Women’s Running Magazine awesomeness and Be Your Own Runner.

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Cherie

Hey all! I wish I had time for more of a post-post today, but well, yeah, nope…I don’t. I’m writing this on Sunday night and the Billboard Music Awards are taking most of my attention. I can’t miss a Prince sighting, y’all!! Anyhow, it’s the thought that counts and my thought is there at least!

I don’t have much going on this week as far as noteworthy news and newsworthy notes and promised myself when I first started this blog that I wouldn’t just get on here and babble just to babble. But I do have one thing that just happened which IS total awesomesauce and worth a mention…

Remember how I was supposed to be featured in Women’s Running Magazine in April 2013 in the Social Life section? And then this happened:

Yeah, my blog’s name and info, but that runner certainly was not me. Nice girl I’m sure, but we do look a lil different.

Anyhoooo, after chatting with the lovely editor of Women’s Running, Jessie Sebor {and I do mean calling her cell phone at like 11pm, haha}, we worked it all out and she came up with three ideas.

One was to fix the Social Life and send me a PDF of it {it was too late to do a reprint in the magazine}:

I forgot the second–I think it was to do something online, but I can’t remember and come on, Women’s Running Magazine has already been pretty awesome to me online as it was, right??? Being featured as a Blogger on the Run in December 2012 and then listed as one of their Top 12 Bloggers on the Run of the year for 2012 was a whole lotta online love already!!

But the third–so friggin’ cool, Jessie suggested featuring me as a Life Changer in the June 2013 issue with a full page. Heck yeah!!! At that point I was super happy the Social Life section got messed up, haha. A whole page was even better! Fast forward a few months to now, and I came home from work on Friday night and there was the June issue on our pile o’mail in the dining room.

I was all, “Oh yay, Women’s Running is here,” because I was just excited to see it as per usual. Then like, two seconds later, I thought, “Oh snap! I think I’m in this one!

I flipped right to it amazingly enough…

Yeeeehaww, I love it! And I more importantly I love my Best Advice:

BE YOUR OWN RUNNER.

I can’t say anything more true than that!! That’s the main thing I’ve come to learn since all this running business started. I’m me. I’m not you. I do my thing and run my own race. And pace. I’m my own runner and doggone happy to be.

And very happy with Women’s Running, yet again. Thanks soooooo much!

Review & Giveaway: Be Still My Heart, It’s a Bestowed Box!

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Cherie

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway! The lucky Bestowed Box winner was comment number 52:

And that turned out to be this commenter:

Congratulations Julie! I’ll be contacting you today!
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I love getting a box of goodies in the mail.

Especially when that box contains goodies hand-picked by a celebrity nutritionist. Ohhh, don’t I feel special, haha!

There are a lot of boxes-’o-fun out there that people can receive every month. My Twitter feed is filled with friends chatting away about theirs…But so far, none had piqued my interested enough. None until I was offered the opportunity to review a Bestowed box.

Okay, so what is this one? Why did I agree to give this one a go? Well, it’s a box of 5+ nutritional and lifestyle products all hand-selected by nutritionist and author Heather Bauer sent directly to you. All trusted and researched brands you can feel good about snacking on and using. I took a look at the list of brands they select from each month and I felt myself nodding along…yup, I like that one, yup, that one’s awesome, yup, ooohh I hope that one comes in my box! Once I did that and I felt like the goodies would receive my stamp of approval for myself, I was on board to review. Annnnnnd host a giveaway. Y’all love giveaways.

The bright orange box came last week–the day before I went on my road trip for my destination half marathon. Woo hoo! Perfect timing for me take along with me as I traveled.

Upon opening the box, you’ll see a list of what’s inside. The note goes into great detail about each product. It lists the name of the item, why Bestowed loves it and why it received their approval and two tips about how or when to use it.

My box contained:

–Happy Family ~ Happy Squeeze Smoothies
–Simply Snackin Jerky
–Kind Healthy Grains Oats & Honey Clusters
–Green and Black’s Dark Chocolate (70%)
–Nature’s Bakery Fig Bars
–EBOOST
–Arrowhead Mills Oatmeal
–iTrain $25 Gift Card
–Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts Hemp Seeds

Each box will come with at least 5 goodies to try…mine had 9! Actually 10, because there were 2 EBOOSTs. My sister did snag the other, so it went back down to 9. Haa.

I tried to take pics as I went along snacking my way through the box, but that wasn’t necessarily safe as I ate some of the contents while driving. I will say that my Nature’s Bakery Fig Bar was the first thing I ate and it was delightful, and the Simply Snackin’ Jerky was tasty, too. I already knew I would love the Kind Oats thanks to my last giveaway and I had had the Green and Black’s Dark Chocolate before–it was delish and made for a great coating on the chocolate covered strawberries I made!

The Arrowhead Mills Oatmeal came in super handy for breakfast on the road trip. This wasn’t like regular prepackaged oatmeals that are full of unhealthy crap and flavorings. Just simple, sodium free, organic oats. I whipped it up in the microwave with water and added in some of my own protein powder and topped it with a berry. Yum and convenient.

I still have to go through a few remaining items, but it was time to write this review and I’m a slow snacker! But what I tried was all fabulous and I now found some new brands that I love!

If you would like your own box of goodies to come to you every month, you can set that up and make it happen! They have monthly and annual subscriptions, arriving on the 15th of the month. Shipping is included in the price and currently they only ship within the US. You lovely readers have been offered a $5 discount if you use the code 5OFFBESTOWED01 when you order!

If you would like to take your chances on winning your very own Bestowed box, enter my giveaway!!

