Running Saved My Life

Last week marked 4 years of me using Nike Plus!! 4 years, that means that for 4 years I have been a runner!! Can you believe it because I can’t. I never in a million years thought I would end up being a runner, I thought running was for crazy people because why run when you can swim!!

I have come a long way in 4 years. I remember when I first received the Nike plus chip it seemed so scary and controlling, and I had my share of scary and controlling at that point. Why did I need something to track my runs, can’t I do that myself!! I realize that the Nike Plus chip held me accountable to getting out there and getting active, it got me out there to run when I wanted to sit on my couch in my PJ’s and watch another re-run of Sex in the City and pretend I was Carrie – yes I was that girl.

I have recently gone back to look at my very first running stats on NikePlus, back when I used to think that 3 miles was a long run and ran a 10’50” mile. I really have come a long way. A short run for me is now 4 miles and I no longer run a 10’50” mile I am more a sub 8 mile these days. Nike plus just didn't help me lose weight and look better I believe that it saved my life!! Not Nike plus but running!!

Nike plus gave me the motivation to get myself out the door. These past 11 months; training for my first marathon – thank you Nike Women and Marie Purvis to opening my eyes to marathon training - training to Boston qualify has saved me from myself.

At the age of 12 I began to suffered from an eating disorder of some type - anorexia, bulimia, binge eating - and I believe that a small part of me has always suffered from body dysmorphia, even at a very young age.

Growing up aboriginal didn't help me with my body dysmorphia, if anything it made it BIGGER than it already was. I grew up in a very white community where all the girls were beautiful with blond hair and blue eyes they all looked like movie stars and Barbie dolls and I always thought I wasn't as beautiful as these girls, I thought beauty was being blonde with blue eyes. I remember approaching a group of girls at recess one day and I politely said “Can I play trolls with you” – my parents always gave me the newest toy so I would be able to fit in with my peers – they looked at me and said “we only play with girls who have hair down to their shoulders, and your hair is longer than that so we can’t play with you” – at that time my hair was down to my waist. I went home and cried for hours I was so miserable, this is the first time I actually remember looking in the mirror and thinking I was ugly and not good enough– I was in grade 2. This is the first time I can remember judging my body!! 

Growing up in this small town also had its advantages, such as everyone being super athletic!! In grade school we were learning about track and field in gym class and this got me super excited!! I often watched the Olympics and track and field was a favorite of mine. Everyone was very athletic and awesome but I have always had a drive to be the BEST!! We were running our very first 400 meter race and I remember running and winning the race!! I had never felt so awesome, I remember a few of the girls glaring at me but I also remember a few of them coming over to congratulate me. This is when I realized that being good at sports was my key to success and to surviving the means girls in school.

May will mark 12 months, 1 year, 365 days that I will have gone without cutting myself out of despair and hate for my body, purging because I looked in the mirror and didn't like what I saw, or starving myself in hopes of becoming thinner!! May will mark the first year of a new me a me that is learning to love her body – not because it is perfect because it is far from perfect and not because I look like a Victoria Secret model or even like a fitness model but because it can accomplish wonderful amazing feats such as running a marathon, running a sub 6 mile for 3 miles, running a 1:26 half, doing 133 high knees in 60 seconds. I have a body that loves her friends and family so much, that has so much to give and so much to learn.

Learning to love my body has been a rough journey and there have been many bumps in the road. This year I am not only learning to love my body but I am learning to love my heart and my soul, I am learning to love who I was born to be -  a wonderful aboriginal women who has so much experience to share.  

I am going to stumble, I have a few times. I have stood my in bathroom mirror and have hated on myself, I have stepped off the scale and hated on myself for the number but I have also counteracted that hate with a run because when I am running I feel free and powerful and there is nothing or nobody who can take that away from me. 

I recently saw a picture that said "Want to change your body exercise, if you want to change your life become a runner"! Running has truly changed my life, for the better.

Training Runs are Learning Runs

Yesterday marked April 1 and that means that my marathon is slowly creeping up on me. In so many ways I am nervous. I have set myself up for a pretty big goal and I don't want to be disappointed in myself. Boston is an extraordinary dream for me.

