Lauren (Sweat Junkie) is our winner with the lucky number one! Thanks to all who participated. Lauren, please let me know your preferred size and color, plus your mailing address.
If you didn't win, don't forget to use the code Ragnar20 for $20 off these amazing shorts!! Have a great long weekend and run on!
Thanksgiving week is upon us! Don't forget to get out there and get
your bodies moving this week!! 2012 has been an epic year in terms
of fitness around here, and 2013 is going to be even better. As I'm
sure you *might* have heard, we're kicking off 2013 with a bang with
Ragnar Relay Florida Keys in January. We're grateful to have Aspaeris Pivot Shorts (APS) on board as one of our amazing sponsors for the race.
These compression shorts are amazing--here is the official description from the Aspaeris website:
Aspaeris Pivot Short™
Aspaeris Pivot Shorts™ are actually
two pairs of shorts bonded together. The Outer Short is a high
performance compression short designed to support your muscles. The
Inner Short features our breakthrough, Dual Sensory Compression Bands™.
These cross-knit bands guide your
muscles into the proper position, thereby improving your pivot
performance, which helps prevent ACL and hip injuries.
The Aspaeris Pivot Short™ is not an
ordinary compression short. Athletes who try the APS™ report feeling
more confident in their ‘pivot moves’ and almost all feel more in
control without being restricted.
Here is a picture of these shorts in action on Amanda, AKA TooTallFritz (Ragnar teammate and motivator extraordinaire). Amanda (who runs all distances) says that these shorts help ease the soreness in her legs and really DO aid in recovery. I personally can't wait for mine to arrive so I can try them out :-)
I'm excited to announce that this week I get to say a big THANK YOU to you guys, my wonderful readers, by giving away a pair of these great shorts in your size and color of your choice--a $60 value--so that you can try them out too!
How to enter (you can earn up to 10 entries):
Become a follower by email or subscribe (links on the right side) – 1 entry
Share this post on your blog and announce the giveaway to your followers – 4 entries
Leave a comment and let me know what you've done and how many entries to assign to you. The winner will be chosen on FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23rd using Random Number Generator.
If you don't win, or just can't wait to get your hands on a pair of these beauties, hop on over to the Aspaeris website and save $20 using the coupon code RAGNAR20.
Good luck and have an excellent Thanksgiving week!
Halloween has come and gone. And the season of gluttony in the food department has begun. First was Halloween with too much sugar. Next up: Thanksgiving, when we all stuff ourselves beyond all reason. Then begins the onslaught of holiday parties. Cookies. Sweets. So many delightful bits of things to eat. Eek! Whether you are training for a marathon or just trying to get on the healthy train, you know what I mean . . .
And the next thing you know you are feeling like this, even as you do things that are good for you . . . like running or working out or yoga.
Fortunately, staying on track (or lets be real, getting back on track because most of us are going to fall off the wagon at least a little this holiday season!) . When you find yourself overindulging or just feeling yucky, follow these simple steps to get back on track:
HYDRATE - drink you water, folks! Often times our body mistakes thirst for hunger.
EAT WELL - Make sure the stuff you are putting in your body is REAL food. With actual nutrition. If you need to, track your calories or do a food log for a few days, so that you can keep track of what you are consuming.
DON'T GET DISCOURAGED - You are not starting from scratch. You did not fail by eating poorly. You do not need to eat crap to compensate for your short comings. You are fueling your body. If you feed it crap you will feel like crap. If you need to, set a few short term goals for yourself to help stay on track.
Its really not as easy as 1-2-3. Nothing about this is easy, but its important. Living well means living a longer, more fulfilling life. Remember that bad days are going to happen. Three bad days do not make for a bad month. But you have to get right back on track and not forget your goals. Whatever they may be. So if in the next few months, you feel yourself adrift, come back to these three basic principals. Happy Wednesday!
We've all seen the Allstate Mayhem guy. I don't know how it is for you, but it seems like Mayhem and Chaos like to follow our family around. Our family blog is called Utter Chaos for a reason, just like this blog is about life BEYOND the chaos. Mayhem and chaos, in the form of a huge work backlog, conflicting schedules, meetings, and/or kids sporting events are just a part of the fun wheel of life. Finding MOTIVATION to do what needs to be done, on the other hand, is often easier said than done.
I am a master procrastinator. It comes from being stretched so thin--I
often like to put things off as long as possible because there is always
something that needs doing.
When I'm doing distance training, I tend to put start procrastinating. Its really hard to say "Go for a 6 mile run!" when you are as slow as I am . . . its not exactly a 30 minute affair. But for some reason, finding the motivation this season is SO much easier than it has been in the past. And strangely, it isn't the Ragnar relay looming 10 weeks away that gets me out and running these days. Its this basic principle:
2012 has been an amazing year for racing for me . . . but I've also seen and heard some crazy stories. One of my gym friends was hit by a car while running. The lady I volunteer with at races was telling me about the pro volleyball player that she used to work with who broke her back. My good friend (and Ragnar co-hort, yay!) TooTallFritz who completely ruptured something important in her foot while training for a Ragnar ultra team. My amazing yoga friend Susan, who I often forget broke her back in a car accident. The ladies on Team Tough Chik who are injured and unable to do what they love--those ladies encourage me daily just by saying how they love hearing what we are doing while they can't.
