Would love some input!

We started a couple of new groups at work and one of them is a whole health group.  We haven't come up with a creative name for it yet, but somehow I ended up co-chair.  Very excited about the group.  We met for the first time yesterday to talk about ideas and things we want to do.

A few of the ideas we came up with are

• Having a weekly healthy recipe to share and a fun way for people to rate it
• coming up with some walking routes around work, so people can walk on their breaks, before work in small groups, etc
• Meeting 20 minutes before work to do a short yoga workout.
• looking into getting a group Fitbit discount
• having a blog where people at work can all contribute about fun, healthy activities they have been doing, and others can check in, a place to post healthy tidbits
• and put on a half marathon and 5k.

So excited about that last one. and a little freaked out.  A very informal poll of my running friends did reveal a big interest in having a spring/early summer half marathon in Billings.  There are currently two half marathons here.  One in July and it is always sweltering hot. Not too many people do it. and the other is in September and the weather is usually perfect.  There was supposed to be one in April this year, but then it got moved to October so I am not really counting it until it happens since that is the third time they have delayed it.

I am just wondering if from now until the beginning of April is enough time to accomplish it.  I have a rough idea of the course.  It won't be a downhill or flat one, but it will incorporate some trails and show some awesome views of the city.  It will also be different than most of the other runs in the area. 

Looking for ideas .

I would love to hear input on what you guys think.

Should it be a loop, a point to point, or an out and back.  Which one do you love and not love the most?  They all have pluses and minuses.

What things make for a bad half marathon?
What makes a great one?

Any advice?  Do we need longer than 9 months to plan this?  our B option would be a late May early June race which would give us a little more time. 

Mizuno Wave Sayonara Review

This is a sponsored post for Mizuno through Fitfluential.

Last summer I got to try the Mizuno Precision 12s as part of the Mezamashi Project.  It was my second pair of Mizuno running shoes ever.  I loved the lightness of them and have done several races in them, so when I had the opportunity to try out the Sayonaras I was excited.  !!!

The Wave Sayonaras are made to replace the Precisions. These y are made to be a light weight everyday training shoe.  At 7.1 ounces I would agree they are really lightweight.

They also dropped them down a bit with a 10mm drop from heel to toe instead of the traditional 12mm.  Personally I wouldn't mind if they dropped it even more.

First Impressions..  bright vibrant colors.  I don't want boring shoes to run in so they score major here.  I am not a huge pink fan, but there is enough purple to help offset it for me. 

Check out the fun pattern details.

 I like the way they fit my feet even better than my Precisions do.  They seem a little roomier in the toebox.  Once I laced them up and adjusted them on my feet for the first time I never had to stop and tighten or loosen once.  This is so rare for me with new shoes.  They just fit.

I can say that they feel fast, but can't really give you proof.  I am not doing any speed work right now due to a quad strain, all I am doing is easy running.  Hoping to add in speed work in another month or so.  Base building first.

I think these are officially the lightest shoes I run in right now.  The U4ic midsole is supposed to be 30% lighter than traditional AP+  they use.  Almost like floating on air.

 I can easily see this becoming a regular shoe in my rotation. I give it two thumbs up.

I am a little worried about small rocks getting in the small holes in the soles.  so far so good though and I think they would be easy to get out if they did.

I think Mizuno really got these shoes right.  I love all the great design details, bright colors, they fit like they are already broke in, super light weight and they feel GOOD to run in.  Brilliant.

 Want a fun hill workout?  Sure you do.  Hill training helps you gain speed and strength and these shoes will help you do it fast since they won't weigh you down.

 One of my favorite details is this on the back of the shoe.  It is like it is telling your competition sayonara!


If you are looking for a lightweight neutral trainer you can race in or just want one for training, this a a good one to try.  

They will be available in the Mizuno Running Store and everywhere else July 5th. 

If you aren't a huge fan of the pink and purple combo it comes in a white, lime punch and blue atoll color combo that is pretty snazzy too. 

Humagel Review

When I was asked if I wanted to try and review Humagel on my blog I jumped at the chance.  I am a pretty big fan of chia seeds.  I put them in my oatmeal and I drink them in my kombucha.   Why do I love chia seeds?  Supposedly..

