Corrales Harvest Festival Pet Parade

Gus finally finished getting the last of his puppy shots and was cleared by the vet to go out and explore the world. While he has been around tons of people and is very friendly with humans, he hasn't had a chance to be around other animals or dogs until now, so we are trying to get him socialized as soon as possible. 

Raisin Bread found a fun event for us to take Gus to this past weekend, which would ensure that he would meet some furry friends. 

We headed to the village of Corrales for their annual Harvest Festival. One of the main events of the festival is the pet parade.

I bought Gus a costume, but unfortunately, it did not fit him. He's still a growing boy after all, so he joined in the parade sans costume. This year's theme was Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), so many humans and animals were dressed up according to the theme. 

The parade started off with horses. 

They were followed by a few goats. Then came a pair of llamas. 

This is where we joined the parade, with a whole bunch of doggies!

Gus has been pretty shy/scared around other dogs so far, but he started to warm up towards the end of the parade. He even said hi to this cocker spaniel in a peacock outfit.

Hopefully, Gus had fun during his visit to the Harvest Festival. He, at least, was very tired after his long walk along the parade route and from all of the mental stimulation he got!

Wine and Dine Half Marathon 2014 - Week 5 Training Recap

40 days and counting until Wine & Dine! I can't wait to run my 3rd runDisney half marathon! This week saw some pretty consistent yoga and some mileage. Still not where I am supposed to be though.

September 22 to 28, 2014

Monday: Yoga - 25 minutes

Tuesday: Yoga - 25 minutes

Wednesday: 2.36 miles

Thursday: Yoga - 25 minutes

Friday: weed backyard

Saturday: walked 2 miles

Sunday: Yoga - 25 minutes and 3.55 miles

Total mileage: 7.91 miles 

Susan G. Komen Central New Mexico Race for the Cure 10K 2014 - Race Recap

Let me start off by saying - THE ELEVATION IS KILLING ME! If you have never gone from running in a low elevation region to a high elevation region, consider yourself lucky because it is tough!

To be honest, I was not even sure what the elevation difference between DC and Albuquerque was until I looked it up this weekend after this race. The mean elevation in DC is 150 ft while the mean elevation in Albuquerque is a whopping 5,800 ft! No wonder I can't breathe!

As I mentioned last post, I only signed up for the Susan G. Komen Central New Mexico Race for the Cure 10K four days before this race because I really needed to get some good mileage in for my Wine & Dine training. I am so glad that I did this race because I think I would still be in the three mile range if I hadn't.

For this event, there was a 5K option as well as the 10K. Additionally, there was an untimed option. I signed up for the chip-timed option.

On Friday, I picked up my bib and race shirt and prepared my race day outfit. I decided to stick with the theme and went with a hot pink top and KT Tape.

The race shirt was a long-sleeved cotton t-shirt. The design is cute and I am in need of more long-sleeved shirts, so this was perfect. 

Race for the Cure long-sleeved race shirt

The race started at Wilson Stadium at Manzano High School. The 10K started at 7:00 am and there were probably less than 30 people signed up for this distance. 

I predicted that it would be fairly small so I arrived with about 10 or 15 minutes to go to the bathroom, stretch and walk to the start line.

The race started promptly at 7 am and we were off to a slow and painful start. 

Obligatory pre-race selfie

Mile 1: 13:03

The first mile and half took us up Lomas Boulevard towards Tramway and it was all uphill, which is why my first two miles were also my slowest miles. 

Mile 2: 12:46

Mile 3: 11:17

Once we hit Tramway, we ran along a popular running/biking/walking trail and I started to get into my groove. We hit the turnaround point a little past Candelaria Road and made our way back.

  

Mile 4: 12:14

The longest distance I have run in this training cycle prior to this race was three miles. At the four mile mark, I was started to fade a little and started taking some 30 second walk breaks.

Mile 5: 11:11 

Somewhere around mile five an older gentleman who was on his Sunday morning run came up from behind me and gave me a few words of encouragement. Then he said that he was going to run with me for a little. At this point in the race, I knew that I was almost at the end but I really really wanted to walk. Instead, I had a really nice man pace me and gave me my fastest two miles! 

Mile 6: 10:01 *fastest mile*

Once we reached Lomas again, the gentleman shook my hand and told me to, "Keep it up." From that point, it was all downhill.

The finish line was inside the stadium, and I am pretty sure I was one of the last people in the 10K group to cross the finish line.  

Finish time: 1:12:28

After the race, I picked up some refreshments, and visited some of the booths set up around the stadium. The 5Kers seemed to be gathering at this point and it was fairly crowded. There was even a face painter and balloon animal maker. I was tempted to get my face painted but the line was too long. 