I keep having this recurring dream where I am running the Calgary Full and I get lost on the course and I find my way back after about a mile but I am crossing the finish line and the time on the timer says “3:35:02” I just fall into a heap of tears on the ground because I missed my qualifying time by 2 one hundredths of a second. All that hard work down the drain.

I am learning to trust in my training. This past weekend I ran my furthest distance since running my first full in October. I ran 19 miles!!

The night before my run I was really nervous, due to my calf injury I was out for a week and so I lowered my carb intake to accommodate this. My first few runs back were kind of tough but I still managed a sub 8 on both of them. My physio and I decided that I wouldn't be running any of my long distances at a sub 8 rather a sub 9 to prevent any further complications with my calf.

200 miles even with a week of no running

I set out for my 19 miles Saturday morning with the sun at my back and knowing that Lauren would be waiting for me at mile 13 to run the last 5 miles with me. Going out I had to stop a few times due to tightness in my calf but nothing serious. I was still running a 8’16”/average mile and was happy with this. It won’t get me a Boston but I know I would run faster on race day.

On our way back Lauren and I hit the HUGE hill in Sandy Beach and normally I can run this hill but this time I had to walk it and from this point on I felt sick and exhausted. I was nauseous and my body was starting to get really cold even though it was beautiful outside. My watch was still ticking away at the time and I didn't want to ruin my average pace so I kept trekking along with Lauren at my side. Around a mile out my watch died and so did I. The wall was too thick for me to break through and I had no other choice but to walk the remaining distances.

Phone died at mile 15.6, where I was getting weak.

I was disappointed with myself and a little angry for not being strong enough to make it through the entire 19 miles. I was mad that I allowed myself to hit the wall, but training runs are training runs. They are not just for training our bodies to run the distance but they are also training for us to learn how to hydrate and fuel properly.

I learned that after mile 17 shot bloks are no longer useful for me. I start taking shot bloks within the first 20 minutes of a run and thereafter every 20-30 minutes I take in blok. This was working for me on my 17 mile less runs but it didn't work for this last run. I think on these longer runs I need more than just shot bloks. This week I am going to cut a bagel up into bite size pieces and when I take a shot blok I will also take a piece of bagel. Hopefully this gives me the energy to fully get through my 20 mile run.

As for hydration, I have no idea why I got so dehydrated. I take in about 2-3 sips of water every mile or so. I allow myself to take water when I need it, but when I got Lauren at the tech shop I was salty and when I got back to the car I was super salty. Meho said I looked kind of like a refuge with the salt caked on my body. I need to find a way to replenish the salt I am losing on these long runs because I only carry water in my camel back but I know I should be in taking electrolytes also.

These runs are learning experiences and for every failure I have on a long run I will turn into a success on race day. 

I have to thank Lauren for getting me through those last 5. They were slow and not very promising but she pulled me through!! I am glad to have such awesome friend. 

What works for you on long runs? What type of energy do you intake? What type of fuel do you use and ho

w often do you hydrate? Leave me a comment or a tweet @TiaraBeth.

Exclusive Serena Williams Content

I have teamed up with Nike Women to bring you exclusive content from Nike Training Club. 

Those of you Nike Training Club enthusiast probably already know that Nike Training Club has teamed up with Serena Williams to bring you an exclusive Serena Williams workout. 

What I adore most about Nike Training Club app is that all the workouts are created by Nike trainers themselves or Nike athelets. These workouts are tried and tested and they work. 

I have been using the NTC app since 2009 and I am well over 14,000 minutes. This app has motivated me to keep pushing through my workouts. With each workout you do you can open more and more exclusive workouts from different trainers and athletes. 

This month the focus is Serena Williams and the workout is AMAZING!! If you want to work your core this is the workout is for you. Grab your iPhone,open your NTC app and download this workout. Get your stability ball and resistance bands ready because this workout is GREAT!!

The Nike Training Club app has helped me get through a marathon and is assisting me through a second. The app has made me stronger, faster and an overall better runner.I hope it does the same for you. 

