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About Cait

Freelance writer, artist, & graphic designer. Founder of Ezzere Running Shirts http://ezzere.com/ #runner #writer #blogger #artist #designer Run. Laugh. Be.

Treadmill Quirks And New Shoes Equals Happy Feet!

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Cait — 5 Comments ↓

Happy Saturday my bloggy friends! What are you all up to? Well, remember how I was b****ing about it still being cold up here? Well, no longer…thank you Mr. Sun! That said, it is a little tricky only because here in P-town lots of apartment complexes just don’t have AC. That’s fine because we don’t need it most of the year, but there are always a few rough weeks were I sleep with the fan blasting full force down on me and I’m still a drippy mess.

Hey, but ENOUGH complaining out of me! haha…I’m a total weather weenie and so I apologize; though on the whole I’m really happy to be blessed with some rays of sunshine! Okay, all this weather talk makes me feel like I’m an old granny, so moving on.

Today on the menu was a long run; I did it on the treaddy (a long run? really, Cait? I know, I need to bite the bullet and just get over my outdoor aversion/scaredy cat/freakiness!) and I’m not even going to admit what was on the TV. (at least it wasn’t Lifetime, okay?!?!) Total clocked in at 12 and some change and I pushed the middle five as a breakdown tempo. The thing with me and treadmills, brace yourself for yet another quirk of mine, is it bugs me that the one in my gym starts clocking the distance at the target pace while it’s ramping up to that speed. So by the time you actually get moving the ticker says you’re already about .6 ahead of where you ‘really’ began. Okay, what is that? 100 meters…nothing, I know. But then here’s the OTHER thing, and this one really cheeses me off, the darn treadmill has a max time limit of 60 minutes. Well, what about if you want to run more than that? You have to rest the thing, and then you have to start over again, and then you have to go through the whole ramping up process again.

So then, I can’t just end my run at 12 miles on the dot, can I? Of course not OCD Cait. So I do a little ‘cushion’ and run at least .12 longer. Well, so I was going about my biz today and got a little caught up in the show and so my run ended up being almost 13, not quite but closing in on, but whatever, I’ll take the little extra, think of it like dessert. 🙂 And anyways, I think I need to send some workout love to my girl Katywho is being SMART and nursing that knee of hers back to full health. Don’t worry, she’s been tearing it up on the dance floor as cross training, so you all should also donate her some miles yourself and wish her a speedy recovery!

Secondly, I did something stupid, something I know better than to do. I tell people how important it is to not neglect this, but I did it. I’ve been running in the same pair of shoes for far too long. Really, it was more just that it kind of slipped my mind, but my body started to remind me in the way of just little aches and pains. Nothing too major (at least I’m hoping…haha) but just some cries for some new kicks, ones that aren’t beaten down and lacking the necessary cushioning and support.

Running shoes are expensive too! So ya, the cheapo in me isn’t all to thrilled, but I figure our sport really doesn’t need all that much equipment so when you do get your shoes DON’T skimp out! It’s not worth it at all, because I know if I do I’ll only wind up injured and trust me, the cost of shoes is far less of an issue than the loss of my sanity.

Yup, so broke in a new pair, I’m an overpronator so got me my stability shoes and must say my feet are happy. Also, please note that in the pic my top is red and look, so is the little trim around my shorts…now for this total fashion disaster this was a pretty ‘on’ day for me! 🙂 On that note, I’m off! Hope you all are having a great Saturday…and for all those now free of school for the summer…HURRAH!! 🙂

1) Do you have any freaky quirks about treadmills like me?

2) Do you change your shoes as much as you should?

Usually I do, or if I forget I get on it right away. I go through shoes really fast, that’s why it’s smart to make a note in your training log anytime you get a new pair, then you should replace them anywhere between 300 and 500 miles.

3) What’s going on for your weekend?

Feelin The Love And When Spiders Attack

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Cait — 5 Comments ↓

Alright, so first off thank you to all the people out there who have made me and my salt exuding pores feel better…we are not alone! I think that’s also a reason why I crave saltier things during the summer, and also why I don’t really feel all that bad about eating more sodium that I think people recommend. All that white stuff leads me to believe I’m obviously losing plenty of it, along with all those other electrolytes, so gotta make sure to replenish them.

