Running Around Western New York

Three weeks into marathon training and the Fall Distance Group through Fleet Feet Buffalo – and all is well.

Due to the inevitable navigational errors that seem to have become a weekly staple, this past Saturday was an 11.11 mile jaunt through residential downtown Buffalo.  Despite the extra distance, I felt mostly strong throughout – and finished with a flourish.  I’m forever grateful to the new pals I’ve made at the group who dutifully pace and push me, helping me get faster and stronger every week.  Running with people is one of the best choices I’ve made in a good, long while!  Not only is it more fun, it’s clearly beneficial.

Yesterday, late afternoon, Duggs and I had an errand to run in town.  And then I literally ran home, made the house a water stop and grabbed the dogs, and finished my five mile active recovery jog out in the grapes.  After using KT Tape for the first time this weekend, last night’s run was the first in a while in which my shin did NOT hurt.  Amazing, huh?  I have an idea to post about some of the running gear I’ve stumbled across lately.  Some favorites have clearly emerged (KT tape being a big one) – but as time goes on, I’ll know more about the other stuff I’m giving a whirl while I run.

Last week I mentioned about the lack of Hawaii as a potential discouragement from reading – and some of y’all kindly requested more Western New York pics.  Pretty and outdoors is still pretty and outdoors; I personally see the beautiful merits of each location, clearly for varying reasons – but both pretty none the less!

Saturday’s run in downtown Buffalo… here are some photos I went ’round and collected post-run.  I didn’t want to photograph the entire area, I have to leave some aspects for the weeks to come!

post-run stretching!

marketing fail

but the canisius school is gorgeous, really

just down from the school, we run along this pretty pristine tree-lined road

behind these trees, and nestled closely with homes and small non-profits (a nursing home is across the street) – is a gorgeous orthodox church. greek, i believe.

the front view

taking in a fuller view for better context.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sky was so blue on Saturday.  Colder weather and rain was promised to us – but instead, once again, we were treated to a cloudless sunny day.  It was mildly cooler in the morning, but as soon as the sun hitched herself high enough to be seen in full, it was nothing but heat that came our way.   Want more deets?  Check out this run map: http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/116526237

From the Farmer’s Market I’ve mentioned.  In a small park amidst opulent older homes – the market feels more like a picnic, the atmosphere is happy and relaxed.  I love just wandering around, people watching.  It’s the Elmwood-Bidwell Market, btw, if anyone wants to look it up.  I just adore the whole neighborhood it’s in!

the street along the farmer’s market – this one house is always selling furniture and stuffs out front

same side of the street, facing the opposite direction from the yard sale house

After I left the Farmer’s Market, it was time to drive home.  But fear not – I disregarded safety (and probably the law) and still managed to snap a few pics from the whip.  They’re poorly focused, but at least you get a feel for the area from them:

so many roundabouts (or rotaries for my bostonians)

i think that there is canada!

From last night, running through our small rural town that’s about an hour south of Buffalo.  I love it here too.  Yesterday’s run was just one of those feel good workouts, the sky was blue and the air was thick and hot – but I had a grand ole time!

quaint and oh so charming, yes?

all roads lead to home. specifically this one is pretty direct.

my lens was blurry, but it kinda lends to the whimsical nature of where i really live

running past sullivan’s charbroil is hard – oh the smell, so enticing.

and of course, the backyard and the grapes

the pooches need a workout too, of course

i look downright crazy in this one. i like it!

oh hay, i’m getting some sun out on my run

shaka!

love the cancer survivor running tee!

Ahh. So if you follow me on Instagram (as you should – @RadRosie) or Fb, or Twitter (see the side bar for those) – you know about the tee from last night’s run.  As I was sweating to the electropop (and some oldies) I was, as I said above, just having fun with it.  I kinda dance along sometimes, I usually smile – so when people kept honking and waving, I thought that seeing a be-neoned gal in a crazy get up bopping along was a novelty of some sort for such a one-horse town.  Only way after the fact did I register that I was rocking my SURVIVOR tee!  Oopsies – duh, of course that’s what people were pumped about.

So that was pretty fun, actually.  I love strangers that will a shout out and some encouragement over something like that – so rad!

…

Well, that’s all I have for today.  If you think you could stomach it, I’m so tempted to post the photo diary of my “evolution of a blister.”  I have a nasty, slightly infected, triple blister on my right foot.  It’s heinous and admittedly, painful.  I’m dying to gross everyone out with it.  Thoughts?

Hope you’re all having lovely weeks; to my runner pals: enjoy the warm weather while we still have it, and holler at me about how your runs and training are going.  I’d love to have more running pen pals and blogs to follow to chat about training, tips, injury prevention and the like!!

As always – THANKS FOR READING!  

XOXO, HHR 

Accountability, Speed: Glad I Joined Now!

This past weekend was my second ever experience with the new running group I’m in.  And let me just be very clear: Week two was markedly, crazily, way better than week 1!

I still got lost, but at least this time I wasn’t lost alone, haha.  I actually made the acquaintance of some really nice ladies and jogged near and at times, with, them!  The added advantages are not only social and navigational.  Turns out that when running with people, my pace time improves like woah.  Yeah, I may have shed about 20 minutes off my 8 mile time.  Ha!  How’s that for crazy?  Turns out when left to my own devices I dawdle, who’d have thought!

Anyways, aside from running faster, I also felt much stronger.  I completed the run feeling strong and the soreness has been minimal now in my post-run days.  So, all in all, really nice and I’m just so pleased with my current progress and commitment.  It feels good to be sticking with it.

In other news, we stumbled across this INCREDIBLE hippie neigborhood.  I met my peoples!  I was just running along, and I noticed the signs started to feature buzzwords that caught my eye:

“co-op”

run… run… run… 

“local produce”

running still… 

“yoga”

“organic”

“music shop”

“handmade”

“repurposed”

FREAK OUT!!! 

It was just so much, I could have exploded.  MY PEOPLE!  So after the run, Duggs and I headed over there for brunch and to scope out the area.  After a tasty meal and some nice conversation, we made our way over to the Farmer’s Market.  It was AWESOME.  They take EBT/Food Stamps at the Farmer’s Market!  It was all too rad, I cannot wait till next Saturday now.

