Larisa Dixon

CCC10k "Run For It" Program...

2016-01-28T14:04:00.000-06:00

Ok guys it's almost time for one of my most favorite race, the Crescent City Classic 10k in gorgeous New Orleans, LA. This years race will be on March 26th, 2016. I am super excited to be heading up the Official CCC10k bloggers for the 4th year in a row. Stay tuned for updates and announcements on all things CCC10k. Today I wanted to tell you guys about the "Run For It" program that the CCC10k has every year...

The "Run For It" Program is the Official Charity Program of the Allstate Sugar Bowl Crescent City Classic. The goal of the "Run For It" Program is to raise $1 million annually and serve the Greater New Orleans area needs. Each year, the Crescent City Fitness Foundation selects local charities to support and partner with for the 10k race, by donating 100 charity bib numbers (guaranteed race entries) to each Charity Partner for the following year's Allstate Sugar Bowl Crescent City Classic.

Official Charity Partners recruit and form teams of 100 charity runners/walkers, who can commit to raising a minimum of $200 for their charity by race day (March 26, 2016). Official Charity Runners receive various perks and incentives for joining the program, including a personal online fundraising page. All of the money raised will be donated directly to and benefit our selected charity partners.

Charity Runner Perks & Incentives:

Unique Charity bib number, with First Name if you register by Jan. 1st
Unique Charity race t-shirt
Prime starting location on race day in the "Charity Corral" positioned right behind Seeded Runners
Access to nice bathrooms race morning in Champions Square
Access to Charity Team's Private Party tent after the race, with refreshments provided by your Charity
Plus prizes for highest fundraisers per team and overall!

Charity Registration is now open! Choose a charity to support at CCC10k, then create your fundraising page. Although we do not take any registration fees from charity runners, we ask that each runner raise at least $200 by race day for their selected charity.

It's that time...

2016-01-20T18:54:00.000-06:00

These are the smartest words I have read ever. As bloggers, I think we get caught up in our daily social media lives that we forget about living. After weeks of traveling and racing last year, I needed a mental break from everything. I had such a wonderful 2015, and I knew that I needed to make time for myself and be in the " NOW" for my husband and kids through the holidays. SOOOOO that's what I did. Two months of no writing or training and it felt great. Yes, I now have weight to lose and muscle to build, but it was totally worth it.

So what now?

Its time to get back to what makes me happy, TRAINING, RUNNING, SWIMMING, EVERYTHING!!!

So I am happy to be back and giving you guys all the run down on everything that is LarisaDixon.com

HOPE YOU READY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trail running with Runners World and ALTRA running...

2015-11-03T00:00:00.000-06:00

One of the title sponsors of the 2015 Runner's World Festival and Half was ALTRA running!

They have been the official shoe for the RWhalf since the beginning. I was lucky enough to have met them back in 2012 at the very first RWhalf when they were a fairly new company. Like this year they also fitted us in a pair of their super comfortable shoes.

So seeing them again and getting fitted for the 2nd time by the actual owners Golden and Jeremy was super cool.

This year I was fitted into the ALTRA Paradigm 1.5's.

Introducing the Paradigm 1.5™—the only max-cushioned, Zero Drop™ neutral shoe with a FootShape™ toe box. It's the ideal shoe for runners seeking lightweight, max protection that encourages low-impact form. The impressive Zero Drop™ platform features super lightweight, dual-layer EVA foam and an A-Bound™ top layer for a relaxed and protected foot strike. Additional flare on the medial side of the shoe acts like a guidance rail to keep your feet stable when they get tired. The FootShape™ toe box creates an incredibly cozy slip-on feel and superior in-run comfort by letting your toes relax and spread out naturally. Don't sacrifice cushioning for less weight—have both with the new Paradigm 1.5. (Source: Altra Running)

I was really excited to learn about all of the new technology they have put into their shoes. We had a great meeting with them that involved checking out all of their new shoes for the road and trails...

One of the really cool things about all of the shoes was how light they are. My Paradigm's weigh 8 oz, crazy! That is less than my cell phone weighs.

ALTRA was sponsoring the RW trail run that afternoon, so we were going to have a chance to try out our new ALTRA shoes on the trails. The Paradigm is not considered a "trail" shoe, but they told me that they would be just fine on the trails, so I went with it.

David and I showing off our ALTRA shoes on the trails. You learn a lot about yourself when you try new things. For me trail running down here in the south consist of some dirt in the woods. But in Pennsylvania, trail running is up and down a mountain with rocks. So slow it was!

This was coming up the last hill of the race. And it was literally straight up! I know you can't tell but that hill steep. You can see it all over my face, I was done!

Finishing the 3.8 mile trail run with a smile...

It was really cool spending the afternoon up on the mountain and seeing the views at the finish line. You can see here how far up the mountain we were...

Thanks to REI for supplying us with an awesome finishers bag and stainless water bottle for finishing the trail run. They were our medals for the day :)

So I bet your wondering how my ALTRA Paradigm shoes did out on the ~~mountain~~ trail? PERFECT

It was a very rocky trail run that was very steep and some points. I never lost ,y footing or felt like I was slipping. Great job ALTRA, I am def a fan.

If you are ready to check out all of the shoes and gear ALTRA has to offer, you can connect with them at www.altrarunning.com. You can find them on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and TWITTER also.

If you are excited about checking out the Runner's World half weekend next year, you can now register for 2016. Click the banner below to register.

For $140, you can run the GRAND SLAM which is all 4 races, 5k, 10k, half marathon, and the 3.8 mile trail run. That is a steal, so sign up soon to take advantage of the GRAND SLAM!

I look forward to seeing all of the you in Bethleham, PA next year! Until then...

I was given race entry, travel, and accommodations for the rwhalf and the Paradigm shoes from ALTRA running. No other compensation was given. As always all opinions are my own.