Second thing, if you’re moseying on over to this blog by way of the awesome Athletarian, again I want to say thank you to my girl and also the traffic spike. Gotta say it’s a nice little ego boost when Blogger informs me that there have been more than say 3 or 4 visitors! hehe. 🙂

Had a slightly traumatic experience today during my workout. So there I was going about my thang on the tready…when ACK!! I look down to the front monitor and this long @$$ legged spider is crawling its way across the screen! No joke…now, he’s not doing anything malicious other than being a creeper, and I know logically he’s not going to jump into the air and attack me, and there is a fair distance between me and the screen, but still.

The little lurker scurried around in front of me for a good mile, mile and a half, and not gonna lie the whole time I’m sort of nervously looking down afraid he’ll leap at me or something. I wasn’t really in the position to take a good swat at him, and of course I’m too anal to actually stop the treadmill and remove him (umm, once I’m going it’d take hell or high water to make me stop! or a really bad gurgly stomach….haha), but thankfully he went away after some time. Here’s my question to you all: spiders, do you kill them, have someone else kill them, move them outside, or let them come and go as they please?

I’m not actually a person who usually freaks out about bugs and stuff (growing up I was a total nature girl and loved going bug, lizard, snake, etc. hunting) but this one was just too close for comfort, you know? And spiders and I have a history…back in Kindergarten my friend and I were going bug hunting in the field behind our school during recess. There were tons of dried leaves and branches, and I come across what I thought was a really cool looking dried up leaf, it looked like a normal brown leaf but it was puffed up in the middle like it had a huge air pocket in there, like a leaf version of bubble wrap. So naturally I take the thing and WHAM crush it between my hands.

Folks, it was a huge spider sack…I look down and it was like a terror movie, little baby semi-formed spiders, HUNDREDS of them are scurrying up my arms. They were amazingly fast, running in droves, and they were clear/see-through because they were still not fully mature. I was of course in shock but drop to the ground, start rolling around and swatting at them trying to get them off.

My friend comes over and was too tripped out to do anything other than stare and gawk, thanks Heather wherever you are today. I was able to get them off me well enough I guess, as I didn’t turn into Spidergirl, but still to this day I can vividly remember the little green-translucent creepers all over my arms, not pretty. So that’s me and spiders.

Back on track, the rest of my tread run went along pretty uneventful. Wrapped up with my Pedestal core routine and then abs. Showered off my salty crust and there she goes. Well, on that note, I’ll leave you all to enjoy the rest of your Friday!

1) Spiders and all things crawly, how do you handle them?

2) If you’re in the middle of your cardio, do you mind stopping if something comes up and then going back to it, or are you the kind of anal person like me who would keep on running even if the fire alarm went off?

To my credit, I KNEW it was only a drill, and I had only about 5 minutes left, so I waited as others filed out and once I was done I joined the rest of the stragglers. 😉

3) What’s going on for you this weekend?

Powdered Donuts, Pre Meet And Our Third Super Hero Runner

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Cait — 13 Comments ↓

Couple things to cover for today. First on the list is a question I have for anyone who is actually reading this: when you run in hot conditions do you get lots of that satly white stuff all over you afterwards? I get it, and I know it’s just the dried up salt from my sweat (and I’m convinced I’ve got overactive sweat glands…I’m a drippy mess) but I seem to be the only person I know besides my mom who comes out looking like a pretzel after running when it’s hot.

No, it’s not suddenly 90 degrees here in Portland (though it is warming up and looks like it’ll be spiking in a few days) but the gym in my apartment complex was disgustingly hot today. Their measly single fan does NOT get the job done come summertime, so my tready run left me a powdered donut. Did another 3 miles warm-up, 5 miles hard, and a cool-down followed by some arm weights. The first 2-3 miles of the harder part felt pretty good, but not gonna lie that last mile I was certainly counting down the minutes left. 😉

Second on the agenda….big weekend on tap for track and field: The Prefontaine Classic! Can I get a whoot-whoot? Okay, it’s established I’m a dork so I don’t feel bad writing that. Also not gonna lie, I’m really mostly following the distance events that are going on Friday night, namely the women’s 5k and the men’s 10k. Both fields are stacked and there should be some fast times. For the women I’m a little partial and will be rooting for Kara and Eloise…so if you’re reading this you should be too! 🙂

So in honor of the upcoming races (and there will obviously be PLENTY of action on Saturday) I’d like to unveil our third member of the Supa’ Runnas; joining The Kankled Avenger and The Cranky Hamstring we have…wait for it, wait for it: PreMONTaine. See what we did there?

