Sorry for the announcement late in the day – I just got home from work and remembered that I had intended to select the winner this morning. After inputing all the entries into a spreadsheet (necessitated by the two ballots for being a follower) I punched the grand total of entries into random.org. Here’s the winning number:
Congratulations to:
Please contact me at running42km.blog (at) gmail.com and I will email you the e-certificate. Thanks to all of you who entered and welcome to my new bloggy followers/friends! I’ll try to get around to your blogs soon.
December 5, 2010 | Categories: contests, CSNStores, winner | 2 Comments
Because they don’t know about it.
I think I may have made a fatal error. I thought that putting up a contest on Black Friday would be genius. Save money for Christmas, I thought… Buy a present for yourself, I thought. However, I seemed to have forgotten what a family oriented holiday Thanksgiving is in the US. Here’s the realization I’ve come to:
No one was online last weekend – they all took a bloggy-sabbatical for 4 days.
This can be the only explanation for having only 3 people enter my contest. It’s not like I even make you become a follower. That’s just for bonus entries!
So this is me begging you to enter reminding you that I have a $35 CSN Stores gift certificate up for grabs. Contest ends Friday! Click here to get all the details!
December 1, 2010 | Categories: contests, CSNStores | 6 Comments
It’s Black Friday! Time to start (or finish) your Christmas shopping! To help you out I’m hosting a contest from CSN Stores! They’re letting me give away a $35 gift certificate redeemable at ANY of their sites.* Whether you’re looking for coffee tables or something to put on them they have what you’re looking for. They even guarantee delivery to the US by Christmas Eve for any item that’s marked with a snowflake!
To enter:
Mandatory: Browse around CSN, then come back and tell me what you’d buy – it can be a Christmas present to yourself or, if you’re feeling generous, for someone else. (+1)
Extras:
Be or become a follower of my blog and comment to let me know. (+2)
Leave me a comment telling me that you’ve linked this giveaway to your blog. (+1)
Contest will end Friday 3 December at 11:59pm PST. Entries will be put into a spreadsheet and the winner will be chosen by random.org. I will announce the winner’s name on Saturday 4 December.
*Shipping costs are NOT included.
November 26, 2010 | Categories: Christmas, contests, CSNStores | 43 Comments
So this last week has been a good week for me in the world of blog contests! As posted last Tuesday I won a Road ID certificate. I promptly “spent” it on new wristbands for me and Colin as well as a pair of reflective laces for each of us.
When I posted about that win Zaneta commented to let me know that I had won her contest. Here’s what I’m going to be getting in the mail soon! I’m very excited! I have never tried the Tri-berry GU and the chocolate ones look like they’ll be fantastic. I actually already have a water bottle like this one, but it’s over a year old and is due for replacement. Besides, the blue is far prettier than my black one!
Today’s good news was that I checked back on a Facebook contest that I entered and found out that I had won that too! I get a Nathan Hydration Quickdraw Plus water bottle. At 22 oz. it’s bigger than the one above (10 oz.). It should be perfect for my runs that are about 10km long. Another reason I like it is that it should fit in the cup holder on Spud’s stroller. Right now we just chuck a Nalgene underneath, but it’s really inconvenient to stop and take a drink. I’ve seen lots of other bloggers with this bottle and they all seem to love it so I’m pretty happy. I chose the green because I figured Colin might want to use it too (the teal was getting a little girly).
I’m really hoping that all this new gear is going to get me off my butt and out the door! Since the marathon I’ve run a whopping two times. Yup, that’s twice in two weeks. Bah! I don’t know if it’s because I don’t have the accountability of a clinic right now or if I’m burned out or what. Probably a little bit of both as well as the typical crappy Vancouver rain has shown up again for fall so my motivation is pretty low. I have a lofty goal list of working my way up to 4 days/week and 2-3 days of core work/week before the end of December. So far it’s looking like that might start in November instead. Thankfully I have a couple of awesome running friends from my marathon clinic that are interested in fairly regular runs so that should help me out some. We’re going for our first run tomorrow night and it’ll be nice to have to honour that commitment.
October 25, 2010 | Categories: contests, goals, motivation | 4 Comments
Sorry for announcing the winner of my CSN contest late! After getting home from the Okanagan after 7pm last night Colin went to turn on the computer and its power supply blew. Awesome! Thankfully my dad had a spare kicking around his house so now we’re back up and running.
Here is the winning number, as generated by random.org:
That means that Katherine from Forward Foot Strides is the winner of the $40 CSN gift certificate. Congratulations! Please contact me at running42km [dot] blog [at] gmail [dot] com with your email address.
Thanks everyone for entering! You helped me get to 50 followers!
