What KIND of Runner are YOU? #KindRunner

Disclaimer:  I am an ambassador for kindrunner.com.  I will be doing campaigns involving product reviews and giveaways by KindRunner.  As always, all opinions expressed on my blog are 100% my own.  

My husband calls me a shoe whore all of the time.  Inappropriate? Maybe.  True?  Perhaps.  I do have a shoe addiction.  But let's clarify.  What KIND of shoes do I have an obsession with?  Running Shoes!  I love a variety of shoes - drop, minimalist, cushioning, support, zero support.  Each shoe has a different purpose.

Running shoes are the #1 piece of gear a runner needs.  Never again will I think that any old shoe will get me through the miles.  I need to know that the shoe I buy, because they aren't cheap, is going to be a great fit for my feet and the rest of my body.  I'm not getting any younger (I wish!) and I'd love to continue to run for as long as I possibly can.  The right shoe is important so you can avoid injury and continue to run pain free.

I am not a shoe expert, nor will I ever pretend to be.  I know that if I have a question about gait, form, shoe type, that I need to ask the experts.  Unfortunately, the closest local running store is about 30 miles away.  It's not that far, but it's far enough to be inconvenient when my time is already packed with working, training, and being a mom and wife.  Plus, when I do have a free moment to get to the store, I do not have the luxury of going there alone.  I'm usually with the kids and while they are really good kids, they still drive me crazy when we going into the running store.  They feel the need to touch all of the gear, fuel, shoes.  It's quite hard to concentrate when I'm worried about what they are going to do next.

Which is why I'm excited about Kindrunner.com and their website launch on June 1st.

Some facts about Kindrunner:
- You will get the expert shoe advice through the convenience of online.
- Kindrunner is comprised of a group of runners who have a combined 40+ years working in the industry and are passionate about what they do.
- It is the ONLY place on the internet where runners can trade in their old running shoes for new shoes, you'll receive 'Kindness Cash Rewards" for every pair you send in.
- The "old" shoes you send in will be donated to Soles 4 Souls and the More Foundation - where people in need will be given the shoes rather than filling up our landfills with old shoes.


Don't believe it?  Check out this video!

Follow Kindrunner on facebook, twitter, instagram and youtube and be on the lookout for some pre-launch giveaways!

More Than Just Butterflies #SLS3

Mr. Running With The Girls always says "it's okay to have butterflies, just as long as they are flying in formation."  This saying definitely rings true for me before any race.   So I'm hoping that the butterflies I've been feeling all week get into formation Sunday morning!  

It seems fitting that SLS3 sent me their newest print in compression socks to review with BUTTERFLIES!

I've been wearing these socks as much as possible in the past few weeks and I'm impressed.   Long runs, tempo runs, speed workouts, and recovery runs have all been pretty tough on my legs.  I looked forward to wearing these all day long, during runs, and after running.  I wish I had three pairs of these socks so I could rotate through them and not have to wear stinky socks.  Which, I admit, I did do a few times.  

In comparison to some of the other compression socks I've worn, these socks feel a bit more tighter around heal and foot, which I needed during this last training cycle.  I had some issues with my achilles feeling tight, and when I wore these socks, the pain disappeared.   

The price for the Butterfly Compression socks is right around the same price as many other compression socks available ($54.90 with free shipping).   In addition, they come in three different colors - Azure Blue, Violet, and Hibiscus Pink.  

There is only one drawback to these socks.  And it's quite minor.  They were a tiny bit long.  But after readjusting a little and pulling the sock down more into the foot area, they fit great.  

The History behind SLS3 - 

Sebastian and Sylvie, two German, pro triathletes, met and fell in love.  Together they created SLS3 which began with only a few products.  A majority of their products are produced in the United States and they strive for the highest quality athletic apparel and gear.

SLS3 just revamped their website.  You should check it out and all of their products.  They have quite a few to choose from.  Since they are Sebastian and Sylvie are triathletes, they do specialize in tri race apparel, so if you are a triathlete or someone who is going to take on your first tri, you need to check out what they have.  

Like SLS3 on facebook or follow them on twitter and tell them Jen from Running With The Girls sent you!

Are you a fan of compression socks?  When do you wear your socks?  All day?  During workouts?  Before? After?  What do you look for in a sock?  

