A head band that stays on - HEADS UP BANDS

I have tried many, many, many head bands and ultimately, I go back to a visor or a cap because I seem to have an oddly shaped head, or at least that is what my daughter tells me every time she sees a new head band pop right off my head. She laughs, I get frustrated, same ol' story every time.

I woke up today at 6am and got ready to get on the tread mill. I had spoken with the creator of Heads Up Bands. I wanted this head band to work because it would prove to my daughter that my head is fine and more importantly, the creator, is an amazing woman (she chose to keep her name private). She began these head band creations out of a most distressful event, breast cancer. Hair regrowth led to wild hair. I had mentioned to her that I had crazy curly hair and she let me know how she needed something to keep her hair under control as she made her way back from fighting something that no woman should have to. Somehow, she managed to take something negative and create something positive.  

I put the head band on hoping it would stay on. I started running. This head band stayed on my head through out a warm up, crazy intervals and a cool down. I could not believe it.  

In the middle of intervals (hence the blurry pic) - shocked that it was still on!

My daughter woke up when I was done and tried to steal it from me. She's 10. I won, I'm stronger than her.  

Excuse the sweaty face, frizzy hair and wet shirt - but notice, the head band is still on and in place!

Thank you for creating such beauty and comfort from a situation that was far from it. Your products are a reflection of the woman that makes them - steady, strong and beautiful. May you continue your healthy journey.  

Heads Up Bands can be purchased online at http://shop.headsupbands.com/ and you can follow then on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HeadsUpBands?fref=ts

July 4th Giveaway

We are one week away from July 4th - and Mommyathlon is celebrating a major giveaway! Win a Heads Up Bands July 4th band, pick any Mommyathlon decal you want and get a Shubeez Believe shoe tag. That's 3 gifts. A few weeks ago I asked why Mommyathlons think it is so important to stay healthy. Almost all answers involved the amazing children in our lives and how we like to influence them in any way we can to live a healthy life. So, in honor of that, here's how to win:

Rules: All you have to do is email a picture of your amazing young athletes (your children, nieces, nephews, grandkids....) to mommyathlon@yahoo.com

Pictures must show kids being active. I will post your picture on the album entitled "Our Amazing Young Athletes". Share with friends, share on your wall and get people to like your picture. The picture with the most likes on July 4th wins the giveaway. Good luck!

Dear 26.2 - I'm coming after you.

I had a dilemma when the new Glycerin running shoes came out. Do I get pink or do I get blue? Not much of a dilemma, I know, but it was a hard choice nonetheless. I opted for the pink pair and low and behold, my wonderful in-laws provided the blue pair. Looking at these pairs of shoes, it hit me, they were going to take me through some long miles on my journey to 26.2. Training starts next month. I lowered my mileage in order to do strength training and speed work and to give my body a rest before I challenge it.

I'm sooooooooooooooooooo ready!

    

The BIG 4-0

I have to admit, I didn't think turning 40 would be one of those things I would shout from the top of a mountain. Yesterday night, my beautiful 10 year old daughter asked what I felt about getting older. A year ago I could not run for more than a mile. Today, I have 2 half marathons behind me and another four coming ahead of me. I have one full marathon waiting for me in December. That full marathon is my 40 milestone. I'm hunting it down, slowly, one mile at a time. So I smiled, looked at her and replied the following.

She seemed to like the answer and gave me a big hug and smiled. It changed my entire perception about 40. 40 is great, if you make it great. There's a choice to see it as a negative thing or there's a choice to look back and see how much you've grown and learned. I choose the latter. 

And so I went on the Mommyathlon weekly group run in Key Biscayne and pumped my legs as I went over the Key Biscayne bridge. On the way back when I hit the bridge again, I started hearing the Rocky theme song in my mind. Corny huh? It made me go faster. As my feet propelled me over the top, 40 became a wonderful event and so I thought of my amazing friends, all the countless other fabulous friends I have made through the running community, my loving and supportive family, my special husband who gave me the most wonderful birthday letter I have ever received and then I ended that bridge with my children in my mind and heart. 40 is so fantastic, that I almost went up that bridge to shout it out.  

I'm grateful for my many blessings, I'm grateful for finding myself through running and most of all, I'm ready to continue getting stronger, healthier and wiser.

Group run information can be found at:

http://mommyathlon.blogspot.com/p/weekly-group-run.html

Magic Bullet - Nutri Bullet and the Mommyathlon Juicing Mommies

OH MY GOODNESS! I have advanced far beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I have invested in a food extractor. Yes, me, the woman who made fun of these products and thought they were ridiculous. I made my first strawberry, kale, almond butter, apple smoothie and guess what? It was actually pretty good! 

I have been feeling fabulous lately and I have been training incredibly hard after I spoke with my friend/fitness pro and she tweaked my workouts and meal plans. I have always heard that these smoothies are a great way to get a healthy portion of veggies and fruits into the system and they act as a great snack instead of something packaged like a protein bar. Well, I am now a believer and went ahead and asked all the wonderful Mommyathlon juicing mommies (sounds frisky huh?) what websites they go to to get good recipes. Here's what they provided so far:

http://simplegreensmoothies.com/

https://www.facebook.com/VegetableJuicing

https://www.facebook.com/365VeganSmoothies

http://www.rippedrecipes.com/
https://www.facebook.com/HealthFitnessNutritionWithAnaServin - CoachAnaServin (Instagram - a good running buddy/friend of mine that is always posting yummy mixes)

If you know of any other great sites or have one, please email them to mommyathlon@yahoo.com and they can be added to this list.

Saturday Group Run

Another great group run in Key Biscayne. Already looking forward to next Saturday! We truly are forming some amazing running friendships - JOIN US! 

Spirit of the Marathon II

I was really excited to see this movie as I had seen and loved the first one, "Spirit of the Marathon". This movie did not disappoint. I arrived ridiculously early...

  

Above, you see what the theater looked like. My husband is still making fun of me. We did have the best seats in the house though, so it was worth it. The movie was inspiring. I am registered for my first full this December and when I left the theater, I wanted to go run and start training. Highly recommended for anyone that loves running and is considering taking on a challenge. 

If you crossed the line, you are a MARATHONER!

I find people get very sidetracked by talking about race time and pace. Sometimes, I think this might even make beginners feel a bit discouraged. So I want to remind everyone of one great thing about running. If you cross that line, no matter the time, you are a marathoner and you reached a great goal and a major accomplishment. Some may do it faster and others might be slower, but in the end, you know the hard work you put into your training. Be proud and do not let a race time define you. There will be races where all goes well and others where things don't line up, but in every race, there are hours of hard work and dedication and the finish time will never take that away. It is yours to be proud of when you get your medal, no matter the time!

    

Saturday Group Run

First group run was a success! I had a great time and learned a lesson, set two alarms and have a back up call! Would you believe I was late?! GRRRRRRRRRRR, I was MAD! I did however run my fastest mile ever when I got there to catch up with the fantastic Mommyathlon ladies.  

Group run with MRTT

I went on a group run with the local chapter of Mothers Run this Town (MRTT) and made some new fabulous friends. There were 5 moms and 7 kids packed into 5 joggers.  As I was running seeing the strength of all these mommies and the joy on the kid's faces, I thought of how lucky we are.  Watching afterwards as the moms let the kids run loose, all the children trying to run strong next to their mom, another thought crossed my mind... Yeah, WE are superheroes!

 

Twilight 5K Results

What a great time with the running crew - one of us went fast, two of us went easy and all three of us had a great time! Racing with friends makes it even more fun.