From the category archives:

running, biking & even swimming

ragnar so cal {the sparklicious swaggerwaggon}

by @according2kelly on May 15, 2012

lots of paint pen (we’re talking a couple hundreds worth), child labor provided by the entire neighborhood, & a couple of hours, resulted in the ultimate ragnar-ian vehicle…

the sparklicious swaggerwaggon

the most sparklicious van on the road from huntington beach to coronado island.

the sparklicious swaggerwaggon was the perfect mode of transportation for our team sparkle UTLRA team.

just like our team sparkle skirts, you could definitely see our van coming. you might even say we were hard to miss.

images via angry julie

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ragnar relay so cal {team sparkle ULTRA edition}

by @according2kelly on May 14, 2012

recruiting team members for a two hundred mile ragnar relay running adventure, isn’t exactly easy. but recruiting for an ultra team is even harder.

did i forget to mention that little detail?

generally speaking, most people run the ragnar relay with 12 team members & 2 vans (6 runners in each van).

each team member (of a 12-person team) runs three legs, in rotation. for example… runner 1 runs his leg & then hands off the “baton” to runner 2, who is anxiously waiting for him (or her) at the first exchange. runner 2 takes off, while runner 1 rejoins his teammates in the van. the van then leapfrogs down the road to the next checkpoint, to drop off runner 3 – & so on, & so on… with each runner running every 12 legs. make sense?

but we aren’t most people. that’s why we decided to race the ragnar so cal as an all-women’s ULTRA team…

luckily, 5 of my best friends agreed to run ragnar with me.

we may not be the fastest, & we aren’t exactly what you would call serious runners (most of us have only run 1 marathon, we generally squeeze runs in-between school drop-offs, business meetings and baseball practice, & at least for me, running is more therapy than exercise), but we didn’t care.

ragnar so cal wasn’t about the competition – i wouldn’t even call it a race. from the very beginning, our ragnar was more about the adventure & the “unforgettable stories.” we wanted, no we needed to prove to ourselves, that even casual runners, like ourselves, could survive a 200 mile journey & live to tell the tale.

ready to meet the other members of team sparkle ULTRA?!

linda: runner 1, 7, 13, 19, 25, 31, with a total mileage of 40.2 miles. she’s a mom of 3 who loves to run, bike & swim.

kenna: runner 2, 8, 14, 22, 28, 34, with a total mileage of 37.3 miles. mom of 2, who’s a nurse in her “spare” time.

tamra: runner 4, 10, 16, 22, 28, 34, with a total mileage of 26.7 miles. self-pronounced cat lady, avid mountain biker, talented musician and she’ll beat you at any video game.

carrie: runner 5, 11, 17, 23, 29, 35, with a total mileage of 30.2 miles. mother of 4, with not enough time to sew, run, thrift, DIY, mountain bike & crochet, but she sneaks it in anyway.

elise: runner 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, with a total mileage of 29.9 miles. she’s the cupcake activist: fighting for the cupcake cause. as a triathlete she likes to burn calories so she can eat them.

so there you have it. team sparkle ULTRA edition. linda, kenna, me, tamra, elise & carrie. 6 girls on a mission to run 200 miles.

but a team is only a strong as their “support” staff. & luckily, we had some amazing people working behind the scenes.

julie: photographer, official facebook & twitter updater

mark: driver extraordinaire

images via angry julie.

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ragnar relay so cal {what is it?}

by @according2kelly on May 9, 2012

as you may, or may not know, i recently participated in the ragnar so cal relay.

but before i dive in, & try to re-live our amazing adventure, i thought i might take a moment to explain WHAT exactly the ragnar relay is…

ragnar relay {what is it?}

basically, in their own words “ragnar is an overnight running relay race that makes testing your limits a team sport. a team is made up of either 6 or 12 individuals; each individual running 3 (but sometimes 6) legs. the legs of the race vary in difficulty and distance, from 3-8 miles, allowing elite and novice runners to run together. over 2 days and 1 night, teams run across 200 miles of the country’s most scenic terrain. pair that with crazy costumes, inside jokes, a great finish line party and unforgettable stories. some call it a slumber party without sleep, pillows or deodorant. we call it ragnar.”

so there you have it… ragnar relay in a nutshell. now you are ready to hear our “unforgettable story.”

