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October 29, 2013

Marathons & Pumpkins & Custom Shoes, Oh My!

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I feel like the next month is all about marathons. Over the weekend, I enjoyed cheering on friends running the Marine Corps Marathon here in DC. If you ran, a big congratulations! I’m proud of you. 🙂

marine corps marathon mile 26

Matt and I cheered at the beginning and the end of the race – first at mile 2, and then later on at mile 25.5ish. It was so inspiring watching everyone. I can’t wait until it’s my turn in 3 weeks in Richmond. 🙂

Also, I wanted to give some love to the behind the scenes heroes of the race: the volunteers. After cheering at mile 2, Matt and I went and got coffee and strolled around, looping back towards the course, which meant we got a front row view of the clean up crew dealing with the aftermath of the first water stop.

marine corps marathon water stop clean up

I’ve done so many races but I’d never had this perspective before! It really made me appreciate the volunteers (at this race, they were a combination of military and boy scouts) even more than I already did. It was also crazy to see all the clothes everyone had thrown away – this spot was at the top of a big hill and everyone must have been overheated enough to toss their gear, because there were hundreds of gloves, shirts, jackets, etc. strewn about. I sure hope they all got donated and not thrown away! It will be fun to spectate the NYC marathon this coming weekend, too! All marathons, all the time, apparently.

I have running on the brain so much that on Friday night, we carved pumpkins with friends… and I bet you can guess which one is mine. 😉

IMG_4613

I normally just carve a basic jack-o-lantern style pumpkin, but this year I decided to get creative. I love how it came out! I just Googled “running girl”, found a graphic I liked in Google Images, and drew a version of it on my pumpkin. I used the lines I drew as a guide for cutting.

pumpkin carving party

Thanks to our friends Lauren and Steve for having us over for the fun carving party (and dinner)! And congrats to Lauren for rocking a new marathon PR on Sunday at the MCM!!

IMG_4607

By the way, this is completely unrelated but if you’re in the D.C. area and you’re a CrossFit fan, mark your calendars for the Wade’s Army fundraiser workout on Saturday, November 9th at CrossFit DC.

Wade's Army Social Media1

This is the second year of the Wade’s Army workout, put on by the CrossFit Football crew, which supports the fight against the pediatric cancer Neuroblastoma in remembrance of Wade DeBruin, Sept. 22, 2009 – Nov. 12, 2011. Matt and I won’t be able to join for the workout this year (we did last year!) because it’s the week before my marathon, but we’ll be donating. I hope some of you will consider joining for the workout and/or donating to this great cause, too, even if you can’t make it out on the 9th. Check out Team CrossFit DC’s Wade’s Army Page for more information! And here’s the workout, which is the same one we did last year. It’s hard but fun:

‘WADE’
Complete 5 rounds:

50 lbs One Arm DB Power Snatch – 11 reps
50 lbs One Arm DB Thrusters – 12 reps
Pull Ups w/ the 50 lbs DB – 11 reps

Continuing this random post, while I’m speaking of CrossFit… did you know that Reebok has an option on their website to design your own shoes?

crossfit_nano_speed_custom

As part of my ongoing partnership with Reebok, I was lucky enough to receive a gift card this month to design my own shoes on their site. Fun!

reebok_custom_shoes

The first thing you do on their design your own shoe page is to select a type of shoe! You can choose between a ton of their different shoes for all sorts of activities, including their CrossFit Nanos and Nano Speeds, their running shoes, my old favorites the RealFlex Scream, and more. Once you’ve picked your shoe, it’s time to design! You can either start from scratch with a totally blank colored shoe (seen above), or you can start with a color base design and simply customize it. I decided to go from scratch!

I chose the CrossFit Nano Speeds, and you can literally customize the color on every inch of them, from the sole to the lace eyelets to the sock lining and more. You can also add customized text on the back if you want!

reebok_custom_shoes_nano_speed

The site is really easy to use and they offer a ton of colors, too. You can also save your creation and come back later to finish it, which I loved since I tend to have the attention span of a kitten.

Wait, what was I talking about? 😉 Juuust kidding.