Tips that Motivate Me to Run

1. GET A NEW PAIR OF RUNNING SHOES. Honestly, getting a new pair of running shoes get me out the door. I love trying them out and seeing how they feel and I love mixing them with my different running outfits. If I am totally struggling to get out there I get a new pair of shoes.

2. RUNNING QUESTIONS "Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp, or are you going to be strong today?'" --Peter Maher, two-time Olympic marathoner from Canada.

3. GET OFF THE CEMENT. It's hard to stay motivated with shinsplints, or knee pain, so get off the pavement for a few run and try trail running or get on a track and try working your speed.

4. LOOK TO THE PAST. I have days where I need to focus on a race I did or another good to run get me out the door.

5. SIGN UP FOR A MARATHON having a goal always gets me into training mode, it also gets me eating cleaner. Find a marathon and sign up for one!!

6. THINK FAST. On my long runs I like to split it in half in my head. I tell myself “Ok Tiara you can run these 7 miles easy than when I get to my 7 mile half way point I tell myself ok now get back as fast as you can.” It pushes me but also gets my long mileage in and builds my fast endurance at the same time.

7. GOOD-TO-GO PLAYLIST Download songs that will keep you going. My current favorites are Rhinna, Elli Goulding and Florance and the Machine.

8. FIND A NEW PATH. I find that running the same path all the time can get monotonous so for my long runs I try every so often to find a new path to run I map it out using MapMyRuns.com and I go. Using a new path tends to slow me down though as I need to get used to a new route but it is nice to change it up every so often.   

9. RUNNING COMMENTARY "No one can say, 'You must not run faster than this or jump higher than that.' The human spirit is indomitable." --Sir Roger Bannister, the first man to run a sub-four-minute mile

10. THE BOSTON MARATHON is a year away. Think you can get there? (Go to www.baa.org for qualifying times.) Than you can run with me! When I run my long runs and I start to get tired I repeat to myself “You are Training to Qualify for Boston” it keeps me going.

11. READ THIS The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner, a short story by Alan Sillitoe, tells the tale of a rebellious youth in a reformatory who runs in solitude and makes a stand against a system he doesn't believe in. You'll have new appreciation for the power of solo runs.

12. PLAY IN THE STREET. Skip a dreaded track workout for a fartlek (Swedish for "speed play") session. After 10 minutes of easy jogging, run hard between two telephone poles, and then slow down until you pass two dogs. Then see if you can beat the next person you meet up with to a distant destination, followed by a jog to the next bridge. There are no set rules, so make it up as you go along. These are my favorite and help me get through those long runs.

13. THE BATHROOM can wait till the sun goes down. Your tempo run can't so get those shoes on and hit the road.

14. RUN AT LUNCH. Daniel Sheil, a marathon coach in Portland, Oregon, recommends lunchtime runs for two reasons: (1) You get your workout in before the day gets away from you; (2) You get a midday break from work stress. Lunch workouts have become my favorite and prevent me from spending calories and money.

15. THAT NEW RUNNING WATCH you want? Buy it, but only after you have broken a record like your fastest half marathon.

16. BUDDY UP. Find a “rabbit” to run with. Every so often I get Mike to run with me. He runs an impressive 2 hour 54 minute marathon so pacing myself to keep up with him helps me increase my pace. Trust me I don’t want to look like a wimp to my boyfriend so I push myself not to take any stops.

17. HAVE A DAILY NIKEFULE GOAL. I have a rule, if I come home and my NikeFuel goal is not 5,000 I have to do another workout. It keeps me motivated, it keeps me pushing and it holds me accountable not to slack off during the day if I don’t want to go home and do another workout once I get home. My Nike Kinect training is slacking because of it but right now my focus is running.

18. MAKE A MASSAGE APPOINTMENT for the day of your long run it gives something to look forward to after my long run and it pushes me out the door to get my run in.

19. GET YOURSELF A HEARTY DOG who needs lots of exercise. You'll always have a reason for a daily jog. I want to get a dog so bad but sadly I wouldn't fit one in my apartment.

