Buns of Steel

     In an effort to strengthen my muscles and improve my running, today I focused on weight training. The last few weight workouts I have done felt monotenous. Like I was going through the motions. So before heading to the gym I googled. I love google, I mean how did people really live before google?

    So I consulted Runner's World and compiled a list of moves deemed "Runner-Specific."
 Then we were off to the gym. To avoid over-training, I decided to do some cycling to warm up. And to avoid boredom I brought a book.

        To be honest reading this book, I could have cycled all day. I was worried about reading and cycling because I thought I would slack and go to slow. Nope, not the case. I was so enthralled with the book, I was in a zone and going fast.

   Once I warmed up, it was time to see how my list of weight-lifting moves panned out. Verdict is..... I feel amazing. I think my specific words to the hubby were "that was one of my best workouts EVER!"

   Needless to say, my booty is sore already. O well, bring on swim suit season!

    I totally used to put on my Mom's sports bras as a kid and work out to these videos. They made me feel soooo grown up!

   It has been a good week especially after a rocky start on Sunday. I want to mention how awesome Tyly @ OneMileAtATime has been. She is constantly commenting and ensuring that I don't take my accomplishments for granted. If you don't already, go follow her. Her story is amazing! And she looks great.

    Who is the most inspiration blogger you follow and why? I'm looking for new inspiration so hook a girl up.

Good Grades = AWESOME Run

    Yesterday I skipped out on running because I had an important test today and it was so worth it. After attaining a more-than-perfect score I was in an amazing mood today. Good mood Heather was excited to run.

    After my somewhat painful run on Sunday I have to be honest, I was scared to run in my shoes again. I am so scared of getting an injury it's crazy. I worry that if I got injured, I would lose all momentum and have to start back at square one. Is that logical?

   Anyways, point being that FEAR is a B*tch!

    Luckily, people can't hear your thoughts, otherwise people would probably think everyone is psychotic. 

    The first two miles I spent arguing with myself. I was having a hard time telling if the pain was from new muscles or a sprouting injury. Sometimes I can be a bit of a hypochondriac, but after listening to my body I decided it was just fear. Man that shoe salesman scared me with his "be careful not to hurt yourself" crap.

   Finally, I got my but in gear and enjoyed the run. Sometimes you just have to have faith and trust that your body will let you know how much it can take. Nearing the turn-off to head home I actually thought about adding a bit more, but just as this thought came to be, so did the rain. I'm such a sissy these days. In my days of living in Oregon I enjoyed a run in the rain.

    When the hubby  got home we did Abs on P90X. I am so going to feel that tomorrow!

Then for the best part of the day we had some delicious Indian Chicken Pitas for dinner, yummy!!

I sure love him!

   Tomorrow's Goals:

H.I.I.T

Lower Body weights (I must strengthen these poor leg muscles)

Do you fear getting injured? 

What did you have for dinner?

Running shoe blues

     Anticipation. Sometimes it builds so much it causes a complete letdown when the experience actually happens. Today this happened with my new shoes. It was disappointing.

     On Friday I went and bought new running shoes and I even blogged about how excited I was. Saturday morning I woke up and got nervous about taking my new shoes out for a run. It was windy and foggy and just plain yucky out there. So I convinced myself not to go running because I didn't want to taint my first experience with my shoes.

     Not wanting to be completely lazy, the hubby and I went to the gym and worked out our arms. He even taught me some things. Totally AWESOME. My. Arms. Hurt.

    Today I woke up determined to break in the new shoes. I ate a good breakfast and obsessively checked the weather patterns to determine the optimal time for my venture.

    Even with all the variables aligned, MY RUN SUCKED!


    When I bought my shoes, the salesman warned me that my body would feel different when I started using them. Going from such supporting shoes that were not designed for running to shoes with MUCH less support was a shock to my system.

    With every step I took, I felt my legs rebelling against me. While it was somewhat painful, I do think in the long (hopefully not too long) run I will like the new shoes. I felt my legs had to work harder and more muscles were actually engaged.

    I also think some of the discomfort may have been mental. When buying the shoes the salesman stressed how important proper form would be. Without the support of my shoes and proper form, an injury could be much easier.

     Tomorrow is a new day. Maybe my run will go better. I have faith.
                  

Yes, Kara I can do it. And I will.

Have you ever had a letdown after buying new shoes? How did you get past it?

New shoes mean faster running right?

     Today I spent an hour and a half trying on new running shoes. An hour and a half!!!! That is more time than I have probably spent on buying shoes in the last 10 years. I was so nervous I was going to make the wrong decision.

     We went to running warehouse so that I was sure to make a good decision.

I really like how they record you running on a treadmill so that they can analyze your gait and heel strike. 

    It was interesting to see that my running form and heel strike had changed (and improved, at least a bit.) Two years ago when I decided that I wanted to be more fit (which I failed at) I had run different and required a much more stable shoe. Today I only needed a neutral shoe.


  



     I am so thankful for Amanda at RuntoTheFinish for her email and advice on picking a running shoe. I felt that I went into the store more informed and was able to ask the right questions.

  
    For the first time, I picked a shoe based on comfort and feel rather than the color. My last shoes I bought prior to taking up running, as such, they were not designed for running. They were pretty.

    After explaining my tendency to get blisters on my arch and the random toe numbness I get we started the tedious process of shoe buying. My hubby related it to buying a car. I had to ask questions, know the history of the shoe, test drive it....

     In the end I made a decision.... I know you are all curious, so without further ado....
 Mizuno Wave Precision 11.