I decided to go for a gray/black/pink/yellow/blue theme. Here’s my final creation! I love how it came out.

final_custom_shoes

I’ll do a full review of the design your own shoe website/product when the shoes arrive (they take about a month or so to make it to you once you order them), and I’ll also be sharing a giveaway so one of you can win a gift card to design your own shoes. Stay tuned! This would be a great Christmas gift idea, don’t you think? In case you’re wondering – the color customization adds about $25 or so to the base price of the shoe model you pick. Not too bad considering you can make it exactly how you want it!

Time to get back down to work. I know I don’t talk about it much on here, but my AnneTheRD business is still going really well! I’ve been doing a mix of private client nutrition counseling work as well as some corporate wellness presentations and health fair staffing. Last week, I worked at a health fair as the dietitian on behalf of a healthy food service company. The picture below is of my table (the idea was all the company’s, not mine, but I loved it)! Passerbys had to guess the names of the greens in order to be entered into a raffle, and once they came over to me, that was my opportunity to talk to them more about the nutrition in each of the greens, share some recipes we had printed out using them, and talk about the food service company’s healthy initiatives in the cafeteria at their office, too.

guess_the_greens

Can you guess all the greens? Most people did well with 1 to 3 but had trouble with 4 to 6! 🙂

Anyway! Every work day is different, which is perfect for me, and I’m so happy to be doing something I love. I also have a new and exciting sports nutrition related partnership starting soon – I’ll share more details once it’s all finalized!

Have a great day, my friends! And stay tuned – I have a new recipe coming at ya tomorrow! For a sneak preview, check out the picture I posted this morning on Instagram. 🙂

—

Some Other Things of Note Today:

