Thankful Thursday - Race Ambassadorships and Discounts

This has been an exciting week for me.  I received two race ambassadorships!  One is a returning ambassadorship that I have been privileged to be a "founding finisher" and the other is a new ambassadorship.

I was chosen to be an Esprit de She ambassador for the fourth year.  I started my journey with them my first year running and it is a true honor to be a part of this women's only race series.  I love this series and it is one of the reasons why I knew about my new hometown of Cary, NC.  The Esprit de She race series offers a bubbly bar and a beauty bar.  Last year, we also had a full buffet of different types of food in the runner's village. I also received a cute running outfit as part of the swag-not just a shirt.  I love the spirit of this race series as it encourages women at any level to get out there and be fit and healthy. 

You can receive a $5.00 off discount by using the code GEDS17CARYKALL.  I hope to see you at the race in Cary, NC. 

My new ambassadorship is with the Zooma race series.  I am so excited to be a part of this wonderful women's only race series.  I was shocked to receive the ambassadorship because I have never run one of their races but have only heard wonderful things about them.  Again, this race series encourages women to be fit and healthy at any level.  Their swag is wonderful along with their medals.  They also have an amazing podcast on their website.  I recently started listening to this while I run-they are fabulous! 

There are four races in the Zooma series.  I will be doing the Annapolis race virtually and attending the Florida race.  I'm so blessed to have this new journey in my running career.  I hope to have a discount code to share in the next couple of days so please look to my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram social media for this code. 

I hope to have the pleasure to see you at these races-please introduce yourself as I would love to meet you and hearing about your healthy journeys. I am truly blessed in my running career.

  Till next time and remember, my journey continues...If you can dream it, you can do it as Walt Disney said!

2017 Rock 'n' Roll DC Half Marathon Recap

This was my second time running the Rock-N-Roll DC half marathon.  I knew from last year what to expect both at the expo and the race course but I wasn't prepared for the cold of the weekend.  I moved from the Baltimore, MD to Cary, NC last Fall so I'm now a southern gal.  This southern gal doesn't like the cold weather anymore.

I arrived in Washington, DC on Friday and headed right to the expo.  The lines were long waiting outside due to security but once you were inside, it wasn't crowded.  I took pictures at the Chocolate Milk Booth, saw my Brooks representative from Maryland and looked around at the Brooks merchandise.

Then I went to Charm City Run booth to check out the Balega socks and see my representative as a Balega Impi.  I met Dan last year and it was fun to see him again.

I picked up my Tour Pass and proceeded to spend more time at the expo.

The expo was smaller this year but equally as fun.  I left the expo and drove to Baltimore to stay with friends.  Needless to say, I had to stop and pick up some cold weather gear because what I had packed I thought wouldn't keep me warm enough. An email was sent out to forewarn of the cold weather but I thought that it wouldn't be that cold!  Friday night was brutally cold!  After dinner, I laid out my flat me and headed to bed since race morning always come too early.

Saturday morning, we were up and on the way to Washington, DC by 6 am.

After arriving and parking, we hopped on the Metro and found our way to the start line.  After some pictures and using the bathroom, I tried to find the meetup for the RockNBlog but didn't have any success. I saw the dinosaurs again this year.  Who can pass up a picture opportunity like this!

 I really don't know how they run in those costumes and saw them several times on the course.   I lined up in the corral trying to stay warm. 

Luckily, the race started on time and I was off.  The first couple of miles I was still cold but once I ran past the first band and the Kennedy Center, I was fine.  This race has lots of sights to see and the spectators on the course were great with their signs.  I saw one of my friends with a sign.

Halfway through the race at the end of Rock Creek Park is the blue mile.  It's sponsored by Wear Blue to Remember, a nonprofit running organization that remember fallen service personnel.  It's a hard mile physically and emotionally but well worth every step!

The next couple of miles are through the  Adams Morgan neighborhood while the bands and sites along the course were fabulous.

Around mile nine at Howard University, there is a great women's drum corp,Batala.  This is the third time that I've had the privilege of seeing them in a race.  Wow, are they amazing! They really kept us going with their music!

The last couple of miles, I do admit were hard for me.  I hadn't trained well for this race and my timing was off.  I was tired and cold but kept going.  As I got closer to the DC Armory, I heard another band and the crowds.  I ran with several people that kept me going-one was a 78 year old man and it was his birthday.  Another man was completing his 100th Rock 'N' Roll half marathon!  This kept me going to the finish line! 

The runner's village was superb with having heat wraps, chocolate milk, bananas and granola bars.  After wards, I listened to the music and had a beer but was still really cold so I decided to head to the car.  I had done another half marathon and my third Rock 'N' Roll race!

Another one of the reasons why I love the Rock 'N' Roll races is that when you receive your finisher results, you also receive these awesome badges!  It's just plain fun!

This is an amazing race in Washington, DC due to the race course and the spectators.  I would highly recommend doing this Rock 'N' Roll if you get a chance. If you did the race, what are your thoughts?

Please let me know. Till next time and remember, my journey continues...If you can dream it, you can do it as Walt Disney said!