The scoop on the second person brave enough to throw themselves into the rigorous application process is this: By day this standout photographer (really, do check out Derek’s site) is using his keen eye to scope out the perfect shot, be it at a sporting event or catching the lovey-dovey moments shared between man and wife as they say their ‘I Do’s’. Don’t let my sarcasm fool you, those special days should be cherished and remembered forever, that raw emotion expressed from candids are always my favorite.

Though, there is much more to the man behind the lens. He’s obviously a runner but doing so in sub-zero weather during a Duluth (Gooooodmorning Duluth! had to add that, sorry) winter takes some…well, balls. Trails are his game but all that running sure makes a fella hungry, thus enter his love affair with hot dogs, steaks (he ate his way through the Prime Quarter 48 oz’er and sides challenge in Madison, WI), and enough skittles that should send him into a diabetic coma. Sadly, he is wrong in his stance on Qdoba being better than Chipotle, but The Kankled Avenger was willing to look past that.

What our mighty runner CANNOT stand for is this: those cantankerous gym teachers that don’t understand that as members of the cross-country or track teams, when hard intervals are planned for that afternoon’s workout it’s not smart to force these runners into doing laps during PE. Now, PE is insanely important in forcing the growing number of slothy youth masses who don’t move on a regular basis, but my stance is that cross and track runners HARDLY fall into this category. (along with lots of other rigorous sport’s team members) So, sorry Mrs. Nelson, you’re wrong on tooting that whistle and you just cheesed off the wronger harrier. Using his wits and of course trusty camera, PreMONTaine is out to fight for all us runners who regulatory bust our own butts hard enough and don’t need to run extra laps in PE. Check out his pilot episode at the bottom folks!

Lastly, I really hope I’m not the only powdered donut looking runner out there and remember to root for my girls! 🙂

1) Have you turned into a salty pretzel after runs in hot weather?

2) What’s your stance on PE for kids who are already participate in highly active sports?

I think that if you’re already doing sports and getting plenty of activity, it should be optional. Shocking coming from me, but my reasoning is this: I LOVE being active and trying new things but I’ve also gotten injured doing stupid things in PE. Not only that but I was also tripped by some doof guy who didn’t want a girl to beat him in the little mile and a half run, I fell pretty hard and got banged up…not fun.

Happy National Running Day!!

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Cait — 4 Comments ↓

This one goes out to all my fellow runner fiends! (PS-that’s not a typo but friends would work too…hehe) So it’s National Running Day, (I wonder who actually comes up with these dates, is there some kind of voting thing, just curious how they go about picking these days…anyhoo) and what better way to celebrate than lacing ’em up? Me, I just put in my usual 8 easy, I was tired after yesterday and my stupid adductor (which has been bugging me for ages) is always extra tight the day after I try and go faster than my easy pace. I’ve got some exercises and stretches that I do but it’s still a pain in my butt. 😉

Enough complaining though on oh such a day! I thought it fitting to state a few reasons why I love being a runner or what running means to me:

I like that when I hop on a treadmill I can go faster than the dude sweatin it out next to me.

Runners can laugh at the ‘portion size’ listed on a nutritional labels. Three servings my @$$!

Upon meeting a stranger, the second I find out they’re a runner there’s that shared nod of the head, someone else who ‘gets it.’ Nice to meet a fellow member of the club.

Runners are generally nice folk, road races usually start at the butt-crack of dawn and people are always milling out. I’ve left my car unlocked, my racing shoes out, sweats, etc. in a little pile and gone for my warm-up. And I’m not afraid that they won’t be there when I get back. Same thing goes for track meets, people’s spikes are sacred ground, we respect it.

It could be argued that I’m addicted to running or exercising, to that I say, “Could be, but better this than crack.” True, I’ve got one of those addictive/obsessive types of personalities so I think this is one of the more benign addictions.

Feeling that jiggly leg feeling after a really good workout or race. (ummm, ya, so this may have been a while in my case…lol…but I can still remember them…hehe) You can already feel that soreness coming on during the cool-down, and you know it’s not going to be pretty later. But you were ‘on’ and that rush of endorphins numbs out any pain.