I did have my phone with me, but I was in a very in-the-moment kinda mood and I just hardly so much as snapped a pic.  I do promise that next weekend we’ll bring the good camera and actually take some nice photos of the area.  Man oh man, downtown Buffalo totally stole my heart this weekend!

The rest of our time was spent with relaxing, stretching, some cleaning and organizing, light chores – nothing major really, but the lazy down time was much needed.  It rained a lot of Sunday morning – but by mid-afternoon it was blazing hot and sunny again.  I even got a couple hours on the lounge chair out back with a good book.  I’m telling you, yesterday was luxuriously lazy!   I was hoping for more rain though, our garden ain’t looking so good these days… Ugh.  Oh well, time will tell what’s to be!

I hope y’all had a great weekend too.

As always, thanks for reading!! xoxo, hhr

Marathon: It’s On!

I did it.  I really did it – I signed up, registered, paid for, a real live marathon.  On October 21st I WILL run 26.2 miles.

Logo for the Empire State Run

I’m not sure if I’m ecstatic or terrified.  Both? Hahaha.

Oy, let me back up.  So I’ve been running a lot lately, and several months ago – when I was still back in Hawaii – I said I wanted to run some races again.  It’s been a few years at least.  Well, I started to get really sick in the months leading up to the move, fell off my running schedule, lost my endurance, and so on.  We move here, the fresh country air of rural New York state wipes out the black mold and sickness from my body and bam! I’m up and running again.

Taking it one step further, I couldn’t shake the idea that if I wanted to really commit to running – really take it seriously – I needed some form of accountability.  Thus, I started looking online for running groups, coaches, that kind of stuff – and I found a marathon training group out of Buffalo.  I called, showed up on Saturday, signed up, ran 8 miles on the route they set up, and now I’m in!

holding up “five” for being at the five mile mark during saturday’s run

buffalo has very pretty scenery during runs

The group I’m running with is through a store in Buffalo – Fleet Feet Buffalo.   The marathon I’ve signed up for will be in Syracuse – it’s the Empire State Marathon.  There’s also a half and a huge running/fitness expo over the days before the races.  Anyone who wants to cheer me on – c’mon, c’mon!  It should be an awesome time, a good weekend for sure.

fleet feet buffalo – first day of the fall 2012 distance group. can you tell which one is me?

So.  I’m off to go do a prescribed five mile run (part of my daily training plan) and I’m getting really excited.  It’s been a long time since I’ve jumped into the world of legit endurance sports, so I’m happy to be back!

Get ready for lots of running chatter and my amateur nutrition info.  In order to prepare, I also have a lot of learning to do.

As always, thanks for reading!! xoxo, hhr

Three Playlists To Pump Your Blood (and also possibly some rambles about running)

I’ve (re)located my motivation, and lately I just can’t run hard enough, far enough, fast enough… well- hard, far, and fast by MY silly standards.  I still have a ways to go in making it back up to the level I was at say, six months ago (I stopped running for about 3 months, maybe more, because I was so ill during our last few months in Hawaii, ugh) but, I’m getting there.  My endurance is increasing, my speed is getting better, I feel more confident.

i’m feeling the pain

Last night I had a crazy run.  Did a brisk mile warm up, then about 30 minutes of speed work intervals (oh so close to vomming each and every time), then I did a mile of plyometrics (lunges, high kicks, slow kicks, high knees, butt-kickers, skipping, jumping jacks, all kinds of jumps really, grapevines… and more that I don’t know that name for).  That was a really long mile.  Then I did another mile cool down.  All in all it was a solid five mile workout- the speed intervals actually slow me down because of the active recovery walking and jogging I have to do in between the sprints. I do speed work with all kinds of various intervals and pyramids; last night I did 45 seconds jog, 30 seconds SPRINT, and then 30-45 second jog, then a good minute or two walk.  It got harder and harder to do the post-sprint jog each time, so I’ll admit that decreased as I went on).

I realized, I haven’t sprinted since the day I saw the dead guy while on my run.  It felt good to break out the stride last night and just remember what it feels to move so fast.  I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’m a tad on the leggy side and I stand at about 5’8 – so when I stretch out the legs, I can book it.  I used to sprint in high school track for just that reason.  And I did hurdles too – although I don’t defy gravity much these days (even though I totes requested Moon Shoes for my birthday, the awesome trampoline shoes from the 90s).  Rambling… anyways, getting some sprints in last night felt great.  For the most part I’m focusing on laying down some mileage, building up my endurance.  But even so, there has to be variety and sometimes you gotta get the quick twitch muscles a little work out too.

some snaps from last night, taken during some lunges. aww yeah, hurts so good!

Why so motivated?

Maybe it’s the Olympic season (and seeing my former teammate and pal Ryan Lochte kicking so much ass in Omaha as he gets set for London)… I’ve seen so many incredibly motivating photos from track and field trials too.  (Have you seen Buzzfeed’s post of 26 photos of people finding out they made the Olympics? It’s awesome).  My college pal Kyle Kugler just finished the Western States 100 in an  epic time of 22:15.50, so that’s been motivating me as well.  There’s influence to move it everywhere I look, and I’m LOVING it.  PS, I’m begging Kyle to let me interview him for my blog – wouldn’t that be awesome?! YES. Duh!  I wish I could get up with Ryan, now that would be super duper badass too… but, he’s like uber famous though, and well, kinda busy doing that whole preparing to humiliate Phelps thing (yeah, I said it – I’m TEAM USA, but also TEAM LOCHTE!).

Moving Along

Okay, okay – let’s get  to the good.  My playlists!

I love music, I listen to my jams all the time when I’m doing all kinds of things.  Thus, working out and running are no exception!  I have a few diff playlists on my phone that I use when I’m out and about, and of course Spotify (and iTunes too) for when I’m at home – stretching, yoga, abs.

Here, for your curiosity and copying pleasures, are three of my most fav playlists right now for cardio.   I know my taste in music won’t suit everyone’s needs or likes – but these are just some of  the songs that I’ve been movin’ to recently.  Warning – a lot of them are explicit, haha.  Oops!