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ragnar nation

by @according2kelly on April 20, 2012

it’s dark outside, but the birds are chirping. they know that today is a big day.

like me, i’m guessing they could hardly sleep?!

i was up past one, & wide awake at 5am. which is silly, because more than likely i’ll get little to no sleep in the next 36 hours (but at least i was able to get an extra little carbo loading done).

why you ask? well, because i’m racing today, & tonight & all day tomorrow too…

yep! i’m joing the “ragnar nation.” me & 5 of my soon-to-best-will-know-EVERYTHING-about-me-after-spending-36-hours-in-a-van-together friends (including carrie & elise – my usual cohorts in crime), 1 full-time driver, & 1 full-time photographer/ social media rock star are going to be running 200 miles (leap frog style) all the way from huntington beach to san deigo (via the inland empire).

with just six runners, that means we are running approximately 33 miles each in just over a day. (i’m actually responsible for 40!) yikes! hopefully i’m prepared.

i’ve been hydrating day & night for nearly a week (it’s supposed to be HOT), the last couple of nights i’ve been sleeping in my recovery compression tights to make sure my legs fresh (sexy huh?), & last night i carbo loaded (which is always my favorite part of racing).

if you’re feeling a wee bit envious of my upcoming adventure, feel free to follow along. we will be posting updates to the team sparkle face book page, or you can follow us on twitter: @runTeamSparkle, @according2kelly, @thisiscarrie, @cupcakeactivist, & @tamrabbit.

wish us luck!

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ironman texas 70.3

by @according2kelly on April 4, 2012

wow! what a whirlwind of a weekend. lots of chocolate milk, even more amazing athletes. & i’m definitely feeling inspired & motivated to “conquer the impossible” & race an ironman.

just in case you missed the play-by-play of ironman texas 70.3, here’s a recap…

ironman texas 70.3

image via competitive image

and while she didn’t win (although, a 4th place finish at ironman texas 70.3, in 4:22:03 isn’t too shabby), caitlin snow is my new favorite. a former teacher, who is now a professional triathlete – her first words after she crossed the finish line? asking for her mom, who also raced that day. caitlin is so incredibly sweet, i just wanted to make her my new bff… maybe some of her athleticism would rub off on me.

caitlin-snow-ironman-texas-70.3

& yes! getting up close & personal with some of the greats of the triathlon world (lance armstrong, tim o’donnell, marino vanhoenacker, kelly williamson, heather wurtele & caitlin snow) was just as amazing as you can imagine. thank you REFUEL | got chocolate milk for such an amazing experience.

looking for other great ironman texas 70.3 recaps? check out dc rainmaker, nyc running mama & run eat repeat.

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no such thing as too much chocolate

by @according2kelly on April 2, 2012

i drink a lot of chocolate milk. it’s been scientifically proven to help refuel your body so you can perform at your best. meaning, that drinking chocolate milk after a hard workout (or any workout) can make you stronger, faster… better. plus, the most important factor – it tastes good.

& i’m not the only one with a chocolate milk addiction.

this weekend i traveled to galveston, texas (for ironman texas) with ben (he eats a high-fat, low-protein, lower-carb diet that intrigues me & takes cold showers twice a day), michelle (a soon-to-be-mama of two & super fast runner who is sweet-as-sweet can be), monica (my newest orange blogging bff who will definitely be competing in her first triathlon with me, very very soon) & ray (he run 10 miles at a 7 minute pace, followed by 6 more miles at a 6:30 pace just for fun. & while he doesn’t know it yet, he’s destined to me my tech guru), to spend the weekend with one of chocolate milk’s biggest fans – chris lieto.

