DogVacay

I was recently contacted by DogVacay to see if I was interested in sharing an infographic to my readers. (In full disclosure, “recently contacted” totally means two months ago. Sorry!) I totally got sucked into saying yes for a few reasons:

1. We just got our puppy, Biscuit.

2. In the email, she called me a “pawsome blogger” and if there’s anything you need to know about me it’s that I love a good pun.

3. The infographic is actually pretty neat & incorporates the idea that not only do we love our furry friends but they’re a great inspiration to workout!

Before I get to that though, let me explain what DogVacay even is – it’s an online community that helps you find local, qualified dog-sitters & boarding for when you are away from home and can’t bring your pet with you. You can run a quick search to see who is near you, check out their profile and price and even read reviews of them. Actually, here’s a neat video I found on their site that may explain it a little better (and more adorably since it’s animated).

It seems really simple. I have not used it because we haven’t really had a need to – and actually they didn’t ask I review their service, although it does seem pretty legit – just share this infographic with you about how both you and your dog can get a little more exercise!

In case it’s a little hard to read – you can find it by clicking here.

I did this workout shortly after they contacted me & I was definitely sweating by the end of it – if Biscuit had joined me (hey, I never said she was inspired by me, ha!) I’m sure she would have been panting up a storm. I enjoyed reading the facts about dogs too – I mean, shoulder blades that aren’t connected? Can you imagine if this was the case for humans – how freaking scary would a 5k be?!

I will say I felt completely and utterly ridiculous doing “the fire hydrants” but I’m sure she feels the same way when I make her take a selfie with me. Even trade.

I hope you enjoyed the exercise & puppy pictures – and make sure to let me know how you liked the infographic/exercise routine/DogVacay!

Polish Pickle Run 5k

Back in June I signed up for this (fairly local) 5k knowing full well it was probably going to be miserable. You know, with Texas heat & humidity and all.

And guess what? Hot diggity dog it was.

I think it was already 80 degrees by the time the race started and even though I managed to sport my Chub Rub loophole, I was still a sweaty mess. Things I won’t complain about: it was overcast and I think that made a huge difference.

I knew with the heat situation that the odds of be PRing (Personal Record) on the 5k were slim to none, so I went in with the attitude of finishing and enjoying some of the great post-race food celebration they had going on. It included sausage (Of course, I mean it is a Polish festival, right?) and a huge abundance of fruit. There was also a free beer at the end where you drank from your Polish 5k Mason Jar you received in your race bag.

Speaking of race bag – ours did not include the timing chips. We pre-registered, got everything else, but come the day of we didn’t have chips. I assumed they were on the bibs, but as we were crossing the finish line we realized they were the kind you tied to your shoes. So, I have no official time. But my Garmin told me:

So, taking the heat into consideration not that much of a change from my previous 5k time of 36:11. I’m good with it. I was definitely feeling it by the end – if you couldn’t tell by my pace changes.

They had a photographer at the start/finish but unfortunately I didn’t get any real great shots. Although, I probably do have a few I can save for any future ‘great race photo’ posts.

This is blurry but I like that I’m hovering in the air of awesomeness. I’m like Superman. But you know, not an alien, or a man, or a superhero. Toe-may-toe, tuh-mah-toe.

Overall, I’ll probably race this again. The course wasn’t spectacular (just through an old country town) but the atmosphere and people, definitely made it fun. Also, the food spread was pretty damn scrumptious.

Until we race again!

Spark

A couple weeks ago I told you how I lost 6 lbs in 10 days using the Herbal Cleanse product from Advocare. I’m down 8 lbs (as of this morning!), so it’s stayed off which makes me happy that it wasn’t some “fad fat” that I found after I quit using the product.

(If you’re interested in purchasing, you can find the product here – it’s $31.50 and if you’re local to me, let me know and I can pick it up myself giving you free shipping)

During that post I mentioned another product, Spark.

Here I am wearing red lipstick, eyeliner and showing you the Mandarin Orange flavor. I am fancy.

This is my absolute favorite product so far. It has helped me knock my soda addiction down to practically nothing. I had been drinking from 20 oz to 50 oz a day of carbonated beverage – I’m including Monster Energy Drinks in that as well – and now, I kind of just take a few sips out of the husbands can (he just loves this, let me tell you) to satiate the flavor taste I still crave.

I do not crave the sugar high/rush from sodas/energy drinks anymore. It’s kind of amazing considering Spark contains NO SUGAR. Say whaaa?!

