Tuesday, July 2, 2019

7 Reasons to Embrace Being Sweaty

With the onset of this hot, humid summer, I am reminded once again of how much I sweat. I think I sweat more than the average person. Even when I run outside in the winter, after I finish I am a sweaty mess underneath all my layers. After a summer run, I am literally dripping from head to toe. I've been asked many times if I got caught in the rain. My running clothes are wrung out and hung to dry until laundry day. If I shower too soon after I run, I sweat in the shower. I sweat after the shower.

It may seem gross, it may seem annoying, but there are benefits to sweating, even for a profuse sweater like me. I found 7 reasons to embrace the sweat!



Sunday, June 30, 2019

The Heat is On!

While I wasn't loving the cool summer we were having, it did make for some really nice runs. I'm glad I had those because now it is hot and whew, have my runs been suffering. So much for the return to the kind of running I'm used to. It's become all about putting miles in the bank, maintaining fitness until the return of cooler weather.

I'm not going to complain about the heat, though. Besides my runs, I'm loving that it is finally summer! I guess you can't have it all. Even though the running wasn't the best, there was a lot of good happening this week. Let's get to it.



Friday, June 28, 2019

I'm Shrinking! and Other Runfessions

Wow, June is coming to an end! It's so hard to believe because the cool weather has lingered so long--it hasn't felt like summer. The heat is on now and just in time for the start of July. The end of the month can only mean one thing...that it's time to runfess. Marcia hosts this sole clearing linkup where we can share all our transgressions from the month. Go ahead and open up. It feels good!



Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Race Recap: Crossroads Trail Run 5k

A few weeks ago, I was planning my weekend out of town to Door County, Wisconsin. No matter where I'm headed, I always check to see if there are any races near my destination. I was surprised to stumble upon this little trail race in Sturgeon Bay. The Crossroads Trail Run has been held for the past 10 years at the Big Creek Environmental Learning Preserves. The race supports the Crossroads Trail programs and is also intended to promote environmental awareness in the community.

I loved all that, but what really got me was that every finisher would receive A TREE. The trees were donated by a local nursery. Also, because it was the 10th anniversary, every finisher would receive a handcrafted cherry wood medallion. Ok, they had me at tree, but I was pretty excited about the medallion too. Cherries are the local produce that Door County is known for. There are a variety of distances offered to participants: 10k, 5k run/walk, and a 2k walk. Because I'm still working on coming back and building endurance, I decided to do the 5k.

I talked with my son, who would be accompanying me to Door County for the weekend along with his girlfriend. They were excited to participate but decided to sign up for the 2k walk. I warned them that it would be an early morning, but they assured me it wouldn't be a problem. On Saturday, I woke them up at 6 am and although they weren't excited about the early wakeup call, we made the 45 minute drive to Sturgeon Bay.



Sunday, June 23, 2019

All I Needed

Greetings from the north woods! I'm enjoying a too-short getaway to one of my favorite places in the world, Door County, Wisconsin. I've been coming here since I was a little girl and it's always great to return to all the beauty, traditions, and memories. Even though the weather has been cool and we haven't been able to get out on the water, the sun has been shining. Sometimes sunshine and nature are all you need.



Friday, June 21, 2019

Orange Rhubarb Anti-inflammatory Smoothie

Another rhubarb smoothie recipe? We are almost at the end of rhubarb season and I wanted to use up the rhubarb remaining in the garden. I loved my Strawberry Rhubarb Smoothie recipe so much that I wanted to try something different. I searched for other fruits that might be good with rhubarb and found a lot of recipes using the natural sweetness of oranges to complement the tartness of the rhubarb.

And so my Orange Rhubarb Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie was born.



Tuesday, June 18, 2019

9 Self-Defense Weapons for Runners

Disclaimer: By discussing self-defense weapons here, I am in no way endorsing the use of any of these. This post is purely informational. Products listed are affiliate links. 

On Saturday, I took my long run to the forest preserve where so many local runners train. My running club is based there, but as I so often do, I took my time in the morning, sipping my coffee and catching up on emails and I missed the start of the group run. In the preserve is a 7.3 mile loop, which is popular with runners. I decided to run there because there are so many runners and cyclists on that loop on the weekends. I thought I'd be fine running by myself.

I finished my run feeling very strong and very happy. I had a lot of company on the path and very few stretches where I was alone. When I got in the car, I posted on Instagram and then opened up Facebook, where I saw a post from the president of our running club. He shared an incident from the morning on the very loop I had just finished running. A runner on the path was grabbed by 2 men, dragged into the woods, beat up, and robbed. He crawled out of the woods to the path where he was found by one of my fellow All Community Events ambassadors and the group she was running with. They stayed with him while they waited for first responders to help him.