Racing Heart

If you follow my facebook page for my blog, you would have seen the wonderful image of the giant wrap I had on my toe after I had the doctors remove most of my toenail. Well, if you haven’t seen the picture yet, here it is. Now you might be wondering, howd it go? Was it painful? How was recovery? Anything you can say for those who are about to go through the same procedure? Give me just a minute and I will explain everything. So let me share some back story for those who don’t know me well enough to know everything about my toes. I have thumb-like big toes. They are pudgy and round, and most the time, red and swollen. I used to think that the red and swollen aspect was a normal thing for feet, as that was how things have always been with my toes since I can remember (its not). So anyway, I get ingrown toenails frequently. Im talking like one every couple months or so, at least 3-4 times a year. Usually, when I get them, I soak the toe, use some hydrogen peroxide, and smother...

By guest writer, Brittini. This watch is excellent for running. I've had it for about 2 weeks and have been using it to track my half marathon training. It has two different types of GPS, just a normal GPS and GPS+GLONASS. The GLONASS is just a GPS using a special type of satellite. I haven't used it yet because it takes more battery but it is supposed to be more accurate. The GPS works excellent. I run with my brother who tracks via the Nike Running App. The distances are usually only about 0.05 miles different. That being said, I've mostly run on bike trails in my subdivision with no tree cover or anything. I ran once in a forest preserve on a rainy day and the normal GPS was not working accurately at all, at some points saying that I was running at a 17min/mile pace. It also said I only ran 3 miles when I know I ran at least 4. I plan on trying again using the GPS+GLONASS feature. It is fairly easy to begin your run. You press the run button and press it again to start...

Hello to all you "newbies"! Do not take offence to that. We were all new to running at one point or another. I am actually really pumped that you have decided to take on the challenge of running and train for a 5k. This is awesome! So for you, I thought I would offer some great pieces of advice for you and some valuable tools that will help you along your way.   So first things first, some advice to live by. Listen to your body. Your body will tell you all you need to know. "Hey, youve ran too far" "This is a comfortable pace" "Its time for some new shoes" are all things that your feet, knees, back, and rest of your person will tell you as you run and train.  Having a training plan will aid and help you ease your way into a 5k. You do not want to rush into things, as this can lead to injuries, so a training plan will slowly get to you up to speed.  Join a group! Talk to local running shops and see if they know any groups to join....

So you're training for your first half marathon. Scared? Anxious? Nervous? Dont worry, its completely normal to be. I have ran quite a few and I am here to offer my advice and give you a checklist of things you may need. So first off, some pieces of advice.  Slow and steady wins the race. Dont take off too fast, especially for the first mile. Think, you still have 12.1 miles left, so try not to run out of gas right away. My advice is to break the race up in to portions, halves or quarters, and tell yourself to pace at a certain speed for each of them. For myself, I run the first 6 miles at a slower pace, and once I finish, I decide how I am feeling and whether I increase my pace or not.  Here's a little secret. Half marathons are the best races to run. Why? Everyone, other racers and the spectators are there for you. The spectators think you are this amazing person and will just cheer you to finish rather than to run faster. The other runners know how much 13 mile...

Most people see running shoes as something that assists people getting here and there. Here are some facts that you may not know about your shoes.  Those running shoes on your feet are really meant to go in one direction. Running shoes are truly built to move forward/backward. When you use running-specific shoes for say lifting or Jazzersize or Zumba, you are pushing that shoe to its limits. A flexible, cross training shoe is more suited for these sort of activities because they allow your feet to flex and move more naturally, where a running shoe will only be able to flex lengthwise and not widthwise. Using a running shoe when doing these lateral workouts may lead to blowouts or unusual wear. I say this because I have seen too many cases where people try to return a shoe because it was "defective" or they obliterated it with in the first month of wearing it. Running shoes are meant to run or walk in, only forward or backward. I cannot stress it enough. So for that Zumba o...

This post is for everyone who plans on coming into a running specialty store to get their new shoes, just some helpful advice to get you started. Bring your old shoes in! A shoe can tell a whole lot about how you run. I am not kidding. To a sales associate who has been trained in the art of selling shoes, we can tell if you need more stability, less stability, if you are a forefoot runner, if you are a heel striker, and many other things. Bring them in, let us look at them, and it will help a ton. There was a customer that I worked with once who brought in her last 3 or 4 pairs of shoes. You wouldn't believe how well this helped me. I was able to see what she liked in the past and how her gait had changed, which all this information led me to grabbing her next pair.  Know your shoe's name! I cannot stress this enough. Now when I say name, I do not only mean brand, I also mean model. Coming into a store and responding to the question, "what shoe were you in previ...

With all my posts about running shoes and clothes, I realized that I have never mentioned where you could find these items. Check your local running store! Many people will tell you: "local running shops have higher prices than the big box stores, why waste your time?" or "People at the big box stores know just as much as the other people, why go there?" Well I am here to tell you otherwise. Here are my 10 reasons you need to shop at your local running shops. The prices are no different than at the big-box sports store. Shops have to set their products at a price set by the company. Many times as well, the stores will price match. Here's the thing though. Many times, you may find a shoe that you are interested in, (lets say the Nike Pegasus), and you go to your local shop and their Nike Pegasus 31s are priced at $100, and when you check the big-box retailer, they have a Nike Pegasus for only $70! What? How can this be!? Check the model number. Just becau...