Today, I ran my third half-marathon. I was excited because I hoped to get a new PR, and there would be red velvet cupcakes at the end. I was nervous because the course was HILLY and I hate hills. And I planned to run the ENTIRE thing, which I hadn't done before.

Pre-race: Woke up early so everything would clear out of my system in time. Ate PB and banana for breakfast, with a few Wheat Thins and half a glass of water. Got dressed. Put on a bit of makeup to calm my nerves and give me something to do while I waited for my friends to show up.

At the race: Warmed up a bit. Chatted with my friends. Got nervous! There were only 150 some people running, but it was still exciting.

Mile 1.5: Water stop. At this point, I'd been going at a good pace but maybe a little fast? I thought to myself, "Ugh I feel a little tired already..."
Mile 4: Another water stop. Took 2 Clif Shot Bloks. Told myself, "Almost 1/3 done!...wait, that means 2 more thirds to go... Can I keep this up?!"
Mile 6.5: Water stop. More Bloks.
Mile 8: Passed my friends, and jokingly flipped off the Mile 8 marker. My calves felt a bit uncomfortable.
Mile 9.5: Water stop. My calves were burning. I pondered whether I should stop and stretch or just keep going. I kept going.
Mile 11.5: Water stop. Thought to myself, "Less than 3 miles to go. I can do this. I can do this." My pace slowed dramatically but I could see that I was going to get a new PR if I could just keep RUNNING!
Mile 12: It was really hilly. The hills didn't seem so bad at the beginning, but now they were really getting to me. Thought to myself, "2.1 miles to go, but I don't know if I can do it."
Mile 13: Could see the end...
Finish line: YAY! Was so excited to see that I had a new PR: just under 2 hours and 17 minutes.

Post-race: Walked around for a few minutes, grabbed water and headed straight for the red velvet cupcakes. I figured I could cool down and eat cupcake at the same time! Chatted with my favorite Max Muscle employees, Trevor and Jason. Trevor commented that I didn't even look like I'd run a half! My makeup wasn't smudged at all, but my calf was killing me, so I definitely FELT like I'd run a half!
Continued to walk and cool down and wait for my friends to finish. Decided to listen to the awards ceremony for fun... And found out I'd placed 2nd for my age group! Got a little Max Muscle 2nd place towel. Met up with friends and then went to go eat at Ruby Tuesday's. Awesome.

Ok, I'm out of here. I need some ibuprofin like I need air. Peace ouuuuut.

Week 8 resolutions:

• Only one cheat day this week.
  Uh.... kind of. More like 1.5ish. Let's just leave it at that.
  
  
• Get the important items on my To Do list done!
  Um, some of them. I still have one big item that I really need to work on today.
  

And now, onto my week 9 resolutions.

• Get in two runs this week (besides today's race).
• Stick to my meal plan.
  

Hi gals! I reviewed Ulta brand eyeshadows earlier this week, but wanted to show you some swatches so you could see their awesomeness.

Milk Chocolate is a matte chocolate brown (go figure!)
Safari is a greenish brown with gold shimmer.
Mink is a matte brown.
Mystical is a reddish brown with lots of shimmer.
Gold Dust is a cool brown with gold shimmer.

Ulta brand eyeshadow:
Price: $7.00
I was thrilled when I swatched my first Ulta brand eyeshadow at my local Ulta. I thought to myself, "Are you kidding me?!" The texture was fabulous, the pans were large, the colors were gorgeous, and the price was right! I bought probably a dozen on the spot and raved about them to the sales associate. I asked her if she'd ever tried them. She said, "No, but there are some lovely Urban Decay shadows over there..." Um, what?! I've tried Urban Decay shadows, and Stila, and MAC, and many others, but I'm very impressed with Ulta's quality and value. They aren't the absolute best (there is a bit of fallout) but are pretty darn awesome. They wear well, the pigmentation is generally good, the range of colors is excellent, and they won't break the bank.

Ulta eyeshadows come in more than 100 different shades. I now own 22 of these fabulous eyeshadows: Pearl, Plum Noir, Deep Sea, Verdigris, Sterling, Gunmetal, Granite, Sin City, Galaxy, Sapphire, Camel, Truffle, Suede, Toast, Sandstone, Plumsmoke, Milk Chocolate, Safari, Mink, Mystical, and Gold Dust. I'll be posting product swatches over the next week or two.

This product frequently goes on sale for Buy 2, Get 2 Free, so be sure to stock up!
 
Lipgloss+Spandex rating:

Well guys, I'm really late! But here's how I did with Week 7's resolutions:

• Get in one long run.
  Well, I did a 6 mile interval session today on the track. I'll call it good. I didn't actually get it in when I was supposed to though :(
  
  
• Don't overdo the cheat day.
  HAHAHAHHAHA... yeah, right. I had three cheat days.
  
  
• Clean, clean, clean.
  Nope. Didn't do such a good job with this one...

