New Shoes

My physical therapist informed me that my running shoes (Nike Free 3 V4) were causing me to heel strike which was causing my knee pain. After doing some research on my own, I believe him. I looked into "minimalist" shoes, meaning basically that they have less support than traditional running shoes and a heel-to-toe drop of less than 8mm (preferably 0mm). The heel-to-toe drop means that the difference in thickness of the heel of the shoe, and the toe of the shoe. Traditional running shoes have a cushioned heel, which in turn means its built up, and the heel-to-toe drop can be anywhere between 10-20mm, or more. This lends to runners heel striking, which is not optimal running form. The much preferred method is more of a mid foot strike. 

Therefore, I went on a search for some minimalist running shoes, preferably cute ones! I found lots of different options, and I read review upon review, and finally chose these... 

Hopefully they will live up to my expectations. I plan on wearing them for PT a couple times before I decide firmly as to whether I want to keep them or return them. Have to love zappos with their free shipping both ways, and as a VIP member, free overnight shipping. It's ALMOST like instant gratification!

Physical Therapy

Well, I got some good news - my physical therapist thinks that with some strengthening/stretching/running mechanics work I will be back to being pain free and running soon. I am excited and have actually followed his recommendations and done my "homework" and am excited for my next appointment. 

Main things wrong:

-I internally rotate my hips

-tight IT bands

-I drop my hip when I run

-I am a heel striker instead of a mid foot striker

Lets go run!

The Heat Is On

So yet again it's in the 80s and 90s and extremely humid out. Makes it hard to work out, since I have to do almost everything outside. I really need to talk Mike into letting me convert his basement into a private workout room haha. 

So the plan for today is to get in a medicine ball workout; currently I am loving this one by Pumpsandiron, even though I haven't tried it yet. 

• 100 Alternating Medicine Ball Spiderman Lunges: Start in a plank position, balancing on the medicine ball. Bring your left foot up by your left hand in a deep, planked lunged position. Return to starting position. Repeat on the other side.
• 50 Medicine Ball Cross-Body Chop (Left): Start by holding a medicine ball by your left foot, in a sort of side lunge position. Your left foot will remain firmly planted, and your right foot will pivot as you stand up and bring the medicine ball across your body (keeping arms straight) and reach it up to the right. Chop it back down diagonally across your body, bending into starting position.
• 50 Medicine Ball Cross-Body Chop (Right)
• 100 Medicine Ball Toe-Touch Crunches: Lay on back with legs straight up in the air (resist the urge to bend your knees as the reps progress). Start holding med ball out behind your head with arms outstretched. Bring med ball straight up and crunch torso up, reaching the ball towards your toes. Return to starting position.
• 100 Alternating Medicine Ball Squat Jacks: These are essentially jumping jacks in a squatting position. Start with legs a little more than shoulder-width apart in a squat position, holding medicine ball mid-torso. Jump legs together (remaining in a squat position) and reach medicine ball down and to the left of your feet. Jump back into starting position, then alternate, jumping legs together and reaching medicine ball down and to the right of your feet.
• 200 Toe Tap Soccer Drill: A slight variation on high knees, tap one toe gingerly on top of the medicine ball then jump onto your other foot and do the same. If you find yourself kicking the ball all over the place, just do high knees, making sure your feet are coming up high enough to clear the top of the medicine ball.

If I survive that, and if it cools down a bit my plan is to enjoy a nice easy short run this evening, or at the very least take my dog for a walk. And starting today, I am going to start putting away money each week to invest in a treadmill. Can't hurt for days that are too hot or too cold to run!

It's Finally Summer

I was determined to go for a run yesterday, but it was way too warm and humid (it was still 80 degrees when I went to bed) so I vowed to get up early this morning and run before work. I ran, but it was nothing impressive. My legs still feel fatigued since the last time I ran - not sure why my recovery is taking so long especially when I'm only running for ~10 minutes or a mile. But I ran/walked for 20 minutes and was completely soaked in sweat/humidity after the fact. 

I am now relaxing in front of a fan (my sister borrowed my AC and I am totally regretting being nice and lending it to her on the hottest days of the year so far) drinking iced coffee while catching up on some blog reading. My favorite new discovery is Skinnychick (http://skinnychickblog.com). I love discovering new blogs because there are so many archived posts that I can read for hours!

Bribing Myself With Goodies

Currently I am working on getting back into running on a regular basis, simply by just going out and running. To motivate myself (and, admittedly, because I discovered just how out of shape I have gotten), I downloaded a 5K training plan (for free) from fitnessmagazine.com. It starts you out slow - presumably at a level that most people can complete, and builds up from there. It also includes rest days (that I take liberally), and crosstraining days (which I tend to consider hikes/walks with my dog, and the general amount of fitness I do at work to be sufficient). I am currently only a couple workouts in - my next one involves intervals of 75 second runs and 15 second walks... If only the weather would cool down below 80 to where I could run without worrying I might pass out and shrivel up on the side of the road!

I have bribed myself to motivate myself to be successful in running - when I get halfway through the workouts successfully (no cheating!) I am going to purchase the Pear Mobile Training Intelligence System. It's a heart rate monitor and special headphones that help monitor workouts (calories burned, miles run, etc), and motivate you (through fitness coaches in the headphone, telling you to speed up or slow down your pace based on personal goals and your heart rate). It's $99 for the System, and I found a discount code at SarahFit that gives free shipping at 10% off (Code: pear).

When I complete the entire chart of workouts I have promised myself a new pair of running leggings or jacket from Lululemon. I have never worn, nor bought anything from there, but everything I've heard has been positive (other than the price point), and I feel that new workout clothes will motivate me even more to succeed!

Beginning

I have great intentions for this blog - just as everyone does when they first start a blog. I am hopeful that I will consistently post with what I'm currently doing; my struggles and progress, as well as motivation, recipes, workouts, as well as links to many other places (fitness blogs, articles, and recipes).

I am a 25 year old female, with a bachelors in Exercise Science and a Masters in Human Performance. While in Grad School I joined my local fire department as a volunteer, and took an EMT-Basic class, as it was offered for free. I passed the exam, and soon after found a position through Americorps (volunteer service), where I was accepted as an EMT with a local rural ambulance company. I worked there for 6 months with the goals of increasing the number of calls they responded to, as well as increasing volunteers to sustain their program. When I completed my time I remained on as a paid member of the Squad, and accepted a job as a hospital aide at my local hospital in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (yes - people waking up from general anesthesia get to see my lovely face... And some of them wake up fighting, which is funny because of my size I am useless in restraining them). I am now interested in getting back to my roots of exercise science and what better place to start than myself!

My plan is to let you all know what my goals are each week/workout, and how well I do at achieving them. Along the way I will tell life stories, as well as share product reviews.