My track coaches in the past always emphasized the importance of hydration. Water was key, but equally important was replacing the electrolytes that we loose during exercise (yep, [...]]]> (Yes, I know it is Saturday, but this was written Friday. Due to technical difficulties I was unable to complete the post until this morning. Thanks for understanding!)

My track coaches in the past always emphasized the importance of hydration. Water was key, but equally important was replacing the electrolytes that we loose during exercise (yep, all of that salty sweat…such fun).  So, like a good girl, I purchased the sweetened sports drinks that all of my teammates bought. And I have been buying the same sports drinks now for who knows how many years.  I have never been completely happy with my sports drink choices, but I wasn’t sure what else to try.

Thank goodness for running blogs! I had been reading all about nuun over at Barefoot Angie B’s blog and I was intrigued. A sports drink without all of the sugar and calories, that was portable; I wanted to hear more.

Thanks to Angie, I was able to get in contact with the fabulous people at nuun, and they very kindly sent me a selection of their products to sample (and more to share with you…more about that later ).  I have to be honest. I LOVED the idea of no sugar (an no artificial sweetener either) but I worried about the taste… I am a big flavor girl…if it doesn’t taste good, I have a really hard time drinking or eating it. I have to say that my worries were unfounded! The flavor was great; nice and light (which after a long, hard run is absolutely perfect).

The great thing about nuun is that not only does it provide the electrolytes that I need without the sugar (that I don’t), but it encourages the use of reusable bottles. I hate to see waste, and all of the empty bottles from sports drinks seems like such a waste, and with nuun, there is very little waste. Each tube of nuun contains 12 tablets. Each tablet makes one 16 oz bottle of nuun! And at $19.50 for three tubes of nuun, you are only paying a little over $.54 a bottle! Saving waste and saving money at the same time, now that is my kind of product!

On to flavor options!  nuun comes in six flavors: lemon+lime, tri-berry, citrus fruit, orange ginger, banananuun, and kona cola.  I have to admit, while I was sent all of the above flavors, I didn’t try banananuun or kona cola as I don’t care for those flavors in general. But I did try the other four flavors and my absolute favorite is citrus fruit. Yummm… It starts very citrus-y but also has a peach like flavor that is so good. The tiny bit of effervescence is also very refreshing (not like soda, just a tiny fizz).

I recently participated in an overnight relay and brought nuun along with me. After each leg I had an icy cold bottle of nuun waiting for me when I finished. It was so refreshing and the perfect post run electrolyte drink!

Buy it: nuun is available at running stores, online retailers and directly from nuun through their website.

Win it: The fabulous people at nuun also sent me enough product to share with you! Two of my readers will receive two tubes of nuun and a 21  oz nuun specialized  water bottle (these water bottles are fabulous )! Here’s how to enter (US entries only please). Please leave a separate comment for each entry:

1.  (MANDATORY, must be done for any bonus entries to count) Head to nuun.com and look around. Tell me something that you learned AND the flavor you most want to try.

Bonus Entries:

2.  Sign up for the nuun newsletter (find it on the nuun.com homepage)

3. Follow nuun on twitter (leave your twitter id in your comment)

4. Like nuun on facebook (please leave your first name and last initial in your comment)

5. Follow Sticky Fingerprints through Google Friend Connect

6. Follow Sticky Fingerprints on Twitter

7. Link to this giveaway on your blog and/or on twitter (and leave me a link where I can find it; one entry each)

8. Add Sticky Fingerprints to your blog roll

All entries must be received by 11:59 PM Mountain Time on September 17th. Winner will be selected at random and posted on the blog as well as contacted by email. Winner will then have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

On to preschool mishaps! Monday was the first day of preschool for #4. He was ready for the day, dressed in new clothes, hair brushed, teeth brushed, new Target [...]]]> I want to start by announcing the Kroger Winner. Random.org selected comment # 36 which is Lisa G! Congrats. I will email you soon for contact information!

On to preschool mishaps! Monday was the first day of preschool for #4. He was ready for the day, dressed in new clothes, hair brushed, teeth brushed, new Target shoes  (Grandma bought his new shoes for school at Target. He loves them and thinks that the fact that they are Target shoes makes them extra special.) I had the camera in my purse, ready to  record the day for his scrapbook… But as we arrived at the preschool we discovered that he had forgotten his book bag… This, of course, was devastating and he just could NOT go to his first day of preschool without his book bag (The book bag is an important part of preschool. They use it to bring home their projects from the day as well as acting as the pathway of communication for the school and parents.) Needless to say, we had to turn around, go home and find the missing book bag. By the time we returned to preschool, we were 10 minutes late and class was already in session. We had to rush him in, which of course resulted in a balling session that lasted about 15-20 minutes, but eventually resolved itself before the end of the day. But, the end result was a total lack of first day pictures…I know…and I call myself a scrapbooker.