 Chia seeds have a long history as an endurance fuel. Ancient Aztec tradition held that an ounce of chia seeds could sustain a warrior for 24 hours. Today, chia is considered a superfood because:

• It has more Omega-3’s than any other crop in the world (Omega-3’s reduce inflammation)
• It has more antioxidants than blueberries (protecting your body from free-radicals)
• It is a complete protein, providing you with all 9 Essential Amino Acids (important for preventing muscle breakdown when exercising longer than 2 hours)
• It has 25% soluble fiber. A chia seed can absorb 9-12x its body weight in water. This is especially important for Hüma because it creates a small barrier to absorption, which then prevents sugar spikes/flash crashes. source

What is there to hate about all that?  PLUS they use cane juice and brown rice syrup... at least it isn't corn syrup or something you aren't sure what it right?  All natural ingredients.

Okay so that is all stuff you can learn by reading their website.  Let's get a little more in depth.

Taste.  It comes is two flavors.  Strawberry is my favorite.  It tastes a lot like strawberry jam although not quite as sweet.  Apple cinnamon was good too although after the strawberry flavor I was expecting sort of an apple butter flavor and was a little disappointed.

Texture.  I am a big fan of the texture.  It is jam-like.  I am going to guess it is the ground up chia seeds that helps give it this texture.

Packaging is similar to other gels and I found easy to open on the run.  I know I am not running long right now, but I still wanted to test it out so I did yesterday.

No stomach issues or any sort of gag factor, which in my opinion is HUGE.  There is another brand I have used quite a bit in the past that I always seemed to have to gag down at least a portion of it.

Cost.  $54 dollars for a box of 24 which makes them 2.25 each. or you can purchase a sampler pack of 5 for 11.25 if you don't want to invest in a big box.

Bottom line here..these taste good.  You could use them for jam if you wanted.  All natural ingredients, they have magical chia seeds in them.  You want them.

I want them anyway.

You can connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, if you want.

Are you a chia fan like I am?

I was sent these in exchange for a review on my blog.  I was not compensated in any other way.

Monday Motivation

Getting out of bed early in the morning can be hard.  Who wants to leave a nice warm snugly bed go to outside?  This time of year is my favorite for getting out early and running.  It feels even more motivating right now since I haven't been able to run much lately due to a quad strain.
It was pretty dark when I first got out this morning.

Usually I try to time my run so that I am running towards the sunrise when it comes up, but this morning I just ran towards it to start with even though I knew it probably meant I would be facing away from the sun when it started to peek above the horizon.

I find running into the morning sky so energizing. I love watching the colors of the sky change as sunrise comes closer and closer.  The start of a new day.  Fresh. A whole day in front of me to accomplish the things I want to do and one thing is already checked off.    Run...done.

Of course I also took some time to enjoy the super moon.

My favorite first song to listen to on a pre dawn run is Hello World by Lady Antebellum.  I find it relaxing and energizing at the same time. 

What is your favorite time of day to run? 
What is your favorite kind of early morning run song?

Guess who ran 14 miles this week?

Pick me!  Pick me! 

 

This last week was the most successful running week I have had since I injured my quad 7 weeks ago.  I ran 14 miles this week! YAY!  Here is how the week looked.

Sunday: was a rest day.. I can't remember now if I did anything.  Hmm
Monday: 3 miles and 20 minutes of Power Yoga for upper body in the am/ 30 minutes elliptical and                Zshred #2 in the afternoon
Tuesday: 10 mile bike ride, no Garmin and ZWOW #73
Wednesday: 3 mile run, 20 minutes Yoga, 45 minutes on elliptical
Thursday: 4 mile run 30 minutes on elliptical, 20 minutes of stretching
Friday: 35 minutes on elliptical, 2 mile hike with kids, 20 minute HIIT workout
Saturday 4 mile run, that my garmin only got 3.6 miles of due to slowness finding satellites.

normally I don't really workout this much in a week, but I had to use up some PTO hours at work since they expired at the end of the month, so I had the whole week off.  It was so nice. I could get used to that!

 

The FedEx man delivered some new shoes for me yesterday.  I was excited to get up early this morning and run in them.  I even had a dream that I slept in and missed my run! No worries though I was out of bed by 4 am and out the door by 5.

