A New Half PR + a Giveaway!

Takin' care of some business:

1. I ran another half marathon yesterday. I was shooting for a PR. I got a PR. For the first time in, uh, ever, I never once looked at my Garmin during the race. While this was a great test of mental willpower, this kind of ended up screwing me over. I started too fast, I ended too slow. A PR is a PR no matter how small, I know, and there are some things I need to work on in regards to pacing. Moving on.

Oh, AND, for another first of this race, I didn't take a single picture before, during, or after the race! I didn't actually take a photo until we did some post-race grubbin'. And even then, I'm using Cate's photo because it turned out better. :)

Any day with Genki is a good day, race or no race!
Naomi, Courtney, me, Renee, RoadBunner, & Cate

Splits from the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon:

1: 7:27

2: 7:26

3: 7:48

4: 7:44

5: 7:45

6: 7:30

7: 7:33

8: 7:50

9: 8:01

10: 8:05

11: 8:03

12: 8:10

13: 8:07

.23: 7:54/pace

Garmin time: 13.23 miles, 1:43:16 -- 7:48 pace (7.7mph)

Official time: 13.1 miles, 1:43:19 -- a 52-second PR!

Average pace: 7:53 min/miles

Overall place: 1,025 out of 4,998

Gender place: 220 out of 2,491

A/G place: 46 out of 458

And that would mark half marathon #11.

2. A kind lady from PureFit nutrition sent me some samples of PureFit bars. They are high-protein, wheat-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, kosher, all-natural protein bars that actually sounded intriguing. I gave them a whirl -- even brought one to Maui with me -- and they are seriously not bad for sounding as boring as they describe themselves! The best thing about these bars is that they aren't coated in chocolate like many nutrition bars out there, so there's no worry about them melting or deforming in your pocket while working out (or having them turn into sludge in tropical atmospheres). The only negative I had about the bars was that they are a little on the chalkier side & made me kind of thirsty. Seriously not a big deal, though, since water is usually pretty available in the areas where I tromp around. I still have a few bars left & I want to give them away... so here is your chance.

3. I guess I hit 200 followers on here. While this is nice, I really don't know why you guys keep coming back to my blog! ;) As a thank you, I'm going to do a fun little sweepstakes where you are going to get more GU that you probably want (6 kinds of Roctane, including the re-released Island Nectar flavor and 2x 6 kinds of regular GU, including the coveted new Peanut Butter flavor!). I am going to throw some Nuun in there, too, just because I love that stuff and want to share the love. And for your chance to try the PureFit bars, I'll throw some in there as well. I also have a bunch of stickers & temporary tattoos that I'm going to force upon you, muhahaha. :)

FREE STUFF TIME!

Want to win this goodness? EASY!

1. Leave me a comment and tell me why you want free stuff! (1 entry)

2. Go ahead and give this sweepstakes some Twitter love -- tag me, @DiaryAvgRunner, so I can tell that you did. (1 entry)

Enter as many times as you want, because I feel like being CrAZzzY.

PEASY! I'll randomly pick/contact a winner next Monday, February 13th. Good luck!

*Legal jargon that I know I should do but don't know what to say. I'm doing this sweepstakes because I want to, not because anyone put me up for it. I got the PureFit bars in exchange for a review, but the opinions are my own. Everything I'm giving away in this sweepstakes I've paid for/acquired on my own, blah blah blah. U.S. entries only, please and thank you and enjoy!