorrow i'll be a little less bitchy! 

three things thursday...

my first marathon is in 10 days... 10 days!!!!!!! i'm nervous, excited, scared, and counting down the minutes all at the same time. starting tomorrow i'll be able to start stalking the weather conditions so i can start deciding on what to wear hopefully. i don't know why but that detail is stressing me out! i can't even decide which socks to wear [i have never raced in compression socks, and my longest run in them has been 12 miles so i'm thinking i shouldn't actually wear them for the race... but a part of me thinks they'd make my legs feel so much better!].

do you all ever get the racing bug? i've been so consumed with the upcoming marathon that i haven't signed up for many races at all. at strawberry plains when dawn was showing me her race calendar, it started to creep back up on me! i'm hoping to be a little more selective this year [last year my decision making process was, 'do i work on the day of the race? no? okay i'm doing it']. this year i'm going to mostly try to stick near home and maybe pick one or two races that require a little travel [ps the flying pig doesn't count as one of these races because brad's family is in cincinnati and we'd be going there anyways ;) ].


heads up to you all... as a thank you for putting up with my rants and tangents i'll be hosting several giveaways next week. i honestly can't thank you all enough for your support and encouragement during this training cycle [and always!]. i'll be sharing some of 'my favorite things' with you all, so be sure to check back next week. and check back often... i'm hoping to do 4 or 5 giveaways and most of them won't last much longer than 24 hours!

shingles rears its ugly head again

after my last 20 miler it took me the whole week to get back to normal. my legs felt really dead and i muddled through my runs for that week. so i wasn't surprised on tuesday when my five miler felt like a fifteen miler.

wednesday i woke up and noticed a little scratch near my right eye. this wouldn't normally cause me any alarm, but last year i had shingles in the exact same place.... and it sidelined me for almost a month. so what did i do? i ignored it. went to work. came home to run my 8 miler. 

it was doomed from the start. i was dizzy. disorientated. had no energy at all. i walked a lot and finished stopped after five. you've gotta be kidding me. yeah, my day of denial was over. i have shingles. 

thank God my only symptoms [other than the awesome blisters on my face] have been flu-like symptoms but they've seemed to pass pretty quickly. last time i didn't feel bad, but my rash was bigger and i had HORRIBLE neck pain. i'm so thankful that this seems to be a lighter case. the scariest part though is that this time it's actually in my eye too. my eye doctor checked everything out on friday and  said that it isn't in my cornea [which can apparently cause vision loss], i just have to use some drops and leave my contacts out for a while. 

see, not so bad! [ps i'll have a review on my glasses later this week, i got them free from firmoo!]

saturday i was able to get through my last long run before the marathon [12 miles], which i was so  thankful for. i took thursday and friday off after my horrible wednesday run [so i ended up being 7 miles short this week] so it was really important for me to finish this run. i am a big fan of the saying 'trust your training.' i can't trust my training if i don't follow the training plan. this close to the marathon, it was a big deal for my mental game to finish this run. 

now it's taper time. my longest run next week is 8 miles. and two weeks from today, i'll be running my first full marathon. i cannot believe it's almost here. it seems like a long time coming. 

and some fun news for you all, expect some fun giveaways the week leading up to my race! i'll be sharing some of my favorites with you all!

2013 Strawberry Plains Half Marathon:::: Recap & Review

.:race details:.  

date: saturday february 9th
race day pick up? yes. you could pick up your packet the morning of the race or the night before at Academy Sports + Outdoors in Knoxville.
start time:  9 am [the 10k also started at 9am]
did race start on time? yes
adequate restrooms?  i didn't need the restrooms so i don't really know. there were bathrooms inside the school and also portopotties outside
aid stations:  i think there were about 6. the race is a T shaped course and the second and third time we passed the intersection they had Gu gels. The rest had water and gatorade [except one time when we went through they were out of gatorade].
course spectator support: there weren't many spectators along the race but the volunteers and  even the police officers were all very friendly and encouraging. 
course terrain:  all paved, a couple of large hills. all out in the country though, it was beautiful. 
shirts:  long technical shirts. i was honestly a little disappointed in the shirts. last year they were so pretty, i loved the design and color. I'm not sure what was up with the donkey being the theme of the race. There were some donkeys on the course but a lot of other animals too. Maybe next year it'll be chickens instead. Even with the donkey though, I think a colored shirt would have looked better. 

medals:  the donkey rears its ugly head again. it's not my favorite medal, but it is quite unique. 

would i race again?  yes 
any complaints? other than the shirts, not really. 
what you need to know:  parking is a little tricky, so get there early. i had to park on the side of the road, which was fine because it's not a high traffic area, but make sure you're not going to get blocked in. also, this course does not allow headphones [they will not give you your medal if you're caught wearing them!]


