CCC10k "Run For It" Program...

Ok guys it's almost time for one of my most favorite race, the Maid Service in NYC. 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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:

                – Always Connected

                – Family 5K

                – Middle Of Nowhere

                – Road Trip Boost

                – Scavenger Hunt

                – Ultimate VOD

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...

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?