Our First Ultra!!

Well, we made it! What a FUN weekend we had up in Maine with our friends, as we run our very first ultra-marathon! We went up to New Gloucester, Maine for the Pineland Farms Trail Running Festival, and wow, what a weekend! It was so much fun, and the races/atmosphere/everything was AWESOME!

On Saturday, Bethany ran the Barefoot 5k and Ryan ran the 5k with shoes. Both races were very fun, and Bethany had a blast running through the woods and open fields with no shoes on. She's a nut. Ryan went out a little too hard storming through the woods up and down hills, and then tripped on a rock and took a nice spill down a hill around mile 2. We both had a great time with this little introduction to trail racing. 

On Sunday, we ran the 50km together, and we've never had so much fun running a race together! Everything about the day was so much fun. The course was two - 15.5 mile loops, through beautiful woods and open fields, with wide trails, non-technical, and very windy and relentless hills. We started out strong, doing the first loop around 2:54, but ended up fading a bit in the second loop (especially in the open fields) when the sun came out and was beating down on us (Ryan does not do well in heat), but Ryan got his second wind in the last 5 miles, and we finished with a strong final time of 6:13:15 (12:01 pace). The aid stations were plentiful and so helpful, and the course supporters were SO NICE. The whole atmosphere of the whole weekend was amazing, great people, and nice post-race free beer and bbq. This is certainly a race we'll have circled on our calendars for years to come! Although next time, Miss Bethany is already talking about the 50 miler. =)

The best part is, the trails were so nice that neither one of us is sore today!

Here are some pictures from our awesome weekend!

At the starting line.

Miss Bethany all smiles, no shoes, courtesy of David Colby Young, race photographer.

 

Post-race bare feet. Notice the nail polish.

 

Ryan coming in for a strong finish, after his wipeout, photo courtesy of Don Penta, race photographer.

 Awesome 50km race photo, courtesy of David Colby Young.

Post-race, all smiles, with our finisher cow-bells, Ryan's newest most prized possession.

Remember our good friend Barefoot Kevin with the blistered foot from the Providence Marathon? Here he is doing a headstand, minutes after a strong finish in the 50 miler. 

Stay tuned for more pics from the weekend, and also Miss Bethany's elbow-licking photo!

1 Year From Today!!!!!!!!!

Let the countdown begin! 

1 year from today we are getting married!!!

7 Things About Me(Bethany)

Hi everyone, I got tagged by Tall Mom for the Versatile Blogger award so now I have to write 7 things about myself...here it goes...

1. I am bilingual. I am an American Sign Language Interpreter so my second language is ASL.

2. I can lick my elbow, even though it is supposedly impossible to do.

3. I was in the same preschool class as Ryan. Never saw each other again until high school.   He was super shy and super smart (class valedictorian) we never really talked. I was a bit wild and hung out with the "cool" girls. We were TOTAL opposites and no one would have ever believed we'd get married someday!! I did have a little crush on Ryan tho, I thought his shyness was cute.

4. Even though Ryan and and I were such an unlikely couple/match, all throughout high school my mother would say, "You're going to marry Ryan Couto someday." my response, "Mom! I don't even talk to Ryan Couto!"  Hmm, how did she know???

5. I have been running for 13 years and have never had a running injury. Nope, not afraid to jinx to myself because it's not luck, for me it's careful planning and A LOT of work! Injury prevention is my 4th job, it's A LOT of work but really has paid off well for me. And being so laid back helps a lot to. I am very blessed that my body loves running as much as the rest of me does!

6. I wake up EARLY e.v.e.r.y. S.I.N.G.L.E day of my life (sigh). Now with the sun I'm waking up between 5-5:30am daily.I'm able to get a lot done and I'm very productive in the morning so I don't mind 85% of the time. Sleepovers always sucked as a kid though.

7. I am running my first ultra marathon 1 week from today (Ryan too!! Can't wait!)

Let me guess, you want a picture of #2? LOL

AND THE WINNER IS....

Thanks to all who entered our BeeCause Charms giveaway!!