On our walk yesterday we walked to a gravel pit (exciting I know) but the kids wanted to look for cool rocks.  They also found lots of sand to play in and wanted to take it home.  They lost interest when I told them I wasn't going to carry it, but they could bring home whatever they could carry.

Cola found something in the road he was really suspicious of.  It was like a piece of gunnysack, but it must have smelled funny because it made him really nervous.

Little cowgirl was loving the "big dandelions" (western salsify)

 Cade found an old frying pan in the ditch and was not impressed I made him pose with it, especially after he found an ant on it. He refused to smile for this.

 

Hope you are having a good weekend! Don't forget to check out the super moon tonight.  I think it will be cloudy here so we may not see it. 

 

 

Three Things Thursday

1. My daughter decided she wanted a flower garden this year. So I let her call this little one hers.  A few of the perennials came back from last year, but it was still looking pretty barren so we picked up some petunias that were on sale to add to it.

Ta-da!  The petunias are supposed to spread out good, so hopefully in another couple of weeks it will fill in nicely. 

I really hate spending money on this sort of thing. Especially if they are just going to die every year.  I need to just invest in some good perennials and be done with it. I just have such a hard time since it just doesn't interest me in the least!

2. I had another great crack of dawn run this morning, although I left earlier than I yesterday so I could try out my new hat. Yesterday 5 am, this morning 4:48. Next time I am going to try to be out even earlier so I can really try it out. Like 4:30 early.  I am awake anyway.  My internal alarm clock seems to be stuck on 3:30 am.  not cool.

Four miles.  Four super slow miles.  I might have had a moment in the second mile where I was just so happy to be running I might have had to wipe away a tear.  or maybe I was crying over the mosquito bite on my right butt cheek.. seriously, he bit me right through my capris!

 

3. I signed up to get PVbody or whatever is was, way back in December, but I ended up sending back what I was sent because I hated it.  Then they changed to Ellie.com and I kept opting out of my monthly order.  I wasn't loving what they had to offer

Last month I decided to give in and try it.  The collection was so cute. I loved both the tank and the capris I received,  so I ordered again this month.  I once again love what I got. I just didn't get quite what I thought I was going to. 

Seriously, the one on the left is what I selected and the one in the collage is what I got.  Their photo does not represent.  I do LOVE the feel of this fabric it just does not look like the same shirt to me.

I seriously doubt I would buy anything from them without the monthly thingy where you can get two pieces for 49.95.  Roughly twenty-five dollars a piece for two things I love seems like a great deal to me.  I would never pay the $64 they have that shirt priced at without the monthly deal, but $25ish I can justify, that is really comparable to Target prices and in my opinion a way better shirt.  This fabric is the bomb.

 

This really isn't supposed to be an ellie review I just wanted to show what a different shirt I got than what I thought I would be getting. Seriously, does it look the same to you? No matter how much I squint, and or enlarge the picture I cannot see that it is. 

What's Beautiful..not meeting my goal.

This post is sponsored by Under Armour through Fitfluential

So last weekend was my What's Beautiful goal race.  I wanted to run a 10k and get a shiny new PR.

I didn't do it.  Instead I did back to back hikes, first with my son and then with my whole family.  I have been struggling with a quad injury since in the beginning of May. I am barely running three miles, 6.2 miles at faster than a 7:10 (PR pace) was completely out of the question.

Sometimes what ends up being beautiful isn't what you don't do like rocking a PR , but what you do instead, how you react to the situation you are in. I amended my goal.

 I have been trying to be so patient while my quad heals.  Not easy since  it is hard to do anything that doesn't involve your quad to some extent and I am NOT good at sitting around doing nothing. Real bad at it actually.

I do feel like it is getting better in slow minuscule increments.  Now and then it seems to take a step back and I get discouraged.

Realistically I know no PRs will be waiting for me this year.  I intend to return slowly and deliberately to running and build up a steady base first and then return to speed work once I feel like I have a solid base again.   I am going to start working on running drills too.  I haven't done those since high school track!

Right now I am running no more than three miles with regular walk breaks during the run.  It is feeling better, but not 100%.

Since I can't really focus on running right now, I instead found some yoga DVDs, gone hiking, cycling and used my elliptical. 

This morning I finally got in a crack of dawn run.  They are my favorite this time of year.  Something is magical about being in the middle of a run when the sun starts coming up.

