Delta Dash 2014

A couple of weeks ago I participated in the Delta Dash. I wasn't even sure what it was when I signed up for it, but quickly realized it was an obstacle-filled race somewhere between 3-4 miles. The obstacles included crawling in the mud, going down a slip-n-slide, carrying logs, flipping tires, climbing over slicked walls, and much more!

Around halfway through I started being told I was the second place girl! I was so surprised because I had been running with a friend and we were just trying to have a good time. I finished as the second place girl and was pretty proud of that!

At the awards ceremony I realized the first place finisher received a bronze alligator. Well... if I had known that I might've tried to win. I mean... who doesn't need a bronze alligator in their home? Oh well! I had a great time and would definitely do it again!!

We arrived clean and caffeinated and left muddy and tired but had an awesome time doing it!

How do I start enjoying running?

I've had lots of friends come to me for running advice, but the most common question I get is: How do I start enjoying running? Running isn't easy, especially in the summer. The best times to run are early in the morning or late in the evening and for most people that isn't ideal. After answering this question a few times I've come up with a list of ways to start truly enjoying running. Hopefully this will help!

1. Start out slow. If you pile too much on your plate and start out too heavy you will be sore, miserable, and discouraged. If you start slow by doing shorter runs a few days and week and building up from there you will be able to see progress and your endurance building. You will become more confident in your ability to run and soon be able to go for longer without stopping. For someone just starting out running I recommend you walk-jog-walk-jog each for a few minutes until your endurance builds up. Push yourself but don't increase distance or mileage too quickly or you risk injury. Try running 3 days a week, cross training (swim, elliptical, or bike) 2 days a week, and take a few days off. Improvement doesn't come quickly but it will come. Having confidence in your running will help you enjoy it more.

2. Timing. Pick a time of the day that isn't absolutely sweltering. I prefer the morning but the evenings are nice too. I know with the summer it is hard to convince yourself to exercise when there are more fun things you could be doing. If that is the case, the morning is probably the better time for you to go. Wake up, get it over with, and go on with your day!

3. Where do I run? If you go to Map My Run you can make your own routes or find those that others have made. This way you can plot exactly where you want to go, see exactly how long it is, and you are less likely to get lost. Change it up! If you do the same route each day it is likely you will get bored and lose interest. Start from your house one day but another day try starting from a coffee shop, school, or work to get a change of scenery. If it is too hot do not be afraid to run on the treadmill!

4. Sign up for a race. Once you feel good about your running find a local race to sign up for! It gives you something to train for and working towards a goal will motivate you. For me, I would rather have a training plan (easily found on Pinterest) to stick to than to try and run without one. Once you complete the race you will be so proud of yourself and more confident than you were before! Races are a fun way to get together with a group of people that enjoy the same things you do. Everyone is working hard and working together and the crowd that gathers to cheer will push you and keep you going!

5. Find a group to run with. Many cities will have local running groups that are always welcoming new members. Ask your local gym if they know of any groups or try searching for them online. It is always easier to make running a social event than a solo struggle. It is also fun to do races with friends. That way you are all excited about the same thing and can keep each other accountable!

6. Get a good playlist. A good playlist can go a long way while working out. Make an up-beat playlist that you can sing along to and soon you'll find yourself distracted and enjoying the music and not paying attention to how hard it is to keep yourself moving. Try Pandora, 8tracks, Songza, or Spotify for free music to listen to while you run!

7. Endorphins - You will feel SO MUCH BETTER after completing a run! Nobody ever went on a run, came home, and regretted it. Everyone has those bad days, and those are inevitable, but each bad day will better prepare you for the next one to come. You will be glad you went, happy it is over, and ready for the next good run. Plus... your dessert or beer will be that much more deserved after a nice run!

Run Forrest Run

And when all else fails... run like Forrest.

300 Abs!

Warm up with 20-45 minutes of cardio before doing one of my favorite ab workouts!

Last weekend was the first I was able to lay out at the pool. It made me realize how quickly summer was coming up and how I need to incorporate more strength training into my workouts!