.: my race :.
chip time:::: 2:33:41

i drove to knoxville on friday to pick up my packet and do some shopping. i got a hotel room on the strawberry plains exit and it worked perfectly. i had a 20 miler on the schedule so i got up and ran 7 miles on the treadmill at the hotel. then i changed and packed up my stuff to head to the race. 

dawn and i were hoping to run into each other and we did right before the race. [ps-- she's running 30 half marathons before she turns 30, how awesome is that?!] this race does not allow headphones, so we started out together, chatting as we went. isn't it crazy how you can meet someone for the first time but have so much to talk about? i've never talked that much while running, but it did keep me aware of my breathing and made the time fly by. it was also great to get to know her better. 

we saw a lot of animals during the race:  dogs, horses, goats, chicken, donkeys, cows, and a little dog even ran with us for a little while. dawn got this pic of me with our little friend!

we walked some of the big hills and tried to make up the time lost by running a little quicker on the downhills. she wanted to break 230 and i'm sad that i didn't get her there, but i have a feeling she'll get it at her next one! 

dawn's husband took this one after the race, isn't that sweat stripe so flattering?

all in all, a successful saturday/long run. thanks to dawn for being a great running buddy!

i also ran this race last year, if you'd like to check out that recap you can find it here. 

hello marathon hunger... aka holy crap i'm hungry

up until about a month ago i was really pleased with how my eating/fueling was going even as my mileage started creeping up. i did my clean eating routine through the week and had a cheat meal on the day of my long run. if i needed a boost before a run, i'd eat some JIF on toast.

i even lost some weight, but i think it's because i'm losing muscle [not cool].

well that's all changed now. i'm a bottomless pit! i usually eat every 3 hours or so, but i'm even getting hungry in between that!

do you all have any insight? i have worked my butt off to lose this weight [and still have some more to lose] so i do not want to screw this up!

rearview mirror:::: january 2013

running:::: 

i finished january with 137 miles. that's the most i've ever ran in a month! i ran my first 30k, my first 20 miler, and ran a new PR for the 10k. 

i've been very happy with my marathon training so far. i can't believe i only have a month left. i've missed a run here and there, but i've hit all my long runs, and even hit a little higher mileage earlier than what was on the plan [which allowed me to put in a second 20 miler, which i'm happy about]. 

weight training::::

i miss this... a lot. i made the decision to run this marathon back in the summer, before i started training with fitness poynters. it's really important to me and i want to see it through, but i do miss feeling strong  and toned. i know running burns calories, but for me and my body, i think lifting makes me feel better and gives me better results for my time. unfortunately i haven't figured out to manage my time enough that i can do both.

reading::::
i finished the matched series by ally condie. it was okay, passed the time and attaches you to the characters like most series do, but it wasn't a must read.

i started reading ulysses by james joyce, to get a start on one of my 2013 goals, and it might not have been the best choice, but i'm trying to get into it.

as far as Bible reading goes, i'm in isaiah now and i'm doing pretty well at studying beth moore's 'john.' the only problem is that i'm working in it when i'd normally been just reading the Bible, so my Bible progress has slowed.

2013 goals::::
i crossed off one thing here this month when i completed my 30k for my 30th birthday. i came thisclose to getting my sub hour 10k, but almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, right?

i'm doing terribly with the computer time goal, which may have been a 'bit' unrealistic. i did deactivate my FB profile halfway through the month to see if that helped, and while it did, it hasn't made as much of a difference as i'd hoped.

brad and i went to a new connect group at church last sunday and again today. we really like it so far and i hope we can continue to attend and make new friends!

life::::
january was a difficult month, for all the usual reasons plus some. i always fight the urge to get depressed in january, i think it's a combination of the holidays being over and the weather. the holidays are so busy, we're usually surrounded by family, have all the happy decorations up, then you have to take it all down and everyone goes back home... it can get depressing!

hot chocolate 10k:::: asheville, nc

.:race details:.

date: january 26
race day pick up? yes. there were 3 opportunities to pick up your packet, race morning, the night before at the pasta party, or the night before that when they had a chocolate tasting.
start time:  845 am [10k], there was also a kids hill climb and marshmallow dash
did race start on time? yes
adequate restrooms?  yes, there were porto potties outside and the bathrooms inside the school
aid stations:  4 or 5 water stations.
course spectator support: there were groups of people all over the course and the finish line crowd was great.
course terrain:  all paved, starts downhill, then flattens out... until the last half mile. holy hill.
shirts:  long sleeved cotton shirts
medals:  none
would i race again?  absolutely
any complaints? a couple of the water stations weren't really ready for runners, but it wasn't that big of a deal.
what you need to know:  get there early, they encourage you to park in one of the downtown garages and they bus you over [which worked great, we didn't wait long at all, and we were able to stand inside the library where it was warm].