Pretty sure my little dog was happy I finally quit being so lazy and took him for an early morning run.  I think he loves them too.

So really I am still working toward a 10k PR, just for next year. Strangely the world did not come to a screeching halt just because I can't do races this summer. It also gave a lingering hip issue time to finally heal and gives me more time to spend with my kids.

ignore the whole fanny pack thing.  it isn't flattering

Do you do running drills? If you do which ones are your favorite?

Trying new things

I was cleaning out my fridge last night and had some brussel sprouts I needed to use up, and I wanted to do something different with them so I decided to try them in a slaw.  They are related to cabbage.  Once I started going through the fridge I found a lot of things that needed to be used, a cucumber, half a green pepper and half a yellow pepper, plus some roma tomatoes on my counter so I diced it all up.  I think it made a very pretty addition to supper!

oh, plus I made a vinagrette type dressing with olive oil and white wine vinegar and just a dash of agave syrup.  I think I will make it again tonight with a different vinegar just for fun and play with adding some spices or herbs or something.  It was so good.  I kind of wanted to eat the whole thing by myself and not share it.


Want a closer look? Sure you do, mmmmm.


I also found this at Costco and used it on the baked sweet potato fries last night.  YUM supposedly it contains all 84 trace elements we need to survive.  My daughter likes it because it is pink.

I picked this up at Costco too.  I kept reading about people eating hemp hearts so I wanted in on it too.

Not sure what I thought hemp hearts would taste like, but that wasn't it.  They are kind of nutty.  Pretty good on salads and yogurt.  Plus they are supposed to be super good for you. Check it out.

Nutritional Data

• Three tablespoons of hemp hearts contain 174 calories, 12.5 grams of unsaturated (healthy) fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 11 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber. They are also rich in magnesium, iron, zinc, phosphorous and vitamin E.

Protein

• Hemp hearts contain all the essential amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks for protein. The essential amino acids are the ones our bodies cannot produce; we must get them through our diet. When a food contains all eight essential amino acids it is considered a "complete protein." 
• Essential Fatty Acids

• Hemp hearts are a rich source of essential fatty acids, especially omega-3 fatty acids. The U.S. Department of Agriculture highly recommends regular consumption of omega-3 fatty acids. Like essential amino acids, essential fatty acids must be obtained through diet.

Health Benefits

• Health benefits associated with hemp hearts include reduced risk for heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Hemp hearts may also improve skin problems, arthritis symptoms and mood disorders. source

PS   I ran three miles yesterday  :)

•  

A hiking kind of weekend

Saturday, my daughter stayed with my mom while my little cowboy and I went to a Junior Ranger Program at the Pictograph Caves State Park.  I was a little disapointed with the program, since he was 6 he got put in the little guys group. They had an activity book and only did three things in it.

 I think he would have done well in the 7-11 group, he is going to be 7 in three months. 
Here he is being sworn in as a Junior Ranger. Look how serious he looks!
After the 20 minutes in the Junior Ranger Program we went and explored the trails leading up to the caves.  We pretty much jogged through the whole thing, which was his idea.  I love this kid.
There are two caves with paintings in them, but they have faded a lot and are hard to see.  Luckily they have signs showing you where to look.

After that we had a great lunch together and picked up some picnic type food for later since we were all going for a Father's Day hike and picnic a day early. 

Can you see Cola and my daughter below?

We hiked through some pretty steep areas and the kids did great.
We also found a small cave I had never seen before and I grew up here.  It was full of some kind of small animal poo so we didn't picnic there. 

Where we did picnic had some great shell fossils so of course my little cowboy had to collect some.  He wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up.
The big tragedy was that my daughter had brought two baby dolls along and she lost when of their bottles.  Despite backtracking the way we came when we left we never found it.  Big tragedy.  There might have been a little girl having an episode out in the hills.

You might be able to see in this picture, she has one in a carrier on her back and one in a carrier on the front.
Running...hmmm nope other than the jogging at the state park none, and no biking.  I took the whole weekend off.  Today is Monday so back at it!

Why runners get hurt

I received an email from Runners Connect titled "Why Runners Get Hurt".  It started out like this:

Recent research has shown that as many as 79% of runners get injured at least once during the year.

