A new walking PR!

29. June 2013 · 2 comments · Categories: injury, Uncategorized

Today I walked the same route that i did on Thursday and while I wasn’t trying to walk faster i ended up keeping a pace that was whole minute faster per mile!

watch

Maybe I wasn’t feeling my groin pain as much today and so I didn’t have that hesitation in my step like last time. Who knows? But it’s exciting nevertheless to have something to smile about when you’re not running. Oh and speaking of smile….what do you think about this pedestrian crossing sign? Runner or walker? =)

photo 2-1

runner or walker? #runnersthoughts

Even though I’ve been enjoying these walks, I am sure to advertise to the world that i’m a runner. And today was a win-win because i’ve never been able to wear this lovely white Brooklyn Half Marathon shirt running because I sweat too much and it would end up making me look like i’m ready to participate in a wet t-shirt contest.


runner-nessSo i plan to do this one more time on Tuesday and hopefully i’ll be back in business to run again by Friday where i’ll be in CALIFORNIA!!! Yep. It’s almost here. My first non-marathon related vacation in quite some time. But don’t worry, I’ll be running twice while out there. Once in San Francisco. And once in Pismo Beach. Woot Woot!

shoreline

 

Well I’m off to get some errands done. Hope you enjoy your weekend. I’ll leave you with this random duck who prefers the gravel parking lot over the water or the sand or the grass….

DUCK

Question? Do you feel the need to advertise you’re a runner? I do. I’ve got more magnets on the back of my car than is really necessary. And I love the rainy spring season so I can wear my NYC Marathon rain jacket =)

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When small stuff feels like big stuff

27. June 2013 · 2 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

That mild groin pull from yesterday…well by last night it was really throbbing and sore. Today I made the decision not to run again. Ugh! It felt like having to make a decision to move cross-country to take care of an ailing great aunt or something. I actually cried last night as I bargained in my head “if it doesn’t hurt in the morning then…”. Well this morning my friend texted me at 7:30am (I’m off from work on Thursdays and would normally be running at that time). He asked if I felt like going to IHOP for pancakes. Well look at how the universe works? My favorite “i feel sorry for myself” food is pancakes! So I immediately said yes and off we went. I went with just regular pancakes. A stack of 3. (450 calories without butter or syrup). Something happened somewhere between the last pancake bite and our drive home…I realized that:

a) there are people with truly debilitating ailments right now. I remember how a fellow blogger is in the midst of an extremely long flare from Crohn’s disease.

b) not being able to run DOESN’T mean I can’t be active at all

c) those pancakes were delicious.

So I decided to get into my running attire (like a true dork i put on the exact outfit I wore to my most recent marathon where I PR’d), strap on my Garmin, drive to my favorite running route along the beach and……WALK! That’s right I walked out the small-stuff-that-felt-like-big-stuff-but-was-really-small-stuff! And I sweat probably just as much since it was 82 degrees with a 1,000% humidity. I am lucky that this injury is still mild enough that it isn’t causing me to limp or anything so that I could walk.

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After a lovely 4.25 miles and a few quick inhales of the intoxicating honeysuckles, i was on my way home feeling more in control and less stressed about the not being able to run stuff. I’ll do this again on Saturday and once more next Tuesday and then hopefully I’ll be back in action for next Friday when i’ll be visiting the Left Coast for vacation!

So my words of wisdom today are this—have a moment or two to acknowledge what it is that making you anxious or stressed. Feel it for a bit. For me it was the good cry before bed and the simple act of friendship with conversation over breakfast that got me to feel it. But then grab hold of that feeling and squash it like a bug by coming up with a plan. A good solid plan to stop the downward spiral. For me that plan was a long walk. I might not have been huffing and puffing but it was the best mental workout i’ve had in a while. And that is sometimes more important that the physical part.

Question: Where is your favorite place to go to unwind or decompress? 

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numbers game (or completely useless post)

26. June 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: injury

well no words of wisdom here today. as a matter of fact i’m feeling a little blah. I’ve got a very mild pain in my groin/inner thigh/adductor muscle area. Thought i’d skip my run and just do some light exercise at the gym today. Rowing machine wasn’t too bad but the computer part was broken so i have no idea how many minutes/calories burned etc I accomplished. I wasn’t huffing or puffing. Barely even “glistening”. Next up was the bike. Well after 13 minutes i had to stop. I could feel the twinge in the thigh muscle. So that’s all I have to say about that.

But here’s where the numbers game comes in to play. I’m not a superstitious person per se but I’ve been using locker #131 for the longest time because that’s my goal weight. HAHA! I was at 136 for a while so 131 was quite in reach. Needless to say 3 years later and i’m 10 pounds heavier. Locker #131 was taken today and I opted for #136. I guess that’s the universe’s way of saying I need to focus on getting back to where i was. 10 pounds seems more attainable to me than 15 anyway.

So there you have it folks. A completely useless post. (unless of course you have a silly numbers game or superstition that you’d like to share of course?=)

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Functional fitness and cross training made easy

25. June 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized

I’m not gonna lie. I hate gyms. Perhaps that is what I love about running. I can do it outdoors and whenever the mood strikes. Dreadmills are reserved for the one monsoon rain a year I wuss out of running in. Now the thing is, as much as I love running, I’ve been looking to get in some overall strength training and cross-training fitness as well. In the last month I’ve made it a mission to find ways to squeeze in some non-running workouts. Here’s what I came up with:

1. Don’t use a lazy shopping cart at the supermarket. Carry two hand baskets. As they fill up they become heavy and are a great way to work the arms. I actually do bicep curls in the aisles.unnamed-1

Also, instead of using a mop get on your hands and knees and scrub floors with a sponge. And don’t go to the car wash, wash it yourself instead. These are great functional ways to retain fitness.

2. Make a defined space in your home for doing some simple exercises. Make more than one space if you want. I have a nice area of the garage that I made inviting. Wednesday nights when i have to go in the garage to get my recycled garbage packed up I will put my boxing gloves on and hit the bag for a few, jump rope and use the resistance bands to do a few upper body exercises (the best invention ever is that little strap that allows you to attach your resistance bands to the door jamb.) But I also have a foam roller, some 5 pound weights and a few resistance bands upstairs in my living room as well.

garage exercise space with a furry personal trainer imposter

garage exercise space with a furry personal trainer imposter

3. Speaking of living room….put on your favorite playlist and dance around in your living room. This is a GREAT way to get in some cardio and sweat out some stress. I’m loving that new Robin Thicke song “Blurred Lines”.

4. I tend to stay committed when my smartphone/tablet is involved. I’ll use the stopwatch function to show how long i’ve held a plank. I’ve got digital subscriptions to some fitness magazines and when there’s a great article with cool ab or kettle bell exercises i’ll take screengrab photos of them and store them in the phone/tablet to refer to. (Eventually i’ll organize them in folders).

5. I commute to work by bus each day. I’ve been getting off the bus a few stops early and walking a quick 10 minutes the rest of the way. I also take a 10 min walk at lunchtime. Right there i’ve just added in 30 extra minutes of walking to my day.

 

Question: Can you add anything to this list?

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