Home Run 5K - Virtual Run

As you may know (from my previous blog post) I have been selected to help out Jost Running for the next few months. In return for my feedback, blog posts, reviews, etc, I have been given free entry into any and all of their virtual races for the next three months.

My first virtual race with Jost Running was the Home Run 5K.  (I love baseball, so am stoked that the theme for the first virtual race I am participating in with Jost Running was baseball.)

Ryan had missed his training run on Wednesday, so I talked him into running this virtual 5K with me last night after I had finished my gym work out (stationary bike for an hour – 17.5 miles). Our first mile was fairly slow (about 11 minute mile pace), but that was mostly because it was uphill, as well as Ryan mentioned his legs were still a little tight from our 12.5 mile run this past weekend. Even though we had a slow first mile, we really kicked it in for the last mile and had a sub-9 minute mile (8:58). We were able to finish the 5K in 30:40, which was a great time for Ryan (and I loved having his company).

I am stoked for my HOTDOG medal to come in the mail J. I will just consider it a veggie dog... 

Can’t wait for my next virtual race!! If you are interested in participating in any of these races, please just let me know and I can assist with that. 

Jost Running

A few weeks back I saw a post in one of the Disney Facebook pages that I follow.

I thought to myself, “I like blogging and running, maybe I should send an email to see if I could do this.” Low-and-behold they asked me to be a part of what they are doing – whooo hoooo!! I am STOKED to be given this opportunity!! Be on the look out for blog posts to come!! Can't wait to start participating with Jost Running!!

JOST RUNNING

The Virtual Racing Company

THE ONLY SWEAT YOU’LL SMELL IS YOUR OWN

We are a family owned and operated company with the goal to bring people together regardless of their location and physical distance from one another.

Although there is nothing quite like lining up to run a race with thousands of people, the expense in doing that month after month is an unrealistic one for most people, including us.  We asked ourselves how we could get the social aspect of a race, without the cost and inconvenience of traveling, and the answer was...Virtual Racing.

 

WE WANT TO HELP YOU STAY MOTIVATED.

Like all runners, we have days where it takes everything in us to lace our shoes up and head out for a run.  What we have found is that the best motivator is a reminder of the feeling of accomplishment from a finished race.  For us, this reminder comes in the form of a medal.

That is why all of our races come with a medal.

We hope that our medals will make you feel proud of what you have accomplished and be motivators to continue.

#1 Best and Most Collaborative Large College in US!

The Top 100 Best And Most Collaborative U.S. Colleges 

A recent Harvard Business Review post suggested that higher education is being disrupted by 'digital natives', including K-12 institutions that are becoming more mobile and social. The changing landscape and the explosive growth of mobile and social technologies, including massive open online courses (MOOCs) is changing the educational experience. Disruptions in education will also impact corporations. "These same trends [online courses and the flip classroom] are likely to affect corporations and the way knowledge is transferred to employees, customers, and other partners." Colleges today are serving the most mobile and social customers in the world, many of whom are using multiple mobile devices to network and collaborate. Today, social networking is the most popular use of the web. A 2012 study noted that students are choosing colleges with social media clout. A survey of 7,000 high school students revealed that university social media accounts influenced their selections.

What are the best U.S. colleges and universities doing to better promote collaboration, aimed at improving the college student experience? To answer this question, I researchedUS News & World Reports list of the best schools. The 2013 national university rankingsidentified the top 100 universities in the U.S. I then re-ranked the schools based on their combined Klout and Kred scores - a measure of their engagements across all major social platforms. Not surprisingly, the very best schools are also the most collaborative - see the table below. What does this mean to businesses today? The very best students, graduating from the very best schools, are extremely social and expect transparency and collaboration at all levels of the organization.

Business leaders must ask themselves a very simple question: how can we attract the very best talent if we are unwilling to embrace social collaboration? The answer is simple; you cannot.

Applied To Be a Blogger

This afternoon I sent in an email to apply to be a Hot Chocolate Blogger. I am sure it is a long shot - seeing as I normally only have about 10 readers of my posts (5 of which are family members) - but I figured I might as well give it the old college try!

I participated in the San Diego Hot Chocolate 15K earlier this year and when I saw the Facbeook post this afternoon advertising this opportunity I thought it would be awesome.

In case you are interested in applying as well - here are the details:

We are seeking a team of local bloggers who love to blog, love to run, and of course, love chocolate!

The Hot Chocolate Blogger Program is a group of online blogging influencers who not only specialize in talking about running, health or fitness, but have cultivated an online community around their passion for running. We welcome all runners of all types to apply- no matter your pace or skill level.  We only require that you love running, have had a few races and months of blogging under your belt, and want to help others in their running journey.

 What We’re Looking For In A Hot Chocolate Blogger:

• Our bloggers have a unique voice and a cultivated influence around their blog topic (fitness, running, health).
• At least 6-12 months of blogging experience.
• Love social media & have followings on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook & Instagram.
• Have participated in several races or fitness events (5ks are ideal).
• Ability to attend their local Hot Chocolate race and promote regularly online ahead of time.
• Be able to post on your blog about the Hot Chocolate series, run a giveaway and possibly guest post on our blog.

Perks of being a Hot Chocolate Blogger:

• Comped race entry & an extra race entry to giveaway on your blog.
• A V.I.P. swag bag of training gear and Hot Chocolate Merch.
• Cross promotion of your blog on our website and social media channels (with over 150k fans on Facebook!)
• Ability to earn prizes and perks for your influence and promotion.
• More to come, please inquire for details!

Workout Recap - Week 31

[Better late than never, right?! Still getting into the swing of things after being gone for a week, but I am finally catching up]

Sunday, July 28th – 3.1 miles (hills and elevation) with the hubby

There are GIANT athletes around the camp because it is where the Wildflower Triathlon is held - this swimmer photo-bombed our picture!

Monday, July 29th – 5.5 miles (hills and elevation), tubing

Tuesday, July 30th – 4.5 miles (hills and elevation) - plus running a steep boat launch and a few minutes of stairs

Wednesday, July 31st – 3.2 miles (hills and elevation) with the hubby

Thursday, August 1st –  Rest day, tubing

Friday, August 2nd – 3.5 miles (hills and elevation) with the hubby

[My Garmin ran out of battery shortly after this run, so I wasn't able to get a photo of our time]

Saturday, August 3rd – Rest day (travel day)

Not too bad for being away from home and my normal routine, getting very little sleep, working from sun up until long after sun down every day, and running in the crazy hills and high elevation. 

Ryan and I volunteered with the North Coast Church Fuel 9/10 High School camp this past week. We were up at Lake San Antonio (in Central Coast California) from Saturday to Saturday. We were there as "photographers" - which meant we were on boats taking pictures of students of tubes, wake boards, wake skates, wake surf boards, etc from about 10am until about 5:30pm every day when the students were there. Before the kids got there we were helping set up the camp (putting up tents, terracing the hillside, staging the teaching area, etc) and making sure everything was able to run as smoothly as possible. 

The last few mornings we were there I decided to opt out of my morning run (I was getting up around 6am to get my runs in before the campers got up and before the heat set in) because I went out on boat runs to photograph the staffers. Thankfully I was able to talk Ryan into an evening run on Friday once we finished our slideshow so still got in 5 workouts while we were there. 

Don't Give Up!

Mumford & Sons - Hopeless Wanderer

""We are delighted to present you our new video for the song Hopeless Wanderer.

A massive pair of thumbs-up to Sam Jones for directing and his cast of young budding actors. We’re sure they all have bright futures a head of them.

http://po.st/HopelessWanderer

Much love,

Winston, Ted, Marcus & Ben x""