Back to reality

I'm back from my little mini trip to Augusta. It may very well be my last visit. We are still hopeful we can move back there, or at the very least move to San Antonio. I'm tired of my astronomically high rent for a house in a place we don't love. It was nice to be back in a town that feels like home to me, even if the reason was to sell our house. It made me a little sad but it needed to be done. Now we'll be able to save our money for wherever it is we settle in to.

So now I'm back, my stomach is feeling all the food I've eaten this week but it'll get back to normal over the next day or so. I went to the gym yesterday and I am hella sore. I think ring rows are what did it, somehow they are much more challenging than TRX rows. My last set of deadlifts was 195 and it was tough. My official goal is now to hit 225 on my 30th birthday. On my last birthday I got 205 and that still holds as my PR because the injury happened about a month later. At the rate I'm going it looks like I'm gonna smash that. And it'll be cool because it will be 2 45# plates on each side, it may seem dorky but that feels like a huge step to me.

I have my notebook so I can now track my progress in the gym. I think this is really gonna help me evaluate things especially now that I am going 4 days a week. I also experimented with waking up a little earlier and just showering at home so I can make myself a meal. I needed some post workout protein and carbs and it's coming to me in the form of an egg and cheese bagel. This will also help me feel less hungry at work. In the past few weeks I found myself stopping at Starbucks for a breakfast sandwich for my post workout/pre work shift, and while they aren't so terrible for you at 300 some calories, the money adds up and I get tempted to get lattes and stuff.

One more exciting thing! That Crossfit clinic at work yielded me these!

My very own Nano 6! I'm kind of in love with it. 

It joins my family of Nanos

My old beloved teal Nano 4 (and an insole), it was my main gym shoe for the last 1.5 years and this thing has been through hell and back. I also have a blue one with yellow laces that is newer.

Nano 5, Murica edition. I love the way they look but I don't love the Nano 5. The heel doesn't fit my foot right and the Kevlar makes it so when the shoe bends at the toe area it digs into the top of my foot. I could straight up lift in it but I can't do any running, lunging, sleds, or anything that isn't just standing around. It's still cute though and I wear it for patriotic purposes sometimes.

The 6 is awesome so far. I don't have the problem where the Kevlar digs into my toes like the 5 did, the fit is maybe slightly narrow on the 6 but I can deal with it and it will get better with wear. The heel is perfect, it even feels firmer than previous Nanos, almost sort of like a Metcon - and I like it. The upper and lining feel great. It's comfortable and functional and I think it's gonna be a great shoe for me no matter what I do in the gym.


Well, I am off to the gym shortly for some heavy legs/upper body push. Also some shopping, house work, and just a relaxing day at home with my husband

Fitbit Blaze!

Alright.... hitting the gym with a vengeance after a week off from lifting, and a purpose of losing some fat!

I have this habit of getting a little too excited to be back in the gym after I've been off for awhile... and I end up doing EVERYTHING

Today was different because I used my new Fitbit for the first time

It's a Blaze! I got this model because it has heart rate monitoring and it can be used with a variety of exercise types. My main things will be lifting and bootcamp class, I will keep using my Garmin for running. This will also be good to get a better picture of how much movement and calorie burn is happening throughout the day as a whole. I'm also logging my food intake in the app. With these powers combined, I will lose fat!

I am off today so I took my sweet time getting to the gym. Once there I suited up and pressed "weights" to start tracking my workout. It went something like this

Squats 115# 3x10
Power cleans 65# 3x10
Pull ups green band (as many as possible)
Bench 60# 3x10
Overhead press 65# 3x8
Push ups (30)
Lat pulldown 85# 3x10
Row 85# 3x10
Face pulls 30# 3x10
Dips (purple band) 3x10
Turkish get ups 12# 2x10

Finisher
5 Burpees
10 DB Snatches 15#
25 Jump rope
x3

That was pretty tiring considering I'm restricting calories right now. I was wobbling pretty bad on the TGU's. I am not lifting heavy because of the calorie restriction (aside from DL's with Daniel) so for the next few weeks it will be alot of hypertrophy/fat loss complexes.

The watch didn't get in my way much, the only thing that happened was during my overhead presses my wrist would knock the pause button with each press. But I can always just unpause it. I even tested it with those TGU's thinking the kettlebell knocking the face of the watch would be a nuisance... but no problems there at all, it just kind of rested there and I don't see any scratches. It's a nice looking watch and I'd hate to scratch it, but I get fierce in the gym and if it happens it happens.

Came in at 1 hour on the nose. Based on research I always used to estimate lifting sessions to burn 100-200 calories. This burned nearly twice that! My heart rate averaged somewhere around 115 and got up to 150 during the finisher. This is exactly why I got this tracker, it gives me a much better idea of how hard I'm working when it comes to numbers. I mean, I always knew I worked hard cause that's just how I like to do things - no holds barred, get all the energy out and leave drenched and wobbly. On Saturday I may do a double - bootcamp and lifting with my husband if he's feeling up to it. I'm curious to see what numbers I'll see from bootcamp.

Back from vacation, down to business

Alot's happened in my little world since I last checked in.

