Confessions of an Amateur Athlete

  There are a lot of "tips" out there to staying motivated and reaching your 2014 goals. I've mentioned some of my tricks HERE .  But I thought I'd give you a few more that you may not have read or thought about.    I'm very big on running with friends.  As I've said, it's a great motivator and holds you accountable. But sometimes there just isn't anyone available or willing around.  So what do you do?  I say grab your pooch!  swimbikerunphoto.com    Now, not EVERY dog is made to run, or can.  But on those days where your lacking some motivation, and you have a pup who can handle the activity... strap on that leash and go!  Or if you've been wanting to get a dog...  this is a great excuse to go to a shelter and rescue your new running buddy!  Dogs need exercise.. and so do you.. so why not enjoy a little together ? Before you do though, there are few you things you should know about running with ...

In an effort to make 2014 my year of running better, I want to start EATING better and healthier .  I need to fuel my runs with something other than tons of coffee and peanut butter soaked bagels ( wheat bagels...I mean, come on, that's healthy right?!) http://ehomnick.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/bagel-with-ab-and-coffee.jpg   One of my passions, besides running, is cooking.. baking... and of course, eating everything I make.  Although my skills typically are in candy, cookies, and other sweet confections.  Albeit awesome, I figured if I want to ever SEE my abs... I'd better add some healthier options to my skill set.   So for Christmas this year, I received the Runners World Cookbook .  I've started cooking from it and so far, I love it!   Now, I know that these days you can pull any recipe you want from online, but there's just something about having the tangible pages to turn and flip through that ta...