Race Recap: Never Quit Beach Fest 5k

I ran in the Never Quit Beach Fest 5k on May 21, 2011.  We started the race early in the evening at 5:00pm on what felt like one of the hottest days of the year.  It was 93 degrees on the beach.  I had to work early in the morning, but I left early so I can make it to beach for the race.  I rushed home to change and made myself a pre-run snack - a cinnamon bagel with peanut butter and some Gatorade.  I left my place with I thought was enough time to spare, but it took me longer to get to the location than I expected.  The traffic to the beach was ridiculous and the parking was almost nonexistent.  I drove around for about 20 minutes looking for parking until I stalked someone walking to back to their car.  At this point it was about 4:30pm and I was about 7 blocks away from the start line and I hadn’t even picked up my race packet yet.  Luckily, by the time I met up with my friend, Maria, I had about 10 minutes to spare to get lined up.  We weren’t able to get towards the front of the start line, because of the large crowd.  There were about 5,000 people running on the beach so getting past the start line was a very slow.

The first 2/3 of the race was okay, but it was super hot.  I started out running in the 9:00 mile paces and I crossed the first mile at 9:15.  Mile 2 was a little harder and I had to tell myself to “keep going!”  I starting breathing very hard after mile 1 up until the halfway mark and then I had to walk in order to catch my breath.  I started to feel a little nauseous and light-headed, but I figured it was because of the extreme humidity and the sun blaring down on us.  I ended up passing the 2 mile clock at about 19:50.  During the last mile, my pace slowed to about 11 or 12-minute mile and I was huffing and puffing and I stopped to walk every few minutes.  I think that the heat and running on the beach really effected my time. Even though the sand was hard-packed, it was a little difficult to run the whole way. 

I crossed the finish line at 31:44 L - this was certainly not my personal best and I wasn’t pleased with my performance. As I’ve mentioned before, all races are not equal.  The final stats on the website posted that the race had 4191 total finishers – 1294 male finishers and 2897 female finishers.  This was a great race that I would be happy to participate in again next year – maybe it won’t be so hot.  What I loved most about the Never Quit Beach Fest 5k Race was how many people came out to support such a wonderful cause.  The Never Quit mission is to educate the community on how to avoid brain bleeds, stroke and heart disease through healthy life choices and to encourage everyone to take on a Never Quit attitude and live life to its fullest.   

OXOX Natasha

miscellany monday

happy monday everyone – i’ve added my random ramblings to carissa’s miscellany monday party!  check out carissa’s blog here and join in on the fun.  

{one} memorial day.  i’m extremely grateful to all the men and women who have fought and those who are currently serving our country so that we can be free.  we should take a moment of silence today to remember all of the fallen soldiers and to keep their families in your thoughts/prayers. we truly do owe them everything. thank you!

{two} a j.crew giveaway.  molly over at my closet travels is hosting a giveaway for a $25 gift card to j.crew.  check out her blog here for all of the details on how to enter.  this contest ends tonight at midnight.

{three} couponing.  have you ever watched extreme couponing on tlc?  i watched it for the first time the other day with my sister and i was amazed.  i sadly realized that i have been missing out on saving lots of money.  these families save hundreds of dollars in trips to the store all due to discount coupons.  i’m going to start paying attention to saving in the grocery stores and start clipping some coupons.  do you coupon?

OXOX Natasha

Fresh Picks to Follow: Espadrilles

I hope that you all are having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend so far.  Unfortunately, my weekend is pretty uneventful.  My only day off that I have is Memorial Day and I plan to run in a 5k race on Monday morning – I’m really looking forward to it.   Anyways, I’m late as usual in posting my Friday Fresh Picks to Follow, so here we go. 

Espadrilles are the ultimate spring/summer shoe 0f 2011 and it’s the perfect shoe for the 70’s inspired clothing for the spring season.  A classic espadrille style is made of canvas or cotton fabric upper and a flexible sole that is made of rope or rubber material molded to look like rope (info from Wikipedia).   The jute rope sole is the defining characteristic of an espadrille shoe.  Did you know that jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fiber that is spun into coarse, strong threads?  I didn't know what jute was before I looked it up today.  The sole of the shoe may be flat, platform or wedged-shaped and the upper part of the shoe may be open-toed or closed-toe, open-back or they come with a wrap-around ankle tie.

