Spartan Sprint and New Handful Winner

Can I just mention real quick how I'm freaking out about this race?!? A part of me is majorly excited and the other part is flipping its you know what! I just read that you have to do 30 burpees for any skipped obstacle. I thought you only had to do 10. Shit.

It'll just be me and Matthew doing the race. Brad's work puts on a 5k every year and it's Saturday of course. Missy was going to join up with us but had some very understandable reasons to change her plans.

Say a prayer for us. No one needs a broken leg.


And on a lighter note, I'm treadmill shopping. Anyone have any advice?

And PS, the first winner of the Handful bra never claimed her prize so I did a redraw:

Congrats to Suz!! And if you don't read her blog get your booty over there right now, she's great! Suz, send me an email (3xacharmrunner@gmail.com) and I'll get you hooked up!

Happy Friday::: My Week in Pictures, Mostly.

Thanks for all of your all's comments on my last post. Crazy kids. As many of you all said, I'm just glad I got to learn this lesson the easy way and I hope you all take it to heart too!  

riley and i got to go to the park on tuesday

i swear, there is nothing better than spending the day outside with this guy. LOVE him.  

taking a quick water break!

we got three miles in.

the weather has been amazing here and all the trees are blooming, so beautiful!

Matthew changed up my lifting routine while I was home this weekend and it is of course kicking my butt. This is me after doing my new leg/back routine. 

No I did not run suicides in between sets, the workout just really kicked my butt!!! And it is about 129378 degrees in my gym... And I sweat like a man. Oh well. 

are you all loving march madness? who are you pulling for?

Why You Should Never Let Your Guard Down While Running Outdoors

I honestly really hate that I have to tell this story. I hate that it happened at all. And while I can look back on it with a mixture of relief that it wasn't that serious, and humor because let's face it, it's funny now, I still feel like I need to share.

Saturday I had an eight mile long run on the schedule so I got up early and got ready. Brad and I were visiting my family in KY for the weekend and my dad was the only person up at the house. He and I don't get a chance to talk one on one very often so I took my time getting ready and stretching while talking to him. I think I ended up leaving the house around 9am. And just like I was still young, he asks where I was going and how long I'd be, because he's my dad and he worries. I can't begin to list all the times my parents have given me that 'warning tone' when I mention running outside alone... And as usual, they were right.

Our hometown has a major bypass that will take you from one end of the town to the other and there is a walking path that runs between the road and the river. There are only a few spots on the trail that you can't be seen from the road. I've been on that track thousands of times. 


I run out and back on the trail, and it is about 0.8 miles, so I settle in for a while. I've got a great playlist and while I have both earbuds in, the volume is very low. The first person I pass from behind is an older man, probably in his 70's, walking from McDonald's with his coffee. I don't pass another person until I'm on my way back (passed from the front), I passed a young boy who looked about 12 years old. I smile and wave and he nods. I continue to run.

I passed this kid really close to the turn around point so I quickly lap him from behind as I go out for another loop. He moves when he hears/sees me coming and I go on. Everything's going great, the weather's perfect and I'm really getting into my run. I'm running a faster pace than usual and taking the small hills with ease. I loop around and before long see the boy again. I really don't think anything of him being as we've already acknowledged each other, but I do look up at him and he nods again.

Right when I get by him, I feel this sharp smack on my left butt cheek. I am shocked out of the happy little world I was in and turn on him. He turned to run when he realized I was coming towards him but then he stopped. Either I'm not very scary or he realized he was running from a girl. I yelled at him, "who do you think you are?" and "who made you think it's okay to treat a woman like that?" (don't ask me where I get this stuff, I was in the moment). I kept asking him how old he was also. Like I said he looked about 12 and while I wasn't really thinking, I remember the thought, 'if I hit him I'll get in trouble for assaulting a minor.' (No it didn't occur to me that he'd touched me first).

He answers me that his dad taught him that he could treat women like that and he said he was 17. I was fuming. He obviously didn't have a good example at home, but that still didn't give him the right to touch me. He kind of smiled and walked off. I turned and started walking, and even put my ear buds back in... But then I thought, 'No, he's not getting away with this." So I called 911 and told them what happened. (Sorry I didn't have the PD in my phone). They sent two cops out and I was so pleased when I realized I went to school with one of them.

Long story short, they told me that I was right in calling (I was worried I'd blown it out of proportion) and they took me very seriously. They found the boy and he first denied it, then he admitted everything. He ended up being fourteen years old. I didn't press charges and the officers made him get in their car so they could drive him home.

So looking back... Yes this is a very funny story. Some little kid got grabby with me. Big deal.

But the whole incident has set in very heavily for me. I know you can't play the if's and but's game, but really. That just goes to show you. People can surprise you. I thought just because I was out in the open where people might see me that I was fine. I didn't have my pepper spray or ID. I had both ear buds in. Essentially I was in my own little world and that cannot happen!!

I hope you find the humor in this story, but I really hope it'll scare you a little like it did me.


Be cautious. Be prepared. Be careful. Be aware of your surroundings. 

Handful Bra Winner!!

As picked by Random.org, the winner of the Handful bra is:

Congrats Danielle! Email me at 3xacharmrunner@gmail.com by Wednesday so I can get your sizing and contact information!

Rants and Raves

I'm feeling a tad more bitchy than normal today so I figured I'd go ahead and debut my newest idea for a weekly-ish post, 'rants & raves.' A place to share what you're loving rightthissecond and what you'd like to give the big middle finger to. (Yes, I know you aren't supposed to end a sentence with a preposition, so if you were thinking that just go ahead and consider yourself added to the 'rants' list. :)

I'd rather start with the good stuff, so here are my most current obsessions:

I'm wearing my new Handful bra like it's going out of style. It's so freaking comfortable. If you want to try it for yourself, check out my giveaway post here. 