image via competitive image

if you don’t know already, chris lieto (the handsome dude i was lucky enough to stand next to, with my arm around his waist) is a professional triathlete (my dream job), 3 time ironman champ (ironman japan, canada & wisconsin), husband & father of two (i think our daughters would be bffs – they sound very similar).

me & the gang met up with him early saturday morning for chris’ version of a quick & easy 4-5 mile jog… which meant he ran along, chatting & joking with us, while the rest of us tried to keep up – trying being the operative word.

did you notice i brought along an orange team sparkle just for the occasion? having the entire collection of skirts has it’s rewards. i was thrilled when the skirt ended up matching my team refuel shirt perfectly, as did my new balance minimus shoes. too bad kt tape pro doesn’t come in team refuel orange as well.

maybe if i had tapered for this run (like i would for a race), i would have been better prepared. but after a 13 mile early morning jaunt, plus all that texas humidity – i was more concerned about having an asthma attack, than keeping up with chris. so, instead of sprinting to keep up for the entire run, i took it slow & easy – finishing a total of 17 miles for the day.

after all that running, we all opted for a quick dip in the gulf, & some chocolate milk… don’t be surprised – i told you, we are chocolate milk enthusiasts.

monica, me & michelle

all the chocolate milk is definitely doing chris lieto’s body good, as i’m sure you would agree…no wonder he was selected as one of the REFUEL | got chocolate milk team captains, with his very own “my after” ad campaign, which he revealed at the ironman texas this past weekend.

so far, the REFUEL | got chocolate milk“my after” ad campaign has focused on world class athletes: carmelo anthony of the new york knicks, members of usa swimming including chloe sutton & ricky berens, miranda carfrae a professional triathlete & the man with quite-possibly-the-nicest-legs-&-butt-in-the-world – chris lieto.

although, i’m secretly hoping REFUEL | got chocolate milk comes knocking on my door, & asks me to pose for a “my after” of my very own. i envision it would look something like…

what do you think? don’t you think it’s timeREFUEL | got chocolate milk added some real people to their roster of athletic all-stars? i’m more than happy to volunteer for the job. i’d even be willing to take a lifetime supply of chocolate milk as payment – it would save me a bundle!

disclosure: i have honestly been drinking chocolate milk as a recovery drink following workouts for several years now. so, i was super stoked when REFUEL | got chocolate milk invited me to ironman texas in galveston for the unveiling of chris lieto’s (a man with very sexy legs) “my after” ad campaign. while they did pay for my airfare & hotel to texas, all opinions are 100% my own (hence my constant commenting on chris lieto’s “nice” legs.)

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leprechaun leap 5k

by @according2kelly on March 27, 2012

it’s not every day you get to dress up in sparkles & rainbow fairy wings. so, when the opportunity arises…

pull on your green team sparkle skirt and sparkle sleeves, rainbow fairy wings and race legs, & grab your green bowler hat.

& if you want to ensure you really ROCK the race – a 3 week taper, is definitely the key to a successful 5k. you don’t want to be running on tired legs.

make sure all your best friends with you too – the more the merrier when it starts to rain.

plus, you’ll need your personal cheering squad when you win the best costume contest.

leprechaun leap 5k by the numbers

* total chip time 23:34
* 1st place in the fairy leprechaun division
* 3rd place in the “team” division (wahoo team sparkle)
* 8th place in my age division
* 11th place overall female
* 62nd place overall (men & women)
* 7:35 pace

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endurance live awards with team refuel

by @according2kelly on March 11, 2012

when i received the invitation to attend the endurance live awards with team refuel, the “academy of endurance sports,” i was practically giddy, & may have shouted for joy.

who wouldn’t want to receive the red carpet treatment, dine with some of the most successful athletes & have access to an unlimited supply of chocolate milk?

of course the first order of business was deciding what to wear. after digging thru my closet & scouring nearly every store, i settled on a cute little coral number that i paired with some cheetah pumps for a red-carpet worthy showstopper.

once the outfit was planned i was ready to walk the red carpet – but not before attending the team refuel press conference. elise, janae, skinny runner, monica & i were invited to the unveiling of the new REFUEL | got chocolate milk “my After” ad campaign.

picture via hungry runner girl

REFUEL | got chocolate milk: my After

would you believe this is the first time in over 17 years that the ads are “mustache free?” instead, the new ads feature athletes refueling with chocolate milk, showing that chocolate milk is an important part of many athlete’s after-workout ritual.

