Race Plans for 2015

I’m linking up with Patty from My No-Guilt Life, Erika from MCM Mama Runs, and April from Run the Great Wide Somewhere for Tuesdays on the Run. This week’s topic is 2015 Race Plans.

So far, I have my races planned through May and then one in September.

January: Frigid 5k. This is a small local race to get everyone motivated. I’ve never run it, but it’ll be a good experience, I’m sure.

February: Hale Freezes Over 5k or 10k. I’m not sure whether I’ll be running the 5k or the 10k, but I’ve run the race before. It’s put on by the Hale Center Theater, and all participants receive free show tickets in their swag. Pretty sweet, right? There’s delicious food at the start and finish, and it really just feels like a family event. 🙂 I can’t say enough good things about this race. And I’m running it with a lot of the Blister Sisters! We haven’t run a race together in a really long time, so that will be great!

Blister Sisters! — Blister Sisters at Moab’s Winter Sun 10k!

March: Rex Lee Run 5k or 10k. This is an annual local race that’s celebrating its 30th anniversary. This will be my third time running the race. It features a good course, a great price, and a huge raffle at the end. All in all, a great choice for me.

See? We do run together sometimes! Me and the Engineer

April: Pink Series 10k. This is an all-women race in a neighboring town. I’ve never run one of the Pink Series races, but I’m excited about it.

May: My first half marathon of the year! I’m still trying to decide which half to run, but I’m leaning toward a smaller race, the Alpine Half, on May 23–or my town’s local race, the Provo City Half Marathon, which is larger but earlier in the month (May 2).

– – No idea for June through August – – I’ll get back to you on that.

Then, of course, the Dumbo Double Dare the first week of September! Woo! Looking forward to this.

Fast forward to November. I’d really like to run my marathon in November, but I’m waiting on choosing one until I know where we’ll be living at that time.

I'm ready to #race in 2015! What are your race plans? @frenchfryrunner #running #goals Share on X

What race are you most looking forward to this year? Anyone in Utah running any of these races?

See my other races/recaps here.

We’re all mad here . . . #SweatPink

To kick off our #SweatPink #NoExcuses Challenge today, the whole Sweat Pink team is doing mad lib posts!

WANNA JOIN IN THE FUN? IT’S EASY! JUST…

Copy the madlib
Switch out the bolded text with your own answers
Tag 3 friends to share how they’ll make 2015 the year of #NoExcuses!

Hey 2015, it’s me Whitney @ French Fry Runner (nickname, spirit animal, real name, blog name)
This year I would like to eat better, get stronger, and stay injury-free!
It would also be super duper awesome if I also ran a marathon this year. It’s not a resolution, though, just a reminder to myself to try and have the best year yet because I deserve it!
The thing I am looking forward to most this year is moving to a new place.
I’ll use the one thing that truly gets me out of bed in the morning, which is a Chocolate Peppermint Stick LUNA Bar to help me get up, get groovin’ (verb) and get after my #NoExcuses 2015.
Speaking of excuses (ahem), my very favorite excuse is “I’m tired,” and I have used it to get out of doing chores and working out on more than a thousand (number) occasions.
I vow to move my body and be more healthy this year even if it means I have to go to sleep earlier.
Even if my alarm clock gets eaten by the dog in the middle of the night, I’ll still procrastinate waking up.
I will stop blaming the husband [ex: kids, dog, husband] for eating the rest of the chips and guacamole when everyone knows it was really me.
My tired muscles [job, hair, car, husband, kids] are not the reason I make excuses. I will show my tired muscles [same as before] who’s boss this year and get my BodyPUMP [type of sweaty activity] on.
I know that running [type of workout] is better than sitting and watching TV [noun].
I will reward myself by getting myself a cute new outfit.
No Excuses 2015 has just begun and already I am imagining myself a winner. I can’t wait to rock a Jazzy Open Back Tank (article of clothing) from Augusta Active. I can’t wait till my sweaty friends are jealous of how fresh, clean and bodacious (adj) I am between workouts with help from ShowerPill body wipes. I can see myself rocking tree pose [yoga pose / workout move] in new Rock the Course Leggings [article of clothing from Actio926] from Actio926 and looking fit and fly while doing it. And of course, I’ll be taking my workouts to the next level and improving my bicep tone [noun] with my new ActivMotion Bar to help me train for my next 10k [distance] race with Sasquatch Racing.
Oh, and let’s not forget how amazing my capris [article of clothing] will smell in my / during my race [favorite type of workout] after washing with some WIN Detergent. And lastly, I’ll keep rocking my 2015 with clean eats and nutrition from Beaming with Health!

Tag, Tweet, shout-out, call, text, fax or email 3 friends to take this survey and share how they will have a #NoExcuses 2015. Remind your friends to simply fill in the underlined parts!
Use the #NoExcuses hashtag and post to win prizes from Augusta Active, ShowerPill, ActivMotion Bar, WIN Detergent, Actio926, Beaming with Health, and Sasquatch Racing.

Today we were supposed to be planking for 30 seconds, but I went for 1:50 after yoga, the StairClimber, and the elliptical. Here’s the lovely (blurry) shot of my hot mess self. You’re welcome:

Wasn’t that fun? Won’t you join us this year for the challenge? Join HERE!

London: My Five Favorites

I’m linking up with Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC, Cynthia from You Signed Up for WHAT?!, and Mar from Mar on the Run. This week’s Friday Five theme is Five Things I Like about My Favorite City. To be honest, I have several favorite cities because I love to travel, but I thought I would highlight my favorite city I visited 2014: London, England. I was only there for 4 days, but it made a serious impression on me. I will be going back soon! A close second is Mainz, Germany. Gotta throw that in there. 🙂

Here goes:

Architecture (hello, Buckingham Palace!). I’m just amazed at the level of detail on all the buildings in London. None of them have that thrown-together, strip-mall feel.

Food! A lot of people say they don’t like the food in England, but there’s enough of a variety to make everyone happy. We had fish and chips a couple times, delicious Indian food, and so many toasties from Pret a Manger, a delicious UK fast food chain.

So much history! Everywhere you look in London, there are monuments, plaques, statues, or buildings that commemorate a historical event. We visited Westminster Abbey and were overwhelmed by the history–in a good way. We saw the coronation chair (or King Edward’s Chair), the chair in which all the monarchs from 1296 have been crowned. We also saw the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London, which was amazing. Another cool thing to realize is that American history and British history are the same until a certain point. It makes me feel more connected.

Activities and tourist stops. From the London Eye to the Tower of London to the rebuilt Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre to West End shows, there is so much to see and do in London. We had a blast dipping our toes into the culture that is thriving there.

Museums! Most of the museums in London are free, so we were able to go to a few, which was awesome. We went to the British Museum (hello, Rosetta Stone!), the National Gallery (Monet, van Gogh, and Rembrandt, oh my!), and the Victoria & Albert Museum (so cool!). We saw so much awesome art, exhibits, and displays, and just loved it.

I really could go on and on about London, and it’s hard to pick 5 of my favorite things. I will say this, though: if you haven’t taken the trip across the pond, do it. You won’t regret it.

Honorable Mentions

San Francisco, CA
Seattle, WA
Mainz, Rheinland-Palatinate, Germany
St. Louis, MO

What’s your favorite city? What draws you to that city?

Where are you traveling next?

Don’t forget to link up at You Signed Up for WHAT?!, Mar on the Run, and Eat Pray Run DC.