Phone Photo Dump

So the past few weeks have been a whirlwind of family and fun!  Here are a few pics off my phone from the past few weeks:

Treats from my amazing friend Lori Jo!!

 CHEERS to you and yours!

The BEST mom on earth!!

My happy boys!

Don't mind my pale / ill self... GI bug decided to visit and be my gift!

This has been my favorite gift and I seriously have been living in it!  Oiselle Hoodie is a MUST HAVE!

And 2 yes 2 huge cases of Troegs Mad Elf!

Beats by Dr. Dre were a hit!  Great job Santa ....

My girl Jen had on her Christmas gift this week!!!!!  Yup I want this too ... Boston Marathon 2014 fleece jacket!  Love the colors this year.

My mom gave me this as a stocking stuffer and I am hooked!  Coconut Butter = YUM!

Another delicious find ... Chocolate + Peanut Butter + Porter = AMAZING ... Seriously like an adult Reese PB beer!

Nana and David hit a homerun with these gifts!  Hat and beard combo plus headlamps.

LOVING my mug from my running wife!!!!!!!  I use it everyday!

Love that Oiselle puts stickers and pins in their packages!

Told ya ... I am living in this hoodie!

Today I traded in my Mizuno Wave Riders for some ice skates!

My first time ever and NO FALLS!!!!!!!  Success!  I am ready to learn to twirl now!  No kidding ... this is a great way to cross train.

Enjoying the Zamboni. 

We had a pretty amazing 2013 ... Lots of great times, many family memories, amazing races, awesome vacations, our health but we also had lots of challenges thrown our way .. I learned a lot about who I am and how strong I can be.  It is easy to be happy, cheerful and confident when things are EASY and going your way ... But when times are hard and life is challenging is when you can give up and say "I quit " or grow and become stronger!  I have chosen to be positive and focus on how blessed we are!

So here is to a great 2013 but looking forward to an even better 2014!! 

I also need to add in my workout today:  Started off in spin class but really wasn't feeling like I was getting the workout I was craving ( 13 miles in 35 minutes in spin class ) so I went to my happy place and got it all out there!  6.25 miles in 41 minutes ... that was with a 2 minute warm up pace of 8:19 also!  I NEEDED to end 2013 with that kind of run!

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE EVERYBODY!!!!

Holiday Gift Ideas I Love....

Well ... It is so hard to believe Christmas is almost here!!!!  Didn't we just have bikinis on and weren't we sweating our butts off in the summertime heat just the other day?? 

Now that the hustle and bustle of the holiday season is in full effect I wanted to share with you all some of my favorite gift ideas!

I was sent these amazing Koss FitClip and FitBuds to test out as part of a FitFluential campaign .... I LOVE them!  The best part is they are super affordable and functional!  They cost about $19.99 ( on sale at some retail stores during the holiday season ) - $29.99.   I have gone through so many pair of earbuds this past year and was currently using my 9 yr old sons angry birds pair but not anymore thanks to Koss!  I love that they are designed specifically for women and have 3 different size earbud inserts with each set!  I am loving the FitClips for running because I like the secure feeling but for indoor workouts and treadmill running I have been wearing the FitBuds!

I heart FitClips

PERFECT STOCKING STUFFER

 These also will make the perfect stocking stuffer....So slim and sleek!

Don't mind super speedy David in the background drinking a beer post race!!  I love how these Fitbuds fit nice and snug in my ears and did not blow out during the race! So make sure you check KOSS out.

Another gift I know your favorite runner girl would love is ANY Oiselle item!  I am completely passionate about products I find and love and Oiselle is one of them.  I currently have a huge wish list going!!  I really wish more stores closer to me carried their products!  I know for sure Philadelphia Runner on 202 by Wholefoods carries their line! 


I love the Schwings for running shoes and who remembers days of the week undies as a little girl??  Now you can have some Rundies to motivate you on your run!  And that hoodie ... MUST HAVE!

As you all know I am also a Mizuno For Life girl and you can never go wrong with them... It just so happens they have had some brilliant shoes released in the beginning of December and I am currently having a love affair with my Wave Rider 17's! 