Life changing weekend at the RWHalf...

2015-10-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

Sometimes we do things in life that changes the path we are headed down.

This weekend that happened...

I had the wonderful opportunity to head up to Bethleham PA for the Runner's World Festival and half this past weekend. I completely went into this weekend not sure 100% what I was running, what I was racing, or even walking. Thanks to my friend Marty for writing me a training plan, I didn't go in completely unprepared and under trained. However my mind has just not been on running lately. That drive to race and hit PR's had started to go away. The past year I have been occasionally racing just to run, but getting faster hasn't been on my mind. Until this weekend...

Have you ever had that moment happen that just clicks and changes your life?
Maybe it was a person or people who changed the way you thought about where your life was headed?

For me, these were those people...

And this was that place...

This is how the weekend started...

I flew in to Atlanta GA on Thursday and hopped on a plane with these two crazy guys to Philadelphia PA...

Yep, that would be Matt of www.nomeatathlete.com and Doug of www.rockcreekrunner.com. Matt and I were in Boston last year with RW and he is amazing. This was my first time meeting Doug. He just recently won a 24 hour race. He ran 107 miles in 24 hours, CRAZEEEEEEEE! Once we landed in Philly and RW picked us up, we rode the hour to Bethleham and found some lunch at this great pizza place called Sotto Santi. Both Matt and Doug are both vegan, so they had a ton of vegan options. We decided to all split a vegi pizza with vegan cheese. It was delicious...

After lunch we headed over to the hotel and met up with more of the influencers there for the weekend...

Kristin (my roommate), Alli, Jennifer, Nancy, Doug, Heather, and Dani (roomie 4-life)!

These are some of the people that really inspired me this weekend. Not only are they all runners, but they are mothers, and wives, and teachers, and business people. They come from all different backgrounds and they all run all different paces. And the best part about it, is that it didn't matter! We were all there for the same reason and that was to just RUN! This is why the running community is soooo amazing.

So as inspiring as the town of Bethleham is and the wonderful people I got to see. I cannot wait to tell you guys all about the amazing title sponsor, Altra Running. they have an amazing story and an amazing product.

Until tomorrow, stay tuned...

Runner's World weekend...

2015-10-18T22:27:00.001-05:00

I have so much to tell you guys about this weekend at the Runner's World Festival and half, so stay tuned...

Traveling with kids during the season with Best Buy...

2015-09-30T10:27:00.002-05:00

Hey guys, the holiday season is coming FAST! Between Halloween, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, it seems like the end of the year is just one big long holiday.

My favorite part of the holiday season is traveling with my kids because they are out of school. We try to take the kids somewhere every year either on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Last year we went to Panama City FL for Thanksgiving so Willie could play in a football tournament.

And the year before we took a long road trip to Phoenix AZ for Christmas...

So I started thinking that this year I wanted do something a little closer to home, adventurous, and different. Mainly because my husband cant take off work for the holidays, so we cant go far. I started thinking about little things we could do locally and I found some great ideas on the Best Buy website.

One of my favorite ideas was to buy the kids their own small cameras and go on a scavenger hunt with them. How cool is that?

Best Buy: Before your kids get too restless on the next family road trip, hand them point and shoot cameras, then throw a fun challenge at them: a photo scavenger hunt. Have the family create a list of ten things everyone needs to photograph before the trip is over. Extra points for verified Bigfoot photos.

I was searching on BestBuy.com and found these great cameras for my kids for only $21.99...

Bell+Howell - Dc5R Red Kids Digital Camera 5 Megapixels Fun Flix Kids Digital Camera - Red

Another great idea from Best Buy was to have "Middle of Nowhere" Movies. A lot of people have kids that are not really outdoorsy, you know the ones that don't like to go outside and would rather watch TV. So why not take them camping and have a movie night outside...

Best Buy: A mobile hotspot means Internet connectivity for multiple devices, wherever there's a cell signal. Kick your camping experience up a notch with your very own outdoor streaming theater. A hotspot, a laptop, a Wi-Fi smart projector, plus some camper's ingenuity and you're watching your favorite travel flicks in no time. S'mores and popcorn recommended.

I found a great portable projector on Best Buy for only $188. I definitely think this will be on our Christmas list year. WE could use this mot only camping but in our own backyards.

AAXA - P2 Jr. Pico DLP Projector - Gloss White/Black

Best Buy shares great ideas on how to use technology to enhance your next road trip or getaway. 6 Family Travel Tips from Best Buy:

Do you have any great ideas that you use when traveling or vacationing with your kids?

Crescent City Classic 10k "Run For It" Program Charities...

2015-09-28T10:08:00.002-05:00

I hope you guys had a great weekend. We had football games on Saturday and went dirt bike riding on Sunday. We have started spending all of our free time on the weekends keeping our kids active outside. The weather has been great here in the south finally.

I wanted to share with you guys some great info from one of my favorite races. The Crescent City Classic. This is a premier 10k road race in New Orleans, La on March 26th, 2016. With over 25,000 athletes running down the streets of New Orleans is amazing. One of the great things about this race is that a lot of the people are actually running for a great cause. The CCC10k has a great program called the "Run For It" program

If your planning on running the CCC10k next year, why not run for a great cause? Sign up now at www.CCC10k.com.

I will be announcing the 2016 CCC10k blogger group in the next week, so stay tuned...

Have you ever ran the CCC10k? or in New Orleans?

Loving your body no matter what size you are... with tasc PERFORMANCE!

2015-09-17T09:11:00.002-05:00

The love your body movement has been growing and growing every year. The days of people striving to be super skinny, or super athletic just to fit in to society are starting to go away. THANKS GOODNESS! We just all need to be one word... HEALTHY!

HEALTHY IS THE NEW SKINNY!!!!!