Fit and Skinny Mix – my fav current iPhone playlist for cardio outside

Always On Time, Ashanti & Ja Rule
Rich Girl, The Bird and the Bee (cover of Hall & Oates)
Sweat (feat. Lil Wayne), Bow Wow
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight), Bruce Springsteen
Everytime We Touch (Radio Mix), Cascada
Digital Love (Boris Dlugosh remix), Daft Punk
Turn Me On (feat. Nicki Minaj), David Guetta & Nicki Minaj
Come to Me (feat. Nicole Scherzinger), Diddy
Tell Me (feat. Christina Aguilera), Diddy
Last Night (feat. Keyshia Cole), Diddy
Sexy and I Know It (feat. Chani), DJ Shocker & Chani
Stereo Love, Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina
What’s Luv? (feat. Ja-Rule & Ashanti), Fat Joe
Club Can’t Handle Me (feat. David Guetta), Flo Rida
Someone To Love, Fountains of wayne
Jump In The Pool, Friendly Fires
We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe) [Alvin Risk Remix], Fun
Genesis, Grimes
Visiting Statue, Grimes
Be A Body, Grimes
Tongue Tied, Grouplove
Now & Forever (Original Mix), Henrik B & Christian Älvestam
Goodnight an Go (Back Ted N-Ted Remix), Imogen Heap
Murder Reigns, Ja Rule
Put It On Me (Explicit), Ja Rule & Vita
Homecoming, Kanye West
Heartless, Kanye West
Love Lockdown, Kanye West
Bulletproof, La Roux
Americano, Lady GaGa
The Queen, Lady GaGa
Born to Die, Lana Del Rey
Off to the Races, Lana Del Rey
Diet Mountain Dew, Lana Del Rey
Pop That, Lil Wayne
Shooter, Lil Wayne
Whip It (Produced By Deezle), Lil Wayne
Let The Beat Build (Produced By Kanye West & Deezle), Lil Wayne
6 Foot 7 Foot (feat. Cory Gunz), Lil Wayne
She Will (feat. Drake), Lil Wayne
John (feat. Rick Ross), Lil Wayne
Lollipop (Offical Remix), Lil Wayne Ft. Kanye West
New In Town, Little Boots
Let’s Get It In (feat. 50 Cent), Lloyd & 50 Cent
Start It Up (feat. Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, Ryan Leslie, & Fabolous), Lloyd Banks
Gold Guns Girls, Metric
Animal , Miike Snow
Next to You, Mike Jones
Body Work, Morgan Page & Tegan and Sara
The Gentle Roar, Niki & The Dove
DJ, Ease My Mind, Niki & The Dove
Shiller, Ratatat
Falcon Jab, Ratatat
Bullets (Club Mix), Rebecca & Fiona
We Found Love (Chuckie Extended Remix), Rihanna
Major Tom, Shiny Toy Guns
Save the World (Extended Mix), Swedish House Mafia
Pot Kettle Black, Tilly And The Wall
That’s Not My Name, The Ting Tings
Basic Space (Pariah Remix), The XX
Basic Space, The XX
VCR, The XX
Crystalised, The XX
Put On , Young Jeezy & Kanye West
P.I.M.P., 50 Cent
Disco Inferno, 50 Cent
Candy Shop, 50 Cent & Olivia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dance Party, from Spotify (hence the links)

Breathe Carolina – Blackout
Dragonette – Stupid Grin
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Home
Filur – Live & Learn (feat. Matt Kolstrup)
Foster The People – Helena Beat – Lenno Extended Remix
Friendly Fires – Paris (Aeroplane Remix)
Grouplove – Tongue Tied
Housse De Racket – Roman (Briefs Remix)
Jason Derulo – Breathing
Kreayshawn – Gucci Gucci
Lady Gaga – Americano
Lissi Dancefloor Disaster – Moshpit Lovers
Little Majorette – Never Be The Same
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – Rich Girl
Miike Snow – A Horse Is Not A Home
Mya & Wyclef Jean – Ghetto Superstar
Neon Indian – Polish Girl
Niki & The Dove – Gentle Roar
Niki & The Dove – DJ Ease My Mind
O-Zone – Dragostea Din Tei
Ra Ra Riot – Boy
Sbtrkt – Wildfire (feat. Little Dragon)
Shiny Toy Guns – Major Tom
Skrillex – Bangarang – feat. Sirah
Swedish House Mafia – Greyhound
Tegan And Sara – Alligator – Ra Ra Riot Remix
Those Dancing Days – Help Me Close My Eyes
We Were Promised Jetpacks – Circles And Squares
Wolf Gang – Lions In Cages
Yelle – A Cause Des Garçons
Yelle – Mal Poli
Yelle – Je Veux Te Voir

Running, from my iPhone – less often used, but still good! 

Little Bad Girl (feat. Taio Cruz & Ludacris) , David Guetta
I Just Wanna F. (feat. Timbaland & Dev), David Guetta, Afrojack, Timbaland & Dev
Night of Your Life (feat. Jennifer Hudson), David Guetta & Jennifer Hudson
Sunshine, David Guetta & Avicii
Stereo Love, Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina
Cracks (feat. Belle Humble) [Flux Pavilion Remix], Freestylers
On Display, Melissa Gorga
It Girl (Jason Nevins Club Mix), Jason Derulo
Yoü and I (Danny Verde Remix), Lady GaGa
Give Me Everything (feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer), Pitbull
Till the World Ends, Britney Spears
Throw Your Hands Up (Dancar Kuduro) [feat. Pitbull & Lucenzo], Qwote
My Feelings for You, Avicii
Mr. Saxobeat (Extended Mix), Alexandra Stan
Loca People (Extended Version), Sak Noel
Feel So Close (Extended Mix), Calvin Harris
Earthquakey People (the Sequel) [feat. Rivers Cuomo], Steve Aoki
Forever (Extended Mix) [feat. will.i.am], Wolfgang Gartner
Good Life (Demolition Crew Remix), OneRepublic
Save the World (Radio Mix), Swedish House Mafia
The Good Natured Alive (Basto Remix), Adrian Lux
What Happens In Vegas (Radio Edit) [feat. Gregor Salto], Chuckie
Sun Is Up (Play & Win Radio Edit), Inna
Le Bump (feat. Crystal Waters), Yolanda Be Cool
Turn This Club Around (Extended Mix) [feat. U-Jean], R.I.O.
Eyes (Extended Mix) [feat. Mindy Gledhill] , Kaskade
Cinema (Extended Mix) [feat. Gary Go], Benny Benassi
Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites (Kaskade Remix), Skrillex
So Much Love, Fedde le Grand
Sun & Moon (Club Mix) [feat. Richard Bedford], Above & Beyond
Raise Your Weapon, deadmau5
Heads Will Roll (James Iha Remix), Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Piece of Me, Britney Spears
Paris, Friendly Fires
Paris (Aeroplane Remix), Friendly Fires ft. Au Revoir Simone
Tongue Tied, Grouplove
Digital Love (Boris Dlugosh remix), Daft Punk
Project Bitch, Lil Wayne
Major Tom, Shiny Toy Guns
Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second, Starfucker
Bangarang (feat. Sirah), Skrillex
DJ Ease My Mind, Niki and The Dove Tribute
How Much More, Stars
Alligator (Ra Ra Riot Remix), Tegan and Sara
Scheiße, Lady GaGa Born This Way
Americano, Lady GaGa
The Queen, Lady GaGa
Marry the Night, Lady GaGa
Highway Unicorn (Road to Love), Lady GaGa