Here’s the nutrition facts with a little comparison of other products you probably have enjoyed a time or two:

Things I noticed immediately – Calories and Sugar. Go ahead, check it out. That’s right 45 calories and 0 grams of sugar, with the exception of coffee, that is ridiculously low in comparison. And with coffee, that’s only if you’re one of those who don’t add any extras (creamers, sugar, etc).

And then of course, it’s also jam packed with vitamins – which is wonderful and more satisfying than say a Flintstone Vitamin. Or at the very least, longer lasting.

It’s branded as an energy drink mix, but keep in mind it’s a slow-release energy drink which means you won’t come down off your sugar high with the jitters and wanting to punch squirrels in the face.

Uh, not that I know anything about that feeling. Stupid Monster.

Personally I love drinking it in the afternoon around 3pm when that feeling of “Where’s my nap time at?” comes. It really helps keep me in focus without adding an extra 100 calories to my diet. I’d rather eat 100 calories than drink it.

I was also surprised that the headaches you can normally associate with dropping sodas were practically non-existent. Like the first day I had none, it was just a slight tinge in the afternoon when my body was used to that pick-me-up but I grabbed a Spark and it went away. Which is crazy because like I said, it has no sugar.

This isn’t sponsored. I’m not being paid or received free product to talk about this. Hell, I’m pretty sure Advocare has no idea who I even am. I sincerely, honestly love this product. My husband does too and is continually dipping his hands into my stash of flavors. That’s considered stealing and I can chop his hand off, right? Totally learned that in Aladdin.

Speaking of flavors, check out what they got.

Watermelon (my personal favorite)
Mango Strawberry (my runner-up)
Fruit Punch (honorable mention)
Mandarin Orange
Cherry
Grape
Pink Lemonade
Citrus

You can buy a box for $22.95 which includes 14 pouches – so about $1.64 or you can go the canister route of $51.95 for 42 servings that comes to $1.23, roughly the price you’d pay from a vending machine.

I haven’t bought a canister (yet) because I’ve been working on trying all the flavors (I’ve tried the first 4 listed) and seriously they all have been great.

If you’re interested in learning MORE about Spark, they have a wonderful product page that you can find HERE. It tells you the benefits, gives you comparisons, and nutrition facts for each flavor (they do vary slightly but sugar & calories do not.)

If you’d like to try it out, CLICK HERE. Shipping is only $7.95 and if you’re local to the Waco area, I can actually offer free shipping and bring it to you personally. And as always, you’ll receive one free high five upon arrival.

There are a number of other products I am currently taking/figuring out and as I use them I’ll be posting reviews.

I’m planning to do the 24 Day Challenge in the next month. I’ve heard wonderful things about it, people losing crazy inches and upwards of 20 lbs, so if you’re interested in doing this with me – that’d be wonderful! More power in numbers, right? I’ll be posting before/after pictures and measurements for your entertainment and my humility.

For more information about the 24 Day Challenge and what it entails – CLICK HERE.

If you have any questions, you can always leave a comment or email me at thesparkrunner@gmail.com

Chub Rub Loophole

Does the title of this post sound like a really cheesy 70s porn to you guys?

Yeah, me too.

Anyway, a while back I wrote to you about how I get the dreaded “chub-rub” which is basically my thighs making out with each other when I try to run in shorts. It can actually be pretty painful. But mostly it’s just wonderfully embarrassing to get all excited when you hear someone is doing the slow clap for you as you run only to realize it’s actually just your thighs cheering you on.

Instead of using it as an excuse, I just run in capris. Not really a big deal except for the fact that I get incredibly jealous whenever I see someone running in shorts. I mean, it’s Texas. It’s hot (hello 96 degrees today!) and shorts come in all sorts of adorable colors. Capris are charcoal, black  & slightly more black with maybe a side stitch of pink. I have a hard time bringing myself to buy another pair of black capris for $50+ dollars. Just, no.

One of my unspoken goals has been to get to the point that I can run in shorts comfortably. I don’t know if that will ever happen, I do have some lovely baby-making hips on me and it doesn’t help that my body likes to store the Oreos in my thighs & hips. I’m assuming because they look like cookie canisters.

I’ve seen running skirts on a few of the blogs I frequent and on National Running Day with a coupon in hand (or in email), I made the plunge. I bought a running skirt (or skort, whatever) that has shorts attached to it. This is the Pearl Izumi Infinity Run Skort. I ended up getting it on close-out from Sierra Trading Post with an extra 35% off, about $25. It’s a great site for a lot of things outdoors related. I’ve found some great workout gear for reasonable prices on there during sales. Hint – sign up for their emails, they send coupons out all the time.

