Goodies!

Made a pit stop by Hibbett Sports on the way home this week just to pick up a jump rope and walked out with a tummy support wrap and a hip belt for my phone so that I don't have to wear an arm band if I don't want to! It was like Christmas in July! 

The town I live in is so small it is either Hibbett for sports gear or Wal-Mart aka Wally World and I despise Wally World. Unfortunately if I need anything of real value it is worth it to make the hour drive into Corpus Christi because ultimately I will save money. 

39th Armed Forces Beach to Bay Relay Run

So about a week before the big Beach to Bay run that is held every year here in Corpus Christi I was stuck in this big black boot! How come you say....well I was changing up my stride, something a CrossFit coach told me to do, since I am a heal striker. Well in doing so I started to get a stress fracture on the outside of my foot. My friend who help me through all of it is an LAT at a local high school and he also told me that the colorful Nikes I was wearing really did nothing to support my foot either. Needless to say I wore this boot everyday during the day for about three weeks and it helped so much! It enabled me to keep training and run my first 10K!

I chose to run the first leg of Beach to Bay which is.......the beach leg! Duh! It gave me a great excuse to spend some time at my first home here in Corpus Christi. I love the island. I miss the island. I miss the beach. I miss the friends I made, the bars I went to, and the lifestyle that comes with living so close to the water. 

This year the winds were roughly around 20 MPH give or take and the majority of the leg that I ran was into the wind! Ugh! But I finished. My average pace per mile wasn't that great but given the super loose sand and wind that day I will take it. 

Beach to Bay has all ready opened up registration for 2015 and I am definitely going to run it again. I think this next one I want to run the third leg. If you have never been a part of this awesome relay you definitely need to put it on your race bucket list! Plus coming to Corpus Christi is always a bonus!

Gritty Goddess 5K

Me, Becky, Vero, and Felicia
aka
The Dirty Snatches

My CrossFit ladies! I met these girls through my CrossFit gym in Ben Bolt and I love them! Unfortunately that gym has since shut down so I do not see them as much but this run was such a fun girls weekend in Galveston! This was Vero and Fel's first 5k and first obstacle run. I think we got more stares about our shirts and team name than anything else. Luckily most people figured out we were CrossFitters. 

Coming off of Warrior Dash, I thought this obstacle run was pretty bad ass. It had so many challenges along the route. And it was tons more fun having some friends to do it with me than running solo. We actually all liked it so much we plan on trying to make it an annual thing. 

By the end of the race we were covered in dirt, mud, sand, and foam! Since it was at Moody Gardens at one point we ended up in the lazy river!

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What are some of the best team names for obstacle runs that you have come up with or have seen?

Warrior Dash 2014

On my way down the giant slide leading into a pool of freezing, muddy water

This was coming up out of one of the last water obstacles. I look exhausted!

I absolutley love my face in this picture! I was jumping over the fire at the tail end of the run. 

I completed the entire course in right around an hour. I tried to run as much as I could but the ranch was super hilly and rocky. 

I was really excited for this run! I traveled to Smithville, Texas for it solo. I couldn't find anyone who wanted to do it with me but that wasn't going to stop me. It would have been tons of more fun if I had some friends...but the challenge was still fun in itself. A 5k through a privately owned ranch with hills, creek beds, rocky terrain and not to mention all the obstacles that the course boasts. I think this will be a run that I do every year. I really enjoyed the challenege, traveling (even if it was only a few hours in the truck), and the cause that they raise money for. Hopefully in 2015 I will have a team of friends to do it with me.

As part of this challenge I participated in raising money for St Jude's Children's Hospital. I raised just over $300 which had some great perks: private bag check, showers, free food and drinks!

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Do you have a Warrior Dash race under your belt? If so which one did you complete? Would you do it again?

What is one of your favorite organizations that receives donations from your races?

Color Me Rad 5K

I thought it would be a good idea to put this on however it took almost a week to get it off! Thank goodness I didn't put it on my face!

Color Me Rad held down at Brewster Street Ice House in the SEA District in Corpus Christi was my first color run. It will be my one and only color run. For me, it was hard to breath because of the color bombs and there were not many serious runners who participated. (Plus I ruined a pair of headphones) From what I remember I had a pretty good time (considering the course obstacles) Either way I can say I have one under my belt and I got some pretty cool swag too.

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Have you run a color run before? If so, which one? And did you like?

Orange Grove Bulldog Backer Glow Run

Before the Glow Run in Orange Grove

So Orange Grove will eventually be my hometown...home of the Bulldogs! Dave and I have bought 1.5 acres out there and we will eventually be building our home there. This run was put on by the Bulldog Backer Association and I thought it would be fun to do a run at night wearing those glow stick things. Stephanie (a friend from church on the left) and her friend are steady running buddies so they paced faster than myself but I still had a good time and fnished well. I cannot wait to be living in Orange Grove and being a part of the community full time.

Small Town Water Tower Town

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I do not have kids yet but it is in my near future. Are there races/fun runs that are out on by your local schools to benefit the kiddos that you love?

A little bit about Andi....

I am a soon-to-be wife who lives in a small Texas town working for the same oilfield company as my fiance. I was a varsity swimmer in high school back in San Antonio and I love to CrossFit! I have been running now for about a year or so....but recently it has started to become a passion instead of a have to.

2014 was the year of 5k's for me. In Alice (where I live) they have a community 5k every first Saturday of the month. In addition I also finished a mud run (Warrior Dash), an obstacle run (HAVOK Run), my first 10K (Gusto Race Series), and I have my first 8K August 9. I will post up some picstures from all my races so far this year to catch you up.

After reading some fantastic runner bloggers for a while I decided to create my own so that I can keep up with my runs, share my thoughts, and hopefully inspire any novices runners out there who are just like me.

You can find me on social media:

Instgram:andibaker

Twitter: stxandi

So this is Dave...my fiance until November 8 then I officially take the Holmgreen name

This is Lindsey...one of my oldest and best friends

This is Ashley....one of my best friends since we were kids too

And I couldn't forget Kelly! One of my best friends since I have lived in Corpus Christi

My one and only living grandparent...Papa! He only lives 45 minutes away fromme so I get to see him quite a bit

And the gingers! This is Nixon and Josie...my sister's kids. Yes they are twins!

What South Texas girl doesn't hunt

And this would be Carly...my one and only little sister who now lives in Carlsbad, CA

What summer is complete without a river trip!

And I guess I will give you a good one. In a former life I was a full time real estate agent. I hope to get back to that one day. When I am not dressed for my oilfield job or in workout clothes this is what I can look like all dressed up.