Last week we took a little vacation in Outer Banks. We went for like 4 days and spent most of our time fishing and hitting the pool. He is a saltwater fisher, I have done it a little but could never really get into it. Well, when we first got onto the island we hit up TW's tackle and while there he picked out a fishing rod just for me. So now after 13 years I finally have my own rod. On the second day there were a ton of Spade fish messing with my bait. I had a typical bottom rig and they just kept on stealing my bait! This meant war! So my husband made the most ridiculous rig with 4 gigantic hooks. And I caught 3 that day. The last day he taught me how to jig and I managed to catch a Spanish Mackerel and proceeded to rub it in his face (not literally) because it's his favorite thing to catch. Here's my very first fish on MY new rod

The trip was relaxing and awesome. We didn't spend any time on the beach but my husband was battling his foot pain, upset stomach, not being on his meds due to a dr. mix up, and a really bad sunburn. But of course we did tons of silly stuff like this

Booty Treats! This is an ice cream place that's been around for years and we always made fun of the name/sign that has a turd like object on it... but we finally tried it. It was alright, there are better places on the island IMO, but it's BOOTY TREATS! And of course I had to do a squat with the sign. Ice cream + Squats = BOOTY!

I wore a little dress too, and this is super rare so we took an obligatory pic of that.

So we got back and slowly adjusted to reality. Tuesday was Deadlift day #4, we're picking up the weight (literally) and I moved up to 175. Think I did like 3 or 4 sets of 3 reps here. It's getting challenging, I can definitely feel the effects of the weight and my grip isn't what it used to be. Apart from being sore everything feels fine. The main things I'm working on are getting my chest up faster and trying to "push my heels through the floor". Next week I'll try a set or 2 at 185

Yesterday I went to bootcamp and it was a Daniel class. His classes are just brutal. He tends to run you outside and have you do lots of bear crawls and burpees. This time we didn't do our usual "break up into squads and rotate between stations" we were all together the whole time. It went something like this

Burpee ladder (10, 9, 8...) with a run outside in between each set. I got to 8 before time was called
**In between each thing we did an ab circuit - 20 V ups, 20 sit ups, 20 alt. toe touches**
20 Kettlebell swings, walking lunge across the turf, run outside. 2 rounds
ABS
10 Box jumps, 10 ball slams, run outside. 2 rounds
ABS
10 Wall Balls, bear crawl across turf, run outside. I think I got 3 rounds here. **Important note - My wall ball STUNK. I got one of the 2 black and red 14 pounders because most of the other women wanted the lighter ones. Someone must have spent some time hugging this thing because it was nasty. Every time I threw it I got a whiff :(
ABS
10 rope slams, 20 power jacks, run outside. 2 rounds
ABS

Then we repeated the whole thing but we just ran up and down the turf 3 times instead of going outside.

So brutal. The whole class was just whipped. I sweat alot no matter what, but the level of sweat on me after this was pretty epic.

Finally, I'm cutting some weight. Recently I've come to realize how much weight I've put back on. I look different in pictures and clothes fit differently. And it hit me how bad I've been over the past several months. Have I been active? Yes, lifting and bootcamp several times a week with occasional running. But have I been eating right and mindfully so? Have I been running enough? Have I been acting with purpose? No. I've pretty much been eating whatever I want whenever I want, lots of eating out and ordering food out of laziness. I can't justify it, and I'm starting to see the effects and even feel them in the gym. I need to drop some pudge because it will help me be more efficient in the gym, get more pull ups in, and be a faster runner. I also just want to get better at everything and getting rid of some baggage will help. This week I've been cutting calories and eating with a purpose - trying to get my macros right and cooking dinner at home. I've lost a couple pounds but I have about 23 left.

To help me out, I got a new Fitbit Blaze! It just got here yesterday and I already started tinkering with it. I'm familiar with them because I have a Charge non-HR, but I wanted to get this one because it can track workouts like weightlifting and bootcamp, and the HR feature will give me a better picture of how hard I'm actually working. It'll give me the best picture of how much to eat in accordance with what I've done that day. Actually I am about to go test it out and lift with it in a little bit. I am expecting 150-200 calories burned in a typical session.

That was a mouthful, but it's been like 2 weeks worth of stuff to catch up on. Time to get ready to smash some weight around

A family 5k!

I haven't posted in awhile... life has been coming at me full speed and this is the first true "day off" I've had in a couple weeks.

Last weekend I was down in VA with my family. The primary goal - complete the Run the DOG Street 5k with my mom and brother! My mom and I had talked about doing this for awhile, and we managed to get one of my brothers to come along too. I ran this race last year so I knew alot of what to expect. It takes place in Colonial Williamsburg and the course takes you through the shopping district, the college, and the historic area.

I got our packets the day before and I told them we needed to leave the house no later than 645. And in typical family fashion we didn't leave until after 7. We parked nearby and got to the starting line at 7:35, and at that moment the kids were just starting. Everyone else had gone. We were LITERALLY the last people to start the race. And we were walking it. There were some kids and parents around us that we kept pace with, and eventually we did overtake a few people. But overall we just walked and enjoyed ourselves, of course my mom had to point out every minute detail about things we were passing because she knows Williamsburg and it's citizens like the back of her hand. She saw at least 10 people she knew during and after this race - she seriously does know everyone in town. By the time we got about halfway through and entered the historic district, my brother really had to pee and began trying to find bathrooms. There are free standing bathrooms because it's a major tourist area, but it was a matter of trying to find one. I knew my brother wanted to run a little, so as he went into each building to see if it had a bathroom I told my mom to keep walking and that my brother and I would run to catch up to her. We did this 3 times until he finally found his bathroom.

Nearly an hour later we crossed the finish line, among the last people to finish the race. They were out of medals because over 1300 people signed up this year and they didn't expect the turnout. It was fine with me but I would have liked for my family to get their medals. After we finished we enjoyed a nice breakfast at one of our favorite local spots, and my mom and I walked around town and looked at the farmer's market too.