The closeness that can come between training partners/groups. Lots of it can go unsaid, for instance during hard workouts, more bonding can be done by sharing excruciating pain than lots of other things. Also more things can be shared during a long run than few other things.

I’m grateful for every step. Running maintains some semblance of my sanity.

It just makes me feel right. I can’t explain it, but if I don’t run I feel off.

Things I’m not so hip on:

I can’t get over the fact that I still hear people shout ‘Run, Forest, Run.’ Honestly, wasn’t that movie from the 90’s? Get a new line.

Back to the adductor. It seems each runner has that one ‘thing’ that’s always bugging them. Tendinitis here, weak muscle there…I sometimes joke I’ll be a cripple by the time I’m 40, but at least I’ll be happy until then.

There are highs but also plenty of lows. Running is insanely mental and it can screw with you like few other sports. Expect the bad days and then really appreciate the good ones. Still applies when you’re not racing, we all just have days that we feel crummy or like we don’t want to run. But I always feel better after I force myself to start going.

I haven’t ever run a marathon, but the first thing people ask when they find out I run is if I have. When I say ‘no’ they get that look of disappointment and then sympathy like, ‘oh, how sad, she thinks she’s a runner, poor girl.’

Getting hit by cars…’nuff said.

So I hope you all are having a great holiday, ya I’m gonna call it that! Even if you didn’t necessarily run today, because there are also times when you need to have days where you rest!

1) What do you love about running or being a fitness fanatic?

2) What are some not so fun parts?

Faux Accents and Spreadin Some Ugandan Love

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Cait — Leave a reply

That’s flippin crazy, Mates! You know how I said I was going to be visiting with my friend from Australia, well, does it also happen to you that when you’re around someone with a certain kind of accent you find yourself start to adopt their way of speaking? This happens to me, and not with all kinds of accents, I don’t usually start slipping into a southern drawl anytime I’m around a Southern Belle (not that that happens much) but certain accents I just adore. Aussies, not that it is so much of an accent, but rather I love the words they use.

I do catch myself pretending I’m British sometimes when I’m around someone with a British accent, I’ve secretly always wanted a ‘real’ British accent. So after spending longer periods of time with these people I start to unconsciously start imitating them. I swear it’s completely unintentional and when I catch myself I’m always afraid they’ll think I’m making fun of them or trying to be funny. That’s not the case at all, so then I start talking really fast in an attempt to fool them into thinking that they didn’t just hear what they think they did. Ya, I’m smooth like that. 😉

Anyways, I wanted to post the pictures that I thought were taken of me and Eloise, but when I got home I found out that the person who supposedly took the pictures didn’t in fact push the button hard enough! ACK!! To her credit, it was Grace (the sweetest girl in the world) so I forgive her and I’ll just get some pictures taken later. (So these pictures aren’t obviously from yesterday.)

See, Eloise is in town for the big Prefontaine meet coming up and she’s staying with Julius and his wife Grace, both of whom are originally from Uganda. I love it how anytime I go over to Julius and Grace’s apartment I’m immediately overcome by the most amazing smells…it seems Grace is ALWAYS cooking something. She’s also got am awesome voice and usually sings while she cooks, she’s such a cutie. It’s funny because she knows just how much I CAN’T cook and told me that I’ll never find a husband. I laughed but then realized she was dead serious, definitely a culture gap there. Or at least here’s to hoping I don’t wind up a crazy old cat lady! 🙂

Grace is famous for her Ugali bread, it’s an Ugandan flat bread and I’m not really sure on all that goes into it but maybe I’ll try and find out, and she used to make it for all the runners that stopped by. But I felt bad because as fast as she was putting them out there they were wolfed down even faster, so I’m not even really sure she was actually able to eat any.

Julius is hilarious and should write a book full of just his sayings. Some really off the wall stuff that just doesn’t always make sense but you laugh regardless. Though, one that does make sense that he uses whenever we are chanced with sunny weather is, “The sun is smiling on us today.” That’s a good one that I like. Anyways he’s also got a love affair with honey that is like none other. I’ve seen him go through the entire head portion of those little honeybear bottles in a single sitting…no joke.