& let me tell you from experience – chocolate milk really is the BEST recovery drink. it’s simple. it’s effective. it’s scientifically proven to help refuel your body so you can perform at its best! plus, how often do you get to eat/ drink something that tastes great & is actually good for you?!

featuring carmelo anthony of the new york knicks

featuring the members of usa swimming including chloe sutton & ricky berens

featuring miranda carfrae a professional triathlete

honestly, if have to admit, i had to keep pinching myself to make sure i wasn’t dreaming.

it was pretty exciting… sitting in a room, taking pictures, with & having one-on-one coversations with some of the greatest athletes in the world…

dr. andy baldwin (us navy doctor, ironman triathlete, although you probably know him best from season 10 of the bachelor?), chris lieto (a top ranked world class triathlete, 3 time ironman champ, rockstar dad & down-to-earth guy), sarah reinsertsen (ironman athlete – she was the first woman with a prosthetic leg to finish the ironman world champs, author & former amazing race contestant), apolo anton ohno (8-time olympic medalist & dancing with the stars champion), chloe sutton (olympic swimmer, 5-time US national champion & my soon-to-be personal swim coach), ricky berens (olympic gold medalist & my other soon-to-be personal swim coach), & dara torres (5-time olympian, mom with abs of steel).

don’t tell my hubby – but i have a total crush on all the male members of team refuel – they’re hot. actually, i don’t mind admitting that i have girl-crushes on the girls too – they are all so amazing!

if you haven’t already, you NEED to check out dara torres training video – you can’t help but be inspired. when i grow up, i want to be like dara (& i wouldn’t mind having abs like hers either).

2012 endurance live awards

& just as exciting as the press conference was, the actual endurance live awards gala was amazing! we got to walk the red carpet ourselves, but the best part was sitting on the sidelines watching all the athletes strut their stuff, all the while knowing that we were able (& even encouraged) to stop each & everyone of them – whether it was to take pictures, or interview the athletes.

janae even broke out the official team refuel microphone for some on-the-spot questions.

once we were finished playing paparazzi – it was time to head inside the nokia theater (home to the emmy’s & the american idol finals), for dinner & the main event – the 20th annual endurance live awards.

seeing that the awards were presented by REFUEL | Got Chocolate Milk, it seemed only fitting that each table had chocolate milk “on ice.”

trust me when i say i took full advantage of the unlimited supply of chocolate milk, i just couldn’t help myself!

the 2012 endurance live awards honored 9 amazing athletes for the incredible accomplishments & dedication to the their “sport”…

photo by scott draper via triathlete

andre kajlich (challenge athlete of the year), jenny simpson (female runner of the year), apolo anton ohno (celebrity athlete of the year), meb keflezighi (competitor of the year), chrissie wellington (female triathlete of the year), ned overend (cycling legend), lukas verzbicas (male runner of the year – he can run a sub 4 minute mile!). not in pictured because they were unable to attend were, craig alexander (male triathlete of the year) & danny hart (performance of the year).

after watching all of the athletes amazing stories & inspirational videos we headed to the after party where we were greeted with shots of chocolate milk & miniautre chocolate chip cookies.

i went home that night, feeling inspired to run, bike, swim – although, i have to admit, i’m most excited to refuel on lots of chocolate milk.

thanks so much team refuel for letting me join the team, even if it was for one night only – the endurance live awards was an evening i’ll never forget!

