Tips on Getting Back to the Grind.......

So since today is a snow day here on good old Cape Cod and I am stuck in the house and not going out for a run I have decided to write about how I got back on the wagon and started running again giving you all some tips to get back at it! 

Part of the reason I stopped blogging was because I stopped running. For those of you who read my blog before, running was pretty much my life and what I wrote about most of the time. Without getting into the nitty gritty I had a few things going on in my life and had to take a step back from some things in order to focus on other things....running being the biggest thing I stopped doing, I just didn't have the time. Anyway moving forward I am back at it and wanted to give you some tips and tricks that have helped me!  

1. Schedule and schedule far out!

I am someone who needs to know workout wise what my week looks like. In the past and currently I print out a calendar of the year and just schedule out my runs months in advance. I like to use the website Cool Running to get my mileage back up to where I want it. They have training schedules for all distances as well as for all levels beginner, intermediate or advanced, the website also offers many other great tools! I highly recommend it! If you are not into running schedule what you are doing on what days! 

2. Set a goal! 

For me I set a goal race. I will schedule shorter races in here and there but I will always set a specific race that I am training for. Once I get to the race date from there I will re-evaluate my running calendar and set a new goal race. This just keeps you on track and your mind in the state that you need to keep up your training in order to finish what you have set your mind to! If running isn't for you set a goal as to something you want to finish. Whether it is a specific workout schedule that is a month long your goal would be to finish that month or four week program. I just find I need something that I am working towards.

3. Know what works for you and your body.

Know what work out is for you. If you are doing something that your not enjoying or you aren't finding are best for you then change it. For myself I know that if I do something that is strictly aerobic it is not for me. I bulk up too much and that is not what I am looking for. I want my body to be lean, still muscular but lean muscle. For me running does this. I will mix in some abs and arms but doing any type of leg work outs or squats are just not for me. Once you find out what works best for you working out will become more fun! 

4. Get in the right mind set.

Set your mind to it and you will be able to do it. Yes this sounds corny however if you are mentally not there the workout is going to stink. Its all mental so tell yourself you can do it and you will! 

5. A bad day is only one bad day.

Working out isn't always fun I will admit sometimes when I am running it sucks! I want to give up but it's only one day. I know the next days run will not be that way, well it might but odds are it will be better. Remind yourself that if one day it is hard it is only making you stronger. If every workout was easy you probably wouldn't be getting much out of it right? 

Lastly.....

6. HAVE FUN! 

Have fun during your workouts! Listen to your favorite music, or go outside and do your workout if you always do it inside. Ask a friend if they want to join you, change a running route. Make changes in your workout so its fun and different! 

I hope I have inspired you to set a goal and get back at it! Leave a comment down below of what gets you motivated! 

I am back......

Hello all, I am back after almost a two year hiatus I have decided to get back to my blogging (roaring applause 👏 ) I know I know you have missed me but a lot had happened/changed in my life in the last few years. I am happy that I still have a small following, thanks for those who have stuck around I know the silence has been deafening however I am back and ready to BLOG! 

In the past I was primarily a product/race/running blogger, things are going to change a bit. I am still going to do both, fewer race recaps but there will still be some in there. Some product reviews for runners/athletes/makeup junkies (Anyone want to send me something to review send it along!) I will also be blogging about getting back into working out/ getting married/ changing careers and much much more. I am even going to start doing cupcake/dessert blogs! Things are getting wild people!

Bare with me as I get back into the grove, I am thinking of starting on a schedule of three times a week starting with Tuesdays, Thursday and Sundays and maybe a few random posts in between! So for all of you that are still reading, buckle up it is going to be a fun ride! 

In true fashion I will now leave you with a an adorable photo of my two fur babies! 

Leave a comment below if there is anything you would love me to blog about and if you are still reading! Bueller......Bueller....

The Magic Pads....They really are Magic!

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to try out a product called The Magic Pads. I had heard a bit about these and they seemed to be amazing and I was  incredibly eager to try them.

Here is just a little bit about them straight from their website...

 "The Magic Pads are the world's newest and most revolutionary product illuminating the road to more perfect skin! The pads are designed to organically destroy acne, clear blemishes, smooth and tighten skin, shrink pores, exfoliate, tone, clarify and hydrate in one swift swoop of a swipe"

Now that is a lot to live up to! Theses pads are also full of great ingredients and are 100% cruelty free, 100% vegan, and  99% organic.  They are also the #1 selling glycolic product on Amazon! All of this information you can learn from the website however. 

Now for the elephant in the room, how did I like them you ask....Well I LOVED them! After researching the website and reading all of the testimonials on them I thought no way these are as good as they say. Let me tell you they lived up to the hype. They are absolutely amazing!

