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Jr Hero Run #Giveaway

February 16, 2016 by Laura Lohr 8 Comments

Jr Hero RunIf you’re a follower of this blog or know me personally, you already know that I LOVE running! It’s a passion of mine and I’m always trying to get my family to love it as much as I do. I’m always trying to get my non-running friends and family involved in a local running event. I am especially partial to a few San Diego area races that are organized to give back to the community or donate proceeds to a noble charity. These are a few reasons why I fell in love with the Jr Hero Run and when I was contacted to promote the event, I was thrilled to be able to help in any way I can!

The Jr Hero Run is in its third year, this year. The mission of the Jr Hero Run is to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and to help them to grant more wishes. What a great cause! Can you imagine if we could grant the wish of every child? What a world! I love the Make-A-Wish Foundation for all they stand for, I love running, I love running with friends and family. Sign. Me. Up!

The Jr Hero Run is where kids and adults dress up as their favorite superheros and fend off villains with water guns and be a real heroes for the day, as they navigate the 2-3k course.

This is a lot more than just a run. As you make your way through the 2-3K course, you will need to courageously fend off villains with your water gun and recover a stolen coin from the villain fortress. Present the coin at the Hall of Justice and get awarded a finishing medal.

How totally cool, right? I can’t wait to do this one! Grab your cape and come on out to the Jr Hero Run near you!

More information about the Jr Hero Run can be found on the event website, Facebook, and Instagram.

I’m giving away a family four-pack of race entries for the Jr Hero Run, for any of the races of your choice. The following locations and dates for the Jr Hero Run:

Las Vegas 5/21

San Diego 6/18

Chino 8/6

Palos Verdes 8/13

You can also enter the giveaway below or  you can receive $5 off your race entry, simply by using the promo code: JHR2016 at check out. 

Jr_Hero_Run_Flyer
Click to enlarge.

Which location would you like to run the Jr Hero Run? Have you ever run the race before?

Jr Hero Run Family Fun Pack of 4 Race Entries

Disclaimer: I was offered race entries for my family, in exchange for promoting the event. Regardless, I love running and I love the Make-A-Wish Foundation and want the Jr Hero Run to be a success!

Filed Under: Running/Marathon Tagged With: family, Jr Hero Run, Make a Wish, running

Carlsbad Half Marathon Recap

January 23, 2016 by Laura Lohr 2 Comments

Carlsbad Half Marathon Finisher

Carlsbad Half Marathon Finisher

Sunday, I accomplished a huge goal of mine…I completed another half marathon—the Carlsbad Half Marathon. While this wasn’t my FIRST half marathon, in many ways, it felt like it was. It had been a number of years since I had successfully completed a half, I had gotten out of shape, and I’d gained a lot of weight since the last one. Last January, I began the hard work of returning to running. Fall of 2015, I was finally ready to start adding miles to my training and I was finally ready to take on the distance.

Legoland Kids Marathon Mile
Legoland Kids Marathon Mile

On Saturday, Allie Kat’s school running club was participating in the Legoland Marathon Mile. We made the trek with some of her running friends and the neighbors joined us in the race. I was concerned about keeping fresh legs for the half on Sunday, so Mr. Bear and I walked the one mile through Legoland. Allie and her friends sprinted the mile and made good time. After we had breakfast, we headed to the expo to pick up our race gear.

Carlsbad Half Marathon Race Gear
My race gear, ready to go for the next day!

The night before the race, our neighbor and friend decided to run the half marathon with her daughter. Neither of them had trained for the race, yet were eager to run the race. I was so excited to have some running buddies to do the race with. While at the expo, we did some shopping, got our numbers and I took some photos and went home to get my race gear together for the next day. I was so excited and nervous!

My friend, her daughter, and I.
My friend, her daughter, and I.

I got to carpool with my friend and her daughter and we arrived in plenty of time. I got to meet up with the lovely ladies of the San Diego Moms Run this Town. I got to meet a few new friends and got to see some other ladies I already knew, then it was off to the half marathon start.

Triple Crown Bound

I was in wave 6, which meant about 20 minutes of waiting until my wave was sent out onto the course. I was fidgety and increasingly more nervous. Would I be able to make it across the finish line? Did I train enough? Did I train hard enough? Meanwhile, my friend and her daughter, were calmly waiting for the gun for our wave’s start.

Just a few minutes before the race.
Just a few minutes before the race.