Lord knows I have been all over the scale board. I have that type of body that if I don't workout I will be 200lbs overnight. However 200lbs and a size 16 doesn't look too bad, right?

Now when I am in great athletic shape from training, training, and more training, I am a comfortable size 14 at 175lbs. Also not too bad...

What some people don't understand is that you don't have to be a size 0 to look amazing. Yes, there are some people who are a size 0 that look amazing, but for the majority of us, that's just not reality!

It doesn't matter how much you weigh as long as you are healthy and happy!

So it really makes me happy that more and more companies are starting to realize that woman come in all shapes and sizes. And that guess what at 200lbs we may be healthy and happy, SHOCKING!

One of the hardest thing when you are a size 12 and up is finding cute, functional workout clothes. A really great friend of mine Leah Frazier started working at this amazing company called tasc Performance...

A little history about tasc...

tasc Performance was brought to life in 2009 with one mission: the reinvention of performance apparel. The New Orleans-based company was founded and is operated by the Andrews family, which has a 40-year legacy in the garment industry. After years of dealing with the compromises of polyester athletic apparel – skin irritation, bad odor and more – Al Andrews, former Tulane University basketball standout (All SEC '65-'66) charged his son Todd with the difficult task of finding a solution to the polyester problem.

Over a 2+ year period of natural fiber research and textile engineering , the BamCo® (patent-pending) fabric finishing process was created. The resulting fabric hit every metric: Performance (moisture wicking, drying rate, UPF 50+), Feel (absolutely amazing), and Durability (color fastness, shape retention, easy care, anti-odor)

So when I went online and checked out tasc Performance workout wear, I was excited to learn that they have an extended size line just starting up. I'm like finally a workout company that realizes that they can sell to size 0 and to a size 30 and its ok! Check out the president Todd Andrews talking about the new extended line of tasc Performance...

Check out some of the cute pieces tasc Performance has to offer in extended sizes...

Super cute and super functional, made from the bamboo technology that tasc Performance has perfected. I am excited to order a couple pieces from tasc Performance and try them out. What is great about my size is that I can order from the both the regular line and the extended line and tell you guys all about both. So stay tuned....

Do you find it hard sometimes to find cute functional workout clothes for your size?

Are you happy with your current size?

2015 WOW SUMMIT

2015-09-16T12:56:00.002-05:00

I am so excited!!!!!!!!

I will be headed to sunny San Diego next month for the 2015 WOW Summit. I have been so blessed to be invited for the 2nd year in a row by the wonderful people at Moms Meet. Last years summit was in Orlando FL. This year they took it to the west coast.

The WOW Summit will be at the gorgeous Town & Country Resort and Convention Center right in the heart of San Diego CA.

This hotel seems absolutely GORGEOUS and I can't wait to show you guys all it has to offer. Especially for all my Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon peeps who may be looking for a place to stay during the race next year.

The WOW Summit is 2 full days of seminars, brands, and health conscience minds coming together to make our families healthy.

5 reasons to attend

1. Bring your family and stay at the beautiful Town and Country Resort, located in the heart of San Diego’s Mission Valley and just minutes from the famous San Diego Zoo.

2. Get great advice from top-notch healthy living and parenting experts and immerse yourself in interactive workshops.

3. Walk away with lots of goodies! We’re giving away tons of prizes throughout the event, plus everyone will receive an amazing gift bag stuffed with healthy and natural products.

4. Connect and bond with hundreds of like-minded moms throughout the conference.

5. Try tons of great products at our exhibit hall where you'll meet our fabulous sponsors and fill your goody bag with even more samples.

So if you're going to be anywhere near San Diego October 23-24th, you must attend the WOW Summit. For more information and to REGISTER, click HERE!

HOPE TO SEE YOU GUYS THERE!
I was given a ticket and accommodations to the WOW Summit in exchange for my honest review. No other compensation was received. As always all opinions are my own and no one elses.

RUN NINE/ELEVEN & FREEDOM 5k Virtual Run, check it out...

2015-09-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

We are all really busy people. I mean lets face it, life is hectic and crazy no matter who you are. I have found that between football games, swim meets, and cross country meets, racing seems to have been put to the back burner. That being said I have found that doing a couple virtual races a year keeps me in the racing mode. So when the awesome Pavement Runner Brian emailed me about an awesome virtual race called RUN NINE/ELEVEN & FREEDOM 5k, I knew that I HAD to participate. Especially since ALL of the proceeds got directly to OPERATION CARE & COMFORT. Check it out...

You're probably wondering how this race works. So your first option is the NINE/ELEVEN race...

About the Run 9/11 Challenge

20 miles. 2 Days. 1 Cause. Run Nine/Eleven is a challenge to run nine miles on day one and 11 miles on day two. Starting Friday, September 11, through the end of September, thousands of people from across the country will run, walk and remember. 100% of proceeds from this event go to Operation: Care and Comfort. This is a Run Local event so you can choose your preferred location and time. Participate solo, invite a friend or host a local event. Whatever you do, finish what you start.

And your second option is the FREEDOM 5k...

About the 9/11 Freedom 5K

The Run Nine/Eleven Freedom 5k continues a tradition started by American military bases around the world that run/walk a 5k on the anniversary of 9/11. The Freedom 5k encourages participants from across the country including military, first responders, civilians and their families to run or walk 5k at anytime during the month of September. This is a virtual run so you can participate solo, invite a friend, or host a group run on the day and time of your choice with 100% of the proceeds benefiting Operation: Care and Comfort. Whatever you do, finish what you start.

Both registrations are $30 and after running one or both races you will enter your time in on the site. Both races earn medals and will be delivered 2-3 weeks after your time is logged in.

That's it, Super easy and a great way to show your support for OPERATION CARE AND COMFORT. Oh and did I mention that 100% of the proceeds go to OPERATION CARE AND COMFORT?