Stop. Think about that number for a moment.

Nearly 8 out of every 10 runners you see at your next race have been or will be injured sometime that year.

I have to admit that the first thing that popped into my head was

The reason runners get hurt is because we don't like to quit.  We like to believe we are invincible.  We are superwomen/men.  We can't help it, we want to run the extra mile.   We want the endorphin high.  We want to see how much faster we can do that next half marathon/5k whatever.  We get injured because even though we know better we aren't always patient about progressing our training. We don't want to believe our medical professionals when they tell us to NOT run for x amount of time.

We are going to test this every chance we get.  We are stubborn.  You don't run a marathon by being weak and not believing in yourself. 

We get injured because we NEED the run like a popstar needs fans. We define ourselves by our running, how can we be a runner if we can't run? 

We get injured because there are so many fitspo photos with inspirational sayings like

push past the pain
you can feel sore tomorrow or you can feel sorry (how about both?)
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone
the voice in your head that says you can't do this is a liar
It will hurt, but it will be worth it
and seriously on and on! 

and bam the next thing you know you are blogging about your therapy, comeback plan and how running 1 mile pain free is a victory.  How you should have listened to your body a little closer, got new shoes a little sooner or quit the run three miles earlier. You are using your bike for cross training, hoping to do a race at the end of the summer and doing things like concentrating on your core and upper body. 

Upside to being injured, it makes your running shoes last longer, you save money from not paying entry fees and you have more time on your hands to do things like shop for new running clothes when you make your great comeback while you ice your leg.  You can discover hidden talents like handstand push ups.

Any of this ring true or is that just why I got hurt?

Although if you want to read what they had to say about it, you can check it out HERE, they do have some really good pointers, some that are even similar to what I pointed out.

Three Things Thursday: This is CRAZY!

1. I took the kids down to the creek this morning because I needed some willow cuttings (that's a different story) I didn't notice in my big hurry to get out the door that they had on flip flops.  We had to trek a bit through the grass, rocks, brush etc, to get to the willow tree. There used to be a lot of them on the creek bottom but through drought and whatever they are hard to find now.

I was busy pointing out some fossils in the rocks to my kids when suddenly life got interesting.  They both starting screaming and jumping around like we were being attacked by ravenous zombie hordes.  It took me a minute to realize they were freaking out about the ants that were crawling on their feet and up their legs.  Great.

It took me another minute to get all the ants brushed off, kids sort of calmed down and herded back towards the car away from the "killer attack ants".  As I was rolling my eyes at my kids freaked outness I could sympathize by imagining those ants had been spiders.  If there had been spiders crawling up my legs, or theirs for that matter I would have been right there with them freaking out.  It would have been an every man for himself situation.

Gives me the chills to even think about. 






 have a look at my iris blooming

2.  We headed back towards home and a string of good songs kept playing on the radio so we were rocking out in the car.  Just as we got to the driveway Get Your Shine On started playing.  Cade said to me "I wish we could keep driving and listen to the whole song, this in my favorite"  so I earned some Mom is super cool points and we drove circles around the driveway with the radio blasting singing at the top of our lungs.   Cade kept laughing and saying "This is crazy!"   What a fun moment with my kids.    Although my husband is going to wonder about the tracks when he gets home.

I lost some Mom is super cool points when I wouldn't let the kids make magic potions with sand in the bathroom shortly after that.  It's hard being a super cool Mom!



found this one growing in my driveway so I put it in a planter.

3. Went for a bike ride this morning after a ZWOW workout, my legs were pretty tired and I kept having to dodge road graders.  They had the gravel road all worked up so it wasn't very easy to bike on.  Made me work a lot harder!  I tried to do a short run after wards but I didn't like how my quad felt so I called it a workout.  I added in some yoga with 20 minutes of upper body and core work  in the afternoon to round my day out nicely.

Check out my new flexibility! I can now touch my toes standing and sitting!  Woot!

Falling in love

Being an injured runner I find myself with extra time on my hands.  Running, getting ready to run, taking the kids somewhere, etc can often consume up to three hours of my day when you account for driving time, visiting time, etc, etc.

Since I have been not running very much, if at all I have cleaned out my kids rooms and got rid of toys they no longer play with and clothes that are too small. I planted my garden in record time and yesterday shampooed all the carpets in my house.  My kids have also started swim lessons for the summer and so when I take them to that it sucks another two hours out my life. I wish they had some adult lessons too!

