Listen to Your Body!

Listening to your body is one of the most important things you can do! In my case, I am not running for anyone but myself and can do what I feel like. Some days what I feel like doing is nothing, which is not usually the right answer, but it can be.

Yesterday, doing nothing was the right answer for me. I was supposed to run 2 miles per my training plan, but I woke up and my legs were still hurting from a previous run, I had a splitting headache and my bed was just too comfy to get out of. So, I stayed in bed for an extra hour instead of getting up and running.

I made up for it this morning because Andy left for PT at his usual time and I never fell back asleep. Instead of laying in bed and checking up on Facebook, Instagram, and emails (what I usually do when I don't run in the morning) I was productive! I did my 2 miles and they felt awesome! I felt rested and my body was feeling good, it was also nice and cool out and the sun was just coming up. It was a pretty perfect morning run and I am glad I did it.

You just have to listen to yourself and see what is best for you that day. There is no rule saying you have to follow your training plan 100%, you can make adjustments as you see fit. If that was the rule, I would be a serious rule breaker.

What do you do? Do you stick to your training plan mile to mile? Or just go on what your body is telling you?

Hydration is Key!

Hydration is one of the most important things when running, and even when you are not running. When I was in high school, and sometimes in college, I would faint a lot. It was weird and I did not like it, and it happened so often that I could usually feel when it was going to happen so I at least had a little time to get myself seated somewhere and get it under control.

Until my mom and I were flying back from Greece with a layover in Germany and I almost knocked over a while display of cognac in a duty-free store as I was fainting. When we got home, we went to all sorts of doctors and they all told me to drink more Gatorade because I had an electrolyte imbalance (maybe those doctors got some sort of kickback from Gatorade, because they all told me the same thing haha). Well, drinking a million bottles of Gatorade a day was bad because then I started getting cavities. Gatorade has tons of sugar which is not the best. So, I stopped drinking Gatorade all the time and luckily I don't faint anymore.

I also love my morning coffee, hot or iced, I love it all.

But, coffee (caffeine) dehydrates you, so you need to boost your hydration back up during the day.

When I started running I knew I would need something more substantial than just water on my runs. Enter Nuun Hydration!

This is the best and I am so glad I found it! I first found out about Nuun on some other blogs that I read and knew I wanted to try it, no sugar and no carbs, but lots of electrolytes. Sounded great to me, but were to buy it in little ol' Lawton, OK?

Well, there wasn't anywhere to buy it here so when we went to Oklahoma City for Andy to pick up some new running shoes at the closest running shop to us (an hour and twenty minutes away) I figured I would pick up some Nuun. I did and I am so glad that I found it. Then, last month, Lawton opened a new shopping center which includes not only a Target (thank heavens) but also an Academy Sports, and they have Nuun in stock! So glad that I don't have to drive to OKC just for Nuun now.

They have all sorts of favors (14), but my favorites so far might be tropical or fruit punch. I will be ordering the watermelon soon because I hear that is awesome, and they are currently doing free shipping on their website!

What do you use to hydrate on your runs? Or during the day in general, because for me, Nuun is an all day affair, no just on a nice run. Have a great day!

I Love Planning

The title says it all, but yes, I really do like to have things planned out. That is why I loved getting a training schedule for our running groups, and was super excited when my new Lilly Pulitzer planner came in the mail on Saturday. Out with the old and in with the new!

Seeing the mileage that I need to put in for the day and getting to cross it out on my schedule when I complete it makes me feel really great. I feel like I have accomplished something and can go on with what I have planned for the rest of the day.

Also, since I got my new planner I spent Sunday afternoon planning some fall races for us while Andy had school work. I am pretty excited for the following races:

Saturday, August 24th: GloRun in Edmond, OK or Moore War Strong Run in Moore, OK
Saturday, September 7th: The Color Run in Wichita Falls, TX
Saturday, September 14th: Devil Dogs Run 10k/5k here at Fort Sill
Sunday, October 6th: Spirit of Survival! (Quarter Marathon for me and Half Marathon for Andy)
Saturday, October 26th: West End Center's 5k Spooky Sprint in Roanoke, VA

It is so much fun to have races to look forward to! We are currently only signed up for the Spirit of Survival as that is what we are training for with our groups, but I cannot wait to sign up for the others! What fun races do you have coming up on your schedule?

Weekend Catch-Up

I have defiantly been slacking in the blogging department lately, but I will get back at it. Starting off with our great weekend! This weekend involved a lot of relaxing which I was a big fan of! Friday night we went to one of our new favorite restaurants, El Greco, here in Lawton. Then came home for a relaxing night.

Saturday we were up bright and early for our training groups. It was a lot of fun, though I came home with about a million mosquito bites and my legs are itching like crazy. After our run, we came home and showered, then headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. That seems to be our new Saturday morning routine, and I am totally okay with that! After breakfast we headed out for some errands at Target and the farmers market.

