Saturday, February 28, 2009

more tips from therunningguy.com

Keep your head up - This will help you keep your body in line and keep your chest open for proper breathing.
Run your own run - Do not try to keep up with someone faster if it doesn’t feel right.
Join a clinic or running group - I find nothing more motivating than running with a group of like-minded individuals who push one another to do their best.
Vary your tempo - Don’t run fast every day - vary it up with long slow runs, shorter speed runs etc.
Hills are actually good - Hills suck while you are doing them, but I have found nothing progresses my running faster than a good bout of hills. Do them (if you have been training for at least 6 weeks).
Do hills max once per week - As good as hills are for your running performance, they are brutal on the body. Knees, ankles, shins - the whole deal.
Focus on landing on the middle of your foot as opposed to taking big strides and landing on your heal. Your entire leg will thank you.
Pick a goal race - Goals are very important to staying motivated. If you know you are running with a specific purpose in mind (i.e. finish a 10K under 1 hour, just finish a half) then you will find it much easier to get up early to get that run in.
Rest - Don’t run everyday. Take more days off than you think you need and you will be much better for it. I find this one tough to do, but if I don’t follow it, my body quickly tells me to back off. I like to cross-train on my mountain bike every once in a while to vary things up.
Buy the right shoes - Shoes are the most important piece of equipment you can buy. Make sure you get properly fitted, are analyzed in terms of pronation, supination, etc and get a size that fits you perfectly. Be super picky. Don’t buy because a certain pair looks cool. Replace them at the first sign of sole breakdown (or before).

Friday, February 27, 2009

Today is a wierd day......

The Mental Benefits Of Running
11.25.07
Much has been documented about the physical benefits of running but there are also significant psychological advantages. This article aims to examine some of the mental benefits of running.

1. Increased confidence and determination
Running can certainly improve your cognitive behavioural faculties. This refers to how your thinking affects your behaviour. Running not only enables you to complete physical challenges but improves your confidence as you achieve goals or overcome barriers. Perhaps you beat a personal best time or complete a charity run for the first time, this is not only a positive experience at the time but is likely to spill over into other areas of your life enabling you to think and act with confidence. Where previously you might have avoided a set of circumstances this improved confidence and determination may help you to resolve other problem situations that you are faced with.
2. Feel happy..Believe it or not running really can help you to feel happy. As you exercise there is a chemical reaction in your brain that releases Endorphins into your blood steam. These provide a natural high making you feel happy and positive. This is the same reaction that occurs when you laugh, have sex or eat chocolate.
3. Relieves Stress...Running is a great stress reliever helping you to focus your energies on a different problem so that you forget your current circumstances. The effect of running not only boosts your sense of happiness as you exercise but improves blood flow to all areas of your body, including your brain. Runners often report higher levels of concentration after exercise enabling your mental faculties to become sharper and making you more able to deal with problems, or find solutions, reducing stress levels.
4. Perseverance
There is a film called “The Loneliness of the long distance runner” and it encapsulates the determination and self discipline that is developed by runners who cover distances. In turn these skills help you to build perseverance which is important in life for dealing with difficult situations and circumstances where you might otherwise give up.

I found this at therunningguy.com <3


Your horoscope for February 27, 2009
If you have someone special in your life, shannon, today is a perfect day to stop playing at being his mother, as you very often seem to do. It's time to reverse the roles, and let other people take care of you! And if you could also finally realize that the world won't fall apart if you let go for a while, you will have learned a lot today. Whatever happens, you can count on a day like today to open your eyes.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

New goals

I need some new ones now that February is basically over!
*belly dancing class
*do a 10k by summertime
*pass my pediatric registry...by august?
*don't "what if" so much....

Reasons I love running:
It makes me feel free
I have ABS!
Skinny ankles..hehe
I am a machine!!!
People think I am crazy

I get to eat....a lot. A lot more peanut butter..
I get to drink more wine...
More hot showers/bubble baths
Espresso before runs ;)
Clears my mind/spirit
Cute running clothes
New running shoes
NATURE is so perfect...
Hills! I actually kinda like 'em...
Non-runners don't "get" it....its a secret society :)

Monday, February 23, 2009

super run






Today was my favorite temp for running...25! I think it is so perfect. Any more than that, I get too sweaty...yes I am nuts and yes I love cold weather runs. I wear 2 wicking layers on top, gloves/headband, 2 pairs of socks and nike cold weather pants....



I did 6 hilly miles today! My stupid calf started to hurt a tiny bit, but I ran through it and it was fine...I am super sore now though. I need to take an ice bath. It just scares me lol.



Yum! My new favorite post-workout smoothie:
1 scoop vanilla muscle milk



1 cup vanilla soy milk



1 spoonful of pb



1 cup blueberries



bit of flax






super yum. More pics!!!!!!!

Monday, February 16, 2009

The economy makes me think..

I think in light of the horrid economy, people are more appreciative of what they have. I know I am. I have like 50, 000, 000 pounds of makeup and clothes/shoes and finally I am forced to STOP the spending. Stop the compulsive buys. Learn to use and love what I have right now!
Whats the point of wasting 400$ on a new purse when I can get a hot running skirt? Ha! I am learning to see the silver lining in the grey clouds....

where i run........















It is sooooo pretty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, February 9, 2009

I <3 quotes.....

The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want.~Margaret Young

It is of practical value to learn to like yourself. Since you must spend so much time with yourself you might as well get some satisfaction out of the relationship.~Norman Vincent Peale

May we never let the things we can’t have, or don’t have, or shouldn’t have, spoil our enjoyment of the things we do have and can have. As we value our happiness, let us not forget it, for one of the greatest lessons in life is learning to be happy without the things we cannot or should not have. Richard L. Evans~Richard Evans

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.Hen
We only get one crack at this life- why waste it being unhappy???ry David Thoreau

Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.Benjamin Franklin

Injuries suck!

No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change.~Barbara De Angelis


Grr...yesterday I think I overdid it. I did my usual hill training...and this hill is like 90 degrees and windy lol. My lower calf started hurting a bit. Then a bit more. Then I had to walk the last mile. I hope I really didn't hurt it. It is a dull, annoying pain now, yesterday was a sharp one. Ugggg soo lame. I am so grumpy and needed to run today, like really bad...it clears my head and calms me...but I CANT!!! AHH!
I have been icing it, and hopefully tomorrow I can do an easy tread (dread)mill run...

mmmm, mojitos ;)

Sunday, February 8, 2009

I found this article. Pretty good!

http://dove.msn.com/#/connections/columns/0408_BQ_Response_Wendy.aspx[cp-documentid=12765230]/%20/?gt1=25039

Ah its gonna be 50 degrees today! I won't know what to do with myself!
Thats sooo warm for February in NY!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Oh by the way...

Opinions? ;)

Race Day!!!

Ohhh my very first race...done! My number was 80 :)
Can I just say that these people were FAST????!? It was a balmy 28 degrees, and was super-hilly! I thought I might die. Actually I was convinced I would die. I think I ate my pre run breakfast too close to the race ( 1. 5 hrs) because I got all crampy and light headed by the end of the first mile. By mile 3 I was feeling better, but the hills just kept on comin'!!! I was drenched by mile 4 and that was the easiest. My time was 47.15 for 5 miles! There were about 10 people after me. I was just glad I finished! :) So fun! Can't wait for the next one!