Life is short and you don't know what is around the next corner. You never know how long you will be able to do what you can, so there is absolutely no excuse not to get out there. Yes, you may be tired. Yes, there are 100 other things that need your attention. But part of the journey is challenging yourself. Enjoy that journey. Embrace it. Because you never know when the chance is going to be gone.
One of the things I am (sort of) dreading about really getting into distance training again for the Ragnar Relay is focusing on the mileage. Because I don't want my entire week to be defined by how many miles I did. My kids are little and while I love for them to be exposed to an active lifestyle, I don't want to cross that line where they feel like ALL that I do is run. They will only be little for so long and I don't want to look back, regretting not spending more time with them.
So I absolutely love it when a run turns into a fun fitness experience for the whole family. As a part of our weekly routine, we usually take my older son to school and then my daughter and I do the 3 mile loop with her in the jogger. We did this last week . . . our 3 mile loop took longer than it should have, but we bird watched, we chatted, she got out and raced me a few times. Those were the best three miles of the week, even if they were the slowest. Or day like today, when the 1 mile trip to school becomes a race to who see can bike the fastest (while I wheeze and groan as I try to keep up with the two of them on foot). Because while I want to get stronger, be faster, and go longer, I also want my kids to love that I do it. So that they will continue to love it too.
So while I strive to improve myself every day, I also focus on more than just the miles. Living a life with no regrets. Helping others on their journey through encouragement and kind words. Helping my kids grow up to be productive, responsible individuals that can change their own little corner of the world.
Make the things you do count. Count your miles, but also count the ways you make positive changes--in your life and in the lives of others. In your kids. In your friends at the gym. In the way you treat a perfect stranger.
If you haven't figured it out by now, I used to have really crappy self esteem. Loving and being happy with myself is something I struggle with daily. Even though I **KNOW** I am fit and do things many people can't/won't/don't, I sometimes continue to compare myself to the "ideal". Thinking well of myself continues to be a growth process.
THIS IS WHAT TOUGH LOOKS LIKE. Yes! Talk about major positive mantra. Because I call myself a lot of things, good and bad, but I KNOW I am tough. I sometimes get frustrated because I feel like I have to work harder than everyone else to get to the same place, and sometimes the results (really, my weight) doesn't reflect the effort. But Tough? Heck ya!
2012 has been a breakthrough year for me--Joining Team Tough Chik, racing 4
sprint triathlons in as many months and PLACING for the first time in my life,
my first half marathon . . . just in general realizing there is nothing I can't
do. That I am fit and strong. Even though the number on the scale says I
am obese and "at risk". Finally releasing a lot of the anger
associated with the fat that acted as a defense mechanism growing up. I
am not perfect. But I will not let the scale define me. I do
not fit a mold. I may not look like an endurance athlete, but I am. And
none of that wouldn't have happened if having my little girl hadn't spurred
me to make a change in my life.
We each have a unique story that makes us who we are. Yours makes you
awesome. Take your life, and if you aren't happy with something, CHANGE
IT. We do not all come from a single mold, so we all have our own stories, lives and paths. It doesn't mean we can't achieve the secret dreams we have for ourselves.
Being a Tough Chik means so much to me. Beyond the great people I've met, it also forces me to reflect on what TOUGH really is.
TOUGH is pushing yourself
TOUGH is also knowing when to listen to your body
TOUGH is feeding yourself right so you can do amazing things
TOUGH is never compromising your values
TOUGH is asking for help when you need it
TOUGH is making the conscious decision to see the beauty in your life
TOUGH is believing . . . IN YOURSELF.
This phrase is so true--not just in workouts, but in life. With my "fit-versary" coming up, I feel like I should talk about the catalyst for my biggest change.
I can't believe my daughter is turning 4 in 5 short days. I never even wanted a daughter--I've never been a girlie-girl. Give me bugs, dirt and camping over makeup, princesses and dolls any day of the week. So I was surprised and a little scared when God decided to bless us with a girl. It didn't take me long to realize that **I** was going to a be a role model for her. Me back then didn't love myself. I put myself down, I hated myself every time I looked in the mirror. No self confidence. I always talked about wanting to change, but never did it.
Summer was born and I realized I did not want her to grow up with those same issues. I wanted her to look in the mirror and know she was strong and confident. I KNEW that if I wanted her to have that kind of self esteem, I needed to fix my own first. Because she would learn from me.
I'll never forget one of my first running outings with my dear friend Allison . . . she said to me "You seem really committed. What's different this time?" I told her I was done. I was ready to be more. You have to be ready for change.
I was so blessed, as I began my journey, to have a great support system. Active friends who encouraged me to run. My husband, who stayed home with both kids so that I could go to boot camp. The trainers there pushed me. But I pushed myself too. I never quit. They underestimated me at first and I relished in proving them wrong.
But it was Summer, my beautiful, crazy, always challenging daughter, that made me realize I needed to take the plunge. For me. For her. For every girl who has never felt worthy of love or good things because of her size.
So thanks, baby girl, for making mommy face herself and grow. Its her birthday, but in a way, I was reborn too. And if there is anything I can't stress enough, there is something amazing in each of us. Just waiting to come out.
Last, but not least, I have to share this brilliant ad campaign by Nike. You've probably seen it by now, but it always makes me tear up. Because Greatness really is in each of us. I hope we can show the next generation that.
