And on Mondays We Squat (plus a Presidential Debate Drinking Game)

This morning after everyone went to work, I got to workout! Today I started Week 4 of the Sweat with Kayla program.

The temperatures have dropped BIG TIME in Springfield. This morning it was only 35 degrees and I don't really have cold weather outdoor workout gear with me. Using the Sweat with Kayla app on my phone makes it easy to workout anywhere. I easily found a place in the house to do my resistance leg HIIT workout.

Circuit 1: squats with overhead press, step up knee ups, jump rope, static lunges

Circuit 2: jump squats, walking lunges, burpees, step ups

After an amazingly relaxing weekend, I needed a good, hard workout to start the week and this delivered. The whole time I was working out, I pushed myself and stayed focused on giving 100% during each exercise. When I started to feel tired, I thought about all the calories my body was burning and was going to keep burning later.

After completing the post workout stretches, I went right out for a 30 minute low intensity sustained state walk. As cold as it was when I started my HIIT workout, it was almost perfect during my walk (just a little cool after my sweaty body cooled down).

My shoes

There were some signs of autumn on my walk. I love the look of pumpkins and mums, and falling leaves.

mrC gave me a tennis ball so that I could work on my calf muscles. I'm still dealing with the stinger in my heel (that still only flares up when I stretch) and I'm hoping at some point I will pinpoint the cause. It's messing with my yoga game.

Sun in the backyard means two things:

- watering the lawn where my SIL just had a new septic tank put in.

- putting my feet up because, life is good.

Before jumping in the shower, I did a spontaneous strength workout. Just a quick one using my beloved resistance band system. I am really happy to be taking this back to China with us.

WIA

Tonight is The Big Night in politics and a lot of people will be watching the Battle at Hofstra. Some people are speculating that the candidates might come out and play it safe and the whole debate might be pretty boring. Just in case, I thought it would be unfair if I did not share this drinking game that a friend posted on Facebook with you.

Do you have a Monday workout mantra? I like "Never miss a Monday"
Favorite signs of Fall?
Ever have a stinger in your heel?
What words would you add to the drinking game? I would put Huge on Trump's list.

Recovery Day: Stretch and Soothe

My sister-in-law's patio area looked like the perfect place to start my recovery day. After yesterday's resistance workout, my muscles needed little TLC.

I took my 30 Days of Yoga with Adriene video outside with me, eager to enjoy the comfortable morning and cozy space.

It didn't take long for the sun to break the tree line and on the first day of autumn, it was so warm! So warm in fact, that I had to take my session inside (I might have been a tad over-dressed) to finish. Today's video was all about stretching and soothing the body by releasing the tightness in the muscles.

What I'm wearing: Athleta Fastest Track Tank and Trekkie Joggers

Even though I was in recovery mode, I still did day 3 of my ab carving plan. I don't know if I should do these before or after yoga. It's like the question of running before strength or strength before running. Does anyone know the answer??

During my foam rolling session I spent extra time on my calf muscles. I've got a spot on my heel that fires up when I stretch, similar to the one I had in my right heel that I think was caused by a knot in my calf. I think the cause of the new knot is the jumping exercises in my lower body resistance workouts. I just want to make it go away.

The rest of the afternoon was spent helping mrC's nephew get on the road to his new home in Charleston, SC. He recently graduated from the Naval Academy and is off to start his on-the-job training.

What I ate today:

Today I started the 30 day probiotics trial that I mentioned here. I'm going to track how I feel (some people see a difference in just a few days) and share the results here on the blog.

Ab carver...before or after yoga?
Do you think I need a massage to help my heel pain?
Are you a probiotics user?

How To Avoid DOMS

Yesterday's HIIT class was (not surprisingly) a shock to my body. I did more jumps, squats, and lunges (with weight) than I have at one time in a lonnnggg time. I knew that if I didn't get proactive, I was going to be suffering from delayed onset muscle soreness something fierce. No fun.

Here are some of the ways that I have learned to beat DOMS:

Stretching
All day long. As soon as I got out of bed, I started stretching. The more I moved around, the more I stretched. During our morning walk, when my muscles were warmed up, I stopped and did some deeper stretches and held them for longer.

Staying Active

After the walk, I did some yoga. Yoga Camp day 25 focused on strength poses, but like all good yoga sessions, I came away feeling looser.

30 Day Pilates Body. Day 4. A HIIT workout. Oh, the irony. This 8 minute video was actually not that bad. Making my muscles work helped push out some of the soreness by getting my blood pumping. 

Foam rolling 

Owwwww. This was by far the most painful method of the day, but an easy way to release the tension in those sore muscles.

