October Recap/Stats

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

This year's Pumpkins, carved and ready!

I love Halloween... and fall... but not what comes after. Stupid winter. Any way...

Meters Swam: 0 m = Total FAIL this month. I just never had the time.

Miles Biked: 10.65 M = Lame. You'd think I'd have had a whole lot more considering I got Leela that trainer but no such luck. This month was just too busy.

Miles Walked: 35.75 M = We have a winner! Lunch time walks with SunRunner FTW!

Miles Elliptical'd: 1 M - My first in MONTHS! Sooo excited this went well. Will be adding this in more for November, fingers crossed the leg holds up.

Rest Days Planned/Taken: How ever many needed / 13

Xtraining Workouts Planned/Ran: As many as possible / 18

Most Enjoyable Workout: We lucked out with quite a few beautiful fall days this month and SunRunner and I took advantage of every single one of them. I will be sad when we can't do this anymore because of the weather but we're already planning on hitting up some stairs instead to keep moving.

Current Reads: (Reading) Bel Canto by Ann Patchett; "Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening -- until a band of gun-wielding terrorists breaks in through the air-conditioning vents and takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different countries and continents become compatriots.Friendship, compassion, and the chance for great love lead the characters to forget the real danger that has been set in motion and cannot be stopped." This was recommended to me by quite a few friends and so far it has not disappointed.

(Finished) Blindness by Jose Saramago; AMAZING, disturbing, insane. I couldn't put it down. The Story of Racer by Spike; I may be biased, but I think it was the most beautiful love story I've ever read.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Too much Halloween candy.

Current Obsession: (Still) Pumpkin flavored everything.

Current Drink: Water with Emergen-C in it because with all the traveling I've been doing I need to stay on top of NOT getting sick.

Current Song: "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People. Yes I know I'm late to this one, I blame lack of running.

Current Wish-List: For the winter to keep at bay for a few more weeks.

Current Need: No needs at the moment, life's kinda awesome right now.

Current Triumph: Enjoying one pain free mile on the elliptical!!! Also, surviving this weekend in D.C. {Some} Deets to come. What happens in D.C., stays in D.C.

Current Bane of my Existence: The usual.

Current Goal: (Repeated from March, April, May, June, July, August and September) To stay positive and focused on active recovery/xtraining so I can hit the ground running sooner rather than later. Look out December, I'm coming for you.

Current Indulgence: All the fun stuff that comes with getting engaged; thinking of wedding ideas, looking at magazines, pinning stuff on our Pinterest wedding board together, staring at my ring, telling the story of the proposal, and being all sorts of schmoopy.

Current Blessings: The continued love, encouragement, and support from my family, friends, readers, and especially, my betrothed.

Current Excitement: I'm STILL floating on Cloud 9 after that engagement quest... But also excited for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday so we can fly to Denver and visit my family.

How'd your October shape up?!?!

Running is what you make of it, make it an Adventure!™

3 Things Thursday

1. This is still a running blog... First and foremost, thank you, thank you, thank you for all your well wishes and congrats on the big announcement!!! Spike and I could not be any happier if we tried! No date set yet or any of that other stuff, we're still enjoying the moment and being schmoopy. Anyway, I just want to assure you that this doesn't change the format around here, this is still a running blog. Ok, ok, it hasn't been a running blog in forever, but it's still a fitness enthusiast's, injured runner's blog and I promise not to clog it up with wedding planning. Especially with actual running on the horizon... December I'm coming for you!
   
   But before I make good on that promise, I just have to share a few of my favorite pics from the actual proposal, yes Spike planned this down to the last detail, including a secret photographer (his cousin) to catch it all on camera. Swoon!
   
   
   
2. MCM... As I mentioned last week, we'll be setting up our spectating shop near Crystal City, mile 22-23ish, near the turnaround. Look for us, I'll be wearing silver sequined pants. We're also going to be hitting up the expo tomorrow around 2 pm. I'm so excited to have this epic girls weekend in D.C. and catch up with quite a few of my favorite blog friends, meet a few more, and especially slumber party with these two ladies all weekend long. Did someone say vodka?!?
   
   
   
   
   
3. The Walking Dead... Please tell me Spike and I are not the only ones obsessed with this show?!?! OMG I am always on the edge of my seat and/or burying my face in to Spike's arm. Best. Zombie. Show. Ever. (And y'all know I love a zombie.)
   