Here’s how to enter:

You will receive one entry for every one of these items–the more you do, the more entries for you. The FIRST ONE is mandatory all others are extra entries for you. You may only enter once. All duplicate entries will be deleted.

♥ Leave me a COMMENT BELOW telling me what in my box you would have eaten first. This one is REQUIRED.
♥ Follow me on Twitter @cherielianne and comment below telling me you did so.
♥ Follow @bstowed on Twitter and comment below telling me you did so.
♥ TWEET about the giveaway using the following {copy & paste}: “I entered to win a happy, healthy @bstowed box of goodies from @cherielianne! http://wp.me/p2VbDW-1tS ”
Comment below telling me you did so.

This giveaway is open to United States residents and will end on Friday, May 17, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time!!! The winner will be announced sometime on Saturday, May 18. I will use random.org to select a winner and will contact him/her. The winner’s information will be forwarded to Bestowed and they will ship him/her the box! I’ll just need your name and address.

Good luck!

Recap: The Pittsburgh Half Marathon was full awesome!

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Cherie

It’s been exactly one week now, but I still cannot get the complete awesomeness that was the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh {Half} Marathon out of my mind.

I wasn’t going to do it because I now tend to focus on weight training vs. cardio.
I wasn’t going to do it because I just ran a 10 mile race two weeks ago.
I wasn’t going to do it because I no longer work for Dick’s Sporting Goods.

But in the end, I knew I would do it because I could it. A dethroned cardio queen, with sore legs, who was a former Dick’s employee…but this was in MY city, my home, my heart. And I vowed last year to come back and run this half. Whether or not I still run “this,” I was still going to run “THIS.”

I ran. I loved every second of it. I got my medal. And for you PR-crazy people out there, yes, I did that, too. But oh-so-importantly, I also earned the title, Runner of Steel.

This is how it all went ~~down~~ {and up and down and all around–ohhh, those hills.}

My first adventure for this part of the weekend was to attend the expo on Friday, May 3.

I had to go pick up my packet, but as you may remember me tweeting, FBing, or talking about on here, I just really wanted to find The Fresh Factory at the expo and obtain a pair of RUNPGH shorts. Hence the reason I was waiting in line so early before it opened at 11 am.

Once the doors opened, I burst right inside searching about. I had plenty of time to get that packet later! When there is a clothing item I want, I have a one track mind until it’s mine.

I went past a few booths, making mental notes to check them later, and then, BOOM–I saw my shorts!

I think I like them because they sort of look 1970′s-ish. The kind of shorts you wear when you’re roller skating down the road rockin’ a hot pair of tube sock/knee-highs. Or yeah, running…that, too. I was a 70s baby first, so I’m sticking with that vision. Because I can often be found ~~roller skating down the road in booty shorts~~ wearing tube socks/knee-highs.

Anyhow, I got my shorts before they ran out and two more tees. Hey, they had a deal, okay? And I’ve gotta represent, Pittsburgh, yo.

I looked around at a lot of other booths before picking up my packet. Probably all of them–I stayed in there for at least two hours. Could. Not. Get. Enough. Expo!!!

I walked into the Dick’s main expo area and looked at all the merchandise.

So many shirts! Now that I had progressed to the half mary, there were actually shirts to choose from, unlike last year when running the 5K. I didn’t get any of these, though. Again, I had already found the clothing I wanted and it was in my shopping bag.

I moved further a head in the area and saw photographers. They offered to take your pic in front of a big backdrop while holding a sign stating what you “run for.” Cool. I obliged.

Behind that area, there was a huge wall full of names. I remembered this from last year! Only then, my name wasn’t on the wall, because again, it was only for the half and full mary runners. So this year, I went right over to it to search for my name.

Found it!

At this point, I decided to go get my packet. Better do it before I forgot, right?!

It had tons of cool stuff in it and my shirt rocked. You can never go wrong with yellow in my book! I was also super happy to get this little backpack. Remember how I wanted one so badly last year? Haa, well, this finally made up for it. For now, it’s my new gym bag.

Before I left, I also managed to win a box of Success Brown Rice at their booth–I spun the wheel and landed on the free rice spot–awesome! I also stopped at the GlaxoSmithKline booth and left my contact info to enter to win a $50 Zappos gift card. I NEVER win those things, but eh, why not give a shot. Soooo yeah, at work this past Friday, I got a call from a woman at GlaxoSmithKline and I won the $50 Zappos gift card. Oh yes, more running shoes, here I come.

I finally managed to tear myself away from the expo and go home. That night, I decided to organize myself, get my race outfit ready and look at the course map one more time.

Eeegads. That looks like a lot of area to cover. Was I really supposed to run that?! And 5 bridges, to boot. My mother, Rest In Peace, would be so amazed. I used to have THE worst fear of bridges and would straight up throw a fit in the car as we drove over one. {Kind of hard to avoid in the Pittsburgh area!} And now, I’d be running over 5. Not even scurrrrred that I’d fall in the river. She’d be so proud! Happy Mother’s Day to you, Mommy!

I chilled on Saturday and tried to find my mojo all day. That basically entailed checking the @PghMarathon handle and #PghMarathon hashtag on Twitter to see what peeps were talking about. It calmed me down and excited me all at the same time. I was ready to run!!

I went to bed that night around 9:30pm and my alarm went off Sunday morning at 3:30am. Eeegads, again! Soooo early. But all the major roads in Pittsburgh {okay, not ALL, but the ones I’d need to use to get to my chosen parking garage with ease} were going to close at 5am. I was staying at my girlhood home, which is about 25 miles from Downtown Pitt. I instructed my sister that we’d need to leave at 4:15am SHARP to ensure arriving at the garage by 4:45am. Even though she and my Dad hadn’t gotten home from the casino {look how responsible I was by not going and staying home to sleep!} until 1am that morning, she was up and ready to roll. But to be safe, haha, I drove.

