A little Fitness Weekend Reading

Am I ever glad it’s Friday. No classes today, just homework.
Blogging in my time out.

So here’s a little more reading for you this weekend.

 

1. Ready to be a streaker? Yeah, me either. No so much in the way you’re probably thinking of. But, if you’re in between training and want to try keeping up a good run streak, you should head over to Runner’s World and join their Summer Running Streak 2012. It runs from Memorial Day (My 28th) to July 4th this year. All you have to do is run one mile a day. A pretty good form of streaking if you ask me. I don’t think I’m going to sign up this year with the way my schedule is, but I’ll still be running. If you do sign up,  use #RWRunStreak when sharing with @runnersworld on twitter. Keep connected with others and encouragement is bound to happen!

2. How many times do you get the weird look when you tell people you run...for fun? Or that you run marathons for fun? I’ve gotten it a few times over the last couple of years, but I always give them a weird look right back and say something to the extent about how I’m going to live longer because I run.Well, this past week the New York Times Well Blog asked if marathon running was bad for your heart. I was super interested in the article because every other running and heart related article I’ve read always says that running is great for cardio. But then things happen, and every once in awhile someone will die during a race, or from complications in training. But is it because of so many logged miles? Is running the culprit? Not necessarily. Like any sort of physical activity, it’s always best to get doctor’s clearance before starting, especially if you’ve been sedentary for a while. Nonetheless, it’s a good article with some interesting info. Check it out.

3. As important as it is to get checked out by the doc before you start running, how many of you runner’s steer clear of him once you’ve started running? I know it took me a bit to see my sport’s doc one my leg started hurting. And even now I’m tired of not being able to be diagnosed or fixed, so I just quit with the appointments and keep running through the pain. Which sometimes, I don’t even take the time to notice. Interesting that a new review form German researches talks about the pain tolerance in athletes while training. The Sweat Science blog on Runner’s World  posted some quotes from the full review, and I totally have bullet point number three down. “While athletes showed increased pain tolerance, they didn't show any difference in pain threshold (the level of stimulus at which they start perceiving pain). In other words, it's not that athletes don't feel pain -- they feel it the same as everyone else, but they've learned to cope with or ignore it.” I’ve got the coping mechanism down!

4. I’m pretty sure if you already do yoga you don’t really need this list. And if I could do my job convincing you, you wouldn’t need it either. But here’s just a few more reasons why, if you’re an endurance athlete, yoga is AHmazing for your body: Why every Athlete should do Yoga. Sometimes I just like to read articles/list like these to convince myself again why yoga would be a good thing for my day. Print it out. Hang it up on your mirror. Just tell yourself to do yoga. I promise it will feel good.

Alright folks. A short list today, but I’ve had my nose stuck in education books for the most part. Besides, it’s Memorial Day weekend. Get outside, cookout, spend time with family. But don’t forget the most important part of this weekend. To remember those who gave their lives for our freedoms.
If you get the chance to thank a soldier/veteran this weekend, do it.
I promise you that will feel better than yoga.

Picture source: 2passthetorch.com

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

________
Find joy

Fit Links! Fit Links! Get ‘em While They're Hot!

Ladies and Gents! Welcome to the last early edition of the Friday Fit Links!
Today’s edition comes to you from one super happy Cait, and this is her last full day of work. Scary and joyous all at the same time.

But, without further ado,  time for some weekend reading.
1. If you’ve been reading, you know I’m not one to 1. pass up sweets and 2. supplement meals with shakes, bars, and meal replacements. But, I think I have found my new after workout meal and/or nightly dessert. I discovered Dashing Dish this week from pinterest. She’s an RN who now cooks and blogs full time, offering health coaching, specific meal plans, and some workout plans. Not only do most of her recipes looks absolutely delish, but she offers her Dashing DishTM Official Protein Shake. I’m more of a Greek yogurt shake based girl, so I’m interested in the cottage cheese base. I’m not picturing something very tasty, but the Cake Batter Protein Shake…I don’t know… I don’t think I can pass up trying it.