They also offer some pretty fun colors too!

Wave Rider 17 and 16's !!

Mizuno also has there Breath Themo line which is great for cold weather running and offered for his or hers!

I am also in love with Alex and Ani ... There is a store on Main Street in Newark!  There are so many special bracelets and you can find the perfect one for that special someone!  I got my friend this one because she has come so far with her running and is going to do the Hot Chocolate 15K in April!

I LOVE the shoe with wings!

This also reminds me of Oiselle!
Here are some other beauties:

I WANT THIS ONE! It's Not A Sprint It's A Marathon!!! 

Or if you are crafty you can also make the perfect gift:

 

Here is Nana's wreath the boys and I made last week!  She loved it.  It was truly so simple to make and barely cost $6!!

I am also a fan of Gift Cards ... I know some people do not like to receive gift cards but I think they are great especially if they are to Starbucks or my favorite running store ( Delaware Running Company )!!! 

SO these are a few of my favorite things but honestly I am just grateful to spend the holidays with my family and friends!  Being with family and remembering the true meaning of Christmas is what it is all about!

Merry Christmas and Happy Running!

Rehoboth Beach Marathon Recap!

I LOVE this race!  If I can I will keep this one on my race schedule every year.   I have done a lot of BIG crowded marathons this past year and came to realize I actually enjoy the purity and simplicity of local small town BQ races!  Do not get me wrong....I LOVE any 26.2 but I tend to get very tense and a little stressed when I have to do a ton of bobbing and weaving and cannot get into a groove for the first 4-6 miles of the race.

The EXPO:

This is a no thrills, no big ride-on sneaker, no latest and greatest GU kind of expo.  We got there around 2pm literally were in and out in under 10 minutes and I was able to pick up my 4 friends packets too.  Plus,  they have the cutest race shirts!!!

They offer 3 colors ( blue, white and hot pink ) and 2 styles ( unisex or women's cut ).  They did have a section of race shirts/gloves/hats/socks and my favorite socks ever FEETURES!!!  #ambassador

I HAVE TO GET THE ORANGE ONES!!!

The Rehoboth Beach Running Co.  store is also open and does carry a ton of great items and a HUGE selection of race day fuel ... They are also big MIZUNO fans at this store which makes me happy!

After we checked into our hotel ( The Sands ) ... I laced up and went for a quick little jog on the boardwalk in the drizzling rain.

I stopped by Santa's house and put in my wish for a great race!
This is right on the boardwalk and Santa comes on the weekends!!

Mom and I grabbed a quick lunch at Fins on Rehoboth Ave ( very close to the Expo tent ) and I had this amazing Lobster Roll. 

Angel, Dawn. Katie, Debbie and Friends arrived and we all met at Rigby's Bar and Grill for the BEST spaghetti and meatballs in town!!!  For REAL they were awesome!  I ended up splitting my bowl with my little man because they give you so much!  Our gang of runners!

After dinner I ended up just staying with my hubby, boys and mom at the hotel since we literally were 1 min from the start line!  I laid out all my gear for the morning...Ready to rock my Oiselle singlet!

Race Morning:

I got up around 5:30 am and my hubby ( best man ever ) ran to Royal Farms for some strong coffee!!  I tried to eat my usual banana and peanut butter on toast but just could not choke it down .  I drank my GenUCAN at 6:30 on the way to the start of the race... then hopped in the port-a-pot line with my runner girls, grabbed a picture with the Y running club then it was time to start the race at 7 am!

I look sleepy... better wake up!

