Guest Post: Creating Better A-Z Workout

Thanks so much Sabrina for letting me take over her little neck of the woods on the internet today! My name is Sarah and I blog over at CreatingBetterTomorrow  I am a mom to twin boys that are just about two years old.  So most days I don’t need a formal workout to keep in shape….I just have to chase them around.  BUT I have a strong passion for health and fitness and for EMPOWERING women to feel stronger, more confident, and healthier.  I have put together an at home workout EVERYONE can do with no equipment and you can do ANYWHERE!

You know how to spell your name right?  Ok, silly question I know.  But this is the alphabet workout.  So you will spell your name and find which exercises you have to do for your workout.  If you have a shorter name or more time, repeat for as long as you have time...I recommend 30 minutes in length.

Alphabet Workout

Spell your name, make your own workout!

Thanks again to Sabrina!  I love putting workouts together JUST LIKE THIS for my online bootcampers.  I do monthly online bootcamps.  They are a great way to get a personal trainer without leaving your house and a much lower cost.  My next round starts August 1st and I’d love to have you join!

I’d love to connect with you more on social media

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Global Running Day!

I linked up with Jonesin' for a Run to answer some questions about Global Running Day! Because if there is one thing us runners like to do just as much as running it is talking about running.

Why do you run?

The short answer is I run for my health.

Before I started running I had gained 80 pounds during my pregnancy.  I lost 25 of it quickly, but the other 55 pounds stuck around for over 2 years.  When, during a routine physical, my doctor discovered high levels of inflammation in my blood I knew something had to change.  I had been experiencing migraines, intense shoulder and neck pain and excruciating stomach pains. It took a few months but I was ultimately diagnosed with leaky gut.  Prior to this diagnosis I had made small changes like cutting out soda and coffee, increasing my water intake to a gallon a day, practicing intermittent fasting and following a high fat, low carb diet.  It wasn't enough.  Over July 4th weekend 2015 I finally jumped on my neighbor's old treadmill that she said I could have and slowly jogged a mile.

I was overjoyed!  I was the fat kid in school and never ran a mile without stopping before in my life.  I averaged a 15 minute mile pace but I didn't care.  Besides, I didn't really know what pace meant back then anyway.  It wasn't too long before I was "training" for my first 5K.  Less than a year later I've completed 9 races including a half marathon.   

How do you plan to celebrate National Running Day?

I think this one is self-explanatory. I'll be running.

How many miles have you run so far this year? Do you have a mileage goal for the year?

Honestly, I have no idea. I made it a goal to keep track starting at the beginning of the year with the goal of hitting 750, but to me it is just one more thing to do and I don't care that much about tallying it all up.

What big events do you have on the race calendar so far this year?

Well, I just completed my first half marathon on May 15. I didn't run it as well as I knew as I could so I didn't know if I would do another one in the fall, but after 3 days I signed up for the Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon in October.

Before I leave for a run I must have: 

Oh lord, where do I start? I'm a very ritualistic person and because of all of my health issues there is a lot of prep work I have to do before going for a run. I even blogged about it HERE.

Do you track your runs? If so what do you use?

I use a Garmin Forerunner 620 that my husband purchased for me for my last birthday.

Who is your favorite running partner?

My friend, Ang. She's been running forever and ran her first marathon in the fall. I was so proud!

What races have you run so far this year?

• Lowell First Run 10K
• Snowflake Shuffle 3 Miles
• Fat Tuesday 5K
• Shamrock Shuffle 2 Miler
• Northshore 10 Miler
• Cinco de Miles 5K
• Gate City Half Marathon
• Boston's Run to Remember 5 Miler

Up Next:

• Rockin' Ribfest 5 Miler
• Finish at the 50 10K
• Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon

If you have to give someone one piece of advice about running, what would it be?

Start small by setting small, short and achievable goals. Then, go buy yourself some nice running shoes. Talk to your running friends and find a store that does professional fittings. Your feet and legs will thank you.

Me after the first time I ever ran a mile without stopping.  Took me 15 minutes.  I was proud.  

Describe your relationship with running in one word:  

Lifesaving

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10 Tips to Surviving the Week Before Your First Half Marathon

So you're running your first half marathon.  Good for you for being only half crazy!  Ideally, you've put in some serious training over the last 3-4 months and you've followed your training plan to a T or modified it so it fits you to a T whichever the case may be.  Below on some last minute tips to help you survive the final week before the big day.

1.  Hydrate!

Aim for a gallon of water a day.  If you're worried about being up all night to use the bathroom then guzzle most of your water in the morning hours.  Add some Nuun Hydration Tablets so you get the electrolytes without the sugar.

2.  Check your gear. 

Make sure everything is in working order.  Ideally, everything you are using come race day has been broken in so there are no surprises.

3.  Pick Your Mantras.

You will be chanting them in your head, or out loud like a crazy person, when the going gets tough.  

4.  Set Your Playlist

The right music can inspire and motivate you right when you need it most.  Some of my favorite running songs are:

• Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
• Can't Stop Me Now - Queen
• I'm Shipping Up to Boston - Dropkick Murphy's 
• Let's Go Crazy - Prince
• Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
• Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N' Roses
• Stronger - Kanye West
• Work Bitch - Brittany Spears 

5.  Clip Your Toe Nails

This one should be a no brainer.  No one likes bloody socks during a race.  Clip those talons.  

6.  Protein Up!

The week before your big race your nutrition needs to be on point.  Ideally, you've been doing this all along with your training so there are no surprises on the big day that lands you in the long porta-potty lines doing a crazy dance.  Protein is important because it helps build and repair muscles.  Carbs are great for a quick burst of energy, but red meat will deliver the nutrients your body needs to feed those muscles that are deep down inside.  While your at it, add an egg a day, I prefer hard boiled, to clean out your liver.