I feel really lucky to have gotten a peek into a few different cultures during my time here in Oregon, not only with Julius but also some other African and European athletes that have stayed for various training/racing stints. I’ve learned a lot, but some of it is really sad and you feel for these athletes, the things they’ve been through, their loved ones back home. The J-man (Julius) and Eloise have set up the Love Mercy Foundation and a charity for several orphans he is supporting back in Uganda that you should check out.

Wow, I have so much more I wanted to say, but this post is getting quite long! Back to Eloise, she’s raced in those compression socks and had a pair that I decided to try on. I’ve never tried a pair on, so I wanted to see what these things were all about. I also wanted to try it on because I thought they might help with my muscle hernia (aka the Kankle) leftover from my accident. Eloise likes them and they help promote blood flood, but she really relies on them the mose during long plane rides to avoid blood clots. Flying anywhere from Australia takes almost a day…not fun!

Okay, so she’s in the 5k at the Pre meet this Friday, which is going to be a pretty stacked race. Hopefully some good conditions will come about because everyone loves some smoking times. 🙂 So wish her luck! And I also just heard Kara will be in the race too so we have two awesome people to send our collective positive vibes to! DO IT! 🙂 Though, I guess technically they’ll be racing in the pre-Pre meet, because traditionally the Prefontaine Classic his mostly shorter stuff so all us long distance lovers get it on the night before.

Alright, mates, last thing. I’ll add my personal touch…though it’s far more boring (and slow) than what my friends are up to. Today on the treadmill I did my 3 mile warm-up, then 5 miles hard, and cool-down. Felt better than Sunday and thankfully so did my stomach. Then did my arm weights. Hope you all are having a great Tuesday! 🙂

1) Do you find yourself accidentally pretending you have an accent around others who really do?

2) What other countries have you traveled to?

I’m pretty lame, I’ve only been to Italy once and Canada…though I barely drove past the border so, ya…haha.

3) Do you find that you can tell how your workout/race is going to be off of your warm-up?

Sometimes. But then again I’ve had races/workouts that ended up being my best but in the warm-up I felt like total shiznit. I’ve also had the opposite happen.

Raise the Red, White, and Blue…And the Contradiction of ‘Easy Days’

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Cait — 7 Comments ↓

Happy Memorial Day!! Okay, it’s a little late in the day but I can still yell it out there! 🙂 Hope you’re all enjoying the holiday, maybe getting a little BBQ action, a little pool party, some nice food grubbing. If you are getting some nice sunshine I reserve the right to be a little jealous. It’s not as cold as it’s been the past few days and it’s not raining (yet) but it’s definitely not what I would consider ‘lay by the pool and bust out the grill’ type of weather.

There’s a pool here at my apartment complex but there is no freaking way you’d catch me diving in right now. I think some kids are, but I’m a total weenie and still complain getting into an indoor pool that’s heated. I have issues with being cold. Plus I’m not a big waterbaby to begin with.

Moving on…definitely had one of those ‘just get through this’ runs today and was a trooper and busted out my core/abs routine before sticking a fork in myself. I knew if I didn’t do it right after no way I’d be motivated to do it later. Then, bring on lounge lizard mode! At least I was prepared for it, it’s kind of funny to think of the word ‘easy day’ because in training it usually follows a harder workout day and even though it’s at a slower pace it inevitably winds up feeling tough because of the effort of the day before. Haha.

So you just know what’s coming, get in the token miles, and make sure you keep it at a recovery pace. But it still sometimes becomes a mind over matter issue. How I get through it is to usually tell myself to just make it to ‘X’ amount of miles (usually for me it’s 4) and I tell myself that if I really feel like sh** I can cut out early. But usually once I hit that mark I figure I’m already here, let’s just finish out what was in the training plan. All about lying to yourself at the beginning to get out the door. 😉

Just one more mile…or one more half mile. This is what I tell myself as I’m going along. “Eh, what’s one more mile? Just make it to that mark.” Running outside, we all have our usual routes and I’d have little check points or landmarks that I’d know were coming, “Just make it to that big random clocktower in the middle of suburbia with the stained glass.” That was on one of my routes, that clock was massive and so out of place, but once I got to the clock I knew I was about half-way done. I’d have others, one that was just over a mile from my house and I knew that usually no matter how junky I was feeling I could make it home once I hit that point.

Zone out. For easy days, usually your body can run on auto-pilot, it’s kind of funny how you can mentally zone out sometimes and, “Wow! Two miles just few by!” Usually it’s because I’ve got some song stuck in my head (blast that Bieber! Hehe) or this can happen a lot if you’re running with a partner.