Yep that's right 100%, so go sign up NOW!

OH wait there's more...Pavement Runner Brian has a special little discount code for you guys that will save ya'll $5.

CODE: PAVEY5

But wait if you feel like donating that $5 right back to the OCC, or even A LOT more than $5, you can donate at anytime HERE!

So lets all get signed up and run our 9/11 miles or our 3.1 miles to honor this great charity...

REGISTER HERE!!!

#RUN911

Have you ever participated in any virtual races?

Five Things Friday... UPCOMING RACES...

2015-09-04T09:58:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share with you guys 5 of my favorite upcoming races this week in FIVE THINGS FRIDAY!

Five of my favorite races coming up...

1. Pensacola Marathon, (half, full, and 5k) November 8th, 2015, Pensacola FL.
This is one of my favorite race weekends. Whether your running, walking, or spectating, this race is for everyone. They just added a 5k option to the race this year along with a half and full option. Register HERE.

2. Runner's World Half & Festival (3.8m Trail, 5k, 10k, half) October 16-18th, Bethlehem, PA
This is a super fun filled weekend full of racing, seminars, live music, and even a dog run. I will be there with a group of amazing bloggers to bring you guys all the fun things going on that weekend. You can register HERE and use code "bloglarisadixon" to save $3.50 off the 5k, $4 off the 10k, $7.50 off the Five & Dime, $9.50 off the Half Marathon, $17 off the Hat Trick.

3. Rock n Roll Las Vegas, (half and full marathon) November 12-15th, 2015, Las Vegas NV
Who could resist running down the Las Vegas Strip? Not me! To make it even better this race starts when the sun goes down and the strip lights up. You can register HERE and use code "RUNWITHLARISALV" to save $15 on the half or full marathon.

4. Ironman Augusta, (half Iron distance, relay) September 27th, 2015, Augusta, GA.
Doing a triathlon of any distance is never easy but if you pick the right race it can be super fun. Ironman Augusta is one of the most exciting race weekends I have ever had. I participated in the relay in 2014 on team TAGYOURIT. I swam in the relay and it was such a fun experience. It's the perfect race for beginner triathletes and professional triathletes alike. This years race is sold out, however make sure to check out the website for 2016 dates.

5. Battleship 12k, (12k), November 15th, 2015, Mobile, AL.
This is a new race this year on the Gulf Coast. One of the great things about this race is that it is a total water run along the beautiful Mobile Bay. They also have a 1-for-1 sponsorship on entries for disabled veterans. For every regular priced entry, the event will provide a free entry for a disabled vet to participate.How awesome is that? You can register HERE and I look forward to seeing you guys there.

I would love to see all of you guys at 1 or more of these races. Let me know if you will be attending any of these events, I would love to meet up. Have a great weekend!

Balance Healthy Food Delivery on The Fat to Fit Radio Show...

2015-08-28T09:13:00.003-05:00

I know that a lot of bloggers have other jobs, some full time and some part time. I have never been an 8-5 type of person. I love to do a lot of little things. One of the fun things that I started doing a little over a year ago is The Fat to Fit Radio Show...

One of my best friends Cindy Ross had me as a guest on her show, The Bodies by Cindy Show. We LOVED working together so she signed me up as her co-host and The Fat to Fit Radio Show with Cindy and Larisa was born...

Now that we have been doing the show for a while we have started having guest on the show. It has been awesome meeting all of these people who have so much to offer to our listeners. This week we had Liz, owner of Balance Food on the air.

Balance Food is a healthy home meal delivery service locally here in Mobile, AL.

One of the great things about Balance is the way you can order the meals. If you are like me and really don't enjoy cooking every meal you can order individual meals off their ala carte menu. If you are super busy, have a hard time cooking healthy meals, or just want a delicious meal, you can choose a weeks worth of meals or a months worth of meals directly online. Just select a plan that works best for you and your family.

You can also just come in to the store and buy a grab n go lunch, dinner. or snack. You can check out their weekly menu HERE.

They also make a fresh, healthy juice of the day ,you can order by the half quart. I am looking forward to checking the juice out for sure.

You can connect with us on The Fat to Fit Radio Show website and check out our Fat to Fit Radio Podcast, And make sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and of course on Periscope @thefattofitradioshow.

You can also connect with Balance on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Have you ever used a home meal delivery service?

Living in the moment; my weekend...

2015-08-25T11:30:00.001-05:00

I hope you guys like my new header up there ^^^^^.

I have been thinking about adding to Larisadixon.com for a while now and I am sooooo glad that it has started. I changed my Twitter and Facebook page to "larisadixonblog" instead of "0to26point2". For the past 4 years its been 0to26point2 and I have been spelling that out EVERY.SINGLE.TIME, lol. So now that its is larisadixonblog, it seems a little easier to find.

You can connect with me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and TWITTER. Of course I would love to connect with you guys also, so leave me a comment and I will follow back for sure.

Life has been crazy around here since school has started back. I don't know about you guys but when schools in, weekends become even more hectic. This year I decided that I would be more in the moment with my husband, kids, and friends. i wanted to tell you guys about this past weekend and all the fun things we did...

Sat morning we got a few things done around the house and then headed out to my youngest sons football game. It was their first game for park ball season...

This his 4th year playing football and he loves it. We love it. They ended up winning 6-0.

After leaving the game we headed out to check out one of my BFF's farm they are building. She is going to have an amazing place to take her kids to. I cannot wait to take my kids out there to see the horses, goats, and chickens.

Sunday morning my husband had worked off and we had plans to head to the dirt track for a little 4 wheeling and dirt bike riding with a bunch of our friends.

The kids have a blast going through the mud...