Rehoboth Beach Marathon/Half Marathon has a max of 2500 runners total and if you start close to the front you really don't have a ton of bobbing to do and once you hit the trail it opens up and spaces out nicely.  I am not 100% sure of exact numbers but I think more people did the half vs. the full and once the half marathon turn around point came it was completely open road running!   I did not start as close to the front as I probably should have because I got stuck behind some walkers and it was very hard to get my groove going .. By mile 3 we were spaced out but I had this odd burning sensation on my left hip and SI joint area!!!  I have had no issues for about 1.5 yrs with my SI but it reared its head today.  I saw Angel, Dawn and Lori around mile 3-4 which was fun.  The race from here went out to the trail which I love ... but since we had a lot of rain on Friday it was quite muddy with big puddles at some spots on the trail.  I tucked in with a group of half marathon runners and chatted for a little while with one of them .. he told me I was "ambitious" for doing 2 marathons so close together!  LOL!  After the trail ended the half marathoners turned around and headed back while us marathoners kept going out in the brutal headwind towards Cape Henlopen.  Miles 11-17 were tough and very windy out on the open road and through the park.  Then I got to mile 18 and kept thinking to myself "just get to mile 20, get to mile 20, Katie and Danny will be there, my GenUCAN will be there, all will be good".  Mile 19 was up and over the bridge and then we made a left turn to head toward 20.  I could see the bridge where my peeps where suppose to meet me .... But my heart sank and I got this awful pit in my stomach when I saw they were not there!!!!  At this moment I felt such a let down and started to get emotional.  I quickly tried to turn that around in my head and think positive but I really freaking needed them there .. I also felt like a needed my drink for that little extra energy and boost!  I ran to the next water stop hoping that they would pull up next to or behind me but they didn't ... so I decided to take my Honey Stinger Gel I had on me instead .... At this point I walked through the water stop, drank a cup of h2o, gelled and continued on!  Mile 21ish is back on the trail and continues on until mile 25ish ... I finally met up with Angel and Dawn at mile 22.6 and my emotions started to get the best of me .. Angel slapped me into check, gave me some water and kept me going until 25 ... At mile 25.2 I met a man who was AWESOME!  He said " girl I will race you to the finish line " ... That was what I needed ... then a super friendly police officer said to me " hurry up BUTTERCUP "  Yup I needed that!  I cruised into the finish line with a 7:05 last mile.  11th overall female with a time of 3:28:51 ... Not a PR but I will take it considering that headwind! 

Rehoboth puts on the best post race party and always has great food and 16 Mile Brewery was being served! 

Post race bling!

Celebratory Lunch @ Fins

MAD ELF @ Fins

Thanks to Tom the Manager at Fins for my post race FAVORITE beer!

LOVE the medal!

All in all this was an amazing race and I will do it year after year ... You cannot beat the local hometown feeling plus the course is very fair even though the headwind was not!  I also want to send a huge congrats to Steve Sinko ( Delaware Running Company ) for winning the half marathon with a time of 1:13!!!  Also a shout out to all then Bear-Glasgow Y runners and Dave Landon for a big PR on the half!  Dawn also snagged a 3rd in her AG! 

Add this race to your race schedule next year peeps ... You will not be disappointed!

Another special thanks to John Black and John Glenstrup from Rigby's Bar and Grill!!!

Happy Running!

 

 

Marathon Recovery/Snow Days and MIZUNO WINNER!!!

I am currently in my recovery week for the Rehoboth Beach Marathon...So what is more perfect then having my boys home the past 2 days for SNOW DAYS and home today for an inservice day at school!   YAY!  Oh yea plus I worked night shift on Monday night and again tonight ... AWESOME!  So to keep us busy today we ventured out to Whereabouts Café for a yummy breakfast:

I LOVE having my coffee in a real mug at this little cozy café ... plus my protein packed bagel with egg whites!

Cameron opted for a hot ham and cheese with a delicious hot chocolate!

And Chase went for the bacon, egg and cheese bagel with a frozen hot chocolate!

Then we all got crafty:

We made a special wreath for Nana!  I would post the final picture but I am pretty sure she reads my blog ... It turned out great so I will definitely post a picture after Sunday when we give it to her!

And now for the WINNER of my Mizuno Wave Rider 17 Giveaway is:  #15 Danielle Heffernan

So Danielle please email me at skoval21(at)aol(dot)com by 12/13 to claim your NEW MIZUNO WAVE RIDERS!!! 

I will be doing a whole Rehoboth Beach Marathon Recap tomorrow ... I also started a new to me workout program this week and holy moly it is TOUGH but I LOVE it!