After the race, I grabbed a breakfast burrito and coffee from Golden Pride to enjoy at home! I was so hungry!

I am really glad I ran this race. If nothing else, I got in my 6 miles and also am beginning to understand how rough the elevation is on me. I do have one big gripe about this race though. I cannot for the life of me find out how to get my chip time. Every other race I have run had the results posted to their website that day or the following day, and I cannot find it anywhere. 

This is a problem because I paid extra to be chip-timed, and the only way I know what my time was is from my RunKeeper app. Not cool! I would have just gotten the non-timed option, saved the extra $5 and bought another burrito. 

UPDATE: I sent an email to Komen Central New Mexico, and they finally posted the results. My official time was 1:12:32 for an average pace of 11:42.

Wine and Dine Half Marathon 2014 - Weeks 3 and 4 Training Recap

It has been another crazy two weeks! As I described last time, we are currently in the middle of remodeling our guest bathroom. It still needs a few finishing touches, so I am not going to share the pictures of the room just yet! 

The in-laws returned home on Monday, and Gus immediately got sick. He went to the vet and got some tests and it turned out to be nothing major. (Thank goodness!) Speaking of Gus, he is going to be going in for his last round of shots this week. I am so excited to be able to take him out soon! He is on my last nerve, but because he is so cute, I can't stay mad at him. 

While he was sick, Gus was on a diet of boiled chicken and rice with pumpkin. He ate so messily that when he was done eating, his face was orange from the pumpkin! He is so silly.

With all of the activity going on, I haven't been keeping up with my training runs. I decided to sign up for the Central New Mexico Race for the Cure 10K four days before the race because I had a 6 miler on the calendar and figured this would probably be the only way I would actually get it done.  

September 8 to 14, 2014

Monday: rest

Tuesday: 2.34 miles

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: weed backyard

Friday: weed backyard

Saturday: weed backyard

Sunday: rest

Total mileage: 2.34 miles 

September 15 to 21, 2014

Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: 1.6 miles

Friday: rest

Saturday: rest

Sunday: Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 10K (recap later this week)

Total mileage: 7.8 miles 

Wine and Dine Half Marathon 2014 - Week 2 Training Recap

This week's training did not go as scheduled. I was away on business for two days this week, and we currently have visitors staying with us. Our first visitors to New Mexico actually!

We are also in the midst of remodeling our guest bathroom. Just another project in our 6,000 home improvement projects!

I thought I had taken before pictures, but this gives you an idea of the horror that was in the bathroom. There was three different types of tile: all different sizes and not matching. The floor was partially tile and partially laminate. The hardware and electrical outlets didn't match either, and also was not our style. 

This is what the bathroom looked like after day 1 of demolition. I'm so happy to see it go!

September 1 to 7, 2014
Monday: rest
Tuesday: Yoga Flow at home (25 minutes)
Wednesday: Travel to DC, ran 1.65 miles, YogaVibes.com - Post Workout Stretch Yoga for Athletes (9 minutes)
Thursday: Travel back from DC
Friday: rest
Saturday: help with bathroom remodel
Sunday: help with bathroom remodel

Total mileage: 1.65 miles

Posted with Blogsy

{Product Review and Giveaway} AMRAP Bar

This month, AMRAP Nutrition will be launching their new line of AMRAP Bars in three flavors. A group of Sweat Pink Ambassadors had the opportunity to test out and review the bars before the official product launch. I was very excited to be included in this group!

A little bit about AMRAP first. AMRAP, which stands for As Many Rounds As Possible, believes in creating unprocessed food that is 100% Paleo, gluten-, GMO- and dairy-free.

Their new line of AMRAP Bars come in three varieties: Cashew & Vanilla, Fig & Cacao and Almond & Honey. The bars are recommended as a meal supplement or replacement or pre- or post-workout snack.

Using whole foods is a top priority of AMRAP, which is evident in the limited ingredients found in their products.

Almond & Honey AMRAP Bar

The first bar I tried out was the Almond & Honey. The ingredient list consists of raw almond butter, unsweetened coconut, egg white protein powder, raw sesame seeds, raw almond chunks, raw honey, ground cinnamon and sea salt. Only eight ingredients and all things I can pronounce!

I am actually not a big fan of coconut, and I could definitely taste the coconut in the bar. It was not overwhelming though. I also loved the huge pieces of almond that you could see in the bar and also gave the bar an extra dimension of texture.

