"Oh hey remember the millions of things you need to do before the semester ends" - My incredibly annoying brain. Does your's scroll through your to do list constantly changing the priority of things? Mine does and working out normal gets bumped right to the bottom. BOOM two weeks of no training. My rationalization "i had projects" "its too cold" "school is more important"

Shut up and go!

Getting back on track with my workouts. Started looking around for fun things to do and found http://www.ruggedmaniac.com/ and http://thecolorrun.com/ (now in New England :D) both 5ks.

I figure they're good testing grounds for time and both fun. I dragged my friends into signing up with me and a few agreed to train with me all summer for my half in sept. Work out buddies are great the keep you on track because there is the extra layer of motivation that you have to workout better/harder than you are. (que mulan song montage "we are men!")

Fun, fun, fun. If you arent having fun working out (at least aren't hating your life every single second you are working) then you arent going to keep doing it. The internet is filled with thousands of work outs. Try a few out till you find something you like, change it up when things are getting boring. However you need to stick to a certain workout for a while before you will see improvement of any kind.

Also dont be afraid to look silly!!! I know I had a huge problem with this, but no one is going to judge you for working out when you are more sweaty and running circles around them.

Shin Splints

Hi, I am a runner and I suffer from shin splints. Why because I dont stretch often enough and forget to build the right muscles.

My workout today suffered due to my shin splints. They pained me for the first mile and then I had to stop and switch to an elliptical. I went to see a friend majoring in Physical Therapy (PT) and she laughed and laughed. Said that shin splints are the most common "injuries" and one of the most preventable.

She directed me to this site, which breaks down the stretches you are supposed to do as well as offer a ton of information regarding sports injuries. So silly looking stretches it is!!

My PT friend said "Never forget the importance of stretching, it doesn't matter how far you can run if you can't limberly seduce your way out of a bed."

Training in any form is difficult. If you are just beginning or if you've been doing it for years. But they rarely seem to mention the nasty stuff that goes on. So I made you a list of things i've noticed while training throughout the years.

Laundry: 

First on the list. Prepare to do a lot, with sweaty workout clothes and a mountain of socks that arise in the middle of your room. If you're training every day you're going to go through a lot of clothes. And unless you have the keys to LuLu Lemon you have to wash them!!

On a side note for swim suits the maintenance is different. Washing your suits will destroy the shape and they wear out quick enough as it is, this article is really helpful in keeping your suits (both work out and bikini) in shape 

Skin:

You should be drinking lots of water, like lots of it, to the point where its annoying and you are building arm muscle carrying around your Nalgene. Drinking all that water is going to help with your skin.

But invest in a good cleanser. After your glorious post-work out shower, scrub that extra layer of grime and sweat off your face. Especially us city girls running around all that car exhaust. Make sure you moisturize to, if you're getting that tight skin feeling your body will start making extra oil and cause a breakout.

Shaving/Waxing:

If you shave/wax your "down there" make sure you aren't doing it right before a work out. The sweat and rubbing of your clothes will cause in-grown hairs and those are mighty painful. Shave/wax after a work out, wear loose pants (yoga pants or a skirt) instead of super tight jeans and then try not to workout for at least 12 hours. Plan to shave/wax on your resting/recovery days.

... those were just things I noticed today, I'll due a part two. I had a whole list in my head in the shower. I swear all my greatest ideas happen in the shower. 

New Shoes

To run that only thing you need is shoes, a sports bar and some shorts. A billowing, fat covering tshirt if you are me. So generally running is a low maintenance sport but having good shoes is a VERY important step. When I did high school track the coaches said new shoes every six months or 500 miles. Now for distance runner 500 miles comes a lot faster then six months and really dedicated runners buy new shoes every three. But I cant afford that so I tend to stick to the six month rule.

Back when my darling parents supported my track efforts they bought my shoes and I had Mizuno shoes. But now that I have to purchase my own its a different story. Groupon Goods is where I got my new pair. A cheerfully bright yellow and blue combo from Puma. I've never used Puma shoes before and are a little worried that they may not be what i need for serious training. They have a stigma about being more stylish then efficient. But at they're low price I can afford to try them, and if they dont work they I have great new walking shoes.

Midori

Midori, melon liquor

Not a huge fan of drinking beer in large quantities, so for St. Patties day I needed to find a green drink alternative. Enter Midori - delicious, sweet, simple and green.

But im still hooked on it! I mix it 1 part to 2 parts sprite. I may have gone a little over board on it last night, but I was partying with my freshmen roommate from college and its fun to dive back into that drunken college mode. I suggest you try it!!

Also going to expand my Midori tastes with these awesome new recipes:

http://www.drinksmixer.com/cat/1054/

Today will be a good day

Alarm Clock 9am, out the door at 9:20 back by 9:40

Ran a breezy and sunny two miles this morning. I forgot how awkward it is to run outside, everyone stares at you. My face gets red and white and i look like death but "If you look pretty afterwards you did it wrong"

My roommates were totally encouraging when I came back huffing and puffing! One of them has been experimenting with Iced Coffee brewing, less acid so it doesn't upset your stomach so much. I must say it was the best possible reward (disregarding donuts which I should cut out of my diet) after my run.

http://carrotsncake.com/2009/03/how-to-make-iced-coffee.html

This is an awesome blog! But also were my roommate took the iced coffee idea. I suggest you try it!!

I use skim milk and honey instead of sugar!! Sugar is a mood killer and using honey as a sweetener is a fantastic alternative and doesn't kill your post-workout high!

Back Pedaling

Midterms, Swimming Nationals, a stressed out boyfriend and mother nature messing with my head.

All my excuses for the day, im sore from practice yesterday and have an intense headache so I skipped practice tonight. Regretting it already. That silly expression about regretting a workout more then the pain of the workout is totally true.

I would so much rather be laying here in pain smelling like chlorine than laying here regretting not working out...

I eat so healthy yesterday, went to practice, had some amazing sex... went to bed smiling!

Today did nothing, eat the wrong foods ... I had french fries *face palm* and feel awful!