Three For Three

Sunday morning I woke up feeling better than expected but stiff and a little sore regardless. My stuffy nose from Baltimore has turned into a true head cold and sore throat so I was a little worried but figured I'd be okay. The last race of the Runner's World Half & Festival, the half marathon, wasn't until 8:30am so I didn't have to rush. I dressed, packed my car, and checked out of the hotel. I ate a bagel and drank my coffee while I waited for Katie.

At 7am we headed off to the expo for the final time. We parked and realized that bag check had been moved. This was the one snafu of the whole festival and it almost ruined my race. Katie and I speed walked around 3/4 of a mile to the start line and past it to the new baggage check. By the time we checked our bags and finished our final preparations I could hear the beginning of the announcements for the race happening on the road below us. We jogged back down to the start and made it to our corral just in time to line up. Then we were off on our final leg of an amazing journey!

Before the start

 

I started out at my goal pace of around 10:30 per mile. Katie and I were side by side for the first mile. We didn't say much, just focused on not doing anything to jeopardize our hat trick completion. At the end of the first mile the hills began. They wouldn't end until mile 9. I forged ahead while Katie, probably the smarter of the two of us, speed walked instead. I told myself I wanted to run the whole thing, even if it was slower than I wanted.

 

I don't remember much about the race. I was too focused on just keeping my legs moving and not giving in. After setting a new 5k PR just two weeks ago and a marathon PR last week and then running a 5k and 10k the day prior my legs were screaming on every incline. I told myself it just had to look like running even if I could probably walk faster. By the time mile 8 came I was really looking forward to seeing the end of the large hills.

 

I began trying to salvage my race and pick up the pace. As we came back into Bethlehem and I could see the SteelStacks I knew I was going to finish and I pulled the last of my reserves to try to break 2:20. As I sped to the finish line I saw Jo once again. We said hi but not much more as we tried to kick it in. My official time is listed as 2:20:07, just a few seconds slower than my goal.

 

I collected my medal, grabbed a Gatorade and a banana and then circled back to cheer in the remaining runners. I then headed for the gear check to collect my belongings, saying goodbyes along the way. It was hard to believe the festival was over and it was time to go. The last four days just flew by!

 

Katie and I after the half

 

There were two fire fighters that finished just ahead of me wearing their full gear. One of them was carrying an American flag and they were wearing 'In Memory Of' signs on their backs. I actually teared up because it brought back so many memories of my father and running for the IAFF Burn Fund. I had to catch them afterwards for a picture.

 

 

 

There was really nothing left to do except head for home. I just can't imagine how I'll ever top this weekend. Runner's World, Altra Zero Drop, Running Skirts, The Stick, Nissan, Swiftwick compression gear, and all of the sponsors, volunteers, and speakers really made this a weekend to remember!

 

Three For Three! 

 

New Year's Giveaway Winners!

Quick post! I'm at work. Shhhhh!

I drew the winners of the New Year's giveaway/raffle.

For the first $25 gift card to Go Sport ID the winner is Catherine Hurley!

For the second $25 gift card to Go Sport ID the winner is Kathryn Escoto! She was on Team reGen with me last year so I was super happy to see Random.org picked her!

For the first SPIbelt the winner is Leah Stussy!

For the second SPIbelt the winner is Kristine Che!

The dozen BIC Bands go to Katrina Mumaw!

The Allied Medal Hanger goes to Chris Greenawalt! My CrossFit trainer and an awesome person and athlete!

The Wind X-treme goes to Brett Schaffer!

The IAFF Polo goes to Seth Ramaley! Seth is one of my running mentors!

The IAFF Wind Jacket goes to Rebecca Essig!

Congrats to all of the winners! Please email me your shipping address at sbrunazzi (at) gmail.com so I can get your loot sent out to you! And a huge thank you to everyone who donated! Only $215 from goal now!

In it to Win it!

If you've already entered my IAFF Burn Fund Charity giveaway then you're in for some exciting news! If you haven't entered yet get crackin'! I'm drawing a bunch of winners on February 1 and the prizes just keep coming!

I just got the go ahead to add some nice gear from the IAFF themselves! A polo and a wind jacket! The pictures below don't do these items justice at all! And both will be black in your choice of sizes!