As Always, thanks for reading.

HAPPY RUNNING AND WORKING OUT!

xoxo, hhr

Happy National Running Day!

My new friend Amanda over at Fancy Oatmeal (yeah, I decided we’re “friends” now, she’s moving to Jax, FL + teaches English + runs + is awesome) posted earlier today letting me know about the June 6th fun that is “National Running Day.”

Thanks, Amanda!  I made durn sure to get my celebration on.

Did you run today?  If not yet, are you going to?

I just went on a whopper of a run.

me, instagram style, on today’s runny run

Well, it was only for 40 minutes, but it was outside and I was doing harder intervals than I’ve been doing since I moved to NY – with a higher run-to-walk ratio.  I didn’t much sleep last night, and for some reason I’m STILL sore from Monday’s crazy 64 minute run/walk/exhaustion-fest.

So here are some recent running pics, from a couple diff runs last week, Monday’s night run and today’s celebratory run.  I’m so so proud of myself for getting back into and trying so hard and giving it my all to get back into shape.

I love running, and running loves me.

Your turn: tell me about your most recent runs!

a pretty day in the grapes, breezy and sunny

me, instagram style, on today’s runny run

go pups, go! it sure was gorgeous out this afternoon

less blurry or more blurry?

getting ready for today’s run – happy national running day w00t!

the pooches carry the balls halfway out on the run and then drop them, thus i get to carry them around with me, good thing i has pocketses

feeling pumped as i pressed on, again from monday night

proof that it was cold. and this reads from dunkirk weather station, i swears it was chillier here. (and i know 57/ feels like 55 is hardly cold to people – but it was gray, rainy, and blech, and i’m acclimatizing, yo).

that’s one cold cone head

redder in the face as the run goes on, this was monday night

red faced out in the “cold” weather – thank goodness for my mother in law and this amazing running hoodie she gifted me, it’s the best best best

post run, pre shower gloat

boo boo.

i got slammed by rocky and rolled my left ankle and scraped my right knee. did i stop my run, though? heck no i did not.

a run last week, yeah!

As always, thanks for reading! xoxo, hhr

Keeping The Tag Moving!

My blogger pal Mike, over at Run Till you Drop recently “tagged” me in a sort of blogging game (kinda like blogging awards).   He tagged me and asked me a question that I’m to answer here on my blog.  (So I will totes do just that).

mike, a former footballer now trainer, blogs about fitness and all that healthy stuff (and marriage and his cute kids) over at ‘run till you drop’ – an awesome and fun blog!

And then, I’m to pass the tag along! I’ll link your blog in this post + ask you a question; you answer the question and then keep the tag moving!

I don’t think there’s a set number of how many tags to pass on.  But yesterday I made a little list of some people who I hope will participate and actually write back. If you’re tagged here – come on back to the comments section and link us to your reply (I can always edit the post to include you answer link right on in the post body itself; technology is so fancy).

Mike tagged me over here.He wrote:

Secondly, I think it would be rude not to bring ‘happyhippierose‘ to the party! Rose is such a sweet girl who has just moved away from very different weather to what ‘bearrunner‘ experiences. After reading her posts about life in Hawaii, I get very jealous from time to time, BUT sadly she has recently moved and I’d like to know a little more as I’ve not seen many blogs from her recently. So Rose, how did the move go and are you settled now? Also, as Rose likes her exercise too, I’d like to know what you’ve done recently to keep yourself in shape whilst moving from one home to another?

Hey Mike! Thanks for thinking of me and for the kind words.  Well, at the time you actually tagged me, I hadn’t mentioned much about the move – but now I think I’ve actually gone overkill and I’ve given the play-by-play all up on here.  I have stories, photos, posts and what not (just scroll through my May posts, they’re almost all about moving – so it seems – sorry y’all, it was pretty consuming). I don’t want to be too redundant and bore you to tears, so I’ll say this:

• moving always sucks, it’s always a pain, it’s always stressful
• that considered, this one went REALLY well
• we turned part of it into a short road trip through NY state and that was wonderful, we met up with fam and friends we hadn’t seen in years!
• we’re nicely settled in now, and so far just LOVING it here!!

My cousin Nick’s home is great, he’s been a generous and gracious host – doing more for us than any one cousin should do for another; he is wonderful and his hospitality right now is one of the biggest blessings on our lives.  So we’re living with him, probably will for a year or so.  We get along well, it’s been super fun so far, lots of joking around and good times.

my cousin nicky, he’s a great fella

Also, we arrived at a great time of year – we live in an amazing small town near Lake Erie with SO MUCH to do. Because of said lake, there’s all kinds of water stuff to do: boating, fishing, tubing, swimming, sun bathing, etc., so on.  New York state is gorgeous, has mountains, and in the warmer months there’s a festival or something every durn weekend.

having fun out on lake erie, memorial day

smooching my hubs, aww!

