Tag Archives: runstrongrun

Review: Oofos… Feel the Ooo

Posted on by
5

Disclaimer: I received a pair of Oofos 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!

I don’t know about you, but the first thing that I want to do after a run, is take my shoes off (not to mention also taking off all of my sweaty clothes)!  After I take my shoes off, the question then becomes, “What do I put on my feet?”  Before Oofos entered my life, I’d normally just throw on any ‘ol pair of sandals.  Now, however, with my Oofos, my body can tell a difference and its thrilled!

img_6926

Makes you say, “Oooo”

Oofos slogan, “Feel the Ooo”, is so appropriate!  I can guarantee that the first time you put on a pair of Oofos, you will make an audible, “Oooo” sound.  Here’s a clip of my 12 year old putting on a pair of Oofos for the first time. (Note: When he says, “It feels weird,” what he really means is, “It feels so amazing!”)

My husband also tried on my Oofos.  After trying them on, he quickly hopped online to purchase himself a pair.  Here’s my husband and son discussing how amazing the Oofos felt and trying to decide which color to buy.

img_6535

What’s so great about Oofos?

  1. ABSORBS MORE SHOCK THAN TRADITIONAL FOAMS – Traditional athletic shoe foams are designed to “rebound” and propel you forward. With OOfoam, however, it does the opposite, absorbing 37% more shock with every step than traditional footwear foam.
  2. REDUCES STRESS ON SORE FEET, KNEES AND BACK – Your feet and joints take a pounding on hard surfaces everyday. Slipping on OOFOS after a workout, provides them with relief and a chance to recover.
  3. CRADLES YOUR ARCHES – Unlike flip-flops, the OOFOS patented footbed is designed with tremendous arch support to take the pressure off of ankles, knees and hips, as well as your lower back.
  4. ENABLES MORE NATURAL MOTION – Biomechanically designed, OOFOS flex with both your foot and the ground. The soft, flexible OOfoam material enables your foot to articulate the way nature intended. (Oofos.com)

An Everyday Shoe

While testing out my Oofos, my husband and I traveled to Cancun, Mexico.  Yes, my Oofos most certainly came along with us!  Here’s my Oofos on the beach.

img_7027Here’s my Oofos on our kayak. (The Oofos are made with a moisture resistant closed cell foam which is shower-ready and machine washable!)

fullsizerender-25

Here’s my Oofos during a relaxing morning by the ocean with a mimosa in hand.

img_7155

After spending a whole day walking around with my brown sandals on, I could not wait to put on my Oofos to finally feel some relief from my tried feet, ankles, knees, and back!

img_6651

Although my pair of Women’s OOriginal Sport Sandal may seem a little big, it’s amazing how lightweight they are!  They provide the support my body needs while adding minimal weight to my feet!

One Monday evening, while at my friend’s house to watch the Bachelorette, my friend asked, “Are those Oofos really as great as you say they are?”

I then took off my Oofos, handed them to her, and said, “Try them on for yourself.”

As soon as she put them on, she giggled and said, “Wow!  These are amazing!”

img_6760

Recently, while at the Oakland Town’s Half expo representing the California International Marathon, I spotted some Oofos for sale at a booth across from me.  I so badly wanted to purchase a pair of the Women’s OOlala sandals, but I was a good girl and kept my wallet put away.  (I’ve spent way too much money lately for my classroom!)

img_7693

In the end, I’d highly recommend that everyone own at least one pair of Oofos.  Wear them before you workout, after you workout, and even on your rest days like I did below.

img_6726

Check out what my fellow BibRave Pros had to say about their Oofos.

Jeannine     Amy     James     Vanessa

Do you own a pair of Oofos?  If so, what do you think about them?  If you don’t own a pair of Oofos, what do you normally wear after a hard run / workout?

Until next time,

img_0060-2

When One Door Closes

Posted on by
Reply

When one door closes, another opens. As I was sitting in the San Francisco airport waiting for my connecting flight, I watched pilots and flight attendants walk past. This reminded me of the time in my early 20s when I flew to Texas to interview for a job as a Southwest flight attendant. I didn’t get the job. I didn’t even make it past the first round of interviews. I was disappointed. I really had envisioned my life as a flight attendant. (This was during my 1.5 year break from college.)

Today, all of the sudden, I had a revelation. If I had gotten that job as a Southwest flight attendant a decade ago, I probably would never have finished college. If I had never finished college, I would have never become a teacher. If I had never become a teacher, I would have never traveled to China, Honduras, and Mexico to live and teach abroad. If I had never traveled to Mexico, I may have never picked up running since I began running while living in Mexico. My life, therefore, would be radically different.

