My New Safety Sidekick - RoadID Sidekick

Disclaimer: I received an RoadID Sidkick ID to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!

2nd Disclaimer - I've been a loyal RoadID fan/customer for almost 5 years now. As someone who does a lot of their runs alone and sometimes at dusk/dark, I am a big fan of anything that can help make me safer. When I first heard about RoadID I thought it was a great idea. Heaven forbid, anything did happen to me while I was out and about, it gave a way to contact my family. I bought myself a Slim ID the same week that I first heard of them. And then I bought several others for other friends and family members for holidays as well. Cause I'm that girl - the one who yells "CAR UP" and makes people run on the correct side of the road, and who makes sure you have your contact information handy. 

My Classic Wrist ID

Over the years I purchased a few other RoadID styles. The second ID I purchased was the more classic Wrist ID. This was because (and I am not proud of this) because I actually lost my Slim ID. See, I didn't wear it all the time, just when running so I had a bad habit of forgetting where I left it. I then purchased the Shoe ID thinking it would be better to just leave it attached to my shoe - which worked great, except that I rotate shoes and never seemed to rotate the Shoe ID. Back my tag went onto the Wrist ID, which I kept better track of, but still didn't always remember to grab.

Enter, the Sidekick ID. Y'all I feel like this was made just for me. The Sidekick just slides right onto your Garmin band and boom, it's always with you. At first, I was a bit worried that it would be bulky and I wouldn't always want to have it on, but I've worn it for a month now and never once take it off my watch band. And I wear my watch constantly (except when charging) even to bed - I use my Garmin as my alarm - and never once did I notice the ID on it. It ALWAYS has me covered!

There are a couple of other little things I wanted to mention about my RoadID that I love. One of which is that I just love the customer service that they offer. I know they are a big company, and in the grand scheme of things, I am just a single customer (though admittedly a loyal and repeat one), but they do not make you feel that way. When I placed my order, I received personalized update emails throughout the process of making and shipping out my RoadID. They were super cute and I really appreciate being kept in the loop like that. The ID came with a card telling me about the guy who actually made my ID, further personalizing the process and then a few weeks after, I got a follow up email asking how I liked my purchase. I also received a $10 off coupon to share, which I did with another local runner.

One of the adorable emails I received during the order process

I also love how you can customize your RoadID in a few different ways. I added 2 lines of inspiration on to my ID. The bottom two lines read - Keep Moving and Just Breathe. These phrases are ones that I try to keep focused on when things are tough, be it for a run or just life in general. I love having them always right there to remind me.

Another way I customized mine is by adding 2 cute little badges. RoadID has a ton to choose from, and I have a heart (to remind me I really do love this) and one that says "run" (because, well duh!).

My whole order - Sidekick, extra strap, and 2 badges.

So yeah, RoadID helps to keep you safe by providing vital information in case of an emergency, is super cute and now so convenient, what is not to love? But seriously, I recommend any runner to have one. And even non-runners, anyone can benefit from having a RoadID. Heck, they even make ones for you pets!! 

You can get one for your self and save 20% off your RoadiD purchase by going to the following link: https://road.id/BibRave

Setting the Bar High

Last year I had no goals, look how relaxed I was, lol

This week officially marks 12 weeks before Rock n Roll Savannah and my attempt at breaking a 2 hour Half Marathon time. I keep joking with people that I am planning to break 2, or die trying. Here, as my 12 week training plan looms in front of me, I am leaning more towards the will die trying version of the story. 

In order to prepare for my sub-2, and ultimately shave 4 minutes off of my time from last November, I've scoured the internet on the best ways to accomplish this. I settled on 2 training plans, 1 that was 16 weeks from Garmin and another that is 12 weeks from Runners World. I can only see a week at a time of the Garmin plan, but so far, it's been fairly doable with the exception of one track workout that I only hit 3/6 of the sprint times (2 of which I just missed). 

Missed a few pace goals, still almost died... 

Now the Runners World plan on the other hand - the one that I set as my primary training plan, well that is starting to look darn near impossible. It is just Week 1 and I am already pretty sure I am going to fail my target Fartlek tonight. Seriously, I cannot run 20 min at an 8 pace, which I personally think is a bit aggressive for Week 1. And I know this, and I know that missing it will not mean that I am going to fail overall, but still there's a part of me that feels that I am doomed from the start. Here's the plan for reference: The half-marathon training plan for runners looking to finish in sub-2-hours

This weekend the plan calls for a "Time Trial". A 10K race done at an overal 9:00 pace. This is another one that is going to be a bit of a stretch for me to hit. I can do it, I have done it, but not in the conditions that this weekend is offering. Basically, it is August in the South and going to be hot, humid, plus a really hilly course. I've recruited a crew to race with me and there is a Craft Beef Festival at the finish, so trying to focus on those things and not the 55:48 clock time I have to beat. But it's hard.