   
   

An Unforgettable Quest

I must preface this story by saying that my recount, even with the pictures (click any to enlarge), will never do justice to the immense effort and thought put into every single moment of the past few days. I am purposely glossing over details because they were all in some way, shape, or form an aspect of our relationship that can never effectively be explained. That said, I will now tell you about an unforgettable quest I began last Thursday...

Last Thursday mere hours before I left for my Florida birthday trip (a trip that was my birthday present from Spike) and hours after I posted 3 Things Thursday, Sun Runner messaged me saying she had something to give me before I left. I suspected nothing. I tell her I'll swing by her office when I head out to the airport as she works across the street but she insists she must come to me. She arrives shortly after and presents me with a scroll. I knew immediately it was from Spike because no one loves a scroll like Spike does.

Upon unrolling it I read that I am to begin a quest, but there are two stipulations: the first is that I cannot contact him in any way; and the second is that I must write "Today I begin a quest" on the ground. I accept the chalk Sun Runner is holding and go outside into the rain and write my promise. She then hands me a booklet of two sheets of paper. The first reads "The Story of Racer" and the second begins the story, our story, and tells how we came to be 'us.' Essentially, how once upon a time a girl trained in Florida for a race in Chicago....and that was it. No clues, riddles, or hints on what was to come next other than to return to the land where the story began.


So I fly to Florida full of wild speculations of what this could possibly mean. I read and re-read both the scroll and the story over and over on the plane and again to Beaker Luv when I arrived. What could it mean?! What will happen next?!? Time would tell.

Friday she and I go shopping and I look high and low for a dress to wear to my party the next day because Rixy keeps insisting I wear one. I packed a few but wanted something else; so I searched to no avail. After shopping our faces off we returned home and she casually mentions there is something on the table for me. "Is there now?!? I knew you were in on this!!!"

On the table is a beautiful box bearing a golden phoenix. My heart races, I know this phoenix. Then I see three small packages that each have dates on them, I confusedly look to her as she begins to read from a small strip of paper "What is the date of your and Spike's first kiss?"

I opened the package with the date, October 15th in case you were wondering, and there is a small key, the key to unlock the box. I open it and see the top portion of a folded flag. A design on which I know well because it is something I designed for Spike a long time ago. It's essentially a coat of arms, something we had discussed unveiling when we got married someday. I cried. (I'm a crier.) I open it up to see it in its full glory and Beaker Luv hands me three more pages of the story. I cry harder. I explain to her what the flag means. "Does this mean?!? No it can't possibly be "that which we do not speak of"... this must be some kind of epic birthday surprise right?!?"


Linds comes over shortly thereafter and we spend the rest of the night speculating and discussing her recent engagement. I read and re-read the story long past everyone going to bed. And I cry.

Saturday I meet up with Rixy, Yvonney, and Kimmy for their sons' baseball game. I fill them in on what's going on and announce "And I know one of you b*tches have the next piece!" Lol! After the game we all head out for mani/pedi's and then back to Yvonney's to get ready for my party that night. As guests arrive, including B.o.B, I explain what's going on and how I'm quite certain the next piece will occur that evening. Later that evening, after cocktails and awesome food had been consumed and after my amazing friends presented me with a plane voucher to return in December for the annual girls Christmas dinner, on a weekend Spike conveniently had me block already (I say conveniently but really I'm realizing all my friends are lying, scheming yet loveable hoes!!!), I was steered into the front room where the door was closed behind me and my dear Rixy awaited.



On the coffee table in front of her was a box, smaller than the last, with three small packages with city names on them. After I sit down, tears in my eyes, she reads from a small strip of paper "In what city did you and Spike first profess your love to one another?" In the package marked "Chattanooga" I found the key that opened the box.


Inside the box was a nautical star in the same gold as the phoenix on the box, another token of our relationship, and a folded piece of paper that, at the time, looked like an after thought--so I disregarded it and started to cry. Rixy then presented me with three more pages of the story, which I struggled to read through tears. After I read it she pointed to the paper and I opened it to find an itinerary. An itinerary for the next morning. An itinerary with a destination not to Detroit and home, but to Chicago. And that is when I truly knew what was going on. And I cried harder then I had so far. We then held each other, because that's what we do.