20. RUN THROUGH A SPRING STORM. It is refreshing and with the wind and rain you are surely to run faster.

21. RUNNING COMMENTARY "A lot of people run a race to see who's fastest. I run to see who has the most guts." --Steve Prefontaine

22. FEEL A NEED FOR SPEED. Sometimes I just need to run to see how fast I can get myself going it is invigorating for me. I take these runs to the rack and run 400 meters 4 times as fast as I can go. It is refreshing to get speed since training for a marathon requires endurance.

23. YOU'LL BE WEARING A BATHING SUIT in another month or so! I remind myself of this every time I want to cut a workout short.

24. GO EARLY. Two-time Olympian Shayne Culpepper says that rather than putting off a run, she'll head out even earlier than usual when she's not in the mood to work out. "If I have that extra cup of coffee or I wait an extra half hour, it becomes too torturous," she says.

25. PAY YOURSELF. When I first started running I was 250 pounds and I hated running so I set a price for attaining a certain weekly mileage goal mine was 10 miles, I was a newbie. When you hit it, pay up I would give myself $10 at the end of the week. Keep your mileage money in a jar, and once it accumulates, buy yourself that new running jacket, shoes, shirt you've been ogling. It makes the mileage totally worth it.

26. ASK A FRIEND TO BIKE alongside you when your running partner isn't available. I have to start doing this more often since I am getting faster than more of my friends and hey they can carry the water.

27. RACE RESULTS STAY ON GOOGLE FOREVER.

28. PROVE YOUR ARE BETTER. I had a bad race at Nike Women’s and I am so excited to prove myself at Calgary Marathon. Not to anyone else just to me.

29. HEAD FOR THE HILLS. I have been told that it is ok to throw a hill workout in in-place of a short run if your body is really beaten down. You can’t run hills lazy you need to put your full body into them. Once I do hill sprints I am excited to get back to just running.

30. RUN FOR A REASON. Do a race for charity TNT is a great charity to run with. They are a guaranteed entry into Nike Women’s Marathon if you are thinking about running that one. Also they provide coaching and run groups to help get you out the door.

31. REMEMBER that you almost always feel better after a run than before it.

32. KEEP A LOG. Nike plus has inspired me to run further and faster. When I see my weekly/monthly/yearly total mileage I want to look at it and be proud. It is what gets me out there when I don’t want to be. Also knowing that I am not in first place on my leader board inspires me to get my run on.

33. DON'T EXPECT EVERY DAY TO BE AMAZING. I am learning that some days will be slower than others, and some days might even hurt a bit. Elizabeth often reminds me that not every run is a race. I always feel horrible about myself if I don’t run at least a sub 8, but you know what not everyone is going to have AMAZING days every day.

34. JUST START. I have days where I think to myself “I don’t want to run today” I make myself run for 10 minutes once I get 10 minutes in I usually finish my run. Just get out there.

35. RUN SOLO and away from the crowds on recovery days. The faster runners on popular routes will make you want to pick up the pace. Alone, you'll be able to listen to your body and reap the recovery you deserve. We all need recovery.

36. THINK YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO RUN? You are wrong. If you have time to facebook, tumblr, tweet you have time to run. Cut something out that you don’t need to be doing and go for 20 minutes. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people say they don’t have time. You had time to tell me that, if you have time to make excuses you have time to run.

37. STOP BEING SOCIAL. For me running isn't a social event, especially when I am training. My training partner Jamie knows this and sometimes she tells me when she wants to start up a conversations she will pretend that we are in an actual race. It makes her push harder and in return makes me push harder, she isn't going to beat me.

38. BUY A FULL-LENGTH MIRROR and make sure you look in it every day trust me once you start seeing how running changes your body you won’t be giving up on it.

39. RUNNING COMMENTARY "If I am still standing at the end of the race, hit me with a board and knock me down, because that means I didn't run hard enough." --Steve Jones, former marathon world record holder

40. A HEALTHY RUNNER IS A HAPPY RUNNER. As soon as I feel like I have injured myself I get to my physio’s office. The moment something feels not right, roll it out, stretch it out and if you have to get it looked at. You don’t want something minor to turn into something major.