2. While on topic of food, a new study has shown a new link between drinking lots of coffee and living longer. I’m all for it, though, I have to stop my coffee consumption by ten or I won’t sleep at night. Which is what makes me wonder about this study. Too much caffeine = lack of sleep. Lack of sleep = decreased life. If a=b and b=c then  according to the law of Math, therefore, too much caffeine = decreased life which technically would null and void the new study, right? So since I’m a genius and just figured out that this new research isn’t sound, feel free to contact the New England Journal of Medicine . I’ll even let you have some of the credit.
But I’m still going to drink my 1-2 cups of coffee every morning.
3. At one point in my injury annoyance, the doc said my Piriformis was tight. I responded with, “there’s a reasoning behind the pain in my butt besides my brother?” Anyway, the Piriformous is this crazy muscle in our butts that can actually get really tight from running and can cause a lot of different issues: sciatic nerve pain (the P runs right over it and so when tight, presses down on the nerve), related pain in the IT Band, etc. And quite literally, a pain in the butt. It’s not always a tight muscle, either, that cause the issues, but a weak and over worked one.  Over the last couple of years my P has annoyed me, but I’ve learned to keep the flair down by rolling my butt around on a tennis ball and stretching the area, not too mention strengthening the area. What better reason to get my butt lookin’ good than to get rid of pain? I’ve found  pigeon pose is the best stretch for the area, but here’s a short series with a few more stretches that I also love. Via Sage Rountree and Runner’s World

4. A blogger who runs posted this via Twitter this week, and I found it appropriate given my The 25th Year quest. And so, I give you the Quarter Life Crisis Test. Never fear, I only scored a 4  so I “must be so magnificent at life that [I]have little to no cares in the world” Basically, I’m not having a quarter life crisis as I thought I was. However, as of today I am doing #2 (quitting my job to chase my dreams), #5 is a regular occurrence, the second part of #12 was a constant though this past year, and #13 is my everyday thought. But according to this test, I’m not having a crisis. I’ll just keep telling myself that.

5. Speaking of crisis, here’s one more reason I really need to get my anxiety under control. I was reading a few health articles on EmpowHer this week, and found this one interesting: Chronic Stress: A Major Suspect in Alzheimer’s Study Says. Not really something I want to hear 1. because I stress way more than I need too and 2. Alzheimer’s runs in my family. There’s a lot of medical jargon in the issue, but if you can past the language, it’s really interesting. It make me think more about how I must get a handle on my stress. Not only does it effect my life in the now, but it could play a major factor down the road. Alzheimer’s is something close to my heart because my family has been affected by it, and I think it’s one of the reason’s I’m a writer. I want to preserve memories as best I can.

6. Something else close to my heart is our military and our veterans. Now, I’m no good at fundraising, (I only sold those candy bars and meat and cheese trays to my family) but since I’m going to be tackling a first this fall with the marathon, I thought, why not go full force and try running for a cause? I haven’t officially signed up for either, but when I do, I think I’m going to be signing up to become an athlete for Team RWB. Their vision is to transform the way wounded veterans are reintegrated into society when they return from combat and exit their position. And that is something I believe in considering I have a veteran in my own life. I encourage you to check out Team RWB and support them!

7. Lastly, I am going to leave you with some humor. If you haven’t caught on to the viral sensation of the Hey Runner Girl Tumblr blog, then let me introduce you. 

That definitely just happened. A whole blog of Ryan Gosling talking to us runner girls. Not only is it a nice blog to look at, but it’s quite hilarious. Check it out. Have a laugh. Enjoy.
Alright readers, that’s it for today.
Have a good Friday!
Passing the Baton: Any fitness links you’ve read this week that you’d like to add?? I need some reading myself!
______
Seek Peace. Find Joy.

EmpowHER

 

I wanted to take a moment to tell you to check out EmpowHer because I have recently become a part of their blogger network!

EmpowHER is a GREAT social health community for women, providing numerous resources to help us improve our health and well-being. In the words of the company,

 

 

EmpowHER.com provides visitors access to one of the largest women's health and wellness content libraries on the web, as well as the largest online community of women discussing their health and wellness issues. EmpowHER promotes a "24 Hour Promise" to its visitors, who can come to the site, ask any health question and receive a response within 24 hours. Health care marketers rely on EmpowHER for reaching the most influential health and wellness buying audience on the Internet -- women. Millions of women visit EmpowHER.com every year, making it one of the largest and fastest-growing resources dedicated exclusively to women's health and wellness.

Take some time to check out the community and get involved with discussions about health concerns or questions that you may have.