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princess half marathon

by @according2kelly on March 9, 2012

the princess half marathon was supposed to be my race. i prepped & trained for months, trading in my glass slippers for running shoes, in an effort to run a sub 1:40 half marathon.

i spent hours & hours deciding which running costume to wear, ultimately narrowing down it down to one of three princesses.

the always fabulous snow white, with her striking black hair & skin that’s white as snow…

the perfectly pink aurora…. what little girl doesn’t dream of being sleeping beauty?

but finally i settled on rapunzel, knowing that dressing as her would ensure i had “the best ~~day~~ race ever!”

unfortunately, my very own “once upon a race,” didn’t go exactly as planned.

even though i had experienced a fairy tale weekend (filled with the princess 1/2 meetup & the tangled royal family 5k), i woke up at at 3am on race day with a fever, sore throat, hacking cough, & a very non-existant voice.

all i wanted to do was crawl back in bed, & sleep for the next week or so… but the princess half marathon was calling my name, & i needed ample time to fix my hair before the race – so, i found myself climbing out of bed & pulling on my team sparkle skirt.

by the time i got to the starting line, race adrenaline was pumping thru my veins, i could feel the excitement in the air, & being surrounded by literally thousands of women who were ready to run… i couldn’t help but forget about how crummy i felt, & start to believe that maybe i would have a magical day, after all.

with a wave of her magic wand, fairy god mother started the princess 1/2 marathon, & soon i found myself flying down the road, weaving in & out of runners, dodging tutus, & counting the numbered of costumed runners.

the first several miles flew by. running along the road from epcot to the magic kingdom, i was feeling strong, & running “on pace,” even a wee bit under. & then it happened.

just as i entered the magic kingdom, i started to cough – & i couldn’t stop. the coughing triggered an asthma attack, & suddenly i couldn’t breath. i really & truly thought i was going to die, right there & then in the magic kingdom, which didn’t seem all that magical at that particular moment.

luckily, i had my inhaler… & 2 or 3 puffs later, my life was no longer flashing before my eyes.

but, in that brief moment, i quickly realized that my dream of a new PR (personal record) wasn’t going to come true at the princess half marathon.

at that exact instant, i suddenly felt incredibly disappointed & may have even shed a tear or two.

but the moment was fleeting, & quickly replaced by a voice in my head reminding me what jeff galloway had told me just a few days earlier… “enjoy every mile. there’s not a lot of fun getting from point a to point b as fast as you can.”

right then & there i decided to change my race approach.

it didn’t matter that the princess 1/2 marathon wouldn’t be my fastest race ever.

all that mattered was that i ensured that the princess 1/2 marathon was one of my funnest races ever.

for the rest of the race, i tried to enjoy every mile. as i ran around the magic kingdom. thru tomorrowland, fantasyland, cinderella’s castle & fronteirland, before heading back to epcot where we ran thru future world, past spaceship earth before we crossed the finish line – i stopped, visited & took pictures with every single disney character on the race course (there were more than 100 pictures!). but this group of disney villains were definitely my favorites…

i high-fived spectators, thanked volunteers & posed for pictures with a few of rapunzel’s littlest fans.

& anytime i started to feel a wee bit sorry for myself, i repeated jeff’s mantra “enjoy every mile,” & reminded myself that kelly clarkson would tell me:

“what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger… stand a little taller.”

i ran almost the entire race with a smile on my face, and really & truly did enjoy all 13.1 miles.

but the best part of any race is always crossing the finish line, being dusted with pixie dust & receiving the bling.