Still, you also need to pay attention if you’re constantly feeling rundown or crappy because that can be a sign that you’re just overtraining, going too fast on your easy days, and maybe need to back off. That’s where keeping a training log can really come in handy. Go back and look that baby over, have you recently increased your mileage a lot? Also check to see if you’re hitting your harder workouts as you’d like to. If you’re not, then reassess and again make sure that your easy days aren’t being run too hard. Doing that can blur your training program into a whole gray blob, the distinction between the hard/easy days gets harder to distinguish and the workouts that you actually CARE about pace-wise start to suffer.

I’ll follow up on this post about getting through workouts that aren’t going your way and races where the second the gun goes off you know it’s gonna be a battle of wills. We all have them. Also, The Hungry Runner Girl wrote a really good post on a similar topic about mentally battling back after a crummy workout/race. You can’t let those less than stellar performances keep you from coming back because we ALL have them and those bad days are what make those good days all the sweeter. 🙂

1) How do you keep on plugging through a crummy run or workout?

2) Are you a total waterbaby or a weenie in the pool like me?

3) Favorite food at a BBQ?

My mom and grandma (we actually call her Po-Po, long story) makes this dessert call chocolate junk cake…yummy stuff!

Gurgly Guts and Aussies

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Cait — 6 Comments ↓

Fair warning, this post may be a little bit gross and hopefully not TMI. So if you don’t want to read about gurgly guts, complaining intestines, or tummy woes while running then turn back now.

If you’re still reading this than please don’t judge! hehe. And I warned you anyways, so there. Ugh, after just finishing a hard workout I’m now stuck with some nasty stomach distress. I’m not sure if this happens to everyone, or I think it does to most runners but to different degrees. I’ve always been prone to having a sensitive stomach, I can’t handle too much food/liquids in there before a run, and then sometimes during runs BAM my guts start yelling at me.

Usually it’s during longer workouts or long runs, but even sometimes during an easy run I’ll feel it. It’s so annoying because my gut has a mind of its own and who knows what it’s gonna offer up any given day. Today was one of those days, after only about a mile into my tempo I feel a little gurgle. By the end of my cooldown I knew that for the rest of the day my stomach would feel jacked up.

I know this isn’t only me, and trust me I felt for Paula Radcliffe (or anyone else I happen to see this happen to) during that race where she started to…well, do some running but not with her feet. There were times where I’d have to take an Imodium before each and every workout/race in an effort to stave off just such a thing. And not gonna lie, there was one time in particular where I finished the last lap of my workout and ran straight for the bushes! hehe. (back to the warning of the TMI, you chose to keep on reading!)

At any rate, my mom’s even worse than me and it’s kind of a little joke between she and I. I made her a funny little book awhile back and that’s where these pix are from. Enough of this nasty talk…but for any other fellow runners, do you suffer from these gurgly guts too? What have you found that helps?

In other news, I’ve got to keep this short because I’m really excited to go pay a visit to my friend in town from Australia! I’ve always wanted to go there, hopefully one day. But she’s a kick butt runner and in town for the big Prefontaine meet here next weekend. So I’m off to jump in the shower and hopefully get my gurgly gut to shut up!

1) Have you suffered from what I’m talking about?

2) Do you just think I’m totally nasty and will never visit this blog ever again after reading this?

3) Have you been to Australia before?

Kicking Core Work and Saturfarts

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Cait — 6 Comments ↓

Hope you are having a happy Saturday so far! For those people who are chained to a school schedule I know some are out for the year (my little sis has already dived headlong into summer break!), some are still stuck counting the days, but either way I think this should be a loooong weekend.

At any rate, after doing my little core routine today it got me to thinking. I’ll get asked every now and again for suggestions on exercises. Lots of time it’s about abs (who doesn’t want a nice six pack?) but making sure to hit the whole core is critical. Not only the abs, but the obliques, lower abs, back, glutes, everything baby! 🙂

This isn’t only for appearances sake either, but a stronger core will help you improve no matter what your sport of choice. For runners, cuz let’s face it that is the best sport, you want a stable core because that will help you keep good form as you tire. We’ve all seen those hunchbacks making their way to the finishline. If they were to stay erect they’d be more efficient and get to that finish faster, then be able to collapse and regroup…hehe.