41. INVEST IN GOOD GEAR. I love having the newest gear from Nike. It encourages me to get out there and get moving. If you are new to running get your gait tested at a specialty store, invest in a good pair of sneakers that are right for you and get some good gear. Dri-fit gear, Nike has a great selection.

New Dietitian - New Outlook

Last week I had my first meeting with my new dietitian and she is amazing. She is certified with the International Olympic Committee Diploma in Sports Nutrition and she is also a marathon runner so I thought that she would be perfect for me and after sitting down at our first meeting I realized that she was more than perfect for me she is exactly what I am looking for in a dietitian.

It is no secret of mine that I have suffered from Eating Disorders in the past. Not just anorexia but also binge eating disorders. That is one thing that my dietitian picked up on right away. Sometimes that it is something that dietitians miss about me because I don't look withered away.

Along with wanting to create better eating habits for myself I also want to be able to fuel properly for my long runs. I tend to crash about 8 miles into my run and my runs get harder and harder after that point. I am training to qualify for Boston and this crashing that occurs to me is hindering my runs.

One thing that she explained to me in detail was the need for carbs in our bodies!! I have an irrational fear of carbs I think they make me fat! However, yes they can make you fat but anything that is overeaten can make you fat.

Our brain – just our brains – require 130g of glucose a day to function when we don’t get enough of this our bodies go into what is called control fatigue. This hinders our decision making – reaching for the cookie instead of the apple – our concentration and our moods.

Glucose from carbs just doesn't go to our brains it also goes to our muscles creating muscle glycogen. If we are low in muscle glycogen it will have a negative effect on the quality of the workout – ever wonder why one day you can pump out 20 reps of push-ups and one day only do 6? Yeah you are lacking muscle glycogen – it also has a negative effect on our running. I know I have had days where my legs feel heavy, like lead heavy well this is because the body is going into principal fatigue from not having enough glycogen.

You often hear people talking about their breakfast helping them through their run. I always thought that if I had a decent supper and a good breakfast it would get me through my run, but I was wrong! It takes your body 20 – 24 hours to make muscle glycogen, so what you are eating 20 – 24 hours before your run is what will get your body through those long distances. Don't get me wrong, you still need a carb fueled breakfast but you also need a good lunch and supper the day before.

I decided to take what my dietitian is saying to heart. I mean I am paying her enough I should listen. I had a nice carb, protein, nutrient dense lunch and supper and the next day I didn't head out for a run until 11am. It had been 22 hours since I had my lunch and well I had my BEST run EVER!!

I ran a 1:34:43 half marathon, my best half yet. Was my body hurting through my run, obviously I was running an average 7’17”/mile, did I feel awesome, not really I was hurting on my run but was it my fastest, that it was!! It was the fastest long run I had run EVER.

Now I am learning to eat a proper amount of carbs and I am learning to eat a proper amount of food. I have been eating around 1,500 – 1,700 calories and my dietitian said that isn't enough for me because that is 1,500 – 1,700 not including what I burn off exercising and we determined this weekend that at rest I burn 2,300 calories so eating 1,500 – 1,700 isn't even enough to fuel me at rest. Now I am focusing on getting my calories to the 2,300 point with healthy food and making sure I have enough carbs to fuel me through my workouts. 

She gave me a chart of what carbs, nutrient dense food, and protein I should be eating with each of my meals and my goal is to follow this from now until my Marathon, she said if I follow this I should see weight come off, muscle gained and I should see my runs get faster. Two of my mail goals are to run a sub 6 marathon by next year and have abs before the summer, and she feels that both of these goals are do-able.

I believe that any serious athlete should hire a dietitian even if it is just for a few session, athletic needs are different from the average person and what works for me isn't necessarily going to work for you.

Ignite~Perspire~Inspire

Yoga and Running go Hand in Hand

I am your typical runner. I love to lace up my shoes and head out the door and rack up those miles and ever since Nike Running introduced the new app feature of being able to see your leader board I am even more obsessed with racking up the miles.