As soon as we got to the garage, I hopped out of the car and posed for a pic. Sissy wanted to post it on her FB page and I of course would need it for mine, too!

I was Steelerific as any Steeltown-obsessed girl would be.

We walked a few blocks to Market Square. There I would find the corral sign so I could look for my starting area. It was dark out, but the city looked so pretty all around!

I found the sign, couldn’t really decipher it {I’m not just a slow runner, but a slow sign reader}, but a nice lady insisted that Corral E was “dahn there n’at” {I love Pittsburghese.}

Once I knew where I had to be, my sis and I hung out in Dunkin Donuts so she could get breakfast and I could get water to soak my heart rate monitor’s chest strap and go to the bathroom again. There was still about an hour and a half until the race start, but I foolishly thought this would be the last time I’d need to go to the bathroom. Grrrrrr. Not so.

I left my sister around 6:30am and made my way to my corral. The energy was awesome! Everyone looked pumped and ready to go.

And cold. They looked cold. It wasn’t THAT cold until about 5 minutes before the start. That’s when I really started to freeze. I’m getting spoiled by living in North Carolina!

While I was waiting there, one of my FB blog page friends came over to say hi! That was so neat. I love meeting peeps in real life! So hey, David! After a few more minutes, they got ready to sing the National Anthem and then we were off!

Okay, WE weren’t off yet. Corral E was last so I probably didn’t take off until about 20 minutes after the start. So after that, we were off!

I was doing pretty splendidly. Somewhere after Mile 2, I had to pee. Joy. I was like, “Okay, I can either go now while the port-o-potty lines were only 3 deep, or I could just run the whole thing and go afterwards.” I somehow thought I could wait until the end. ME, the chick that drinks a gallon of water a day and goes to the bathroom a good 30 times at least. So yeahhhh, I made the wrong call and just should have gone when the line was only 3 deep. Midway through, I guess around Mile 7ish, I HAD to go and couldn’t wait any longer. This ended up taking a good 8 minutes. Grrrrrrr.

I did at least manage to take a few pics as I was running. Slow runners got skills, yo!!

The spectators were awesome. Only in Pittsburgh during a race do I not worry when I see people starting to climb bridges. They’re there to cheer us on from up high!

There were also tons of local bands planning along the route. I of course had my earbuds in and blaring, but my fellow runners seemed to like the music!

I felt pretty good throughout the race. Right before Mile 11, I was like, goooood grief I’ve been running a while. But at least that was the first time I thought that. During my first race, I thought that after 1.5 miles, haha. I think somewhere near there, give or take, is where I saw the split–Half Marathoners Keep Left, Marathoners Keep Right. I wondered to myself, “Could I possibly have the energy to run an additional 13.1 miles?” Heck no. More power to yinz, and I happily turned left.

I did run the whole time until it came to Mile 11/12ish. Right there was a big @$$ hill. I started to jog up it and was like, “Nope. Don’t be a hero, Cherie. You totally have permission to walk this hill and the world will not end if you do.” So I listened to myself and walked. It’s okay to do it! Look at me learning! And right here, let me say my heart goes out to fellow runner, 23-year-old Kyle Johnson who passed away after this hill near Mile 12. Awful, awful, awful!!!

Not too long after Mile 12, I could see the finish line. I swear I wasn’t sure if it was the actual finish line or a mirage, but I started sprinting. I had a lot of power saved up and just gave it my all. I had been sprinting for what seem like 5 hours and the finish line was still off in the distance. Haha, I guess I cannot judge distances—it looked like it was RIGHT there! Oops. So I slowed my roll, and once I saw that it was actually really close and not just me thinking that it was close, I sprinted again.

I crossed the line and here were my results:

But again, mind you, I did stop for the bathroom for 8 minutes, so here is what my actual time was according to MY official time keeper, my Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor.

Not too shabby for me. My second half marathon has now been logged in the books!

I collected my medal and Smiley Cookie after I was done.

Then of course, I had to compare my very first race {their 5K} from last May to this one via side by side pics.

I notice changes! But still a happy finisher – that remains the same!

My splits were as follows:
Mile 1 – 11:45
Mile 2 – 11:13
Mile 3 – 11:48
Mile 4 – 11:35
Mile 5 – 11:22
Mile 6 – 12:23
Mile 7 – 12:36
Mile 8 – 11:15
Mile 9 – 11:34
Mile 10 – 12:09
Mile 11 – 11:38
Mile 12 – 13:49
Mile 13 – 11:31

Again, so friggin’ fabulous of a day. I loved this race and I looooove my city. I’ll be back next year! For a half? A full? Who knows. I’ll just be happy to be there. It’s the City of Champions and running my race, my pace, my way, makes me one, too.

Anyone out there run this race? Wasn’t it the most gorgeous day ever? Planning on running it in 2014?

A Review and the Best KIND of Giveaway!

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Cherie

AND THE WINNER IS….

Response #14 with this comment:

Congratulations, Erik!! I’ll be contacting you shortly! And thank you to everyone who entered!

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“Hey, it’s KIND of time you had another giveaway, Cherie.” I know, right?

Haha, I’ve been meaning to, I promise. I get offers to do giveaways pretty often, but I have to make sure it will be Cherie Runs This-worthy for all of you! But when I was contacted by KIND a few weeks ago, I jumped right on it…”This is something they’ll love!” I thought to myself.

So I hope you do.

But before I get to the giveaway, let me tell you why I love KIND.

