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Yesterday I ran my first Rock and Roll race. Due to the cost, I hadn't participated in this race in previous years. For 2012, I got a good deal and took advantage. The expo itself was located at McCormick Place. If you live in Chicago, you know this is a fairly inconvenient location. RNR didn't offer any sort of shuttle service (like the Chicago Marathon does) so you were on your own to figure out parking and everything else. I ended up going on Friday and took the train from the Loop after work. I met up with Maggie along the way. We got our bibs and took a quick photo before we headed to the Brooks booth.

Brooks was the main sponsor for this race and I regretted ordering a medium tee versus a small since they ran kind of big. We tried to win a pair of Brooks shoes but I ended up with a bandanna and pair of sunglasses instead. That's okay, it was some nice swag regardless. We then saw the blue screen photo booth where we had to take a quick snapshot. It isn't loaded yet on Brooks' website unfortunately. I'll be sure to update this post when it becomes available.

We continued to move up and down the aisles and ran into Amanda at the Zensah booth. I chickened out asking Dean Karnazes for a photo as his time at the expo was coming to a close. Instead we made sure to get some quality photos with Charlie, the Starkist tuna mascot. They were giving away sooo much tuna. I think Maggie walked away with 10 packets. I'm not a fan of tuna so I just snagged some coupons for my mother-in-law.

There were lots of other great samples and coupons as pictured below! So Delicious was even giving out free (dairy free) ice cream bars! I was happy to get a chance to try some more Nuun flavors and the Clif powder as I have been liking electrolyte powder versus Gatorade for my races (they're easier on my stomach surprisingly). I also purchased a tube of Zipfizz. TBD how it works out!

All the race swag. Not pictured: 3 tee shirts. They were already in the laundry.

I had a great time at the expo and was able to try out some great products. A full race recap will be coming either tomorrow or Wednesday. I need a few days to think about everything that was the race. If you're friends with me on Daily Mile, you already know how things turned out. Spoiler alert: it was hot day in Chicago and things didn't go my way. I still finished though and am now eligible for Half Fanatics. Also, my interview with Dr. Andy Baldwin went really well! I recorded the interview and didn't take great notes (I was a little loopy post-race) so it will take me a little bit to go through the audio. Stay tuned as I'll be sure to have both recaps up this week.

Today is the last day to enter my Oiselle London Calling Tee giveaway. You have until 11:59pm CST tonight to enter!

Is anyone here a fan of the Bachelor? Do you remember season 10-- "Officer and a Gentleman" starring Dr. Andy Baldwin, physician and U.S. Naval officer? In case you don't remember, maybe this photo will jog your memory?

Dr. Andy Baldwin (let's just call him Andy) will be running the Rock N Roll Chicago Half Marathon this weekend (aka my goal race). The folks at Team Refuel asked me if I wanted to interview him. After doing a little bit of research, I found out that in addition to being on the Bachelor, he's an accomplished triathlete (8 Ironman's under his belt) and does a lot of humanitarian work across the globe.

Andy with Bart Yasso at the NYC Marathon 2011 Source

 I want to find out more about him so of course I said yes!

Andy at the RNR USA expo with Team Refuel Source

If you have any questions you want me to ask Andy, let me know! I'm going to be interviewing him after the race this Sunday (we'll both be extra sweaty) so feel free to send me any questions today or tomorrow. :) If you'd like to learn more about Andy before deciding on your questions, you can check out his website here and his Wikipedia page here. 


And don't forget... if you haven't yet, don't forget to checkout my Oiselle London Calling Tee giveaway! Entries accepted through Monday, July 23rd!

Last night I had a run on the schedule of 4 miles. I tried to do some mental focusing getting ready for the race. It was a bit humid yesterday and I came back from my run just a little sweaty...

I'd like to think that I had so much sweat because I was sweating off the nerves and fear that often accompany a goal race. I have worked hard for this. I can do this. It is supposed to be hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it.

The half marathon course shape is kind of similar to the Chicago Marathon. I'm trying to picture myself at different points in the course, meeting the time I want to meet. I don't want to obsess about the weather, but I definitely have a Plan A, B, and C. I already regret checking Sunday's weather because it is back up to 96. (It was predicted as 90 a few days ago, and read as a predicted 89 degrees in the elevator this morning.) As we can't control the weather, I'm TRYING not to focus on it. :) Last night I did my laundry and have laid out my race day outfit. I'm getting excited. The big day is almost here...


Have you entered my Oiselle London Calling Tee giveaway yet? You have until Monday, July 23rd to enter.

Some of you may have noticed a new badge on my blog a few weeks ago. I've recently joined the Oiselle Team of ambassadors! I already loved their brand and constantly talked about how awesome their stuff is so why not try to be part of the team? :) To find out more about Oiselle's history, click here.

During the track trials in Eugene, Oregon, the folks at Oiselle were promoting their brand and trying to get the word out. They even hosted a contest for 2 blogging friends to win a trip to the trials (being an ambassador, I wasn't eligible to enter--otherwise I would have). They had a few runners competing to be on the Olympic team (including Kate Grace on the far right who made it to the semis for the 1500m).

Source

Unfortunately no one made the Olympic team this year for Team Oiselle, but we have high hopes for the future. During the week long trials in Eugene, Oiselle also hosted a party complete with MC Hammer as the headliner (insert 1990s problems joke here). And of course, the event list wouldn't have been complete without a fashion show. Ummm I want pretty much everything! To see what I'm talking about check out the video below.



All the folks at Oiselle have Olympic fever too. And in honor of this Olympic fever, the folks at Oiselle are going to give one lucky reader a London Calling tee! I have one that I won from an Instagram contest and I absolutely love it. I've already worn it to work and I wore it during the entire 2nd half of the track trials.
The winner has their choice of color (orange, grey or white) and size (this tee fits pretty true to size).

How do you enter to win? Leave a comment telling me the event you're most excited to watch at the Olympics

For additional entries, feel free to do any of the following and summarize everything in a single comment.
1) Like Running Kellometers on Facebook
2) Facebook about the giveaway, mentioning Running Kellometers
3) Tweet about the giveaway, mentioning @kellywils0n
4) Follow my blog through Blogger (on the right-hand side of the home page)

Entries will be accepted until Monday, July 23 at 11:59 pm CST. The winner will be chosen on Tuesday, July 24 by 9:00am. This contest is open to any readers in the U.S.

Last week I talked about how I wasn't going to post my whiny entry. Instead, I'm posting this whiny entry today. I hate hot weather. No matter how much I put myself out there and how hard I try, my workouts still suck. I am trying to get acclimated to the heat but it just hasn't been working. I'm getting out there when it's hot out. I'm not running to the treadmill when temps are in the 90s. When it is in the high 70s, why do I still struggle!? Why did I think it was a good idea to plan a goal half marathon to work my butt off for during one of the hottest Chicago summers on record? My goal race is only 6 days away. That means the forecast is out and things are not looking good. Highs in the low 90s. Ugh. (Hopefully that means it will be in the 60s at the start of the race and when we finish, temps will still be in the low 70s. A girl can dream, right?) This is the time when I'm supposed to be focusing on what I've worked towards over the past 12 weeks. I'm supposed to be visualizing myself achieving my goal and where I'll be throughout the course. There isn't time to panic/obsess about the weather. I think I just need to make sure I have a plan B, which is something I didn't have for the Chicago Marathon. Thankfully this race is only a half marathon and not a full. BUT, I've put in the work, I've put in the sweat, and I've even put in the tears. I'm hoping that the sub 1:50 is within my grasp come 7/22. I know that no matter what happens, I'm putting it all out there and giving it all I have...

In other news, I'm back in town from Mall of America where I scored some sweet new running gear with no sales tax. Winning! :) Also, in honor of the Olympics, I'll have a giveaway on the blog tomorrow so stay tuned!

Womens 1500m Semi Final

Please please... have you entered my SpiBelt raffle yet?? Your odds of winning are really good! I've extended the deadline until Monday, July 16th!

This weekend I'm at Mall of America in Minnesota stocking up on actual work clothes and trying to find some good deals on running clothes. So far I've bought more things for work than running so that is a win. I'm about to do my last dress rehearsal run before my goal race and I have to admit I'm a little nervous. I've put in so much work and effort into this race, I just hope things work out as well as planned. I know that doesn't always happen on race day so I guess I can only hope for the best (and some 70 degree temps). Here's hoping the dress rehearsal goes well. At least I look the part in my new bright pink tank, right? :)