However, when I started training for my first marathon the wonderful Marie Purvis added yoga to my run schedule and I thought to myself “how is yoga going to help me run 26.2 miles?” yoga help more than you think and I am just realizing this now.

On my first a marathon training I did Bikram yoga; I stretched out but I didn’t really put my heart into it I did it because it was on my schedule and that was what my training was telling me to do that day. Now I have a different mentality towards yoga.

I have had two minor injuries this last year and both have scared me into stretching out more and giving my muscles the love it deserves. I thought yoga was just that stretching out but yoga so much more!! 

I don’t always have the time or money to go to a yoga studio but the amazing ladies at Nike Women have yoga on their Nike Training Club app and the beautiful and talented Leah Kim walks you through the workouts. I love doing this at the end of my day because she has a very soothing voice that calms me down and also the yoga helps me sleep better and gets my body ready to relax and start repairing itself. 

Leah has two yoga workouts on the NTC app a 45 minute one for those days you a have a little bit more time and a 15 minute one for the days you feel a 

bit rushed. Some of the poses can be very difficult at first but what I have learned is not to give up but to keep trying them because each time you will see your body go into the pose more and more and even though you might not be 100% into the pose you are still gaining benefits from it.

This isn’t a plug for Leah or anything! Even though I do respect and adore her.

I found a HUGE benefit in yoga with my running. It has allowed me to open up my hips and stretch out my body, it has allowed me to stretch those joints  and smaller muscles that you forget about and that can cause great injury but one thing that it has really helped me do is perfect my running form. 

Yoga has perfected my posture and in perfecting my posture it has also perfected my running form and when you have a better form your body can perform at its peak and this has greatly helped me increase my speed. As a marathon runner trying to qualify for Boston speed is important but also preventing injury is just as important. Everyone knows when you increase speed your risk for injury goes up and yoga has helped me stay injury free, have better form that in turn has increased my overall training.

I am finding a new love for yoga and I am realizing that yoga and running go hand in hand like a good Almond butter and banana sandwich. 

I challenge you to try yoga out maybe 3 times this week, if you don't have the Nike Training Club app maybe find a youtube video but I promise you that you will see the benefits of yoga in your running.

Ignite~Perspire~Inspire

Speed Work Makes Me Fast

Lately I have been getting people asking me the question “Tiara, how do you run so fast? or Tiara teach me to run fast like you” and I like to tell them I put one foot in front of the other.

I have not always been a fast runner. Remember my marathon that took me 4:35:27 to complete, I wasn’t a fast run, however it was my first marathon.

I remember when I was in elementary and I lived in this little town and everyone was super athletic oriented, we were learning track and field in elementary. I did the 400m sprint and came in well ahead of everyone it was a shining moment for me and I remember people telling my parents that I was a rabbit.

I have always been an endurance athlete, even when I swam my favorite distance was the 1,500 meter but I loved anything over 400 meters and I did well at them.

I decided to blog about this since I get asked this question more than anything else. I do a lot of speed work – this includes intervals, track workouts and tempo runs.

When I do intervals I use the Nike Boom app it is seriously amazing. You set how long you want your run to be and how long you want your interval to be. When I started getting wanting to get faster I would set it at 30 seconds. At first I did intervals on the treadmill and I would set the treadmill to a comfortable run pace for me - that is now 8.5 and I would run at this for 1:30 than for 30 seconds I will go up to 11 on the treadmill. That is what I did to start. Now when I try working on my speed I do it by song. I turn on my headphones and I get on the treadmill for 1 song run comfortable and for a song I run 11 this has really helped me get out of my comfort zone and start running at those faster paces.

Track workouts are also great for increasing speed. I have found a track and to start I would do 400 meter sprint and a 400 meter recovery, so two times around the track, than I would do 800 meter sprints and 400 meter recovery, now I am working on doing a mile sprints and 600 meter recovery. You should be running these uncomfortable for your sprint. When I am done my sprint I am huffing and puffing and want to fall over my abs hurt and sometimes I want to vomit. I grab my water take a few sips do a recovery and I go again. These are amazing and will really help you increase your speed if you do them right.

