Giveaway Winner & Vacation Memories

The winner of the Scape Sunblock giveaway was #121 Patti L! Congrats, Patti. Email me at brisdon@comcast.net with your address and I’ll send it right out to you!

Now onto the good stuff. I am so glad to be out of the traveling turd RV. Don’t get me wrong. I love my family. But, I could have been in that RV with Jesus and would have gotten sick of him. If my children are close enough to me at night that I can throw a shoe and hit them, it’s too tight of quarters.

25 feet gets really small really fast 

We did make lots of memories, however.

Number of times I walked across this suspension bridge at the Royal Gorge: 1

 

Number of times I looked down between the slats at the river 1,200 ft. below wondering if that day was the day the bridge would finally collapse: 49

Number of times Ken ran into a tree and took off the passenger side mirror: 1

Number of dollars to fix the mirror: $600

Number of times I crapped in the RV: 3

Number of times we emptied the sewage and felt the warm contents moving through the hose (at least I have my Life is Good shirt on. Oh, the irony): 4

Number of miles I ran: 12

Number of mountain passes I drove over in the traveling turd (guardrails optional): 3

Number of times I threatened to put my nine year old in a time out in a camping chair with no food or water or books: 1

Number of times I actually did it: 0

Number of bottles of wine I drank: 2

Number of times I counted my blessings: 5,234

Some of my clearest and most fond memories growing up involve family vacations. My parents loved to rough it. Once we did a cross country road trip from Maryland to Montana for a month and slept in a tent the whole way. That was the trip my sleeping bag caught on fire with me in it. 

I have found that the best memories are not made when everything is perfect. They are created when things don’t go quite right, when there is some challenge involved, when we move outside of our comfort zone. Our senses hold on to those experiences with an intensity that lasts throughout the decades.

Two weeks ago a friend’s mom found out she had cancer. She died this morning. I am reminded about the brevity and preciousness of life. I am reminded to hold on and to make it a wild and memorable ride. I am reminded to never let fear stop me from doing anything. And mostly I am reminded to love.

What’s your favorite/funniest childhood vacation memory?

Wet T-Shirt Contest

The training schedule dictated 12 miles this morning, so that’s what I did. I do what I’m told.

It’s a great day to run in the Rocky Mountains! One of my favorite long runs is an out and back that heads west towards the foothills. It is up hill the whole way out with an elevation gain of about 500 feet. Not the steepest, but a good workout none the less.

This is a view from my house this morning since I didn’t have my camera on the run. That distant mountain is Longs Peak, one of Colorado’s 14,000 foot mountains. It’s only without snow in late July and August. Told you it was a good day to run around here.

 

I have to add this one too taken on a hike last week. Just ‘cause it’s so gorgeous!

At my start time of 7:00 a.m. it was cool and sunny. Perfect running weather. I clogged the toilet before I left, but still had to visit the weeds on the way out. Thank God for country roads that are sparsely travelled. At the six mile turn around I refueled with some strawberry GU chomps, stuck in the iPod (on long runs I usually only use it for the second half) and started for home. Being slightly downhill, the way back is so much easier and I always feel like I’m flying.

At 9.5 miles I stopped at the country store with the bathroom tip jar (I’ve left many a tip for many a load left there. Surely not enough to cover Lysol or plunger costs) and got some more water. I cruised home for a final time of 1:46. Average pace 8:53. Total miles for the week: 29.5.

Ken was on the porch reading the paper. I walked out and he informed me how see-through my running tank was. It’s white and I’ve never thought it was see-through before. Then again, by the end of the run it was soaked with sweat and we all know what happens to white stuff when it gets wet. Ever been to a t-shirt contest? Don’t go zooming in to see the evidence:

Could be worse. It’s not like it was this or anything. Man her daughter is giving her the stink eye, as if to say, “Seriously mom? You’re going out in public like that? Just cause you’re famous doesn’t give you the right to be ridiculous”.

I wore the booty shorts today:

I think this is possibly the most flattering picture ever taken of me. Except for this one when my face blew up due to some  reaction to some unknown allergen:

Fortunate for me I have really good friends who doctor pictures to add insult to injury:

Ken and I just signed up for the Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon on August 14th. Who’s in?

Tomorrow is blast off for our family RV trip. Pray for me.

Don’t forget my Scape Sunscreen Giveaway!

Subway Winners and Scape Sunscreen Giveaway!

I know. I know. It’s been giveaway central around here. It’s fun to give away things that I don’t have to buy. Better yet that these are goods that I can confirm are beneficial for us runners and couch potatoes alike.