The bottom line is, I am starting to kick my freak out into high gear that this goal is going to be a big ol' failure for me. And in the best case scenarios, I feel a certain looming sense of imminent failure. 

Pretty fearless looking, eh? NOT

A coworker of mine said to me just today that she could never imagine me being stressed out about anything. To that, I laughed. Then I laughed harder (probably to the point that it was a bit uncomfortable, but hey, it was the funniest thing I've heard in a long time). I then explained to her that maybe she thinks that because she just sees me how I am right now, a CONSTANT ball of anxiety, ready to explode at any moment. Seriously, I am never not stressed out. Her logic is that I do so much stuff, races, riding motorcycles, ropes courses, Boot Camp, roller coasters and pretty much any adventure or challenge that I can get my hands on.

Sure, I do all that. But I am literally terrified about 99% of the time. Terrified of failure or terrified of consequences or just a general sense of random terror. I just don't let it stop me. There's a quote from Carrie Fisher that I love - "Stay afraid, but do it anyway." Every race I do, no matter the distance, I am terrified at the Start. Every new adventure I try, same. I've just learned to push past it and to make the most out of life anyway. I think more people do this than they admit. 

Cross training like a badass

Long story short, I may be heading back to the drawing table on this whole training plan thing. I keep telling myself that I've got a few other things going for me that the plan doesn't address. For example, there is no cross training in my training plans and I cross train like a beast with Burn Boot Camp at least 4 days per week in addition to my 5 running days (yes, I am very tired). I've also searched a few other plans and they seem more doable. I may need to switch. 

But no matter what I choose, you can for sure, I will be totally freaking out about it, right up to the finish line. 

What strategy do you recommend for hitting a specific race goal? Do you go with make your own plan like me? Do you go with a coach? Train with a group? I'd love to hear about what you do in the comments. 

And stay tuned for updates on my Rock n Roll Savannah. Heck, are you interested in joining me in Savannah? You can register with discount codes “19RNRBRP16” for $16 off half/marathon or “19RNRBRP6” for $6 off shorter distances. I will also be running the 5K on Sunday as well. 

OOlala - Feeling the OOh with OOFOS

Disclaimer: I received a pair of OOFOS OOlala Luxe Sandals to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.comto review find and write race reviews! 

Second disclaimer: I LOVE OOFOS! Seriously, I am on my 4th pair of OOFOS. I have a pair of the Project Pink Sandals, OOriginal Sport Sandals, OOahh Slide Sandals and now I have a pair of the OOlala Luxe Sandals. And each pair has been more amazing than the last. 

Styling in Comfort right on the "podium"

Whenever I do a race, I always pack a pair to change into immediately after the race, not just for out of town races, but even local ones. Heck, I've even worn them up on the occasional podium because I just couldn't wait to relieve my feet after a race. Most recently, when I placed 1st AG at the Common Heart Firecracker 10K when it was time to receive my medal and photos, you guessed it, I was already in my OOFOS. And they were even the perfect color to match my race day outfit for a 4th of July race - Pixel White and Blue. 

So yeah, if you have ever considered purchasing a pair of recovery sandals, but haven't for some reason, I say to you wait no longer. You will not regret these. There is a reason they are sold at almost every local running store. And everyone I know of that has a pair raves about them. I've had a few now, and I will continue to purchase OOFOS for years to come. 

Want to #FeelTheOO for yourself? Check out their website: www.oofos.com 
And be sure to follow them on Twitter: @oofos
And Instagram:@oofos

And be sure to follow me as well if you do not already: Twitter, Instagram

Summer Running - Running on Vacation

Next week I will be going on my annual trek up to Pittsburgh, PA to visit family. 

Things I am excited about:

• Not working for a week
• Seeing family I only see once per year
• Being in Pittsburgh - it's a really cool city
• Going to Eat n Park (they have pierogies on the breakfast bar, yo
• Going to Kennywood - gonna ride the new Steel Curtain roller coaster until I throw up
• Running in much much cooler and less humid weather
• Numerous other things I am sure I am forgetting

And don't even get me started on Eat n Park Smiley Cookies

Things that I am not excited about:

• Trying to fit in trips to the gym and runs

But Lissa, you say, you are on vacation, can't you take a week off? Umm... no. I barely take a day off (seriously, my last full rest day was the day I flew back from Barcelona because I had to leave for the airport by 6 am). Call me obsessive, but I do not do rest days well at all. I am a creature of habit and need obsessive disciple, but mentally and physically. 