Protein 

Consuming extra protein is said to help our bodies recover faster. Breakfast: eggs and yogurt. Lunch: Quinoa and tuna leftovers. Hemp hearts on my salad. Berry spinach protein smoothie. 

How do keep DOMS away??

Sunrise Run with Surprising Weather

For the past month I have been dealing with temperatures in the FEELS LIKE 100++++. I was just starting to embrace it, especially after reading this article about the benefits of running in the heat, when today happened.

With mrC on a trip, I was out the door early to beat the sun (and the heat), but then it was so COOL! Surprise!!

I pretty much enjoyed every step of my nearly 3.5 mile run. The low temperature, steady breeze, and lack of sun kept me comfortable and watching the sun ascend over the city almost made me want to pinch myself...am I really running in China?

I'm still feeling twinges in my knee. Twinges that I'm guessing I will deal with indefinitely since my knee has been through three surgeries. But I'm learning to listen to my body. Learning to take it easy. Learning to enjoy the miles that I can get.

After a quick shower, bite to eat (PB&J rice cakes), and cool down, I hurried back outside to enjoy the beautiful weather with a bike ride. Not so fast. mrC took my apartment keys by mistake...along with my bike lock key. 

Instead I strolled along the waterfront savoring every minute of the extra-pleasant Shenzhen weather. It's funny to be out on such a beautiful day, but the waterfront is nearly empty. The Chinese avoid the sun, unlike Americans who chase it.

I'm still loving my Oofos recovery flip flops. My feet stay cool and comfortable, but supported. I'm actually planning to get this pair when we are home for vacation next month.

Back home I noticed some tightness in my calves, so I struggled into my Pro Compression calf sleeves and foam rolled.

To wrap up my fitness morning, I put together a frozen blueberry, raspberry, pineapple protein smoothie with a turkey roll-up for lunch.

What's the temperature where you are?
Do you find it hard to put on compression sleeves/socks like I do?

Progression Run and Pool Time

As much as I want to run all around Dubai, it's just not that easy. Location, no car, heat. It's complicated.

So this morning instead of running circles around the track at the park again, I decided to do a Nike Run Club workout and this one came to my inbox.

So I was all dressed up in my Oiselle and had the fitness center to myself which meant...#gymselfie time!

Then it was time to get down to business. My plan was to run for 30 minutes, but everything was feeling good so I went for 10 more...and 10 more.

I eased into the run and then increased my speed every mile by 4 km/h. I've never used a treadmill with km settings, so I was making all of my choices based on feeling. This was my best run since getting to Dubai.

I finished up my workout with a quick set of planks and a good stretching session before hitting the pool for some recovery time.

How do you like to recover after a good workout?

The Week After

As soon as I crossed the ZOOMA finish line last Saturday, I knew I had to go into recovery mode. It was a tough race. Since I'll be running the Newport Half with mrC next weekend, the week after the race is just as important as the training leading up to it.

POST RACE: The first thing I did was make my way to Buzzards Bay to soak my tired legs in the cold September water. There may have been a little stretching going on there too. After a sufficient soak and drinking two bottles of water, I made my way across the sand of Old Silver Beach to treat myself to a free 15 minute massage. Later, mrC and I took a leisurely stroll on the beach before going to dinner.

DAY AFTER: I started the day with some yoga stretches on the beach followed by some self massage of the tender spots in my legs. On the way home from the Cape, we stopped for some walking at the Outlet Mall.

DAYS 2-7:
Lots of foam rolling and some quality time with my heating pad to loosen up the two lingering knots in my calf and quad.

Tuesday - Easy recovery run on the trail. Still a couple of hot spots in the legs, so I grimaced through it.

Thursday - Another easy trail run. My legs were feeling much better on this run.

Saturday -  Not 100% pain-free, but this was the best run of the week. mrC and I ran a loop around the Manchester airport which has a good mix of rolling hills. I am trying to figure out a new pre-run fueling option after last weekend's disaster, so today I forced down a small banana (not a fan) and filled up my water bottle with Cytomax. The banana seems to be a working option for me and I didn't even feel like I needed the Cytomax.

Although I have been dealing with injuries more frequently than I would like lately, I cannot give up on running. There are three more races on my 2014 schedule and I'm going to enjoy each one of them…and recover after!

How do you get through hard times in your training?

Training Truths: ZOOMA Cape Cod Week 2 + #KeepItTight

My goal for week two of my ZOOMA Cape Cod half marathon training was to get in my mileage before heading to West Virginia on Friday for a weekend visit with one of my best gal pals. It wasn't easy to squeeze everything I wanted to do in around the other things I had to do, but I did it. Looking at the vision board I made as part of the 30 Day Fitness Challenge (details here) gave me inspiration.