And I hope to add more prizes before the end of this if I can! So keep the generous donations coming please! I'm now at 111% of my goal and growing! Thank you all so much for all your help! The IAFF Burn Fund means a lot to me and I deeply appreciate the support of my friends, coworkers, family, and the running & blogging community who have helped me honor my father's memory in such a tangible way!

XOXO,
Sara

Light a Fire Under Your Butt New Year's Giveaway and Raffle!

I hope everyone had a great holiday season! Now that we're all looking to 2012 and planning bigger and better things it's time to start the New Year off right! And to do that I'm doing the biggest giveaway yet!

To start off you may remember my review of GoSportID. This is an awesome start up company and a wonderful product! I'm rocking my purple band today! You can check out their products here! GoSportID was kind enough to donate TWO $25 gift cards to our giveaway! So enter to win and start picking your personalized inscription!



Next up is every runners dream for carrying necessities like a phone, keys, ID, or gels. If you don't know SPIbelt, you should! I wore a pink SPIbelt for my 50 miler and I was so impressed I got another one for my husband (look for a full review coming soon!). SPIbelt was generous enough to donate TWO SPIbelts, a red and a blue! Believe me when I say you NEED one of these! They don't bounce or chafe and they carry a TON of stuff!



For the ladies, I had to get something special! Who doesn't love to be stylish on the run?! BIC Bands blew me out of the water by donating a DOZEN of their newest sparkle bands! If you haven't tried these out yet you won't be disappointed! They stay put, look amazing, and part every purchase is given back to charity! You can check out which charity they are working with this month by following them on FaceBook or on Twitter using @BICBands! The packages of BIC Bands will include Minnie Sparkle Apple Green, Minnie Sparkle Blue, Minnie Sparkle Fuschia, Minnie Sparkle Peacock, Minnie Sparkle Petal Pink, Skinny Sparkle Apple Green, Skinny Sparkle Aqua, Skinny Sparkle Black, Skinny Sparkle Gunmetal, Skinny Sparkle Orange, Skinny Sparkle Petal Pink, and Skinny Sparkle White! Check out the amazing color, Peacock, below!



Now, for all you race junkies I have something totally mind blowing! I have been in love with Allied Medal Hangers for a long time now. In fact my husband just bought me number 4 for Christmas! Allied's hangers are laser cut from stainless steel and they are STURDY. Between my husband, older daughter, and I we have crammed medals onto these until we can't fit anymore and they don't bend or sag under the weight! They hold a huge amount of medals too! You have got to check out all the photos on their FaceBook page! The one I just got for Christmas is below followed by a (really bad) picture of our other three! The winner of the medal hanger will get their choice so go drool now!





Last but not least I have a product I've been dying to try out, the Wind X-treme. You can use the WDX like a cap, headband, scarf, balaclava, mask, wristband, or a million other ways! Disclaimer: This product was not donated! I purchased it for the purpose of this giveaway and I haven't even tried mine out yet but it looks awesome!



So now you're wondering how you get a chance to get your hands on all this great stuff right?! Well here's your answer! To comply with regulations I can't *require* you to pay anything to enter so here's how I'm going to skirt the issue!

Ways to enter without purchase! Leave a comment for each one:
- Follow my blog or tell me if you already do*
- Follow or like each of the awesome product sites above on Twitter and/or FaceBook and leave a comment for each one*
- Post this giveaway on FaceBook, DailyMile, Twitter and/or any other social media site and leave a comment telling me where*

*To make this a little harder there is only ONE free entry per person. After that you can add one free entry for each dollar you donate!

How to get all the entries you want!
- Donate to my IAFF Burn Fund page.
- Donate $50 or more up until midnight January 31, 2012 and earn DOUBLE entries (multiple donations over the period will be added together).
-If you already donated leave me a comment telling me so I can match up your donation with your entries!

*For every dollar you donate you get one entry. And for every dollar you donate you can also do one more of the free entries so you build your chances!

Entries will close January 31 at midnight. I will draw winners using Random.org on February 1. Good luck!

Thank you so much for helping me remember my father in a tangible way!

If you would be interested in donating a product for future giveaways and/or fundraising please email me at sbrunazzi (at) gmail.com!