When I was training for Nike Women’s Marathon tempo runs were my enemy I hated them!! Now they are more like a frenemie. I know how good they are for me but they still make me work. I usually like to run tempos on 4 miles and above run. Always start with a mile warm up and a mile cool down, so if you are planning on doing 4 mile tempo than you are really running 6 miles. Tempos should be ran uncomfortable. A good test to tell if you are running them hard enough is to try and sing the song you are listening to. If you can only get a few words in each sentence out than you are running the tempo correctly, but if you can sing the whole song no problem than you need to push yourself harder. You don’t want to run these at a sprint but you want to run them at an uncomfortable pace. These will really help your body feel what it is like to run faster and eventually they will get easier, when they do you need to push harder.

These are what I do to help myself get faster. I have a goal to run the Nike Women’s marathon at a sub 6 mile. We will see if that happens but that is what my goal is.

I also believe the key to running faster is to listen to your body and know when to slow down and when to go faster. The problem with running faster is that you have the potential to get injured. I have a great physio and massage therapist that I relay on to keep me injury free. My massage therapist massages out all the knots in my muscles using a fascia technique and the physio uses his magic such as laser therapy, ultra sound and electronic therapy to keep my leg muscles in tip top shape and out of injury. For me the first sign of something wrong I call my physio and get right into his office because if my body is signaling it is not right than I do not want to push it and risk injury.

My physio has also said to me that my speed could also be genetic, this is true but I think my next marathon will tell the truth of this. 

Genetics or not if you don’t put in the work you will not get faster. The desire to prepare always beats out talent when talent refuses to prepare.

Ignite~Perspire~Inspire

Non-scale Victory - Mountain Climbers

I get easily discouraged when I don't see the scale moving in a downward direction, it actually can make me very sad. However, I have to remind myself of the non-scale victories that our out there. 

When I first started doing Nike Kinect it called for 20 seconds of Mountain Climbers and I dreaded these, BIG time! I actually hated them. They hurt my shoulders and my arms and abs. I said it is 20 seconds anyone can do anything for 20 seconds. Than they were pushed to 30 seconds and I would get down on the floor and do them for 15 seconds get on my knees for 5 seconds and do another 10 seconds of them and this would be painful. 

Now I am up to 60 seconds of mountain climbers and don't get me wrong they are still a struggle at 60 seconds but Monday in my get strong workout of Nike Kinect training I had to do 30 seconds of them and I was so happy with myself because I held perfect form and did them for the complete 30 seconds! 

We all have non scale victories and sometimes we need to remember these more than the scale victories because they are what truly count in the end.

Day 25 - Headphones in or out? If in, what music gets you the most pumped up for running

Headphones in or out? If in, what music gets you the most pumped up for running?

I only like to listen to music when I am doing a shorter runs, track workouts, or hill runs if I am doing a long run I prefer not to listen to music.

I need music on shorter runs because usually I am running those at a tempo or faster than race pace and need something to pump me up and keep me going. It is the same thing for hills and track workouts. I need to be listening to music to keep my pace up and get me through those faster runs.

When I do run with music I prefer to have both headphones in unless I am running with 

someone else. For some reason when I run with only one headphone I can get a little off balance, it is kind of funny but it happens and I don't know why. 

When I long run I like to listen to my body. I find that listening to my body helps me push through those moments where I feel weak and like quitting. Music can be a bit distracting and sometimes you need to listen to your body and listen to the way your feet are hitting the pavement. I have learned that if you are slamming your feet on the pavement than you are running to fast and or fatiguing and need to get your energy up with shotblocks and you need H20 stat. A fatiguing body is not going to make it through a race or get the time you want.

As for the type of music I listen to. I love everything from David Guetta to Rhianna while I run. I like something up beat to keep me moving faster. 

Day 24 - 30 Day Run Challenge: While running do you use any watches or apps? What technology do you utilize?

While running do you use any watches or apps? What technology do you utilize?

When I run I love using the Nike Running app available on the iPhone and Android or the Nike+ running watch.