I continue to be very impressed by my mom. Less than a month from now she will be 73, and not only did she walk a 5k, we walked another 3 miles later that afternoon! She can get up and walk for miles just on a whim. She has a few health issues that are controlled with medication but is in overall good shape. I felt really fortunate to be able to do this with them, I had never done a race with my family before and it was great to share the experience of completing a race with them. I also have never walked a 5k race or experienced a race from the back of the pack. It was neat to do a race from a totally different perspective than I'm used to.

Oh, and I was able to get them shoes! Because I work in a running store I can get lightly used shoes cheap, the only downside is it's all a random assortment because it's whatever shoes people have returned. I managed to find a Asics Kayano 22 for my brother - when my family came to visit me I analyzed his gait so I know he needs a stability shoe just like me. He loves it, he has an old injury on his heel but it didn't bother him during the race. For my mom I did not know so I assumed neutral. She wears a size 10 dress shoe, has a bunion, and one of her ankles was previously injured and has early arthritis so it tends to swell alot. I managed to find her a 10.5 wide width Brooks Glycerin 13. At first she balked at the size as most women do, but after awhile she was amazed at how much less her feet were hurting. Normally she walks in flats (!!!!!) and I hated to see her doing that, so I used what knowledge I had about fitting shoes and it seems to have worked. By the end of the day she was raving about the shoes and her ankle was noticeably less swollen than normal. Now I just hope she can get over them not looking like a dress shoe and actually wear them when she walks around the neighborhood.

I really enjoyed walking the race and spending the weekend with the family. We really made the most of the 1.5 days that I had down there. At some point we will be moving back to GA and will be a little farther away, but I hope I can do something like this with them again in the future.

Lifting, Lifter, and Monopoly

It's been a pretty lazy weekend around here.

Well, I did go to Soldierfit yesterday as per usual. Only it wasn't the usual.

They are doing a "Monopoly" charity drive, and to kick it off the workout was Monopoly themed.

We had 5 squads, but they were divided in half. I was with 2 guys and we were given a pair of dice. We rolled the dice and whatever number came up was the station we started at. 12 stations total, each was labeled with a number and a description of the exercise in case anyone forgot. First station was alternating tire to floor planks. A group of women joined us at that station and all of us together would forever be known as a team. So the first exercise for a minute, then while doing jumping jacks we rolled again and whatever number came up was the amount of spaces we had to move. There were hurdles set up as a "Go" station. Basically we're moving around the room like a game board, and counted every time we passed Go. It was messy as everyone was scrambling around trying to roll dice and move to the next stations. Sometimes 2 groups would land on the same station and there wouldn't be enough equipment, so people used a nearby empty station and did that exercise instead. We didn't do every single thing, but I remember doing lunges with a sledgehammer overhead, sled pushes/jumping jacks, kettlebell swings, box jumps, squats/ropes, bosu ball burpees, and we did the overhead slam ball station like 5 times! It was crazy, different, and fun. We were all certain we were gonna win because we always rolled high and had alot of Go's. But evidently another team beat us by 2 and won free shirts. Nevertheless, it was pretty fun.

I also got to help move these big heavy shelving units at work. We basically deadlifted them. And I like how they asked me to help instead of the other 2 men that were working at the time :)

I also purchased a lifting shoe from work. Here it is!

I love the colors, they are much more blue than the website led me to believe. Right now I don't particularly need it unless I go in one day and want to hit a PR, but after I move I'll be doing Crossfit and will need it then.

I have a problem

It's been another good yet busy week for me. A little update too - my shin isn't hurting anymore. Seems like not using an insole is the ticket. However, my calves and feet are on fire during/after a run because they're not used to doing all the work. This is temporary and I'd much rather deal with this than shin pain.

On a sort of but not really related note, for those that don't know I work at a running store and therefore have alot of shoes. Like I mean a ridiculous amount of shoes. Especially lately I've gotten alot of freebies and my husband is just like "Really??" So last week he took it upon himself to round up every shoe I have and dump them on me and take a picture.

So here we have it.

I'll try to list them all out starting from my head. About half of these were free or incredibly cheap for me

Newton Motion (3?) - future running shoes
Newton Kismet x2  - future running shoes
Reebok Nano 4.0  - lifting shoe
Mizuno Wave Inspire  - wear to work
Newton Distance 5  - future running shoes
Saucony Kinvara 5 - used mainly for Soldierfit classes
Vibram Bikila - used mainly for lifting
Newton Kismet (purple) current running shoe
Nike Free Flyknit 4.0 - everyday/work shoe
Altra Torin 2 - potential running shoe
Mizuno Prophecy (3?) - work
Saucony Peregrine 5? - trail shoe
Adidas Pure Boost X - wear to work/around town
Saucony Triumph 2 - for work
Nike Pegasus Flash 32 (men's) - wear around, especially if it's raining
Adidas Energy Boost 3 - for work/but it hurts my toes
Nike Metcon 2 - lifting shoe
Under Armor Apollo - everyday/gym/Soldierfit
I think some random Merrell casual shoes are here too
Adidas Energy Boost 2 - retired work shoe
Brooks Launch 3 - work/everyday
Nike Free Run Distance - work/everyday
Nike Vomero 10 x2 - work/everyday
Mizuno Wave Hayate - work shoe
There's another black and white Nano 4.0 in here somewhere, men's 8.5 that was given to me

And there you have it. A stupid amount of shoes. I will give some to a co worker before I move, but may also buy more for future purposes, for example an Oly lifting shoe

I am a girl and I have a shoe problem, but not like you'd think :)

Running - problem solving

The saga continues as I try to figure out what's at the root of this pain I've been having in my right shin. And I think I'm making some progress.

