Tag: 5K

Five Reasons To Run Iron Girl Clearwater {and a discount!}

Clearwater girl that I am, I am very excited about Iron Girl Clearwater. I’ve run this event several years now, both the half marathon and the 5k. I love that it’s so close to home for me and easy to get to race morning. This year I am running the 5k. Just for fun, I have 5 reasons you should run Iron Girl Clearwater! 

 

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The View…. If you love running by the water, the view is gorgeous. You can see Sand Key and Belleair in the distance. The water is pretty. And when the sun comes up over downtown Clearwater, it is just beautiful. 

 

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The Course… Starting at Coachman Park, you run the library, City Hall, and the courthouse and then you approach the bridge. If you run the 5k, you run about half of the causeway before you turn around and head back. If you run the half marathon, you will also get to run the Sand Key Bridge. The bridges are my favorite part!

 

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The Medals… Iron Girl does a great job with the medals and I love that the last few years it has had the bridge on it. The bridges are part of the challenge and it’s nice to have that on the medal as a reminder than you tackled them like a beast! 

 

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The Expo… Saturday and Sunday morning, you can visit the Expo for your packet and to check out all the vendors an fun products. From clothing to jewelry, fitness gear, and more, it’s always fun to walk around. And after the race! They have some pretty amazing food.

 

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Photo courtesy of Iron Girl Clearwater Facebook page

 

 

The Girl Power… I love events that empower women and this one is top of the list. Iron Girl “aspires to bring women of all ages together as a community by offering a supportive, energetic and empowering environment for females pursuing a healthy and active lifestyle.” Need I say more? I am all about this!

 

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Register for Iron Girl Clearwater today and save 10% with my discount code THISCRAZYLIFE. If you register by March 8, you will receive a personalized bib!

 

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Are you running Iron Girl Clearwater? Let me know!

The One Where I Ate Birthday Cake {Week 4}

In the fourth week of bootcamp, I turned 45. And there was birthday cake. And I enjoyed every bite I had AND I tracked it. That is a win, folks.

 

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It was a busy week – birthday, Best Damn Race, baby shower, wedding, a massage on Sunday, and all my usual day-to-day stuff. I started the week with a great weigh-in and continued to push myself at bootcamp. I can feel my upper body getting stronger, especially when doing push-ups. And I am loving the leg press on non-bootcamp days. 

Bootcamp is hard and every class is different. Our trainer, Greg, does a great job of changing it up each time. He motivates and pushes each one of us, all while knowing that we are at different fitness levels. I enjoy every minute of class, even though I might swear at him when he is not quick on the stop watch and our time for each circuit. This is the first time I have ever done a bootcamp style class in my life and now I wish I had done one years ago.

 

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Thanks for the fabulous tank top for my birthday, honey!

 

I ran Best Damn Race on Saturday – Corinna, Angie, and I ran the 5K. As is typical when we run together, we don’t run for time because we are chatting and laughing up a storm. But I could feel a difference in my running – my legs felt stronger and my breathing felt easier. Bootcamp is doing it’s job at conditioning me. At some point this year, I *WILL* set a new PR for a 5K.

 

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Challenge Week 3

Start of week Weigh-In – 182.00  (9.0 pounds lost)

 

 

Activity:

Monday – 15 minute walk on treadmill, bootcamp  (full body), plank

Tuesday – REST

Wednesday – 20 minute walk on treadmill, bootcamp (full body), plank

Thursday – 15 minute run on treadmill, upper body circuit, ran up and down stairs 10 times each, wall sits, plank

Friday – REST

Saturday – Ran Best Damn Race 5K (and had a whopping 19,395 steps that day between the race, a baby shower, and a wedding)

Sunday – 15 minute run on treadmill, leg circuit (leg press, quads, hamstrings), ran up and down gym stairs 10 times each, wall sits, plank

 

Food:  

This week was a little challenging with food because of birthday cake AND attending a baby shower AND a wedding. I am still tracking my food every day and stayed within my calories three out of seven days. The harder we work out, the hungrier I am. I am doing my best to eat more protein-filled meals instead of snacking but it is a challenge with the calories. I will find the balance as I go along. 

 

 

12 Week Challenge Goal – 171

End of 2017 Goal – 145

Top Ten Tuesday – Favorite Races

I’m so excited to talk about my top ten races today because I just got the most awesome pair of running shoes ever and I hit the pavement this morning for my first run since finishing my 100 day run streak and busting my baby toe. It was so nice to get out there.

 

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I don’t have any races planned until the spring, but I am running a fun run this weekend with hubby and bestie. It’s a small local run, pumpkins and all, so it will be a fun way to get a 5K in. 