All joking aside, I still do this core routine that I learned WAY back when I first moved to Oregon, gosh so that must have been at the end of 2004. Yikes! But it kicked my butt than and I still love it to this day because it’s quick but effective. I call it Pedestal, but I’ve see similar type forms of it called plenty other things. But it’s based around the plank pose…it’s just a souped up plank. 😉

Pedestal

Start balancing on your forearms and toes, holding a plank position. Keep your body in a straight line, that means suck in that tummy and make sure that booty isn’t sticking up in the air. Lift your left leg up and down 15 times and repeat with the right leg 15 times.
Now flip over so you’re balancing on your heels and forearms facing skyward. Again work to keep your body in a line. Lift your left leg 15 times, then your right 15 times.
Now turn to the right and balance on your right forearm and the side of your right foot. Stack your hips so your left leg is resting on top of the right, keep everything tight and sucked in, don’t let your hips sag to the floor. Now lift your left leg up and down 15 times.
Turn to face the to the left and then lift your right leg up and down 15 times.

So it’s a set of four poses and I like to do three sets of 15 leg lifts. For the middle set I mix it up and balance on my hands with my arms straight instead of resting on my forearms. It makes your center of balance a little different.

Anyways, it takes less than 10 minutes and you can do it after your run/workout when you’re already loose. Also nice and sweaty. 🙂

So for my Saturday, got in my easy run, did me my core, and since it looks like the sun has decided to grace me with its presence I’m thinking I might go out and enjoy the day. Or, I might just get sucked into the internet vortex, waste far too much time and then not realize that it’s suddenly ark outside. Haha. Hope you’re all having a great one!

1) Do you do core work?

2) Favorite core exercises?

3) Have you ever been in a tornado?

Totally random, but because the weather conditions seem to get crazier and crazier, and I hear about more and more poor people getting hit with natural disasters and extreme weather conditions it got me thinking about it. Ever since I saw Twister back in the day, I was obsessed with that movie and watched it until my VHS nearly broke, tornadoes have petrified me.

Insanity By Way of Twinkies and HATING Short Intervals

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Cait — 7 Comments ↓

Last night I watched a funny movie from the 90’s called ‘Trial and Error,’ I’m a cheap-o and was trolling through the free movies section available from Comcast and figured I’d give it a shot. It had Jeff Daniels, Micheal Richards (pre his freakout of recent years), and that bend and snap lady from ‘Legally Blonde.’

Anyways, long story short it’s about an actor who has to pretend to be a defense attorney for this man who is so obviously guilty. Unable to come up with a good defense they decide to plea that the client wasn’t mentally stable during the period that the crimes were committed. Reason? He was riding high off of one heck of sugar rush, years and years of junk food and sweets made him mentally incompetent. Insanity by way of Twinkies.

They had a new age doc take the stand and liken the atomic structure of sugar to that of crack. “Glucose is just one measly nitrogen atom away from cocaine!” Good times. Anyways, coincidentally later that night I check out one of my latest blog obsessions, Peanut Butter Fingers, and she had JUST posted about her latest book find, The End of Overeating. You should read her explanation of the book, but in short it isn’t too far off of what this comedy had insinuated. Food manufacturers have been in the lab trying to capitalize on sugar’s addictive quality and even make it moreso. Are Hostess and that happy Twinkie Cowboy the real drug lords? Haha…gotta love that mental picture. That huge Cowboy snorting up lines of souped up sugar! Well, heck, at least it’s not high fructose shiznit, no, he’s after the good stuff! 😉

I know I on more than one occasion have found myself suffering from a sugar headache. Food baby in belly, empty wrappers littered around you, plate licked clean. On the one hand you tell yourself to remember this nasty sugar-hangover so next time you can satisfy that sweet tooth but not just overdo it. But up until that sugar saturation point those cupcakes, cookies, ice cream, whatever, just taste SOO darn good. 🙂 Kind of like there is no gray area, you go from taste bud euphoria to WHAM that junky sluggish feeling. (Looks like this guy has had one too many Twinkies himself…hehe!) Wrapping this little ramble up, I’m really interested to hear what PB Fingers has to share about this book.

