Fits Do Halloween

By: LL
Happy Halloween! Are you wearing orange and black today? Think that the color combo can be a bit extreme? Here is a quick peek at a few ways that you can wear orange and black in celebration of the holiday.

{Try an orange dress (or black dress) and bring in the contrast through the accessories}

{Go for all over orange, white and black throughout your entire ensemble}

{Add in textures to break up the starkness of orange and black - like a lace skirt or polka dot blouse}

{Take a nod from Kendi and go for a soft autumnal look, using accessories to mute the color contrast}

{Embrace the colored pants movement and add a black blazer to your favorite orange pants}

It is fun to embrace holidays, so don't shy away from wearing orange and black today. For a lot of us, not all shades of orange are the right fit. Try out a few different shades or just bring in the orange through accessories, like scarves, necklaces or handbags. Have a merry Hallow's Eve!!

Creating Fits: Necklaces for Fall

By: LL
Since my birthday (which was last Thursday), I have been battling a horrible cold that nicely hampered my husband's and my weekend plans and birthday celebration. However, what this cold has done, is give me some spare time to work on some necklaces. Here are two new ones that I created this weekend and am getting excited to wear this week (once I am back to work).

I took inspiration from the Anthropologie Stormy Sea necklace (below).

I decided on a more autumnal palate. I choose glasses beads in two different sizes and placed them on a bronze chain using a head pin. Since the beads had a fairly large hole for the head pins, I used a small bronze bead as an accent and for security at the bottom.

{My interpretation - Fall Bushels}

For the second necklace that I made, I based it upon Stella & Dot's Bahari necklace.

Even though I absolutely love the blue and gold combination, I decided to use more of a green/turquoise with silver accents. I strong the beads on wire and then put them all together on a chain. 

{My interpretation - Santorini}

I hope that making these two necklaces will jump start my motivation to finally inventory all my jewelry-making supplies so that I can get back into this hobby again.

Also, a piece of food for thought - the Stormy Seas necklace and Bahari necklace are both over $100. Each of the necklaces that I made probably cost me $20-$25.

Fits Do Halloween: Go for the Gold!

By Jess

Like LL, I love the creativity and imagination that is prominently displayed on Halloween.  I'm always amazed at what some people come up with, and this year was definitely not a disappointment.

I had planned the D-man and my costumes a few weeks ago, and ours was a 2012 Olympic theme. It seemed timely- the Olympics only happen once every four years, right? So, I went as the gymnast Jordyn Weiber (complete with a boot for her stress fracture). 

....and Dusters was bronze medal-winning rower "Henrik Rummel." Google Henrik, and you'll understand the CENSORED sign!.

LL had reminded us in her post here that we should be careful not to select costumes that no one would understand, or costumes that are inappropriate...

She said :
Let your costume stand alone and tell a positive story. If your costume needs an explanation, it might not be that good. 

Uh-oh! The D-man's costume needed an explanation for most, and it was slightly offensive. Yes, it may have been a failed fit, but it was all in good fun.

With our costumes taken care of, I was excited to see what my friends came up with, and last night was the "great unveil." A run cub friend hosted a wonderful party in her new home. Along with great decorations and tasty food, her party attendees came up with an eclectic mix of creative costumes.

Apparently a binder of women was a popular idea!

I love costumes that are very "current." Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's comment about his "binder full of women" happened just last week, and these creative cats were able to put together funny and timely costumes in a very short time...I love it!

 The above group of "binders" arrived with Paul Ryan.

And Candy Crowley....

And of course Mitt Romney!

Political costumes are always good for a laugh, but TV and movie characters are also a good choice! There were a few "Always Sunny in Philadelphia" costumes at the party. I don't watch the show, but if you do, you'll probably recognize these guys:

Who hasn't seen and loved the movie "Elf" with Will Ferrell? These handmade costumes looked pretty authentic to me. Elf even carried his etch-a-sketch and marshmallow bag.

Here are some more of my favorites from the night. Enjoy!

{Abe Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth and a loofah!}

{A mail order bride! I love it!}

{A hipster with his requisite PBR.}

{PBS painter Bob Ross and his painting- so creative!}

 {50 Shades of Gray}

Henrik Rummel and Jordyn Weiber weren't the only Olympians at this party.

Although I was surprised that there were no Ryan Lochte's, there was a McKayla Maroney, and she was definitely NOT impressed by Henrik's bronze medal....

Happy Halloween readers!

(Future) Fits Do Race Reviews

By Jess

Those of you who know me, know that I'm a planner. I like to have everything sorted out on an agenda.  And this includes planning out my future runs as well!

Here's what I have on the calendar for the remainder of 2012 and 2013. I'm sure plans could change, and maybe additional races will be added, but these are the ones I have marked on my planner.

November:
5th Annual Family Turkey Trot!
LL wrote about it last year (read about it here and here)
Granted, this is not a sanctioned race per say, but it sure is a fun one! LL and I have been directing this race for 5 years now. We have a blast half-pretending/half-serious that this is a real Thanksgiving 5k! Well, I guess it is a real 5k in that we run 3.1 miles, but the only participants are my family.

January:
The Securian Run
When: Saturday, January 26
Where: St. Paul, MN
Website: http://www.securian.com/Securian/Securian+Winter+Run/
This half marathon has a rocky history. The first time I registered, it was so cold that the race directors shortened it to a 1/4 marathon. The second time I ran it, the turn around point was set too early, and the race only ended up being 11 miles! Needless to say, I set quite a PR at that one! However, this is one of few long distance races in the area in the cold months of winter, so it's definitely on my radar.

