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As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of Pro Compression socks. I have them in two colors, purple and yellow.

I like to wear them for recovery after a tough workout or while running to help those calves through some hills.

Attempted Quarryman Challenge

I also wear them sometimes when I'm racing (photos below are from the Jim Gibbons 5k).

Why am I talking all about Pro Compression? Because they have graciously donated a pair of Marathon socks for me to raffle off! You get to choose your size and color preference (including the new color, orange).

Now the big question, how do you enter this amazing raffle?

Donate to my charity, Open Heart Magic by clicking HERE. For this raffle, every $2 donation = 1 entry. ($2 for 1, $4 for 2, $6 for 3, etc.)

Those that have donated to this raffle (or any previous raffle) can gain additional raffle entries if you:
1) like ProCompression on Facebook
2) like Running Kellometers on Facebook
3) blog about the raffle
4) follow Pro Compression on Twitter
5) tweet about the raffle (@kellywils0n)
Example: I've donated to @kellywils0n's @openheartmagic raffle to win a pair of @procompression socks. Have you?? http://bit.ly/LYKq2S

If you do any of the items mentioned above, please leave a comment letting me know so I can be sure to include the additional entries (you can include everything all in one comment)! (If you have any questions please leave a comment or send me an email!)

You have until Monday, August 6th (11:59pm CST) to enter. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, August 7th. Best of luck!

This raffle is open to all readers who donate or have previously donated to the Open Heart Magic charity. Winner must contact me within 48 hours of being announced.

As I mentioned on Monday, we had a big family wedding over the weekend. In preparation, I tried on the bridesmaids dress the week before the wedding to see if it still fit. Small crisis: it was too tight. (I was training for the marathon when I was originally fitted and I've gained a little weight since then.) Trying not to panic, I put on the corset leftover from my wedding to see if it would work. It helped me fit, but it looked weird because of the seams of the dress and where the corset ended. Thinking I needed to go out and get some cheap Spanx from Target, I tried one more thing, my CEP Compression shorts. I've worn them under a pencil skirt, what made a dress any different?

under a pencil skirt

It worked and the dress fit! It was a compression miracle! Since the dress was black and just at the knee (with no slit or anything), it totally worked and no one knew. It was also nice to not have to worry about sitting like a lady. Haha. This is just another example how compression is the best invention ever.

What will I be doing this weekend, you might be wondering. Surprise surprise, I signed up for another race! Not just any race, the Quarryman Challenge 10 Mile (this race offers a 5k too but I decided it was a "go big or go home" kind of situation when I signed up). The course appears to be pretty intense. There are a lot of turns and some pretty big hills. Living in the super flat state of Illinois, "hill" is a term we use loosely. A highway overpass is a "hill" according to our standards. The slight elevation on Roosevelt Rd. is also known as "Roosevelt Hill" as it comes in the last quarter mile of many large Chicago races (Chicago Marathon elevation map here). Some towns have more hills than others and Lemont is one of those towns. I've heard this course is quite challenging so I'm looking forward to completing it.

I guess the big question is: Will I be racing this? The answer is easy: No. I'm going to run this nice and easy, using it as a training run. Not even a progression run (I did one of those last week). I'm going to wear my compression socks for the first time on an actual run.

I think my calves will appreciate it with the hills I'll be tackling. Do you wear compression? If so, do you prefer to wear it during or after a run?

Last night I did 25 minutes on the rowing machine. I recently realized (after watching Biggest Loser) that I had been incorrectly using the machine. Once I changed the way I was using it, the workouts seemed to have more umph and be more of a challenge. (Which I think is a good thing for obvious reasons.)

I <3 my rowing machine

Tonight will be a speedwork session out on the trail, possibly with a few FN Runners. I don't know the state of my Garmin because I left it in my gym bag in the car. I have a feeling the battery is low/dead. I've debated buying the pro version of Endomondo ($3.99) just for the interval option. I know I can still complete the workout without my Garmin with regular Endomondo, I just won't know my interval splits, only overall miles and time. Talk about a First World Runner Problem! Do you have any alternative suggestions or phone apps on what to do if my Garmin is in fact dead? Ahhh