They are made from ingredients you can see and pronounce®. Okay, it’s not just a tagline–they really are! Simple ingredients like fruits, whole nuts, spices and honey–and depending on which product you choose, you’re sure to find something that fits your needs/tastes: Gluten-Free, low sugar, protein, antioxidants, high fiber, flax, Omega-3′s…a lot of choices there!

I had only tasted a few of the bars before and pretty much they were of the same flavor. I tend to be a creature of habit—and when I know I like something, I just tend to stick with it. The rep from KIND said she’d send me a few products to test out.

Will you look at all this? Haha, a few?! I can’t imagine what a lot would look like! Soooo many bars to choose from AND three different kinds of the granola, which I had never tried. I was quite excited to pour out the contents of this box and sort through them all!

I thrive on organization, so I sorted them out by type: Fruit & Nut, Nuts & Spices, and PLUS bars.

In the category of Fruit & Nut there were:
Peanut Butter & Strawberry
Fruit & Nut Delight
Almond & Apricot
Nut Delight

In the category of Nuts & Spices there were:
Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt
Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Pecan
Cashew & Ginger Spice
Madagascar Vanilla Almond

And in the category of PLUS there were:
Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate
Almond Cashew With Flax
Pomegranate Blueberry Pistachio
Almond Walnut Macadamia
Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew
Cranberry Almond

Then I took a looksee at the Healthy Grains granola. I had:

Dark Chocolate & Cranberry Clusters
Oats & Honey Clusters With Toasted Coconut
Maple Walnut Clusters With Chia & Quinoa

It really IS a better KIND of granola! The calories make my happy, the ingredients make me happy AND it tastes delicious, thus making me happy! LOVE.

Normally around 10 am I have a snack comprised of one piece of fruit and a serving of almonds. For the past week or so I just grabbed one of the fruit and nut bars and got two for one all wrapped up in a neat little package! Hey, if I can save time AND still eat well, I’ll take it. This Almond & Apricot was crazy delicious!

For an afternoon snack, usually about 3pm or 4pm, I like to have something protein based as this is my pre-gym meal. My go-to is plain Greek yogurt with wild blueberries that I add to it. For a little extra crunch this week, I’ve been adding a serving of the KIND Granola. A little perfect parfait pick-me-up!

The bars, particularly ones with dark chocolate, served as my delicious dessert. Those or another Greek yogurt/granola parfait. Again, creature of habit and I love them!

I’ll still be snacking on these bars and granola for quite sometime {they’re coming in especially handy on this road trip) but if I waited until I ate them all before I wrote this review/giveaway we’d be going into June!

So would you like to win your own sample pack? Of course you would—that’s why you’re here! It will include a VARIETY PACK OF 10 BARS (nope, I don’t know which KIND) and THREE POUCHES OF HEALTHY GRAINS GRANOLA! That should keep you busy crunching for a while!

Here’s how to enter:

You will receive one entry for every one of these items–the more you do, the more entries for you. The FIRST ONE is mandatory all others are extra entries for you! {You may only enter the giveaway once. Duplicate entries will be deleted.}:

♥ Leave me a COMMENT BELOW telling me which flavor/item you think would be your favorite! {again, this one is REQUIRED}
♥ Follow me on Twitter @cherielianne and comment below telling me you did so.
♥ Follow @KINDSnacks on Twitter and comment below telling me you did so.
♥ TWEET about the giveaway using the following {copy & paste}: “I entered to win the best KIND of giveaway– @KINDSnacks bars & granola from @cherielianne! http://wp.me/p2VbDW-1sy ”
Comment below telling me you did so.
♥ Follow me on Instagram @CherieRunsThis and comment below telling me you did so.

This giveaway is open to United States and Canadian residents and will end on Friday, May 10, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time!!! The winner will be announced sometime Saturday, May 11. I will use random.org to select a winner and will contact him/her. The winner’s information will be forwarded to KIND and they will ship him/her the bars & granola! I’ll just need your name and address.

Good luck to you!

A Road Trip and a RunUpdate.

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Cherie

Roooooad Trip!

Today, I began on my way to my favorite place in the world, Pittsburgh, PA, for a destination race—the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Half Marathon! But first, I’m taking an overnight pit stop in the Nation’s Capital to visit my sister.

So friggin’ beautiful.

I would love, love, love to go running down in Georgetown on the boardwalk and around the Potomac, but I’m resting these legs for the rest of the week. {I’ll never have a problem with tapering, haha!}

I did hem and haw for the longest time about even running this race (I’ve become moreso an Iron Maiden and less of a Cardio Queen), but after doing pretty well at the Tar Heel 10 Miler two weeks ago, I figured I could and should stick to my plans of running it. Besides, I am obsessed with all-things Pittsburgh and couldn’t miss a chance to run its streets and take in its beauty. While I was hemming and hawing, I did tell myself I could just do that via car, but nah, it’s not the same.

Me after my very first race!

After running my very first race ever last year (the DSG Pittsburgh 5K) here, I was jonesin’ to see more of the city by foot. And, as slowly as I run, I’ll be able to really it all in, haha. I did vow last May to come back and run this half so I’m happy to be in a good place where I’m ready to do it—my way, my speed, no pressure…just running. ‘Cuz that’s how I roll run. {If you missed my last post, scroll on down to it and you’ll see what I mean by that!}

I am looking forward to the Expo like crazy!! Last year, they had pretty much zilch for the 5K’ers. (Hey yinz, what’s up with that? Hopefully somebody with the Powers-That-Be read my post about that last year and made some changes. 5K’ers are runners, too, and they want cool swag!) But, now that I’m running the half, there’s sure to be a lot of merch catching my eye! At some point over the weekend, look for an Instagram pic of me at some vendor table titled, “I WANT ALL THE T-SHIRTS!”, because I surely will want all the t-shirts, and shoes, and stickers, and headbands, and bottles, and whatever else doodad, thingamajiggers they’re selling.