The rest of the night is a blur of emotions, predominately happy, but also anxious, excited, and just the tiniest bit of sadness because, if you remember dear readers, I have not spoken to my beloved Spike in days and all I want more than anything is to call him and tell him how much I love him and the story and all the things he has been doing. But I couldn't. It would violate my oath.

I did not sleep one wink that night and when 5 am Sunday morning rolled around I showered and prepared myself for the flight to Chicago. I spent the first leg of the journey crying and re-reading the story. And willing myself not to vomit. At my layover in Cincinnati I managed to choke down a banana but I spent the rest of the time willing myself not to vomit. During the short flight from Cincy to Chi-town I re-read the story and cried some more. Before the wheels of the plane even touched down on the tarmac in Chicago I turned on my phone to see if there were any clues as to what would happen next...

And there was a text from my cousins saying they'd be picking me up. When I hopped in the car I apologized ahead of time in the event I threw up in the back seat. They both laughed and asked me how I was doing. I asked them if they remembered the exact moment they realized they were getting proposed to (they did) and I said, imagine feeling like that for 4 days! Then they asked me if I was ready for the next piece of the quest. I was. Mel held up a small strip of paper, struggled to read it, and finally just gave it to me. It read "Do you believe in everlasting love?" I started crying. I managed to nod my head and say "of course." Upon hearing my answer, Mel handed me a book. A book? I opened it to find the entire story, our story, with the final page in place. He had gotten our story made into a real book. Something I will be able to treasure forever. If you would like to read our story you can HERE. But come back, because there is still more of my story to tell...


So of course I cry even harder than ever and I'm openly weeping and doing the horrible choke on breaths and ugly cry face. When I can finally collect myself I ask, so are we on our way to him now?!?!? (The last page had instructions to meet him at the place of our first date) No. What?!?!? Nope, we are going home so you can clean yourself up and then we'll catch a train into the city. Oh Spike I thought, you sure know how to drive a girl CRAZY!!! Rereading the final page again, I realized I accidentally glossed over the part of the story detailing what time to meet.

The next two hours were the longest two hours of my life.

We finally arrive via train into the city and grabbed a cab to Shedd's Aquarium, which you may remember from my almost two year old post where I revealed how we had come to start dating. My cousins wonder aloud if I knew where exactly we're supposed to meet Spike because he hadn't mentioned it; but I knew. Rounding the corner to the front of the building I saw him; wearing a huge smile, rocking back and forth on his heels, hands clasped in front of him, standing on the viewing deck with the cityscape as the backdrop.

And at that moment everything melted away and I walked (you know I would've ran if I could've, stupid leg), hands in pockets, tears streaming, smile plastered on my face, to him. I have never in my life been so happy to see him (and that's saying a lot seeing how we did a lot of not seeing each other when we were first dating long distance). When I reached him he grabbed both of my hands, spoke a few beautiful words about the quest and me, got down on one knee, pulled a box that was even smaller than the last one, a golden phoenix delicately painted on top from his pocket, and asked me to marry him.


I said yes. All the random people around us clapped and cheered. He twirled me around, we kissed, I may or may not have screamed in joy.


Four words made up the question, the answer required only one. After an unforgettable quest, our love story has really only just begun...

3 Things Thursday

1. #whyiwrite... Every day, every single one of us writes; whether it's a blog post or a tweet, email or text message, post-it note reminder or grocery list. That being said, did you know that today is National Day on Writing? National Day on Writing is a movement by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) to help raise awareness about how important writing is. At some point today they and I challenge those of you with a Twitter account to tweet why you write and hashtag it with #whyiwrite to get the topic trending. You can read more about #whyiwrite HERE.
   
   Here's my submission:
   
   
   
2. Bittersweet Florida Trip... In a few short hours I leave for O-town!!! On the one hand, I cannot wait to get there and see all my friends! I've been waiting for this weekend's trip since the moment I left there the last time. The girls are throwing me a belated 30th birthday party and I can't freaking wait to spend time with everyone!!! But, on the other hand, my heart breaks just thinking about having to leave Sunday knowing that my next trip isn't lined up and it's going to be a very long time before I'm able to visit again. Why does Florida have to be so far away from Michigan?!?!? :( :( :(
   
   
3. MCM Spectating... I've totally been gearing up for MCM spectating next weekend and just wanted to let those of you that are running or spectating know that I'll be setting up shop near Crystal City, mile 22-23 ish, near the turnaround. Make sure you swing by and say hi, I'll promise to give you a motivational speech and/or hug, and cheer my face off!

