Running Love

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Sunday night I returned home from my weekend whirlwind to Birmingham and the Mercedes Half Marathon. It was back to the cold and back to reality.

Fortunately, it wasn't cold for long. The temperatures warmed up and melted quite a bit of our snow cover. The onslaught of sick children with the flu continued at my clinic. When will it end? Fortunately, I was still feeling the love from my weekend away.

Let's recap the week!

Yoga
When I woke up on Monday, I was exhausted. I was also a little sore from my race. Fortunately, I didn't have a run planned until Wednesday. I rolled out the yoga mat. I searched the video library of Five Parks Yoga and found a 60 minute deep stretch video that hit all the high points. All better! Well, almost.

This week's INKnBURN yoga pose was skandasana. I cannot get very low, thank you very much tight hips.

Running
On Wednesday, the sun was out and the sky was blue. It was also somewhat warmer, about 37 degrees and my run felt fantastic. I did 6 miles around the neighborhood. Thursday was foggy, cloudy, and damp. Feeling achy, I reluctantly took my run to the retention pond and set out to do 4 miles. I wasn't planning on it, but I felt so great that I did 9:1 run/walk intervals instead of the usual 4:1. I was really pleased with my pacing on this run --after the slog in Alabama, it felt great to have some speed back in these legs. I hate to admit it, but maybe running in the cold isn't so bad after all.

A love filled run for Valentine's Day

Saturday's run was more of the same. I did the 9:1 intervals again. Somehow, I miscalculated my route and would have ended up with 4.5 miles instead of the planned 4. Oh, what the heck? I let my legs do the talking and took the long way home (see what I did there?). I finished up with a speedy 5 miles. My last mile was 8:44m/m. I did need to get to work after all. On Sunday, there was a fresh dusting of snow but the warm sunshine was making it all melt. I wanted to get out there and enjoy it. My legs still felt good and I breezed along for 6.2 miles. I like this recovery stuff.

Taking the long way home

CrossFit
On Thursday, I pulled into the parking lot at the CrossFit box and surprise! Steph pulled in behind me. Her work has really gotten busy and she's had trouble finding time to join me at the box. Sammy Jo had a great workout planned for us, with some back squats, chest presses, lat pulls, bosu balancing, and a partner activity where we passed a 25# medicine ball back and forth. These workouts never fail to put a smile on my face! Next week, I'll go back to twice weekly crosstraining with conditioning on one day and strength on the other.

That's 135#, y'all!

Randoms
Now that Mercedes is done, what's this runner to do next? I want to do another race in April and I'm torn between the Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon in Springfield and the Wintrust Lakefront 10 miler in Chicago. I wanted to run that Lincoln half for the bling--it's usually a giant penny-- but this year they changed the medal to a copper-colored stovepipe hat. Seriously, is the bling a deal breaker for me? Am I that superficial?

Last week, I did my first ever Facebook Live video on Great Lakes Gelatin Collagen Hydrolysate. I was a wreck but I think it went pretty well. Except that I couldn't get the camera angle right and I looked tired and old. I kept saying ummm... Actually, the experience wasn't as bad as I expected--it was kind of fun and yes, I'd do it again!

Look I saw at the grocery store this week! I've seen the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile before but never the Peanut Wagon! I asked if Mr Peanut was there but unfortunately, I missed him. Rats! I wanted to ask him about Planters Fasciitis....

Alas, no Mr Peanut

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A few weeks ago, Pjuractive 2 Skin anti-chafing gel reached out to me on Instagram to ask if I would be interested in trying their product. The victim of vicious chafing in the past, of course, I was interested! Pjuractive 2 skin is a silicone-based anti-chafing gel that provides a protective film on the skin. According to the company website, the gel penetrates the cells of the skin, eventually strengthening the skin. The gel is water and sweat-resistant, long lasting (they claim all day long), and invisible. According to the guy who contacted me, you can use it EVERYWHERE.

I have issues with chafing in friction-prone areas like my thighs and under my arms, but also in my undercarriage. I have been using products like Triple Paste and Calmoseptine to prevent rubbing in that area, but the issue with those is that they leave a white pasty residue on my tights. Ideally, I should have used Pjuractive 2 Skin for my race last weekend in Alabama, but the mantra "nothing new on race day" kept ringing in my ears. I have been using Pjuractive 2 Skin all week since I returned and I've had zero chafing in that most sensitive of areas. I like the gel--it's colorless and is easy to apply. There is no residue, and it rinses off easily in the shower.

How was your week? Tell me the truth: Hot and humid or cold and dry for your runs? Ever take the long way home on a run even when you have to get to work? Tell me something random from your week. 

Welcome to the Weekly Wrap! Holly and I host this weekly linkup for fitness bloggers. I'm not sure how many of you actually read this section but if you are not posting a recap of training or a race, this isn't the linkup for you. It's good karma to comment on both the hosts' posts and you get extra karma for commenting on other links. Even better: since the linkup is open until Wednesday, come back later in the week and give some of our later linkers a little love! Thanks for making the Weekly Wrap such a success. 

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