I largely attribute this pain to getting back into running consistently after some time off. I have the same shoe nearly a year ago when I was running 10-15 miles a week and even ran a half marathon in it with virtually no problems.

But wait, last summer I got my insoles and started using them in my shoe...

I had used them sparingly over the last 6 months, then in Jan/Feb I started running 2-3 x a week on the treadmill, and am now running outside. At first I thought they were working well enough, I even noticed I feel less overpronation when I wear them. But now that this pain is creeping up it led me to consider.. could it be my insoles?

I think the answer is a partial yes. Today I ran 3 miles without my insoles and noticed a difference right away. No shin pain until the very end of my run, which allowed me to run faster and complete the same run in a 10:24 pace vs a 10:38 pace 2 days ago. My heart rate was in the aerobic zone instead of the "easy" zone. My efficiency improved (180 cadence, higher leg swing, lower rate of impact) and I overall felt "lighter" on my feet. Without my insoles it was like the pain shifted over to my right calf, probably because my feet had to work harder to absorb the impact and stabilize my ankles. Calf pain I can deal with, for 2 years I've had a chronic knot on that side and I know it's cause that is my weaker ankle.

So yeah, I'm pretty sure that is what's going on. I have tried for a year to use the insoles we sell at my work, my first pair was made wrong and caused achilles pain in both sides which was totally new to me, and it looks like the second pair just isn't gonna work either. I make and sell insoles every day and almost every day we get returns. I find that they work for some people but not others. Every day I have people telling me how the insoles got rid of their knee/heel/etc pain and allowed them to run again... then I get some people who say they didn't notice a difference, and then some people who actually had more pain after using them. Sadly I seem to fall into that last group. Maybe part of it is me being a mid to forefoot striker, and coming down directly on that plastic plate is stressing my shins and arches? Our insoles aren't even that hard compared to something like Superfeet or orthotics. I dunno. I'm just glad I'm getting somewhere with this. Now I figure I just keep my mileage low yet consistent, and in time it'll work itself out.

Altra Torin 2.0

A few weeks ago we had an Altra clinic at my work. The rep came in to talk about all the Altra shoes and tell us why they're different. I have wanted to try them for myself for awhile and I know several people who run in them and swear by them. 

Basically their concept is zero drop shoes (not to be confused with BAREFOOT or MINIMAL shoes) that still offer decent cushion and protection from the ground, yet allow you to run in a more natural form. Altra feels that the traditional running shoe is so built up with heel cushioning that it forces the heel to strike first, which is not a natural pattern and therefore could lead to injury. So in the quest to help people with their injuries they created shoes with an even platform from heel to toe (zero drop) and a more foot shaped toe box to help the toes spread out naturally during a run. All of this sounds right up my alley, so when I got these babies I was super excited

The Torin 2.0! 

I love the color!

... And my cat who was super curious about this shoe box. 

So the Torin - a highly cushioned shoe, which normally I shy away from but when I compared it to the Intuition I found I liked the feel of the Torin better. It seemed softer. I considered getting the Provision which is their stability model for overpronators like me, but my store doesn't sell it and the rep only had an 8.5 to try on which was way too small, so I couldn't really get an idea of the shoe. The rep said I should be fine in the Torin. Altra doesn't believe in stability in the traditional sense, as they don't do medial posting and put their stability in the forefoot because the toes should provide stability when they land. 

Anyway - this morning I tested them and here are my thoughts

This shoe felt great. It's really light. There's alot of cushion, perhaps more than I'm used to, but this is good news for distance runners/anyone who needs cushion. Yet I could feel my lower leg muscles working as is customary with a zero drop shoe. Now, I do have some problems at the moment. I took some time off from running and am now running 2-3 times a week and trying to increase mileage slowly. I'm experiencing some shin pain particularly on my right side, which is pretty new to me and I attribute it to my body getting used to running again. I had no issues for the past year in the same shoes, but then after I took a break and came back I suddenly have pain. So everything kind of hurts right now, but in this shoe I continued to have pain. I even had some pain in my arch which never bothers me during my run, although it can feel sore after a run sometimes. I also had issues with the fit of my left shoe, my heel was sliding around all over the place. Already laced it to prevent heel slippage. I could wear a thicker sock but I think it will still be an issue that would prevent me from using these shoes on longer runs, it's just way too distracting. I wanna use these shoes for shorter distances. They feel really good and the toe box isn't constricting like so many other shoes out there. One of my left toes did hit the end of the shoe but that may be a matter of my toenails being a little long at the moment. But I definitely couldn't go down in size because of this. I ended up in a 9.5, which is possibly too short but too big for my tiny ass heels. 

I wanted this shoe to be perfect for me. And it's so close... but there's just a couple issues with the fit that might not make it work for long distances. I'm going to keep testing it and try to fix the fit, and once my body adjusts to running again hopefully I can really get a better feel for these shoes. This is just the first of many runs with my Torin :)

Fitness expo/Metcons/Rambling!

I'm sitting here on a snow day just hanging out.... regret not going for a run because the snow isn't as bad as I thought it would be, but oh well.

Saturday I got to work an expo at Soldierfit and it was really cool. My store has kind of a partnership thing going on with them. It's a gym that does bootcamp style classes, martial arts, and has tons of lifting equipment. The coworker that accompanied me was the other weightlifter at our store. We walked into the gym and our jaws dropped ...