{Mostly} Wordless Wednesday

Why 30 has been awesome so far...

Swoon.

Nothing like a Spartan victory to kick off an awesome

weekend with even awesomer friends.
Yup awesomer. :)

The Fatha's b-day present to me, an inside joke about how 30 = crazy cat lady
(Note it's name is Lulu which conveniently goes along with (my bike) Leela and (my car) Lola)

Awesomeness spotted at Detroit Marathon Expo.

Ode to a Decade: Saying Goodbye To My 20's

Today marks THE last day of my 20's, ten years ago this day seemed impossible to fathom and yet, here we are. Starting tomorrow I will no longer be a 20-something but rather a 30-something. My how time flies when you're having fun!

As I walked down memory lane, accumulating pics for this tribute to a decade, I've had a lot of time to reflect on the good times, bad times, and all the people/things that happened in between that shaped me in to the woman I am today. For those of you that don't know, I lived in Orlando, Florida for all but the last year and a half of my 20's. Those years in Florida, surrounded by my "misfit family of friends," will forever hold a very special place in my heart. Together we loved, lost, studied, partied, vacationed, celebrated, and generally had a blast living life to it's fullest with only a handful of regrets along the way. Those were the years that prepared me for what was to come when I met Spike and would start the next leg of my journey, closing up the decade on the right foot. (Ha, literally. Stupid left leg.)

Join me now for a quick photo tour...

2001 - Age 20
My Beaker Luv and I. Can't seem to find a pic from my actual birthday, but here's one from the first annual Halloween party!
(Sometimes I still miss that nose ring!)

2002 - Age 21
Finally legal! Here I am celebrating at Cowboys!
(Being legal was soo much easier than sneaking shots in the bathroom! LOL!)

2003 - Age 22
Celebrating at the Ale House!

2004 - Age 23
With all my ladies downtown, Wall Street was the spot!

2005 - Age 24
Another birthday celebration at Cowboys and with my girls!

2006 - Age 25
25 was a big deal in my circle of friends and they all got together to throw me an absolute kick-@ss birthday celebration in Daytona, complete with a concert, surprise guests, and South Beach Mai Tai's! No birthday before or since has ever topped this awesome birthday!

2007 - Age 26
Rum Bar in West Palm

2008 - Age 27
Tapas and cocktails at Ceviche on Church Street!

2009 - Age 28
My 28th was celebrated multiple times over the course of a week but this pic sums it up best, I was still glowing from my first marathon finish and whirlwind weekend romance with Spike!
(Clueless that not even a year later my next adventure would land me back in Michigan!)

2010 - Age 29
Celebrated by rebounding from injury, running the Grand Rapids Half, and scoring a PR!

When I think about all the adventures my 20's held, it makes me excited for the ones to come in my 30's, which are sure to be just as eventful. (Minus the abundance of booze.) I've learned so much about myself, life, and what I want out of this life, that I am thankful for each and every step or misstep along the way. The regrets taught me to be a better person, the obstacles I've had to overcome made me stronger, and all that was amazing taught me to appreciate everything all the more.

To end this I'd like to send this open letter to my impending 30's...

Dear 30's,

I know you're going to be amazing and I can't wait to start this next chapter of my life! Somewhere along the way you're sure to hold my return to running, that fateful day I'll wear a white dress and marry my best friend, my first overseas travel excursion, the day I'll finally earn that BQ and go on to run Boston, the day I'll own my first home, the day(s?) I'll pop out a mini-me, and all the unexpected adventures in between.

Ready to Rock This,

Morgan

3 Things Thursday

1. Leela IS Trainable: A few weeks ago I picked up a trainer for Leela only to find that her 1980's style was not vibing with the trainer's of today. The problem being that she had a solid axle over a quick release. I called around to some shops, and posted about it on FB, but everyone was coming up with the same answer; replace the entire back wheel with a new and improved quick release style. I made one last call for help to a friend who does Fixie's and he was able to get her modified and ready to rock! Thank you @beanteck for saving the day!
   