When I got home, our new bedding had arrived! I was so excited and think it looks great, and matches our new bedside lamps perfectly! While I set up the new bedroom, Andy got to pickling. Yep, he made pickled watermelon rinds and a jar of pickled tomatoes and peppers. Now we wait, hopefully they will taste great in about a month!

Sunday was spent relaxing as Andy had a paper to write. So, I cooked a yummy breakfast of granola pancakes, eggs over easy and turkey bacon. Andy began his school work and I began laundry and catching up on the whole season of Real Housewives of Orange County. I also hung out with this little guy, every dog needs 4 toys in his face at nap time, no? Haha

Then we used our new storage bags, they are awesome and now all of our extra bedding fits nicely in one cabinet in the laundry room! (there is another full storage bag, but I didn't get a picture of that one)

It was a nice lazy day and was concluded with dinner at Red Lobster and the beginning of Shark Week! Everyones favorite week of the year is Shark Week, right? But I was rather disappointed in Megalodon, mostly because I think 90% of that was fake. They better step it up for the rest of Shark Week, or I am going to be one disappointed lady.

For the Girls!

That's right fellas (if there are any male readers other than my husband), this one if for the ladies.

Now, I am not one to buy the most expensive workout gear, simply because I don't see the point. It is clothing that you are just going to get nasty and sweaty in, and there is no need to spend $70 on a pair of capris or $50 on a shirt. Some people might see the difference, but I love gear from Old Navy and Target, and when I am feeling fancy I order stuff off 6PM.com because they have all of the name brand stuff for way less, and I am all about a good deal! However, two things that a woman should invest in are good running shoes and good sports bras.

I used to only wear C9 by Champion (the Target workout brand) sports bras. I thought they were good enough, and they run about $10-$15 so they were at a price point that I wanted to pay. But, once I started running more and more, I began to notice that they were not going to cut it. They simply did not have the support that my girls needed. They are good for lower impact sports, like weight training, yoga, etc, where you are not constantly and quickly moving up and down, but not for running. So, I began the search for the right sports bra for me. Everyone is built differently, so these might be great for some peoples runs, you just need to find what works for you!

Enter Moving Comfort! I read other blogs and reviews and a lot of people seemed to have good luck with the Moving Comfort brand. I decided that I wanted to try the Rebound Racer , which is made for high-impact sports. I already have three running skirts from them and I love those, so I figured I would give Moving Comfort bras a shot, but was not thrilled about the $50 price tag. Until, my birthday rolled around at the end of last month and I had an email pop up saying $25 off your purchase of $50 or more!

Needless to say, that was enough to put me over the edge and invest. Plus, they have a lot of their spring items on sale, so I ended up with the below!

Usually these four would cost me a total of $200! Yeah, I don't think so, I am not made of money and just cannot bring myself to spend $200 on sports bras. But, being the awesome (self-proclaimed) deal-hunter that I am, I got all of these babies for a total of $70!

They fit great, have adjustable straps (that are slightly padded), have a hook closure in the back, and are double lined so there is no free show in the rain or cold. As an added bonus, the coral/blue, purple/yellow and black/gray are the color combos of the skirts I have from Moving Comfort, and who doesn't love to match! Now, I just cannot wait until the new colors go on sale so I can scoop those up too!

Week One Complete

Last week was week one of our training plan for the Spirit of Survival race! It was a good week, followed by a group training session on Saturday! Plus, we got to pick up our training shirts, and who doesn't like a new training shirt!

We had a really awesome session of getting to meet with our training teams and doing our first training run, which is on the race course so it is nice to get familiar with it! A morning run was also the best way to start our Saturday!

After the run we came home, showered and hit up Cracker Barrel because I was starving. We had a yummy breakfast and then hit the road. We drove up to Oklahoma City for the day to get Andy a new pair if running shoes, and OKC is the closest running shop. Andy is now the proud owner of a pair of Saucony Guide 6s and he loves them. Still don't think that is going to make me stray from my lovely Mizuno Wave Riders though!

After the running shop we spent the afternoon at the zoo! I was so excited to go to the zoo because I love animals (especially elephants) and because our first date was to the North Carolina Zoo, so zoos hold a special place in my heart.

We had a lot of fun, but it was insanely hot and humid and we must have walked about 4 miles around the zoo on top of our morning training session, so my legs were shot. Finally, we hit Chili's for a late lunch/early dinner and then made the hour and a half drive back to Lawton. We had a low key Saturday night which included some wine, PJs and movies and I loved it! Now, I leave you with some cute animal pictures to get you though your day!

 Momma and baby!

 Who knew sea lions could paint?!?!

My favorite, a little elephant family!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday!

 That right folks, its been raining for 4 days non stop... big change from very dry El Paso!

 The cutest puppy in the world also loves to steal q-tips from the bathroom trash

 Day one of our training schedule....

 .... and we were drenched from the rain/sweat when we got home (at least the rain keeps it cool around here)

 We bought a hummingbird feeder over the weekend and got our first visitor!

Lastly, someone turned 4 on Sunday and got his very own, homemade, puppy-safe, birthday cake!