Last time we had a giveaway we wrote all the names on paper and pulled them out of a hat. This time we have twice as many entries and since Ryan is away at a wedding, I figured it'd be a lot easier to use random.org. (I've seen other bloggers use it so I figured I'd give it a try)

As I hit the "generate" button, I thought to myself, 'gee, it sucks to be #1, I bet #1 never gets picked'...and what number showed up?? NUMBER 1!!!

The WINNER is Hannah from More Than a Marathon!!! I'm really glad she won, she is really sweet and is training for her first marathon. If you don't know who she is, go check out her blog! Congrats Hannah, send us an email...Ryan.Couto@gmail.com. please let us know which charm you would like and where we should mail it to.

Thanks again for entering!! And thanks so much to BeeCause Charms!! 

Are We Perfect for Each Other, or What??

**Don't forget, last chance to enter our BeeCause Giveaway! Contest ends this Thursday. Click here to enter!!**

So, are we perfect for each other or what...look what I noticed on the back of Ryan's leg tonight...the SAME cut that I have in the exact same spot as mine! Both on our right leg, on the back of our ankles and in the same shape!! Both of us got the cuts while running trails this past Saturday. Say it with me...AWWW, lol

Have you ever heard of/done this race?

First off, if you haven't already, don't forget to enter our BeeCause giveaway here!!!!

If you've picked up this month's Runner's World, then you might've read the article on the Dipsea race in Cali. While we were reading it, we were SO EXCITED to see that it just so happens that we will be in Califonia for our honeymoon at the exact time of this race (one week after the Rock n Roll San Diego). Now we REALLY want to get into this race. It'd be the PERFECT way to continue on with our running-themed weddin/honeymoon/life. =)

Have any of you guys ever heard anything about it, or run it in the past, or have any secrets on how a couple of East Coasters can get in?!

Here's the link to the Dipsea Race.

Also, we ran a GREAT 20 miles this morning on the trails. 15 miles with a friend, and the last 5 miles just us. We saw lots of horses, dogs (even a blind dog), and it was such a nice spring day. We are getting really excited for our Ultra in a couple weeks.

BeeCause Charms GIVEAWAY!!

Welcome to our second ever giveaway! I hope you will like this product as much as I do!! As you all know, I love anything colorful, bright-pink, festive or sparkly and this product possesses all those qualities!

I first discovered BeeCause Charms at the Boston Marathon expo just last month. BeeCause Charms are little charms that slip onto shoelaces to remind you of all the reasons, people and causes you run for. I purchased 2 shoe charms, a pink breast cancer ribbon charm and also a sparkly 26.2 charm. In addition to these charms, they also have 13.1 charms, yellow ribbons, America flag ribbons. If you are running in honor or memory of someone (or if you just want a picture of your child), you may be interested in a heart shaped charm that you can slip a picture of your loved one in. A really cool charm that is not shown on the website but was at the expo was a "Boston Bound" shoe charm for those of you trying to qualify for Boston/have qualified. Here are some pictures from the BeeCause Charms website.

My first time running with these charms on my shoe was during the Boston Marathon. I absolutely loved them! Every time I looked down at my feet and saw the sparkly pink it made me so happy! I was a little nervous that they would bounce around on my laces but it wasn't a problem at all. I felt the breast cancer charm move once or twice during the race but it wasn't annoying, instead it made me remember of just how many sick people there are and how lucky I really am. It sounds cheesy but I feel like it helped me run stronger.

Here's a picture of my shoes with my charms. 

Here's How to Win a Charm of Your Own!!

**Leave a separate comment for each entry!**

*LOTS of chances to enter!*

1. Become a follower of our blog and leave us a comment (if you are already a follower leave us a comment saying so)

2. Become a fan/"like" BeeCause Charms on facebook and leave us a comment letting us know.

3. Follow BeeCause Charms on twitter at @Lolashoe1 and let us know

4. Repost this giveaway onto your blog or link this giveaway to your blog and let us know.

5. Go to BeeCause Charms website, and tell us which charm you would want and why

6. What is a charm you would like to see in the future?

Giveaway will remain open for 10 days and then we will randomly select a winner Thursday, May 20th.

 If for some reason you have a technical problem leaving comments on our blog, please email us at ryan.couto@gmail.com, and we will try to fix the problem ASAP.