After mud riding all day, we headed home so Cadence and I could get ready for the Splash and Dash race to support CMSA swim team. Cadence was swimming with our friend Marjorie who also owns Fleet Feet sports so naturally they were Team Fleet Feet for the relay.

They were also competing against Team Steele. Kelly is one of our best friends, so it was a little friendly competition. Her middle son Ryan was swimming for her...

The relay started at 6pm. The adult runs the 5k and the kid swims 50 meters.

Around 22 minutes Marjorie made it in from the 5k and it was time for Cadence to swim...

Than Kelly came in and it was Ryan's turn to swim...

In the end we all had a blast and it was so much fun to watch the littles swim in their first relay.

How was your weekend?
Do you live in the moment?

Time for a change over here on larisadixon.com...

2015-08-21T09:44:00.003-05:00

I am going on 5 years of this journey we all call "blogging". I would have never thought I could have made a small part time job out of writing about stuff I love to do. When I decided to start www.larisadixon.com, I had no idea where it would lead me. I have had so many opportunities and met so many awesome people that I now consider family. I am not a great writer. I make grammatical errors A LOT. I seem to really like commas and run on sentences. But, the one thing I have always been is MYSELF. What you see is what you get. Its been a great 5 years. But...

Every year I have taken a little break from blogging for the summer to spend and travel with my family. I never stopped blogging, I would just post a couple times a month instead of weekly. Lets face it, its 100,000 degrees here in the South in the summer time, so there is not much training going on. LOL! This summer was much of the same, I raced maybe once, ran a couple times, and swam a lot. I found it kind of a boring training summer, so I chose to not bore you guys with the details, your welcome! Now that summer is over, I am back training and I do have a couple of huge races coming up. but I am having a problem with getting back to writing about just training and racing. I feel like I'm boring you guys with the same ole same ole. Sooooooo

Over the next couple weeks, I will be starting to write more about the things that I like to do, the places I like to go, the products I like to use, and even things that are on my mind (trust me that can be scary sometimes, lol) Yes, I will still be writing all about my training, racing, and traveling. However, I want you guys to know other things that I am involved in and things that I do. I would love to take my blog to the next level and the best way for me to do that is by being myself and doing what is best for me.

So, I hope you guys will stick around and enjoy larisadixon.com even more. Hopefully by not necessarily changing larisadixon.com, but adding to it, will make it bigger and better.

I want to say thank you to my awesome BLEND Katy Widrick for inspiring me to just go for it. She posted THIS AWESOME BLOG POST yesterday about being yourself and not typecasting yourself or your blog and finding your passion. I have been kind of stuck in my head for the past couple of months about what to do with my blog and after reading that post, I was like YES, just go for it. So this is me going for it Katy! Thanks for always being awesome...

Do you feel STUCK?

Date energy bars (kid friendly)...

2015-08-13T13:00:00.001-05:00

I have been back training now for 2 weeks and lets just say its been interesting. Running has been a struggle in this 100 degree heat, but I am proud to say I have only missed 2 runs and those were both when we were in Atlanta for my sons football tournament.

One of the things I have been making sure that I have at the house so the kids can snack on before swimming, cross country, and football are my homemade date energy bars. They are super easy and delicious...

The recipe...

Ingredients...
16 oz whole pitted dates
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1 1/2 cups peanuts (or any nuts)
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 cup chia seeds (MammaChia are my favorites)
1 tbsp coconut oil

Place peanuts in food processor and process till finely chopped, place in bowl. Put blueberries and dates in food processor and mix until chopped. Add peanuts, cinnamon, coconut, and chia seeds to date mixture and process till well mixed. It will become almost a thick ball in the processor. Remove from processor and place on a piece of parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment paper on top and use your hands to press it flat like a pancake.

After you have it flattened out to the thickness you want it, place it in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Remove from fridge and remove the top layer of parchment paper and use a pizza cutter to cut the size squares you like...

Keep cut squares in an airtight container and ENJOY!!!

My kids LOVE these squares and I LOVE knowing whats in them.

Do you have a "go to" snack recipe that you keep on hand?

Runner's World Half Marathon discount code...

2015-07-31T16:37:00.001-05:00

Super grateful to be asked to come back to the gorgeous city of Bethlehem PA for the Runner's World Heritage Half & Festival. The opportunity to run all 4 races this year has me EXCITED!

I was lucky enough to have attended the very first RWHalf 3ish years ago and it was an EPIC trip.

So this year myself and some other really cool bloggers will be social media-ing it up for the next couple months getting you guys all signed up. Here is a code that will save you money on the 2015 registration...

I look forward to seeing all of you guys in October, REGISTER HERE!!!

Training, running, and a really cute running partner...

2015-07-24T08:46:00.002-05:00

Getting back to running has been a challenge this summer. I have all these excuses as to why I haven't been running, but really they are exactly that EXCUSES! So I am stopping the excuses and following my awesome friend Marty's run schedule he has wrote for me.

This morning I headed out to meet one of my best friends Kelly for a couple miles. She is such a great runner and really had to go SLOWWWWW for me. I kept apologizing for holding her up, but she was cool with it. We had the cutest running partner this morning, RIKA! She is amazing and at 4 months can out run all of us. #RIKAROCKS!

We started at 5:30 am this morning and it was till a scorcher. Can you tell I'm a hot mess? LOL! I wanted to show you guys Kelly's secret running snack bin in her truck. It's like a hidden compartment in the back of her SUV...

Too funny! I am looking forward to continuing my running schedule, getting back in the gym, and swimming like a fish! I have had a lot of fun relaxing this summer. However it is time to focus and get back in prime shape. Wish me luck...

How do you start back training? Is it hard?

Running Again and a Cheesy Taco Guac-Pico recipe...

2015-07-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

Hey guys I am so excited to start my run training today. Its been a long time since I really focused on running and trust me when I say, its not pretty, lol!