Clearly, in those early years of my 20s, God had different plans for my life. Jeremiah 29:11-13 states, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” NIV

This is hard for me. I am a strong, independent woman who likes to be in control. It’s not easy for me to give up control of my life. Today, however, I will choose to remember that sometimes the plans we make for yourselves are not God’s plan for our life.

I am appreciative for where I find myself now, a decade later. I am married to the love of my life, I have two fantastic “bonus” children, I am a 5th grade teacher, and I am a 15 time marathoner. I’m so glad God knows the desires of my heart and has great plans for my life.

Does your current life reflect the one you had envisioned for yourself 5, 10, or 15 years ago? Tell me about it. I’d love to hear from you!

Until next time,

Making Smart Food Choices

Posted on by
12

Food. We are surrounded by it everyday almost everywhere we go. How do we make smart food choices while on the go, while traveling, while stressed, while sad, while happy, and while celebrating? 

  
I’ll be honest with you and say there’s no easy answer to this. This involves hard work and making conscious decisions. I still struggle with this myself. I will say, however, that I have had a few victories lately that I’d like to share.

Victory #1
While at a teacher conference recently where breakfast and lunch were provided, I was presented with a table full of pastries upon arriving. Those close to me know that I love, love, LOVE maple bars! Last year, I even had a student who brought me a maple bar to school everyday for a week straight! I, however, confidently walked past the maple bars, headed to the fruit trays, put some cantaloupe and pineapple on my plate, and walked to my table. When I got to my table of 7 other teachers, guess what many of them had on their plate? Yes, that’s right… maple bars! The smell wafting my way almost made me walk back over and pick up a maple bar for myself, but I didn’t! Yay! Victory!


Victory #2
I don’t know about you, but when I travel, I normally take some kind of candy with me to munch on. While I was preparing for my current vacation, however, I did not purchase any candy! Nope, no Skittles, no M&Ms, no Hot Tamales, nothing! Victory!


Victory #3
It’s so easy for me to mindlessly eat. As read above, I eat while traveling, while stressed, while sad, while happy, and while celebrating. Nearly every emotion is connected to food! While vacationing, it’s so easy to mindlessly eat while sitting at the beach, laying by the pool, or relaxing in the room. Today, however, there’s been minimal snacking. One way I have combated the snacking has been by consuming plenty of water. I, in fact, have drank over 3 liters of water today! That may seem like a lot, but you should have seen how much Sweat came from my body today on my run (walk / jog). Lots of sweat, lots of water consumption, and minimal snacking! Victory!


How do you make smart food choices? Do you have any tips to share? What do you struggle with when it comes to food? 

Until next time,

Thursday Thoughts

Posted on by
2

I’ve said it once I’ll say it again… Thursday is my favorite day of the week. Why? Well it’s because you’re excited about the weekend, but the weekend isn’t quite here yet. By the time the weekend starts you are sad because you know the weekend is coming to an end. What’s your favorite day of the week? 

Disclaimer: this blog is going to be filled with a lot of random thoughts. Not all of the thoughts will pertain to running. 

Can you believe that three weeks from today school starts?  I told that to a friend yesterday and her response was, “It seems like just yesterday summer vacation started!” As much as I love summer I’m actually very excited for the new school year! Out of my nine years of teaching, this will be my first time to be at a school for more than two years! 

Wow! I just counted and I’ve been on summer vacation for six weeks now. It doesn’t really feel like it’s been six weeks. But on the other hand it does. A lot has happened this summer. I ran a marathon in Utah, the daughter traveled  to Europe, and as a family we traveled to Napa, San Francisco, San Diego, and Palm Springs. In two days, the husband and I leave for another week long vacation! Yes, we are truly utilizing our summer vacation!


Do not be fooled however, because this summer has not been all sunshine and happiness. There’s been some trials and struggles but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Right? 

Through the struggles, I find myself being incredibly thankful for my husband, for my parents, and other friends and family members who have been so supportive. Truly I am blessed beyond measure. 

It doesn’t do any good to stay in the muck of struggles. Instead, you must move on and trust that God knows what he’s doing. How am I moving in and trusting God? Well, I’m finding projects to work on. Naturally, I am someone who doesn’t do well being still.  So I’ve worked on a few big projects this summer which included doing some curriculum work as a side job, organizing my pantry, organizing my closet and transitioning to flexible seating in my classroom. 