On my health during this move: I was bad Mike. Like downright evil – I hadn’t worked out in a good, long time.  The house mold in Hawaii had really taken hold of me before we left, and my last couple months there I was just soooo sick.  I didn’t do much of anything. It took moving and getting a few weeks out of the moldy house to actually realize how sick I’d become – slowly, during the move, I started feeling better, regaining energy, and it was just dawning on me how really ill I had become.  This move has been wonderful in that sense and to feel like myself again is such a treasure. So I’m easing back into a better, active, healthy lifestyle…

Since arriving here I’ve been running again!

me, out for a an evening jog with the pooches a couple nights ago

Stretching, yoga and some abs work too. Pretty fancy, huh?  I’m slowly trying to get back into it.  I think after being so ill and not doing much of anything, all the fuss and movement of actually leaving and traveling felt like a workout at first.  Now that we’re settled – it’s back to running, jogging, the kind of exercise I can do for free and in my house.  The best kind!

post workout: i’m slowly getting back into fightin’ shape

So, I think that should have MORE than answered your questions, right?  Thanks for thinking of me, Mike!  You rock! And to my readers who’ve never checked out Mike’s blog before: it’s an awesome resource for fitness info, workout ideas, training motivation and wonderful photos of England, his adorable family and the fun stuff they get into on the weekends.

Now: I’ll Keep The Tag Moving!!!

Oh I have so many friends with blogs and blogs I’m friends with… I feel like I coould be here all day.  So if you’re someone I love and I didn’t pick you, please don’t be cross with me.  These kinds of blogging games always come around and get passed about – so I’m sure there will be others down the road, and when that happens I’ll mix up the participants for sure.

In no particular order:

1. Cult Fit – tag, you’re it!  A real game of tag would totally count as random fitness, right? Cult Fit is a wacky, eccentric, brilliant blog written for the fitness-seeker with a speedy mind.  They crack me up and offer a good wake up call to get off my rear and go out and sweat, they also write daily workouts of the random fitness variety – fun stuff, motivation, love the humor and style.

“cult fit” – the header from their blog, i don’t think they post pics of themselves, and i wouldn’t even know how many photos to look for!

My question to Cult Fit: How many authors do y’all have?  It always feels like there’s a whole mess of you penning blogs and you’re always referring to Uncle so-and-so, and this guy and that gal… but really, how many different writers are there?

UPDATE: Cult Fit already passed the tag – check out their post right here. So rad!

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2.  Sleep & Salami is a blog I got connected with during my feeble attempt at 30 Days of Blogging Honesty (which I hardly made it halfway through)… Sleep and Salami is a funny, happy blog that covers all kinds of topics and I’ve been a subscriber ever since the 30 Day event.

“sleep and salami” never posts pics of herself, but here’s the image on her gravatar

Question: I really loved your happy go lucky postings of “Merry May” – what a fun idea. I’m sorry you had a crummy April and you were in need of a pick me up – what have you found to be the best way to pull oneself out of a funk and into happiness?  Do you think your focus on gratitude has been a big help?  (I’m a huge advocate of focusing on gratitude for sure).  How are you feeling now, emotionally?  What’s in store for June?

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3. Nourish. Nature. Love.  Carlita!  Heya Carly, how’s it going in Florida?  Carly is a personal friend of mine who writes an incredibly educational blog about lifestyle, fitness, nutrition and health – she posts juicing recipes, all kinds of recipe, workout stuff, yoga stuff, just all kinds of holistic lifestyle good choices stuff.

carly, from “nourish.nature.love.”

carly, gettin’ her workout on!

I would like to ask Carly: Are you so stoked about your new job teaching/training Kosama? What about Kosama excites you? What all will you be doing as part of this new job?  (Congrats btw, I’m super excited for you!)  And if you want to get into Jordan’s new job, can you touch on what you’ll be doing to stay busy over the next year (other than working your tail feather off??)

yogi extraordinaire.

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4. I am Rose’s Keeper.  Are you EVER going to write your own blog again?  C’mon pleeeeeeeeeease.  (That’s my hubby’s blog, I want him to keep it up!)

oh duggs – so handsome in his new civilian look, the guy who blogs at “i am rose’s keeper” (and my hubby)

the pic duggs has of himself on his blog

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5. Ear-Sword-Miracle.  Why are you so incredibly awesome?? Seriously Miles, you rock.  You’ve become such a “mentor” to me – and you always inspire me and offer so much support and love.  I think you and Sharon are so so rad!  So I know I’m supposed to ask you some kind of question that you’re actually able to blog about… so let’s see:  Can you tell me more about the roots of your faith?  I know an awful lot about how you view things now, but I’d love to know more about the journey that got you there.  And then – how did you and Sharon come to love tie dye so much?  The whole 70’s thing, or is it just because tie dye is so fun and happy and bright, just like y’all are?

miles, from “ear-sword-miracle,” the texan cowboy!

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6.  Twirling Girl.  Oh Victoria, I love your blog!  I think your writing is beautiful and inspirational.  You’re really an excellent writer – is this blog your first foray into writing, or do you have some other experience that’s given you such a talented, solid voice and wonderful skill with words?

“twirling girl” pretty victoria

Where does your inspiration for your posts come from?  And how on earth do you find the time to do so much reading?? You’re really an impressive lady, and I just want you to know that I love your blog and find beauty in everything you post.

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7.  Hiking in Paradise. Goodness you make me miss Hawaii!  SO MUCH!  I’m glad you’re trying to include more photos with your posts (I know at some point you mentioned getting a camera to bring on dives, and how it can be a bit clumsy to use – or at least it was at first, right?).  Your adventures are always exciting and the enthusiasm with which you’ve jumped into SCUBA makes me wish I’d given diving a chance.  Did you like that pun back there?  I have ear drama though, so actually I’d probably not do well with diving, I can never go too deep when I’m snorkeling or swimming.

“hiking in paradise” is lovely and happy =)

My question for you:  What’s your most favorite hike in Hawaii?  If you ever leave the island, what will you miss the most?  And what adventure have you been on that’s your proudest accomplishment – ya know, what dive or hike was the toughest and left you feeling so great about yourself for getting through it?

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8. Through The Tunnel.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!  I saw on Fb it was your birthday, so I just had to give you a shout out.  Doing anything fun for your b-day?  For the average person, what’s the most important thing we should know about PPD and those going through it?  Like the top bit of advice you’d suggest for being supportive or the top bits of info to know for the sake of having awareness awareness, can you give us a surface level little bit, and “intro” to PPD if you will.

esther, lovely mama and encourager of many at “through the tunnel.”