Lets talk about my skin a little. I have some what oily skin, I wouldn't say I get many pimples just a few here and there around my chin area. I also sometimes have redness on my cheeks and they are not as smooth as I would like them to be. Once I started using these pads all of that went away. After only a few days of using these all of that cleared up and not one blemish popped up anywhere. I am talking no zits, no pimples, NOTHING my skin was just  incredibly smooth. The bumpiness on my cheeks completely gone, everything cleared up that was there. It was amazing and my face felt great! 

As for how I used them, just one a day at night after I took a shower and washed my face. You can use two a day, one in the morning and one at night or one every other day, whatever works best for you. They never made my face sting or feel uncomfortable they just made it feel clean. The big thing for me was when I got out of the shower and used them they got even more makeup off my face which I thought was incredible. I use an all natural face wash that is great at getting all my makeup off but somehow these pads found more makeup in my pores and got it out! I honestly can't live without them now!

The pads come 50 to a container and they are only $19.95! Do yourself a favor and hurry up and buy some I am telling you, you won't regret it! Right now through May 10th you can get FREE US shipping through The Magic Pads website and HALF OFF international shipping! I can promise you will be hooked!

"Dislcaimer: Although I was provided with this product all opinions are my own"

Zooma Cape Cod!!!!

So during my blogging hiatus I found out some very exciting news! I was accepted to be an ambassador for Zooma Cape Cod! This is a race that I had found out about a few years ago and had eagerly wanted to be a part of it! The year I first learned about it, it just wasn't going to fit into my race schedule but I am very excited that this year I will be running! 

A little bit about this race series...first off this is an all women's race series! The race locations include Cape Cod, Texas, Napa Valley, Annapolis and Florida. They have varying race distances half marathons being the longest and some have 12k's, 10k's and 5k's. Check the location you are interested in to see what is offered. These races are sponsored by some great companies as well! All in all these races are amazing and you should check them out!

I have a special code for you all to receive 10% off any of the Zooma races! Use code KARA15! These races have a cap and fill up fast so make sure to register soon! 

If you have any questions regarding the race feel free to leave a comment below! Also if you are registered let me know!

I can't wait to see some of you there!!!

Top Ten Tips for Running Princess Marathon Weekend!!!!!

Last year was my first year running during Princess Half Marathon weekend however was not y first RunDisney weekend. Here are my top ten tips/thing I wish I had done to make the best of your race weekend!!!!!

1. Plan your days ahead of time!- For me this was key! Don't just wing it, my Mom and I had an idea of where we were going at all times whether we were going to the expo, restaurants, rides, parks everything we knew where we were going even before we got to Florida. This seems like a no brainer but it helps so much especially when you are not staying for a long period of time. Also when planning don't cram too much into one day. I was running the Glass Slipper Challenge but still wanted to get as much park time in as I could as well as resting as much as I needed. We made sure we knew exactly where we were going and when we were going so that we could make the most of the trip. The magic bands really help with this now as you can make all your restaurant reservations ahead of time as well as get all of your fast passes, and changes thing on the app as needed.

2. Leave enough time at the expo- If this is your first runDisney race in Florida make sure your have enough time to go through the expo thoroughly.  We had certain booths we wanted to go to but we also wanted to see what else there was. We had only been to expos in Disneyland and we knew this one was going to be larger so we wanted to take our time going through. We went to the expo the day we arrived and left that entire day open to relax do the expo and not be rushed. Keep in mind if you are with people who are not running or interested in running don't make the expo a main priority unless they will be doing something else while you are there. 

3. Bring your bib around to the parks!- I didn't do this but so wish I had! Bring your bib around to the parks and have the princesses sign it! I saw so may pictures of this after I ran and was so jealous that I didn't do this. It is such a great idea especially if you are going to frame it after or make a shadow box with your medal and pictures! Do it I promise you will not regret it! 

5. Buy a Tiara!- Bring a tiara with you to wear! I didn't think I would want to wear a tiara during the weekend in fact I am pretty such my Mom and I had talked about it and decided there was no way we were wearing one. Yeah as soon as we got there and everyone had them on we couldn't even stand how cute they were and wanted to have one so badly! We were constantly looking at them in the stores in the parks but they were so expensive we decided next time we were there during that weekend we would wear them! So just buy a cheap one before you go and stick it in your bag I can assure you that you will be wearing it in no time!

6. Go to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique!-  Go and ask for some pixie dust they will sprinkle pixie dust (AKA Glitter) all over your head if you are a runner or ran. We went after the half marathon and even though it took days and I mean days to get off my scalp I would do it again! This is another thing just do it, its such a special weekend and so girly and filled with magic just add a little pixie dust ok!