& since i had already run the tinkerbell half earlier this year, i got to walk away with not just one, but two fancy schmancy medals… the fabulous princess half marathon tiara & the coveted coast-to-coast medal (earned when you complete one complete runDisney half marathon or marathon at walt disney world & disneyland in the same calendar year).

the cling clang of medals, definitely was (& still is), music to my ears.

princess half marathon {by the numbers}

* total “chip” time 1:49:16
* 73rd place out of 2,473 women in my age group
* 318th place overall out of 15,803 women
* 5K split time 23:55, average pace of 7:41 minutes per mile
* 10K split time 49:11, average pace of 7:54 minutes per mile
* 15K split time 1:16: 23, average pace of 8:11 minutes per mile

i guess it really is true… fairytales do come true. one mile at a time. the key is to enjoy every mile.

disclosure: while i have been planning on attending the runDisney princess half marathon weekend & running the runDisney princess half marathon (at my own expense) for months now (i really wanted my coast to coast medal)…. i was recently invited by runDisney to attend the entire event weekend as media – meaning they were kind enough to cover my hotel expenses at the fabulous animal kingdom lodge (where live giraffes, zebras & more roamed outside the balcony of my room), meals, and all of my race fees.

of course – all thoughts & opinions are 100% my own, because as you already know… i absolutely, totally & completely LOVE runDisney events, especially the princess half marathon.

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tangled royal family 5k

by @according2kelly on March 8, 2012

the tangled royal family 5k is quite possibly my new favorite race. typically i’m not a huge fan of 5k’s. i’ve said it before, & i’ll say it again… the 5k distance is probably the hardest race, i’ve ever run.

i know, i know – it sounds totally silly. how could a 5k (3.1 miles) be harder than a half marathon or even a full marathon?! the reason is simple – because running a 5k is usually damn hard, extremely painful, & a full-on-out-sprint for 3.1 miles. not to mention, that the race is usually over in just a matter of minutes, which often leaves me wondering – was it really worth the race fee?!

well, i’m hear to tell you that the runDisney tangled royal family 5k is the exception to the rule… this un-timed run is definitely putting the fun back in your run.

& if you know me, you already know i can’t pass up & good excuse to put on a team sparkle skirt, & run in a wig.

tangled royal family 5k

i signed up to run the tangled royal family 5k, after ~~tricking~~ persuading my mom to run/walk it with my sister, sister-in-law, good friend linda & i.

& can i tell you how proud am i am of my mom? the last 5k she completed was when i was one-year-old, so doing this race was completely out of her comfort zone – but she ROCKED it (as did everyone else too).

in typical runDisney fashion, the tangled royal family 5k was a truly magical experience. over 6,000 people ran the fun run. men, women, kids, babies in strollers… costumed runners & serious runners too.

together we ran thru epcot (visiting all 11 countries of the world showcase), around the fountain of nations, spaceship earth & the leave a legacy monument.

& just like every other runDisney race i’ve ever done – there were people cheering along the entire route, not to mention the characters & on-course entertainment!

& while running the race was fun, i loved talking to the racers, hearing their stories, & of course the people watching!

i met & saw so many people before, during & after the tangled royal family 5k…

including a 76 woman (dressed as minnie mouse) who ran 26 races last year & has already completed 7 this year; a woman who had been paralyzed in an auto accident & had beaten the odds & was now running with her team of doctors; & way too many team sparkle skirts to even count (we had a crazy game of “i spy sparkle” going on the entire race).

all in all, the tangled royal family 5k was amazing…. characters, costumes & 6,000 people who are happy to be running? i can’t think of a more perfect morning.

but the best part? being able to to share the runDisney magic with my mom, family & friends. (i’m secretly hoping that i can talk everyone into running the disneyland family fun run 5k too).

disclosure: while i have been planning on attending the runDisney princess half marathon weekend & running the runDisney princess half marathon & tangled family 5k (at my own expense) for months now (i really wanted my coast to coast medal)…. i was recently invited by runDisney to attend the entire event weekend as media – meaning they were kind enough to cover my hotel expenses at the fabulous animal kingdom lodge (where live giraffes, zebras & more roamed outside the balcony of my room), meals, and all of my race fees.

of course – all thoughts & opinions are 100% my own, because as you already know… i absolutely, totally & completely LOVE runDisney events.

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