"My Favorites Things" & Ifitness Giveaway!

I decide to combine the two things that pretty much take up allot of my life on this post, running and makeup. I started running about 4 years ago, and have been a makeup artist in between my “adult job” for about 8 years

From Runner to...

Makeup Artist...

I always get questions from people about products, or how to’s in running, make up, hair, or skin care. So I'll be doing product reviews once a month on things that I absolutely love. Now, this isn't only for the ladies either, I'll have tons of stuff coming up for my male readers as well! I'll be reaching out to a few friends of mine in the hair and skin care industry to help out with how things work and why they love them too. Hope you'll enjoy this as much as I enjoyed putting it together!

So here are the first set of products that I don't leave the house without!! I have all of them in my gym!!

Eminence Organic Skin Care Toner: Sweet Red Rose Mist

I LOVE THIS TONER!! During the summer I used to get small break outs on my shoulders and chest from sweating during my workouts, especially around my sport bra area. I reached out to my friend Caleah who is a esthetician in the San Diego area for help. She suggested that I use this toner before and after my running, as well as before bed. Here’s how she said it works,

“The Sweet Red Rose Mist is a great after workout product because it is formulated for dry dehydrated skin. As you are expelling energy, you are sweating and losing moisture. Not only would the rose mist replenish moisture to the surface level, but it has salicylic acid in it to remove surface impurities and kill bacteria, which is necessary after sweating toxins out of your skin. This particular mist also contains Lemon to tone and refresh the skin. Any of the Eminence Mists are great, if someone has dry dehydrated skin, rose is ideal, if someone has oily/breakout prone/ or normal skin then Lime or Rosehip are good choices. Rosehip has a super high concentration of natural Vitamin C, which is good for protection in sunlight and acne but not as good for blackheads, so avoid Vitamin C products if you have blackheads. My personal favorite is the Lime, I used it on a daily basis during those sticky summer days in Los Angeles, and even took it with me to the beach, day spa and used it at night before bed, and even sprayed it on my yoga mat, and in my hair. The Lime mist is refreshing the only downside is it makes you really want a margarita!”

Like I said before I LOVE IT!! This is a must have in your gym bag and at home. You can get this product on Amazon for about $35.00. My bottle has lasted me about 6 months.

Redken Color Extend Sun

ATTENTION SWIMMERS!!!!!!!! This one is for you!! Since I started swimming last year I was afraid of one thing, my hair color. I spend allot of money on my hair, so I wanted something that was going to keep my hair healthy and keep my hair color still looking fresh. My stylist Diane Couto of Valdemar Hair Studio recommended I try this product. The spray protects your hair from UVA/UVB rays and chlorine damage, its also water resistant. I spray it all over, then throw my swim cap on right over it. When I run outside I spritz just a little right on my ponytail. If your going to put sunblock on your face why not your hair too. You can also get this from Amazon for about $15.00 or a local hair salon that uses Redken products.

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock SPF 70

I can’t express to you how important it is to use sunblock, and its the #1 thing that people forget to put on, this is for the male readers as well SUNSCREEN, SUNSCREEN, SUNSCREEN!! I use this alone as well as right under my makeup ALL THE TIME. It’s really sheer and doesn’t have that greasy feeling and it water proof for swimming. This is also another product that was recommended to me from Caleah. She had a few others that she wanted to mention as well,

“I like the Sport Face SPF 70 for runners, and the Sheer dry touch which ranges from 15 to 70 for daily use. You can use a lower SPF like a 15 or 20 for daily use so you can still get the benefits of sunlight and Vitamin D, but even minimal protection is needed daily. I also like Neutrogena Kids Watergaurd SPF spray in a 70. The Kid or Baby versions of water resistant sunscreens are a good workout option because they a usually formulated to avoid transfer into the eyes, and are a little more gentle on the skin”

These products can be found at any grocery store type stores starting at $9.99.

Lululemon Key Cuff

I always enjoy going out for a “naked run” but I always had to find a place to put my house key. I would normally throw it in my sports bra, but its gross and uncomfortable having something that sharp in there. I had to find something! A few friends use this cuff so I decided to head over to Lululemon and pick one up. This cuff is fantastic!! I’ve used in many races holding my GU, also used it for money and have even put my credit card in there to take a running trip to the store. Its easy to get things out and it holds ALLOT. It comes in several colors and can be found at your local Lululemon Store for $10.00

Ifitness Hydratin Belt

Once I got my Iphone the hydration belt that I had didn’t have a pocket big enough for the phone as well as other things. It was either buy a arm band for my iphone, which added more things to carry around on my run, or just not run with my phone at all. I already had the double pouch belt, but I needed a hydration belt that would fit everything. I saw Ifitness came out with one at the Surf City expo, bought it and used it the next day for the race. I forgot I even had it on, no bounce, didn’t slide up, and sits perfect on your hips..honesly it was super comfortable. There are two small elastic slots that I used to hold my GU packs, or you can also attach your bib to them. The pocket is big enough for my phone, car key, and ID. The belt alone made me a instant fan, but to make me a bigger fan is their customer service. I emailed them after Surf City to express how happy I was with the product and got an immediate response from Hailey thanking me for the email. A few weeks later I had to contact Hailey again because a small tear started to form near the bottle pocket. I asked if they were going to have a booth at the LA Marathon expo which was about 3 weeks away, and if it was possible to do exchange. She immediately replied back to me letting me know they wanted to make sure I had a belt before the expo for training, so she was shipping one out to me. About 2 days later a new belt arrived in the mail. Not to mention she supplied shipping information instantly to me to return my first belt. It didn't matter if I hadn't returned mine back yet, they only cared that I had a belt for my training. Not sure how many online stores would do this, but Ifitness took care of everything! So if your looking for a new hydration belt, I highly recommend this one for both the product and service! You can either purchase one from their online store or.....WIN ONE here!

