I have FINALLY experienced a sunny Sunday long run!
For too many weeks now I have seen gorgeous Saturdays, and I wake up on Sunday morning for my long run to this:
I am so stinking tired of Ohio winters.
Today was a glorious ten miler with my favorite running peeps. Debi stuck with me from beginning to end, and we were able to run a bit with Teresa and Deidre. It was almost like old times, except I wasn't complaining about my husband (love you, Mon Petit Chou!) this time.
My legs ache in all the right places. I look forward to recovery yoga tomorrow (love you, Rodney Yee!), and I plan to do the legs-up-the-wall pose later today when I think it will most embarrass my daughter.
Even better, MyFitnessPaltells me that I will have room for a Candy-Bar-in-a-Cup, otherwise known as some sort of mocha java thing, when I meet my friend for coffee later.
Candy Bar in a Cup!
For those of you who are wondering, "Where the hell is Stephani? Who is this cheerful person?" just remember that I am under the spell of the runner's high, which I explain in this post.
I love you, Man.
Have a great week, Running Peeps!
Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter @itibrout.
Today I ran just over eight miles! I am so happy because I am on my way to beating that train in my 10-miler coming up.
Now that I am increasing my mileage, I am starting to feel the soreness of the legs that comes from the long run. When I got home today, I did my favorite recovery pose: Legs up the Wall.
Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman are my heroes.
Tomorrow I will do some recovery yoga, courtesy of Rodney Yee.
Ooooh. Stretch it, baby!
One thing that ticks me off about yoga (and this is perhaps the only thing) is that I can't get more calories than a hundred or so on Myfitnesspal.com. Do you know about My Fitness Pal? It is a calorie and exercise-tracking website, completely free. I joined it when I joined a subset of The Ohio Runners Network. Our goal is to lose five percent of our group's bodyweight.
I do a great job with exercise: running, dancing, Zumba, kickboxing, light weights, and yoga. My problem is my mouth, and this time I'm not talking about how I run my mouth. I'm talking about what I put IN my mouth, which is anything edible. All the time.
Ten years ago I dropped forty pounds, and I did it by logging everything I put in my mouth. It was hard. It was painful. I hated it.
I'm doing it again.
My Fitness Pal lets me set a goal, and it gives me a number of calories every day to reach that goal. If I exercise, I get more calories, but the problem is that the REAL calories come from cardio. I love cardio, but I'm smart enough to know that I've got to do the other stuff, too. This is where I hate My Fitness Pal. It gives me very few calories for yoga, and it gives me NO calories for strength training. Boo.
Nevertheless, yoga is what I must do on recovery day, and strength training is very necessary to maintain good muscles and a strong core, so I will suck-it-up-Buttercup and eat less tomorrow to maintain my calorie goal.
But I won't like it.
Do you use My Fitness Pal? How do you deal with hunger?
Like what you see? Follow me on Twitter @itibrout.
It has been eleven weeks since I broke my foot in a stupid walnut accident. One of my greatest fears during this time was that I would gain lots of weight. See, I have a problem with food. My problem with food is that I love it, all of it. Except for you, mushrooms. I hate you.
Anyway, my orthopedist had put the nix on any type of cardio and any exercise that involved moving my foot. This was problematic in that I still like to eat, but I don't like the idea of gaining back the forty-plus pounds I lost about eight years ago. I looked at my arsenal of torture devices exercise equipment and I came up with a regimen.
I started with the 30-day ab challenge, but I couldn't do the planks. No worries, there is enough pain and suffering without them.
This is EXACTLY how I look when I am doing the ab challenge.
I simultaneously completed the 30 day pushup challenge, but I did it on my knees.
What I mostly do is light lifting (five pound weights) with the exercise ball. I found this great webpage that has pictures and explanations for the ball. I choose two exercises per area of concentration (abs, back, shoulders, biceps, legs, triceps). I like this option because I can watch tv while I'm doing it. It's a lot easier to do ab exercises when Angel is on tv at five in the morning.
When the orthopedist gave me the go-ahead for swimming and aqua jogging, I did that twice a week.
Now I can do most exercises that don't involve running or slamming my foot against things (like kick boxing or dancing). I look forward to walking, but the cold weather has kicked in, and while I feel comfortable running at 5 in the morning, I don't feel comfortable walking at that time. The zombies can't catch me if I run, but they might catch me if I'm walking. My walking solution is Leslie Sansone's DVDs. Now, I HATE Leslie Sansone, but she does have walking programs with pacing times. Right now I feel comfortable walking two miles at a time. After that, I worry that I am hurting my foot.
This is one of the DVDs I own. It allows me to walk in place at home. I don't own a dreadmill.
I tried some light yoga, but I don't think the pressure is good for my foot, so when I want to do yoga, I do the 20 minute Rodney Yee session.
This is EXACTLY how I look when I do forward bends.
This DVD has five practices, and I choose #1. Power Foundation because I can practice on my back or in a sitting position, and I still get a great stretch.
I look forward to getting the all-clear from the orthopedist, but in the meantime, this is what I can do. I have noticed that the weight lifting and exercise ball work has really helped me to maintain/gain some muscle tone, and I initially lost weight after being injured. I hope that I can keep it off, but honestly, eating is a constant battle for me.
If you ever find yourself in a running slump, or God forbid you get injured, check out these options; they can keep you fit and healthy until you are back on track.
P.S. Today my exercise will be traipsing around the neighborhood in the freezing cold for Trick or Treat. Yay! I hope the neighbors have beer. . .
P.P.S. My daughter said to me as we were about to leave for Trick or Treat, "Maybe you can go as a drunk, bitter, injured runner."
I missed my yoga on Monday. I have no good excuse; it was my own damned fault that I stayed up too late, got only four hours sleep, and couldn't bring myself to do any yoga at all. I suffered for it, too. ALWAYS do your yoga after your long run!
This DVD consists of five different routines; four of them are twenty minutes each, and the fifth is fifteen minutes long. I like this DVD because I can choose my workout based on how I feel. If I feel particularly tight (having run ten or more miles on the Sunday-Funday run), I choose the floor routine (lots of stretching while sitting or on my back) in combination with the power restoration (lots of forward bends to stretch those calves and hamstrings). If I feel the need to sweat, I choose the sun salutes with anything else.
One possible drawback to this DVD is the back bends routine. Back bends hurt. They especially hurt when I am trying to do Camel's Pose. I am learning that modification is a good thing. Rodney Yee is a yogi. He can do full Camel's Pose and Bow Pose. I am. . . not a yogi, so I should not do these poses if they hurt me.
This is EXACTLY how I look when I do sitting forward bends.
I'm still debating about signing up for the Shamrock 15k. Despite my recent success in running without music, I don't want to race without music. I'll probably keep debating until I get locked out of it.
