Race Recap: San Diego Santa Run 5k

San Diego Santa Run 5k -- My race recap!

 I think Christmas races are by far one of the most fun races of the year! Everyone loves getting festive and decked out in fun Christmas attire! The San Diego Santa Run 5k claims to be San Diego's most festive 5k and I think they are pretty right about that!!! Your registration to the 5k race includes a "Sunny Santa" outfit; hat, jacket, shorts, belt and beard! 

The Pacific Beach neighborhood in San Diego along with HP Movement hosts the run on it's main strip of restaurants, bars and shops. When you pick up your race bib you get a swag bag with not only your one size fits all Santa suit but with inserts for discounts at different places in PB! Oh and on your bib comes a drink ticket to be redeemed at one of the couple bars in the area, which is cool because after the race is over the Pacific Beach Holiday parade comes though so you can sit at a restaurant or bar and have brunch and enjoy the parade!

 Even though they gave me a Santa suit I opted to wear my own version of one! 

Check out my Santa suit race attire blog HERE!!

 

 Arriving the morning of the run you have got to get there early! There are 2000 plus participants and it quickly becomes a cluster of people! The run actually offers a couple different race options; 1 SPEEDY mile for a timed fast race, 1 mile FUN run for kids, 1 mile SANTAS little helpers for DOGS, the 5k TIMED and just for fun!! 

 I chose the 5k timed run which is an extra $3. I arrived late so ended up starting with the walkers on top of having the stroller so the idea of making a record time was out. All year I had been waiting to find a race where I could push Mia in the DOGGER stroller. I know that this race is pet friendly so I checked with race officials and loaded up Mia to join me in the run!!! 

Check out my blog about my DOGGER here!

 

 I bundled Mia up in a cute red Christmas sweater and put on a little dog Santa hat and Mia was a hit!! I really wanted her to wear these little reindeer antlers but she wasn't into it so little Santa it was! We dashed into the sea of Santas' and got lots of cheer from everyone we passed! Who knew the streets were so hilly until you are out there running up and down them!! Everyone seemed to have such a great time that the hills didn't even matter! 

 

 I will definitely do this run next year! The race day is fun for the whole family and you can make a really fun day out of it and get everyone into the holiday spirit!!!

Here are some more fun pictures from the run!

 

Race Attire: Santa Suit

Race Attire: Santa Suit

 

For the San Diego Santa Run 5k I decided to make my own cute Santa outfit! The HP Movement event actually gives you a full, one size fits all "Sunny Santa" suit, but while shopping at WalMart I came across the cutest set of Christmas pajamas! Each set came with a tank top and boy short bottoms! The PJ sets were; Snowman, Santa, Elf and Gingerbread Man!

 

The Santa set tank top would be perfect for a late morning run in sunny San Diego!! 

So boom I was set, then I thought my RED Sparkle Athletic skirt and RED sparkle visor would go perfect for the Santa theme !!

And socks !!! Socks can make a running outfit all come together so I finally got to break in my Pro Compression, Marathon Ugly Sweater Remix socks!!

Right now Pro Compression is having a sale where you can get 40% off your order plus free shipping with 

Coupon Code: YEAREND

Follow the link!!!

 

I ran this race with my dog and she rocked a cute Christmas sweater and Santa hat from our local PetSmart store !!! 

Till next years Santa Run!!! 

<3 Niki

Dogger Running Stroller

This is my personal review of the Dogger stroller! 

   So before you call me crazy let me explain! I am an animal lover and animal mother! My pets are my kids and they mean the world to me. My Mia is a 9 year old dachshund mix, she loves to be included in all things, Mia is very friendly and loves to get out of the house with me! So when I started my marathon training earlier this year I started feeling bad for Mia! I would go out to run errands, go on long training runs and be gone most of the day to just come home and be totally exhausted. Mia would be full of energy and ready to go to the park or on a long walk around the lake! Mia is a healthy girl and can totally keep up with me for a couple miles but there is no way she could be running 6,8 or 12 miles with me!
 One day I was browsing Groupon and saw a post for a dog stroller, this got me thinking and I decided to look into the idea! I knew if I was going to be running with the stroller I would need something suitable for different terrain (good wheels), easy to push and maneuver (well built, not too heavy), and something Mia would be comfortable in that could fold up and fit in the backseat of my car! A lot of stroller reviews said they were bulky and heavy and hard to transport or not easy to push when running or jogging. So one day I am walking through the mall and I see a lady pushing this stroller with her 2 dogs inside and I can just tell that the stroller is made of good quality material compared to the others I had looked into. On the front of the stroller I could see the word "DOGGER"  so I immediately pull my phone out and google search "dogger". I found a website of a company, Dog Quality based out of Canada, they specialize in products for senior dogs. Their saying is "Improving the Quality of Life for your Senior Dog" The dogger is a featured product that they carry and trade mark. After reading about the dogger and reading the testimonials I was sold, this stroller had everything I was looking for!!

http://dogquality.com/products/dogger

 So the stroller arrives and everyone thinks I am crazy and "There is no way Mia is going to ride around in that thing!" but nope I open the box up, do a quick and easy set up and boom Mia hops in!! I take her for a quick spin around the backyard and realize I had officially become that lady with her dog in a stroller! 