7. Don't Pack Anything but Running Clothes!- We have done runDisney weekends where we packed normal clothes and dresses and all that business but wearing running clothes and sneakers or comfortable sandals is the way to go. We packed cute running clothes and maybe one sun dress for this weekend and I will tell you it made things so much easier and more comfortable. After running so much during the weekend and having such a jam packed weekend of park hopping and such I just wanted to be comfortable. Everyone else is going to be wearing the same thing so don't think you will look out of place. 

8. Where your Medals with Pride!- Wear your medals for as long as you are there! When else are you going to wear that amount of bling around! Where it with pride whether you run the 5k, 10k, Half or all three! You earned it show it off!

9. Don't go for a PR!- Unless you want to! These races are so much fun and have so many things going on take it all in. If you want to stop to take a picture stop to take a picture don't worry about your time. Also you pay so much to run them get your moneys worth!  

10 Lastly HAVE FUN!- Don't let anything bring you down during this race weekend enjoy yourself and have a blast! The weekend will go by so quickly so take it all in and embrace your inner Princess!

To read my race recap from last years Princess Half Marathon Weekend Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3! 

QOTD: Do you have any tips you would like to add? Comment down below!

Big Changes!!!

Hello everyone! I know if has been sometime since I last posted but I have been making some big changes in my life and needed to take a small break from blogging to figure some things out with myself!  
I started this blog about two years ago, I had always wanted to write a blog but never knew what to write about or even if anyone would read it. I started off with reviewing makeup and then I slowly turned it into pretty much just a running blog and it took off from there. Over the last few months I was getting bored with it. I found it more of a job to write posts instead of something I was enjoying doing. I was feeling like the posts were sounding all the same as well and I didn't like that. I wanted to post more and on a more regular basic then I was but I was having trouble coming up with content that were strictly running related so I just kind of stopped posting. Lets just say I got burnt out! However I am back now with new ideas and ways to make my blog more personal and exciting! I want to go into more of my life rather then just my running life! There will still be workout and running related content but I will be adding in some makeup and beauty things along the way maybe even some cupcake recipes! I will also be posting hopefully two to three times a week maybe more!

Thank you to those who are still reading and stuck with me during my long hiatus! I have some exciting things going on that I want you all to know about! If there is anything you are interested in me writing about leave me a comment below I love to hear from you all!

Next up I will be a post about tips for running during Princess Half Marathon weekend, I know running related but it will be a bit more then that! So I hope you will stick around and keep reading! But for now I am back and excited to take this blog to higher levels!

The Fitness Game Review!

A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity through Sweat Pink to try out and review the new app called The Fitness Game. I was eager and excited to try this out as I had a feeling it was going to be fun. I am still playing with it and don't know all the ins and outs of the app but I have a pretty good idea of the basics and I am really loving this app so far. Let me first give you a little run down on the app....

 

So this app basically takes working out and social media and turns it into a game for you. You can connect with people and challenge them to do workouts with you or dare I say against you. You have the ability to create your own work out or you can choose from workouts that are on the app. You can choose from cardio to strength training to full body training and cross training.

 

 

Now like I said I am still playing and messing around with this app but I will share with you some of the major things in it I liked. I chose to do several of the cross training workouts. From just looking at the list of things you needed to do during the workouts you thought "oh this isn't going to be that bad"...yeah I couldn't walk for two days after doing some of them. So what the workout looks like is it give you a list of the exercises you have to do and how many to do and how many reps to do. When you start it starts a timer, you can pick to challenge one of your friends, challenge someone near by, challenge yourself or challenge worldwide. This is the game aspect of it and then you get to work. The other thing that is great is if you are not sure of what something is you tap it and it gives you a few pictures of that specific move and a short few second video demonstrating. See pictures below.

 

 

 

The next things I really liked about this app was the full body workout section. I didn't have a chance to use it but it will come in handy when day light savings comes around and I am back at the gym. This gives you a full body workout using gym equipment with photos and videos of each move as well. This part alone would make people want to get this app. I mean how many times have you gone to the gym and been completely intimidated by all the machines perhaps staring at them thinking how on earth am I going to use that. And we all know those pictures that are on the side of the machines sometimes trying to explain what to do don't help at all. This section of the app will be great to help people concur their fear of gym equipment and get a full body workout in as well!

 

Also in this app you can post pictures of your workout or gym selfies for your friends to see. You can also see how other people you have connected with are doing and challenge them to an activity. Really the things in this app are endless. The more I play with it the more I find out. I encourage you all to go and download this and try it out for yourself!

 

QOTD: Do you have this app? If so what is your favorite part of it????

 

Disclaimer: I was given the opportunity to try this app out through Sweat Pink Fit Approach, however all opinions are my own.