What are your favorite ab workouts?

February's Resolution

Month 2 of 12 months of resolutions has already been full of excitement. Yesterday I completed my 8th half marathon. I realized last week I have been running marathons for 5 years now... time is definitely flying. My goal for yesterday was to beat 1:40:00 in the half and I DID IT!!! I trained for week and ran the 13.1 miles in 1:38:59!! I even placed 4th in my age group of 576 people. I am still so excited and proud that I achieved my goal. This shows that if you really set your mind to something, you can achieve anything. I know I proved that to myself this weekend.

This year was the 5th anniversary of the Rock and Roll New Orleans Marathon. I have done either the half or full each year they have had this race. In honor of the 5th anniversary they posted a "wall of fame" for all those runners that had participated each year!

Ok so back to resolutions... After having a full 1:38:59 to think about what I wanted my resolution to be for this month, I decided it would be taking my dog, Denny, to the park at least twice a week. With such a busy schedule it's hard to get her out and running. I know she gets anxious (because she will pick up a toy and put it in my lap... usually when I'm in the middle of writing a paper) and this will help that!

Resolution Recap:

January: Spending less time on my cellphone 

February: Taking Denny to the dog park twice a week

Fight the Flab

Whenever October and November roll around I put away the bathing suits, bring out the boots, and forget all about those crunches I've been doing all summer. I mean... it's cold outside and I'm constantly wearing layers so what's the point? Today I decided to start working on it again so it wouldn't be as hard when those New Year's resolutions rolled around. Seriously though, you can't be ready for spring break if you start two weeks before hand!

Naturally I went to Pinterest to start looking. Check out my "Circuits" board, it has a ton of good workouts!

These are the two I did today:

Try it out, they're super easy! Another thing I love to do is to go to YouTube and type is "Pilates Abs." So many videos pop up giving you step-by-step instruction. They only last around 10 minutes and then you're done for the day!

Ps. The "Pop and Hip Hop Workout" station on Pandora is amazing! :)

The Color Run: Birmingham

I AM OFFICIALLY A COLOR RUNNER!!

On Labor Day I did the Color Run in Birmingham and it was a blast! The entire drive from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham my friend Riley and I were doing a bunch of different "anti-rain" things (you know... rain dances, praying to the rain gods, all that). It didn't work so well. That's when we decided to suck it up and have a great time. Despite the rain everyone I saw had a smile on their face and was ready to be doused in color. 

The costumes I saw were so great! Lots of wigs, socks, and tutus. The race was on a race track so you could see all of the other runners getting their color on. There were so many people that we had to start in waves. It was torture!! All I wanted to do was get out there and start my Color Run. Having signed up for the run back in April, the anticipation was getting a little out of hand.

I didn't even care about the fact that I resembled a wet dog because the WaterColor Run (props to Riley for coining such an awesome term) was amazing! I cannot wait to do another one!

Circuit Motivation

I found this awesome idea on Pinterest and knew I needed to share it with everybody. If anyone is like me, it is hard to motivate myself to go workout. This would definitely make it easier and is also a little fun.

Photo from Pinterest.

Here's what you do:
Get 2 cups and a handful of popsicle sticks (they can be purchased in a craft aisle). On one cup write "Daily Workout" and on the other write "Done!" Write different workouts on the popsicle sticks and stick them into the "Daily Workout" cup. When the time comes to do a circuit, grab 10 or so popsicle sticks and do what's written on them! Put them into the "Done!" cup when you've completed it. This keeps things fun because you rarely do the same thing twice! That way you'll be sure to work different muscles and you won't get bored of your workout.

Some Ideas:
50 Crunches
50 Jumping Jacks
25 Leg lifts
15 Push-ups
30 Weight-less squats
15 Chair dips
40 Side bends (20 on each side)
30 Lunges (15 on each leg)
50 Sit-ups
30 Bicycles

These are just a few circuit things that I do at home. If you google circuits for more ideas you will find TONS of workouts!

What circuits do you do? What motivates you to work out??