As you can see, these Thursday thoughts are quite unorganized partly due to the fact that I am writing them by speaking into my phone while out on a walk at 5:30 in the morning. Some of the best thoughts are done in the wee hours of the morning. My 4:50 AM partner is moving to the other side of the town, so I may be having some more solo wee hours of the mornings in my near future. 


Speaking of the future, what’s next for Run Strong Run? I have Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver on tap for October and the California International Marathon (CIM) in December. Use BIBRAVE15 to save $15 off of Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver half marathon and use code RUNSTRONG10 to save $10 off of CIM. 

Do you ever find yourself needing to clear your mind of random thoughts? What’s coming up on your schedule that you’re excited about? 

Until next time,

Race Recap: San Diego Craft Classic 

Posted on by
6

Disclaimer: I received a free entry to the Craft Classic San Diego race 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!

As stated in my Friday Feels blog, this was my first timing running a race in San Diego.  I, therefore, didn’t really now what to expect when I signed up for the Craft Classic half marathon.  Now that I’ve completed the race, I’m ready for more San Diego races and perhaps a relocation down to Southern California! 😉 

Our first stop upon arriving to San Diego was Road Runner Sports, the location of the race expo. Bib pick up was well organized, quick, and easy. My race swag included a pint glass, a racer back tank top, and a customized bib!


One of the things I was looking forward to about the race was the Green Flash Brewery beer at the finish line!


Since I was on a family vacation with the husband and two kids, they all got to join me at the expo. They enjoyed trying all the Nuun flavors and the Honey Stinger waffle and energy chew samples. 

Earlier in the week, while on Twitter, the Fat to Finish Line gang reached out to me and told me to stop by to say hi at the expo. So, that is just what I did! It was so wonderful to talk about weight loss (since I too have gone from fat to finish line) and Ragnar races. I have yet to do a Ragnar, but it is definitely on my bucket list. 


That evening, I prepared myself for my half marathon (as best as I could since I had recently taken a month off of running). One of the things I do in preparation for a race, is I lay out everything for a #flatrunner picture. 


The next morning, I woke up at 3:30am. My goal was to leave the hotel at 4:15am so I could catch a shuttle to the starting line at about 4:45am. (The shuttles ran from 4:30 – 5:30.) I ended up being right on time, got a front row view on the shuttle, and made it to the starting line with a little over an hour to spare!


I had the pleasure of meeting up with my fellow BibRave Pro ambassador, Mai, at the starting line.


I also got to meet up with some fellow ProCompression ambassadors too! 


In no time at all, it was time to line up at the starting line. There were two waves of runners: the under two hour group and the over two hour group. Maria and I waved goodbye as Mai and the other Pro ambassadors started in wave one. A little less than 1.5 years ago, I earned my half marathon PR of 1:52:32. I will get back there someday, but today was not the day. 

 

Maria and I ran together for the first couple of miles and then I began my walk/run intervals for the remainder of the course. Taking a month off of running really takes a toll on one’s ability to run. 😂 

The aid station at mile 3 was probably one of my favorites since they had popsicles! Yes, popsicles at 7am when you’re hot and sweaty are the BEST!


From that point on, the race was fairly uneventful. I had the 2:30 pacer come up behind me at about mile 6 and two thoughts came through my mind, “Ugh! Am I really that slow?! Hmmm… can I keep up with him?” Sadly, yes, I really was running that slowly and no, I was not able to keep up with him. Don’t be fooled by the smile on my face… yes, I was having fun, but my body was revolting against me! Side note: way to go 2:30 pacers! 


The next notable event happened sometime between miles 9 – 10. This is where we approached a monstrous hill. It was steep and long. This hill even has its own split on the race results! It’s the King of the Mountain split. The hill may not look that scary in the picture, but it was a beast! 


Slowly, but surely I finally made it to the finish line! I stocked up on some Honey Stinger waffles, filled up my water bottle, and made my way to the Green Flash beer garden. 


I walked around and took a few more pictures before heading back to the hotel. 


Interested in seeing more of the Craft Classic San Diego course? Be sure to check out my Craft Classic San Diego 2017 video! While you’re at it, please also subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking SUBSCRIBE. 

Overall, I’d highly recommend the Craft Classic San Diego race! You can read my full race review at BibRave.com and while you’re at it, read other reviews and/or write your own race reviews! 


Until next time,