Category Archives: Running

Awkward Hydration Belts

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Happy Friday everyone! I’m so excited that we’ve made it around to the weekend again. It’s been a crazy past 2 weeks with the holidays, so I am MORE than ready for a normal weekend at home for a change.

Sickness update: I’m still sick. Ugh. Still fever-free, but I’m coughing/congested/sneezy. My throat was pretty sore after teaching Jazzercise last night, so I’m hoping class tonight will go smoothly. If I have a small class, I’ll just cue with as few words as possible. 🙂

Awkward Hydration Belts

For anyone that has ever been a runner or watched some long-distance races, you know what I’m talking about. Those huge, tacky, 4-8 bottle hydration belts that are basically fanny packs on crack.

1363894005_3503_imagesYes, they are kinda a necessity for 26.2 miles, but no one looks good in that. And no one really wants to have all that business going on around their waist when there are already so many other things that have the potential to cause chafing.

Nathan-beltHoly smokes.

IMG_3967The backpack type is also a little too over the top for me. So I may just buy the awkward one and get a nice, thick dog to carry it for me.

IMG_0163HA! Just kidding. Mac would be jealous.

I’ve been avoiding buying one up to this point because I honestly just don’t want to wear it. My waist is so slim in comparison to my hips that I’m guaranteed to have a hard time keeping that sucker in place while I bounce up and down. Hence the reason I wear a wireless mic for Jazzercise and not the wired type that require a battery pack belt. It won’t stay in place!

I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will need one to get me by during my first marathon. There will be aid stations every mile but having a bottle with me at all times seems like a good idea. So I’m thinking about something fairly small like this:

SwiftsThe purple one is pretty! I just want enough water to get my gels down between stations. Other than that, I can use the water and Gatorade on the course to keep me going.

Any suggestions from other runners out there? My runner friend, Heather, said she tried one but it leaked all over her. So I’m hoping I can get a nice, quality belt with a good bottle that I will just love (and that doesn’t leak!). And look super awesome wearing it too, of course.

Tomorrow’s long run would probably benefit from having a belt, but since I haven’t found one yet I love, I’ll just make a pit stop by my porch to get a good drink around the mid-way point. I’m shooting for 15 miles to set me on the right track for my full marathon training, but the sidewalks and side roads are still covered in snow and black ice. So if I can scope out some good/safe paths, I’ll be good to finish. If not, I’ll get as far as I can without getting stuck in the middle of a crowded road!

Have a great night and a great weekend everyone. See ya later!

The Great Letdown

Daily Life!, Running, , , ,

So today is January 2nd. And what does that mean?! It means today could be (and most likely is) one of the biggest letdowns you’ve felt in quite a few months. The holidays are over. We had to go back to work. We have no major holidays coming up to look forward to. We’re all of a sudden on crazy diets so we can’t even eat the leftover sweets to self-soothe (HA!).

BUT, I’m not trying throw you into a further depression. I’m trying to motivate you stay happy! It’s a new year, and we have a lot to look forward to! If one of your New Year’s Resolutions was to work out more, I want you to stay positive and not let this photo become a reality today/tonight:

photo(129)If you made a commitment to yourself to exercise, get your booty to the gym tonight and just do it. Your Endorphins will be an awesome reward after our first full day back to work in the new year anyways. 🙂 Push through today’s ‘post-holiday letdown’ and you’ll have a happier tomorrow!

Morning Run

This morning’s 4-miler was a snowy one! And because of the snow, it also made it a sloooowww one. My pace all week has been about :45 – 1:15 slower than normal (even without the snow). My 10-mile race on Saturday wore me out and I’ve had a touch of the flu, so I’m just going to blame it on all that. I absolutely hate feeling like I’m running fairly fast, only to look down at my gps and realize I’m crawling compared to normal.

