Will Run For Ice Cream

I'm feeling the lack of my exercise routine. Although I have been able to get in a few workouts, I know they aren't my normal intensity. Combine that with eating my fill of ice cream, cookies and bacon, I'm feeling pretty blah. My blood pressure is high, my clothes are snug, and I feel sluggish.

It took us 22 hours in the truck – twenty-two VERY long hours . First of all, I personally have a very hard time sitting still. Put me in a truck where my feet don’t even touch the floor board, while listening to talk radio ( which I can’t stand ), while dealing with a 4 year old who was already asking if we were there yet and we’d only been driving an hour, well, you can imagine just how LONG the trip was to my parents’ house.  But as we drove into my home town, I could feel the tension melting away. It had been an entire year since I’ve been here. I couldn't help but get giddy as my heart was screaming home! Home! Home! The fact that we were about to get out of this blankety blank truck wasn’t a bad thing either.

I have been compensated in the form of a gift card/money/coupon and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free. All opinions expressed are mine and honest in nature. I'm not going to lie, it's been a very long time since I've used a jump rope. But the first image I have in my head when I think of jumping rope is toned boxers in movies. :) I'm pretty sure this is going to be a great addition to my strength training and existing cardio routine. The Limm High Speed Jump Rope came at the perfect time for me. It's compact and easy to carry - with summer plans and traveling it's going to be my go-to for cardio when I can't sneak in a run or a trip to the gym. It's also great for at home because it's something that I can do while Lil Man is busy with an activity. What if I jumped roped during commercials? There are endless opportunities to jumping rope. But let me say, within a few minutes my heart

Full Disclosure: I received products free of charge for the purpose of providing a review. My opinions are completely my own based on my experience. I feel like I'm always in the go. Who doesn't these days? And I workout super early before my family wakes up - which means I have to get all of my gear out the night before. And there have been times that I often forget my recovery shake/drink. And it's too late for me to find a shaker and scoop my powder in the am. Well check out Zig Portable Protein Shake ! To me, this is portable at its finest. You simple add water and go. If you are like me you are probably thinking 'yeah right and choke down clumps'. Have you ever done that? I have and it's gross.

Full Disclosure: I received products free of charge for the purpose of providing a review. My opinions are completely my own based on my experience. Running skirts - love them or hate them - I see them everywhere. I have to admit they are cute. And I've come across one that's not only cute and functional, but it's modest. I'm talking about JWalking Designs Granted, I'm short so it's a little longer on me than most average height people. But compared to other running skirts, I found the JWalking Design skirt to be longer with longer shorts underneath. 

Full Disclosure:  I have been compensated in the form of a gift card/money/coupon and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free. All opinions expressed are mine and honest in nature. When I started strength training (just upper body) I started having knee pain. I know right?!? It was totally random and just out of the blue... until.... I started working with a trainer. Within minutes, she noticed that I was locking my knees - one in particular. And you guessed it, that was the knee that was bothering me. So now I make a conscious effort to make sure that my knees aren't locked. It's still a work in progress. I was locking them doing bicep curls, lunges, squats and basically just standing and walking. I have no clue why I was doing it! And my knees are still a little sore. I really feel the knee pain when going up and down the stairs or after sitting for awhile. I'm no stranger to braces, and I was curious to give the Simple Knee Brace with Self He

Do you ever have one of those days that you just needed to get above the clouds? This week, I definitely had several of those days. On Friday it was was super foggy. I almost didn't go out. But at the very last minute, I decided to see what it was like up on the Appalachian Trail. I knew I wouldn't have long to run, but I really just wanted to explore. I'm so glad that I did. Check out these views.

Full Disclosure: I received products free of charge for the purpose of providing a review. My opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  Unless you are completely new to the blog, then you know that one of my major pet peeves is people who run without reflective gear or bright clothing. I definitely run with both. Let's just say that I usually receive comments on how bright I am. :) But this year, I've had the opportunity to try out some really great gear. And my latest running gear to try was the Vizi Belt 

Well, you knew it was bound to happen - getting lost - especially from someone who is directionally challenged and reading a map usually results in me saying "huh?" after staring at it for quite some time. This last weekend a running friend and I went out on a normal early morning trail run. She needed to be back at a certain time, and I needed to be home at a certain so that Hubby could get to work. Nothing out of the normal there - we are used to super early mornings runs before the world wakes up. Since we wanted 5 miles, we decided to take a different trail. We took one of the more difficult trails which led us farther up. We came out at the clearing where we heard a bear

Is it because I only have one kid? Maybe that’s it? They are just too busy with all of their children that they don’t have time to be social? But wait – I see all of the pictures on Facebook – pictures of smiling Moms, happy kids playing with captions like “best buds” “Life-long friends” “Love these ladies” “I don’t know how I’d make it without them.” I can’t say what it’s like to make it with a group of close-knit friends, but I can tell you what it’s like to make it without them. For me, it’s lonely. I go days without anyone asking how I am or even checking in with me. If I don’t reach out first, it’s quite silent.  I wonder sometimes will I be that person who dies in their house and no one knows for days – until neighbors call the police due to a particular odor that just won’t go away?

*Affiliate Links What a title right? But trails, jogging strollers and the stomach bug has been my last week or so. I was able to get out on the trail last week with a friend. It was my first time to run 8 miles on the Appalachian Trail. I love the views! And I can't wait to do more. It's not always easy to get up super early, but with views like this, it definitely makes it worth while.  We woke up Saturday