Disclaimer:  I was sent a pair of SLS3 compression socks to review and as always, all opinions expressed on my blog are 100% my own.  

#WhatsBeautiful Under Armour Campaign

This post is sponsored by Under Armour through FitFluential

How do you define beauty?  When I was a little girl, I used to think beauty was princess dresses, high heels, curls, and make up.  But now, I think of beauty as determination and pushing through to the next level.  

I remember when I thought a 5k was a long distance and 10k's scared me.  Then I tried out my first half marathon, and now I'll be running my 3rd marathon on Sunday.  To me, pushing past those limits, is simply beautiful.  It's what I want my kids to see.  I want them to see me as a mom who loves them and enjoys spending time with them, and one who is also going to strive for her own goals and continue to push past my own comfort levels.  I want them to push past their comfort levels as well.

Even in my professional life as a teacher - I WILL is an everyday slogan I use.  

one of my classroom bulletin boards

I'm honored to join Under Armour's campaign What's Beautiful designed to challenge and celebrate women.  This campaign is a perfect fit for me, as I have found that I thrive of challenging myself.    The What's Beautiful campaign is an 8 week campaign and we're in week 2.  You have plenty of time to declare to the world what your goals are!  

My own personal goals:

1.  Crush the 4:00 hour marathon time 

2.  Complete my 1st mud/obstacle run

3.  Complete my 1st ultra marathon 

Completing this goals cannot be done alone.  It's going to take a lot of hard work on my part.  I also want my kids to be involved in my path to meeting and crushing those goals, so I'm going to play hard with them too.  I'm looking forward to finding inventive ways to play with my kids at 

the playground or around my house - while building strength.   When all is said and done - I'm going to see some results.  

I challenge YOU to join the Under Armour What's Beautiful campaign.  

And after you've gone and created your own profile, declared your goal - I urge you to join a team or teams.  This is a way to cheer each other on during this campaign and to receive some motivating from your teammates!

There are weekly prizes as well as the chance for 3 epic women to win a trip to the Under Armour Retreat!  

There are a number of teams in the What's Beautiful campaign to choose from.  There are teams focusing on weight lifting, yoga, running PR's, or trying new distances.    My team is WORK HARD, PLAY HARD, GET RESULTS.  If you would like to join the team, please join now!

What are your goals?  

Kinvara 4 Review #kickassimus

Coming home from work to find a box of shoes is always exciting.  But when I'm not expecting the shoes and they are a newer version of shoes I've loved before, I'm just pushed over the top with excitement.  

With that said, I changed into my running clothes as quickly as possible, tied these new fabulous shoes on, and went for a run.  My schedule called for a tempo run, and these shoes felt great!  They were light on my feet, offered great support where I needed, and I had zero rubbing in my previous trouble spots.  

I also really love the lack of upper structure.  I don't have the weird rubbing going on with my toes and toenails and that makes for a great run as well.  

As you know, I wear men's shoes because I have super wide feet.  Women's wide don't always cut it for me and most of the time, shoe companies don't always make low profile/minimalist shoes in women's wides.  I've found the footbed of men's shoes to fit my feet quite well.  Sometimes I have to deal with "manly" colors, but the color isn't what's important when it comes to my feet feeling good.  But, with these shoes, I'd say Saucony's men's shoes don't really look too manly to me at all.  

I find the slogan for the new Saucony 4 most fitting.  My runs have most definitely been Kickassimus.  

Kinvara 4 specs:

- PowerGrid in heel

- redesigned upper - FlexFilm

- weight: 7.7 oz (so light!)

- drop: 4mm

Disclaimer– I was sent a pair of Saucony Kinvara 4′s as part of my relationship with Fitfluential.  That said, all opinions are completely 100% my own.

Bestowed Winner

Just stopping in for a quick announcement - I'll be back later in the day with a great shoe review!


Congratulations to......

You are my Bestowed Winner!!!!  Laura - please email me at runningwiththegirls at gmail dot com with your mailing address!

If you didn't win - I have a code for you to save $5 off your order at Bestowed - 5OFFBESTOWED01.  That's a great deal!

Very Inspiring

Last week Amy @ Running Escapades tagged me as a Very Inspiring Blogger.  Thank you, Amy!