   
   Ready to log some miles this winter!
   
   
   
2. B.o.B Does D-town: I get to see my B.o.B tomorrow! That's right, she's headed to the D for the Half this weekend and Spike, Sun Runner, and I are all meeting up with her for dinner tomorrow night. Sooo excited I get to see my Boo!
   
   
3. Case of the Schmoops: The last few and next few days hold a lot of anniversaries for me, specifically the two year anniversary of both running my first marathon and meeting/falling for the man I happen to be hopelessly in love with. I've been a big ball of sappy since the weekend reliving those moments in my mind; meeting him at the expo for the first time IRL after being blog buddies for so long, the entire Chicago Marathon experience (which still gives me butterflies in my stomach when I think of it), and the whole magical weekend that followed... Needless to say I've had a big goofy grin on my face most of the week.
   
   Anyone else out there a big Sappy McSapperson like me when it comes to these kinds of things?!?!
   

{Mostly} Wordless Wednesday

Sun Runner & I pondering WTF these statues are all about...

Captured during on our lunch walk Monday.

Happy Hump Day!

Stimulating My Bone: Part 1

First things first, CONGRATULATIONS to all those that raced this weekend!!! From Portland to Denver, Chi-town to NYC, a whole lot of awesome happened over the weekend and I am so proud of all my runnerds peeps who braved the elements, overcame missed ferry's and late starts, but still managed to rock out some PR's and/or finished their first marathons!

Now on to your regularly scheduled post...

So I know you've all been jealous about my bone stimulator, I can tell from all the inappropriate comments you've been leaving whenever it's mentioned. I mean, why wouldn't you want to say you've stimulated yourself today? Heh! But in all seriousness, I hope that none of you ever, EVER, EVER find yourself in need of a bone stimulator. EVER! Dealing with this injury the last 7 months has been the biggest pain in the @ss ever and I would never wish it on anyone.

But should one of you ever find yourself in this position, or are just curious about it in general, I thought I'd share what it's all about. First up, some official mumbo-jumbo about it, followed by my own thoughts:

"The OL1000 utilizes state-of-the-art combined magnetic field (CMF) technology, which produces low-energy signals that stimulate the body's natural healing process and enhance the healing of long-bone nonunion fractures."

"Indication for Use: Noninvasive treatment of an established nonunion acquired secondary to trauma, excluding vertebrae and all flat bones. A nonunion is considered to be established when the fracture site shows no visibly progressive signs of healing. This treatment has been shown in pre-clinical studies to help the body's own healing process begin working. Clinical studies have shown an increased chance of healing of 60.7% in patients with nonunions that averaged 29.3 months from injury. Registry data on over 2300 patients reports a heal rate of 75.1%"

My Thoughts: As you all know, I went through a lot to get this, nevermind how long I'd been injured before this was even suggested as a measure to take. Once I was finally approved the rep walked me through the process of use and made it clear that I would not notice any immediate results and that I should wait until my doctor cleared me to attempt running again. My next appointment with the surgeon isn't until December so I have a ways to go before I will know if this has actually improved my situation or not. At this point I can only hope and pray, with every ounce of my being, that it will.

That said, in the week that I've used it, as promised, I have felt absolutely no difference. Prior to starting treatment I would inevitably have pain at some point throughout my day and this has continued to be the trend. I will say that rather than it being sporadic it has become a regular occurrence in the few minutes leading up to treatment. This is a new development and it kinda weirds me out considering I don't actually feel anything while I'm using it. Speaking of, you probably want to know how it's used and all that jazz right? Well, I put my leg in that contraption, velcro it in place, making sure to center the injury site within, and then I press and hold down the middle button on the accompanying control unit until it beeps. That's it. After it beeps it begins a 30 minute countdown, during which time I typically check my email, FB, play Words with Friends, pin on Pinterest, nap, etc... When the timer is up, it beeps again and this smiley face appears:

Stimulation complete.

Spike and I are now in the habit of yelling "SMILEY FACE!!!" when it beeps, much to our own amusement, and that is it. The display goes blank and I cannot use it again for 24 hours.

(Funny story about the first time I used it; The rep told me to just press the button, failing to mention holding down until it beeps, so the first time I "started" it, or so I thought, no countdown appeared and having failed to actually read the directions, I didn't know any better that it should have. When 30 minutes were up I stared and waited for the smiley face to appear for a solid minute before I decided to read the instructions and learn the right way to do it. Total FAIL.)