I suppose after training for months, I’m going to have a slower week here or there. I’m at the end of Week 11 in my half-marathon training plan, and up to here I’ve stayed pretty healthy. I didn’t know what it would be like to run with a cough/congestion/fever, but now I know I can do it – just a touch slower than normal. 🙂

Once I was home from my run and warm again, I was hungry and luckily snagged the last Clif bar from the cabinet for my breakfast!

photo(130)Gingerbread Clif Bar! I had some Greek yogurt and a banana on the side. My stomach tolerated it well, which is fantastic. Dinner last night wasn’t tolerated so well.

photo(131)I made some chicken and sausage in the Crockpot for our dinner, but my stomach wasn’t wanting any part of that. SO I just ‘indulged’ in some black-eyed peas and unsweetened applesauce. Geez, my New Years was exciting!

The rest of today has been pretty normal minus the snowy start. Mac still loves the snow each time it shows up.

image(22)And I’m thankful for my polka dot rain boots to keep me and my dress pants dry during our midday outing!

image(21)I’m off to teach Jazzercise soon. I don’t feel too sick, but I can’t stop coughing. So send good vibes my way so I can make it through class without hacking up a lung! For my sake and my students’ sake. 🙂

Have a wonderful evening!

New Year’s Resolutions

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Happy New Years!!!

I hope your 2014 is off to a great start. 🙂 I started my morning with a 8-mile run and some Jazzercise. I wanted to start my year off on the right foot! And I’ve ended my day with some black-eyed peas. Anyone else? I’m sure black-eyed pea sales rocket during the last week in December.

So it’s that lovely time of year where we get to make a bunch of goals and promises to ourselves about different resolutions that we may or may not completely keep during this new year. Do you have any exciting resolutions that you are working towards in 2014?

When I asked myself this, I got pretty nervous even thinking about my resolutions. I don’t know if you would really call them resolutions or simply goals for my year. My main resolutions are to eat healthier and to run more. I feel like I’ve fallen off the ‘healthy eating wagon’ during these holiday months, so I’m ready to get my body back in normal order with lots of fresh and clean eating. And running more is just a given because of the races I’m working towards.

My biggest goals for 2014 (currently!) are to run my first half marathon and full marathon races! That seems like a big feat right?! I’ve been consistently training, so I know I’ll be ok for my half that is coming up at the end of the month. The full marathon in March will be my biggest challenge though. It’s going to take a lot more than a couple months of training to push through those 26.2 miles. I’m trying to mentally prepare myself everyday for my races to come!

I’m sticking to my goals though by keeping up with my training and telling everyone I know about my race plans. My first half will be in St. Louis on Jan. 25, and my first full marathon will be in Little Rock, Arkansas on March 2. Those are my tops goals, and I’m excited/extremely nervous for them!

But maybe you’re not a runner, and you think I’m completely crazy. 🙂 Maybe you have a resolution to workout more in general. Well, I can tell you from experience that you need to make this goal very specific! For example: I commit to spend 1 hour in the gym 3 days a week. Or I commit to attend Jazzercise classes 4 days a week. Set some solid numbers in place and write it down! Plan your workouts in your calendar and it’ll be harder to skip a trip to the gym. Promise.

I came across this article on Sparkpeople’s website today:

Fitness clubIt caught my attention because the graphic was so funny! But I definitely have this issue. I get easily intimidated at the gym and it often keeps me from doing several exercises that I really want to do! And I would hate for this ‘gym-timidation’ to keep anyone from sticking with their resolutions this year.

This seems silly, I know. I’ve been working out in gyms since I was in high school, and now I’m a fitness professional (kinda!), and I still panic when there are too many muscle men in the free weight section of my gym. SO silly. So I loved this article where it says to just suck it up! Be brave and don’t worry what those other people think. And if you catch people staring, ignore them, and just tell yourself that they are jealous of how awesome you are. 🙂

Well I’m heading back to the couch for now. I’m still not completely over this flu-like crud that’s going around. No fever today. Just some coughing, a runny nose, and some aches. Fingers crossed that tomorrow I will be back to normal!

Enjoy your first evening of 2014. Nighty night!