Happy Running!

Tomorrow is the Day....

Tomorrow is the Rehoboth Beach Marathon and I am excited for it!!!  I have a ton of friends running this race as well as 2 of my Oiselle teammate.  This race is also where I started my love for the 26.2  5yrs ago and was my very 1st marathon!  It was FREEZING cold that year, there was black ice on the ground and only maybe 500-600 total runners I believe but I loved it....I cannot express how I felt when I say that finish line on the boardwalk and my Mom standing there cheering for me!!!!!  Oh My Goodness I get so emotional when I think about it!  Ever since that race I have been hooked.  So I am heading down today and will be meeting up with my runner girls tonight. 

I also went to send a HUGE THANK YOU to Rigby's Bar & Grill Rehoboth for sponsoring me in this race!!!  They have the best for and a "to die for" burger!  So check them out for your post race meal or celebratory meal!!!  While you are at Rigby's say Hi to Uncle John!

I am so glad that I have these new FitBuds and FitClips from Koss to wear tomorrow because I have a feeling I am going to need some tunes out there on the open road! 

So who else is running Rehoboth??

Don't forget to enter my Mizuno Wave Rider 17 Giveaway!!!!

Happy Running!

Thank you to Fitfluential and Koss for allowing me this opportunity. 

Taper Tantrum and MIZUNO WAVE RIDER 17!!!!!!!!!

I am in full on taper madness right now .... and just had a Taper Tantrum!  I feel like I could fly off the handle at any second and just want to lace up my NEW WAVE RIDER 17's and go for miles and miles! 

 

LOVE the laces!

I am so beyond excited to try these new Wave Rider 17 and extremely thankful to Mizuno!  I am a firm believer in being passionate in what you love and for me running is such a part of my soul ... when I can't run I feel all out of whack and feel like something is missing.  Ever since I started running in Mizuno's I have been able to keep healthy and keep my feet happy!  So my amazing friends at Mizuno would like to share the love with ONE of my readers!!!  SAY WHAT!  Yes we can be twins and show off our new kicks...

I love that little sign!

PLEASE ENTER THE GIVEAWAY BELOW!!!

Happy Running!

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Welcome December!

Happy December everyone!  I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving and spent time with your family and friends...And if you went out Black Friday shopping I hope you got some amazing deals!  I started my Thanksgiving with a early morning run with these lovely ladies:

We ran 6 speedy miles and chatted the whole time!  I then spent the day with my family at my cousins house and got to catch up with everyone ... plus I got to hang with my favorite boys:

Me and the Hubs

I unfortunately had to work thanksgiving night and the whole weekend so I did not participate in the Black Friday Frenzy!

Ok so to catch up ... last weekend we were at the beach for my hubby's softball tournament and I was able to squeeze in a pretty stellar run.  Since my Garmin is toast I downloaded the app MapMyRun+ and I love it!  So this is what my run looked like:

I ran from the tournament fields out to Ocean Pines and ran through the neighborhood until I hit the 5 mile mark then I turned around and ran back to the fields.  I LOVE running in new places and just going out to explore.. plus I always feel like I run faster because the area is new to me.  I love that this app talks to me and lets me know my pace per mile and total distance!

I also ran my favorite Hill Pyramid TM workout this past week ... This run is always a nice quad burner and makes the run go by fast.  I start of with a 1% incline and increase every 2 minutes by .5% incline until I reach my max incline ( usually 5% ) then I decrease by .5% every 2 minutes until flat road.  Repeat as long as you want to go!

I did a little cross training and lifting as well as some core work too. 

I am now in taper mode for my marathon this weekend ... so yesterday I did a nice easy 7 miles in 51 minutes and today I ran with Angel for a good 8.5 mile run.  I am getting excited for this race and I am looking forward to running this course again!

I posted this picture on Saturday and I have an awesome surprise for one of my readers out there!  So check back in a few for a GIVEAWAY!!! 

A box of love from MIZUNO!!!!!

How was your Thanksgiving?

Did you race this past weekend and if yes how did it go??

Happy Running!