Another bit of excitement from the past week was a visit from my grandmother (who resides in Texas).  The two little boys and I were able to spend a great deal of time with her and my mom, while the older kids were in school. We visited two places in the Salt Lake City area that, even though we have lived in Utah for four and a half years now, we had yet to visit. Our first stop was last Thursday at This is The Place Heritage Park.  The park like a museum, but set up like a village to replicate what life was like during the time when Salt Lake was being settled. It was a fun place to visit, and we were incredibly lucky because a University of Utah Student was doing their Master’s Thesis at the time, and in exchange for taking a survey at the end of our visit and allowing a docent to take us on a personal tour of the park, we got our entry for free! Yep, SCORE big time!

Our next trip was this past Tuesday to Thanksgiving Point. They were having their final $2 Tuesday of the summer, so the place was packed, but the kids had a blast. Thanksgiving Point is a group of attractions including Gardens, a Museum of Ancient History, a Farm Life park and more. We chose to check out the Farm Life park and the Museum of Ancient History.  We started with the Farm Life park where the kids saw farm animals and enjoyed a ride on a large wagon pulled by a tractor.

Here’s my little guy looking through the fence..he was trying to get a closer look at the pigs:

At the end of our visit to the Farm Life park my mom bought each of them a cute little tractor to take home.

By the end of our visit to the Farm Life park we were ready for lunch (was it looking at all of the cows that got us thinking hamburgers and ice cream…hmm..maybe) so we headed to a local fast food place to get some lunch before making our way to the Museum of Ancient History (with two little boys, how could we NOT take them to see the dinosaurs?). My sister was able to meet us for our visit to see the dinosaurs so we had a little time outside the museum while we waited for her to arrive…the boys found a rock on which to play and I snapped a couple of photos..here’s both of them acting cute

Finally we made our way to the museum and the boys had a great time looking at all of the dinosaur bones (ok so they were mostly all replicas of dinosaur bones, but shhhh don’t tell the boys.) #4 had a great time digging for fossils:

Grandma headed back home yesterday and I know some little boys who will sure miss having her here with them! Thanks for visiting Grandma and thanks for all of the fun Mom!

Come back tomorrow for the return of Fitness Friday! I have a fabulous product to review (and I might just have some to share)!

Monday was the day that I have been longing for for weeks now…THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. Yes, I admit it, I was anxiously awaiting the return of school. With five kids ranging in age from 2.5 to 10, trying to accomplish anything with them all home all day, everyday is pretty near impossible.  So [...]]]>

Monday was the day that I have been longing for for weeks now…THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. Yes, I admit it, I was anxiously awaiting the return of school. With five kids ranging in age from 2.5 to 10, trying to accomplish anything with them all home all day, everyday is pretty near impossible.  So now I have three of my children in school all day, and starting next week I will also have one in preschool three days a week in the mornings. I am definitely enjoying having time with just my younger guys, and I can definitely get more accomplished (like maybe posting to this blog..yeah…that would be a good thing).

Unfortunately my children usually bring home more than just homework when they go to school. They bring home a lovely collection of germs… like those that cause colds, the flu, pink eye, strep throat, etc!

With nearly 22 million school days lost each year due to the common cold and flu (CDC) and as many as 2.7 million bacterial found per square inch on common school surfaces (NSF International), it’s no wonder that 82 percent of parents with kids in grades K-5 fret about the germs in their children’s classrooms (according to a survey conducted by Seventh Generation).

This school year, Seventh Generation is sharing tips from best-selling author and pediatrician, Dr. Alan Greene, to help parents protect their child’s health during back-to-school season. Dr. Greene suggests taking the following precautions:

Optimize the immune system

• Reap the benefits of probiotics like those found in yogurt. A recent study showed that children who received enough probiotics daily throughout the cold and flu season had a significant reduction in the number of illnesses they had and, when they did get sick, the symptoms were both milder and didn’t last as long.
• Be sure your child is getting plenty of vitamin D from the sun, from food, or from a supplement.
• Build a strong foundation. Good food, good sleep, and good physical activity all help the immune system to flourish.

Be wise about reducing unnecessary exposure to harmful germs

• Teach children the key times to clean their hands in the classroom. The most important times include after sneezing, coughing or using the restroom, upon leaving “high-risk” places (recess, naptime, play stations) and before meals or snacks.
• Sixty percent of teachers surveyed said that they request that parents donate disinfecting wipes to the classroom. Seventh Generation’s disinfecting wipes kill 99.99% of germs* naturally using the active ingredient thyme, a component of thyme oil which is derived from the herb thyme.
• Stress the importance of not touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
• Demonstrate to your children how to cover their mouth and nose for every cough and sneeze. This simple maneuver has spectacular results in decreasing the spread of viruses and bacteria floating about the room, waiting to be inhaled.