I feel so lucky to have lots of friends that are amazing runners. My great friend Marty wrote me a running schedule for the next couple months. I have a couple really big races starting in October and I really want to PR my 5k and half marathon times. Fingers crossed!

So last night I got my training schedule wrote up...

I am super excited to tell you guys about some amazing events that I have coming up, so stay tuned...

I posted a picture yesterday on social media of my Cheese only guac-pico tacos and many of you asked for the recipe so here it is...

Cheese only Guac-Pico Tacos

Shell:
Shredded cheese

Place a layer of cheese in a circle in a pan on med heat. Heat till its bubbling...

Flip with a flat spatula and cook other side...

When the other side is crispy, quickly drape the cheese "patty" over a spatula handle and set it up to harden. (sorry its a little blurry, I had another one cooking, so I just snapped a quick pic...

After a few minutes hanging, the cheese will harden forming a perfect taco shell...

You can at this point use them however you would like. I made fresh Guac-Pico to fill them with. Here is my guac-pico recipe...

Guac-Pico

3 large avocados
3 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 small red onion, chopped
handful of cilantro, chopped
half lime squeezed or tbsp of lime juice
celery salt

Mix all ingredients in a bowl...

Fill shells with Guac-Pico and enjoy...

You could also use them with lots of other fillings. Eggs and sausage in the morning for a breakfast taco, you could do traditional tacos with meat and vegis. Fish tacos also sound amazing also. I say play around with it, The shell itself is so easy and quick to make, I made all 4 in less then 5 minutes.

If you decide to make them, I would love to see your pictures. Tag me @ 0to26point2

Do you have a non traditional taco shell recipe?

Clean Chocolate Peanut Butter Coconut Cups Recipe

2015-07-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, it is that time of the year I start cleaning up my diet. I still try to come up with healthy treats for my kids and husband (and me, shhh). Anyways a while back I posted recipes of my "clean" peanut butter cups and Almond Joy cups. I was craving something sweet yesterday, so I decided to combine the best of both worlds.

Clean Chocolate Peanut Butter Coconut Cups

The outcome was Ah-mazing! Here's the recipe...

Ingredients:
2 cups dark chocolate chips. I used 85% Ghirardelli chips
2 cups unsweetened coconut
3/4 cup nut butter. I used natural peanut butter.
1 tbsp. honey
Coconut oil
Non stick spray. I used coconut oil spray.
Mini muffin pan. Mine holds 24 cups

Start with the best part THE CHOCOLATE

Melt 3/4 cup chocolate chips with a 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil in microwave. Spray a mini muffin pan with non stick spray. Use a spoon to fill the bottoms of a mini muffin pan with chocolate. Use just enough chocolate to coat the bottom. Place pan in freezer to let chocolate set. Make the middle.

While chocolate is setting. Mix coconut, peanut butter, honey, and 1 tbsp. coconut oil in food processor or high powered blender till mixed. About 6 minutes.

Pull chocolate from freezer. Spoon mix or use hands to fill cups and push it flat. your chocolate should be solid at this point so the mixture and chocolate won't mix. Place back in freezer for a few minutes.

Melt the remainder of the chocolate with 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil. Pull the pan out of the freezer and fill the remainder of the cup to the top with melted chocolate.

Place back in freezer to harden. At least 15 minutes. Remove from freezer. Use a sharp knife and pop the cups out of pan and place on a plate or container. Keep refrigerated, they will melt at room temperature due to the coconut oil.

Enjoy!

Do you have a favorite healthy sweet recipe?

Mizuno Wave Enigma 5 Review...

2015-07-20T13:20:00.000-05:00

*Runner's World connected me with Mizuno, who provided me with a pair of Mizuno Enigma 5 shoes to test free of charge. I also received additional compensation in exchange for testing, talking about, and reviewing the shoes. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own.

Hey guys I hope ya'll had a great weekend. We spent the weekend enjoying family and friends, and it was just what I needed to continue getting out of my "FUNK"!

Anyways, I wanted to tell you guys about a new shoe that my favorite shoe company, Mizuno, has come out with. It is called the Wave Enigma 5...

Let me tell you a little about the Mizuno Wave Enigma 5...

WAVE ENIGMA 5: SOFTEN THE ROAD AHEAD

Max cushioning. That’s what you’ll get with this neutral women’s running shoe from Mizuno. With new midsole cushioning and a new premium sock liner, the Wave Enigma 5 also provides maximum shock attenuation, which helps soften the road ahead for a more efficient run. Now that’s max comfort.

Higher Mileage, Higher Performance

The Wave Enigma 5 is perfect for higher mileage runners. This neutral running shoe is built for runners who are training for longer races, as well as runners who could use a little extra cushion on recovery days.

Key Features

Soft and flexible upper materials are constructed in a comfortable, sock-like fit.

U4ic midsole cushioning and a premium sock liner provide a floating, cloud-like underfoot feel.

A full-length wave offers maximum shock attenuation, so that each stride is unobstructed, harmonious, and efficient.

First let me tell you that these shoes are GORGEOUS! I absolutely loved the colors. But how would they feel?

I have been running in Mizuno Wave Riders for a LONGGG time, so I was curious as to how these would feel compared to those. When I first put them on I did notice that they were a little narrow in the toe box. It felt a little tight, however these are a really sturdy, supportive neutral shoe, so I knew they would more than likely loosen up after wearing them for a while. When I started to run in them, they felt a lot better.

I decided to try them out during the Thursday night Fleet Feet Fun Run. I have only been doing the 1 mile course because I usually have my little one with me. So it was a great way to check out the Enigma 5 for comfort. They were great on the uneven roads of downtown Mobile. They really softens the impact on my feet.

I have a couple big races coming up in September and October that I am just now starting to train for. My mileage hasn't gotten too high yet (about 15 miles a week), but I did take them on a couple 4 and a 6 mile runs and they felt great. They have a ton of support for a neutral shoe.