As the weeks start to pass and mileage continues to increase, I'll be making recovery part of my daily routine. One easy way to do that is wearing the compression sleeves I received from Pro Compression to try out as part of a Sweat Pink Ambassador campaign.

Day 7 Challenge: Make a Vision Board

Sunday:
3 mile run after church and grocery shopping. It was humid, my legs felt heavy, and my sports bra felt too tight! Not a great start to week 2 training. Day 7 fitness challenge (323 calories)

Monday:
5 mile run and I was out the door before 6:20 AM…the earliest I've ever gotten out the door on my own. Worth it. Much better run than Sunday. Day 8 fitness challenge followed by a little recovery in my compression sleeves (check them out here) (538 calories)

Ready for my next workout!

Afternoon SurfSet class with oldestC…it was a #sweatfest! But awesome, of course! I'm pretty sure that I recruited another urban surfer (421 calories)

Tuesday: 
Officially my rest day for the week, but I did Day 9 fitness challenge, and walked on the treadmill for 3 miles while using my treadmill desk to do some homework at the same time! (191 calories)

Wednesday:
5K run to the beach and back as part of my training and a virtual 5K a friend was hosting as part of a fundraiser. Humidity was higher plus the hills on the route had me worried, but then I ended up with negative splits! Day 10 fitness challenge (338 calories)

SurfnTurf class. I'm beginning to like this class more and more. The half surf, half bootcamp style is a fun way to mix up my cross training (414 calories)

Thursday:
A night of storms that ended with the power going out at 330 AM did not alleviate the humidity for my 6 AM out-and-back run. At least not as much as I thought it would. It was a struggle all the way back to the driveway, but nothing a little recovery on the couch with a good book couldn't take care of. Day 11 fitness challenge (680 calories)

No more sore muscles!

Total calories burned this week: 2905 

What I like about Pro Compression:

• Made in the USA!
• Calf sleeves support important muscles but I can also wear my favorite flip flops :)
• The material is thinner and offers moisture control
• They make calf sleeves and socks
• SOCK OF THE MONTH offered at a discount
• True Graduated Compression technology (graduated compression decreases from the bottom to top, with a pressure profile that must be 100% at the ankle (b), 70% at the calf (c) and 40% at the thigh (g). This helps promote blood flow from the lower extremities back to the heart)

If you're looking for no hassle compression sleeves or have been wanting to try them, use code PINK to get 40% off your entire purchase at Pro Compression.


Use my ZOOMA Discount Code for 10% off registration:
CCAMB2

Friday Favorites & {a GIVEAWAY}

Happy Friday running friends!

It's time to share another round of Friday Favorites.

I've had my Nike GPS Sportwatch for about 5 years now, but just recently purchased the Polar Wearlink Heart Rate Monitor to link with it. The data nerd in me loves seeing how much effort I'm putting into my running.

Sometimes it is just REALLY cold. I hate wearing toboggans because I have thick hair and my ponytail is too short to hang out on my neck. I found Athleta's Polartec Beanie Visor that has a hole in the back for ponytails. I know there are toboggans that have ponytail holes too, but I liked the added visor on this one.

I recently tried some audio Treadmill Express workouts from Motion Traxx through an offer for FitFluential Ambassadors. For someone like me who doesn't like to run on the treadmill, these workouts make all the difference. I like knowing that I'm getting a good workout instead of just aimlessly running.

Speaking of FitFluential, have you joined yet? I joined in 2011 (before applying to become an ambassador) because they offered a network of fitness enthusiasts who were dedicated to motivating and inspiring others. Pretty soon, I was also enjoying perks like discounts on fitness gear, invites to Twitter chats, and opportunities to win free stuff in giveaways.

This year, FitFluential wants to hit the road and bring the events to US! The more people you get to sign up from your area, the more likely you are to be visited by FitFluential. Spread the word!

One of my all time favorite races is the ZOOMA Cape Cod Half Marathon. The ladies behind ZOOMA really know how to put on a great event in a fantastic locations. Runner's World Magazine has called it one of the best half marathon's in the US and recently Competitor Magazine ranked the Texas Half Marathon as "Best Women's Half" in the South.

Right now ZOOMA is looking to send a blogger and one lucky reader to run the ZOOMA Napa Half Marathon in June. I would love to add California to my list of places I have run a race, wouldn't you? All you need to do is VOTE! Everyday!

As usual I'm spending most of my non-running hours wearing these awesome recovery shoes around the house. I'm bringing them back today because Oofos wants YOU to have a pair to enjoy and has asked me to do another giveaway! Enter using the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway