Running and The Hunger Games

Ran for the first time in two weeks. Maybe it’s my post-THG depression or my hubby waking me up telling me to go that essentially pushed me out the door. No matter the reason, I am so happy I went. It was definitely needed. I finished the final book of THG series yesterday. It was definitely bittersweet.

I get like this after I finish reading a book that has truly captured my full attention (happened with the Twilight series). I’m a little embarrassed to say that the chapters of the books still haunt my thoughts constantly. I dream about it as if I’m actually there in the games with them. So running this morning was a great way to get out some frustration and a great way to kick my pity party to the curb. Even though I did think about THG a few times…

The question I’m left with now is….now what? What do you read after THG? What could help me transition away from this obvious and somewhat embarrassing obsession???

**update: Ok so I am so impatient...just ask anyone I know. I went and bought Divergent by Veronica Roth and have only read 5 pages...so far. All I can think about is how I wish I was reading more about Katniss and Peeta (so team Peeta by the way :)). I'm sure I'll love it once I get into it more, since so many THG readers have said what a great read it was. I'll keep going deeper in the book and see what happens :).

Hope everyone is having a great Friday :)!

I can so deal with this...

getting some muscle thing :). So amazing to actually see some definition in my legs and especially in my arms =)! I haven't ran since Saturday...BUT I have been working out at home and using weights. Light weight and high reps and boy does it BURN after awhile and I have learned to keep PUSHING. It is definitely paying off and the best part is I feel great! I want to be strong and toned, and I am finally working for that for the first time in my life. My stomach is SO SORE which is so exciting because I know I really worked out my abs ;). Now I just need to kick up my running a notch so that nice layer of fat on my tummy can disappear and show all my hard work. Granted I still have my stretch marks from my amazing littles, and I would not trade those for the world. My littles ARE my greatest achievement and I am PROUD to have my "memories" on my tummy. Speaking of my littles they are just LOVING working out at home with me. They try so hard to do all that I do and they give me that extra push to keep going even when I am dead tired. Hearing "come on mommy keep going!" is all I need to hear for that second wind to kick in. I sure hope that they carry on these good habits and enjoy being active for the rest of their lives :). The greatest blessing in our lives is to have each other and to be HEALTHY. We are so fortunate to be HEALTHY and have the ability to eat good food, and to drink CLEAN water. I have taken these things for granted far too much in my life. We're now teaching our littles to appreciate every little blessing in our lives and to give thanks for them. I'm a very proud mommy because they have the purest of hearts and care SO much for others and truly are the epitome of innocence. I love them more than words can describe and they ARE my happiness. It is a blessing to watch them grow and to be the one to help guide them towards being the BEST they can be.

One of our favorite books is Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss and our favorite line is "You can move mountains", and I truly believe that they will :).

finally

After 5 LONG weeks of not running I did it! I ran this morning and it felt great! Yes, it totally kicked my butt and I even felt a little nauseous at the end...but I loved it! A bonus was that my knee didn't hurt and my ankles feel fabulous :)! Granted my ankles tend to act up when I've ran for a few days in a row so we'll see how they are next week. I followed one of the days from C25K where I did an easy 5 minute warm up walk, ran for 3 minutes, walked for 90 seconds, ran for 5 minutes, walked for 2 minutes, ran for 3 minutes and then 5 minutes cool down. There was another run to do before the cool-down but I decided to take it easy. Sad how when I was running everyday I thought that this program was too EASY and now it is kicking my trash!

So that was on Friday 11/11/11 :) Great day to start getting back into something I literally can not go a day without thinking about. I got up Saturday 11/12/11, got the littles ready and headed to the gym. My friend Katie works in the gym daycare and was there that day. Thank goodness she was there because mr. man hates that place. If she hadn't been there they would've came out to get me because mr. man was crying :(, but being the AWESOME lady that Katie is she held him so that I could get a workout in. Unfortunately I think this means no gym until he grows out of this phase. Anyway I went straight to the treadmill and got in a run. I did the C25K again and did the whole thing this time:)

5 minute warm up walk
3 minutes run
90 sec walk
5 minute run
2 1/2 minute walk
3 minute run
90 seconds walk
5 minute run
5 minute cool-down

Now I was TIRED and sweaty BUT I was pain FREE :) Seriously a HUGE thing for me. So I walked for probably 15 minutes after that and wanted to run some more....well my issue is I push too hard too fast and I had knee pain immediately and only lasted a minute. I stopped to stretch it out which helped but thought it wise to walk to out. I walked until I got to 3 miles and stopped to stretch like crazy. I ALWAYS want to do more and obviously my body can not handle it. I NEED to LISTEN to my body and just BE PATIENT. Anyone who knows me, knows how good I am at that lol.

I did not run yesterday...obviously and I have no knee pain today. I plan on running tonight so hopefully it will go smoothly. I'm DETERMINED to get through this and be able to run miles and miles without having to stop. I KNOW I WILL get there I just need to be DEDICATED and persistent.