7.  Rest

This is probably the most important step.  Don't overdue it.  You don't want to risk an injury or deplete yourself this close to reaching your goal.

8.  Make a Mental Plan

Think about how you are going to pace yourself.  Research and plan which water stops you are going to stop at and which ones you might even want to walk through.  For longer races, water stops often include fuel like Honey Stinger Chews.  It's a good idea to know which ones those are so you aren't making any unplanned stops and in the process add valuable seconds to your finish time.  

9.  Stick to Your Plan

This one goes back to #7.  Run when your plan says run, rest when it says rest and cross-train when it says, well you get the idea.  The last week before your race is not the time to start adding in extra runs.  

10.  Pack Your Bags

Dress rehearsal time!  Make sure you've picked out what you are going to wear from your socks to your headphones and that you have some experience using them.  Again, to avoid surprises on race day everything on your body should have been worn before.  

Put everything you are going to need for race day into your bag.  Pack extras!  For women, I suggest packing a few extra hair ties in case they break because who wants to deal with a sweaty mess of hair while you are trying to focus on your form?  After my 10 miler I had packed flip flops and my feet were so thankful especially since we had an hour car drive home.  

If you have any other tips to add, please share them below!  I've found that the best advice comes from other runner's mishaps because  it's the little things, like hair ties, that can make or break a race for you.

Why I Won't Cuddle My Daughter Anymore

For this week, I naively rearranged my half marathon training schedule so I could capitalize on the predicted sunny and warm spring weather. That meant Monday and Tuesday were rest days with a few rounds of strength training.  I enjoyed the downtime and was even able to perform the Food Intolerance Test my nutritionist gave me. Life was good and everything was going smoothly.

Then I had to put my 3 year old daughter to bed.

Over the last several weeks I've grown to dread our once private and pleasant Mommy - daughter cuddle fests in her big girl bed. She would tell me all about who hit and pushed who in her Nursery Class and I would listen with rapt attention. Then something changed. She became wild at bedtime and our cuddles turned into kicks and headbutts. It was painful. I barely endured it. I secretly didn't want to cuddle with her anymore.

Ahoy, mateys!  It's a pirate's life for me.

This particular Tuesday night was no different from the rest. She went bonkers at bedtime.  All of my questions to find out the events of her day were answered with silly noises and nonsense. I finally sang her the bedtime song she's had since she was a baby: "Soft Kitty" from the TV show The Big Bang Theory. At the end I leaned in for one last kiss and it was met with the most horrific pain I've ever felt. It took everything I had to not scream and fling obscenities at her. I managed an, "I'm all done with this!" before I stormed out the door and slammed it behind me.

I ran into the bathroom to quickly wash my face in the hopes of alleviating some pain. It almost helped.

I jumped into the shower and tried to forgot that my 3 year old just punched me in the eye.

Only, she didn't punch me in the eye, but I didn't know that yet. Even when I woke up at 3 am with a swollen eye that dripped tears like a leaky faucet I didn't think anything different, just, "Wow, she got me good!"  At 5:30 am when my alarm went off and I quite literally stumbled out of bed and couldn't open my right eye because of the blinding pain, I started to get concerned.

I told myself and my husband that I just needed some ice and ibuprofen and I'd be fine. Don't worry about me. I've got this. I even straightened my hair with a burning hot flat iron with my eyes closed thinking I'd still be going to work.

I'm in total control. I've got this.

2 hours of icing my eye and 800 MG of ibuprofen later and I was ready to relinquish control and give up. Somewhere around the 1 hour mark I had called work to let them know I'd be a little late, "Oh no big deal, my daughter punched me in the eye and I'm blind now."

 It was now time to wave the white flag and call the doctor's office.

After explaining my situation and admitting that just maybe, maybe my daughter didn't just punch me in the eye but she actually scratched it, the nurse told me that I had better come in to get checked out and not to drive.

1 mile walk from hell, but we met a cat.

Luckily, my father lives only a half hour away so he was able to drive me to my appointment which was a good thing because by that point the only way I felt good was to lay down with my eyes closed. The dangerous part about that was my 3 year old, who was home with me, knows how to open doors. She kept begging me to go out and play. As tempted as I was to kick her out of

the house for beating me up, I silently thanked our landlord for installing a deadbolt and crawled back to the couch.

The doctor confirmed my suspicion - I had a scratched cornea.   When putting Scarlett to bed she hadn't punched me, she scratched the outer protective layer of my eye and left a good sized abrasion.

The remedy was an eye patch, eye drops and a follow-up appointment in 2 days. Oh, and no work or driving for the rest of the day. Sounds great, right?

Needless to say, the rest of my day was spent watching kids' TV shows and "relaxing" while watching my 3 year old with my eyes closed. Because I'm stubborn as hell, we managed to take a 1 mile walk around the neighborhood which I almost instantly regretted.

 And I thought I was going to run 7 miles that day!

"Mommy, I'm a pirate!"  Glad you think it's funny, kid.

A very sweaty 5K 3 days "after."

In the end, (a lot of) wine was consumed, a candy bar was eaten and I resumed normal activities the next day. By Friday, I was running again and that same day I found out the abrasion was completely gone. Who knew the eyes heal so quickly? 

I know you are all wondering if I still snuggle with Scarlett at bedtime anymore and the answer is I do not. She knows she poked mommy in the eye and it made her a pirate for the day, which was not as fun as it may seem.  She's not happy I won't cuddle in her big girl bed anymore but she knows that when she learns to settle down we will try again. Until then I simply sing her our bedtime song, give her a kiss while I hold her hands down to her sides and then quickly flee the room because this Momma is no dummy.