While it's doing whatever it does I do not feel anything. at. all. I wish I did because then I'd feel more confident that it was actually doing something but I just gotta trust that something that took so long to get approved by insurance and retails for $4,000 must get the job done. (It also helps to have gotten so many messages from people that have used one or known someone who has used one successfully and also to read posts like this and this with lots of useful information about their own experiences.)

**Important Note for Anyone Thinking About Purchasing A Used Device**

While researching used units on websites like ebay, I came across many of this same unit. I would like to point out that many of these sellers misrepresented how many charges it had left by showing the start screen that displays two numbers such as "042/103." Be warned that this means it has been used 42 times in the last 103 days since it's been activated, NOT that there have only been 42 charges used with 103 charges left. When I learned about this little detail I was SOOO relieved the insurance had come through and I had gotten a brand new unit. While these units do have a charge life of about 9 months, or 270 charges, the count down begins the day you have your first treatment. If I were to sell this after my December appointment, my unit would have 204 potential charges left on it as I would have already cycled through 66 days of charges. If I were to sell this next July with those same 66 days of charges it would only have 30 days of charges left, since it's ninth month of charge life would end within 30 days. Example: The screen would say "066/240." (i.e. 66 charges in the last 240 days since activation, NOT 66 used out of 240)

So there you have it, a quick, not nearly as interesting as I'm sure you thought it would be, update on the bone stimulator. I'll be sure to revisit this subject again when more time has passed and I've started noticing some progress. Thanks again for all your continued support and kind words through all of this, you guys are the best!

3 Things Thursday

1. And we're back... After a month long hiatus, #3TT is back! I have to tell you it was sooo weird not posting it all of last month, but the break was much needed and appreciated. While my break still included a few posts, overall just allowing myself to take a step back really helped me find my mojo again. Has anyone else ever felt pressure or obligation to post something just because it's "their thing"?
   
   
2. Stimulating my bone... Just wanted to give everyone a quick update and let you know that I received the unit on Monday afternoon and have used it three times to date. So far I haven't noticed any difference but I'll do a more "stimulating" review of it soon...
   
   
   
3. Giveaway Winner... And finally, the winner of the "Run Like A Girl" book is...
   
   
   
   Ulyana from Shaped by Running!!!
   
   
   Please email me your mailing information at redheadrunning (@) gmail. (Would readers Shawna, no blog or blogger profile, and carol Hill please email me as well!!! I would really appreciate it!)
   
   
   Good luck to all those racing this weekend! BIG SHOUT OUT to all my Chi-town runnerds!!! Run like you mean it and enjoy every step!!!
   

Wordless Wednesday

Fall is in full swing here in the mitten!!!


{Pssst... Don't forget to leave a comment on
yesterday's post for a chance to win a copy of
the book "Run Like a Girl"!!!}

Tuesday Trial: Run Like a Girl Book Review and Giveaway

Run Like a Girl: How Strong Women Make Happy Lives by Mina Samuels

"Part locker-room confidential, inspiring manifesto, and personal memoir, the book shows us, through stories of nearly a hundred women, how the confidence women build by participating in sports--whether it's running or rock climbing, swimming or yoga--can transform our lives in profound ways. Lively, funny, and sometimes heartbreaking, in the candid stories, which fill its pages, these women share how sports helped them overcome life's obstacles and achieve the happiness and success they'd been running toward." Source: Mina Samuels Website

Now given my current injured state, I will be honest, there were times while reading this book that I either broke down in tears from the inspirational stories or found renewed motivation to hit the gym and overcome this stupid injury. *When you're injured you tend to be a bit emotional!*

Overall I thought it was a good book and would definitely be a great gift to give or receive. If you or your mother, wife, sister, daughter, etc is a female athlete of any kind, this book features inspirational stories on a multitude of sports and entrepreneurial endeavors to appeal to any reader. To me, it read kind of like one of those "Chicken Soup for the .... Soul" books as Mina intertwined her own personal experiences with those of other inspirational females. It was the perfect book to pick up and read when I was in the mood, rather than a sit down and read straight through kind of book.