*Refer to disinfecting product labels for full details

You can watch this short video about the history of germs:

Seventh Generation was generous enough to send me this great kit to help combat the germs in my house  and they have one for a lucky reader as well. Each kit includes a Seventh Generation backpack, two canisters of Seventh Generation disinfecting wipes (one for home and one to donate to your child’s classroom), disinfecting multi-surface spray cleaner, facial tissue and paper towels.

Here’s how to win (US entries only please)

1- (Mandatory, must be done for bonus entries to count) Share your tips for keeping your kids healthy and germ free

Bonus Entries:

2. Follow Sticky Fingerprints through Google Friend Connect and leave a comment (please list your Google name if it is different than shown)

3. Follow Sticky Fingerprints on Twitter

4. Link to this giveaway on your blog and/or on twitter (and leave me a link where I can find it; one entry each) (if tweeting, please include #myblogspark and @SeventhGen)  #

5. Add Sticky Fingerprints to your blog roll

6. Connect with Seventh Generation either on facebook or twitter and leave a comment with your twitter name or first name and last initial for facebook.

All entries must be received by 11:59 PM Mountain Time on September 8th. Winner will be selected at random and posted on the blog as well as contacted by email. Winner will then have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

Winner #1 (who received the bag and coupons) is comment #11 which is Kiesha

Winner #2 (who receives coupons) is comment #99 which is Ed Nemmers

Thanks to everyone for entering. I will be in contact with winners via email (please respond within 72 hours or a new winner [...]]]> The winners in the Silk Pure Almond giveaway are:

Winner #1 (who received the bag and coupons) is comment #11 which is Kiesha

Winner #2 (who receives coupons) is comment #99 which is Ed Nemmers

Thanks to everyone for entering. I will be in contact with winners via email (please respond within 72 hours or a new winner will be selected). Come back soon because I have a new giveaway to post!

Vacation:

We spent a week in California for a family reunion. We were camping along the northern coast (up near Fort Bragg) of the state, and before you think I enjoyed hours of sun and sand…think again. The [...]]]> Yeah, I know that is a long title…LOL, but the past couple of weeks have been filled with craziness…

Vacation:

We spent a week in California for a family reunion. We were camping along the northern coast (up near Fort Bragg) of the state, and before you think I enjoyed hours of sun and sand…think again. The north coast of Cali is NOTHING like southern Cali. It is more like Oregon…we were in a cloud of mist the entire camp out! But, the Ocean is GORGEOUS and you can explore the tide pools along the coastline. Here I am holding a tiny crab:

I also saw hermit crab, star fish, anemone, tons of tiny shrimp, little fish, and more! The tide pools were my favorite part of the trip (ok seeing tons of family was truly the best part, but the second best was the tide pools).
My kids LOVED seeing so many of their cousins and aunts and uncles. They couldn’t wait to get outside every morning to start the day’s adventures together. Many hours were spent in the camp ground’s heated pool (seriously, this thing was only a few degrees cooler than a hot tub, and thank goodness it was because it was COLD the whole trip).  Games of Nertz were played, skits acted out, and limericks written and shared.

Here is a photo of our family with the light house at Pt Arenas in the back ground:

And this photos is just cute of a lot of the cousins  on one of our hikes:

The final day of our vacation (meaning the day we spent driving through the boring state of Nevada…sorry to any Nevada residents who read this blog…) was my hubby’s and my 13th anniversary…Happy Anniversary Hun…I LOVE YA! And weren’t we so cute and young here:

Sickness:

Not long after getting back from our family vacation, and in the middle of recovering from all of the laundry and mess that a road trip/camping trip creates, I came down with an awful cold.  One of those that knock you out and send you to bed. I was tired all the time and so grateful to my daughter who helped with the kids so I could get some rest.

Relay:

Shortly before our vacation, I received a facebook message from Lora of The Blonde Runner asking for anyone interested in putting together a team for the Epic Cache to Teton Relay. Not one to pass up an opportunity to race, I said yes!

Last Friday I was picked up by my teammates (none of whom I had met previously other than a quick team meeting earlier in the week) and we made our way to Idaho to meet up with our first van for the first vehicle exchange of the relay. During this ride I discovered that I was definitely the slow poke of our vehicle! We had runners in our van who could run between 5:30 and 7 minute miles…um I DREAM of running that pace…heck I would be ecstatic if I could run ONE mile in 5:30! Even though I felt a bit embarrassed by my pace, everyone was so nice and never made me feel bad for being a slow poke!