Totally switching gears to running. You know I couldn’t resist talking about it for too long folks! And hey, I am the first to say that one of the best perks about being a runner is that we can then dive into all that sweety goodness! I’d probably be obese if I weren’t a runner. Just so long as I don’t find all you guys snorting up sugar with the Twinkie man. 😉

I was reading up on another blog yesterday and Christina was looking for ways to improve her speed. My speed is horrendous and if I had my way with things I’d never do a 200 or 400 repeat again in my life! I love me my tempos and long runs. But that’s no way to really improve to the best of your ability. If you’re going to really ‘train’ then you’ve got to bite the bullet and include the workouts you hate the most. Actually, it’s probably the things you detest the most that you then need the most.

So after doing another one of my ‘favorite’ hard workouts today, I think I need to start taking my own advice and widen that range of intervals, as much as I may hate to do it. It’s not like I plan on ever PR’ing or anything, but it would be nice to get some faster running under my belt. So for us distance runners here’s to biting the bullet and busting out some 200’s, 3’s, 4’s and the like! It’s hilarious to think that something that will last less than a minute can be oh so painful and we’d rather do a hard 25 lapper instead!! Hehe.

1) What workout do you hate doing the most?

2) Favorite workout?

3) Do you get as much enjoyment as I do from the idea of Mr. Twinkie snorting sugar?

My Name is Cait…I Have a Problem…I’ve Become Addicted…

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Cait — 15 Comments ↓

Sooo, I think it’s safe to say I’ve become addicted. Constantly pushing the refresh button in case there are new updates. New pictures of people going about their lives, sharing what they ate for lunch, what random thoughts are trolling through their minds. The comment trains growing from others who are more or less just as curious as I am about these people and their lives. Did I mention I have never actually met any of these people?

I’m talking about blogs. I have a growing number of tabs on my internet browser window. I should be doing work but instead I can’t stop myself from running down the line-up in search of new ‘stuff.’ I’m hooked. I’m drooling over recipes, cursing myself for not being as creative as these other folks, laughing at quips, sharing in their excitement, and offering up support or encouragement if they are going through a tough time. It’s crazy that we all can become so emotionally invested in the lives of others we may not really ‘know.’ But on the other hand we certainly FEEL like we know these people, so I’m lacking for the proper term. I guess know in the conventional face-to-face time sense.

And also how freaking fast these ‘friendship relationships’ happen. I didn’t know these people existed not two weeks ago but now I feel like I ‘see’ them on a daily basis. Heck, some people update these suckers on a tri-daily basis (it amazes me how quickly some of these peeps are able to toss up a post…and some entertaining stuff too!).

It got me thinking how crazy this whole internet dohicky has become. The same thing goes with Facebook and Twitter. Twitter, ugh, I’m still trying to get a full handle on that thing. I’m slooowly coming along there. I find it mindblowing how much easier it has become to find people with shared interests and the ability to form these online ‘friendships.’ Not to mention the amount of information that is to be had and shared, many of these people are experts in one kind of field or another. If not with actual degrees than with years of experience. Others have goals and it’s fun to watch them go through the process. I’m still new at the whole blog thing and this is the first time I’ve kind of dived in and now I’m hooked reading all these things.

It also made me think about what it says about us as a whole, how we are generally curious about what others are up to. What others are thinking, what is going through their minds. Humans are complex in that there are far more things going on below the surface than what is portrayed on the outside. It’s kind of like everyone has dual identities, their Clark Kent outside and Superman inside. Often times the people who we see on a daily basis face to face, we may feel slightly embarrassed to be completely open with. But with blogs, it’s almost like the semi-anonymity of it all offers up the perfect platform for people to vent and let it all hang out. Odd how that happens.

People like to share and it’s not always necessarily things all that important. The good, the bad, the inane, the thought provoking, the thrilling, and the comical. All is out there and for whatever reason us readers (myself wholly included!) feel compelled to keep going back for more. Refreshing those tabs. Years ago we might have felt like peeping-toms but today we’re just loyal blog fans. :)

1) What are your favorite blogs or ones that you are hooked on?

Can’t pick just one! I’ll have to start a blogroll. 🙂

2) If you have a blog: do you usually plan your posts in advance or just start writing and see where it goes?

A combo of both. Today I had planned on writing about one thing but wound up with something totally different. I’ll post what I had planned on soon, I promise! 🙂

3) Are you a Blogger Junkie too? haha…jk.