Will Run For Ice Cream

This injury sure is redefining my idea of cross training because this boot is making what was an easy task before injury now a workout. Vacuuming for instance now works up a sweat! Sure carrying a vacuum cleaner up and down the steps wasn't necessarily easy before, but now, it's especially difficult to maneuver with the boot. Also, I should mention that my washer and dryer are also in the basement. So this means multiple trips up and down the stairs doing laundry. So needless to say, household chores are now a workout. Today, it was getting up at 6am to get to the grocery store so that I could make it home before Hubby went to work. I wanted help unloading the car!  I have at least 2 more weeks in the boot before I go back to the podiatrist. I don't have my hopes up that I will be out of the boot by then, but I am hoping that it's healing. And the thoughts of possibly at least riding a bike in a couple of weeks is encouraging.  But I wanted to share wit...

So.... over.... this..... No, really, I'm over being injured. I looked back and from my very first Half marathon in 2011 (where I wound up with 3 stress fractures in one foot from that race and didn't know it) I have been injured every year in the fall/winter since then. I am serious. Tendonitis one year, a calf tear another year, a hamstring injury, and now this... Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome, Tendonitis with a touch of Plantar Fasciitis for a little more fun. My right foot is a mess. Thankfully (at the moment) the pain is bearable. But when the urgent care diagnosed me

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

It wasn't my intention - spin class today. My plan was to plug along on the bike out on the gym floor, then maybe row a little, and do a little upper body work. I had causually mentioned to a lady in the locker room if she was going to spin class and did it normally fill up. She said yes to both. I told her thanks. I had planned to just use the bike on the floor, but I thought I might come to spin some morning.  So I was quite surprised as I was out on the gym floor, struggling (literally) to get my bike set up. Why must it be so complicated to simply move a seat up and down and forward and back? I mean really, it shouldn't require that much work,  especially  at 5:45 in the morning. But she comes over and says the class is full, but her friend didn't make it. So there is a seat by her. Come to class today.  Um.. ok.. I muttered ( so not what I intended to do today ). 

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'm happy to report that I'm coming out of my running funk ( Enough Is Enough Is Enough ), and I'm mixing my workouts up a little. What does this mean? Well, I'm lowering the mileage. My goal is to hit between 20-25 miles per week. This may or may not include a long run. I plan to do a longer run once a week, but that longish run might be in the 6-8 mile range. I'm going to play it by ear. But it also means I'm adding cross training to my workout routines. I plan to add spin once a week, maybe a pool workout, strength training 2-3 times per week, and yoga at least once or twice a week. So you can imagine my excitement when I had the opportunity to test out the Yoga Design Lab - Premium Yoga Mat. Image Source Amazon My first thought was that it was super durable. Lil Man got it it before I did, a...

Yeah, that's right. I think I'm going to streak. (ahem... a running streak) I toyed with the idea last year, but with coming off an injury and going right back into marathon training, I decided not to. But this year, when I heard about the Runner's World 2013 Holiday Running Streak  , my gut reaction was "I want to do this". And after coming off of my 2nd Marathon that didn't go as I had hoped ( I Gave Up During My 2nd Marathon ) and  no real long distance race in my near future, now seems like a good time to do this. And depending on how this challenge goes, I am considering the idea of doing it for a full year.  Anyone want to join me?  So far my marathon recovery has been so so. My knee is feeling a little wonky. I rested until Thursday, and then I attempted to power-walk. It didn't go so great. My knee really didn't like it. So I rested another day.  I was able to run 2 miles on Saturday with very few problems. I can tell that things...

If you've been following my blog, then you know that I've started running some trails once a week for cross training. And I have to say with each passing week, I like it more and more. In fact, I ran 13 miles (road) yesterday. And today, I just wanted to get in a couple of trail miles. So on my way to the grocery store, yes the grocery store, I decided to stop off at some trails and get in a couple of miles before doing my grocery shopping. The bugs were still horrible, but it was a nice run. This is the first time that I've ever run trails by myself. It was a little unnerving to run by myself. And I would much rather run with others. But I'm proud of myself for doing this today. It was nice to get in a couple of miles this morning. I will admit that running trails seemed a little scary to me since I am a road runner. But I'm finding that trail running is a great addition to my overall running. I almost fell today. And I did fall once (into a...

Well, this week I'm getting back into the swing of things Post Marathon. I did some speedwork and hills yesterday. My legs felt pretty good. My lungs didn't want to cooperate. But I got some some half mile repeats in. Then for the last mile I ran some hills. Today I got back to the gym. I have a really hard time doing core/strength training on my own. So, I'm utilizing my gym membership and going to classes. Today was Body Blast, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be feeling this tomorrow. It was a good work out. I have a 4 mile run on the books tomorrow. Yep, I'm officially registered for my next Half Marathon on June 15th. Let the training begin. ;)