Once the gun started, I was off. I lost track of my friends and I felt terrific. I genuinely felt fantastic! I tried to go out slow, but my legs were dragging me ahead! My first 5 miles, I was going waaaay faster than I intended! My goal was to come in under 14 minutes per mile, but each mile was 11-12 minute pace for the majority of miles. I was keeping an eye on the 2 hour 45 minute pacer. Sometimes, running ahead of the pacer. I was feeling strong, confident, and like I was flying.

At mile 6, I texted Mr. Bear:

I’m on pace for 2:45 right now! Feeling STRONG!

It was exactly at that point when I started to feel fatigued. So, my next text:

I’m feeling fatigued. Going to eat something.

Then:

Steep hill. I’m fueled and feel better.

And, then:

Mile 10. I’m cramping up.

I had brought a protein bar and tried to refuel. I felt much better after having a little something to eat. I was off and running again for the next few miles. Up and down. Up and down. The course is hilly. Every time I would run up a hill, I expected to run down, but it seemed like it was more up, flat, up, flat, the whole way. At mile 8, I was beginning to cramp up. I popped a couple of salt tablets to try to keep the cramping at bay. It seemed to help. At mile 9, we began running with the full marathoners. I kept telling myself, “Just a few more miles.” I gave myself permission to walk. I wanted to run, but my legs were so fatigued. I kept going.

At mile 11, I texted a few friends. I joked to my friend that the last 0.1 was going to be the hardest. At mile 12, I saw the 3 hour pacer and I stuck by her. At that point, I was nearly delirious with fatigue. I began to run when I could. The pacer was encouraging me. I knew I was going to finish, nevertheless, it was a challenge. About a quarter mile before the finish, Mr. Bear called me and asked where I was. I told him I’d be there soon and could I please call him back. The lady next to me was laughing at our conversation and she made me laugh for a second—and to stop taking myself so seriously.

I saw the finish line and I took off running. I was going to finish strong. I pushed and pushed. Tears were streaming down my cheeks. This was a hard won victory and I did it! This was the hardest race I’ve ever run.

I met up with family, neighbors, and friends at the expo tent. I started stretching and then remembered I had promised to go to Legoland for the rest of the day. What had I gotten myself into?! I cooled down, grabbed a protein shake, changed my clothes, and we headed to Legoland with Allie and her two best girlfriends from swim and running club.

We spent 5 hours at Legoland and had a great time. I was able to walk around without too much trouble. I was already planning my next half marathon by the end of the day, which is a good indicator that this race wasn’t too terrible. I recovered pretty quickly and I learned some of my weaker areas that I need to work on for the next time.

This was my first experience running the Carlsbad Half Marathon and so far, I’d say I’d do it again. This was also my slowest half marathon and I’m okay with that. I finished in 2 hours, 58 minutes, 46 seconds. My goal was 3 hours. I couldn’t have come in much closer to my goal. The course runs along the coastline of Carlsbad and there’s stretches that are gorgeous! I think being sick during December and misses a few key runs did compromise my preparation for the final three miles, nonetheless, I have no regrets! I ran 13.1 miles and I’m ready to do it again!

My finisher's medal
My finisher’s medal

What are you proud of this week? Are you preparing for any new events? Wishing you happy feet!

Filed Under: Running/Marathon Tagged With: Carlsbad Half Marathon, Legoland, running, Triple Crown

Fitness Friday 30 Pounds Gone! Addition

January 22, 2016 by Laura Lohr 4 Comments

FitnessFriday

#FitnessFriday

Heeeelllllooo Fitness Friday! I am so excited about my Fitness Friday post today! First things, first! I ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon on Sunday (Race report coming early next week! Stay tuned!) and broke my long streak of not running. I’m finally bad to running and feeling fantastic about it! I’ve run two training runs since the half. I’m now on my way to training for the La Jolla Half in March. I’ve come a long way, from barely being able to run in January 2015.

FinisherMedalCarlsbad2

 

My friend and I started running at 5:30 a.m. this week, in preparation of the La Jolla Half. She’s much faster than me, but we’re making it work. We’re running the hills around our neighborhood and I’m feeling stronger already. The thing about the La Jolla Half, is that it’s really hilly. In March of 2009, I attempted the La Jolla Half and had to drop out of the race about 3 miles in. That following August, I completed the AFC Half, but the La Jolla Half DNF always haunts me. This year, my plan is to tackle the La Jolla Half and make it my bitch!