My regular Tarentum running spot along the Allegheny 

So I am already stressing about how I am going to fit in workouts. I've already pulled up the Burn Boot Camp locations and figured out which ones I'll try to hit on which days (Bethel Park on Wed, Thurs and Fri while in Bridgeville and Wexford on Sat while in Tarentum) and trying to figure out exactly where I can run. See I am staying with a cousin the first couple days that I've never stayed with so I am not sure of the surrounding areas. If I were in Tarentum every day like usual, no problem, I've got routes there all scouted, but new area means new scouting. Especially with the challenges of Pittsburgh terrain.

Ultimately, I would LOVE to be able to run in downtown Pittsburgh, especially since I will be running the Pittsburgh Half Marathon this coming May (stay tuned to more info about this soon) and would love to get some practice in on the course, but , the logistics of being a solo female runner come into play here - just where and when to run where I can guarantee safety. Hopefully I can find a park or something not to far from where I am staying. 

I mean - HELLO!? How pretty is Pittsburgh. And running over those bridges!! I WANNA SO BAD!!! 

What about you? Do you stick to your fitness/training schedule when you are travelling? How do you find safe routes while travelling? 

For the Gel of It: SiS Gels Review & GIVEAWAY

Disclaimer: I received a Science in Sport Gel sample pack to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

By now I am guessing that if you are a runner, than you've heard the #1 rule for when it comes to racing- NOTHING NEW ON RACE DAY! 

That is why I was excited for the opportunity to try of Sports in Science (SiS) gels. They are the on-course gels for the Rock n Roll races nationwide and I love running the Savannah Half Marathon each year (seriously, it's my favorite ever race). Last year I totally meant to grab a gel from an aid station to try it later (again, nothing new ON race day) but in the heat of the race, I was focused on finishing. Fast forward to now when the awesome folks at SiS gave me and some of my fellow BibRave Pros an amazing care package of goodies to try - 4 flavors in all, including their new GO Isotonic gels. 

Isotonic Gels?
What you may ask are Isotonic  Gels? Glad you asked. Basically with the SiS Isotonic gels, you do not have to chase with water. They are 100% effective just on their own. This is awesome because sometimes I find that after I take a gel and then wash it down with water, my stomach can feel not so great from going from nothing to gel and a bunch of water mid-race. These deliver 22 g of rapid absorbing carbs in a convenient 60 ml tube. I tried the Apple flavor and it was really quite good. Really hit the spot for me in the middle of a long hot and humid Sat morning run. I gave a few a to try as well and she texted me that she used her during a super hot 10K race on July 4th and really liked it. 

Other SiS Gels
I also tied 3 other types of SiS gels in my sample care package - the GO + Electrolyte (Lemon Mint), GO Energy + Caffeine (Double Espresso) and GO + Electrolyte (Salted Strawberry). I'll be honest, the Double Espresso was not my favorite flavor, but it really got the job done as far as perking me up. I recommend to take that one as a pre-run gel because it really gets you going. I'm more of a fruity gel fan, so while it wasn't my favorite, I think that was mainly because I don't do coffee, chocolate, vanilla and similar flavors for gels anyway. The Lemon Mint and the Salted Strawberry were both amazing. Really great flavor and textures on both and I will for sure be getting more of both. I've already packed a Salted Strawberry in my run belt for tomorrow's long run. 

The Gel Fairy

Run the Rock Sampling SiS Gels

As I mentioned above, SiS is the on-course gel for the Rock n Roll races, and there is a very large group of runners in my area that are running Rock n Roll Philly in Sept and some others running Rock n Roll Savannah with me in Nov. So last weekend at our long-run, I brought a bunch of gels for the ladies to sample. The gels received rave reviews from the Run the Rock ladies and I've already had requests to share more of my stash. Of course I will (except for the Salted Strawberry - those are mine!)  

GIVEAWAY TIME!!
And guess what?! I have more SiS GO Gels to give out and I want to give a 6-Pack box to YOU! To win one of 2 boxes of SiS GO gels, check out my Instagam post here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz2tSjCHHis/ and follow the directions to enter. You can enter anytime between now and midnight on July 15th to win. Winner will be notified by Instagram DM. 

Or, if you are not a lucky winner (or if you happen to read this after July 15th) you can order from the SiS website and use discount code TRYSIS25 to save 25% off your gel order. 

