Skip to main content

Things I Love Thursday - Running Bliss

After several days of not running (of not really doing anything at all) last week, I finally had my energy back and was feeling like giving running a try. So I set out for the water park on Saturday morning. For 12 miles, I remembered why I love running. My legs felt good. There was lots of shade. My potty/water stops were spaced perfectly. Even with my lungs not at 100%, runs don't come much better than this. My family picked me up a little over a mile from the water park so we could stop and get some chocolate milk and I could do a quick change into my bathing suit (in the car - I'm skilled like that).

While I was running, I realized I could compare my run to the wedding tradition...

Something Old - I have a pair of SmartWool socks that I've had for a few years and have worn off and on. I wore them for a long run last month and have worn them for every long run since. I love them. I always thought my WrightSocks were the best for blister prevention, but my SmartWools are even better. I have noticed a few hot spots, but they haven't turned into blisters even on my longest runs. And they actually keep my feel pretty cool and dry, in spite of being wool!

Something New - I haven't been listening to music on any of my outdoor long runs. This is a first for me. I have always listened to music indoors and outside and racing. It has been surprisingly nice. I have been amazed at how steady my pace stays and how easily the time and miles pass without it. Now I just have to decide if I will run with or without it during my half on Saturday.

Something Borrowed - On one of my DailyMile posts, Becky L. suggested paying attention to my cadence to help my ITB issues. I discovered I already have a pretty quick cadence, but paying attention to it and keeping it steady at a 170-180/min really seemed to help. My IT band was considerably better on this long run than on the past few. I have also been doing the ITB rehab exercises Lydia H. recommended in the same post comments.

Something Blue - I am digging the Mountain Blast blue Powerade. Hopefully this will make it easier at races because I have seen it at a lot of them. Too often there hasn't been something my stomach can handle, so I've had to stick to water or take my handheld.

What is something old, something new, something borrowed or something blue in your running world?



**If there is anything you just need to know about me, now is your chance. Be sure to ask me your questions on my Q&A post. **

Comments

  1. What a clever post! I'm glad your IT band issues have been better and that you've found a good drink. Good luck on your half this weekend!
    Love the smart wool. I do my laundry in the winter around those socks.
    Something old... old navy bra. Love it. I do my laundry around it as well. Of course I don't have some big girls to support either.
    Something new... shorts that I bought at the Utah Valley Expo. I am in love with them.
    Something borrowed... while you're going without music, I've been borrowing tunes off of others playlists.
    Something blue... hmmm. that's a tough one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Something Old: Socks. I have these (I'm assuming) cheap-o athletic socks that I have no idea where I got or anything, but they're my favorite for running. I have never had problems with them.

    Something New: Garmin 305, with which I am quickly falling in love, haha.

    Something Borrowed: My running skirt, which technically wasn't borrowed; it was given to me. Most of my music is "borrowed" from my brother, so there's that, too...

    Something Blue: Hrmm... Blue stripes on my adidas shoes :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. fun post! okay...you need to tell me more about the ITB stuff on Saturday when I see you...I am totally needing some new stretch ideas + some ideas for my training runs so as not to aggravate it as much as I do now.

    Something new: just got new shoes!! woo hoo!

    something borrowed: workout ideas!

    something old: sports bras...i need some new ones. haha!

    something blue: powerade 0! yeah!

    ReplyDelete
  4. So glad I read this it reminded me to plug in my ipod for my long run today, I am hoping my legs aren't feeling tired anymore too! Something old? My music sometimes I like to listen to 80's music or old school country
    new- my sports bras are all handfuls these days
    borrowed? tips from other bloggers
    Blue my shoes!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love this post Candice! As far as the music dilema goes I go through the same thing with every race. I train without it for the most part but for the last few races I have taken it and started without it. If I need it it is there and if not I ran without it. Sometimes when you are hitting a wall at the end of a race it can be a good distraction.

    I'm excited to see you in the am! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. It is great that you can run to a water park, good motivation and nice spot for recovery.
    2 summers during college, working as a lifeguard, I perfected the change-in-car routine. Now, I wonder why I didn't just get changed once I got to the pool?
    I've only run once in the past 2 weeks so I can only say Something New: Another ultra in about a month, if Life agrees with that idea.
    Be kind to your ITB today and have fun at your race tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I was having IT Band issues and started watching my cadence for another reason, but now that you mention it, I'm realizing my IT Band hasn't hurt all week! Have fun at the half!

    ReplyDelete
  8. happy your itb issues are improving. I'm struggling with mine right now, heading off to check out others suggestions

    ReplyDelete
  9. ITB issues are the worst, congrats for figuring yours out!

    ReplyDelete
  10. It was so great to meet you in person! And now you have another follower as well. And I'm glad that the cadence thing worked out for you a bit! It certainly has worked magic for me!

    ReplyDelete
  11. GEEZ!
    12 mile run! I wish I could do that! I also remember drinking that powerade! AND I will totally be adding you as a friend on Daily Mile! AWESOME you belong to it! PS hope your race went well this past weekend!

    http://annawalker1992.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love your comments! They make my day, so be sure to let me know you stopped by. And I always try to respond to your comments, so let me know if you have any questions for me or if there is anything you want to see on here!

Popular posts from this blog

Carpet Burn On My Butt (and a giveaway)

After two lame, pathetic, lackluster weeks of running, I woke up excited to run yesterday. And today, I wore my running clothes all morning in anticipation of my nap time run today. Even in spite of sore glutes and tired quads from getting in some P90X Core Synergistics last night, I couldn't wait to get moving on Millie. I am a planner. Today I had a plan to get my run in while my girls slept, and my day was organized accordingly. I am also a creature of habit. The first thing I do when I roll out of bed every single day is make my bed and my girls' beds. If I do something else first, it throws off the entire morning. I am a creature of habit when it comes to my running routines as well. There are a few things that differ depending on whether I am running on Millie or outside, whether my girls are asleep or not, and whether or not they are joining me in the jogger. Yet, no matter when, where, how far or with whom I run, some things are always the same. My hair goes into a pony

I wasn't sure going in...

Yep, I'm checking in. Why? Because I did something completely out of my comfort zone that I wanted to share with you. Last week I went to a place near Salt Lake called Dexa Body, where I got a DEXA Scan. For those unfamiliar with what that is, I asked Google to help us out:  "Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry  ( DXA , previously  DEXA ) is a means of measuring  bone mineral density  (BMD). Two  X-ray  beams, with different  energy levels , are aimed at the patient's  bones . When  soft tissue   absorption is subtracted out, the  bone mineral density  (BMD) can be determined from the absorption of each beam by bone. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry is the most widely used and most thoroughly studied bone density measurement technology." Since that is pretty medical sounding, here's my take. A DEXA Scan is a tool to measure your total body composition. It specifically breaks down the regional composition of your lean and fat tissue. It gives a fat distribution

Social Media: Some good, a lot of bad, and way too much ugly

There are a lot of good things that come from social media. We can connect with people we have lost touch with. We can unite as a group (runners!!) with a comment interest. We can promote a good cause. Sadly though, what social media does best is makes us feel bad about ourselves and makes us feel negatively towards others. This isn't just my opinion, although I can unquestionably support the truth behind this based on my own experience. I have spent way too much time feeling bad about myself as a result of comparing myself to others based on their Instagram or Facebook versions of themselves. And there are several people I have started feeling negatively about or have become completely annoyed with because of their IG and FB posts. It isn't just me though. There are actual studies that can back me up on the negative impact social media can have. I have read dozens of articles reviewing many different studies that show the overwhelmingly negative (vs. positive) effec