Disclaimer:  As a Rock-N-Blogger, I received a complimentary global tour pass, which I used as entry for this race.  As always, the opinions are my own. 

Thankful Thursday-ROCKNBLOG Edition

It's another Thankful Thursday edition.  I have a lot to be thankful for this week.  I was chosen as a RockNBlog Blogger.  I am so honored to receive this and be part of this team and race series!  I was jumping for joy when I received that email but couldn't scream until I was home from work.  I swear, my neighbors must have wondered what was going on because I was just thrilled!  This is so special to me as a runner.

First, I have always loved this race series.  I love the swag, the expos and the races themselves.  Who doesn't love bands playing great music every couple of miles in a race?  Seriously, though, let me tell you why this race series is so special to me.

I have been a blogger now with Gracious Warrior Princess for almost five year now.  I know, right, five years-I can't even believe it's been that long!  When I started running, I subscribed to Runner's World magazine.  I kept seeing advertisements for Team Challenge CCFA.

My eldest son has Crohns' Disease.  I thought about it and decided to go to a meeting to find out more information.  I learned what was required to join the team (training, fundraising, etc) and thought that I could do this.  Run my first half marathon in Las Vegas, Las Vegas RNR.  Why not?  I joined a wonderful team of people, had fabulous coaches and raised almost $8000.  As a new runner, the expo was huge and I literally spent two days there getting new gear and swag.  I also met Meb for the first time at the expo.  I had the best time at the expo and touring the city.  The race course is amazing at night and the music was spectacular!  If you have never done Las Vegas RNR, let me tell you that this is an amazing race!!  I completed my first half marathon-a Rock 'N' Roll race! 

I had never felt more proud of myself and my teammates on this amazing journey into running!  This taught me so much about myself and I was hooked into running-full steam ahead!  The Las Vegas RNR taught me that I could believe in myself, trust other people to guide and teach me, fundraise for an amazing cause and live life to its fullest!  I am forever grateful for that race, what it taught me and the tremendous experience of an RNR race. 

I have now completed my third RNR race in Washington, DC this weekend and can't wait to run more RNR races this year.  (My race recap will be up shortly). 

I will be running the following Rock 'N' Roll races this year:

Raleigh Rock 'N' Roll (April 1-2, 2017)

Virginia Beach Rock 'N' Roll (September 2-3, 2017)

Philadelphia Rock 'N' Roll (September 16-17, 2017)

Brookyln (October 14, 2017)

Savannah (November 4-5, 2017)

Who wants to join me at these amazing races and have fun?  You can use the following discount for the races. 

I hope to see you at the races and please let me know.  I would love to see you there!  Till next time and remember, my journey continues...If you can dream it, you can do it as Walt Disney said!

Disclaimer:  As a Rock-N-Blogger, I received a complimentary global tour pass, which I used as entry for this race.  As always, the opinions are my own. 

Krispy Kreme Challenge

The Krispy Kreme Challenge supports the UNC Children's Hospital, a specialty-designed hospital that caters to the needs of sick or injured children and their families. I had heard about this race prior to moving to North Carolina. Five miles and eat a dozen doughnuts in one hour. Wow! I had also heard that a lot of people get sick on the race course after eating the donuts. Participants begin the Challenge at the Memorial Belltower on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC.

Runners then travel 2.5 miles through historic downtown Raleigh to the Krispy Kreme located at the intersection of Peace and Person Streets, where they attempt to consume one dozen original glazed doughnuts. The hardest part of the Challenge awaits them as they run 2.5 miles back to the Memorial Belltower. You can run the race as a challenger (a runner who runs the 2.5 miles and eats the dozen donuts prior to being allowed to reenter the race), a casual runner (a runner who runs the race and can eat zero to a dozen donuts) or a no doughnut runner (a runner who doesn't eat any donuts). I signed up a casual runner. The expo was held on the campus of North Carolina State University. Parking was a bit tricky as you had to pay to park in the garages and walk to the student union. The expo was held in the ballroom and only had about five tables of displays. The shirts were white cotton shirts with the logo and the sponsors on the back. You could purchase a medal at an additional cost. The expo was really just a bib pick-up; nothing there besides a photo opportunity with a background and inflatable doughnuts.

The morning of the race it was really cold; 25 degrees! Parking on street was doable however I arrived early at 7:15 am for a 8:30 am start time.

People dress up for this race in all kinds of costumes. I saw a group of power rangers, unicorns, Wizard of Oz and even some in just speedos!

The race began on time and the first mile was mostly downhill. Nice! The race winds itself through the city of Raleigh to the Krispy Kreme store at two and half miles. I would suggest that you bring a backpack to store your doughnuts. At the store, everyone was either eating doughnuts or picking them up. It was the only water stop.

However, it was well organized and I didn't see anyone getting sick there or along the course afterwards. The course back was mostly uphill but the weather turned warmer. Overall the course was great through the city.

There really wasn't a runner village afterwards either as this race is a huge fundraiser.

Would I do this race again. Absolutely!  Till next time and remember, my journey continues...If you can dream it, you can do it as Walt Disney said!