There are a few rules that go along this award -
1.  Add the Very Inspiring Blogger Award photo on a blog post
2.  Thank the person who presented you with the award and link back to him or her in your post.
3.  Share seven things about yourself.
4.  Pass the award along to up to 10 favorite bloggers.
5.  Contact the chosen bloggers to let them know about the award. 

I'm going to take Amy's lead - and alter it a bit and tell you 7 things that I'm loving right now.

1.    The weather. The past week has been absolutely gorgeous!!!   I am loving my afternoon runs either solo, with Pepper, and waving to Tucker as he rides past me in the school bus!   Sometimes I like to think I'm racing the bus.

2.  My new bed.  After spending the night at Ward's aunt and uncle's house in April and sleeping on the super comfortable bed in their guest room, we decided that we needed to get a new mattress.  We have been sleeping on an old, full sized mattress for years.   Let's just say it was a bit cramped when Izzy would join us.  The problem is that we really liked our iron bed.  After much discussion and trying out mattresses, we upgraded to a queen and Ward built us a new bed.  We feel so grown up!  

and Izzy is quite comfortable in it as well

3.  The other day I received an unexpected surprise in the mail.  I ran a virtual 5k for my friend Amy's co-worker a few weeks back and I apparently came in 1st for my age group.  Awesome!

 

4.   My new Garmin!  To be honest, I haven't been using my older green 405 Garmin a whole lot lately.  I've only been using it for races and was set on just keeping it.  But then Garmin had to go and make a purple Garmin 10 and I fell in love.  Granted, it has a lot less bells and whistles than the 405, but I actually like it a lot more than the 405 for that reason!  

5.  My April mileage!  202 miles is huge for me.

6.  This little cheerleader and her sense of style.  Last weekend she came out to welcome me home with this little outfit on - you can't see them, but she has on her bathing suit bottoms on as well.  Freakin' adorable!

7.  I have a little speedster!  Tucker's had this go cart for years.  But he's been too short to drive it alone until recently.  All of a sudden he's a big kid.  I cannot believe he's going to be 10 years old in a couple of months.  Where has the time gone?  

 My nominations - 

1.  Carrie @ Maine Mom on the Run
2.  Jamie @ Couch to Iron Woman
3. Louise @ Runners Ramblings 
4.  Michelle @ Average Girl Doing Average Things
5.  Danielle @ Ohh Breathe Just Breathe 
6.  Sara @ Middle Aged Runner (even if she isn't quite middle aged)
7. Rachelle @ Livin The Fit Life
8. Lisa @ Run Wiki 
9.  Suz @ Cows and lasers and Everything In Between 
10. TriMOEngr @ Climb Those Hills

Bestowed Review + Giveaway

There are no excuses to not eat healthy when there are excellent options available just about everywhere, including deliveries made straight to your house!

When I was offered to try out a month's subscription to Bestowed, I jumped at the opportunity because I am excited to try new, healthy foods, especially some that my kids will enjoy.

As you can tell, my box was packed with a ton of great food!  Obviously, because there is nothing left of it.  My box was packed with EBOOST, iTrain, Oloves Hot Chilli Mama Olives, Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts, KIND Healthy Grains Oats & Honey Granola, Gnu Foods Hi- Fiber Minis, and Nektar Honey Crystals.

I could go on and on about how awesome these foods were.  Really I could.  I really enjoy trying out new foods.  I love KIND bars, and was super excited to try the granola.  I had to hide the bag from Izzy, because she loved it just as much as I did.  I had never tried hemp before and loved how great it was for me and it tasted fabulous with greek yogurt.


A Bestowed monthly subscription will cost $19/month.  Each item in the box is hand-chosen by author and nutritionist Heather Bauer.  Each month you'll get a different items, so it's always going to be a happy surprise when you open up your bright orange box!

Each Bestowed box also comes with a printout of "What's Inside" with information about each product you've received.  I thought this was a nice extra touch because I got to know a little bit about the companies, especially companies I've never heard of before.

I'm pleased to announce that the awesome folks have offered a Running With The Girls reader a one-month subscription of Bestowed!  

Entering is super easy.

All you have to do is leave me a comment letting me 

know why you'd like to try Bestowed!  

I will choose a winner at random on Friday, May 10th.  

Disclaimer: I was sent a Bestowed box for review purposes only.  All opinions are 100% my own.