I would definitely recommend the Mizuno Wave Enigma 5 to anyone looking for a light neutral shoe with tons of support, whether you run 10 miles a week or 50.

You can check them out HERE.

What shoe do you run in?

A couple pool workouts and my homemade energy bars...

2015-07-12T13:40:00.003-05:00

I thought I would share some of my really awesome pool workouts that I used to train for Ironman Augusta last year. One of the greatest things about this workout is that you can't use the sides or bottom of the pool to turn or push off. It's a whole different workout when you don't have that to give you a push. I stopped about a foot from each wall and turned in the water and started swimming no push off or flip off. If you are training for a triathlon or just using the pool to stay healthy and in shape, you should try this workout...

This is also one of my favorite pool workouts; 60 minutes of 75 yd "Whatevers" with a 20 second rest between each 75. Basically it was a choice on what I did each 75. I really use this workout to practice sighting in lots of different ways.

Anyways I have been having some issues with nutrition during my swim. I have no problems doing fasting cardio on the bike or road, but something about swimming and fasting cardio doesn't mix. I'm not sure if its the lack of oxygen or what, but I have to eat right before I hit the pool or I feel like crap. So I made a batch of my date energy bars that I have been making for the kids and I.

Last but not least, I wanted to show you guys what I had for dinner the other night. My husband and I went to a local restaurant here in town called The Hungry Owl and they have a burger that is topped with jalapeno peanut butter, and OMG it is to die for...

If your local you def need to check it out. If not, but chopped up jalapenos and peanut butter on your burger, you won't regret it! I hope you all have a Happy Hump Day!

Do you have a bar recipe?
If so, I would love to see it.
Strangest hamburger topping, ok go!!!

Vacationing in Orange Beach, oh my...

2015-07-10T14:49:00.002-05:00

Hey guys, thanks for all the messages yesterday. Depression is serious problem. You guys rock! I am starting to think that it may affect more than just 2% of the population like it claimed. Who knows! Anyways y'all are awesome, keep being wonderful.

So I wanted to tell you guys about the amazing vacation I took my family on in Orange Beach AL last week. After all we all need down time for our brains to stay healthy, right?

We were lucky to have been able to stay in a beautiful condo at the Phoenix by the Bay, owned by one of my clients...

The 3 bedroom 3 bathroom condo named "The Dolphin" was absolutely gorgeous, Here is a few pictures of the inside...

And for the best part, check out the view from the wrap around balcony...

You cant beat the views of the Perdido Pass. I think we spent more time on the balcony than we did inside. lol.

Now booking "The Dolphin" was super easy. After finding it on the VRBO website (property #682344 "The Dolphin"), I emailed the owners for a quote on staying there for 5 days and 4 nights. They emailed me back almost immediately with a quote and all the info for booking. It was super easy and they were great to work with.

Now if you have never been to one of the Phoenix properties, you are missing out. there is so much to do...

Building Amenities

Lazy River

Indoor/Outdoor Pools
Kiddie pool with slide
Lighted Tennis Courts
Hot Tub & Sauna
Fitness Room
Barbeque Grills
Boat Slips
Putting Green
Free wireless connection is available for guests in all lobbies and rooms.

If you are not a go sit on the beach person, they had so much that you could do. We played golf...

Played in the lazy river...

and fished off the pier...

The first night we decided to go and check out a new restaurant named Gilbey's that our friends Kelly and David suggested. OMG , it was ah-mazing. I had the salmon and a jalapeno margarita, SO GOOD!

We also took a trip over to beach under the Perdido Pass. It is a short 5 minute drive from the condo. The water was gorgeous...

My mom enjoyed reading and relaxing on the beach.

Donald did some surf fishing.

My mom and I walked a couple miles down the beach.

We stopped at a couple of the rock jetties and I took this picture of my mom. She is 68 and GORGEOUS. Love her.

Funny story: They are shooting a movie in Orange Beach starring Nicholas Cage and they were filming a scene at the Flora-Bama. So this huge WW11-era plane was supposed to be on top of the water for a scene and it started taking in water and ended up beached in waist deep water. CRAZY! So of course we had to go check it out. The movie is called "USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage", so go check it out when it comes out and you'll see this plane. Kind of cool, LOL!

If you are thinking about checking out the Gulf Shores/ Orange Beach/ Perdido area, this condo is perfect for everyone. Check it out on the VRBO website HERE. There is always plenty of stuff to do at the beach...

Have you ever visited the Orange Beach Gulf Coast area?

*I was given a special rate for my stay in exchange for my opinion on my stay at this property. No other compensation was given. As always all opinions are my own and no one elses.

Depression and how I am feeling, finally I may have an answer...

2015-07-08T21:18:00.000-05:00

As an athlete and health and fitness blogger, I feel like you guys may not want to know the ends and outs of daily life However, every once and a while, things get real over here on 0to26point2. Maybe one of you guys can relate...

I sometimes find myself in this little small black hole. Not a real hole but a fictional hole made up in my mind to keep me from going CRAZY! There is always a light at the end, but I find myself having to crawl out of it...

For pretty much my entire life, I have felt like I could do it all at certain time and other times its all I could do just get out of bed.

I have always had a lot of friends, great family and have been happily married for almost 10 years with 3 great kids. You would think life would be perfect, and for the most part it is. However there are those times that I just can't pinpoint what is bothering me. I start to distance myself from friends and functions for no real reason. I noticed that in these moments I would stop working out, calling it a "break" and my diet would pretty much go to shits! Which I think is the worse part.

I called it "Functional Depression" for a LONG time and until recently just lived with it. I just thought I would eventually crawl myself out of the hole and everything would be fine. But was it really ok? NOPE!