I mean, how cute are these shorts?! {They’re by The Fresh Factory.}

In other Pittsburgh racing news, the Rock ‘n Roll Pittsburgh Half Marathon I was planning to come back and run on August 4^th, was cancelled this past Sunday (and will be rescheduled for 2014)! On their Facebook page they made it sound like the City of Pittsburgh was the problem. Oh HECK NO. I don’t like annnnybody talking smack on MY city! Y’all know that by now. You can take the girl out of Pittsburgh, but not the Pittsburgh out of the girl!! I quickly was turned off by any future races RnR may have simply by how they stated their reason. Not classy, RnR. Not classy. They also tried to start some Twitter smack with me about it. I wasn’t having it. I just call it as I see it folks–you know the deal here. I interpreted nothin’. I did promptly request to have my registration money returned to me, though. (You could either choose a refund or use the registration money to run another RnR somewhere else.) There are so many other races out there, especially a lot of local ones, that I would be more than happy to run!

Speaking of other local races, I am registered for two more. (And these will be IT for the year—can’t be having my weight training getting all messed up, yo!) They’ll both be in Durham—go Bull City! The first will be June 1^st – Running of the Bulls 8K and the second will be the Bull City Race Fest & Food Truck Rodeo Half Marathon on October 20^th. Totally stoked and excited to see Durham by foot!

Okay, that’s it for a runupdate on me. Back to my road trip—I’ve got some sightseeing and other touristy things to do. But no running! Again, saving it for Sunday!

The Almighty PR–It Does Not Make You A Runner.

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Cherie

I am a runner. Let’s just get that straight right off the top.

Now, all things considered, I am a slow runner. I’m perfectly okay with this! I know this is a relative term because compared to your pace, I may be considered fast. OR some may not even see me as a runner; my pace in their eyes may label me as a jogger, or at best, a fast walker. {Yes, I’ve had people tell me that before.}

After some discussions on Twitter this past Sunday, the question, “What kind of runner doesn’t care about her PR?!” crossed some minds after I tweeted about not caring about mine. “She’s no runner at all in that case—she’s just out for a stroll! All runners, if they’re runners, care about PRing!” Ugh, and just like that, this blog post was born.

After my first half marathon in November 2012. Happy as can be! And if I don’t PR this coming Sunday after my second half mary, oh well!

I beg to differ. No, I don’t even beg. I’m just telling you straight up, in my opinion, ALL runners DO NOT care about PRs.

This is NOT to say that I don’t care about reaching goals, being better than I was yesterday, or feeling a sense of accomplishment. I do. Hellooooo, 85 pounds off this frame, remember??? I most certainly set goals & crush them, strive to be better {and healthier} than I was yesterday and every day since, work hard every day to hit my pillow feeling that I accomplished everything I intended when the day began.

But to me, and call me naïve if you’d like, I DO NOT have to set a Personal Record every time I race. That does not make me a runner. That does not make you a runner. Sunday, Twitter was all a-flutter with the letters ‘P’ & ‘R’. I could read every emotion out there and they seemed to all hinge on the Almighty PR. If the runner PR’d, others flocked to congratulate her (or him), tell her speed was the measurement of success (yes, I really saw that one, ugh), and that next time, she would have an even better PR!!! BUT, if the runner didn’t PR, there was this overbearing, looming sense of “not being good enough” coming from both the runner herself “I just did okay; I didn’t PR” or “I finished, but my time wasn’t good enough” or “I sucked—I couldn’t do better than 9 minutes a mile” (ugh, really lady?) AND those commenting. “You’ll do better next time” or “Ugh, that’s too bad about your time” or “Races suck when you don’t PR; I mean, they’re fun and all, but we all want that PR—I feel for you!” (again, REALLY lady?)

Just for a fleeting moment, I thought, “Well good grief!! Maybe I’m not a runner then, because I don’t care about ANY of that. I just run to run. I like races, have fun running them, am proud to be out there period, take my pics, collect my medal, and go home happy.” Does how I think make me less of a runner?

Nope. Just as PRing doesn’t make somebody more of one. It makes you faster, but in the end, a runner is a runner. If someone is to be congratulated for running fast; why does there have to be this sense of a pity party coming if someone else ran slowly? Can’t we celebrate runners as a whole? Fast, slow and in between?

And I’m not talking about Olympic track stars here. Yup, speed is their job. I get that. But for the rest of us, umm, it’s not a crisis to not PR. {Yeahhhh, I also saw somebody call it a crisis on there.} A crisis is what happened at the Boston Marathon—and at least that day nobody was talking about a PR. People were appreciative to still have their legs and feet PERIOD–to walk, jog or run another day. And then one week later, it went right back to PR talk as usual. I just like to look at the bigger picture of things, is all.

I don’t mean to come off as a Debbie Downer raining down on your PR Parade–not at all! Take it, own it, rock it—you worked for it!! But realize those of us out there who don’t PR every single time OR especially don’t care about it, STILL love running just as much as you and we STILL give it our very best. Yes, we cross the finish line long after you and we may only just beat the sweepers. But we, like you, are STILL runners, too.

A PR doesn’t make or break that title.

A Headphone That Beats All Others: The Bose SIE2i Sport

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Cherie

Me + music while working out, we just go together. Actually, if there is no music, there is no workout.