To learn more about SiS, be sure to follow their socials here  - 
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook

So... I've Been Slacking Again

BUT! I kinda have a decent reason for slacking a bit. See I was just recently in Barcelona for a week for a work trip. And let me tell you, for a trip that I was not looking forward to, Hoo buddy, was it amazing.

First off, let me make 2 things clear:

1) I worked my buns off between the hours of 8:30 am and 6:30 pm. I was there for a trade show and we rocked it. Set up went off without any major hitches (there's always something, but solving that something is my job) and we spent 9 hours a week straight standing on hard concrete floors talking to hundreds of people per day. It was exhausting, especially the talking to people part for introvert-anxiety riddled me.

Our Trade Show Booth. My home for a week, during the daylight hours at least.

2) Outside of those hours, we played and it was incredible! Our hotel was 3 streets from the beach and 3 streets from the Rambla del Poblenou and I was sure to make the most of my time. I got up early each morning to run on the beach (except 1) and each evening we spent hours chilling at amazing outdoor cafes or the beach or bars on the beach. One evening, my brother (who tagged along for a few days using me as an excuse for a European adventure) took a Sunset Cruise out into the Mediterranean. I got to drive (captain) the boat for about 30 min and honestly, I almost didn't give up the wheel to come back in.

So basically, I'm going to post some photos of my adventures below as my love letter to Barcelona.

The view from my hotel room - 6th floor - 3 streets from the beach

Playa de Bogatell - perfect weather the ENTIRE trip

I only got to see the beach during the day one day - the day we arrived. Even so, this is around 5:00 pm

The street our hotel was on, the buildings were awesome

The Metro station at Plaza Catalonia - I love travelling by Metro

Fira Gran - where the trade show was

The boat we took out for the Sunset Cruise

My brother and I - he never went long without a Sangria in hand the whole trip.
Most of the time, he was on his own cause I was working, but we did get to share this adventure. 

Don't mind me, just hijacking a ship on the Sea of Monsters. 

Could totally get used to this... 

The sun finally setting. It stayed up until almost 10:00 pm!

Head for open waters and never come back!

Alas, we had to come back in at some point... 

Playing in the water in the evening with my friend, coworker, and Barcelona running buddy, Simon

Never did figure out what this was, but it was awesome and there were several up and down the beach

Can't go to Spain without eating Paella

Holy butts was the food amazing. So fresh and yummy!

Sangria anyone? Umm YES!!

Seriously, the food though... 

Okay, last food pic. Let me intro you to a Culinary Wonder of the World - the Sushi Burrito. 12/10

My morning run view. Who needs extra sleep when you could see this instead?

Simon and I knocked out at least 5K most mornings

I loved running though this tunnel of palm trees each morning!

The turn around point of our runs. Hated to turn back, but we were there to work afterall... 

I didn't get to do much touristing, but this building was near where we had dinner one night and was awesome.
It was designed by the artist Antoni Gaudi. And it was beautiful, the picture does it no justice.

In summary, I loved it. I would highly recommend going and would love to go back and do even more. Barcelona, you were AMAZING!! 

Join Me for the World Day Refugee 5K

So a few months ago, I posted my love of Virtual racing. Here's a reminder just in case you missed it - https://runnerdgirl.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-benefits-of-racing-virtually.html

So I wanted to take a quick sec to tell you about an upcoming Virtual race that is heavy on reason number 4 of why I love Virtuals - Supporting an Awesome Charity. I am talking about the World Refugee Day 5K.

World Refugee Day is June 20th and Soul Focus is hosting a Virtual race that will raise funds to help make real changes for refugees though donations to the American Refugee Committee. For more information, you can check out their webpage here - https://www.worldrefugeeday5k.com/ 

When you registered to join the World Refugee 5K, you'll receive a custom bib to print, a World Refugee Day Hat and a portion of your registration fee will go to the cause. (Hats will be sent out after June 20th.) Once you receive your bib, you can run your Virtual anytime until June 20th. And make sure you capture and share your run on socials using #WorldRefugeeDay5k #WRD5k and tagging @worldrefugeeday_5k on Instagram.
And of course, you will be joining an awesome community including my fellow BibRave Pros who would be cheering you on all the way. I have already registered and plan to run my miles on June 20th, which should be interesting as I will be in Barcelona, Spain that day. I am really banking on the Anytime, Anywhere aspect of a Virtual Race. 

Join me, won't you? Register here https://raceroster.com/events/2019/23485/world-refugee-day-5k-virtual-run   You can register with discount code BR5 for $5 off you registration.

Let me know in the comments if you plan to join me in supporting this awesome cause!