April:
Goldy's 10 mile
When: Saturday, April 14
Where: University of Minnesota campus
Website: http://www.goldysrun.com
I ran this last year, and thought it was a lot of fun. Read about it here

May:
Borgess Run for the Health of It Half Marathon
Website: http://borgessrun.com
When: Sunday May 5th at 8 am
Where: Kalamazoo, Michigan

I'll be running this race with a few of my sisters, and even my dad! It will be his first half marathon.
This does mean I'll miss the Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon that I ran last year (read about it here) but it will be worth it to share the half marathon experience with my family. Not to mention, I haven't been to Kalamazoo in ages! Fits on the Road- Family Style!

TC 1 Mile
Website: https://www.tcmevents.org/events/medtronic_tc_1_mile/
When: Mid-may- the date has not yet been finalized
Where: Downtown Minneapolis
Last year's review here
It's fun to do such a short race, and it's unique to run down Nicollet mall on a Thursday night. And it's over before you know it! After all, it's only a mile...

June
Newport Marathon
In my post Steamtown marathon haze, I did write about the Newport marathon. We have registered for this one for our spring race. Check out that post here
Website: http://www.newportmarathon.org
When: Saturday, June 1

I'm really looking forward to this marathon! It sounds like such a charming location, and I can't wait to spend some time exploring Oregon. The timing of this marathon works out well, as we will be able to piggyback off the Grandma's and Minneapolis marathon training schedule with the Calhoun Beach Running Club.

July:
Firecracker 10k
Website: http://www.active.com/running/excelsior-mn/firecracker-runs-2012-pl222
When: the 4th of July
I backed out last year, because it was crazy hot, and the race was shortened to a 5k. But I did participate the year before, and it was a blast!

Torchlight 5k
Website: http://www.torchlight5k.com
Last year's review here
I love this fun 5k! It runs before the Torchlight Parade downtown on a Wednesday night, with a great post-race party.

September
And the big finale for 2013....the Berlin Marathon!

"Pre-registration" opened today, and it filled up in 3.5 hours. Dusters and I both logged on this morning over breakfast and signed up. This is a huge marathon, with 40,000 runners. I'm guessing it might be similar to Chicago, where you feel crowded the whole way. This type of marathon probably isn't my favorite, and running an international marathon doesn't really fit into our 50 state goal, but we both think this will be a really cool experience. It's the 40th year for the Berlin Marathon, and some of the world's fastest times have been recorded here.

Well, that's it for today. There are few other races that might fit in: the Polar Dash (depending on the weather), the Get Ready to Rock 20 miler again, and maybe the Urban Wildlands half marathon. TBD folks, TBD!

Fit Fanatic: Watching Your Coach WIN the Mankato Marathon!

By Jess

Wow...where was this AWESOME picture taken? 

Read on to find out!

After hosting a post-marathon potluck last night for my run club girlfriends (read about it HERE), we were up bright and early to drive to Mankato to cheer for the marathoners at the Mankato Marathon.

After a quick stop for some extra large coffees at Starbucks (the potluck went a little late, and we were all tired), we hit the road to Mankato. Mankato is about 1.5 hours southwest of Minneapolis.

This is a relatively new marathon for our state; I think it's only the third year. Yet even though it is new, the post-marathon comments were mostly positive- very well organized, pretty course, but it had some challenging hills and limited spectators.

Website: http://www.mankatomarathon.com

When I run a marathon, I LOVE the fans and their funny, slightly offensive signs.
So my friends and I put together some of our own for our cheering squad.

 I did get yelled at by one ornery runner. 

Have a sense of humor, grumpers! 

At least most of the runners seemed to get a chuckle out of our signs.

We had cowbells and music, and definitely were some of the loudest cheerleaders! 

At our first spectator  stop, we were all so excited to see that our coach was in the lead!

And he wasn't just part of a leading pack. He was the lead runner by a significant margin!

When we saw him again at mile 10, his lead had only increased, and he was looking so strong!

When we saw him at mile 21, it was obvious that he had a marathon WIN in the bag.

It was so amazing to personally know and care for the person who was winning the marathon!

And then an even more amazing thing happened....

...two of our friends went to the bathroom at Burger King!!!

Amazing, right?

Okay, no, that's not it.

The amazing thing that happened was that while they were heading back from the bathroom, these two friends ran into the driver of the lead runner vehicle, and the two of them turned on their Minnesota charm, and were able to convince the driver to let us all hop in the back of the truck to cheer for Coach Paul as he came through to the finish line.

{in the back of the lead runner vehicle - what an AMAZING experience!}

It was so much fun to share this experience with my run club friends, and to view the race from this spectacular vantage point. It was probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of us.

But as fun as it was for us to cheer from the lead runner vehicle, it was probably a lot more fun for Coach Paul; I mean, he was WINNING! What an amazing feeling that must have been!

We all felt so proud of Paul!

We know just how hard he worked, and he deserved to win.

Congratulations!

After Paul's amazing finish, we headed back to mile 21 to cheer some more, and we were able to catch these strong runners:

Go Angela!

 Still smiling at mile 21!

Looking good Mat!

After cheering for our friends, we met up with the Mankato Marathon Winner (yeah, I know him) at Pub 500 for some grub.

{Don't you love the big face sign?}

After lunch, we went to the awards ceremony to watch Paul accept his trophy.

A huge congratulations again Coach! So amazing!