I have heard of people out there who can take off on a run sans music and just go with the sounds of nature all around them. There are also people out there who can go in the weight room and lift with just the sounds of metal clanking and grunting in the background. Y’all are like, just wow, to me. More power to you! But, I am not one of these people. Forgot my music once and it turned into a #FirstWorldCrisis. I need my music. It inspires me, cheers me on and pumps me up or keeps me going through an intense set or arduous run.

So color me super thrilled when I was offered the chance to review a pair of Bose SIE2i Sport headphones! Heck ya, I thought. I can always use another pair of headphones and Bose was a name I had heard of for years…this was going to be awesome!

The day before my Tar Heel 10 Miler race, these babies arrived at my door.

I was…and I cannot not lie…like, “uh-oh, oh-no.” I somehow accepted the offer to review these headphones before I actually did my research to find out what the headphones looked like!! THESE. WERE. EARBUDS. Nooooo!!

I’ve tried earbuds a few times in my life. They’ve never worked. Before each purchase, I’m like, “Okay, these will be the ones. THIS pair will work. There will be great sound and they will really, really stay in my ears no matter what.” And then, upon first use, the sound is awful and they pop right out of my ears with the slightest movement. I get P.O.’ed to the highest level of pissivity and vow to never buy earbuds again. The last time this happened, I meant business. I bought those huge headphones that are all the rage these days. Soooo, when the offer came along to test out some Bose headphones, I immediately figured they were of the huge, sit-on-your-head, look-like-a-DJ-type.

Haha, I figured incorrectly.

Oh my. What to do, what to do. Were these really going to stay in my ears?! They were Bose. I trusted Bose. But so little…so earbuddish…so not like what I’m used to…How on Earth was this review going to go?

As I mentioned, they arrived the day before my 10 miler. I wondered if I should chance it and wear them for the race. It could be disastrous to have to fiddle with them during the run or even worse, not have good sound! But if they did hold up to be true to the Bose name, they’d rock and make me a believer.

I chanced it and wore them during my race.

I was amazed!

One of the greatest compliments I can give these headphones right away is that they didn’t enter my thoughts AT ALL during the race. Even with my previous favorites, the big DJ-like ones, I still had to adjust them at times during my workouts. Not with the Bose SIE2i’s! It’s like they weren’t even there and that’s what I’ve been searching for–headphones, earbuds to be more specific, that I don’t even have to think about. They just work.

I tried them a couple more times just to be sure.

A straight cardio session on the arc trainer…

Chest and biceps and then the arc trainer…

Legs and glutes and then the arc trainer…

Abs and then the arc trainer…while wearing a very cute Reebok outfit {a mint yoga top and black slim fit tights}.

Every single time, they stayed in my ears! Whether it was running for miles, lifting weights or a cardio machine, they didn’t budge. The sound was jammin’ too! Amazing–they do make earbuds that actually stay put–they are Bose SIE2i’s. I am a believer. Now I know.

A little more info about them:

– Are sweat proof and water resistant.
–Have a shorter cable that doesn’t get in the way of movement {and come with an extender to make it longer if needed}.
–Come with a breathable, stretchy armband, designed by Reebok that hold music devices in place during workouts and stores the headphones afterwards.
–Armband has a touch-sensitive plastic window for convenient usability.
–Come with small, medium, and large StayHear® tips to fit your in-ear size comfortably.
–A separate pocket for your keys.
–Or see them in action here.

I can’t speak to you about the use of the armband because I am not an armband wearer. Just my personal preference is all. I did try it on and it fit comfortably. My phone, a Droid, fit right in and the touch-sensitive plastic screen worked really well!

Also, I used an iPod Shuffle with mine, but the headphones can be used with most music players, and are designed for listening to music and taking calls from select Apple devices, including the iPhone and iPod. They come in orange or lime green and if you’d like to get your ~~hands~~ ears on a pair, they can be purchased right here!

*As a FitFluential Ambassador, I was sent these Bose SIE2i Sport headphones for review purposes only and was not compensated in any other way other than receipt of the headphones. All opinions are truthful and my own!

Believing and Bringing Home the Bling: The Tar Heel 10 Miler!

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Cherie

Well, it’s safe to say, “Cherie {still} Runs This.”

I bet you were wondering for a while there, though. It’s true–since December, my new found love of lifting weights has taken over. And that’s right around the last time that I seriously went on a run. I dropped out of my first marathon-to-be; I wanted to rather spend my time lifting and building the physique I so greatly desire {which I spent pretty much all of 2012 wishin’ and hopin’ and prayin’ would come from endless amounts of cardio through running–it did not, it will not.}

So I, this admittedly former cardio queen turned iron maiden was about to drop out of the next race on my schedule–The Tar Heel 10 Miler. But then I saw this:

I sure do like pretty, shiny race bling. It was right there on their Facebook page staring back at me. I had to have it. And the only way to get it was to suck it up and run 10 miles.

Now, I know when I ran my first half marathon last November, I said I would never “wing it” again where a race longer than a 5K was concerned. Those of you who have followed my blog since the beginning know that I say I’ll never do something and then I sometimes end up doing it anyway. Yes, yes, that’s how I roll. What ev. So here I was, about to have to wing 10 miles and again, really had my last run-run back in December. Oy vey.