 The stroller is built well with strong suspension, even has shocks and breaks! The handle can be adjusted to comfort and comes with a drink holder! The basket itself has a removable pad, sun shade, a fully zippered inclosure with net and protection from rain and harness hooks! This stroller really has it all! 

 Now Mia is able to go with me on my long runs and just sit back and enjoy the wind in her face! You might think I am crazy but as long as Mia enjoys it and I get to spend more time with my old girl, then no one's opinion matters, right?!?!?!

 

Check out Dog Quality for more information on the DOGGER
Click here!!

San Diego South Bay Turkey Trot 2016

 See the gobble sock ... that's me in 2014, the first year this race was held !! 

 I've ran the San Diego South Bay Turkey Trot 3 years in a row. I've ran the 15k route each year so my review is based on that ! 

 San Diego has a few different races on Thanksgiving morning but I've chose this one each year because I like that they offer not only a 5k and 10k like most Turkey Trot's but ALSO a 15k!! It's not a huge race so getting out there super early to find parking and everything isn't necessary. 

 The race starts and finishes in a nice big park named Rohr Park, in Bonita. Lots of parking in the park, in a dirt field used for overflow parking and in a near by church parking lot. In the 3 years I've done the run parking, getting to the starting line, and using the restrooms have never been an issue. That type of stuff is important to me !! 

 The 15k runners start first, it's a bit of a cluster at the start as most are. The 15k splits off from the park and heads out across the street into a residential area. This is when the race gets challenging !!! You are headed up hill .. for what feels like forever and looking ahead all you see is uphill with no end !! I remember the first year I ran this race I was nowhere prepared for running hills and I struggled a lot ! Then just as you reach a turning point with a water station BOOM another hill, a bigger hill! At this point I'm asking myself why every year I choose this run !! 

My time gets better every year !! 

 My slogan for this run is "But WAIT!!! There's MORE!!" Because everytime you finish a hill, it seems like there is another around the corner. You are up up and up and when it is finally time to start heading back to the park, the finish line area it doesn't feel like your running down as much as you ran up !! But the run around the park area is nice and you turn your last turn and YAY the finish line !! 

 The website tells you if you are looking for an extra scoop of stuffing at dinner and you are a runner, that this fun, beautiful and CHALLENGING route is for you !! They aren't kidding about the challenge that those hills hold !! 

This is the elevation graph from my garmin !! 

 I do enjoy challenging myself so I guess that's why I sign up every year knowing the route !! I guess I feel less guilty after feasting at dinner knowing I burned the calories in the AM!! 

 We are quite lucky to live in Southern California where the temperature this year, once the sun came out was 70 degrees!! Everyone on Instagram doing Turkey Trot's look all bundled up and here we are in tank tops !! As I headed out the door on this morning it was chilly and I questioned my attire but as soon as the sun came out and we hit that first hill I knew I had chosen the right gear !! 

 This year there wasn't tons of costume dressed runners. Which I think dressing up makes any run more fun so that was a bummer. BUT.. I always try to throw something fun together so instead of going with the usual turkey theme, I picked my favorite part of thanksgiving the PIE !!! 

Check out my blog -  Running Attire: Turkey Trot 2016

Check out my costume blog to get more info on my gear!! 

 I walked away from this years Trot with not only a course PR and a finishers medal but a little trophy for Best Costume!!! The pumpkin pie hat was a hit !! I got tons of compliments along the course!! 

My mom said this was her favorite costume !!

 Hopefully I don't discourage anyone from this run but just pre warn you !! The run itself is put together really well by USA Endurance with help from lots of great volunteers! The Chula Vista Police are out directing traffic all along the course and I make sure to thank them and all the volunteers as I pass! 

"Run like a beast before you feast!"

  

Running Attire: Turkey Trot 🦃 2016

 
 For this years Turkey Trot I thought I'd do something different ! Everyone always wears turkey hats, headbands and tutus, so I thought why not do something different !! I didn't dress up as an Indian or a pilgrim either because that's not too original. I decided to go with my favorite dish at Thanksgiving dinner ... the pie !!!