Here's to a pain free run tonight :)!

8 Common Running Myths Busted!

Myth: You Should Always Stretch Before You Run
The Truth: “Static stretching is not the optimal way to warm-up before you run,” Olson says. Believe it or not, you could actually strain your muscles with static stretching, and it might even slow you down. Instead, focus on getting oxygen to your muscles and warm them up—literally, Olson recommends. “Start out by walking and trotting: swing your arms; shrug your shoulders and slowly elevate your heart rate for about 10 minutes before you pick up your pace.”
That doesn’t mean you should skip stretching completely, Olson says. Just make sure to do it after your run, when your muscles are very warm and full of oxygen and nutrients; and then engage in static stretching, focusing on your leg, hip, and low-back muscles
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Myth: Muscle Cramps are Always Caused by Too Little Potassium
The Truth: Muscle spasms can certainly put a cramp in your running style, but that doesn’t mean you need to load up on potassium to prevent them. “Cramps are primarily caused by either being low on glucose (the form of sugar your muscles thrive on for energy) or low water and sodium levels,” Olson says. When you are working out very hard (like lifting weights or with intense intervals), you use up glucose faster than what can be delivered to the muscles, and this causes that muscle-burning lactic acid to form. The best way to get rid of cramps caused by low glucose levels is to take a 60-90 second break to help rid your body of lactic acid and allow glucose to travel to the muscles, Olson says.
To prevent cramps caused by excessive sweating during steamy outdoor runs, be sure to stay well hydrated and nourished, Olson says. “When you sweat, sodium is also excreted, and water and sodium go hand-in-hand. Losing significant levels of potassium is actually quite hard to do. Potassium lives inside our cells and is not excreted as readily as sodium. Sodium, like water, resides outside the cells in your body.”

To read the rest click on Shape below :)
Shape

Running for Beginners

Running 101 found on Runnersworld.com

LOVE this article! I have taken 5 weeks off from running due to a knee injury and lack of motivation. Because of this I have been down on myself a lot more and finding myself stressed about a lot more, a lot more frequently. I am missing my stress reliever and my ME time. I decided that this was the last week of self loathing...that I will get out and run! I NEED it in so many ways. I hate feeling icky and seriously attacking my cuticles. A horrible habit I have when I am stressed out...my poor hands need to be saved. SO I found this article and decided to start running with a clean slate :). I am so excited to take it slow and to not get injured from pushing myself too hard too quickly. Here is to a better tomorrow :)!

just keep spinning, spinning, spinning...

So the spinning class I went to Saturday ignited the flame to my old passion for spinning classes. I am IN LOVE right now and it is such a NICE RELIEF for my Achilles Tendon. I did learn some exercises to help strengthen my tendon so that I can get back to it :). I am just taking it easy with running right now to avoid rupturing my tendon. I have HIGH hopes that after a few weeks I'll feel as good as new :)!

Anyway, SPINNING is my saving grace right now. I have been SO DOWN because of my injury and not being able to run without pain. So I now look forward to my classes and my weight training! I woke up at 5:30 am, willingly, to go to Gold's for a spinning class. BOY did that teacher KICK MY BUTT! She totally blew the teacher from Saturdays class right OUT OF THE WATER...seriously that was cake compared to this morning. I literally had no time to think about my butt being SO SORE from Saturday because we were UP almost the ENTIRE time. My legs they were a BURNIN'! A good burning though :). I LOVE nothing better than starting my day off all sweaty and exhausted...it makes me feel like I could conquer the world! I had a protein shake and LOTS of WATER, and been snackin on my fav...CASHEWS :) not too many though. I want to go do some weight training now...see who needs energy drinks?? I could bounce off the walls right now from pure adrenaline and excitement for exercise! Seriously who is the person that I have become?! Never thought I would be OBSESSED with working out and wanting to be so HEALTHY....I'm not complaining at all, just shocked at where my mentality has decided to take me lol. I dream about running LONG distances and running FAST and now to also be toned and STRONG. It would be nice to give my husband a little bit of a fight when we "play", because I am such a weakling right now lol.

Well I AM DETERMINED and I KNOW I WILL GET THERE. I just have to stay consistent and stay POSITIVE :). I CAN AND WILL overcome any obstacle that gets in my way :)!!

Weight training tomorrow with a short run...(pray for no pain) and then Thursday in the a.m. is SPINNING!

See you tomorrow!

Day 2

So today was day 2 of the challenge and I was already really sore from my run yesterday so I decided to take it fairly easy. I did a little workout in my house ie squats, lunges, and bicep curls with my little weights :). Then the kids and I walked 2 miles to Kevin's work to get the car. Unfortunately I was bad and only had a smoothie until 7pm and then had spinach with chicken. I need to be consistent with eating so I don't send myself into starvation mood.

Tomorrow I plan on running outside for the first time so we'll see how it goes :)!!