I received it at the beginning of this week and immediately tried it on to see if it fit. It did. But Lillie kept telling me to take it off that it was Dada’s. Not sure what that was about but you don’t argue with a 2 year old. You just take off the skort, say yes sweetie and make a mental note to talk to Dada about what he does when I’m not home.

Yesterday I ran 3 miles on the ol’ treadmill. I have to say I was really nervous about it. One, because I don’t know if I’m necessarily a skirt girl and two, I didn’t want to cry when they didn’t work out since I had really high hopes about them.

But friends, THEY DID! THEY DID! I ran 3 miles without a rash one and I felt pretty adorable while doing it.

The shorts underneath had little grippies on them so they didn’t roll up at all on me where I had to keep pulling them down. They did however make my thighs resemble stuffed sausage.

Mmm. Stuffed sausage.

 

It wasn’t uncomfortable for the wear though. Just a reminder that I have a lot of Oreos still left in my cookie canisters.

So, it looks like I’ve found myself a loophole in the chub rub department (at least with this particular skort) and I couldn’t be happier. I can’t wait to wear it in my next race!

Have you ever wore a running skirt?
Do you suffer from Chub Rub?
Are you still thinking of sausage?

That Just Happened - ViewSport

A few weeks (or more) ago, I was catching up on some blog reading when I was pleasantly surprised to learn I had actually won a giveaway. Say whaaat?

Megan from #runmeganrun (who, by the way, is a great read for those of you in love with running) hosted a giveaway for ViewSport and I won that hell out of that mother. I was incredibly excited since I had seen their products floating around on Pinterest and it seemed like the perfect culmination of fun & fitness. (Two things I strongly believe belong together if you want to be successful.)

Oh, I guess I should explain to you what exactly their product is before we go any further.

It’s athletic apparel. But, get this - it’s sweat activated athletic apparel. Yeah, you read that right. Sweat activated.

Sign.me.up. Am I right?

A little more information per their company:

“When you exercise and begin to sweat, an invisible image appears. We call it ViewSPORT Sweat Activated Technology - and the more you sweat, the clearer the image becomes. ViewSPORT reveals messages and images as you workout. Hence our tag line motivation revealed.  When training, sweat activates the ViewSPORT technology in which words and graphic designs appear where sweat comes in contact with the fabric.”

After winning, I chose “That Just Happened” shirt and I received it in like 4 days. Incredibly fast, incredibly pleased.

I chose this particular shirt for a couple of reasons:

1. Because I say “That Just Happened” on the regular.
2. I also wanted something that looked like normal every day wear and not fitness apparel.

Don’t get me wrong, I love fitness apparel, but I’m not the girl who wears it unless I’m in the process of using it.

Anyway, I really wanted to see if this ‘sweat activated technology’ worked, so I opted to wear the shirt during one of my stair workouts. You know, where I run up & down four flights of stairs for 45 minutes? Yep, definitely going have the sweat going on during that.

But Tam, I don’t see any sweat? What is activating? And for the love of baby Jesus, why are your eyes so big?

Calm down, grasshopper. I got the sweat. It’s activating on my lower back. And my eyes are big so that I can see you better, my dear.

 BOOM!

It worked like a boss during my workout. Awesome, right?

Typically I’m between a large & x-large when it comes to my shirts. This is a slim-fit and I went with the large. It fit as expected (uh, slim) but because I have the torso of an Olympic swimmer I was a little worried about the length. I have this problem where shirts want to bare my mid-riff and ain’t nobody wanna see that, but not a problem with this. It was long enough and didn’t ride up as I was huffing the stairs.

So, as a workout shirt. Yes. Definitely yes.

But what about for an everyday out-and-about shirt?Yep, it’s great for that too. I wore it for my husband's surprise birthday party (we had a gladiator ring & I was about to get down with it, thus the helmet) It was comfortable & totally appropriate for when I went after Sunny, because uh, That Just Happened. No judging. There was sangria involved.

Overall, I really liked this product. Even though I didn’t pay for it, I will definitely be buying something from them in the future. They’re cute (they also have men’s products) and to be honest, I felt like I tried harder to sweat during my workout to get the "Boom” to show up.

Interested?
You can find ViewSport on the following media:

www.viewsport.us
www.facebook.com/viewsport
www.twitter.com/viewsport (For simply being a follower I recently received 15% off!)www.pinterest.com/viewsport
www.instagram.com/viewsport

This shirt was provided free to me because, I, uh won a giveaway but all opinions expressed within are my own.