On to my top ten favorite races… Not necessarily based on how I ran, but the races themselves. Ready, set, go! 

 

10.   Tampa Bay Times Turkey Trot 5K – Running with hubby and friends the morning of Thanksgiving just minutes from our house is a favorite tradition. And always makes me feel better baout how much yummy food I’ll eat later on. 

9.  Rock N’ Roll Half Marathon  –  My first ever half marathon was Rock N Roll in 2012 in downtown St. Pete. Such a fun course and while it was incredibly hard given that it was my first half and I was totally winging it, I loved it enough to go on to do 14 more half marathons. 

8.  Women’s Running Half Marathon – My second every half marathon that I mostly walked the first year due to my sciatica and then PR’d at the following year. 

7.  Santa’s Twilight 5K  –  I really wish they kept this race at Honeymoon Island in Dunedin. Running in the cool weather, at sunset by the beach, is pretty amazing. The course was off one year, it was short which through off my PR, but I still loved dressing up for it. If they moved it back to Honeymoon Island, we would do it again.

6.  Iron Girl – This race makes me happy  because it takes me over my favorite bridges and Clearwater Beach. It’s challenging but I love every minute of it. 

5.  Gasparilla Distance Classic  –  Pirates, Bayshore Blvd., and Tampa love makes this a fun race. I’ve done the 8K and Ultra Lime Cactus Challenge (8K and 15K). I am on the waiting list for the Ultra Challenge in 2017 to do all 4 races. It would be a HUGE challenge, but I am up for it.

4.  Sarasota Half Marathon –  I love this race because it takes you through St. Armand’s Circle which is my favorite part of Sarasota. This is the first half marathon I ever ran under 3 hours and it made me so happy. They also have dolphin medals which I love.

3.  Best Damn Race Orlando – Starts and ends at beautiful Lake Eola in downtown Orlando, I enjoy the route for this one. It also helps that this event in 2014 was and still is my PR for a half marathon!

2.  Space Coast Marathon – One and only full marathon was at Space Coast in 2014 and I loved every minute of it. The course took us back by the start at the halfway point, we saw a beautiful sunrise, great support throughout, and a lot of spectators.

1.  Best Damn Race Safety Harbor  – Forever and always, my favorite event because the first year was on my birthday and who doesn’t want to have a race medal with their birthday on it? I run this race every year, I’ve done the 5K, the half marathon, and the 5K / 10K challenge. Being a Best Damn Race Ambassador is pretty awesome and I have met some wonderful people because of it. 

 

And because I want everyone to enjoy the fun that is Best Damn Race, don’t forget to use my discount code NANCIC to save $5 when you register! 

 

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What race is on your top ten list? Hop on over to Run.Chew.Sparkle to see her Top Ten list too!

Fit Foodie 5k with friends!

Thanks to a giveaway hosted by Live.Sweat.Sleep.Repeat, I won an entry for the Fit Foodie 5K in Tampa! I was excited to change it up for day 87 of my run streak and run in downtown Tampa with some of my favorite people – my bestie Angelina, Caitlyn, and Ali!

 

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This was the first year for the Fit Foodie Race Weekend in Tampa. Basically if you are a foodie and love to be active, this event was for you. The race itself followed started in downtown Tampa next to Amalie Arena and took us along Bayshore Boulevard. The after party was in Cotanchobee Park along the Tampa River Walk.

Friends, laughter, a beautiful sunrise, a super cute medal, a fun photo booth, and delicious food and beverage afterwards made for a fabulous Saturday morning. 

Throughout my run streak, I have not worried about my time.I certainly wasn’t speedy yesterday, but it was more about enjoying the run and the company. I hope they come back to Tampa again next year, I will definitely do it again!

 

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Did you run this event in Tampa yesterday? Or have you run it in another city? 

 

Gasparilla Booty Giveaway!

Thanks to my friends at Milestones Sports Jewelry, I have a fun giveaway for Gasparilla runners! Did you run one of the races last weekend? Or did you run one of the challenges? Now you can add more booty to your collection with TWO chances to win!

 

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You can enter to win your choice of a pair of pirate earrings or belly ring….

 

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And you can enter to win your choice of necklace… 5k, 10k, 13.1, or a runner girl. 

 

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Follow the Rafflecopter prompts below for each item you want to win. Enter one or both! A random winner will be chosen for each on Tuesday March 1. Product will be mailed directly to winners.

 

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Visit Milestones Sports Jewelry for current specials! 

 

Good luck! What are you hoping to win?