My second hooray of the day is that I’ve hit 30 pounds of weight loss. I cannot believe it! It’s fantastic! I LOVE Lindora! They’ve done so much to help me be successful and I’ve not seen numbers this low on the scale in 4 or more years. That’s amazing! I know I will always get the support I need when I go in for my visits. They help me identify what I’m doing right and what I might need to change to be successful. I have gained so much confidence. I feel so good! I am wearing clothes I haven’t worn in years and fitting nicely in clothes I’ve been wearing that were ill-fitting. It’s such a great feeling and I’m so grateful for discovering Lindora. The methods I was using before just weren’t working and I’d all but given up. I had really resigned myself to my weight, until I got acquainted with the program.

Today, I’m excited about my fitness level. I’m excited about running. I’m excited about my health. I recently went to see my doctor and found that my lab work was all improved from the previous year. Losing more than 10% of my body weight was enough to send my bad cholesterol and good cholesterol in the right directions, my triglycerides are down, and everything is well-within normal limits. My already low blood pressure has also gone even lower!

I’m so thankful to have such progress and I’m so grateful to have my life back!

What are YOU grateful for this week?

Have a great weekend!

Happy Running!

Disclosure: I have been offered a 10 weeks with Lindora, in exchange for sharing my personal opinions and experiences with Lindora. All opinions are my own. I only share information about products, companies, and services I believe will be helpful for my readers. I’m losing weight and following the plan on Lindora and loving it!

Filed Under: Lindora, Running/Marathon, Weight Loss Tagged With: #FitnessFriday, Fitness, Fitness Friday, Health, Lindora, running, Weight Loss

Turkey Trot 5k

November 18, 2015 by Laura Lohr 1 Comment

TurkeyTrot2015Since we’ve been in Temecula, I have to admit, it has been a life like we couldn’t have imagined! We’ve met so many new friends and it feels like we’ve been here forever. Annually, the school that Allie Kat goes to hosts a Turkey Trot 5k. Allie Kat and I have been running with the school running club since the beginning of the year. Her and I have made friends with many of the parents and kids from her school. Naturally, we were excited to show off our running club skills out on the road. Here’s my Turkey Trot 5k Race Report!

Turkey Trot Admin

As I have mentioned previously, I will be running the Carlsbad Half Marathon in January and I have been using my times with the school running club as part of my preparation. Allie is going to run the kids’ Legoland run the day before with Mr. Bear. It has been a great bonding experience with Allie to run and train with me, in my favorite sport.

Saturday was a chilly morning, but we met up with our neighbors and friends and walked the short walk to the school. We were all ready to run and determining our strategy for the race, where we would meet after, and how to capture the best photos of the kiddos post race. We made it to the starting line, with time to spare and began lining up. For such a small race, there were a lot of participants. The horn sounded for us to run and off we went!

Mr. Bear and I began running with the middle of the pack, Allie Kat was already pacing farther and faster ahead. About a 1/2 mile into the course, Mr. Bear and I ran into Allie and one of her running club friends. Allie was guarding her right arm, tight into her chest, with tears streaming down. Apparently, she had fallen and it was quite a spill. Her shoulder, elbow, arm, hip, and leg were scrapped up and both of her hands had taken gravel and concrete in them. Poor baby! Seeing my baby crying, even if she’s 10 years old, got the tears streaming in my own eyes. I tried to encourage her to GET OUT THERE, RUN! Because, clearly, I am a jerk. She refused to run and buried her sweet face into Mr. Bear’s shoulder. They decided they would walk together, I asked if it would be okay if I went on without them, and they agreed.

After separating with Mr. Bear and Allie Kat, I found my way back into the pack, weaving in and out of the numerous jogging strollers, littering both sides of the wide pathways. I recognized many of the parents and kids running the race and began pacing with a mom I knew from the school. The 3/4 mile was pretty flat, but then we turned the corner and began running uphill on one of the main local roads that cuts through the middle of our community. I hadn’t noticed before, while driving, just how long the road actually is.

About 1 1/2 miles in, my breath got heavy and I had to walk for a bit. I began alternating running up the bigger inclines and walking the straight parts of the course. Up, up, up, I went, until I made it to the first and only water station, at the crest of the the hill. I grabbed a water, fought through the crowds congregating around the station, and off I began to run again. I knew there would be downhill coming soon, so I pushed when I could to get to those beautiful downhills on the course. Now, I wasn’t far from the end.

I met up with the same mom I had been running with early on in the race and we began the silent speed up and slow down that one does. I would pass her, she would pass me. Finally, we got down a pretty steep incline, where I felt for a minute, like I was flying! I forgot for a second about my “competition” and let myself enjoy the realization that I was RUNNING and that there is a huge possibility I could complete my half marathon.