PPD, btw, is Post-Partum Depression, and my pal Esther writes a lovely encouraging blog about PPD and getting through to the light at the end of the tunnel.  She’s a smart, sweet, and loving mama who helps reach out to many through her blog and social media.  Again, Happy Birthday!! Love to you, Corny Esther =)

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(fun fact: Ear-Sword-Miracle is Through The Tunnel’s Dad, so cool!)

Alrighty – I think that’s plenty of folks for now – right?

Now y’all have to Keep The Tag Moving!  So, write and publish a post on your own blog, in which you answer the question I’ve asked you.  Then “tag” some other blogs by linking to them in that same post and ask a question or two of them, thus passing the tag on to them.  Cool? Cool!

Have fun!

And as always, thanks for reading!! xoxo, hhr

*pics stolen from other blogs and in one case, facebook, totally without permission because i’m totally rude like that.

Analog Life Has Been Busy!

I KNOW I’ve been a bloggin’ derelict.  I sure do know that.

Things have been wacky round these parts, though.  (Wackier than usual, given that I am just kinda naturally wack).

please forgive me for not posting in a week by seeing pics of my cute pooch

Here are my excuses for abandoning y’all:

• I have not been feeling well
• Working out has slacked, too, not just blogging.
• Work has been busy – and I love it!
• Creative writing has been taking precedent over blogging.  Book over blog, yo.
• Matthew and I have had some awesome good quality time, which is way more fun than being behind the compy.
• When I have been feeling up to it, we’ve been out and about – not even near the compy.

BOMBSHELL: 

We found out we’re moving soon-ish.  Like, next month-ish.  So that’s had things going crazy too.  So much to get ready, work out, plan for. It’s a crazy nightmare of super stress, actually.  But, we’re excited to start our next adventure… and we’re super sad to leave Hawaii.  It’s a lot of emotion. 

On My Health and Fitness

So, I haven’t been feeling so hot.  Which stinks.  I’ve written recently about my quest to run, and to run longer distances than usual, and to train for like a half-marathon – and one of the things I’ve confessed is the ebb and flow of my workout consistencies.

I have good weeks and bad weeks.  It’s how I’ve rolled for the past year-to-eighteen months.  It just goes like that, and I’ve been trying to break that pattern.

January was great!  But in February, not so hot.  I’ve only gotten in a couple runs a week, and my last run was already like five days ago (and I’m not lacing up my sneaks at this moment, sadly).

I just haven’t been feeling well.

here i am right now. feeling okay (better than yesterday, thank goodness)... but still pretty blah.

Nothing major, just my same ole, same ole.  I’ve tweaked up the meds a bit lately, and have seen some good come of that.  So, hopefully this period of rest is just my body taking care of itself.  Part of my hippie nature is all that “listen to your body” stuff, so I do.

Mine has been telling me to rest.

I tell ya what though: the last run I went on, I killed it!  I didn’t even think I’d make it more than a couple minutes, and it ended up being my FASTEST four-miler ever.  (Well, in recent times kinda ever).   My chest was hurting and I felt just sluggish and heavy in the beginning – during those first two minutes, I was convinced that I was going to do a five minute jog for the day.  But, as I warmed up I just shook it out and felt positively wonderful.

Oh man, even recounting such a fab run has me itching to get out and run.  Tomorrow morning, perhaps!

So, the running has slacked.  I’m bummed, but I’m also okay with it.  I’ve been taking care of the bigger picture.  I know I need to workout and push myself… but with a body like mine, I’ve just learned that when it’s telling me to stay put, it means it.  And well, with how physically ill I’ve been – running just hasn’t been an option.  GI woes (including vomiting lately, which is the pits!!!), tummy pains, back/shoulder muscle pain, overall weakness, and of course my nerve drama.

Valentine’s was super fun.

Duggs treated me to a really fun night out, it was lovely. We grabbed some grub, and we went to Dave and Buster’s to play games.

out to dinner at buca di beppo

the menu had a little blurb on v-day that was cute!

I know what you’re thinking.  The plan sounded kinda ehhh to me too.  Then, we actually got into D&B, and started playing, and it was so so so fun!

If you’ve never been to a D&B, it’s essentially a TGIFriday’s-esque restaurant with a giant arcade attached.  They have all kinds of games, video games, and those driving car games where the little car you sit in tilts and shakes.

Then there are all those games you can play for tickets.  Duggs’ romantical plan was to win me prizes.  And he did!

duggs, holding a prize and all of our tickets

here's a crappy pic of this elvis game i couldn't get enough of.

We had a blast.  I whooped up on some trivia, annihilating anyone that tried to play with us! Duggs killed me in basketball and skeeball, and he won a prize out of one of those stuffed animal claw machines on the first try (and then he gave the prize to an adorable little girl and it was so durn sweet).

me, in the NASCAR racing game. (which i beat duggs on, btw).

duggs is the man at the skeeball

duggs, the claw machine, and the prize he won on the very first try!

Work has been great.  I’ve had some projects going on, I hope the great people I work for are still enjoying my writing.  I think that this month I’ve done some of my very best work yet.  So that’s exciting.  I still have tons to learn, lots of goals for myself.  My boss is great, and I really enjoy working with/for her.  She’s a lot of fun, and she’s just been a great teacher and mentor.  She knows so much about the industry and she’s a good one to be learning under.

So life is good. 

As always, it’s a mixed bag of challenges and awesomeness.  Duggs and I are in this super sappy happy mushy phase, like more than usual (if you can even imagine).  My home life and personal life are so sweet.  And while work is busy, it’s fantastic.  The major stressors of right now are my health and this upcoming move.

It’s hard to embrace the notion of saying good-bye to Hawaii.  It’s impossible in some ways.  I’m going to miss this place so much, I’ve grown far more attached than I thought I could or would.

On the other hand, moving is exciting.  It’s a fresh start, a new world to go check out. I’m excited for the weather… and best of all- FAMILY!  We’re going to live close to family!!!  I cannot wait to see everyone.

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True story: after writing about that awesome run I had last week, and how blah my physical fitness has been as of late I totally just did a little mini-workout in between drafting and finalizing this post.  I just had to do some moving and shaking, get some stretching in there.  Not grand, but better than nothing.

Wish me a better week, and that I get to feeling better soon.  I want January back!

