Monday, January 31, 2011

Exercise-Great for Mind and Body!

The link below is to Dr. Furhman's blog and this is such a great article. You may be thinking, "I already know exercise is good for me." But, if you are getting that "I don't feel like working out today" mood or "I don't have time," or any excuse to not mess up your new hairdo today, this will give you a little pep talk and get you going!

P.S. Your body will thank you!


http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/cat-exercise.html

Thursday, January 27, 2011

23 Miles and Counting...

On Sunday we set out for our 23 mile-long run. And boy, was it longgg! It took us 5 hours and 2 minutes and it was the first time we didn't stop for a potty break. I have to say, that this run was painful. More like, PURE TORTURE, if you really want to know. I could tell in my legs, particularly my knees, that I hadn't fully recovered from the 20 mile run 2 weeks prior. About halfway through the run my knees started aching and my pinkie toe on my left foot started rubbing against the toe next to it. I tried several times to re-adjust and even took off my shoe to see if that would do the trick. But no! My toe was on fire for about 13 miles and ended up with a nasty blister. I'm not sure what happened. I've never had that happen before. Next time I'll bring some Glide or a bandaid or two, just incase. The last mile we tried to just run the whole way instead of doing our intervals because it was just getting too hard to stop. Somehow, it was easier to just keep going. This was the most mentally challenging run I have ever done. I really had to keep focused and know that I was going to make it to the end.

With 16 days left until the race, I am feeling a mixture of relief and sadness at once. Like my friend, S, said, "I can't wait to get back to running for fun, and not running because I have to." I love the friendship and the feeling of being dedicated to an important goal, and yet, sometimes it gets to be too rigid...

I watched a couple videos online on the race and it looks really exciting. I'm looking foward to running on the beach. I sort of wish it was toward the end of the route only because the water is so calming and beautiful(I'm a BIG beach person).

Next stop: What to wear???
To Be Continued...

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

40 Min Run

Just logging in a 40 minute run I did with my buddy yesterday evening. Weather was great, too! I can't believe how warm it was for January! I actually wore my running shorts, which haven't been used since maybe, October? We just ran around my neighborhood and had our weekly girl time/venting session :) We are supposed to meet up tomorrow for another run, and then on Saturday for our longggg, 23 miles. Last long run before the race! Then on to tapering. If you aren't sure what tapering means, it's running lingo for lowering your mileage each week until race day. It's not a good idea to wear out your legs that close or come race day, your legs may not give you the race time you wanted.

In a while I'm going to go for a walk with my husband and daughter right before lunch and post up some new flyers I made up for my new bootcamp class I'm starting in my neighborhood! I'm really looking forward to it and getting to know more of my neighbors. I hope it's successful!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Running For Beginners

If you are thinking of taking up the sport of running-for fun or to become an athlete-here is a simple webpage for you to read. Nothing fancy but, just some great pointers to make sure you are prepared to get started.

http://http://www.floridatrackclub.org/members/newrunner.html

26 Days Until 26.2!!

Ok, So we are less than a month away from doing our first marathon! I'm getting really excited now. Our last long run was 20 miles. The last few miles were the hardest for us, which seems to be the common theme every long run. We are doing the run 4 min/ walk 1 min...which you may think makes it easier. In some ways yes. It allows our muscles to recover right from the beginning of the run. However, 20 miles is 20 miles! It still hurts.


So to reward ourselves and indulge after the run, we stopped at Panera Bread and ordered some soup, sandwich, & a lemonade. I brought along my camera of course, to have some memorabilia. Here's our lovely picture :)
(The woman I asked to take the picture thought
we were tourists) LOL!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Running Through the Holidays

Christmas weekend was a bit tough getting in our long run but we decided to get in 6 miles at least. S was having trouble with her knee anyway so she needed to rest it.

We did a short 30 minute run yesterday and I was feeling a little sluggish. I'm not sure why but it could be my allergies. Haven't been sleeping as well and feeling stuffed up so that could account for my lack of energy.

Today I am going to try to fit in some strength training here at home. Since the kids are home from school this week, I may get them to workout with me :)

Vegan Nutrition Like An Ironman

It is possible to be vegetarian/vegan AND an athlete! Here Brendan Brazier, a professional triathlete, gives a few tips and recipes that he recommends.


21-Day Vegan Kickstart / a Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) site / Brendan Brazier