Saturday, May 31, 2014

Pro Compression Shake Out Run & Blogger Royalty!

You know when you meet Peyton Manning in real life (IRL)?  Or Brad Pitt?  Or Elsa and Anna?  Well, for me names like Kristen, Melissa, Meb, Ryan, Kara and Shalene make me giddy!  Like a school girl!

When I heard that Pro Compression was going to be sponsoring a shake out run before the Rock n Roll San Diego Half, I jumped at the chance.  When I found out that Sarah at Skinny Runner and Kristin at Stuft Mama were co-hosting, I swooned!

We started at the Bahia Hotel in glorious Mission Bay!

In my Pro Compression socks of course!

Took a picture with all the participants before we headed out!  Recognize any famous (to me) faces?!

My RF Danielle and I brought our boys to this run and they enjoyed their time together...more than their run!

D & B!


Look at the contrast between them and the fabulous Sarah (Skinny Runner)!  She just placed first in her 100K!  She is speedy and strong!  And so nice.  She talked me thru why doing a Marathon soon-ish is a great idea and even gave me tips on which one would be a good first one!

We then headed back (after .7 miles) and saw this spread!


With Nuttzo of course!  You know happy that makes me!  But I had to make my Blooger Heros stop and take pictures with me!

Me and Stuft Mama - Kristin

Stuft Mama, SD Mom and Melissa Running It!

SD Mom, Skinny Runner and Carlee!

Then Danielle and I had to take a picture with our boys!


And then one just of me and D!


And finally, what is a Pro Compression run without shwag?!  I won a pair of the blue socks I have had my eye on FOREVER and an awesome trucker hat which will make me #MatchyMatchersons with Skinny Runner!


So there you have it!  I highly recommend these shakeout runs.  They are low pressure fun events.  And maybe you can take pictures with celebrities too!

Things to remember:
1.  Enter the Rumble Roller Beastie GIVEAWAY here.
2.  Go sign up for the San Diego Beer Run on 8/23.  Tell them the blogging community sent you.  Sign up here.
3.  Use Code BLG14 to save 40% of any Pro Compression socks here.

Anxious about the early wake up time tomorrow.  But I will see you on the flip side! 

As always, I wish you Happy Feet,
SD Mom



Friday, May 30, 2014

Rock n Roll San Diego Expo!

This place is so overwhelming!  I am not used to GINORMOUS races.  Everything is on a bigger scale than I am used to, especially the Expo.  Luckily, my friend Justin agreed to drive me (okay, he let me force him).  Even parking at the SD Convention Center was $15!  Seriously!  Okay, so here are the hughlights in pictures:

Bib Pickup!

Cheesy pose (my bib says Mike Drew Serena by the way!)

The Suja booth.  By far, the prettiest!

Delicious SUJA samples!  I like the Carrot, Apple & Pineapple juice best!  They didn't have my absolute favorite, Vanilla Cloud!

The Gecko from Geico (say that 6 times fast)

Ink n' Burn!  Check out my friend Kat for a discount code here.

The Vendors

The DJ rocking the tunes.  I hope the music at the race is as good!

The Chik Fil A cow!

If you run 10 Rock n Roll races in one year, here is your medal!  It is the size of my head!

Here are all the multiple race medals!
 
The MAN Meb!
 
All the Women's Half Marathon medals for this year.  They haven't unveiled the San Diego date or medal yet.  Stay tuned to this blog!  My favorite race to date!

Lifeway Kefir had popsicles!

Yum!  Coconut!

Colmbia was handing out blue popsicles to promote their Omni Free Zero gear.  Keeps your skin cool as you sweat!  He gave me warm popsicles so I can take them home to the kids!

I love Nuun and stocked up on Watermelon and Kona Cola.  They had a no tax deal $5 a tube.  It's like I am a part of the family!
 
I was starstruck posing with her!  And you all know how much I love my Running Skirts!
 
One more picture!
Here is the tech tee!  I love the color and the sizing is super good!  And I like that San Diego is the Epic Summer Run!
 
And finally, my bib.  They said we could put whatever we wanted on our bibs to personalize them and I chose to put the names of those I love and hold closest to my heart every single day!
 

See you at the Finish Line!

As always, I wish you Happy Feet,
SD Mom
 















Make it Hurt so Good and a Rumble Roller Beastie GIVEAWAY!

Some of you know this and some of you don't but my first Half Marathon in Carlsbad almost didn't happen.  As close as the Friday before, my legs HURT!  My calves felt tight and I was scared.  My whole leg felt like it was cramped.  So not only was it my first Half, I was in pain and it seemed like all of my training was for naught!

Then to the rescue - Laces Running Company!  Coach Mike took one look (feel?) at my calves and said I could run on Sunday but I needed to roll the cr@p out of my calves first.  When he first showed me the roller, I was expecting this:


Instead, he pointed me to the Black X-Firm RUMBLE ROLLER!


This black rumble roller and I hung out for 48 hours straight.  Every 2-3 hours (awake time), I would roll out my calves.  And Thank GOODNESS, I was able to run again on Sunday.  Not my best performance but I ran!  And finished my first Half Marathon!

Ever since then, I have faithfully used the RR to roll out my calves, my quads and yes, even that dratted hip flexor!  


Fast forward a few months and I started this Blog.  And with this Blog came opportunities to work with some of my favorite companies including Rumble Roller.  They sent me some Beasties in original and x-firm as pictured above wit the Black Rumble Roller.  They also sent me this video:


Jeff Alexander is a foam rolling genius.  He tells you how to use those beastie balls and the foam roller - CORRECTLY!  I highly recommend watching his videos on your affected body parts right on the Rummble Roller website.  For example, this one on the calves (which I used)!


