Training Truths: I'm a Creature of Habit

Last week began with me continuing to give myself a break from worrying about running. I want my angry muscles to get happy again and trying to run before they are healed was not doing me any good. Although my adductor pain from the summer is gone, running the half marathon with under-trained legs left some angry knots in my already weak left quad.

So with the focus not on running, I continued my #squatstreak with 50 squats every morning. I also drink a bottle of water (straight) either right before or after my squats. Then I foam roll. Call me a creature of habit. It works for me.

I continued to do my daily challenge workouts. I'm still loving the variety of these workouts and learning new exercises that push me to use my muscles in ways that I haven't before.

By the end of the week, I decided that I could go for an easy run. So on Saturday morning I laced up my Mizuno Wave Creation 14s and put on some of my cold weather gear. With the temperature hovering at 34 degrees it was a perfect morning to try my new Athleta relay capris!

Breaking the bad habit of little-to-no warming up, I headed down the driveway doing the Frankenstein walk and some lunges. My plan was to run a 2 mile out & back and if I felt any pain/discomfort I would turn around right away.

Admittedly, I was nervous. I really wanted this run to go well. I found myself chatting it up with the paparazzi my husband fearing that the first step would send signals of pain. Finally, I pressed the start button on my watch and took off. Two happy miles later, I returned.

Was it perfect? No, but it wasn't painful.

In the spirit of Halloween, and this is all the spirit I can muster, I put together a fun little themed workout. I tried it out on Sunday. It might be a little tougher than on paper. Let me know what you think!

Are you a creature of habit?

Fitness Friday: Run For Your Lives

Happy Friday everyone!

It's hard to believe that the end of October is right around the corner. The end of the month means trick-or-treating, Halloween partying and for most of us calorie consuming!

If you are looking for some great ways to burn the candy calories, Tribesports is sharing 4 ZOMBIE SURVIVAL Workouts put together by Al Kavadlo, kettle bell bombshell and hybrid athlete.

Here's a sample of one of the workouts:

Here are the links to all of the workouts so you can find the right one or try them all!

http://tribesports.com/workouts/zombie-survival-fitness-circuits

http://tribesports.com/workouts/zombie-survival-wrecking-bell-workout

http://tribesports.com/workouts/zombie-survival-evasion-and-escape

http://tribesports.com/workouts/zombie-survival-under-siege-workout

Would you rather run from zombies through a 5K obstacle course to burn off those calories? Then Run For Your Lives is perfect for you. Use discount TRIBE to get 20% off race registration.

Tribesports is also hosting a competition and will reward you with prizes for all your hard work during training. Prizes include 10 pairs of tickets for Run For Your Lives race entry, a Bodymax Kettlebone Kettlebell, and 5 Join The Tribe T shirts. To participate, all you have to do is share how your training to survive! More details here.

Tell me, how will you combine fitness and Halloween this year?

WIAW: What's Cookin'?

After frying my legs in my last half marathon, I have been giving them a chance to refresh. With no races looming on my calendar, I am totally not enjoying the pressure-free break from running, and mixing up my strength training with some daily challenges.

Trying to stay positive, I am spending more time in the kitchen cookin' up some new recipes, along with some favorites. All follow our new wheat-free diet and some are packed with protein to make great post-workout snacks.

Here's a sample of dinner, lunch, and snacks:

Also, I was sent some new protein and I've been having fun trying it out. The review should be up next week and will include recipes!

Don't forget to check out other great eats at Jen's WIAW link up!


What have you got cookin' lately?

Training Truths: After

After two months of essentially non-running, I ran a half marathon.

After pushing my body to finish more miles in one day than two months combined, I earned some major bling.

After finishing a half marathon, my lack-of-mileage muscles needed some TLC.

After soaking,

walking and stretching,

rolling,

and running,

they were feeling better.

After a week of challenge exercises,

I'm feeling stronger.

Fitness Friday: How to Remove Muscle Knots

How do I feel after running a half marathon completely unprepared and undertrained? Actually, not too bad. My angry hamstring seems to have gotten happy again, but the lack of prep miles took a toll on my quads. Besides the usual soreness, I have a good knot in one thigh.

I've spent the week giving my legs a lot of TLC and it has worked really well to keep the soreness at bay. It's worked so well, that I thought I would share my tips with you!

Walk - On the way home from the half marathon, we stopped at the grocery. This forced walk around the store picking up dinner items got us up and moving. Sitting allows the muscles to tighten up, making it painful to get moving again.

Foam Roll - I attacked the foam roller multiple times the day of the half marathon and every day since. It literally feels like I have been pushing all the soreness right out of my quads! It also helped me zero in on the knot in my quad. When I feel the pain of the foam roller on the muscle knot, I hold it for 30 seconds.

Epsom Salt Bath - I took a warm salt bath the morning after the race and again after my easy run yesterday. I add two cups of epsom salt to the bath water and soak for about 15-20 minutes. The warm water and magnesium sulfates help relax and loosen up the muscles.

Massage/Self Massage - If I had time (or an appointment) I would get a professional to work out my knots, in the mean time I have been lathering up the lotion and digging into my muscles myself. Using a tennis ball is another good way to focus on the knots.

Exercise - Although I didn't do more than walk and stretch the day of the half marathon, I did get right back to my regular strength workouts the next day. Yesterday I took an easy 3 mile shake-out run and felt really good.

What is your favorite way to relieve the pain/tightness of sore muscles?