October 3, 2010 | Categories: contests, CSNStores | 5 Comments
Well, I’m officially tapering! It’s so nice to be done the long runs – the only one on the horizon is a 16km (at race pace) at the end of the week. I’m unusually calm about the race right now which is kind of freaking me out in it’s own way. Ask me again in a week how I feel and I will have probably changed my mind…
We’re going up to my in-laws in the Okanagan this week as Colin’s on vacation. It’ll be a nice 4 day getaway to do nothing but eat, sleep, run (a little) and buy fruit. I don’t really need 20lbs of apples or pears, but when it’s $6 for 10lbs or $7 for 20 it’s a shame to turn it down. I’ll just have to convince Colin to make more pies!
I won’t be posting while I’m up there so here’s one last plug for my CSN contest. It’s $40! You can enter here until Thursday at midnight PST. The winner will be announced on Friday… it’ll start someone’s October off right.
Hope everyone has a great week!
September 28, 2010 | Categories: contests, CSNStores, taper | 3 Comments
1. It’s raining. Not a big deal here in Vancouver, but I haven’t had to run in the rain in AGES. Not too sure if I’ll pull out the water-resistant jacket tonight since it’s only drizzle. I might have to use my toque though since my ears started to hurt from the cold on my run last night.
2. Hope to have new shoes this weekend. Really need new shoes this weekend – to break in before the big day and so I don’t kill my knees with the old pair. Will be selling unused sports equipment to get the funds (unless one of you would like to be my shoe-fairy-godmother/father/parent?). When you can’t remember the last time you used your snowboard or rollerblades it’s time to let them go. The place I’m taking them to apparently takes used runners too – I’m sure I’ll weep at the amount they’ll give me for my (original price $159.99) GT-2140s, but anything is better than nothing!
3. Feel free to enter my contest – $40 to CSN!
September 24, 2010 | Categories: contests, CSNStores, rain, shoes | 2 Comments
I’m so excited! I get to have another giveaway!
Sean, from CSN, contacted me a while ago to ask if I’d be interested in hosting a contest. Since this is the first time I have been sought out by a company I jumped at the chance. Now if you read running blogs you’ve probably had a chance to check them out as there have been lots of opportunities to win gift certificates.
In case you didn’t know, however, they sell almost everything! You can get items for your house like bistro sets – which would have been nice to know a couple of years ago when Colin and I were buying grownup furniture and couldn’t find one anywhere – and cookware. You can also buy exercise equipment like treadmills and ellipticals if you are lucky enough to have the money and space to do so…
So here’s your chance to win a $40 gift certificate*!
You can get up to four “ballots”:
1. Mandatory: Become a follower or tell me you already are. +1 Entry
2. Mandatory: Click on above link (or go to CSN Stores) and tell me what you’d buy. +1 Entry
3. Link this contest back to your site. +1 Entry
4. Add me to your blogroll or tell me that I’m already on there. +1 Entry
This contest will run until midnight PST 30 September. I’ll pick the winner using random.org and will announce their name on 1 October.
*(depending on item shipping may be extra)
September 20, 2010 | Categories: contests, CSNStores | 39 Comments
1. I’m pretty sure my shoes are on their last legs. I came back from my last run (15km total distance w/11km of fartleks) with runners that squeaked and the cushioning under the ball of my foot felt very thin. Granted that I was running downhill for a good portion of the run, but I can only expect them to bounce back so far as they have 480km on them.
This sucks for many reasons:
- Obviously, I need shoes to run and ones that feel good are preferred.
- I have a 32km long run on Sunday. I will have to hope that they work out well and don’t start to bug my knees.
- I didn’t get a new pair prior to my longest run before taper so when I do get new ones I won’t have them broken in for as much as I would like prior to the marathon.
- I can’t really afford new shoes. I probably should have bought 2 pairs to begin with.
2. Colin has his ART appointment tonight. Hopefully it will help with his sore knee. The knee sleeve has helped him substantially (he’s already planning for a +20km run this weekend), but it’s a temporary solution to a bigger problem.
3. I have a contest starting on Monday. Stop by again to find out what it is!
September 16, 2010 | Categories: contests, long run, shoes | 2 Comments
Except here.
I don’t have anything to give away at the moment (please come back next week), but there are A LOT of contests going on right now…
Endurance Isn’t Only Physical –
GU – Ends 17 September
Secrets Of A Running Mom –
Chica Bands – Ends 17 September
Forward Foot Strides –
GU – Ends 18 September
Mom!…Honey!…Coach!…SisterRunner! –
Injinji Socks – Ends 10 October
September 14, 2010 | Categories: contests | Leave a comment
M’s car had to be in the shot too!
And the winner is…
Please email me your address at running42km.blog [at] gmail.com and I’ll get your GU out to you asap!
Thanks to everyone who entered! Stay tuned for another contest in a few weeks…
September 1, 2010 | Categories: contests, gu, Wordless Wednesday | Leave a comment
Just a friendly reminder that my GU contest closes tonight at midnight PST. Click here to see what’s up for grabs – it’s not a lot, but, hey, it’s free GU!
Here’s what else I’ve done this week and what’s on the agenda:
– Ran my first 32km (20 mile) run on Sunday! Yay! Made it through with only one small blister and a hot spot, which is a big improvement over last week. I learned that I have to work on my fueling better as my timing for my GUs was all over the place and I ended up with pretty bad stomach cramps at 30km. I have to say, though, that having a nap after my long run definitely helped with both the queasies and the aching legs – must remember for next time!
– Hard Core Club week 3 started. Last week was pretty much a bust and I only got 1 session in. I was trying to skip last night, but sucked it up and pushed through. It helps that Colin has to do his physio exercises too so I had company.
– Last hill repeats for this training session tomorrow! It’s technically 10 repeats, but our route is extra long we only have to do 5. Psychologically it’s better I guess…
Come back tomorrow to find out if you are the winner!
August 31, 2010 | Categories: contests, core, gu, Hard Core Club, hills, long run | Leave a comment
#1. Blisters suck! My last long run ended with me having blisters. I think it was the combination of constant drizzle, old socks (my faithful Injinji toe socks finally failed me), a piece of sand under my arch that I didn’t notice until the damage was done and eczema on my feet. The pads I put on them for my hill run on Tuesday did squat and I made one way worse than before so now I’m on a self-imposed hiatus until my Sunday long run. Let’s hope things are better then or else it’s going to be a very uncomfortable 32km.
Besides double layer socks and maybe Body Glide does anyone have any suggestions? These aren’t just hot spots, they’re full on wounds…
#2. Contests are awesome! I have a little GU giveaway on now until the 31st that you should enter – I’ve learned that blogging is all about self-promotion! See my sidebar for listings for other people’s contests – there is a lot of great stuff up for grabs.
#3. I have 45 days until my first marathon! I feel okay when I read that, but when I say it in terms of weeks it really freaks me out. Somehow 6 weeks sounds way closer than 45 days… As long as my blister issues go away (see #1) I think that I’ll do fine.
August 26, 2010 | Categories: blisters, contests, gu | Leave a comment
If you read my blog you will have seen a recent post in which I talked about my love for GU. I attend a clinic at a local running store and we were fortunate enough to have a GU rep come in to talk to us about their product. Since many of you know all about GU (for great reviews check out Secrets of a Running Mom here, who also has a huge GU giveaway going on until the 26th) I won’t do a review. What I will do is say that I managed to convince my clinic leader to get some to give away!
So, in the spirit of shameless self-promotion, I am hosting a giveaway (my first!)…
Here’s what’s on offer (one person will win all 5 items):
1 x Strawberry Chomps (promotional size)
1 x Jet Blackberry Gel
1 x Blueberry Pomegranate Roctane Gel
1 x Lemon Lime Electrolyte Brew
1 x Orange Pineapple Recovery Brew
There are 3 easy ways to enter:
1. Follow my blog or let me know you already do (mandatory) – leave me a comment.
2. Add me to your blogroll – leave me a comment.
3. Link this to your blog – leave me a comment.
Entries will be accepted until midnight PST 31 August 2010 and the winner will be chosen 1 September 2010, most likely out of a hat by my 3 year old.
August 24, 2010 | Categories: contests, gu | Leave a comment
Jill at Finishing Is Winning posts a question every Monday and then lets others chime in with their opinions too. This week’s topic is “Give-A-Ways: Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em?” It’s especially appropriate since I just found out that I won one (my 3rd!).
Question: What are your thoughts on give-a-ways? Do you enter them often? What entices you to enter or turns you off from entering? Have you run your own give-a-ways?
My Answer(s):
- I like give-a-ways. I started entering them pretty much as soon as I started blogging and here’s why: I felt like I owed it to the people whose blogs I was stalking. The least I could do was let them know that I was actually reading their stuff. It was easy to sign up as a follower (usually the #1 requirement) and who doesn’t like getting running gear?
- I enter them often enough. There are usually a few on my sidebar – it depends on how many people are hosting them and if I’m interested in what’s on offer (see below).
- I’ll enter contests that have a product that peaks my interest. I go for running products over other things, but sometimes I’m picky about the running stuff too – example: I’d rather have a Road ID than a magnet.
- I like ones that have simple rules. It’s helpful to know if it’s open to Canadians otherwise I waste my time and theirs.
- I tend to enter contests on the blogs that I read the most. I don’t go too far out of my way to find them. Sometimes I’ll check out contests that are posted on other bloggers sites, but tend to skip entering if I’m not really interested in their blogs.
- I don’t mind the whole social networking aspect (sign up to be a fan of … on facebook, etc), but I’ll only do those parts sometimes. Since those are usually only for extra entries I do them if I feel like it or if I really like the product.
- I haven’t run my own give-a-way (yet). I’m sure that I will in the future, but I want to have some good stuff to put up for grabs. I think the main reason I would do so would be to get more followers – I love seeing my numbers go up! Even if most people who entered didn’t read religiously I’d be happy knowing that maybe one or two did.
June 28, 2010 | Categories: contests, Monday Brain Exchange | Leave a comment
Love My Runners 
