These are a few of my favorite things

...Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,
bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens...

I'd like to tell you all about a few of my favorite things! I haven't been running long, but in the short time I've been hitting the road and trail I've found some things that I can't live without. Let me share!

FIRST: Cherry juice



I buy this kind of cherry juice concentrate. You just mix two tablespoons of it into some other beverage like water, juice, or even (my personal favorite) coconut water.

Why cherry juice? It's packed full of antioxidants.. That means it works to repair our bodies, especially those little muscle tears caused by running. I'm not a doctor and don't know exactly how it works, but I can tell you that it makes me recover much faster than I normally would from long runs.

When I get back from long runs, I mix a couple tablespoons into twelve ounces of coconut water and guzzle heartily. I swear, it'll fix all that ails ya.

(Check out here, here, and here for info about the health benefits of cherry juice.)

SECOND: My Zensah compression sleeves



Clearly, those pictured above are not mine--I have charmingly bright white ones--but they're exactly the same, and they're awesome.

From the website:

The Calf/Shin Recovery Sleeves are made with gradient compression which provides wide ribbing in the front for shin support and tight ribbing in the back for calf support.

The sleeves are made with Zensah Fabric which has silver helping to regulate skin temperature and fight bacteria. The sleeves can be worn during training or for recovery to increase oxygen blood flow to the muscles of the lower leg. The more oxygen the muscles receive the faster they recover, allowing athletes to push the envelope in their training. The Zensah Calf/Shin sleeve is ideal for runners, cyclists and triathletes and anyone else who is on their feet. It can be worn during training, recovery or for traveling.

The Zensah Calf/Shin sleeves are unique in that they provide Pin-Point Compression to the front and back of the leg. The dual action support was developed by a professional athletic trainer.

They do everything that they say they do. On days that I run without them or fail to wear them for awhile post-run, I recover seriously slower than when I'm wearing them. I can feel them supporting my calves and shins as I run, too. I wear them on every run and after every run.

THIRD: My Gracie's Gear tank

You've seen me wearing this in some of my running photos.



Ladies, go get yourself one. It's supportive and functional. The girls stay in place, and there's a front pocket big enough for your phone or iPod. There's also a loop on the side of the tank strap to thread your headphones cord through. It's magical--such a little strip of fabric being so darned nice! Also, it's long enough to hit your waist and doesn't ride up when you run.

Get one here.

What can you not live without? What are some of your favorite things?

Muddy Buddy! And my first 13.1

Last Saturday was Muddy Buddy! As I'm sure you know, I love me a good mud race. My first one was the Warrior Dash on May 22nd (click here for the race recap), and I was instantly hooked! There's just something awesome about being covered head to toe in mud in public. Love it.

Here are the all the crazy kids who came with me this time:



From left to right: Paul, Emily, Jessica, me, Rusty, and Patrick.

We decided to race in the coed division, so the teams were Paul & Emily, Jessica & Patrick, and Rusty & me.

We got there nice and early so that we'd have plenty of time to prep our gear.









We started in the fourth wave, so we had a nice, long wait in line, too.







The concept of Muddy Buddy is that you and a buddy race as a team with one bike between you. One person starts on the bike, and the other person starts running. At the end of each one-mile leg, the biker drops the bike, goes through an obstacle, and runs the next leg; the runner runs the leg, does the obstacle, and picks up the bike for the next leg. You alternate for 5 legs.

The bikers got a head start on the runners so there wouldn't be a big mess with runners and bikers trying to share the path. The whole race was on a trail with a lot of single-track, so it was important to divide up the group ahead of time!

Here go the bikers:



Here go the runners:



We decided to have the boys start on the bikes and the girls start on their feet. Jess, Emily, and I stayed together for the first leg, but Jess and Emily dropped back when we hit the first obstacle and picked up the bikes for our first biking leg. They were pretty worn out from the running leg and wanted to take it slow. They kept up with me at a 9:00-minute pace, and they aren't really runners!

The obstacles went like this:

• After 1st leg: Cross a balance beam
• After 2nd leg: Crawl under a fishing net
• After 3rd leg: Climb a rock wall
• After 4th leg: Climb a fishing net and slide down an inflatable slide
• Before the finish line: Mud pit!

I felt pretty awesome through the first two legs! Rusty was waiting for me when I hit the bike drop at the end of the second leg, but he did have a two-minute head start at the beginning--I didn't feel too bad! The third leg (my second running leg) was a bit rough. It was HOT outside! We're talking 90's with 100% humidity. I had sweat dripping from every inch of my skin. The course was steep and hilly to boot, so it was that much harder! I ran most of the leg, but I walked up most of the steep hills. The rest of the race went by in a similar fashion--mostly running/biking with some walking up the steep hills.

Luckily Jeff's mid-race perch was at a flat spot so I was actually on the bike!



The last leg (my third running leg) was actually 1.2 miles, and it seemed to go on and on and on. Before I knew it though, I heard the roar of the finish area and saw the signs for the mud pit! Rusty was waiting for me in front of the mud pit and we crawled through together.

Rusty and I crossed the finish line first and met up with Jeff in the finish area.



DONE!



Emily and Paul crossed next...



...then Jess and Patrick!



Muddy Buddies!



Muddy Buddy sucess! Rusty and I ended up finishing in 54:29, 32nd out of 63 teams in our division (coed teams whose ages add up to between 56 and 65). Rusty has finished in 54 minutes and some change for the last three years! I'm glad I was able to keep up!

I took my shoes off in the car--I was DIRTY!