Okay–and let me stop you right there. If you are like this girl:

I have a few words to say to you as I said to her. She wrote this on my Facebook blog fan page. You can read the whole thread if you like. I was nice enough to cross her name and picture out here, but I left it up on my FB page. Hey, once you put it on the internet, it’s fair game… My response to her, as it is to you if you feel this way, is that I am in great shape. I work out 6 days a week and get a lot of cardio work done on the Arc Trainer. No, it’s not the same as running, but I still get it in after I do my weight training sessions. Also, and please pay close attention, I ONLY DO WHAT I BELIEVE I CAN HANDLE. I am not idiotic enough to put myself through 10 miles of running if I didn’t think I could do it. NOT for the sake of a dang medal. Annnnnnd, when I say I’m doing something, please do not assume that I’m telling YOU to do it. I can only speak for Cherie! Gosh, I hate disclaimers. But since some people just don’t get it, think I’m speaking for them and about them, and have to get all high and mighty with me, I have to say it. You know I don’t back down from a “discussion.”

Enough of that.

So once I realized that I am in pretty darn good shape, and was still hemming and hawing about my abilities to run my second half marathon, coming up on May 5, the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon half, I decided to test myself with the Tar Heel 10 this past Saturday.

I went to a cheap store in Chapel Hill and found a UNC t-shirt and some knee highs to match. {No, I didn’t already have them–I’m only concerned with the Pittsburgh Steelers–no other sports teams matter.} I will say I thought errrryone would have the same knee highs. How cool were they?! Especially since errrrryone in this town is Tar Heel/Carolina/UNC crazy. But nope. It was like no one knew these socks existed–they were quite the hit! At least eight people stopped me mid-run to ask where I got them!

On Friday during my lunch break, I headed over to University Mall to the expo to pick up my packet.

Look at that! My name was on the bib. This is the first time I’ve had one like that, so I thought it was cool. Haa.

I woke up bright and early on Saturday {and so did hubby…haha, he was thrilled} so we could secure our parking spot and get inside the Kenan Stadium on UNC’s campus by 6:15 am. The runners for the 10 mile race would start and finish inside the stadium–neat! We waited in the stands until it was time for me to line up and hubby to be on his way. {He works at UNC so he knows his way around and surprised me by popping up at different mile markers along the route to take my picture!}

And we’re off!

I’ll just say first off that Chapel Hill lives up to its name. There were a lot of them and the treacherous Lauren Hill. But I’m proud of myself. I ran the whole time, except for Laurel Hill. No need to be a hero! Oh, I also took a potty break around mile 8 and only stopped when hubs showed up to take my picture or I grabbed a sip of Gatorade at an aid station. Otherwise, I kept on the move.

But walking is totally okay!

The difference between this 10 mile race and my first half marathon was that I was not ashamed to walk when/if I needed to. I don’t know why I had to be all macho for my first big race. Not this time!

And most of y’all know I am a slow runner and ABSO-FRIGGIN-LUTELY okay with that. I don’t care about PRs, keeping up with the Running Joneses, or being FAST. I run, period. I am proud of me and my accomplishments and the fact that I’m out there period! So yeah, the usual runner questions of “How long did it take you? What was your time? Did you PR? What was your goal? What was your pace?” DRIVE ME NUTS. Just let me run and be happy with that!

Okay, so here are some pics of me running along the way. Hubs did a great job snapping my pics and catching me in action!

Look at Rameses checking me out, haha!

My official time in case ya just have to know:
Gun time: 2:10:54
Chip time: 2:07:44
Pace: 12:46
Laurel Hill: {it had its own split} 11:11 {I walked it!}

Thank you Mizunos for getting me through those hilly 10 miles!

All smiles at the end–I had a great time! {And yes, I cut the tee to make a tank. I do that a lot!}

And I got my pretty, blingy medal!

Okay, so it was a totally fabulous race and I’m soooooo glad I stopped hemming and hawing and believed that I could do it! Yes, oh yes, I’m a wee bit sore today, but nothing a little foam rolling, ice and massage won’t fix. Yup, I still run this! But I am most certainly counting down the minutes until I can get in the gym and lift weights tonight… Haa.

CNN {seriously?!}, You Rock, and a Weekend Run Down.

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Cherie

Heyyyyy, guys! I had a whole other post ready for today but then this showed up on the world wide web this past Friday:

So that happened. Wow. Just wow. That’s my friggin’ mug on the home page of CNN!!!

I knew there was an article coming out on there, but only days before did I learn it would be online on Friday. So soon! I also had no idea there was a link on the homepage. I figured you had to go to their health section and dig around until I appeared on a page like this:

Hey–either way I am postponing whatever I was going to write today {and I can’t even remember what it was at this point} to thank YOU.

Since it appeared online, I have been OVERWHELMED with emails on Gmail, messages on my Facebook blog page, comments on my blog, Instagram, Pinterest, and tweets. I have spent this entire past weekend responding to each and everyone of you {and if I didn’t, bear with me, I’m still in the process of it} as quickly as I could. I love hearing from you and am beyond humbled and thankful.

Some emails–goodness! They took me back to where I once was. That feeling of standing at the bottom looking at this huge mountain before me wondering how I was going to climb it. Wondering what I needed to do to get up there, what if I slipped, or fell, was anyone going to help me, how long it was going to take and was I really ready to make the climb.

Seriously some of you had me in tears!! I get what you’re saying. You speak my language; I speak yours. I don’t just sympathize with what you’re going through–I empathize because I was there. Just know that I hear you, understand and am listening!

Anyhow, I just want to thank you again, SO MUCH, for reading my story, stopping by to say hello, following along with my journey and sharing yours with me. Guys and gals who have been here since Day One and brand new friends who are here for the first time today…THANK YOU for taking an interest in a girl who went on a journey to lose some weight & get healthy and wrote a little blog about it. YOU ROCK!!!!

*****

Real quick, I’ll toss in some stuff from my weekend!

I hit the gym bright and early at 6 am on Saturday morning to get in a great weights session (legs) and then some cardio.

One day the biceps will show up…I swear….