Yesterday I went for a 10 mile bike ride and it felt great, if my quad started to bother me I just backed off on the pace and intensity.  Best bike ride I have had in years, I think I loved it so much because I haven't been doing much in the way of cardio and it just felt so good to move! I might be developing a love affair with my bike, although don't tell my bike it will probably get dropped like a hot potato once I can run like a rockstar again.

I also gave in and joined Zuzka's Zgym.  I will probably drop it eventually because I HATE monthly fees that I don't need to have, but I have been a follower of hers so long and I had extra time on my hands after I shampooed the carpets I just gave in and joined.  My kids both went to spend the night at my sister's house so I didn't even have the kids to distract me. I guess I could have been cooking supper... that was next.

Most of her workouts have a lot of jumping type involve the quads a lot type moves so I may have to modify to what my right leg can handle.  I do love her workouts though I credit them with making my a stronger faster and mentally tougher runner. She completely changed the way I worked out at home and I started following her over three years ago when she was on Bodyrock.tv

If you haven't read this yet, stop everything and do it, especially if you have a daughter. http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/wellbeing/8760102/When-your-mother-says-shes-fat
So powerful and true! 

My favorite was the last part

Your body is perfect too. It allows you to disarm a room with your smile and infect everyone with your laugh. It gives you arms to wrap around Violet and squeeze her until she giggles. Every moment we spend worrying about our physical ''flaws'' is a moment wasted, a precious slice of life that we will never get back.

Let us honour and respect our bodies for what they do instead of despising them for how they appear. Focus on living healthy and active lives, let our weight fall where it may, and consign our body hatred in the past where it belongs. When I looked at that photo of you in the white bathing suit all those years ago, my innocent young eyes saw the truth. I saw unconditional love, beauty and wisdom. I saw my Mum.

Love that.  Such a great reminder that my daughter looks to me on how to think about herself.

You are only one run away from a good mood. and a winner!

You are only one run away from a good mood. So true.  I feel like I am one good run away from a good mood.   I am CRAVING a run like a crack addict deprived.  I see open roads and I can almost feel me running down them.  I see my running shoes and I want to hug them to me as if I could absorb some endorphins from them somehow.

It has been 36 days since the last time I went for a "real" run.  9 miles, lots of hills, sweating, loving it.  36 days.  It was also the run that tipped the scales and pushed my leg over the edge.  Not so smart. I knew that day, my leg had a niggle.  I knew I should probably take it easy, but I craved a good run. 

36 days since I had to give up running forever.  Cold turkey.

All right maybe that was a bit dramatic, but 36 days of no real running feels a bit like forever especially when I really thought if I gave it two weeks I would be better.  I may have to break down and go to PT or something.  I really didn't think it was going to take this long to get better.

Miss Zippy shared this article on Facebook this morning that confirmed what I was guessing.  I  at this point am in the 19% loss of my VO2 max and am losing significant muscle power.   Hard not to be a little depressed about that...

If that isn't motivation for getting this problem taken care of I don't know what is.  Anyone have an extra quad I can transplant to my right leg?

Quad strain doesn't seem to be a super common runner problem.  In fact I saw somewhere it is less than 1% of all runner injuries every year. It is hard to find very much on it.  I found a guide to runner injuries and it wasn't on the list.  Although there is another blogger with the same problem, so nice to know I am not alone.

I am going to air up my bike tires and take it for a super easy spin this morning.  Hopefully I can at least do that.  I hate this not running shit, but I am going to suck it up and pretend I like other things too.

and the winner of the Paleo book is....

Jen from Running with the Girls shoot me an email at bugs2001rn at yahoo dot com with your address and I will get that sent to you this week. 

Favorites from Yesterday

Yesterday I went for a run.  3 miles.  The first two felt really really good and the last one I could feel my quad complaining a little, so I just slowed the pace even more. 29 minutes to run 3.2 miles.  But it was running! and on such a beautiful day!

yes I know my lawn looks like crap.

I also looked under my stove, I was looking for those two large lids. 

