3 Miles of Shame

I put my running shoe where my mouth was... over 3 miles. Last week, I was sharing in general twitter chatter with a friend and fellow FitFluential Ambassador, @NYCrunningmama, about the upcoming NFC Championship game — 49ers vs. Giants. My being in the Bay Area and her being in New York, it seemed only fitting that a friendly running wager should take place.

The rules were simple, pick a team to root for and the loser runs the amount their team lost by in miles. Lose by 7, run 7. We capped it at 20 miles incase a blowout took place and invited fellow bloggers and twitter folk to join in on the fun. By the end of the weekend, we had 30+ people choosing a side and ready to risk the run of shame if their team lost.

Sadly, the 49ers fumbled away their chance, literally, at a Super Bowl appearance and lost by 3 points. Honestly, when the Giants had the ball so close to the end zone in overtime, I was rooting for a field goal rather than a touchdown, knowing the loss was inevitable.


So, I strapped on my Asics and logged 3 shameful miles. Typically a 3 mile run is routine, but I felt like everyone was looking at me thinking: "There goes that runner that made a running bet on the 49ers." Although this might not have been the case, with my head held high and rocking a red shirt, I ran my 3 miles and did so at a clip that would make Joe Montana proud.

Update:

@NYCrunningmama is holding a SuperBowl challenge following the same rules. This time she is squaring off against @runcupcake and her Patriots. Feel free to join in on the fun here. I'm rooting for the Giants and will be using the hashtag #MakeBradyCry

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Guest Blogger Goes Goofy

This is on my list of "must-do-races" and I'm hoping to run it in 2013… but for now, let's all live… er, run, vicariously through our guest blogger, @liz_smc.

If you are unfamiliar with the Goofy Challenge, here is a Brief Description:
Are you looking for the ultimate test of endurance? Then compete in Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge where you will run the Disney World Half Marathon on Saturday and then the Disney World Marathon on Sunday. If you finish both races in the time limit, you will be awarded the coveted Goofy medal.

Goofy and a half challenge plus another half Challenge

18 years ago as a very “know it all” teen I remember my mom and her friends running the Disney marathon. I also remember saying to them, hours after they had finished and were sore and beat up , "I am never going to run a marathon! Why would you put yourselves through this?” And here I am almost 20 years later running the Goofy Challenge and 6 days after that The AZ RnR half marathon.

I am not sure what possessed me to try a Goofy challenge. I have run quite a few half marathons but only two successful marathons up until the Goofy. I also managed to convince one friend to join me in this adventure. Two more friends ran the half marathon portion and another two ran the full marathon. Let me make it clear for those that don’t know me, I love Disney. So it seemed like a great idea to run a Goofy and go to all of the parks in the same weekend.

I must admit that getting up at 3 AM two days in a row was not fun. I also made certain I was on the very last shuttle to the starting line (4AM) both days. I learned from my 2010 experience not to get there too early especially if its cold. Although nothing like the sleet and wind of 2010, it was still cold this year. My strategy for the Goofy was to just do an easy run for the half in order to save my legs for the marathon. Since my friends and I all lived around the country, I decided I would start in their coral G versus my Coral C so I could hang with them and not take off too fast. This was a very bad decision on my part. I failed to realize how many non-runners actually participate in the half marathon. From the beginning it was elbow- to- elbow people and a lot of the time 5 people across walking! Needless to say I was very frustrated. The course itself for the half is very narrow. I don’t remember it being that narrow previously. So in order for me to actually jog (no chance of running at this point) I had to try and get to the outside of the pack which meant running on an incline in the dark with risk of twisting an ankle or falling. And it never opened up. I kept thinking, “ok, by mile 6 all these runners and walkers will spread out.” Nope. I still had fun. I still stopped for an occasional photo (not too many since I figured I could get some the next day). And after I finished in a record slow pace I quickly got back to my room and then hit the parks.

The Marathon portion was by far the better of the two races. It was not wall -to -wall people like the previous day. And it covered all 4 parks. I called it my back lot tour with no shuttle service. The only problem was that I got sick the previous night. At first I thought it was nerves. But when I spiked a fever I knew it was not going to be pretty. I didn’t tell my friends how sick I was. I went to the start shivering, nauseated and running a low- grade fever. By mile 9 my friend Diann looks over at me and says, “Are you ok Liz? You look awful.” At that point I fessed up. She replied “ no problem, we will just walk it in if we have to”. I responded, “How about we stop for every photo op and we run /walk?” So that was our plan. I have some great pictures. I had a lot of fun chatting with the other runners on the course and I finished. By mile 18 my fever had broke. I knew because I got my appetite back . I was starving. Thankfully a nice spectator was passing out pretzels right around mile 20. I managed to run the last 4 miles in with strong legs. And I can proudly say I finished a Goofy.