I'm in heaven!

I might seriously start coming here instead of Gold's

The expo was alot of fun... talked to a bunch of people about our store, met some of the other vendors, and got to watch the classes in action. There was a family class and it was fun to see the little kids moving around and getting into it.

This was our setup for the expo

I don't normally work Saturdays and was called in to do the expo with a couple days notice, so my boss gave me a free shoe.

Boom. Metcon 2's are mine!
We just got them in my store and only had like 4 pairs, so of course I had to get my size while we had it. I used them for a kettlebell complex yesterday - 5 exercises, 10 reps, 11 sets.. 12 lb kettlebells in each hand. So no heavy weights but a fair amount of squatting and such. They were really awesome and I know they'll be great for heavy lifting because the heel is so firm and stable.

Now on to other stuff

So it's well known that I ate way too much and did way too little in Dec/Jan, dealing with my injury and holiday nonsense... and I felt bad so I'm now exercising consistently and trying to eat halfway decent. I know I'm not the best/most in shape looking person in the world.. and I know I will never be simply because I enjoy food too much. I just like to do what I can. I spent Saturday at that expo with my super fit coworker, this guy lifts and sprints twice a day, muscles, flat stomach, etc. I know we're not supposed to compare ourselves to others but sometimes it just happens.

So I was pleasantly surprised on Sunday when I introduced myself to a new customer to take her through our stride analysis. Her family was there and her husband came up to me and said "So are you a Crossfitter, Triathlete, or what? You look like you're in really good shape"  O_O  "Oh, well thank you.. I'm a weightlifter, runner.." Apparently this guy was an Olympic lifter back in the day so we chatted a tiny bit. But that really made me feel better about myself. I mean he's right, I am in decent shape. I can endure tough workouts that most people can't. Like that kettlebell workout, 11 sets? 550 reps? I have a ways to go, there is much more I want to be able to do training wise... physically I really just want my arms and belly to be a bit less fat. There's muscles under there, and I guess they show sometimes. I'm at the point lately where people notice them, even if I myself don't always


Every now and then when I'm feeling a little down I get a nice compliment like that. And now I don't feel so bad

Garmin Forerunner 225

My new watch is here!

Goodbye, Nike Sportwatch. You gave me a good almost-2 years, but it's time to move on. It took forever to connect, if it connected at all. Sometimes it would take 15 minutes to find a signal and by then I was already halfway done with my run. It crapped out so much that I was never sure what my actual pace was. So I got this new Garmin Forerunner 225. I can get it discounted through my work so I contemplated getting the 610, but I really don't need all those features. Plus this one has a built in heart rate monitor that is measured at the wrist which is a feature I was really interested in.

I took it out for a test run and I'm already loving it. Turned it on and it instantly connected in my kitchen, didn't have to go outside or spend 10 minutes walking around to get a signal. During my run the updates were really good too. There were many spots on the path where my Nike watch always dropped connection, but I suppose there is one truly dead spot because the Garmin crapped out there too. It showed me like a 15 minute mile or something. But it updated my pace within a matter of seconds, where the Nike watch took several minutes to realize I was still running. I can't push myself if it's telling me I'm running a 13 minute mile when I know that's not correct.

Distance was 3 miles, pace 9:44/min mile, it also does elevation which Nike does not (56 feet elevation gain on this run), 180 cadence (maxed out at 199)

Now for the heart rate, here's where I was really surprised. My avg heart rate was like 129. Kinda low! I did sprint a bit at the end and got it up to 175. I didn't know how to set the heart rate to display during my run and didn't want to fiddle with it while running and risk messing it up. But now I know how to do it so I can make sure my heart rate is on point during my runs. I did just get my blood pressure medicine changed so going forward my heart rate might be lower than it should be, but at least now I'll know.

The reason I want a good watch that's accurate and can show heart rate is because I want to be able to push myself to do better. If my pace is slacking and my heart rate is too low then that means I can go faster. I know some people like to run "blind" without watches or tech, but I'm not one of them. I like knowing where I'm at so I can improve, or back off if I'm pushing too hard.

Still figuring out the Garmin Connect website, there are alot of sections to it.

Milestone Pod

It's been a busy week - full of learning!

A couple reps have visited my store and trained us on some products. One of them was a massage stick and the other was this cool thing known as the Milestone Pod.

I got a free one! They only had pink but that's ok, I appreciated the free gift

This thing is really cool. It's a little thing that you lace onto your shoe and then just go for a run. No waiting to connect to satellites *cough*NIKE*cough*  because it runs on a watch battery that's good for up to a year and operates independently of satellites or internet connections. When you get home you just turn on your phones bluetooth and it syncs. It tells you things like distance, pace, cadence, ground contact time, stride length, foot strike type, rate of impact, and then gives you a Runficiency score. The only downside is you can't see your pace/distance/etc while you run because the pod is on your foot. It doesn't display any data in real time. I do like knowing where I'm at because I want to push myself if I'm going too slow. But the best part is this thing costs 20 bucks! That's a huge bargain compared to most watches costing $100-500.