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I gotta get going… I promise to have some good and fun posts up this week.  Love to you all!  Thanks for reading. 

xoxo, hhr

Let’s Make Our Bodies Our Valentines

First of all: I am so blown away by the responses to yesterday’s post.  Just, REALLY.

The comments, emails, and messages that have come in are just so comforting.  Hearing my fellow womenkind tell me about their own issues, their own struggles:  I feel comfort knowing I’m not crazy, I’m not alone with my body image issues; but I’m sad that SO MANY of us feel this way.

We should feel comfortable in our skin.  We should strive to be healthy.  But how?

After our conversation yesterday, do you want to find a way to be comfy in your skin? How can you become happy with your appearance?

We should be loving our bodies, for reals.  

Oh, and to the guys who gave me feedback too: thank you.  I know that body image struggle is NOT a woman-only thing.  It’s an all of us thing.  And then, hearing men speak up about the aesthetics they like, the reassurance – it’s just so nice. 

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I feel like yesterday I exposed a big part of myself, and instead of being mocked or hurt, the Internet just gave me a big ole hug.  I cannot tell you how amazing that is.

THANK YOU.

this is me right now, working on this post, basking in the love y'all have shown me. what an awesome feeling!

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So after my post, there was an epic guest post by Carly about respecting her body, her motivation for being healthy.  And then, my friend Sydney posted this amazing blog about why she loves her body.  Not only was it this bold and encouraging declaration, it was a call for all of us to do the same:

I encourage you to make a post, or just write down all the reasons you love your body you don’t have to publish it, the most important part is that you recognize that you are beautiful and that you remind yourself of all the amazing features you have, no one else has to know. So here I go, all the reasons why I love my body…

such a cute photo of sydney

Go read her blog to see her reasons (to give you an idea, it reads like a love letter to all of the amazing things her body can do – her strong legs that take her on runs, and etc.).

It reminds me of the attitude my friend Libby has.  One time when I was all down on my looks, she talked to me about how amazing our bodies are – oh the things they can do!  She explained how she’s so happy for the faculties she has, talking, walking, running, etc.  Our bodies are these complex high functioning machines, and well, they’re incredible.

Our bodies deserve our love.  So, i have an idea on where we can start, a way to love our bodies.  Valentine’s!

oooh! i have an idea!! oh yeah! i'm up to something, for sure...

This year: make your body your Valentine! 

I want to change my understanding of what a beautiful body is.  I want to be happy and grateful for what I have.

So, is anyone else interested?

Here’s where you, dear reader, come in:

I’m going to write a love letter to myself, and with it, I’ll include some honest photos of myself. It’s going to be a Valentine to my body!

I don’t want to do it alone, though.  Stand with me, post with me.  Please?!

1. Send in a brief love letter to your body, a couple sentences.  If you’d like to publish a longer letter somewhere else – go for it!  Give us a link along with your abridged version. Send what you got to happyhippierose (at) gmail dot com 

2. Include a photo of yourself.  It can be as honest as you’d like, it can be as cloistered as you feel comfy with.  Just have a headshot of your pretty smile? That’s fine too.  The photo is at your discretion and comfort level, and well – keeping in mind this is a family-friendly blog (for the most part), and WordPress has TOS. 

3. Mean what you say.  There’s no way to enforce this one, but maybe collectively, we can all help each other come to a better concept of body image.  And maybe this idea will spread all pay-it-forward style?  A paradigm shift starts with one person. 

And then, I will compile and post for V-day, a special ode to our bodies!

email pics and love letters to: happyhippierose @ gmail . com ; or just reply here on this post if you’d like.

Who’s coming with me?  Who’s in? 

On the photos: Yesterday I mentioned that I’m very picky about what photos I post.  I pose purposefully, I know what angles flatter the most.  I suck it in or put something in front of me, like a prop to hide a part that embarrasses me.

But right now, I don’t feel like hiding under a bulky sweatshirt.  I feel like loving who I am, really.  God has given me SO MUCH.   I live such an amazing life, chock full of abundant blessings, good times, wonderful people.

Even if you’re not in, thank you for reading and for all the love that’s poured in.   I’m so excited to help us all get a more positive self image.  I really am.

xoxo, hhr 

Guest Post: Carly from Nourish.Nature.Love on What Motivates Her Most

Today I’m stoked to share with you an awesome post written by my pal Carly.

Carly is one of the healthiest people I know: a personal trainer, dedicated workout enthusiast and expert practitioner of the yoga.  She’s a kale eating human pretzel type, with enviable discipline!  Recently, some of her readers asked her to write on what it is that keeps her going – why she’s able to stick to it and work so hard.  

Know that Carly works for her body the old fashioned way.  She works hard for her amazing physique: sculpting, training, sweating, and she eats right; her results are well deserved.  Her dedication is so admirable, as is her attitude.  If you read my middle-of-the-night whiny rant about body size and image that posted a few hours ago (click here if you missed it) – allow Carly’s confidence, gratitude, and peace to be a breath of fresh air, a pleasant contrast to my confidence lapse.  

I’m going to try and take her outlook, attitude, and advise to heart.  I think it’s a beeline to physical success. 

Without further adieu: re-posted here, with her permission, Carly explains in three simple answers what motivates her:

carly is super fit

carly in pigeon

Why do I do the things I do? What keeps me going?  by Carly Hunkin 

Another question I’ve been asked.  And it’s a good one! I think we should all ask ourselves “why?”, especially when it comes to our health.

Body. Mind. Spirit.

First, let met state that I believe they are all interconnected, one acts and reacts off of the others and in order to have optimal health, all three aspects need to be cared for. This is the approach I take- holistic wellness.

I was raised in a home that took a holistic approach to wellness, so it’s been with me from the get-go. It’s be ingrained in me from the start that giving your body the proper nutrients, keeping your body in moving and working condition, and loving Jesus(or the Universe, or giving some sense of gratitude to a greater power) is key to happiness and health. So, in my home is where it all started for me, and as I matured and grew into my own, independent thinking woman I read and researched and asked a million questions…Istill do this. I will always continue to look for ways to improve my life.

Body.