June 6, 2012 - National Running Day

Tomorrow is National Running Day!! Being a rather dedicated runner, I'll be sure to fit a jog in at some point tomorrow. To celebrate be sure to grab a friend, walk out the door, and get running. Even if it is only for a few minutes! Come on, its a holiday... you must celebrate somehow! Check out the website: http://www.runningday.org/ and see if you can answer the question of "why do you run?"

Maybe these can help you get inspired:

Go lace up those shoes and get out the door! Get running!!

Oh, and Happy National Running Day! :)

The Color Run

The first time I found out about the Color Run I just knew I had to do it. The Color Run is a 5k (around 3 miles) in which different colors are thrown on you throughout the run. A white shirt is absolutely required!! A different color is chunked at you at each kilometer. 1k is yellow, 2k is blue, 3k is green, 4k is pink, and 5k is the color extravaganza! The colors are made, according the Color Run website, from an"elf made" secret recipe of magical color dust. Hmmmm... sounds pretty awesome to me!!!

Being a cross country runner all throughout high school and having completed my fair share of half marathons, there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to one day become a color runner! After looking at the list of cities I practically screamed with happiness when I saw that Birmingham was on the list!!! I was even more excited when I realized it was on Labor Day. Sooner than I thought I would be able to do it! AND I'm not missing a football game OR class. Roll Tide.

The "happiest 5k" looks like an explosion of fun and I can't wait to do it! I've got my white shorts and shirt - I am ready to run. Only 100 days to go until I am covered in color!!

Have a colorful day!! :)

Duathlon

Last May I competed in the Infirmary Twilight Duathlon. In this race you start with a 2 mile run, bike 10 miles, and finish up by running 2 more miles. 1 hour and 17 minutes later I crossed the finish line, AND I was the winner of my age group!!! AKA the only person in my age group..... Well this year I'm doing the duathlon again but this time I am doing it as a team. I'm doing the running portion and my friend Adam (super football star) is going to bike. I'm hoping we can beat my time this year!! I'm pretty nervous because I'll be finishing the race up for us and Adam is relatively competitive ("WE MUST WIN"). Regardless though, it will be super fun. With us luck!!

On the menu:
This week in class we made mozzarella cheese! Yes, we MADE CHEESE. It was pretty interesting to see how cheese forms. Going from liquid milk to a cheesy substance was quite the experience. I can now say that I've seen curd form... tasty. We put our homemade cheese onto a homemade pizza!

Before:

 After:

Bon Appétit!

Get Moving: for a cause

This past weekend, on March 4th, I ran my 5th half marathon! It was the "Rock and Roll New Orleans Marathon". This run was benefitting the American Cancer Society. I had run in this race twice before and had a great time again this past weekend. It took me around an hour and 50 minutes, not too bad for having the stomach but the week before!


Running a half marathon is no easy task. Especially having not trained as much as I usually do. This race was definitely harder to get through. The Rock and Roll series have bands playing on stages throughout the run. So, at about every mile or so a new band is cheering you on and rocking out. The bands made it easier but when it came down to it I was so glad to be finished!

The first thing I did was go to the expo to pick up my number, t-shirt, and all the other things I needed for the race the next day. 

I was so excited, but surprised, to see that the race was filled up. It was completely sold out! Awesome news for the American Cancer Society!!

Finishing the race was definitely a tough one...

So happy when it was over though!!

One of my favorite things about visiting New Orleans, Louisiana is the food! At one restaurant I had a crawfish pasta. It consisted of noodles, peeled crawfish tails (which I absolutely adore), some peppers, and an Alfredo sauce. It was amazing!! I felt like I was eating pure culture. Then, while walking along the street, I saw a place that makes caramel apples. My friends and I decided to go in. I bought a chocolate covered banana and it was amazing. I'm talking the best-banana-I've-ever-eaten kind of amazing.

Whenever you're traveling make sure to grab a bite of the local food, you never know what you'll end up with! 

Get Moving: for a cause - find a local walk or run near you. Chances are the money is going towards a good cause and it'll get you active for the day! (maybe you'll even get a t-shirt)