Would you or someone you know like these charms?? THEN ENTER OUR GIVEAWAY!!!!

Providence Half Marathon

Hey all! First of all, thanks for letting us know our comments weren't working. We've figured it out, and now set our comments to pop-out, so it should be fixed. Please email us and let us know if you ever have trouble with it again!

So, this past weekend was the Cox Providence Rhode Races. Miss Bethany and I each invited a newbie runner to train and run the half-marathon with us at their pace. It was their first half-marathon, and they were a little nervous, but they both did great!!

Ryan ran with Cindy (Miss Bethany's friend from college), and finished strong with a time of 2:18:09, and Miss Bethany with Jenna (Miss Bethany's friend from aerobics, and she's lost a total of 106 lbs and is now a runner) finished close behind in a time of 2:19:13. 

Here are some pics from the race:

Post-race. Nice job ladies!

The race finished really close to where Ryan went to school (Brown), so of course we had to stop by the Van Wickle Gates and take a smoochy pic!

Post-race, back at Ryan's parents house.

Our friend from the GNBTC, Kathi, with a GREAT PR!

Two other friends from the GNBTC, Kenny (in blue, finishing his 66th marathon), and Cheryl (in bright yellow and gray, qualifying for Boston!)

And here is our buddy, Kevin, after becoming the first-ever (as far as we know) barefoot Providence Marathon finisher. Ouch, look at that golf-ball sized blood-blister popping out the side of his foot!

We will have a giveaway on Monday!!!!! Stay tuned. . . . here's another hint: it is sparkly, and thus Miss Bethany loves it!

Our Engagement - One Year Later

As you all know, we got engaged in Hopkinton right before the 2009 Boston Marathon. This year, of course we had to go back and visit the site of our engagement! So here are the pics from last year and this year!!

2009: The Bench (where the actual proposal took place)

2009: The Stone Arch

2010: The Bench

2010: The Stone Arch (c'mon, you knew it'd be a smoochy pic)

*****Stay tuned at the end of May to see how you can be involved in helping us plan our running-themed wedding!!!*****

***Also, coming next week: our second giveaway!!! Here's a hint: a new fun accessory you most likely have not seen yet!!! Ladies, I think you will like it!!***

Ryan's Boston Race Report (a little late)

Alright, so here's my take on the race. I know I'm a few weeks late, but I've been real busy, finishing up my first graduate school course, and some late nights at work.

So we went up to Hopkinton on the Greater New Bedford Track Club bus with all of our friends, and that's always a fun time. It's great to be around good people who love running as much as you do.We got to Athlete's Village, and Miss Bethany and I took our Engagement Anniversary pics around our stone and little bench there, which was nice. It was kind of sad that she was in the first wave, and I was in the second. After she left the village, I just kind of wandered around from Port-a-Potty to Port-a-Potty, not much else to do.

So I got to the starting line, I was really excited. I was a little nervous, seeing as this was my first marathon without my trusty pacer Miss Bethany by my side. My A goal was 3:55, B goal was 4:00, and C goal was 4:05:40 (last year's time). The race started out, I felt pretty good for the first half. I think I did about a 1:56 first half, and I felt good. However, around mile 17 or so, when the sun came out, I started to overheat. I know it wasn't THAT hot that day, but for this Northerner not yet acclimated to the warmth of spring, it felt really hot. I definitely got a little dehydrated, and started to fade. I knew I wasn't going to hit my goal, so I kind of just took a different approach for the last 10 miles. I reasoned that I could either 1.) grit my teeth, be miserable, and possibly squeak out a 4 hr marathon, or 2.) ease off, enjoy the last 10 miles, and forget about my time.

Knowing we had the 50km and the Alaska Marathon coming up, rather than kill myself to shave off those extra minutes, I chose option 2. I eased off, and finished in a 4:07:52, and I am totally fine with that. While it's a personal worst, and about 12 minutes slower than what I wanted, I'm totally fine with it. I had virtually no soreness at all, which was awesome. I'm happy with my first solo-marathon, and it was fun to enjoy it and take it all in, and not be suffering down Boylston at the end.

Also, I got some great pictures . . . .