Confessions of an Amateur Athlete

A little Rants and Raves for you today!  But to keep things positive, let's start with the RAVE this time! :) I'm officially signed up for the Ragnar Trail Relay-Snowmass !  It's going to be AMAZING!  An all day and night relay with beautiful scenery, camping, comradery with fellow runners around the bonfire, and a great challenging course.  Wanna check it out?  Here's their website: http://ragnartrail.com/locations/snowmass-co My team name is "Fast and Fabulous"... which is pretty much us in a nutshell. LOL.  I'll start hitting the trails to train on some tough terrain this weekend!  Race isn't until June so I've got a bit, but no time like the present! Also, I've taking it easy after my Marathon PR, but it's time to kick things back into gear!  I'm still participating in the Run This Year Challenge (2,014km this year).  And they have the perfect monthly challenge to help motivate me back into the training game!  An in...

I bring you a guest blog from a fellow I'm Fit Possible Ambassador!    Meet Jessica! Jessica has been blogging for over a year at Anchored in CLE about her adventures in Northeast Ohio and so much more. She found a true passion in health and fitness and recently started a new blog dedicated to just that called Jessica Gets Fit . She is excited to share her journey to a healthier, happier, more active lifestyle and her continuing weight loss journey. You can also find her on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , and Pinterest . Today Jessica weighs in on how to deal with your first running injury!  How To Deal With Your First Running-Related Foot Injury Hi! I ’ m Jessica, a fellow amateur athlete who blogs over at Jessica Gets Fit (and Anchored in CLE ). I have recently started training for my first 10K race (the 2014 Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon) and just experienced my first injury (which isn ’ t fun, but is part of the territory). facebook.com   ...

Free Race Entry Alert!  Always exciting!  This one is for the 2014 Pride 10K/5K Run & 5K Walk.   This Pride Run/Walk helps support the LGBT community within the Phoenix area.  It also benefits the Phoenix Pride Scholarship Program that helps those in need within the LGBT community further their education!  A really great cause.  Now, as with any race and any charity, if you don't personally agree or approve of the charity, then you're welcome NOT to run it and then I suggest you not participate in the giveaway.  It's as simple as that! I will say this.  If it's the matter of feeling "uncomfortable" out on the course... let me ease those fears right now.  You won't be running amongst a bunch of guys running in dresses or practically naked.  I run regularly with the majority of those running this race, and let me tell you, they take running ANY race seriously and will be doing their best to set a new record!  There's no ti...

  It's a great idea sometimes to do a race FOR FUN. No goals of a PR, just go out and have a fun time with friends. If you're in a rut this is a great idea to help you fall in love with running again. Or it'll help renew your craving for adventure!    So I took part in the Color Fun Fest 5K here in Phoenix, AZ this weekend.  It's still a fairly new race with a few kinks to work out.  But overall a really fun run. Much like all color runs, you get "paint" (dyed cornstarch) thrown at you and end up a colorful mess at the end.    The only real issues I had with the race were at the packet pick-up.  It was held at a local running shop so no big expo or anything.  But that's not a problem for me.  The issues were the organization.  It seemed very chaotic and the guys handing out the t-shirts had no idea what was going on.  I stood in line behind a guy for about fifteen minutes while the volunteer was trying to fig...

hireanillustrator.com   The other day I was running with my pup and taking a shortcut through a vet clinic parking lot.  A guy yells at me from beside his car asking for help. His dog had eaten something bad and wouldn't budge, and his pet was just too big to carry.  I immediately ran inside, asked someone for a gurney, made sure everything was taken care of, then continued on my run.      I didn't think too much of it because I simply did what any good person would do.  But it got me thinking.  I've lost count the number of times someone has stopped and asked me for directions while I'm out running.  And I recall a few times I've came across a person who's car has stalled on the road and needed a push.  One of those times, I reached a stoplight the same time as a cyclist when a car stalled in the middle of the intersection.  Without thinking, we both ran up to push them to a safe area.   I've also...

Getting back into the training game!  No rest for the weary! Went out for an easy run today with my pup and afterwards needed a little pick-me up.  So I whipped out the blender and made one of my favorite recovery smoothies.  I call this one the Mocha Wild Berry smoothie! It's really simple to make all you need is: 1-2 cups cold coffee 1 1/2 cups chocolate milk (or almond milk) 1 1/2 cups mixed frozen berries (black berries, raspberries, strawberries, and blue berries) 1 heaping scoop chocolate protein powder I'm a big fan of coffee so you can go heavy on the java if you really need a boost, or ease back and add more chocolate milk.  I'll make my coffee in the morning, and save a little extra and stick it in the fridge just for this smoothie.  I like using the mixed berries b/c it really gives it a unique "wild berry" flavor!  Of course, if you can't find a frozen berry medley... go for some frozen blackberries and blueberries. ...

It's going to be a busy week of blogging... but LOTS of great stuff is on the way.  Let me give you a preview of what's ahead! First off, I'll be running the Color Fun Fest 5K this Saturday.  It's a NIGHTtime color run with paint, disco lights, glow sticks, the works. Plus, it goes to some great local charities! I'll be taking tons of pics for a full race review on this EPIC run.  I'm really excited and I hope to bring you just as Epic of a post afterwards!   Next up, I'll be participating in a Blog Swap through the I'm Fit Possible community.  My blog-swap partner is Jill who blogs at Fitness, Health and Happiness ( http://jillconyers.com/ ).  She's got a great blog and she'll be doing a little "takeover" here on my site very soon and I'll be posting over on her blog!  I'll post little bio on Jill before the Blog Swap so you can learn a little more about her.  Until then, check out her sight! It's pretty great. ...

I'm still in "recovery" mode after the marathon.  The adrenaline is wearing off, and I'm ready to start training again!! But I've got to play it smart and recover properly before jumping back on the Marathon wagon! So this week has been dedicated to active and inactive recovery.  Here's some of my favorite and most effective ways to recover! 1.) KEEP ACTIVE .  I like to stay active but not go overboard.  All week my muscles have been super sore.  Stairs were my kryptonite! But it's always best to do a little light activity to work out the lactic acid.  So I've been playing with my pup at the park and going on small jogs with her.  She enjoys it and it gets me on the right track! 2.) STRETCH/ROLL  Use your foam roller! If you don't have one... invest!  It's great for working out all the kinks and after a marathon, I won't lie.. it'll HURT.  But afterwards it feels so much better.  I promise.  My neighbors probably think s...

The Phoenix Marathon was a great race!  Spoiler Alert: I PRed! But we'll get to that in a minute. First off, the expo was small but still a great one.  The Race Shirt *AND* arm warmers are on my top five for best race swag! Now, keep in mind this isn't as large of a race as those in the Rock N Roll Marathon Series, so the free samples of power bars, Gatorade, etc were minimal... but that's not why I go to expos anyway.  The atmosphere was still awesome, the weather amazing, and the swag we got gets a two thumbs up!  Plus, I donated to the Phoenix Marathon Foundation  (it goes towards local scholarships, a great cause!) and ended up getting a pair of black arm warmers with the awesome logo on it as well. Pretty sweet!  After the expo I went home, carb-loaded on some ravioli, and gathered up all my things for the morning. Unfortunately, the forecast was calling for some major rain all throughout the morning. So that meant preparing to get wet...