I was still fighting my nasty cold, so I didn’t perform as well as I had hoped, but I had a blast, and because we had some  fabulous runners on our team, we ended up placing 5th place overall and 1st in our division! Go team Last Minute Marvels! (Sorry, I don’t have photos, because lame-o that I am, I forgot my camera!)

Technical Difficulties:

I have intended to blog again much sooner, but our laptop died (we tend to kill them around here…something about 5 kids..and it was an older one) and our desktop has been giving us trouble, but it seems to be working better now, so we are back in business! Look for a new post in the morning!

I you are not already [...]]]> I just wanted to give you all a heads up on this fantastic giveaway from Sof Sole. They want to reach 500 facebook fans (or “likers”) by this Friday, July 30th. If they reach this goal, one fan will receive a Training Package from Sof Sole (which includes socks and insoles).

I you are not already a fan, click here to become one. If you are already a fan,  you are already entered, but you need to spread the word to help them reach their goal! Click on “suggest to friends” and share with your facebook friends.  These are fantastic products and if you are selected as the winner, you will LOVE them.

Do you regularly set fitness related goals? I find that when I do not have a goal in mind it is much easier to make excuses for missing workouts.  I am just too tired, too busy, it’s too early, too late…so many reasons NOT to workout, and without a goal, seemingly few reasons to exercise.

There [...]]]> Goals.

Do you regularly set fitness related goals? I find that when I do not have a goal in mind it is much easier to make excuses for missing workouts.  I am just too tired, too busy, it’s too early, too late…so many reasons NOT to workout, and without a goal, seemingly few reasons to exercise.

There are many different kinds of goals that you can set, for example:

Event Related Goals-You can set a goal to complete a specific event. It could be a 5K, a marathon, a bike race, tri-triathlon, etc. Setting a goal for a specific event (and registering for the event…when you put down the money you are even more motivated) gives you a built in time-line.

Weight Loss Goals- You can set a goal to lose a specific amount of weight within a specified time frame. Remember to set a reasonable, healthy goal (preferably under the advice of your health care provider, who can help you to determine a healthy goal) that is attainable.

Size Related Goal- Similar to weight loss goals, you can set a goal to achieve a specific jeans or dress size. You can even buy something in that size. The physical  reminder of your goal can help you to remain motivated.

What fitness goals are you working towards right now? Mine is a marathon in October!

Now for my race recap.

I had a fabulous experience racing in the Deseret News 10K this morning.  I woke up this morning at 4AM to throw on my Team Jamba Gear and grab everything I would need for the race in time to catch a ride with my friends to SLC for the race that began at 6:05 AM!

Here I am right before the race began:

As this was my first 10K, I was definitely nervous and unsure as to how fast to start out. But when the gun went off, my usual start of race adrenaline rush took over and, as per usual I started out a bit too fast, but not as bad as some races.  But this race was unique in that it was ALMOST entirely downhill. Now of course this is absolutely fabulous for times, but it is so hard to figure out how much to hold back. I definitely went a bit too fast in the beginning, finishing the first mile in just about 8 minutes. I slowed up a bit after that, but not much.  I hit 3 miles at around 25:30, but as the race went on the slope of the hill became more and more flat, so my speed slowed a bit more, but I was able to keep it going without going much slower than a 9 minute mile throughout the race.

Another fabulous thing about this race was running along the parade route. Here in Utah the 24th of July is a huge holiday (Pioneer Day, a holiday celebrating the arrival of the Mormon Pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley). Each year a parade makes it’s way through downtown Salt Lake filled with fantastic floats. People camp out overnight to reserve their spaces along the parade route. This made for an amazing finish to the race. Running the last mile and a half with all of the parade goers cheering you on (one group even stood there handing out plastic glasses filled with sparkling cider). It was a huge motivator during a time in the race when you are exhausted and so want to slow down.

As I approached the finish line I was exhausted and had no kick left (which is rare, as I almost always have a kick left for the finish. But when I looked at my Garmin for my finish time I was thrilled! My Garmin read 54:16! I know that there is no way I could run a time like that on a flat course, but it is thrilling to know I ran a 10K at an average of about 8:45 pace!

My official chip finish time was: 54:13 making me 79th out of 257 in my age group and 403rd out of 1233 women! I am so happy with that, especially for my first 10K! I am ready to get back to training and achieve my goals (and set some more PRs, I am looking to run a 26 flat or better in the 5K before the year is out!)

Thanks for reading if you have gotten this far. Here are some photos of my friends and I post race (this is my good friend and her hubby, they were kind enough to let me tag along with them today)