New shoes!!!! Not so cute but I swear I felt like I was putting a glove on my foot.  They felt made for my feet. LOVE.AT. FIRST.SIGHT (well maybe not sight...)

What I like about them:

• Firm, yet comfortable heel cup.
• Roomy (but not too much so) toe box.
• BREATHABLE
• Light

     Now of course, I haven't actually gone for a real run yet, but preliminarily, these are my thoughts. I am so excited to head out for my run tomorrow in a pair of shoes actually made for running. SO EXCITED!

    Happy Friday all!!

What are your plans for the weekend?

Do you have a long run planned? If so, how far?

Running in my sleep

     Life has been so crazy lately. With finals week looming around the corner, I have been so pressed for time that I am starting to feel crazy.




     Luckily, I have a crazy fear of taking even a week off of running so my workouts haven't been neglected but this poor blog has. I can't wait for summer!! No school or work. With so much time, I'll probably be blogging way too much.

     On a somewhat related note... I have been having some crazy issues with my sleep lately. The other morning I woke up and the hubby asked if had been dreaming about running. I guess I was moving my legs around like crazy. I seem to be having some type of restless leg issues... Anyone have any clues what this could be?

     Yesterday, I convinced my wonderful husband to go running with me.

     The planning started in the morning when I asked him if he wanted to go running, maybe do an easy 3 miles. By the time I got home from school I decided 4 sounded better. He was still up for the challenge (he ONLY lifts weights, no running for him usually.)

     So out for our run we went.... then I forgot how long the loop actually was. Nearly 5 miles later we made it back home. Hehehe poor guy. Needless to say he did AWESOME!  And we are going to start running together once a week. Yay!

    The good thing about him being so into weightlifting is that it has gotten me back into it a bit. So now I can outrun or beat the crap out of the crazy wildlife.

          Even polar bears, like my friend Will Ferrell

OR... maybe just be able to lift my ever-growing beast of a puppy...

    

 I am so excited for tomorrow.... NEW SHOES!! I am head up to SLO to get fitted for some new shoes. I have been running in... ahhh gasp... Nike Shox.  They are just so pretty, but so not designed for running. I am completely amazed that I haven't gotten hurt. 

I am curious to see what they fit me with.

Have you guys been properly fitted for shoes at a specialty running store? 

Did you find that their recommendations were right on? 

What shoe do you currently run in? (Of course, I'll get what fits me best, but I am curious what you are all wearing.)

Crisco vs. Applesauce

What a busy week it has been!! Finally yesterday afternoon the hubby and I had some time to do something fun. We enjoy cooking together and we were craving cookies so we decided to compare recipes.

Choices were to use Mom's recipe with crisco and quite a bit of sugar or to use a new recipe with applesauce and limited sugar.

Taking photos of everything we do is something quite foreign  to my poor hubby. But he has been a very good sport! 

I however, am not so good at taking timer shots... I'll work on that.

    Both of our recipes, called for white flour but we substituted and used whole wheat instead. Even using the wheat flour (which usually makes recipes drier) the consistency of my batter looked a bit runny but I trusted the recipe and I'm glad I did.

     Both cookies turned out great! Corey actually thought

the healthy cookies looked better. He decided he wanted 

try each cookie with a blind-fold. After tasting each, he 

decided that although the could tell which was which, the 

healthy cookie actually tasted better. 

Much moister (yuck I hate that word!)

    Would we always make the healthier version?? No probably not. But it's good to know there are options out there to make our cookies much healthier.

    Today I think we are going shopping. My sexy hubby got very muscly while he was deployed and none of his clothes fit.

I mean look at him.... okay, okay that's not him. But you get my point.

I might have to buy myself something too. I'll be sure to share the goods with you guys.

O, what's that you ask, "aren't you going to workout?" Yes, my friends, I intend to run today. We might head to the beach and take our new puppy. If we do, then I hope to get in a beach run.

It's quite the adjustment having the hubby home. A good one of course, but I keep forgetting to blog. I have run twice this week and have a long run planned for tomorrow morning.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

What is your workout plan for today? Do you find healthier ways to bake? 

Alive and AWESOME

     It's been a busy couple of days. With my wonderful hubby arriving safely back to me tomorrow, I have gone a bit OCD with my cleaning. I honestly have felt like a mother nesting in preparation for his return. I have cleaned absurd things, okay maybe important, but not important to his return. Windows, baseboards, weird stuff.

  Anyways, the cleaning definitely cut into my workouts. Today was my first run since Thursday, BUT it was awesome. Talking to my Dad last night we were talking about the feeling I had when I ran for 6 miles the first time and it got me excited to prove to myself that I could do it again. 

 

AND I DID.

AND I sped up my pace, reducing my time by seven minutes.

     Needless to say, it was an awesome day. So awesome I may attempt 7 miles at the end of the week. BRING IT ON! I am so fired up about running right now that I am slightly tempted to go run again. But it's dark and there are really scary animals out there (not awesome).

     After my run I rewarded myself with a much-earned bath and read the latest copy of RW. Yes, I realize it came out like a month ago but I just bought it. It was the first time I read the magazine and I loved it. So inspiring and awesome that I signed up for a 2 year subscription.

 Random, random post. I'm sorry. I just had to vomit my awesome (Okay enough with that word jeez!!) thoughts.

 


    I hope you all had an awesome great Easter. It felt good to eat healthy and knock out a good run instead of over-indulging myself on home-made rolls.... man they are good. I can't promise the same tomorrow though. I will probably spoil myself at dinner with the hubby. And I also cant promise a post. I  suppose I should show my hubby the same love as my trusty Nike's.

Tell me about your most awesome run... what made it so special??