my race:

i ran 2 miles to warm up [i had a little time before the race started and i figured i'd might as well use it to chip away at the 20 miles]. i've never ran like that before a race but apparently i need to. i was using this race to help me out with the 20 miler, not going for any time goals, so i wasn't looking at my watch. my ipod died for a little bit around mile 3 so i heard the split called out as i passed and it was under 30 minutes. whaaaat?

then the internal battle started... do i push it and try to PR [or get my goal of a sub hour?] or do i take it easy and set myself up for a better 20 miler. i decided to keep cruising and see how it went. when i got to mile 5 i started pushing it. i knew i had that sub hour and i wanted it really badly. i felt like i needed it for some reason. stupid? yes. but oh well.

then came the big @ss hill. holy pace killer.

according my garmin i ran 6.27 in 59:58... but gun time was.... 1:00:00.

i cannot believe i ran the whole race in the nines! i know that may seem glacial to some of you, but for me that's great! guess i'll have to break an hour some other time :) but a 6 minute PR? i'll take it all day every day!

30k for my 30th birthday!

i have issues. i love to run races.

earlier this week when i realized i technically had saturday morning free [brad's parents were going to be here, but brad was working saturday morning and i figured i'd be done by the time they got up] i immediately started googling for local races.

i found just what i was looking for... one of our local running stores [foot rx] was having a blackjack 5k. have you all ever done one of these? it was my first, but it definitely won't be my last! here's how it worked:::

• race day registration only (yay, since i waited so late to sign up i was really thankful that i didn't get charged an arm and a leg!)
• $10 to sign up (double yay) which goes into a pot
• when you sign up you get to draw your first card
• you get a second card at the halfway point
• when you cross the finish line you can hit and take one more card if you like. 
• the pot is divided between however many people get 21, or if no one gets it whoever has the highest total without going over.

there were 20 of us running and it was a great time. my first card was a 10 so i was hoping for an ace at the halfway point. i drew a king. when i crossed the finish line (30:07) no one had hit 21 so i stayed. one of the last few people hit 21 so i hit and got another face card. oh well. 

it was a great time and a great way to get my total mileage for the day up to 12 miles (i did 7 on the treadmill before the race, then another 2 outside after the race). 

another good thing that came from me doing the race::::

i had been looking for races that line up with my marathon training plan [aka 'if i'm going to do long runs id rather do some of those miles with the encouragement that the racing environment brings'] and i found the Frosty Foot 30k [also put on by Foot Rx]. unfortunately the 30k was already sold out when i found it. but aaron [owner of Foot Rx] mentioned on saturday that if anyone still wanted in to let him know. i spoke to him after the race and i'm in!!! 

i'm supposed to run 16 that day, so a little more than what i'm scheduled to run. that should be okay, right? my larger concern is that it's a trail race and the elevation profile isn't posted... how do i end up in these situations? funny thing is, i couldn't be more excited!

Week In Review

As I mentioned to y'all, the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge has officially begun and part of my participation involves sharing my workouts publicly and that means y'all get to read all the boring details [please feel free to skip right over it, i won't be mad atcha!].

but i will also smush in my marathon training weekly recaps to kill two proverbial birds...

monday::::  lifted shoulders and did a RUSH yoga class
tuesday::::  3 mile training run, 20 minutes stretch/yoga
wednesday::::  4 mile training run, lifted bis/tris/abs
thursday::::  5k turkey trot (with b-rad), yoga (plus cooking/cleaning points!)
friday::::  lifted shoulders/chest
saturday::::  9 mile training run, 20 minutes stretch/yoga
sunday::: 1 mile walk, yoga, WOW*

*the WOW stands for workout of the week that amanda posts to her YouTube channel. such a great way to learn new exercises to incorporate into your routine.

week 4 of marathon training::::  
i completed all my runs as planned. i was supposed to run 3 miles on thanksgiving and i ran raced a 5K. not the smartest (and keep in mind, me "racing" is still slow) but i selfishly wanted a new PR. i definitely paid for it and had to ice and foam roll like crazy.

i've been doing most of my training runs on the treadmill [with my eyes glued to gossip girl on the iPad] but i've kept the incline at 1. what do you all think about that?

here are some pics from the week (minus my turkey trot pics which i'll share in a separate post)::::

this was on the doorstep on monday, and i didn't order it. either i've gotten b-rad addicted to lulu  or he's been doing some Christmas shopping!

gossip girl on the treadmill, mismatched yurbuds, blox BCAAs, mizuno wave riders on the treadmill

after shoulder day

thanksgiving at our house!

me and my little brother

the fam at wild wing cafe on sunday after church

me and my beautiful momma

have you signed up for the Sock Swap???