So now, hanging out with the Rumble Roller in all its "hurts so good" forms has become part of my routine after a long run or a race.  I even keep the Beastie stick in my office.  Check this thing out!


You just roll it over your sore muscles and it really does hurt so good!  So, I have teamed up with my favorite foam rolling brand to bring you a Beastie GIVEAWAY!  You can win a set of Original and X-Firm Beastie for your rolling pleasure!  Here is a picture of the original:


It is not as firm as the other one but they each have their own purpose. And make sure you watch the videos on the website so you know how to do this right!


Ready to win?  Enter on the Rafflecopter widget below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I am really excited about this GIVEAWAY because I  use this product almost daily and I love it!  And I can't wait for one of you to win it!

Contest runs 5/30/2014 to 6/05/14 at 11:59 P.M. PST
No purchase necessary.
1 winner will be randomly selected via Rafflecopter.
Open to US and Canadian residents 18 years of age or older.
Winner will notified via email (if available) and blog post, and will have 48 business hours to claim prize.
If original winner does not claim prize within 48 business hours an alternate winner will be selected.
Contestants must enter on the Rafflecopter form in order to win.
All winning entries will be verified. If a winning entry cannot be verified as completed, a new winner will be drawn.
Prize will be shipped directly from Rumble Roller.  

Good luck and email me at RunningwithSDMom at gmail dot com if you have any questions about this product or just want to say HI!

As always, I wish you Happy Feet,
SD Mom

Friday Fascinations 5/30

I love having a blog!  My little area of the world where I get to tell you what I think about things and you get to pretend you care!  Ha ha!  So here we go:

1.  KIAVA Petal Skort!  I have had my eye on this lovely for a while.  And they have super cute bras and tanks too in bright colors.


Could you just die from the cuteness???  Have any of you tried these skirts?  Are they worth it?

2.  This Beer that the wonderful people at Urge Gastropub in San Diego served me on Mother's Day.  I desperately want to have it again so if you find it, mail it to me!  It is a delicious Brown Imperial Porter.


And maybe Urge should be on my Friday Fascinations as well.  They are awesome and really know their beer.

3.  My lunch run views!  Seriously, I am so blessed to live in this amazing city!  There is a reason it is called America's Finest City!


4.  The Chicken Tortilla Soup from Islands.  No matter what the special occasion, my son ALWAYS wants to go to Islands.  But I love it because I get the endless bowl of tortilla soup no matter what the weather is outside.  Chunks of chicken, creamy cool avocado and gooey cheese.  YUM!


5.  And finally, my dog Murray.  My fascination this week is how DIRTY he got from camping.  The picture on the left is before the bath and the right fresh and fluffy after.  He is a pretty cool dog!  He is a rescue by the way!


What are you loving this week?  Have you tried any of the above?  Should I get that skirt?  

As always, I wish you Happy Feet,
SD Mom

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Wednesday GIVEAWAY Roundup!

Welcome to another edition of the Wednesday GIVEAWAY Roundup!  I go looking for GIVEAWAYS around the web and put them in one place so you don't have to.  As always, I am entering these GIVEAWAYS too!  So here we go!

1.  Guess what?  For the zillionth week in a row, mine is my favorite GIVEAWAY!  This race is all about San Diego, the beer scene here and the run!  Add them all up and you get my perfect event!  And guess what?  You can win your own entry to this race!  And if you decide you can't wait, there is another giveaway for the 21+ crowd if you decide to buy your own ticket!



You can enter here.  

2.  Jane, over at Live Like it's Shark Week is giving away an entry to the See Jane Run Half Marathon in San Francisco on June 22.  Get it? Jane?  And she runs?  So see Jane run?



Enter to win here.

3.  Laura at Fit Running Mama is giving away super cute running tees  Uh oh!  This doesn't bode well for my running gear addiction!


Enter to win here.


4.  Erica at Erica Finds is once again doing multiple Giveaways for sweet week!  All Natural Maple Syrup and Honey from Mohawk Valley Trading Co: http://ericafinds.com/2014/05/maple-syrup-and-raw-honey-review-giveaway/







5.  Kaila from Healthy Helper Blog is giving away Simply Choices bars in a flash giveaway!  Enter soon!



Enter to win here.

6.  Christina at Body Rebooted is giving away Salba Chia BOOST to a lucky winner.


Enter here.  

7.  Amanda at Mom who Tris is giving away a Nuun Energy pack!  Another one I will have to enter!



Enter to win here.

8.  Sarah at Mumma Runnah and Lauren at Mommy's Getting Strong are both giving away About Time Protein and a t-shirt!


Enter to win here and here.

9.  Larisa at 0 to 26point2 is giving away 2 pairs of Swiftkick socks!


Enter to win here.

10.  Tara at Pookas Family is givng away handmande headbands by Pinnate Bebe.  Proceeds from each sale go to a mother who has lost an infant.


Enter to win here.

11.  And finally, my buddy Tim at Words from the Wise Running is holding his own giveaway on Facebook!  Read my review of his shirts here.  But be still my heart, he is now going to start making racerback tanks for women!


Enter to win here.

So there you go!  13 fabulous giveaways!  Enter them all and GOOD LUCK to you and me!

As always, I wish you Happy Feet,
SD Mom