I took mine out for a run this morning and here's what it had to say.
(I also wore my watch and it once again couldn't connect until half a mile in. I turned it on anyway to see what it would tell me vs the Pod)

3.57 miles - Interesting, Nike usually tells me this same run is about 3.1
406 Calories
5,844 steps
32:50, 9:11 Pace. That's interesting too. My watch said 10:34 pace. Now, I *know* I was going faster than 10:34. The watch dropped connection at least twice that I know of during this run. It's been bugging out like crazy lately. So I don't think I trust it's pace estimate anymore. However, I still don't know if I was actually a 9:11 average pace. I am ordering a new watch so we'll see how this compares.
Foot strike - 100% heel. Now I know this is a lie. I think one time I hit my heel because of a bump in the path. But I'm always up on my midfoot or toes. I think this error is because I run in the Newtons and maybe the lugs hitting the pavement are throwing off the pod's sensors.
Cadence - 178. This is a stat I have been curious about for a long time because my watch can't measure it. They say you want it to be around 180 and I'm pretty much there. Yay!
Stance time - 285. This is the time in milliseconds where your foot is on the ground. I'm not sure what good is, but the graph had space for 100-500. It says most elites are under 200. So I guess mine is decent??
Rate of impact - 43% low, 57% mid, 0% high. How quickly force is transferred from the ground to your legs, high impact can lead to injury. All good there.
Stride length - 39. Average distance between the heel strike of one foot. Not sure if this is good, it just says this depends on your height
Leg swing - 4% low, 96% mid. Angle between your calf and hamstring measured during leg swing

Runficiency score - 76.  According to the Milestone Pod website the average score is 72. I'm better than average, woohoo! Looking at the graphs it seems like the efficiency of my form vs my pace is telling me that I could technically run faster. I wasn't trying to go fast - this was really just an "average" run for me.

This is a really cool little gadget that showed me some great stats about my running form that I never knew before. I've been curious about whether or not I have "good" form and it seems that I do, and now I know where I can use some improvement. Pretty awesome for only 20 bucks!

How to catch bears

My husband and I had a nice gym session today. And we coordinated our outfits perfectly

"How do I catch bears?" + Bear shirt

...with these TRAPS!!!

It's hard to see when flexing since my shoulders are all scrunched up.. but I do actually have pretty defined traps.

I tried and failed to max out deadlifts at 205, then 195... the weight just wasn't going anywhere. I did 175 today. That's ok, I need to work on it more before I can hit those numbers. But I guess when you think about the fact that I couldn't pick up 90 lbs a year ago... I'm not doing too bad here.

We also worked on some monkey bar stuff which was fun. 

He's also now under 200 lbs, I'm really happy he's seeing good results.

Insoles

So I'm making this post because all kinds of insoles have come into my life lately.

My work sells custom insoles. I mold them for people every day. I got a free pair when I started and put them into my work shoes.. but they gave me pain in both achilles which I had never had before. Looking at them I think the heel cup was too deep. So I gave them another shot and had a new set molded a few weeks ago. 

I put them in my running shoes and gave them a try. They felt really good during my run! I could feel that the arch support was preventing my arch collapse. I have medium-high arches that are flexible, so I'm an overpronator. My shoe doesn't really give me enough stability on it's own so having the insole in there to prevent the arch collapse should help give me stability. I'm looking forward to seeing how these perform over time.

Then I also got a set of Thinsoles. It's a new type of thinner insole we have that's meant for more types of shoes - work shoes, casual/slip on shoes, gym shoes, cleats, spikes, etc. Things where the normal insole can't really fit so well.

I put them in my Nanos and have taken them through 2 gym sessions now. I noticed a huge difference in my squat, my knees felt less wobbly during the lift. They felt good in all other areas, except walking in them for long periods of time isn't so comfortable. But that's not really the point of my Nanos anyway, they are for lifting. I think these will serve me well for heavy lifts where I might need extra stability.

This is pretty new to me because I never put insoles in my running or lifting shoes before now. The only time I ever even used an insole was when I had plantar fascitis 2 years ago. So, pretty excited to see how well these do!

May Stridebox

Stridebox! Yay!

Ha. You better believe I earn my showers, and I have the sweat to prove it.

Glukos energy gel - This is weird! It's liquid, where the consistency of most other gels is.. well, gel. And it's a huge pack. Not sure how I will like this one? We'll see.
Massage ball - I have a Foot Rub which is similar, so I tucked this in with my mom's birthday presents because I figure maybe she can make good use of it. These things are awesome for your feet and hands.
GU Chews - It tasted just like a Ring Pop! Hah, memories. I had this before a 4 miler that was post-leg day, it really helped give me some extra energy to push through the soreness in my legs.
Osmo hydreation powders - Tried the mango one first, I didn't stir it well enough so most of it sat in the bottom and it resulted in me not really tasting the flavor. Tried the blackberry one, stirred it well but some still settled in the bottom. It tastes good though. I like the fact that these actually have sugar in them (Hello drink companies?? Athletes actually need sugar for energy and recovery!) As it gets hotter out I'm definitely gonna need a hydration product post run and even during long runs. I tend to get headaches out there in the heat and I think getting enough sugar/electrolytes prevents that.
Vitaperk - This is a vitamin powder that you put into your coffee! I'm gonna use this on a day when I really need some extra oomph, probably this Sunday's shift at work.
Tiger Balm patch - I have heard so many good things about Tiger Balm and I can't wait to use this. But I'll have to wait until I actually have a pain to use it on.
Bounce protein ball - This was a cute little mint chocolate protein ball! Sadly it didn't taste too great, not sweet enough and it had a bunch of seeds in it. It definitely needed more flavor to make the texture more palatable.


This has been a pretty good box from what I have tried so far!

Worst girl ever

Uh, so I have a problem. A shoe problem. My job has just fueled the habit.