The three winners of the Subway $10 gift cards are:

1. Emz from If I Can’t Convince You Maybe I’ll Confuse You. I love this girl. All heart and soul. She is a crazy speedy runner going for her 3:23 marathon PR. She is ab central. She has legs up to her eyebrows. She could use a good meal (just kidding, but you are one slim chick).
2. Kim from To Dream the Kimpossible Dream. This lady has lost 106 pounds since March 2009. I know. Talk about determination and motivation. Kim you look incredible. If you haven’t yet visited her webpage, do so. She has this really cool slideshow that takes you through her weight loss milestones.
3. P from the Adventures of an Average Athlete.  P is a mom, wife and very strong runner and cyclist. She struggles with stomach issues like me, so we are soul sisters. Only her stomach issues involve vomiting profusely during marathons. Remind me to not run downwind from P.

Congrats ladies. Email your home addresses to brisdon@comcast.net and I will visit you late in the night with a machete have the cards sent out to you!!

Remember that SCAPE sunscreen review I did a couple weeks back? I loved RunnuRMark’s comment: “What? The cheap bastards didn't give you a second set to give away? Boo.”

Well, Scape has come through! Not only did they send me a bunch of their lip balm since that was my fave, but they gave me a pack of good stuff to giveaway:

4 oz bottle 30+ SPF Sun block,  50+ SPF face stick, 50+ SPF lip balm – a $30 value!

To enter:

• Leave a comment telling me why you MUST HAVE this stuff. Do you sweat a lot and it runs into your eyes? Perhaps you have a bald head. Maybe you, like me, have herpes simplex and need lip protection. Or possibly you are just cheap and like free things +1 entry
• Leave a comment with a story about the worst sunburn you ever had. Feel free to include peeling, blistering and crying + 1 entry
• Become a follower if you’re not already. Or if you are let me know +1 entry
• Talk about this giveaway on  your blog and leave a comment telling me +1 entry
• Become a friend of Scape on FB  and leave a comment telling me +1 entry

Make sure each comment is separate so you get credit!

Giveaway will end July 16. Good luck.

Fine print: Scape gave me the products for this giveaway free of charge.

Summertime Product Review: SCAPE Sunscreen

Three. That’s the total number of followers I lost this weekend. Was it something I said? Do you not like bats? Did I say the word crotch too many times? Maybe you moved to Siberia and cancelled your account. Maybe you were so addicted to my blog, you though it best to cut me out cold turkey.

Whatever the reason I am going to beat myself up about it all day. I don’t like to lose you. Any of you.

On to a review.

SCAPE Sunscreen

Those dudes as ScapeLabs, makers of the ultimate athlete sun block, sent me some sunscreen to try out: SPF 50 sun block, lip balm and a face stick.

I’m going to be honest here. To me, sunscreen is sunscreen. As long as I get a good SPF, I’m golden. I never really thought about one product being superior to another. In my younger years I used baby oil and that seemed to work just fine to get me my base burn for the summer. Once I peeled off those layers of dead skin and melanoma, I was ready for some serious tanning.

I’ve matured in my later years and have slowly progressed from Hawaiian Tropic Oil to SPF 4 and now I’m sitting at SPF 50. I like my SPF rating to be close to my age. If they had SPF 43 I would get it in a heartbeat

The Scape products came just in time for my triathlon. Handy because I would be needy something water proof and this stuff is apparently 5 times more waterproof than anything on the market. I slathered this stuff on like no one’s business. And guess what? It did not run in my eyes, even after taking off my goggles and getting out of the pool. Just like they promised!! As for protecting from the sun, it did a great job of that too.

By far my favorite is the lip balm. Do you know how hard it is to find lip balm in an SPF 50? You don’t know this about me, but back in the 9o’s I contracted a nasty case of Herpes Simplex. The kind on your lips, not the other. Basically it’s just a glorified name for ugly cold sores that take two weeks to go away and make you look like a freak. Nowadays, I have to be use major SPF on the lips or I get a crusty breakout (nice visual, eh?). I make my kids wear it too. They loved the Scape because it goes on smoothly and tastes like lemonade. It’s my new favorite balm.

As for the face stick – this stuff is ultra convenient, again the kids loved it. It goes on smooth and evenly and comes in very handy when I’m in a hurry to just get some stuff on my face.

Coolest thing of all about this product (and something lots of other sun blocks cannot boast): it is made to last all day, through swimming and sweat, with no need to re-apply.

Now for the bottom line: cost.

4 oz bottle sun block = $14.99

Lip balm: $3.50

Face stick: $11.99

This price is right on par with other higher end sunscreens such as Neutrogena. The fact that you don’t have to reapply is a bonus and a money saver. If you really count your cents, however, there are much cheaper options out there like Bullfrog and Coppertone. But, do keep in mind the reapplication factor.

Scape can be purchased at www.trisports.com.

I’d give this one a thumb’s up in terms of ease of use, product quality and product benefits .  On the downside, it is costly, especially when you factor in shipping.   While I might not buy the sunscreen due to cost, I’m all over the lip balm at $3.50 a shot!

 

Scape sent me these products for free for me to try and to review. I paid nothing for them.