For those considering the half versus full , I would say run the full. Do not waste your money on the half marathon. It is just too crowded. But if you’re going to run the full you might as well go for a “Goofy.” It is well worth the sense of accomplishment you’ll have at the finish line. Oh, and the medals (all 3) are super cool. If you’re feeling overly ambitious then run the 5k on Friday and do an unofficial “Dopey.” Or be like me, and 6 days later, run another half marathon. I was not happy about being sick with the flu (yes that’s what I had) but it made my accomplishment that much sweeter. It also forced me to rest and that’s probably why I was able to run my fastest half marathon the following weekend. (that's right, she PR'd six days later at RnRAZ)

Next year is the 20th anniversary of the Walt Disney Marathon. I am hoping to make it back there to run. Only my goal is to help my mom participate in it. If you have read any of my previous guest blogs you will know she has dense hemiparesis (left sided paralysis) from a debilitating stroke. So if you see a “Goofy” girl running and pushing a wheelchair at the same time in 2013 chances are it’ll be me.

* * * * *

Thanks Liz. Excellent job on a back-to-back fabulous weekends. Feel free to give Liz a shout out in the comments below… she ran a full marathon and 2 halfs in 2 weeks with the final race a PR.

STELLAR!

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NFC Championship Challenge

Time to put your running shoes where your mouth is...

Twitter friend @nycrunningmama and I decided to have some fun with this weekend's NFC Championship game. My being in San Francisco and her being in New York, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a friendly running wager on the game.

And it's not limited to just us... you can totally play along. Here are the rules:

Rules: If your team loses, you have to run the point differential in miles. Simple. For example, WHEN the 49ers beat the Giants 24-17, @nycrunningmama will have to run 7 miles.

Mile limit: In the occurrence that a the power goes out in Candlestick Park, AGAIN, and it turns into a blowout, we've capped the miles to 20 — meaning the most either of us would run is 20 miles. This works for us because we have a solid base and can log the distance. If this mileage is too high for you based on your current training, feel free to cap it at 10.

But @nycrunningmama and I are running freaks and we don't blink at 20 miles — or we are incredibly confident (read hopeful) in our teams that we think it will be a close game.

To be run by: I think within a week of the game sounds fair, but outstanding circumstances are understood.

Prove it: Tweet out a photo of your garmin in shame... LOL.

Feel free to play along. If you are rooting for an AFC team — Patriots vs. Ravens — same rules apply. You don't need to challenge an individual, just make an agreement with yourself to run the difference after you pick a team. If you could care less about stupid football, but are forced to watch the game, at least you'll have something to root for.

Oh ya, put your running shoes where your mouth is and let us know in the comments which team you are picking...

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Time to Vote: 2011 #runchat Blog Awards

I have officially been nominated for my first blog-social network-twitter award thingy. How exciting is that? It's from Twitter's ever popular #runchat and I've been nominated in the category of FUNNIEST RUNNING BLOG for 2011.

Here is where you can vote.

But before you get all click-happy, let's see who else has been nominated in their respective categories. Below is the entire list along with links to blogs and twitter pages. Enjoy! AND DON'T FORGET TO VOTE — voting ends Thursday, Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. ET

Best New Running Blog
themommymiles.blogspot.com — @TheMommyMiles
poundstomiles.com — @poundstomiles
runstrongereveryday.com — @Abby_NYC

Most Inspirational Running Blog
mile-posts.com — @mileposts
fittestfatgirl.tumblr.com — @fittestfatgirl
lovingtherun.com — @lovingtherun

Funniest Running Blog
shutupandrun.net — @ShutUpRun
seekingbostonmarathon.com — @seeksboston26mi
pavementrunner.blogspot.com — @pavementrunner

Best Running Blog
runtothefinish.com — @runtothefinish
runworkeatsleep.wordpress.com — @Rubia_25
thereshegoes.org — @ThereSheGoes11

Best #runchat Participant
@katierunsthis
@ActiveBeerGeek
@autopilotlegs

And that's the list, links and all. Now you can go an make an informed decision. But of course, don't forget, I did this:

Here is the link to vote again. Please feel free to share on twitter or facebook. Thanks again.

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Nominations for #RunChat Blog Awards

If you are a runner and on twitter, you may have seen the hashtag: #RunChat

If you've seen it, it's probably because it fills up your twitter feed on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month. It's "a way for runners of all levels to connect with each other, to share tips, to get advice and, quite simply, to have fun."

Exciting news, they have blog awards. Not so exciting news, nominations end Monday at 8 p.m. ET.

All it takes is a single e-mail and you can nominate:

• Best overall running blog
• Best new running blog (must have began the blog in 2011)
• Funniest running blog
• Most inspirational running blog
• Best #runchat participant on Twitter

To nominate bloggers for the categories, simply send an email to runchat@therunchat.com with “#runchat awards” in the subject line by 8 p.m. ET Jan. 9. Include the nominee’s URL and Twitter handle if you know it. You may leave areas blank, but please fill out at least 3 of the categories.

The above instructions were pulled from here where you can read more in detail.

Oh ya, winners get a badge for their blog and a super cool visor. (AHEM, I look pretty cool in a visor — see below). I appreciate your support and it's not too late to vote for you favorite bloggers. All it takes is one nomination to be considered. (Did I mention, I rock the shit out of a visor?)

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