The last 3/4 of a mile, I was fatigued, but motivated. I have a little trick I do every time I run a race—well, I don’t know if it’s a trick? Strategy? Anyway, when I start getting to the end, I encourage all the other runners to, “Finish Strong!” “Keep it up!” “You’re almost there!” I start yelling out encouragement to unsuspecting strangers that either step it up or just look at me like I’m crazy. This helps me tremendously, especially when the runner decides to kick it up! I try to keep up with them and let them know I’m nearby. Sometimes, I find a great competitor that will take me to task with my challenge and I love that! That’s exactly what I did this time, too! At the end, I started yelling, “You’re almost there and I’m on your heels! Don’t let me beat you!” Ha! I know it’s quirky, but running is 90% where your brain is some days.

At the finish line, my competitor came in about 10 feet ahead of me. We both sprinted in. When I stopped running, I was out of breath, a little dizzy, and really nauseous. I did it though! I broke my goal for this race! I wanted to come in before 45 minutes. I came in 41:11. That’s a 13 minute pace. It isn’t shabby! I’m pretty happy with my time. I ran as much as I could. I finished strong. I tried my best. Bam! Total success.

…

I feel fortunate that I’ve been training on these same roads on my “long runs” I do on the weekends. I am up to 5 miles on those long runs now! When I started training earlier in the year, I could barely run a 1/4 mile without stopping. Now, I regularly go a mile or two without taking a break. I’m running about a 12-14 minute pace most of the time, but recently, I ran a mile where I broke 11 minutes.

I’m so excited to run my next training run and my next race! It was amazing! I can’t believe I did it! Yay!

What did you accomplish this week that you’re proud of?

Filed Under: Running/Marathon

Moving On

November 4, 2015 by Laura Lohr Leave a Comment

OurNewHomeWow! Live is truly an adventure! It has been an incredible couple of months! We recently sold our “dream home” in San Diego County and relocated to Temecula. Moving Allie Kat from San Diego to Temecula, was something we didn’t take lightly. She had only known San Diego. All of her friends and life as she knew it was East San Diego. It was a huge decision, but we prayed about it, we mulled it over, we dissected it a million different ways, and finally agreed—it was time to move on. We had dear, dear friends here. We have family here. We have a great neighborhood. The schools are good. So far, the move has been full of many blessings and I’m so grateful for all of it!

Lohr Family

 

We’re finally getting settled in, after 3 months. Allie is flourishing on her new swim team. She is doing well in school. We’ve made new friends in the neighborhood and new friends on the swim team. Mr. Bear is working from home about 50% of the time, so his hour commute isn’t so bad. We live in a community that has many trails, playgrounds, a couple pools, and gyms. It has been an amazing transition! Everything seems to have fallen into place, just the way it is supposed to.

Allie is now swimming for a private swim team, here in the Temecula Valley. She has grown leaps and bounds. Mr. Bear and I are so incredibly proud of this kid!  The first week, she was in tears, because the practices were longer and more challenging than what she was used to on her team in San Diego. She has now gotten used to her new team and is fitting right in. We’ve been to two swim meets now, and while she hasn’t gained a lot in speed, her technique is noticeably better. She’s gaining so much skill and we’re excited about her future as a competitive swimmer!

KQN56CNIGV

Today is my baby’s 10th birthday! I cannot believe she’s TEN! It seems like so long ago when I was pregnant with her. At the same time, it seems like yesterday when she fit in my arms! Now, she’s this amazing creature that I hardly recognize! She’s amazing! I don’t blog about her too much anymore, as she’s getting older. We’re just so proud of her! She got Student of the Month last month. She has a very picky teacher this year. It has been a challenge, yet this kid has stepped right up to the challenge, with hardly a complaint. She’s a great kid!

There has been a lot of ups and downs with moving. Some of it has been has been an adjustment. I was in San Diego County for more than 20 years—longer than I was in my childhood hometown, growing up. There’s a few things that are different. There’s been a few heartaches, nevertheless, I have to focus on the blessings in life and move forward. Our family has met challenges with courage, strength, love, and gratitude. I am proud of the progress we’ve made. So far, we love Temecula, even if I get lost driving almost every single time I get in the car!

I started running again a month or so ago. I signed up for the Carlsbad Half Marathon in January. It’s sort of scary, because I’m really out of shape! I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m really excited! Allie and I have been running with her school’s running club twice a week. We’re both getting stronger and faster! The Turkey Trot 5k is coming up next weekend at her school. It should be a fun time! I can’t wait!

 

 

Filed Under: Allison Weekly, Moving, Running/Marathon

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About Laura:

Wife, mom, runner, geek, lifestyle blogger, fitness badass, world traveler, social media lover. San Diego transplant, living in Temecula's wine country.

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