I prefer the Nike Running app for shorter runs and when I am not going to be near a computer for an extended period of time. The app automatically updates my runs to Nike+ and twitter right away, allowing my followers to see my runs and see how I did that day. You can also connect your Nike Running app to Path and Facebook and get cheers from your friends as you run, I love this feature you get these cheering clapping sounds as you are running and it really warms my heart knowing my friends are cheering me on from afar.

I am super competitive and this app comes with a feature where you can see your standing with your Nike+ friends. You can see this in a monthly view or a weekly view, this really helps me know when I need to push harder or if I can take a bit of a lighter day. I am really competitive and this fuels me. It also gives you a listing of your runs by month and by year so you can see how you are stacking up against yourself allowing you to have a better month, week, year.

I love the Nike+ watch simply for the convenience. I tend to chafe when I wear an arm band for an extended period of time so the Nike+ watch allows me to track my run without the chafing. The only downfall to the Nike+ watch is you cannot upload your run until you are back at a computer, but that is the only downfall, so I say it is pretty good investment. The Nike+ watch is handy because all the information from your run comes up on your watch so you can see your pace, distance ran and calories burned right on the screen. However, I am a little clumsy and once ran right into a tree while trying to look at my screen haha.

Another favorite feature of the Nike+ watch is the lap function. I love this for track workouts and hill runs. It allows me to see my time on each of my laps and I can push myself harder on the next training run knowing how I did on the last one.

I generally go back and forth between using the two. Now that my runs are getting longer I will be using the watch more frequently since my phone tends to die around the 15 mile mark and if you don’t track it did the run really happen? LOL.

Whatever you decide to use make sure you sign up on Nikeplus so you can compete with your friends in the Nikeplus community. I am always looking for more competition. 

Ignite-Perspire-Inspire

Day 23 - 30 Day Run Challenge

The only day in the challenge where I’m going to ask you to run: go run a mile as fast as you can and tell us about it!

I didn't run my fastest mile today I actually ran it Monday. I was doing tempo runs for my marathon training.

I am training to get into Boston and tempo runs are a huge part of my training. I am trying to run my shorter runs faster than race pace so that when it comes to race day my body knows how to it feels to run faster than race pace.

I have been running with a lady, she is training for her 4^th marathon, for my long runs. She is a great training partner and keeps me motivated to keep going but I am a lot faster than her so I really need to slow up my pace for her to keep up. We have been running before the sun comes up and I don't want to leave her behind. I don’t mind this but I always take the last 2-3 miles for me and I just run them at my pace. On Saturday I felt like a caged horse being let out into field I just started running like crazy it felt really good to get my pace up.

I really do enjoy running fast it is exhilarating and it makes me have so much confidence and I feel like I can tackle the world when I get over that 6 minutes per mile mark.

Below is a picture of my fastest mile from Monday.

Day 15 - 30 Day Challenge

16.Do you carry water or powerfood with you while running? If so, how and what kind? 

Yes I always carry water on my runs unless it is a 4mile run outside than for that half hour I can go without water. Anything over a half hour outside I always carry water and anything over an hour outside and I will carry shot blocks.

I carry water in my camelback. I prefer camelbacks to waist bottles due to the fact that I don’t have much hips and they tend to bounce around and I lose the bottles when I try putting them back. With a camelback the straw for my water is right there so I don’t need to slow down to drink water. The only downfall to my camelback is the fact that it chafes me really bad. On the Nike Women’s Marathon course it cut into me so bad I had to stop at an aid station and get them to fix it up and it still scared pretty bad, but I call it my battle wound.

When I finish a run of any length I like to rehydrate with Nuun hydration. It is really important to restore your electrolytes and Nuun comes in many different flavors so there is something for everyone.

When I am running for over an hour outside I bring shot blocks along with me. The reason I prefer shot blocks to other things is because they are small and easy to eat and they fit nicely into my pockets. I tried sharkies before and they didn’t give me enough energy to make it through a long run. I tried goo once and it was really gross. I’ve also tried making my own protein chews but they just melt and get really sticky, for now I will stick to shot blocks. They are easy to take and don’t cause me digestion problems.

What do you take on long runs? This is training time so I can like to experiment with a few different types of energy chews in my first month of training.