I have -
Newton Kismet (road running)
Merrell Bare Access Arc (road running)
Inov8 Trailroc (trail running)  (About to buy a Saucony Peregrine to start rotating the Inov8's out cause they are near dead)
Reebok Nano (gym)
Vibram Bikila (??? Got it for $27 at work)
Saucony Kinvara (Mainly wearing to work, got for $27)
Nike Vomero (Got for free from work)
Adidas Energy Boost (For work)
Oofos flip flops

Then some random things like hiking shoes, more flip flops and slip ons. I have a billion shoes but no dress shoes or "cute" shoes. That's just how I roll - not good at being girly, never was and never will be.

I'm the worst girl ever :)

So I found some shoes for $60 on Amazon (my work is out of the color/size I want). I don't need them. Not exactly sure what I'll use them for yet. But I couldn't resist...

They. Are. So. CUTE!

It's the Mizuno Hayate. A trail stability shoe - hey, I can actually make use of that! I think I will take this out on the trails for light use (no mud or anything crazy) and then wear them to work for "Mizuno Monday". This is a size 10, maybe a tad big on me but I prefer my shoes big and especially for Mizuno which can run short and narrow. 

Ahhhh they're just so cute. 

Yes, I have a shoe problem. But not in the way you'd think. As I said, I'm not good at being girly.

The Great Shoe Debate

So - Half Marathon #3 is approaching. Yeah, first mention of it here on my blog. Had it on my radar for awhile but actually signed up for real this week.

I thought I was sure about what shoes I would wear. Turns out I'm not ...

These are my Merrell Bare Access Arc's. I got them in January and proceeded to rack up training miles on them, the longest being 11 miles. They got me through the Hot Chocolate 15k. And they've been pretty good shoes.

Bare Access Arc's (plus my cat's toy duckie on a stick, she drags it around everywhere)

However...

In February I started my job at a running store and learned all kinds of new things about gait and shoes. My gait analysis revealed I *should* be in a stability shoe. I overpronate a little bit, mainly on the right side. Fairly flexible ankles and medium arches. Heh, I've been running in neutral shoes this whole time. 2.5 years ago I started running, and my first pair of shoes were some New Balance Minimus from the outlet. I learned how to run in minimally cushioned shoes, with a low heel to toe drop, and I do not heel strike. So I'm trying to do the right thing and use stability shoes. Problem is, most of them tend to be more traditional - higher heel to toe drop, lots of heel cushioning, the medial post which is a piece of plastic in the shoe to help control over pronation. Well shit. I don't like traditional running shoes. So I tried on a few of my store's "performance" stability shoes, and some of them are contenders, but I felt like I was still missing the roomier fit and wide toe box that I love. 

Behold, my Newton Kismets.

Kismet! They're dirty

These shoes have more cushion yet with a low drop (4mm) and have "lugs" on the bottom to promote a mid/forefoot strike and help get your feet off the ground faster.I love these shoes so far. Haven't taken them on any long runs yet but they do feel very comfortable and natural. The only thing is, the lugs seem to make running up and down hills a bit tricky. But they have definitely warmed me up to the idea of wearing stability shoes.

So this morning I went out for 5 miles - I've been super lazy and sleepy in the mornings and haven't gotten my ass out of bed to run as much as I should. Today I took my Merrell's - noticed a huge difference, and not in a good way! Everything kind of hurt. My feet felt really wobbly too. I dunno, it wasn't good. Maybe after the past month of running in something with a little more cushion and stability I'm just feeling all the impact and overpronation much more? My mind wandered to the Kismets - maybe I should just wear those for the half! But I've never run more than 4 miles in them! They do feel so much better though. 

Hmmm.... I am thinking the Kismet will be the one for the half. I guess the only thing I'm worried about is the fact that I haven't put in any long runs in them, and what if something changes halfway through and the lugs start hurting my feet or something? But the Merrell's are hurting me now that I am used to the Newtons...

Ahhh what the hell. I am the one who signed up for a Spartan Beast at a ski resort, 2 weeks ahead of time with no formal training. 

Screw it! :)

Stridebox - April

I got my second Stride box a couple weeks ago

It had some -

Movit gummies - Had the red one before a gym session, ok tasting but not great. Did serve well as a "I haven't eaten recently and need some energy before a workout" type thing.
Zing snack bar, double nut brownie - Pretty tasty!
Ultima drink powder - Meh. I tried this today and it was like they tried to sweeten it way too much without actually adding sugar.
Spenco gel heel cup - Tried it for work one day because I get pain in my left heel from time to time. Didn't like it, actually hurt my feet more and they wouldn't stay in place.
Cold compression wrap - Haven't had the need to use it yet but can't wait to try it!
Squeaky Cheeks powder - Have not used yet but if it's anything like my Anti Monkey Butt powder then I'm sure I will like it.
Vega Sport gel - Also not used yet.

I haven't tried everything from this box yet but so far I have mixed feelings about it. Definitely wasn't as good as my last one. But it's ok because I always like to try new things and that's what this is all about.

Stride Box!

I have been meaning to post this for awhile but I forgot about it.
You know those subscription boxes - where you pay a monthly fee and they send you boxes full of various products that fit your interests?

Well I signed up for one for the first time ever.

Decided to give Stride Box a try. It's a box for runners!

This was the box for March. The packaging is nice :)

It's $15 a month and it has things like nutrition (gels, chews, bars), hydration, strength and recovery items, stickers, etc. Here's what I got in my first box.

Bonk Breaker chews - Haven't tried yet

Mango Chia Bar - This was really good! I found more flavors at my grocery store and bought some. They make a good little satisfying snack.