Its very simple to enter, there are 3 ways so you have 3 chances!!

1. Leave a comment here.

2. Retweet my blog post, but remember to add my name when retweeting so I can keep track @kristylpants.

3. Go to Facebook “like” Ifitness on Facebook. Leave a comment on their page letting them know I sent you!

Winner will be announced next Tuesday, make sure to tell a friend! GOOD LUCK EVERYONE and thanks for stopping by!

Surf CIty Race Report - My inside OH MY GOODNESS moment!

Last year because of a injury (bruised knee bone) I had to walk 90% of the Surf City half. This year I got a whole new feel of the race running it, and also running with great friends. Here's how my day went!

My morning pretty much goes the same every time before race day, 4:30 alarm, shower, lite breakfast of oatmeal and tea, nothing to exciting. I lay out everything I'm going to wear the night before. My gym bag is always packed and waiting by the door ready to go. I was able to purchase the new Ifitness hydration belt at the expo, so I decided to try to use it for this race instead of my handhelds, I need something new for LA Marathon. I have to say...best thing ever, highly recommend it. No bounce and it actually fit my Iphone! YAY!

Penny and I met at the farthest parking lot we could find. I need to get in 16 miles this weekend for my LA Marathon training, so we ran to the start line then back again after. If it wasn't for her I would have parked allot closer and took a shuttle. THANK YOU PENNY!! However before we could even start our run Penny was having a wardrobe malfunction. Apparently she didn't realize with all the running she's been doing lately she's lost inches, so she had to safety pin her running skirt for a better fit. After about 4 safety pins on each side Penny and I were back on the strand heading over the start. People we looking at funny probably thinking "Why on earth are they running before a race"

Penny fixing her wardrobe malfunction!

We got to the start line area to meet up with Lauren and Ali. Everyone seemed ready to go so we headed over the corral to start and to our surprise we found Lori and Candice. We chatted for a bit wished each other good luck and off Lori, Ali and Candice went into the corral. Ali was there to PR, which she did by a whole 30 mins..AWESOME WORK ALI!

Lauren, Ali, Penny, Lori, Myself and Candice

Before the race started we discussed what we had "planned" for the run. Because I had PR'd 2 weeks before at Carlsbad Half Marathon I was there to run with them and have fun. I didn't feel like I wanted to put as much pressure on myself and I needed to have a fun run to break up the training I was doing. The race started and we all stayed together enjoying ourselves. Lauren was doing a little rapping along with her music, and I was giving Penny a singing audition so one day I could be on Glee...Penny I'm still waiting for that call from your people!

Lauren was on intervals for her training, so we decided stayed with her and do them as well. Around mile 5 Penny and I somehow lost Lauren. Not sure how this happens but I always seem to loose someone during races.

I have to say this year there were tons more spectators and supporters on the coarse then last year. Not sure if it was because I was in the back of the pack walking last year and everyone was done cheering by the time I got to certain points, but the vibe was great. The sign below made us laugh so I had Penny take a photo of it.

We were doing great up to mile 6 keeping a pretty fast pace between 9:30-10. I was feeling really comfortable and had a feeling we were going to get good time. I kept asking Penny if she was feeling okay because she had been sick the week before. She assured me she was fine a few times however at mile 8 Penny wasn't feeling fine. She started to have a mild asthma attack. I stayed calm on the outside for her because I knew if I freaked out it wouldn't help out the situation. But on the inside I was doing the "OH MY GOODNESS, what do I do if this gets worse". Penny always carries a inhaler with her, so I knew if I had to grab it for her that's what I was going to do. We took a small break so she could get her breathing back and I made sure she was perfectly fine before we started again. At this point if we had to stop running for her sake I was okay with it, I wasn't going to leave her alone. She took a few minutes and we headed out onto the coarse again. We slowed our pace down and did as much walking as we could. I'm sure I turned into that annoying person that kept asking "are you okay". We also found Lauren coming up on the turn around, we did a quick check up on everyone and headed off. Miles 9-11 came pretty quickly. A little after mile 11 Penny realized that I might have a chance to PR again, so she told me to just go. I made sure she was fine AGAIN, and ran the last 3 miles with all I had. As I cam up the finish there were TONS of people and the cheering was great. I hit the finish with Mr. G saying 2:30, and official time has me at 2:32. I was very happy with that until I realized I had to now run back to the car, another mile to make my 16 for the day!

Surf City Half ...done

I really did enjoy running with the girls today and can't wait for many more races with them. I learn a few things during this race, how to stay calm when I really want to freak out, that I have great friends, and the most important how to have fun..and how delicious a Slurpee is after a long run!!!!

My congratulatory Slurpee on the way home!

Okay so I have to get mushy for a moment.....I want to give a shout out to my boyfriend Robert! I can't thank you enough for staying at home and getting our house ready for our Super Bowl party. You did everything from picking up food, to making sure the balloons we ordered were set in the right spot in the house. I didn't have to worry about anything when I came home from the race because it was all done! THANK YOU SO MUCH..I LOVE YOU!!