Afterwards, I hit up Target and was going to get some better shoes for squatting…

Yup, some Converse!

But then I stumbled upon this dress and these ankle boots. Yeah, so the Converse had to wait! Now I see it IS possible for me to buy non-fitness and non-food items.

Speaking of food, I ate tons of good, clean meals this weekend.

Remember, y’all–Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are just regular days on the calendar. NOT an excuse for a free-for-all to eat whatever and however much you want…this one here is shrimp, spinach and mushrooms. So good. So good. Clean eating is not bland!

Early Sunday morning, I knocked my meal prep for the week out of the way.

Made some salmon, brown rice, scratch-made collard greens, protein waffles, packed up some servings of almonds as pictured here, and a bunch of other things. When you fail to plan, you plan to fail! Don’t plan to fail!

How was your weekend? Did you get in a good sweat? Do you meal prep?

5 Ways to Crush Your Gym Fear

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Cherie

Ever since I joined my local {not really local, because I live way out in the country} gym this past December, I’ve had a few of you write to me asking how I did it. Not literally how I joined, but moreso how I got over my fear of the gym.

Not one guy in my gym looks like this. Not one.

Yes, I had CRAZY, irrational fear of the gym. Remember this post in August 2011? Haha, see, I said irrational! Looking back there was no reason for me to fear those things. AND since I proclaimed not being fearful of the gym by the end of that post, there was no reason it should have taken me another year and eight months before joining. *SIGH* Can you just imagine the wicked sick figure I’d have by now had I just joined then?!

But no use crying over a spilled protein shake right now. So I’m only four months into my gym love affair instead of many more–better that than being held hostage at home by fear!

I get it, though. I totally understand where you’re coming from.You’re thinking about it. Teetering with the idea. Thought seriously about doing it in January, but the time passed you by. The first three months of the year are behind us now…no time like the present. So if I can get your booty in the gym and walking around that b*tch like you own it and laughing in the face of your scaredy-catness, then I’ll be a happy little trainer.

I quickly remembered and jotted down what I did that enabled me to kick fear in the arse for good. These five things worked for me…may they work for you, too!

1. STAKE IT OUT.

I’m not talking about hiding out in the parking lot a few times before you’ve made the decision to join so you can stare at the building and observe the members who belong there. Because that’s just silly. Who would do that? Okay, I did that.

What I suggest, and what I only halfway did back in 2011, was to get a tour of the facility. Check to see when the gym is staffed {usually in the mornings and in the evenings} and get a personalized tour of the place, its machines, the locker room, etc. Talk to a few trainers. If you’re too shy to talk to them, observe them. Also observe the members. What type of crowd is there? What kind of feeling do you get in there? Do you feel at home or uneasy? Is the space big enough or too big? Do you see the types of equipment you desire? Does it appear in good condition? Is it clean? Ask questions!!

2. RESEARCH THE EXERCISES.

Take some time to learn difference types of exercises you’d like to do to meet your fitness goals. Do this before you get to the gym. One, you won’t have that deer-in-headlights look and two, this will be less time wasted during your work out. There are quality muscle building magazines out there that will instruct you pretty well {Muscle and Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, Oxygen, Men’s Fitness, etc} as well as Bodybuilding.com‘s Exercise Databank. <– No, really. The database is awesome. Check it now and come back later to finish reading. I’ll mark your spot. START READING HERE. Welcome back–Okay, there are also very decent YouTube videos out there that show you how to perform exercises. Just make sure you’ll watching from reputable sources!

3. WEAR COMFORTABLE CLOTHES.

When I first started working out, and this was at the very beginning, I wanted so very badly to wear the cute workout clothes I saw in the magazines, on TV, on the random college girls at Whole Food’s…But I couldn’t. Not only could I not fit into those clothes, there is no way they would have been comfortable to wear while working out–I would have been way too self-conscious and not focused on the task at hand…THE WORKING OUT!! Now you know, especially if you follow me on Instagram, that I’m all about cute workout clothes. But even when I joined the gym in December, there were certain outfits I wanted to wear, yet they wouldn’t have been comfortable. Four months later, I’m finally starting to feel at ease in some of those clothes, i.e. a tank top without a t-shirt over it, but there are still pieces that I shudder at the thought of wearing in public. My point–don’t wear what you think you should wear, wear what makes YOU feel comfortable. As much as I love my fashion, when you’re in that gym, one of the last things you should be focused on is clothing.

4. WEAR HEADPHONES.

At first, before I even set foot in the gym, I had my headphones on and the music going. Whether I used it to psyche myself up or just as a distraction from anybody who was staring at me {no one was staring}, I could get lost in the music and was put at ease. I used to have little earbuds in my ears, but now I have a pair of those big ‘ol headphones. No–not the name brand. #AintNobodyGotMoneyForThat These headphones were $5 at the dollar store and are completely awesome. They block out the gym’s bad music, televisions, random Chatty Cathys, and creepers. Anyhow, put the headphones on, block everyone out, and do your thing like nobody’s watching. {Because nobody’s watching.}

5. FACE YOUR FEAR AND DO IT.

I hate to say it, but it’s true. Sometimes the best way to get over your fear is to just face it. Even if I did the the first four things on this list, I still would be hemming and hawing over joining if I hadn’t just sucked it up and gone inside. I bought a trial membership online and hit “submit” super fast so I couldn’t stop myself. And once I had paid for the membership, I wasn’t going to waste my money. This was my way, my last attempt, of giving myself that push to face my gym fear and crush it. Best decision ever. And you know what, it wasn’t even that scary afterall…

Okay! Those are my tips. Do you have any others to help anyone that may be on the edge?

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