Five Things Friday!!

I have not done a five things Friday in a while so I decided today is the day! First off the winner of the knuckles lights is Sophie! Congratulations! You will love them so much! I do not have your last name so could you please email me or message me on facebook and I will get those to you ASAP! Also thank you to everyone who commented! I am overwhelmed by the number of you that entered! Now onto my five things! 

1. I was fortunate enough this week to get a number to the Shipyard Old Port Half Marathon in Portland Maine! I am beyond excited about this race. It was recently voted one of the 50 best half marathons in the U.S by the Daily Burn. The route takes you along Portland with views of Casco Bay, sailboats, lobster boats and anything else you would expect to see in a New England Fishing town! Oh and did I mention the Shipyard Brewing Company beer you get at the finish line (those that are 21 and older) So sign up for this race quickly, it will sell out and your don't want to miss out on the opportunity. It takes place July 13th and is bound to be one of the best races you run all summer!

Disclaimer: Although I was provided with a number all opinions are my own

2. There is less then a month until the Glass Slipper Challenge!!!!!!!! Do I need to say anymore I am beyond excited to head to Disney World with my mom. This will be my first race in Disney World and second runDisney race! I can't wait to add three more awesome medals to my collection!

3. I have been having major knee problems! Which brings me back to number 2! I have a race in less then a month two races to be exact so this knee better get in line, fast! I have been doing some major stretching as well as strength training which seems to help but I just want it to feel better because it is a serious pain (pun intended!)

4.I have signed up for the 14 in 2014 challenge. Click the picture on the side of my page under challenges to find out more! This is 14 races in 2014 they can be a mix of races 5k, 10k, Half Marathons whatever I feel like. I have 11 so far that I am planning on doing so now I need to fill in the rest! If you know of any cool races in the New England area comment below!

5. Lastly and I feel bad writing this but I am sick of the snow. Typically I LOVE the snow however this year it is really getting in the way of my running. It forced me to join a gym and I haven't been able to get my long runs in on the weekends because the sidewalks are packed with snow and I am afraid to run on the street. I am ready for spring and I am ready for daylight savings!

QOTD: What races should I sign up for this year!?!?

Knuckle Lights Review and Giveaway!!!!

So running this time if year is very difficult for me. When I get up in the morning it is dark out and when I come home from work it is also dark out. I have used a headlamp for years but felt it never worked the way I wanted it to. I was recently given a pair of knuckle lights and let me tell you these babies are awesome!!! I have heard about them for a while now and was so excited when I was sent a pair!

First off a little bit about knuckle lights....they were developed in 2010 buy a guy named Dan Hopkins. He was training for a half marathon running at night and running with a headlamp just wasn't cutting it. He then decided to wrap his headlamp around his hands and use them as "knuckle lights". He then developed the official knuckle lights and they took off from there!

They come in three colors blue, silver, black, yellow and pink. They are adjustable so can fit over your small hands large hands or if you are wearing gloves or mittens you can adjust them so they will fit over those as well, and they are super comfortable. The lights go on in three settings fully on, slightly dimmer and then flashing. I like to keep them on full power! The button to change the light setting is in between your pointer finger and thumb so easy to change if you want while your running. They also come with batteries which is a major plus! 

So enough about how they look lets talk about how much I love them! These are amazing and so bright! Extra bonus you don't have to wear them around your head and get a head ache half way through your run. I love that these are so incredibly bright! You can see the road so well in front of you to see if there is a pot hole or something in the way or the biggest thing for me right now...ICE. I think because they are lower to the ground everything is brighter. Also cars can see them better because they bounce around when you swing your arms. The last thing I love about them is that if you hear something in front of you off to the side you can point your knuckles in that direction to see if there is anything there instead of moving your head all over the place. This is a major plus for me because every tree or mailbox I see I am paranoid it is a person who is after me or some kind of wild animal (I was chased by a fox for about a half mile one time so I like to know what is going on around me.)

If you run in the dark you must get these! They are amazing I can not say enough about them! Luckily I was provided with an extra pair to give away to one of you! Here is how to enter to win them.....

1. Comment below with a funny night running story

2. Like me on Facebook!

3. Follow me on Twitter!

Winner will be announced on Wednesday January 22nd!

Disclaimer: Although I was given a pair of knuckle lights, these opinions are my own.

Reflecting back on 2013......

What a year this has been.....For the first time in a while I can say without a doubt that I accomplished what I wanted to this year plus some! Top five best parts of 2013 were drum roll please...........

1. Running my first half marathon........ The goal all along for 2013 was to run one and only one half marathon. I smashed that record and ended up running FIVE! For those who knew me prior to running any of these know that I said I would NEVER run even one half let alone five and become addicted! I am beyond excited that I completed all these and have some on the race calendar for 2014!

2. Creating my Blog....I have wanted to write a blog for a long time but always thought I was going to sound dumb or would have nothing to say or no one would read it. Not to mention sometimes my grammar isn't right (English was not my strong subject in school!) However shortly after deciding to run a half marathon I thought I should document my races that way I can go back and remember things from reading my blog that I may have forgotten. Also to inform other on races I have run that they might be interested in. I got over the fact that maybe no one would read it and now it is more then I thought it would be!

3. Moving in with My Boyfriend....now I know generally my blog is all about running and my dogs and not so much my personal life however this was one of my top five in 2013. For those who know me and Luke know it has been a roller coaster ride since day one many ups and downs (mostly ups) but always a blast. We finally made the decision to move in together at the end of the summer, it was a move in the right direction!

4. Getting to do makeup professionally! If you had started reading my blog in the very beginning I did a lot of makeup reviews until running completely took over! However this year I started doing make up for weddings! With help from my friends I made this happen! This is something that I love to do and wish I could do all the time! It is something I hope to continue to do more of in 2014.

5. Adding to my little dog family! You all know I am crazy about my sweet little Bella. But we recently got another boy Chihuahua Cody.  He is as sweet as can be and is so good for Bella! She is still getting used to him but we are taking it one day at a time. I may be a bit obsessed with my dogs but they are just the cutest things and I can't get enough of them!

I also want to thank all of you for reading my blog, it means more to me then you will ever know!

I hope everyone has a great 2014 and this year brings you everything you want and more!