Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Looking Back and recognizing effort

Lately I've been in a bit of a slump. I really think I burned out during the first part of the year and then with various life changes, I had trouble getting back to my peak performance mode. However, as we reach the last few days of 2011- I'm reflecting on what I accomplished this year.
This is a snapshot of my 2010 Nike+ Stats for the whole year:

This is my 2011 Nike+ Stats (updated 1/1/2012):

9 more runs than last year- 93 miles more - 13.5 hours more- and an avg pace improvement of almost 1.5 minutes. I may not have kept up the intensity and frequency of my runs the second half of the year- but by God, I still improved over 2010 and that is something I can be proud of
I had some disappointments this year- choosing to opt out of my 2nd half marathon and not performing as well as I wanted to at Ragnar (due to illness)- that's life though- right? It doesn't always go as planned. You can give up- or you can keep on.
When you're having a rough day and beating yourself up for what you DIDN'T do- remember what you DID do and remind yourself that progress is progress- no matter how slow, no matter how long it takes. Keep moving forward.

My goal for 2012 is to improve on 2011 - run at least 100 times, go for 350 miles in the year and quicken my avg overall pace by at least 30 seconds.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Winning for Christmas! The iFitness Running Belt Giveaway!

I didn't forget to draw a winner- it's just been a very busy week!!
Taking the list of comments received during the posts in the promotional period- and using the List Randomizer from random.org (unfortunately, the rafflecopter tool didn't work properly- so I had to use a backup plan).
The winner is.................................

F*R*A*N*C*I*E

You have won a Neoprene Single Pouch Running Belt - you get to select which color you would like and iFitness will ship it to you!

Congrats! I know you will love your iFitness belt as much as I love mine!
I will email you with details on how to select your prize from iFitness!

If you didn't win this time- stay tuned - I hope to be able to give away others soon! (Can't Wait? Head over to http://www.ifitnessinc.com/ and get yours now!)

**Other than donating a belt for me to giveaway, I was not compensated for promoting iFitness products in any way. The opinions and reviews in this blog are mine and mine alone.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Holiday Gift Ideas for Your 2011 Runner

Hopefully you surround yourself with lots of active friends and family- and if so, you might want to get them something to help support the habit for the holidays! Here are some of the gifts I'd love to see under my tree!

Running Belt
I talk about it a lot- you’d think I was paid to – but I’m not!
I just really love that this belt does what it says it will do- stay put and fit all my stuff in one place. The only catch is that you need to be realistic about the definition of “all my stuff”. If your stuff will take up more than one pouch- get the double! Never hurts to have extra room. Does not slip, doesn’t bounce and keeps your items dry.
AND- I’m giving one of these belts away on December 19, you could win, read on to see how. . .

Hydration;
Camelbak- Like this Annadell-version, the light-weight, 50 oz holding, pack is perfect for those long runs where you don’t want to have to stop for water or carry it in your hands the whole time.
Camelbak Hydration Pack


Early Morning or Night Running- Reflective gear
If you value your life, and you SHOULD- invest in good reflective gear. For cold weather, I think the ultimate is the Nike Vapor Flash Jacket Pricey- but one of these, soon, will be mine.
Don’t have $350 bones to drop on a running jacket (or maybe, where you are, it would be too warm)? Then at a minimum, make sure you have a reflective vest- with lights, even better! Nathan Photon LED Vest 

Gadgets
Lots of people love their various gadgets- but I love my Nike Plus, and here is why:
I don’t like watching a GPS watch, it makes me neurotic about checking my pace or distance or time. With the Nike Plus, I set it- turn on my music and go. Unless I manually check it- I don’t know my pace or distance until I’m finished and it allows me to focus on form, on breathing, on nothing at all. Plus, I like being able to look back through the runs, set challenges for myself and an animated Mini-me isn’t bad either.  Find a Nike Plus


Still stumped for the perfect gift for the active individual in your life?
Here are a few more ideas:

     • Local Running Store gift certificates
          o They can use this towards new shoes, or fuel or clothes- but shows you know their heart is in being active
     • iTunes Gift Card
          o If they like to run (or workout) to music- the gift of music is always a good one!
     • For the ladies: Sweaty Bands! I love these head bands! They are the only ones that don’t slip on my head even when really sweaty! http://sweatybands.com/ Makes a GREAT stocking stuffer!

Now how do you enter to win the belt? It's easy- just comment. Say hi, tell me your favorite accessory or tell me why you need this running belt. You can enter once, every time I post between now and when I do the drawing on 11/19. Each comment is worth one entry.
I'll talk about this running belt in each post- but if you have any questions- use your entry to ask them too!

Giveaway Terms and Conditions
• Other than receiving a free single-pouch running belt from iFitness to give away to one of my readers, I am in no way being compensated by iFitness for my posts. The views and opinions of these posts are mine, and mine alone. Only 1 comment, per post, will be counted as an entry. However, during the giveaway period, you may comment on multiple posts for additional entries. Only Living A Lola Life posts created between 11/28/11 and 12/18/11 will be valid for entry. Winner will be selected, at random, via Rafflecopter; winner selection and announcement via post on 11/19/11. Winner will then select color choice of iFitness Single Pouch running belt, which will be fulfilled through iFitness.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Staying motivated to run. . .when you can't!

It is kind of funny that in my last post I said I would be doing a "posting series about staying motivated to" and then I got really sick . . .and now I can't run.

That is one of the hardest things I had to come to grips with about running. That you really have to work at getting back out for a run when things get in your way. Work gets busy, LIFE gets busy, you get a couple of runs in and think "great! now I'm in a routine again" and WHAM! You get a cold. Now, I know that some people can run with colds - and more power to them! However, with my asthma, I really can't mess around when I get a cold because it is prone to move directly to my chest, no matter what. That typically means I'm out for a week, at least. I've just come down with a cold- that I'm already feeling in my chest. I have a race on Dec 10 - 8 days from now. Blaaarrrrrrrggghhh!

That's one thing I do to stay motiveated and get back out there quickly when things get in the way: Sign up for regular races! The one on 12/10 will be my 7th (and last) race of the year.  As long as I have a race coming up, I know I'll get back out there the first chance I get.

I'd like to know how others stay motivated, or get back on track, after an extended break or illness. What do you do?

Don't forget! All you have to do is comment- and you'll be entered for my iFitness Single Pouch Running Belt giveaway on Dec 19. Each post you comment on from now until then will get you entered for the giveaway.