So unfortunately, Week 7 was a bust for the most part. I'm pretty disappointed but I'm going to work on Week 8 now!

Week 8 resolutions:

• Only one cheat day this week.
  My nutritionist gave me a new plan and I'm already freaking out! I really don't know how I'll do with sticking to it... I did go grocery shopping this evening and most of the stuff was healthy stuff.
  
  
• Get the important items on my To Do list done!
  
  

Hello!  It is Molly and I am checking in on Presidents Day.  I am very thankful that I have today off.  In fact, I made it a long weekend and took Friday off as well. 

Last time I was here I spoke of project RESTART: Breaking The Sedentary Cycle.  I set some goals.

• At least 64 ounces of water every day – No problem, I use Nalgene bottles to measure water when I am on the go.
  
  
• Three gym workouts with weights – Yes, but it is still hard to make time to get there.
  
  
• Sit Ups and Push Ups- FAILURE- my thought was that I would make this part of my evening routine at home.  Some how I have never to been able to make this happen.
  
  
• Sensible choices eating every three to four hours.- I have done ok with this goal however, I could be better.  All good things in time – I hope.
  
  
• Work on the clutter in my room.- This is a work in progress.  However, I do not have much on the floor at the moment.
  

Here is what I learned this week:  I am very susceptible to “peer pressure.”  By peer pressure I mean when my significant other brings illegal contraband (aka peanut M and M’s) into the home, I want them too.  Sadly, I want them even if I am not hungry.  I am like Pavlovs dog.  I hear the M and M’s being poured into the bowl and I want to be fed candy.  It is terrible!

Healthy Food/Favorite Meals:  I have been embracing things that I love when they are available.  There has been some great fresh Dungeness Crab and King Crab in our grocery stores. When I am able to get things like this it make me feel like I am eating something special.  I also have been enjoying some great blue berries that I got at Costco in my oatmeal.

Goals for this week

• Three gym workouts with weights
• Keep moving try to avoid sitting so much when I get home
• Small meals every three hours or so
• Sit ups and push ups
• Minimize clutter
• AVOID ANY CONTRABAND like peanut M and M’s.

Hi there gals! I am so excited because Valentine's Day is the perfect excuse for me to wear glittery false eyelashes all day :) This is my first attempt at false lashes, but it turned out decently (at least, I think so).

Products used:

• Face:
  Sephora Matifying Powder Foundation in D22
  Clinique Brow Shaper in Charcoaled
  Hard Candy Baked Blush in Honeymoon
  Maybelline Dream Mousse concealers in Cream and Beige
  
• Eyes:
  Tarte Lifted natural eye primer
  Stila Runway Look palette
  Stila Smudgepot in Black
  Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Zero
  Maybelline XXL Volume+Length waterproof mascara (lower lashes)
  Lorac Special Effects mascara (top lashes)
  Duo waterproof eyelash adhesive in Clear-White
  Ardell lashes in Romantic
• Lips:
  Avon U by Ungaro lipstick in Ungaro Pink
  MAC Dazzleglass in Like Venus
  

Wishing all of you a year filled with happiness, good health, and prosperity :)

Today, since I don't really have a Valentine, I'll probably just relax at home! I might go out for happy hour with a friend in the evening, and maybe we'll stop by Nordstrom to see if they have the new MAC Viva Glam Cyndi and Viva Glam Gaga lipsticks! (I wish they'd made gloss versions of both, as well as lipstick versions, since I don't usually wear lipstick).

Anyone have fun plans for today?

I'm exhausted but still have more cleaning to do before I head to bed, so I'm going to try and make this short and sweet.

Week 6 didn't go very well. I'd hoped to do 2 out of my 4 resolutions...

• Put things away (not on my bed, not on my furniture).
  I spent a crazy amount of time cleaning and sorting this week. Everything was in chaos and I could barely walk around my room, but tons of stuff was given away and overall I feel better about the AMOUNT of stuff I own.
  
  
• Spend less time watching TV and on the computer. I can watch TV if I'm doing an exercise video, or working out while watching TV. Computer time will be for work/blogging purposes only, + 1 hour of non-work/blogging time.
  Yeah... I didn't really stick with the specific rules, but I definitely spent less time on the computer or watching TV, because I was cleaning so much! I also spent time helping my brothers with their homework.
  
  
• Get in at least two 3+ mile runs.
  Uh... nope.
  
  
• Only have 1 cheat day this week.
  Since my week was only Sunday-Friday this week, this was an easier one. My cheat day was Thursday. I ate a ridiculous amount of chocolatey baked goods during lunch time, and then drank wine at Bunco. My body still hates me and I feel really sluggish. I'm hoping in the future, I'll remember how physically awful I felt and I won't overindulge on my cheat day.

So overall, not bad. Week 7's resolutions:

• Get in one long run.
• Don't overdo the cheat day.
• Clean, clean, clean.