The Cashew & Vanilla was a different story. I found the coconut in the bar to be too much and I did not finish the whole bar. Again, the ingredient list was very limited, made up of only cashews, honey, cashew butter, unsweetened coconut, egg white protein, vanilla extract and sea salt.

The final bar, Fig & Cacao, was by far my favorite. I am a sucker for figs and cacao. The bar is also made up of dates, egg white protein, almond butter, almonds, unsweetened coconut and coconut oil. I also love dates, so I think the coconut flavor was masked by those three components.

I tried each of the bars as an easy mid-day snack. About half of the bar was enough to satisfy me during an afternoon lull, and I saved the other half for later. The bars are between 270 and 320 calories.

What's my take: Although I do not subscribe to a restricted diet, I enjoyed the Almond & Honey and Fig & Cacao bars. The bars would be a good way to get through the afternoon and keep me going for a post-work workout. I especially like the limited number of ingredients found in the bars.

Giveaway time!
AMRAP is giving away one AMRAP Bar Variety Pack (12 bars/$48 value) to a Will Write 4 Travel reader! Giveaway ends on September 10, 2014 at midnight EST.

**UPDATE** Instead of one winner, AMRAP Nutrition is now offering THREE winners the chance to win a box of 8 bars in their flavor of choice.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received three AMRAP Bars from AMRAP Nutrition for the purpose of this review. AMRAP Nutrition will also be providing the giveaway prize. No compensation was provided for this post. All opinions are my own. Read my full disclosure here. 

Rebel Donut Dash 5K (Race Recap)

Over the long Labor Day weekend, I ran my first race in New Mexico! It also happened to be my first obstacle race and my first race since surgery. Raisin Bread and I signed up for the Rebel Donut Dash 5K. Although there was not much information available when we registered, it looked like it would involve running, obstacles and donuts. Not a combination that had crossed our paths previously, but why not?

We arrived at Balloon Fiesta Park around 7:35 am on race day for our 8:00 and 8:15 am start times. We picked up our race shirts and heard an announcement that we would not be starting until 8:30 am. Um...great.

There wasn't much to do but sit around and wait.

Rebel Donut van

So we took selfies and sat in our car to pass the time.

We finally started by around 8:35 am and just ran together since the event was starting so behind schedule.

The course was set up so that we completed most of our mileage first and then did the obstacles. We ran about 1.5 miles out and back and then wound up in the field where all of the obstacles were set up.

At the water stations, water and donuts were available!

Cinnamon sugar donuts at a water stop

The half dozen or so obstacles were all pretty simple and easy to complete, which I liked. They were also optional, so if you wanted to skip something, it was up to you. I don't think I could hack a Spartan Race or Tough Mudder type obstacle run, but this was just the right difficulty level for my clumsy and easily bruised self!

There was a tire...I mean donut run.

A wall climb

I wasn't quite sure what we were supposed to do at this obstacle besides maybe crawl through the tire, but it seemed like a good photo op!

Some strips of bacon we needed to jump over

A teeter totter

A balance beam

The last obstacle was a run through foam, which I skipped.

We crossed the finish line at 39:16! Not bad for taking our time through the course and not having run very much at our new high altitude location!

After crossing the finish line, we each got a donut! Yum! I only got through half of it before I went into sugar overload.
 

Overall, I thought the event was a lot of fun, especially as I start back up on my running and half marathon training. I was also impressed that the race was chip timed. All of the fun runs I have done in the past were not timed at all, and some other races were only clock timed. There were some issues with the organization of the event, such as the late start and not communicating event details until the last minute. It was still a fun start to our long weekend though.

We also went home with donut-themed t-shirts, koozies and keychains.

Wine and Dine Half Marathon 2014 - Week 1 Training Recap

Only 66 days left until I head out to Walt Disney World to run my third runDisney half marathon! Now that I feel sort of settled into a routine here in Albuquerque with my job and new puppy, I have finally started up with my training program. 

I actually do not have a goal time for this race because I am planning to run/walk with my sister and brother-in-law (who will be doing his first half marathon). I still want to get the mileage in before race day just to get myself back into running mode. 

August 25 to 31, 2014
Monday: rest
Tuesday: 2.75 miles
Wednesday: YogaVibes.com - Detox Quick Flow (20 minutes)
Thursday: rest
Friday: 2.43 miles
Saturday: Rebel Donut Dash 5K (recap will be posted tomorrow)
Sunday: YogaVibes.com - I don't want to do yoga but I should (17 minutes)

Total mileage: 8.28 miles

Hope you are enjoying the long Labor Day weekend! I will leave you with a picture of Gus. He is now 12 weeks old!