Hey friends! I’m SO EXCITED to share today’s post with you because it ends with what is probably the coolest giveaway I’ve ever hosted on my blog. I think those of you that are runners will agree!
But first, speaking of running, I was up early this morning to meet my buddy Sokphal for some frigid miles. The sun was just rising as we started – beautiful, as always. 🙂
Today was one of those mornings where I REEEEEEALLY did not want to get out of bed to run. With the windchill, my phone weather app said the temperature was in the single digits, and I was pretty tired. But as always, having someone to meet made the difference between bailing and not, and I was so glad that I didn’t bail because we ended up having a great run!
I was actually surprised by how good running felt this morning, considering how I felt when I first woke up. My legs felt fresh and apparently wanted to go fast!
These views and the company helped. 🙂
It also helped that I was really bundled up, so I felt nice and toasty once we were moving! I remember when my long lost running buddy Mary lived in DC and we met up for really cold runs, she always wore massive mittens on top of normal running gloves. I took a page from her book this morning and did the same – I had a pair of tight, lightweight, sweat wicking running gloves on and then put these huge fleece-lined mittens on top. Genius! My hands were so happy. 🙂 Thanks for the idea, Mary! Wish you could have joined us this morning!
And now, because you guys know I love posting unattractive photos of my myself on the internet, here is a sweaty bundled up selfie for your viewing pleasure. I know, the head/chin warmer combo is a good look for me. Just keepin’ it real. 😉
5 miles, done! I was pumped when I saw our average pace – great clip, especially since I haven’t exactly been great about running the past few weeks thanks to a combination of recovery from the Charleston Half Marathon + SnowZilla. Looking forward to getting back into it now!
We had fun with shadows after finishing (hi, endorphin wasted):
And now, for the giveaway you guys have been waiting for:
Win a Trip to Run the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler in DC on April 3 with me and Cabot!
The Cherry Blossom 10 Miler (<—last year’s recap) is one of my absolute favorite races in DC, as you guys know. It’s flat so it’s a great PR course, and more importantly the course is beautiful! Last year we even had the cherry blossoms join us, which is a rare treat. 🙂
I’ve done the race 3 times now and it’s always a blast, so I was thrilled when my friends at Cabot emailed me with a proposal to put together a fANNEtastic-Cabot running team for the race! I’ve been a Cabot cheese fan for ages and have also worked with them via the blog for a few years now – I’ve been on their Cabot Fit Team twice, have done some recipe development projects with them, and they are also a frequent sponsor of my Winter Shape Up series! In short, they are awesome – I always love collaborating with them (and eating their cheese).
Anyway – Cabot is a sponsor of the Cherry Blossom 10 miler and as a result, they receive a number of bibs to give out as they choose. They are offering me a bib for the race and some extras to put together a fun team of my running buddies, PLUS 2 bibs for you guys! The Cherry Blossom 10 Miler is so popular that it now has a lottery system for entry, so I feel very lucky to be able to run the race with my friends AND invite one of you and a guest to join me! A huge thank you to Cabot for this awesome opportunity. 🙂
Here’s the deal: Cabot is offering to fly one of you guys AND a guest of your choice here to DC for the race (up to $1,000). They will also cover your hotel (one room) for two nights and will give you the two free bibs. Amazing opportunity, right?! You guys know I am beyond lucky to get cool opportunities like this through the blog sometimes, and I’m so thrilled to be able to share a similar opportunity with one of you!
Here are a few caveats/disclaimers. Please read these before entering the contest! 🙂
- This contest is sponsored by Cabot and me, not the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler.
- The winner and their guest must be in the continental U.S.
- The winner and their guest must (obviously) be available to travel to DC on the weekend of April 1, 2016 (the race is on April 3) and be appropriately trained/prepared to run the 10 mile race (at their own risk).
- The winner and their guest should love cheese and Cabot (if you are dairy free, that’s cool, but this isn’t the contest for you!) – and be willing to attend a potential pre-race dinner and post-race celebration with me and the rest of the Cabot-fANNEtastic team.
- The winner and their guest must be okay with being photographed and featured both on my blog and on social media (by me and Cabot) – and with wearing a Cabot team shirt during the race. 🙂
- All food and ground transportation once in DC are the responsibility of the winner/their guest.
Are you guys as pumped about this as I am?! I can’t wait to meet the winner – and to share one of my favorite races with them. Thank you for reading my blog – and good luck! Please use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter – the contest is only open for a few days, so don’t forget! 🙂