Kentucky basketball is always a favorite of mine, but it always reaches a new level of craziness when March Madness rolls around. Everything in this house revolves around when and where the CATS play. And I LOVE it. 

My newest snack obsession? Laughing Cow cheese how did I not know about you until last week? I'm so ashamed. If you're living in the dark like I was, allow me to share. Laughing Cow makes these amazing little wedges of cheesey goodness and they're mostly 35-45 calories each. They even make a strawberry cream cheese one!!!!!!! Heaven. The one in the picture is queso fresco and chipotle. It's so good it covers up the horrible taste of raw carrots :)

Now onto the people I'd kinda like to punch in the face. 

To my stupid lab (laboratory not Labrador):

Why is it that I have to make an appointment weeks in advance to have a simple blood draw but that you can call me the day before to cancel?? Unacceptable. And don't tell me, and I quote, "It's not a big deal we can get you in the next morning." Actually it is a big deal because I work that day. The job that provides  the insurance to help pay the ridiculous fee you're going to charge. Stupid. 

To the handyman who is was fixing our kitchen ceiling:

Why did you tell me you could come out and do the job today if you were going to work for an hour, leave in the middle to go do another job, then come back to finish?!?!?! I know the world doesn't revolve around me, but seriously. You think I'm kidding? Here's what my kitchen looks like right now:

He said he'll be back to finish today. Great. 

And lastly, to the girl at the gym talking on your phone while laying in the middle of the floor in the ladies only room of the gym: Get the efff outta the way and get off your damn phone!!!! I mean, come on. The ladies only room is about thisbig. It's already kind of a tight squeeze, but when you've got chatty mc cathy on her cell phone seriously laying in the middle of the floor!!@? I'm not a confrontational person (I'd rather just bitch about it online!) but this was too much. She had her sweatshirt slung over the only bench in the room (the one that I needed to actually workout) so I calmly and politely asked her if she was using the it. She said no while giving me the 'can't you see i'm on the phone' look. Rude. 

And just because I almost implicated him in a rant, here's the cutest Labrador ever:

Rant or rave? Tell me what's pissing you off or making you fall in love!

HANDFUL BRA:::: Review & Giveaway

A few months ago I contacted Jody at Handful regarding their super cute bras that I was seeing all over the blog world.

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I loved the way they looked -- the cute straps, the colors, and the most noticeable thing:  the 'bunching' in the middle (AKA: no more uniboob!).

When I contacted Jody she was very honest with me, and I REALLY appreciated that. I'm a D. She flat out told me that this bra was not going to be a sports bra for me, but that I could try it as an everyday bra. I thought her honesty was refreshing and I greatly appreciated that she still wanted me to review the bra.

So specifically for the girls who aren't members of the IBTC (not that I don't love you guys... I'd kinda like to be a member, but I've gotta look out for my large chested sisters here)...  :)

You know how it sucks to wear a real bra (underwire, non-sports bra) all the time? Yeah, it does. The best example I can think of is traveling. When I'm in an airport/car/plane/etc. all day the last thing I want is some stupid wire poking me in the rib.

I have two Under Armour 'sports' bras that are pretty comfortable:

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While they're comfortable, they do nothing for my girls if you know what I mean. They kind of look like a fat roll, uniboob. I will not wear a fitted shirt when I'm wearing these bras.

I had high hopes for the Handful, and I'm so happy to say that it exceeded my expectations. To sum it up:  It gave me comfortable support. The material is so comfortable!! The straps didn't dig into my shoulders. I did like the bra better with the pads removed, and I love the shape it gives me! I also loved the way the cute pink straps peek out in some of my shirts (FITTED shirts!!!)

After I crowned the Handful my new go to travel bra, I tried it out in some other ways. I wore it to lift weights and for an hour long yoga class. It worked perfectly!

Right now at Handful.com you can get the pink, nude and cocoa bras for only $28!!! Black and white are $40 each.

Jody was also awesome enough to offer one bra up to a reader!!!! Would you like to try your own Handful?

Here's how you can enter (please leave a comment for each):
 - Like Handful on Facebook
 - Follow Handful on Twitter
 - Go check out the Handful video and tell me your beach party or road trip essentials.
 - It'd be awesome if you followed me on Linky followers :)

The giveaway will be open until the 10th at midnight. Good luck!!!

Rear View Mirror: February 2012

I ran 54 miles this month, up 9 miles from last month. I'm hoping to get up to around 65 for next month and stick with that as an average for a while. I ran one race this month, the Strawberry Plains Half Marathon, where I got a new half mary PR!!!


I read two books this month:
Through My Eyes (Tim Tebow) - What a great book. I'm definitely no Florida Gator but I'm a big Tebow fan. He's fun to cheer for (and fun to look at!) and I love the example he's setting for kids today. It was fun to read about his upbringing and family and a lot of his opinions were really insightful. I'd definitely recommend this book!


The Best of Me (Nicholas Sparks) - I love me some NS books but this one was a little much for me. I thought it was depressing and too predictable. I don't want to spoil it for you if you want to read it, but I'm definitely glad I just bought it on my Kindle vs. hardback. 




I saw four movies this month:  Safe House, Act of Valor, This Means War, and the Vow. Act of Valor and Safe House were my faves. Didn't like the Vow and This Means War was just okay. 


I lost 7 pounds this month, making my total 12 pounds lost since Jan 1st!! Pretty pumped about this and hope to keep cruising along!




What did you do this month that you're proud of?