A cooling towel - much needed for hot messes such as myself

Maple syrup gel - I'm gonna try this out on my next long run. I love real maple syrup (Don't even want none of that fake crap!) and the concept of using it as running fuel is really intriguing to me

A yoga strap - I NEEDED THIS!! I was literally about to buy one to help with my stretching. Hooray!

SOS Hydration powder - Had it in my water post run today. Did not like it, tasted very weird. 

Honey Stinger bar - This I gave to my husband, I don't like peanut butter. But I did try a piece and I gotta say, not bad for peanut butter. Very moist and chewy with a slight honey taste.

Can't wait to see what I get in April's box!

Newton Kismet

Last week I was trying on shoes in an effort to find a stability shoe that still lets me mid/forefoot strike. Recently I learned I should be in a stability shoe, my right ankle overpronates a bit too much and it's probably the cause of some ankle and foot pain I've been feeling. I heard about the Newtons and how they are supposed to promote foot striking. So I tried them on.

Newton shoes have "lugs" on the bottom.    ...................

My first thoughts from just standing in the shoes were that the lugs made the shoe feel really weird. Standing around and walking in them felt very strange. But as soon as I started my little trial run around the room I instantly loved them. It feels like the lugs help "spring" my foot forward. Pushing off feels easier. The shoe itself is also really comfy. The upper is a soft, breathable mesh like material. No uncomfortable hard plastics or stitching. I got a half size up, so 9.5 regular width. I am inbetween a regular and a wide so I often have trouble with shoes feeling too narrow, but not these. They feel perfect. That said, I would ONLY use these for running. I don't think they are meant to be walked in because of the lugs. It's certainly not a comfortable shoe for walking.

Also I love the way these shoes look - always a plus!

Run #1

Starting off I noticed some looseness in the heels, but this is a very common problem for me. I have wide feet yet narrow heels at the same time... heel slippage and blistering has always been an issue. No worries, if it continues I can most likely solve it with a lace lock as I have done before. In the first mile my feet felt a bit tingly where the lugs are, I think this is just a matter of adjusting to them because I have not worn any shoe like this before. Running in them felt great. The lugs really seem to aid in the push off. I feel "faster" in them. Unfortunately this was not a good test run because we still have patches of ice on the trails and I had to stop several times. This run was only 3 miles and I planned on it being 4. 

Run #2
Did the lace lock before even heading out the door to see if it felt better around my heels - and it did. No worries though as I have to do this with about 50% of my shoes. This run felt really good, except once again about 1.5 miles in my feet started to go numb where the lugs are. But then the numbness went away after 5 minutes or so. At this point I'm still hesitant to take these out on a run longer than 3-4 miles.

Run #3
This was a 5k tempo run. My feet felt fine, I feel like I'm getting more and more used to these shoes each time I use them. Noticed the numbness again but it was for like 1 minute tops and then it went away.

I think these shoes will be a keeper. At this point I'm gonna use them for my 3-4 mile runs. This is more of a performance shoe, but if I end up with good results I may start using them for longer distances.

Rainy day running

9 miles this morning. And this time I didn't have to do it on the treadmill! All the snowy icy shit is gone. Today it was actually raining but I don't mind. I came prepared!

I had a few people come into my work this week who were running the Rock N Roll half in DC. I wanted to do it too but my training just wasn't there. Anywho, said customers were asking me what I recommend for running in the rain.

Running hat with a brim - BIG! It's one you don't really think of until you're out there and realize you can't see because rain is hitting you in the face. Keeps your head dry too. This is my #1 most important item to run with in the rain.
Tops - This depends on the runner. I get stupid hot when I run so I prefer a tech shirt. On a cloudy, rainy day like today I went with a long sleeve. But if it's say 55 or 60 degrees and rainy I would have gone with a short sleeve. For the fortunate ones who aren't a hot mess when they run, you could go with a lightweight waterproof jacket if staying dry is important to you. Just choose something that won't be too hot later on in your run. Personally unless it's pouring, I don't mind getting wet because I'm already gonna be sweaty.
Bottoms - Again this one is kind of a personal preference. With today's temps capris worked well for me. There were alot of puddles which splashed water up to my shins, so for those wanting to keep their shins covered I'd recommend tights or knee high socks.
Socks - Moisture wicking, synthetic material.
Other - Keep your gear covered if you're not sure about it's waterproof-ness. I put a ziplock bag around my phone before putting it into my belt. My long sleeve shirt kept my watch dry, if not for that I would have probably wrapped the face in plastic wrap or something.

It was a nice run... got to go further than I have ever been before on this trail system and discovered a really cool dock that is actually part of the trail, so I got to run across it for a bit. Also got to a swampy area with a couple steady flowing creeks, I really liked it because there were no houses or buildings around. It felt more like that remote, backwoods running I did in GA/SC. Today I did tape up my knee cause it's been bugging me the last couple days. My doctor said it seemed normal to her but next week I am going to look into seeing an orthopedist for another opinion.

It feels good to be getting my mileage back up there again. Compared to last year I am actually slightly faster on a more difficult route. The canal was 100% flat, not even one hill. My new route is mostly flat with occasional small to medium size hills.

Now I'm quite tired and in need of snacks. It's funny how running can make every muscle in your body feel sore. In addition to the muscles used while running, my back is also nice and sore because I just moved it around for an hour and a half. Yesterday was back day and I did a whole mess of pull ups.

Excuse me while I eat these. They are crack.