I currently own 4 pairs of espadrilles that I bought several years ago and I never got rid of them.  All of my shoes are either platform or wedged shaped and one of them has thin straps to tie around my ankle – it’s very sexy.  I don’t own any flats yet, but I think that I’ll have to buy a pair this summer.  You will find that espadrilles come in several exciting designs and styles this season.  Check out my top 10 Fresh Picks for the week.   I'm personally obsessed with #'s 6, 7 & 10. Do you own any espadrilles?  Which ones are your favorites? 

1. Anthropologie – Beaded Mercury Wedges…$120.00

2. Toms – Red Canvas Women's Wedges…$69.00

3. Anthropologie – New Wave Espadrilles…$138.00

4. DKNY – Krista Multi-strap Espadrille Sandals…$150.00

5. J.Crew – Canvas Espadrilles…$98.00

6. Kate Spade – Lido…$99.00

7. J.Crew – Sardinia Wedge Espadrilles…$118.00

8. Stuart Weitzman – Alex…$365.00

9. Nine West – Braxton…$99.00

10. Coach – Ireena…$79.00 (was $148.00)

OXOX Natasha

miscellany monday

happy monday everyone – i’ve added my random ramblings to carissa’s miscellany monday party!  check out carissa’s blog here and join in on the fun. 

{one} anthropologie tag sale – part 2?  did you buy anything at the tag sale last week?  i was able to make it to the store the day on the sale after all and i got everything that i wanted.  i’m curious to see if the store is going to markdown any more items.  fingers crossed!  

{two} the bachelorette.  so a few months ago i wrote  about abc’s the bachelor, brad womack, and some of the girls in the finale.  well if you didn’t know this already, abc brought back miss ashley h. to prime time for her chance to find love again on her own show – the bachelorette.  the season premiere aired tonight with 25 really good looking men vying for ashley’s attention.  i think that she’s going to have a real tough job over the next several weeks finding “the one.”  ashley is super lucky to travel to some amazing countries too – i’m looking forward to see the footage in hong kong, thailand, fiji.

{three} running.  my co-worker and i ran 3 ½ miles today after work today.  we are gearing up for another 5k on memorial day.  i’ve been a running fool lately, but this florida heat may change things a bit.

{four} oprah.  i just got finished watching part one of the surprise oprah - farewell spectacular.  did you watch it? her team did an amazing job so far.  i really enjoyed beyonce and rascal flats’ performances.  oprah is truly an amazing woman – it’s kinda hard to believe that she won’t be on the air everyday.  she’s been in our lives for 25 years and she is an inspiration for so many people.  she’ll be missed more than she can ever know.  what do you guys think about oprah retiring?

{five} tornadoes and floods.  as you know, the midwest and southern states have been hit hard by harsh weather over the few weeks.  tornados have destroyed parts of alabama, kansas and most recently, missouri.  and of course we know that the mississippi river is close to flooding parts of louisiana.  if you want to help out by volunteering or making a donation to those in need in the affected areas, please check out these links to the red cross and the humane society. 

OXOX Natasha

Race Recap: Marty’s Run 5k

I ran in the Marty’s 5k Run on May 14th and I had a great time.  It was a gorgeous day for a race.  The Marty’s Run benefited Memories of Love, which is a non-profit organization for families whose parents are battling a life-threatening illness.  Check out the website if you want to learn more about this great organization.  The weather was pretty warm that morning, but it was not unbearable.  The race itself was just okay - the course was very simple because the road was flat the whole way and it went through a cute little neighborhood. 

I’m not sure where I finished overall because the race officials split the result between men and women.  There were 346 total race finishers and 199 female finishers.   I came in 4th in my age group and I was the 36th female finisher overall.  My official chip time was 28:12.  I was a little disappointed about my stats since I wanted my time to decrease from the previous race.  It just goes to show you that no matter what kind of 5k race you run in, there are no two 5ks that are the same.  There are so many factors that can impact the outcome of a race, like the weather, how much rest you had the night before, sneakers, playlist/music.  This list can go on and on.  This race in particular, I ran too fast for the first 2 miles and just gave out during the 3rd mile.  I realized after this race that I need to work on my pacing over the next few weeks.

OXOX Natasha