We only get one body. Get(implying we were given) and one are the two words I focus on. I was given this body by God- to use and take care of. I don’t get a second chance,  I can’t return it or exchange it and I don’t get a do-over. This body is mine and I will treat it with respect. What a kick in the face it would be to give someone such a useful and complex gift just watch them trash it and not take advantage of it. Our bodies were made to move, we were designed to be active. I like to take advantage of that–I think the human body is so rad! the complex movements, how everything works together to complete a goal or task. So cool. Believing this, I move my body frequently, in all sorts of ways- cardio(low and high intensities), hiking, walking, bike riding, using wights and lifting heavy things(kids), sports, yoga and stretching. I also believe that our bodies were meant to be lean and strong(lean and strong will physically look different on everyone, though) and that God is a beautiful artist, and if we are his master piece then we will be beautiful also.  If we are using our bodies the way they were meant to be used and giving our bodies the nutrients they were meant to consume, then we won’t have to worry about how our body looks, aesthetically- it will take care of itself.  That doesn’t mean I don’t believe in goals and striving to be better or to improve your body aesthetically; I absolutely think goals are great. They’re challenging and the feeling you get when you achieve is amazing. I have the current goal of getting defined abs- the hard work and dedication that I have to put in to achieve that will be so rewarding in the end. When it comes to nourishing our bodies- nature has provided perfectly and unfortunately man has ruined it. Sad times. The love of money has once again ruined a beautiful thing. I try to give my body nourishing, nature -made foods. If it doesn’t come from the ground or doesn’t have a mother-don’t eat it. Additives,  food colorings, GM foods and crops and chemical concoctions don’t belong–they do nothing but destroy our health and the planet. What’s the saying?…”The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison”.  I’m not sure who that quote is by, but whoever said it couldn’t have said more truth in a more direct way. In order to keep our bodies moving and working(exercise), we’ve got to fuel ourselves with the right kind of energy. It’s important to eat and eat well! Food is your friend!

Mind.

This one is simple and straight forward. Think positive and give thanks. Every day might not be beautiful, but there is something beautiful in every day…right? right. Find the good in every situation. It’s ok to acknowledge the negative, the negative makes us work and overcome, but don’t feed yourself constant negativity. It will take a toll on you in all other aspects of life and health.

Spirit.

We are all connected. And I believe love to be the foundation of connection and the spirit, your soul. I love God because He loves me and has provided me with so much goodness. I feel rich and alive inside. This feeling is on fire when I’m in a place of love, when I’m praying and talking to God, when I’m sitting and meditating on his goodness and love. It’s important to find that connection-wether it be with God, the Universe, nature, whatever. Finding that place of love, being able to feel the burn is humbling. It makes you feel so little and so important at the same time. God provides me with a sense, no…, a knowledge of peace and protection. I take care of my spirit because God takes care of me.

Explaining all this, what keeps me motivated is love. Love for my body, love for my mind and love for my God.

namaste.

….

Carly is a Personal Trainer, yoga enthusiast, God-lover, and health nut.  She’s lived out here in Hawaii (she’s a Marine wife too!), and we’ve been pals and neighbors for a couple years now.  Check out her blog about holistic living, healthy eating, outdoor adventures and all kinds of good stuff:  Carly’s blog – Nourish. Nature. Love.

My Run Down

So a couple weeks ago, or just about, I sorta made a commitment to run more.  To really push myself and up the mileage.  To try harder.

And I’m here to PROUDLY report:  It’s been a great success! 

before a run.

I’ve been regularly doing 4 mile runs, with some speed work in there.  And I have finally understood and embraced the idea of a “recovery run.”  Really!  A two mile run helps me to loosen up and heal.

and after. that's the happy face of exhaustion. or well, some kind of face of exhaustion.

Something I learned about my body long ago is that I’m slow to warm up.  And I hate that.  I used to hate warming up at swim meets, I just wanted to race.  But when I’m honest, my body functions so much better hot.  I need to really warm up and get loose.  On most of my longer runs these days, I’ve really used that first mile or so to just shake it out and get into it.

I’ve been having so much fun running.

this is my view when running, what's not to love?

Everyday I look forward to going.  I think about running when I’m not doing it.  And slow as I may still be, I don’t care.  I just love it.

I would say I’m running about 20 miles a week.  Maybe 25? Yeah, closer to 25.

I’m no rockstar on two legs.  But I’m doing something I love, that’s good for my body, mind, and spirit.

So there ya go.  Accountability!  I am following through.  And quite happily.

Oh, I think my little pooch friend is quite happy about it too.

jayjers LOVES to run. he is such a happy pooch when we go! okay. he looks kinda miserable in this one, but it's an action shot, his tail isn't down like that. he really loves to run.

happy boy!

As far as races go, I’ve had my eye on a few.  Since we don’t know when we’re moving, it’s hard.  I don’t want to get too attached to a goal and then find out we’re leaving before the race.  Or pick one on the east coast, only to be sitting here on raceday all bummed out.

But i’m purposefully working on my mileage and stepping it up so that I’ll be able to physically run a half marathon in a couple-ish months.  I think that’s a good goal for now.

workin' on my night moves

And my body. I’ve noticed some great body changes.  My core is getting stronger (I’ve been working on abs separately too), I’m more flexible (because stretching after a run is the best), my posture is getting way better (I swear, I’m starting to “look” like a runner), AND … I’ve even dropped some lbs lately.  I’m super happy about all of this. I’m going to write a post next week updating my health, and how I think running is helping me to feel better in a lot of ways.

stronger than yesterday. pooch agrees.

moar flexy.

I’m also being super mindful of my bum leg.  (I trained for a marathon I was never able to run because I let myself develop a stress fracture).  The leg gets shin splints easily, and I have to take care of it.  Including rest days, and exercising it properly (my foot kind droops.  I was born pigeon-toed, and this leg didn’t heal as well as the other, so my right leg just naturally turns in, my toe points in all the time and I’m more comfortable standing, walking and running on the outer edge of my foot vs. the whole bottom of my foot.  So, I’m strengthening my leg/ankle/foot to try and get that sole placement to become more natural.  It’ll help my leg and my form in general.  So here’s to taking that seriously!

All in all, it’s going great!  

that's the look of someone having fun. sweaty fun.

I’ll keep updating along the way.  I promise.  Thanks to everyone cheering me along and to all the other running bloggers I’ve recently linked up with.  It’s exciting to have people rooting for me.  I’m rooting for y’all too!

As always – thank you for reading! Love, hhr