I recently decided to mention it to my doctor when I went in for a physical. She asked me a few questions and I was like YESSSSSS, All of the above, so she told me that it sounded like I was more in the category of Dysthymia. I had never heard of this form of depression, so when I got home I started to research it. Here is what I found...

According to WebMD...

Dysthymia, also called dysthymic disorder, affects 2 percent of the American population in a given year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Like most types of depression, it strikes more women than men. And while dysthymia is usually less severe than major depression, the symptoms — low self-esteem, sadness, fatigue, and more — are very real.

What Causes Dysthymia?

Experts are not sure what causes dysthymia or depression. Genes may play a role, but many affected people will not have a family history of depression, and others with family history will not have depression problems. Abnormal functioning in brain circuits or nerve cell pathways that connect different brain regions regulating mood are also thought to be involved. Major life stressors, chronic illness,medications, and relationship or work problems may also increase the chances of dysthymia in people biologically predisposed to developing depression.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Dysthymia?

The symptoms of dysthymia are the same as those of major depression but fewer in number and not as intense. They include the following:

Sadness or depressed mood most of the day or almost every day
Loss of enjoyment in things that were once pleasurable
Major change in weight (gain or loss of more than 5% of weight within a month) or appetite
Insomnia or excessive sleep almost every day
Being physically restless or rundown in a way that is noticeable by others
Fatigue or loss of energy almost every day
Feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness or excessive guilt almost every day
Problems with concentration or making decisions almost every day
Recurring thoughts of death or suicide, suicide plan, or suicide attempt

Getting an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment is a major step in feeling better with chronic depression. Being treated with talk therapy or mile anti depressants are reecommended. In addition, ask your doctor about the benefits of healthy lifestyle habits such as eating a well-balanced diet, getting regular exercise, avoiding alcohol and smoking, and being with close friends and family members for strong social support. These positive habits are also important in improving mood and well-being.

This makes total sense to me and how I pretty much felt my entire life. So I decided that I would make an appt with my doctor again and sit down with her and figure out what I should do. In the meantime, I have started back my cleaner diet and will be heading back into some major training in the next few days.

To all of my friends, thank you for not killing me when I "disappear" sometimes and for those of you that didn't stick around and may be reading this, I hope one day we will be close again.

Now on to bigger and better things in life with hopefully no depression. IRONMAN SOMEWHERE, I'm coming for you!

HAPPY 4th of JULY...

2015-07-04T09:05:00.000-05:00

HAPPY 4th of JULY!

Fleet Feet Sports Mobile Thursday Night LODA Fun Run

2015-06-19T09:47:00.003-05:00

Hey guys I hope you have had a great week. I have been super busy. This summer is going by so quickly. I am so thankful that I get to spend this time with my kids. This year I have really started to feel the effects of my kids getting older and I am trying to cherish every little moment I can with them. Make sure to enjoy your family this summer.

Last night I attended the very first Fleet Feet Mobile LODA fun run in downtown Mobile at Moe's Bar B Q...

Some of our best friends Marjorie and Micaiah recently opened the Mobile store and they have been such a great addition to the Mobile area thus far. So last night was the first fun run. They had a 1 mile, 2.5 mile, and 3.7mile option that ran through the downtown area. I decided to take the littles down there and run the 1 miler with them...

Helena, her sister Kim, and Jared from Nike representing Fleet Feet Mobile...

Fleet Feet had set up a shoe demo with Jared from Nike also. Runners were able to try on a pair of Nike's and actually run in them for feedback on the shoes. This is a awesome way to test out shoes and maybe find a shoe that you love.

Cadence was super excited because they had her size and she was able to test them out too. I think she may have found her next shoe. LOL...

After signing in and getting our raffle tickets for wearing Nike clothes and testing the shoes we headed out on our 1 mile route.

Cadence went ahead with our new friend Kate and I stayed back with Willie, who really isn't into running a straight line yet. LOL! You know the whole my legs hurt, I need to walk, but I can go play football all day with my friends outside and not complain once. I just laughed and said come on kids RUN, heehee!

We also came up on 2 of the youngest fun run runners. Look at how cute they are...

Downtown Mobile is such an amazing are of town. If you havent been down there lately, you should check it out. Last night there were more cyclist and runners down there than cars. Love that!

Here is a few more pics from the event...

They had the Polish Boutique truck parked outside of Moe's, you can see it in the above pic. Cadence talked her daddy into getting her this super cute tank from there. I love it...

Helena representing Fleet Feet...

After running they had quite a few door prizes they were giving away...

I, of course won nothing. LOL! I am not a great door prize winner, but I am just as happy when other people win.

After the fun run was over we stayed at Moe's BBQ for their fun run special which was $2 draft and then they had made a $7 meal deal which included your choice of pork, turkey, chicken, or sausage sandwich, chips, and a drink. It was delicious!

Overall they had about 50 people for the fun run which is a great start. I hope you guys will join all of us next Thursday night at 6:15 for a fun night of running, prizes, beer, and great food. Bring the kids and let them run the 1 miler. My kids had a blast.

Here is the info from Fleet Feet Inc Mobile...

Whether you walk or run… Join us in Downtown Mobile every Thursday nights at 6:15 for a fun run and social hour. Tell a buddy. Bring a friend. All levels encouraged and welcome!!

Where: Moe's Original BBQ (Post-Run specials on Food and Bees to be announced soon) - 701 Spring Hill Ave
When: Every Thursday @ 6:15 p.m.
What: 1 mile, 2.5 miles and 4 miles routes will be provided.

All levels of runners and walkers are welcome! We invite all runners and walkers from various clubs and teams to come out for a fun time running and socializing. There will be suggested routes, but feel free to make your own modifications to the routes to the run works best for you! Be The Movement.

Have you ever gone to an organized fun run?