  • “Why are there more runners in D.C.? It’s not where we are, it’s who we are.” – via the Washington Post
  • “25 Things Non-Runners Don’t Get About Runners” – I especially love #7. Lol!
  • “Time To End the War Against Saturated Fat?” – via the Los Angeles Times. (Yes, yes it is.)
  • Because it’s never too early for stocking stuffer ideas: I came across these Exercise Cards on Kickstarter and love this idea. There are 50 bodyweight exercises and 5 workouts included and the illustrations look great!
- anne
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29 comments
  • Jackie
    October 29, 2013 · 10:32AM:
    So glad your company is doing well! I love your pumpkin!
    Reply
  • Holly @ EatGreatBEGreat
    October 29, 2013 · 10:35AM:
    A few weeks ago, I was browsing the Reebok site and saw that you can make custom shoes. I think that's a genius idea! I totally love it! Your sneakers turned out awesome! BTW, I'm loving the crossfit shoes I won from the giveaway! I think they're literally the most comfortable sneakers I've ever owned! I loved them so much that I also bought a pair for my husband for his b-day. I think he's going to enjoy them a lot too! Thanks again!
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 29, 2013 · 10:58AM:
      Yay! I'm so glad you love them!
      Reply
  • Jojo @ RunFastEatLots
    October 29, 2013 · 10:40AM:
    Cool pumpkins! I am carving mine on Thursday :) And for the greens, I guessing (#1-6): spinach, kale, arugula, collard greens, mustard greens, and bok choy?
    Reply
  • Shel@PeachyPalate
    October 29, 2013 · 10:42AM:
    I have a custom pair of the previous Nanos...love em! The custom option on the new ones isn't available to use yet here in Ireland but I'm jumping straight on the bandwagon when it does! You're pumpkin is awesome!
    Reply
  • Greta October 29, 2013 · 10:47AM:
    1. Spinach 2. Kale 3. Dandelion Greens 4. Kale 5. Radish Greens 6. Swiss Chard. I like this game!
    Reply
  • RunEatRepeat
    October 29, 2013 · 10:53AM:
    Bummed I missed you! Well, there's always New York...
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 29, 2013 · 10:57AM:
      I know, boo! See you Friday :)
      Reply
  • Elise @ Expeditions of Elise
    October 29, 2013 · 12:11PM:
    Ok have to put my guess in for these greens. In order: spinach, kale, arugula, collard greens, mustard greens (the only one I'm unsure of), swiss chard.
    Reply
  • Taylor @ Single-tracked Mind
    October 29, 2013 · 1:10PM:
    It's such a good idea for Reebok to give people the ability to customize their shoes!
    Reply
  • Sara @ Zero to Sixty
    October 29, 2013 · 1:18PM:
    I am pretty much in love with your pumpkin. Adorable! :)
    Reply
  • Kate October 29, 2013 · 3:34PM:
    Is the 'N' pumpkin for Northwestern? If so I love it!
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 29, 2013 · 4:06PM:
      Yes, it is! :)
      Reply
      • Kate October 29, 2013 · 7:51PM:
        Love!!! I am attending grad school at NU (4th generation!)...love seeing the purple pride across the country :)
        Reply
        • Anne
          October 30, 2013 · 8:53AM:
          Nice! Our friends we were carving with all went to Northwestern :)
          Reply
  • Jan @ Sprouts n Squats
    October 29, 2013 · 3:51PM:
    Love your pumpkin carving that is so awesome! As well as your custom shoes so awesome they gave you a gift card.
    Reply
  • Roadrunner October 29, 2013 · 6:04PM:
    Very nice! Thanks!
    Reply
  • Mer October 29, 2013 · 9:53PM:
    I LOVE the Washington Post story. Favorite quote: “Running appeals to a certain type of person,” said Carla Freyvogel, vice president of the Washington Running Club. “It is a sport that’s very much consistent with your stereotypical Washingtonian: competitive, self-motivated, out to prove a point, independent. That’s a Washingtonian. That’s a runner.”
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 30, 2013 · 8:52AM:
      So true, right?
      Reply
  • Lois October 29, 2013 · 10:53PM:
    I so enjoy your blog its fun informative and I like hearing about the Marathons you run, keep on A running :>).
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 30, 2013 · 8:52AM:
      Aw thank you! Thank you so much for reading :)
      Reply
  • Shay @ Whine Less, Breathe More
    October 30, 2013 · 7:48AM:
    Cute shoes! I like how yours turned out, too. Good colors! I'm glad to hear your business is doing well. I'm sure that has to be exciting! My girls and I will be carving their pumpkins tonight. I'm not sure why we waited until the last minute.
    Reply
  • Nicole @ Pink Elephant on Parade
    October 30, 2013 · 1:07PM:
    I'm very proud to say that when I did the marine corps marathon this weekend, every single cup went into a trash bin and NOT onto the road. This was my crowning achievement and earned me a hearty "Thank you!" from many a volunteer. Take that, jerks who just throw cups full of gatorade on other people.
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 30, 2013 · 2:23PM:
      Well done :)
      Reply
  • Dana @ Conscious Kitchen Blog
    October 30, 2013 · 2:02PM:
    I spectated at the MCM last year and absolutely loved it! The positive energy and excitement in the air throughout the whole race was amazing. I cheered on my best friend as she ran the marathon and had a blast riding the metro around town to see her along the way. Hearing your thoughts on the race brought back happy memories! p.s. - cute pumpkin!
    Reply
  • Colleen
    October 30, 2013 · 4:15PM:
    I ran MCM Sunday and agree wholeheartedly that the volunteers were amazing!! Also, they advertised that any clothes tossed away during the opening miles of the race would be collected and donated, so those didn't just go in trash bin!
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 30, 2013 · 5:19PM:
      Yay - that is good to know! The volunteer I asked wasn't sure. So glad they didn't go to waste.
      Reply
  • Lindsay October 31, 2013 · 12:26PM:
    So glad you enjoyed spectating the MCM as much as I did! I was surprised to learn that you have never volunteered for a race. It certainly gives you a great perspective on the whole thing and makes you feel like you are contributing to the goal--esp for races that encourage participants to support a cause/raise money.
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 31, 2013 · 1:39PM:
      I know, I really want to volunteer for a race soon! Seems like a great way to give back to the running community.
      Reply
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anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
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anne mauney

I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

When I’m not writing or cooking for fannetastic food, you can find me running, coaching nutrition clients, or on an adventure with my family. Feel free to reach out - I'd love to hear from you!

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