After the race, I came home, iced, and ate ate ate! I knew I had a long run Sunday, and I wanted to make sure I was appropriately fueled and rested. I was scheduled to run 12 miles, and I was a little nervous about it because of what happened post-Warrior Dash. I don't have a lot of experience with back-to-back runs because my training schedule only has me running Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.

I woke up Sunday morning, bright and early at 4:30 AM, and fueled with 1/2 a whole-wheat bagel and some Gatorade.



I left the house at 5:30 AM. Despite my goofy smile in the photo above, once I started running I felt like absolute CRAP. My shins were killing me! They threatened to give out with every step. Usually, I wear my Zensah compression sleeves on every run, but I didn't wear them at Muddy Buddy because I didn't want to get them dirty in the mud pit.

Zensah <3.



I told myself I'd reevalute the situation at mile 5. If I still felt like crap and my shins were still threatening failure, I'd turn home (at mile 5, I'd only be .4 miles from home).

Luckily, at mile 5, I felt flippin' fantastic! My shin/calf aches had worked themselves out, and I was feeling pretty powerful. I had told myself before I even started that if I was feeling good I was going to push for the whole 13.1. A half mary!

I needed to prove to myself that I could do it. I needed to know what I was made of. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

I did it, too! GO ME! I didn't have anything left in the tank and was certainly ready to stop at 13.1, but I did it! That's all that matters to me.

This bodes well for the weekend after next, when I'll have to run 14 miles on Saturday and then run my first 10K on Sunday!

It's the PEACHTREE ROAD RACE, baby! Once of the biggest races in the country!



More blogging soon. Miss you guys!

First bike ride and new running booty!

Today was a bit hectic. I have a (fake) trial on Friday that I (and my witnesses) are tragically unprepared for, so I was working with them and working on the trial all day today.

Note: When I say I'm tragically unprepared, I don't really mean it. I'm a bit OCD and extremely type-A when it comes to work/school, so I mean unprepared by my standards.

Anyway, I decided to go for a bike ride this afternoon (a) to clear my head and (b) to keep my muscles working. I know it's an off day for marathon training, but I have trouble going a day without exercise.

I've been bike training at the gym for the last few months, but today I decided to dust my bike off and go for a real ride!



Isn't she precious? I got her off craigslist last fall. I love me a little vintage Raleigh action. :-)



The bike ride was awesome! It was a bit harder than I expected, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I just did a 5-mile loop around the neighborhood, which was a nice little bike "snack," as my darlin' calls them. The only downside? Massive gusts of yellow pollen! Have you heard about our dilemma down here in the South? We're having pollen counts in the 5,000 range. Yikes!

This is what one of my roommates' cars. Holy moly!



I came home to the pleasantest of pleasant surprises. MAIL! I'll be the first to admit that I have a bit of an online shopping problem. However, I maintain that everything I bought in this last binge was necessary!

First, I got my Bondi Bands. Yay! No more sweat in the eyes for me! A wicking headband is exactly what I've been needing.



I also got this Gracie top from Bondi Band.



Good points: It has a pocket in the front for your iPod/phone and a loop on the shoulder to feed your headphones through. It's an awesome fabric and really supportive, too. Bad point: It's a little short for me. I have a long torso, and it barely meets the top of my shorts. I can wear it for running, but I can't wear it for biking because it won't cover my back when I'm bending over my bike.

From Running Warehouse, I got these fantastic Brooks Epiphany Stretch Running Shorts. LOVE them.



Also from Running Warehouse, I got two more toys that I haven't tested yet.

A Nike chip for my shoe with a wristband that records the data...



...and a CamelBak! Woohoo!



I'm going to have to do my long runs outside in the Georgia heat come summer because my gym ceases being open on Sundays. 20-mile runs in the Georgia summer? I'm going to need some hydration! Also, I'm going to need it for long bike rides. I've never been as thirsty as I was out on my bike today!

Must. Drink. More. Water.

What do you guys binge on when you have that itch to do some shopping?

Changing it up

Today's run was a bit different than usual for two reasons: (1) I went iPod-less, and (2) I had new clothes!

So, first, the lack of iPod. When I was getting ready to run, the skies were quite threatening looking and the The Weather Channel was forecasting thunderstorms within the 30 minutes it would take me to run my "Hilly McMountains" 3-mile loop (goes up and down 4 serious hills). Fearing a torrential downpour before I made it back, I went out without my beloved music-maker.



It was nice! I channeled my inner yogi and focused on my breath and on my feet connecting with the ground. I also paid more attention to my stature and running form, which actually made the run feel both easier and shorter! This isn't something I'm going to do all of the time, but I definitely enjoyed it today--it was a refreshing change.

Do you run with or without music? I'm curious as to other people's preferences!

Second, my new apparel! Being new to the exercise world, I don't have many of the right tools yet. For example, up until yesterday, I had just been wearing a cotton sports bra and a cotton t-shirt when running. Yesterday, though, I got my first dry-weave running tank in the mail! It's nothing fancy--it's just from Old Navy--but I'm already in love! Here it is with my usual running shorts (which I'm excited about replacing when my new ones arrive tomorrow!).



I love that the bra and tank are one piece. I love having the freedom to swing my arms wide when I'm huffing it up hills. I love that it wicks the sweat off of my back before it drips down into my shorts! It was a totally new experience.

Bonus? It shows off one of my (six) tattoos!



This is my koi. I got him on a little island off the eastern coast of Thailand called Ko Samet by an artist named Wijit. This was my first tattoo of two in Thailand--I lived in Thailand for about 6 months in 2006 while volunteering, and the tattoo art there was too amazing to pass up!

Also, for those who are curious, I did make it back today before the rain! Yay! I was only wet from the buckets of sweat pouring out of me, which reminds me that I've got to start drinking more water!