  I quickly started googling pumpkin pie ! Found lots of pumpkin spice clothing then I scored !! I came acrossed a page called Tipsy Elves.com ! They had a couple really cute and fun tanks for men and women for Thanksgiving ! I got the Pie till I Die tank ! I signed up for their mailing list as a new shopper and got 15% off my first order so that was a plus!!

Super cute right!!! PS- I originally ordered a Medium, because their site says true to size. But it was way too big so I sent to back and ordered an XS and that fit me well!!

 The pumpkin hat was a super score!! I found it on Amazon.com and I think its pretty perfect! The hat got a lot of bad reviews actually but I gambled with the idea of how cool it would be so I ordered it anyway! Here is a link to the Amazon sellers page where I bought it; PIE HAT

 So the hat arrives, quick because I am an Amazon Prime crazy lady! It is big and as pictured except as the reviews say it is not all full as shown in the picture. The under part of the hat has a cut out for your head and it fit mine well but not so much my boyfriends head. I decided that I would go to a craft store and pick up some stuffing and fill the hat up and make it look like the picture! I really think you can't complain the hat cost under $10!! So I cut a small slit on the inside of the hat and stuffed it full and boom awesome hat!! I decided since I was going to be running I would wear a visor so i would pen the hat to the visor to assure that it would stay on, this worked out really well!!!

 Pumpkin Pie SOCKS!! YES!!! I actually got these a couple years ago for a turkey trot along with another pair that says Gobble Gobble! I found them at a site called the Sox Box! They have all sorts of different socks and nylons and fun stuff! Their socks are nice, thick and good quality so I really like them! Ive also gotten a could other pairs that have fun gym sayings!

 So 2016's Turkey Trot attire was a hit!! I even got a little trophy for having a great costume!! Till next year!! 

 

-Niki

   

I should have started a blog at the beginning of 2016!!

So I am super new to this whole world of blogging! I have ran so many races this year and the past few years, worn so many cute outfits and spent so much money on running gear and gadgets that I have so much to talk about !!! But like I said I'm new so your input, help and comments are welcome!! 

Where do I start ??? 🤔🤔🤔🤔 

I guess I will just start off with a little about where I'm at right now with 2016. 

I am currently a Rock n Roll Marathon 2016 Tour Pass holder, I've completed 7 race series weekends with RnR and next week I will run the last RnR race weekend of 2016 in San Antonio! 

I wish I would have planned out 2016 better and could have ran at least 10 races to get that awesome 10 Heavy Medal !! But there is always another year !! I didn't say next year because I need to save up to take that many RUNcations! 💸💸💸

I just ran my second ✌🏼️full marathon in Las Vegas last weekend and I'm running marathon 3️⃣ in January 2017 !! So you will for sure be seeing posts about that in the weeks to come ! 

 For the remainder of 2016 I have a couple more races planned and will be focusing on my game plan for 2017!!! I have a lot of personal reviews and thoughts on races, clothes, expos, running routes, gadgets and gear I can't wait to share everything with you !! 

- Niki - 

How this whole running ME got started!

 

This is ME!! Well it's me a few years ago ! It was 2013 and I was about to run my very first race, my first running event ! I had no idea what I was doing! I had just started running this year and wanted to challenge myself to do something I never had done. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and do something new! So I signed up for a half marathon, I had never even ran a 5k race before ! I read and read; people's blogs, looked for advice through Pinterest and found motivation on Instagram! Then race day came and I followed all my pre race instructions and boom I was at the starting line of the AFC Half Marathon in my hometown of San Diego ! I never had seen so many runners, I didn't know what a corral was I just knew my bib number and was told to line up over there to start ! Someone asked me how many half marathon's I had done and I told them this was my first, they hi-fived me and wished me luck ! Another runner asked if I was going for a new "PR" and I said this is my first run ! They too wished me luck ! I then pulled out my phone and googled the running term "PR"! Ok personal best, just finishing 13.1 miles seemed like a personal best I didn't care the time it took ! But anyways all the support and encouragement I received that day at the starting line was something I'd never forget ! That warm August morning in 2013 forever changed my life, my family cheered me on as I crossed my first ever finish line!! A new me was born, I was hooked! I became a runner !! 

- Niki -

. My first blog . 

Here are some other pictures from this race ! 

 

 

This one 👆🏼is my favorite! I look so happy !! And so does everyone around me !!

 

A moment I'll never forget!! Crossing that FIRST finish line!! Coming in HOT!!! 

 

Such a proud moment!! My family was all there to cheer me into the finish!