Found them. and a bunch of other stuff.  Gross, but feels to good to have it clean under there again!

here is what I found.  Sadly, no money!

and because what is cuter than kids and baby animals. You're welcome.

my son wanted to know if he ran really fast if his legs looked like they do in cartoons so we took a video.  He was pretty impressed but still wished they looked like they do in a cartoon when they run really fast.

Happy Friday!  If you are interested I am giving away a Paleo Fitness and Nutrition book.

Healthy Chic, PowerSox and Paleo Fitness

1. Healthy Chic apparently caught wind of me being an injured runner doing some yoga because they asked me to review their site.  They are an online yoga centered store.  Every time a purchase is made from them they donate one meal to a hungry child through their 1 Makes 1 program.  Gotta love that!

They have everything from clothes to supplements to workout DVDs on their site most of which is on sale.  I picked out a tank top and a yoga DVD. 

and remember this tank?


 This is where I got it!

They aren't just all yoga though, there are running, cycling, and workout clothes in general.  Healthy kitchen items like portion control plates, cups and bowls and home workout gear are also included. If you want to follow their social media here are the links.  They have some awesome smoothie recipes on their Pinterest page.

Facebook         Twitter         Google Plus         Pinterest

Healthy Chic has a lot of things to help keep you fit and healthy! If you are interested in getting something from them let me know and I can email you a 15% off your first purchase code. 

Disclaimer..I was given a $25 dollar credit to their online store in exchange for this review.


2. I recently won a pair of PowerSox on a virtual run I did and then was contacted by the company to see if I wanted to have another pair to review on my blog.  Since a girl can never have enough socks I agreed to. 
Not sure which I won and which I was sent to review since they came about the same time, but they are both great socks.  The first is the Advanced Dry, these are my favorites.


 Really lightweight with a little more cushion over the heels and ball of the foot. They are almost mesh like in a few spots and I can see where they will be great for summer running.   No irritation from any seams and so far have held up really well to washing.

I haven't run more than 3 miles at a time in these since I got them about the same time I acquired a quad strain, but I have worn them to work all day and had no complaints. A very comfy sock. They fit snug, but don't constrict the toes at all.  At 10.99 for two pairs they are a pretty good deal.  Right now they are on sale for 8.24 though, so an even better deal if you are in the market for some socks!

The other socks I received are the Gradient Cotton No-Shows, these are considered a women's sport sock.

 I had no complaints about these either.  Once again, I haven't worn them running much, but I have worn them to work and for working out at home.  Very comfy and a little cushier than the Advanced Dry.  I think they are an awesome deal on sale right now 8.24 for three pairs. 

 

PowerSox on Facebook  Powersox on Twitter

Disclaimer..I won one set of socks and was sent the other in exchange for this review.  I was not obligated to give a positive review.  All opinions expressed are my own. I was not compensated in any other way.

3. I was also sent Paleo Fitness: Primal Training and Nutrition to Get Lean Strong and Healthy
What's inside

• A brief overview of the Paleo Diet and the author's personal story
• A brief overview of foods to eat and ones to avoid and why
• A 2 week Paleo meal plan
• What is functional fitness
• Getting Started with Paleo Fitness
• 4 week training plans for 4 different levels
• A guide to the exercises
• Recipes

What I like.

 I don't strictly follow a Paleo diet, but I like a lot of their basic principles. Since I have been injured and not running I switched back to a mostly Paleo diet and have seen my skin clear up, and have lost a couple of pounds.  I love it.

 They promote functional movement and I think that it awesome also.  There are some moves in the book I had never done before but will continue to incorporate into my workouts like the clock push up and the salamander press up.   They also promote high intensity interval training and I am a HUGE fan of that so that is a big plus in their corner.

I don't think the Paleo diet is for everyone some people get down right fanatical about how could you cut out an entire food group.  It is so hard to follow, and when I did it strict I missed the carbs while running so much, but I am not here to argue the merits or downfalls of a paleo diet.  This is a great book as a Paleo primer and for workouts. You can connect with them on Facebook

Want to check out the book for yourself?  Leave a comment below telling me why you want to try it, or any other random thing about this whole post. I will pick a random winner Monday and post it here.  Want to just buy your own copy?  Check it out here.

I was sent a copy of this book to review in exchange for a review on my blog.  I was not obligated to give a favorable review. All opinions expressed are my own.