With that said, guess what time it is?!?! Giveaway time! The publisher's are letting me giveaway a copy to one lucky reader! U.S. and Canadian Resident's Only. (Their rules, not mine.)

To enter all you must do is leave a comment below. That's it, easy-peasy! Bonus entries for those of you who "Like" the official Run Like a Girl Facebook fanpage or follow Mina's official blog. (Please leave a separate comment stating so.) This post will remain open for entries until noon EST Thursday, October 6th, after which time the winner will be announced.

Disclaimer: Per FTC Guidelines, I was provided this book at no cost to me for my personal review and the review is entirely of my own opinion. The publisher has also agreed to provide an additional copy at no cost to me or the winner of the giveaway.

EDIT: This post has been closed for additional comments and the winner of the giveaway has been announced HERE.

The Pumpkinfest 5k Walk That Wasn't

Early last week my injured friend, The Terminator, and I were discussing walking a 5k sometime soon. Emails went back and forth and we narrowed it down to two; a lesser known 5k nearby, the Pumpkinfest 5k, or the Brooksie Way 5k, which is easily over an hour away but a much bigger venue. After hemming and hawing all week we finally decided to keep it a little more local with the forecast calling for craptacular weather over the weekend.

Fast forward to Friday night, Terminator and I decided a celebatory cocktail was in order for my bone stimulator unit finally being approved. After a drink and copious amounts of people watching we decided on the fly to head to Walmart to get some "supplies" for the walk. With an event name like "Pumpkinfest" we thought for sure that dressing up would be a given, seems a reasonable enough assumption right? Now mind you at Walmart anything we were getting was sure to be ridiculous and by the time we left we could barely contain our laughter at what we had decided on to sport the next day...

Pre-Race: I awoke Saturday morning to an overcast sky, light rain, 20 mph winds, and 40*. Double-layering was def going to be the name of the game this morning! Yuck!!! I picked up The Terminator and we headed over to South Lyon, completely oblivious to the cluster of traffic we'd get stuck in. We finally managed to arrive at the school, park and get our packets with approximately 8 minutes to spare and it was only then we realized there was no Starting line to speak of...

Start Corral: As I said there wasn't one. Nor were there any timing chips. I asked the packet pick-up people where the Start was and they had conflicting answers. Eventually we just followed the small group of people heading over to the track. As I did at the Cooley Law 5k, I headed straight to the back where all the other walkers were sure to be. Once in place we snapped a quick pic and made note that we were the ONLY people dressed up. Weird. Then a race official instructed the 75(ish) athlete's assembled that we were to round the track, exit the field, and head towards the main road turning upon arrival... and then he yelled "GO!"

Ready to rock the Halloween Spirit!

The Race: And every single person started running, except us. By the time we had even rounded the track all the runners were out of sight. As we passed a camera lady she said to us, "You know ladies, you might warm up if you ran!" Saying that to two injured runners who would give their right arm to be running, ironically Terminator's right arm is in a sling, it was not really what we wanted to hear. We laughed it off as best we could and kept walking but by the time we made it to the main road there was not a runner in sight, only people lining the streets on both sides for blocks, awaiting the parade. We had only gone maybe a half mile.

Oh well at least we tried, the kids sure loved our get-ups though, or maybe it was just because we gave them candy?

Dressed up like goofballs and freezing, carrying a bucket full of candy to pass out to kids along the route with no clue of the route to begin with (there was no course map on the website), we made the executive decision to throw in the towel. I knew Spike's sister Thor and her family were lined up on the parade route so instead of wandering about aimlessly we started passing out candy and made our way to her to say hi, drink hot chocolate, and watch the parade. There would be no 5k Walk PR today!

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention this?

Post Race: The parade was the quintesstional small town parade and when it was over we could do nothing but laugh at how the day had played out. Back at the car we waved at the Finish Line and made our way back home.

Post Race Thoughts: In hindsight we both agreed we should have opted for the Brooksie Way 5k as it is a very popular race and would definitely have had race walkers. (Not to mention when double checking the Pumpkinfest's website back at home I realized that it did not say anywhere on the site that it was a 5k walk/run. Total FAIL on my part, but it is what it is and at least my race fee went towards a good cause; supporting the Boys & Girls Track and Field Teams.) Next year I'll know better and if you can't laugh at yourself, you're not having any fun right?