Exercise isn't just good for us because it burns calories, and build muscle. In fact, there is another facet to moving our body regularly that is advantageous too, and it's that it can do wonders to help us both express our stress, as well as reduce it, making it much easier to deal with. You can even find out what some of the best types of exercise for stress relief are below. Running First of all, if you are suffering from a lot of stress and anxiety running can be a fabulous activity to … [Read more...]
Fitness- Running
Lightening the Load: Losing Weight to Lose Weight
Let's say you pick up a 10-pound hand weight and try to run with it. Not fun, right? Once you set that puppy back down, you'd be able to run faster, longer, and with less pain and discomfort. That's what I did this morning. I really do enjoy running. But for the past year or so it's gotten harder, more painful, less fun. I weighed 190 pounds. I have never weighed that much in my life, and it's embarrassing to put in print for all the world to see. Even 9 months pregnant I didn't weigh that … [Read more...]
Don’t Get Plowed Over by a Fat Girl While Running a 5K
Contains affiliate links. Have you hesitated to sign up to run a 5K because you're not sure how it works? There have been times where I've wanted to stop mid-way through a race and just start yelling at people. Like, "YOU CAN HANDLE GOING 3 MILES WITHOUT ALL 5 OF YOUR BEST FRIENDS! SINGLE FILE, PLEASE!" Unfortunately, I've also about run over some of these poor people because they just seem to forget that there are other runners on the course. I've come to the general conclusion that these … [Read more...]
Excuses are Like Tennis Shoes…
I heard the heater kick on as I lay in bed this morning trying to get up the gumption to get up for a run. Checking my phone confirmed my fears: 32 degrees. Now, for you Northern folks who endure sub-freezing HIGH temperatures during the winter, please don't judge me. I choose to live in the South because I am a cold weather wuss. Not a fan of cold. Or snow. Or frost. Or seeing my breath while I trot through my neighborhood on a late November morning. The past year has been one of a lot of … [Read more...]
Do This, Don’t Do That: A Running Newbie’s List of Road Rules
Photo: flickr.com/photos/usnavy The first 5K I ever ran was a St. Patty's Day race through downtown Portland, Oregon. A group of co-workers had talked me into running a 196 mile relay race with them, and because I had never voluntarily run before in my life, I was in uncharted territory. There are many little things I've learned as I've since become a 5K aficionado, that would have helped me on those first few runs. Here are the top ten: 1) Pack lightly- Most races that are under a … [Read more...]
So, You Wanna Be A Runner, Huh? (part 3)
I'm so glad I found this picture, because it's from 2001. I ran H2C in 1999 and 2000. Thank you, http://www.davidjamie.com/2001/hoodtocoast.html, from whom I stole this. (Wait! Did you first read Part 1 and Part 2?) I hobbled across the finish line at Hood-to-Coast, with the help of my co-worker, Doug, some 30 hours or so after we had started our journey. We stood, posing for pictures. We received finisher medals. Someone had rented a beach house, and I hobbled to the house for some … [Read more...]
So, You Wanna Be A Runner, Huh? (part 2)
(Read Part 1 HERE) So, I agreed to run this Hood to Coast, 195 mile relay race, having never willingly run before in my life. All those promises my co-workers made to help me become a runner? Yeah. That didn’t quite materialize. We were supposed to do training runs together. Never happened. And I had no idea what I was doing. I was getting shin splints when I ran, and aside from learning how to stretch out my shin, had no idea how to prevent them. I knew nothing about running. The … [Read more...]
So, You Wanna Be A Runner, Huh? (part 1)
It was probably January of 1999, when a co-worker friend asked if I’d join the Hood-to-Coast team my employer was sponsoring. What Nicole was really asking me to do was begin my love-hate relationship with running, but at the time, all I heard was “196 miles.” Uh, no. No. Not even gonna consider it, because I CAN’T RUN. In middle school we had to run a mile every Wednesday. I hated Wednesday. It was a cross country mile, not on a track, and we had to run that sucker rain or shine. My lungs … [Read more...]
The Show Shoulda Gone On
I'm not a marathon runner. I aspire to try a half-marathon, but I have yet to even work my way up to a 10K. Still, I'm incredibly disappointed in Mayor Bloomberg's decision to cow-tow to pressure to cancel the iconic New York City Marathon. The REASON I've never attempted to run even a half-marathon, is that it is a LOT of work. And it takes a LOT of time. Not just the 12 hours it would take me to actually run the dang thing. But the hours and hours of running, the diet-tweaking, the … [Read more...]
If You Want to be a Runner, then BE a RUNNER.
My collection of 2012 racing bibs... so far. "The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." -John Bingham I have always loved the treadmill. I felt like I had a lot more control over my workout. And seriously? Running on roads is for "real" runners. I am so NOT a "real" runner-- I'm just a wannabe. Even as I've completed 5 different 5K races so far this year, I still didn't feel like I could actually call myself a runner. I see those "real" runners, … [Read more...]