Workout Recap - Week 21

Sunday, May 17th – 6 mile run with the hubby, Foam Rolled & Stretched 

Monday, May 18th – 5 mile run, Foam Rolled & Stretched

Tuesday, May 19th –  Strength Training (abs, back, arms and legs), Foam Rolled & Stretched

Wednesday, May 20th –  5 mile run, Foam Rolled & Stretched 

Thursday, May 21st – 16.9 mile bike ride, Foam Rolled & Stretched

Friday, May 22nd– 10 mile run, Foam Rolled & Stretched 

Saturday, May 23rd – REST DAY

The first week back at it, although I am without a specific training schedule. It was nice to just get out there and run. I was originally hoping to get in some hill repeats on Wednesday, but my legs were sore from Tuesday's strength training session (must have gone a little deeper than normal on my squats because MAN my quads were feelin' it!) so am trying to do a better job at taking my body's signals and LISTENING!

How were your workouts this past week? 

Sharing Saturday - KT Tape

Were you last week's #SharingSaturday winner?! Check it out here!

As runners and folks with active lifestyles, we often put our bodies through the ringer! At times our muscles, ligaments, and tendons could use some pain relief and support. That is where KT Tape comes into play.

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I have to be 100% upfront with you, I have only used KT Tape a few times... (Honestly, I have been extremely blessed to have a pretty injury-free running "career" thus far. My IT Band has flared up a bit before I found cross and strength training, but other than that I haven't really had any major running related injuries. One time I "actually" used KT Tape was when I stubbed my toe on a pool chair and needed some relief from the foot pain it caused - CLUMSY ME! Another instance I had some random heel pain and figured it couldn't hurt. The other time I used it was to cover my shoes in it for the Dopey Challenge.) I do want to mention that although I do not personally use this on a regular basis (or at least haven't yet), I know there are LOTS of you out there that do. I am NOT a doctor or offering medical advice, but I know lots of folks in the running community swear by this tape!

Please ignore the peeling toenail polish...

A little RICE {rest, ice, compression, elevation} never hurts!

Hey, it went with my costumes!

"If you don't use it, why do you have it?" GREAT QUESTION!

You see, they had a contest on Instagram a few months back. It was pretty simple to enter... Repost a picture, follow a couple accounts, and hashtag your post. Easy peasy, right?! The prize? A YEAR'S SUPPLY OF KT Tape! Well, you know I love me some giveaways, so I reposted the picture and sort of forgot about it.

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That was until my Instagram feed started BLOWING UP with congratulations! GUESS WHAT... I WAS ONE OF THE LUCKY WINNERS!!

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Part of me thinks NO ONE ever wins these contests, yet another part of me thinks, if someone does, why can't it be me?! I mean Ryan and I DID win a free trip to Costa Rice from Dole through a contest we entered on Facebook (All we had to do to enter that one? Submit your first name, last name and email address!), so you'd think I would believe my own advice that SOMEONE has to win so you might as well throw your name in the ring!

Anyway, the wonderful folks at KT Tape contacted me and I got to select 20 rolls. They had 10 colors in stock, so I figured I would pick 2 of every color - NO BRAINER!

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As I mentioned, I haven't needed to use the KT Tape yet, so I still have rolls to share. I have given most of the rolls away to friends, but still have some left. I wanted to share the wealth and have a fun GIVEAWAY (I believe I am blessed to bless others, so my gain is now YOUR gain) - hence SHARING SATURDAY!

This giveaway is for two rolls of KT Tape PRO - one Rage Red and one Sonic Blue (both with 20 strips in each). There will be ONE winner selected and they will receive BOTH rolls of tape.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Enter early and often (some of the entries are available DAILY). I did want to mention, this giveaway is NOT sponsored or affiliated with KT Tape in any way... I am just sharing my winnings with YOU! It will run through Friday, May 29th at 11:59pm PST. I will contact the winner via email (using the email address listed through Rafflecopter) who will have 24 hours to respond and claim their prize. Also, the entires ARE verified, so please make sure you complete the task or I'll have to pick a new random winner.

Thursday Triumph: Stepping Outside My Comfort Zone

It seems like lots of us are really enjoying the positivity of a CELEBRATION post... Helps us focus on how far we've come and what we are doing RIGHT! GO US! Whether the triumphs are large or small, I truly believe it is important to recognize them NO MATTER WHAT! {Link up with me, Smitha, and Linzie to honor what you are currently succeeding at!}

And just in case you didn't believe me about my REST week that I celebrated last week... Here is a snapshot of the week care of my Garmin Connect... Yup, I only hit my step goals twice and one of those days was due to the Eugene Marathon...

Today's Triumph:

Doing things outside my comfort zone!

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You could say running is was outside of my comfort zone. When I started about 3 years ago I was NOT a runner. I would say I was "active", but would never even consider going out and running "for fun". A friend challenged me to sign up for the 2012 Disneyland Half Marathon and I guess I haven't stopped since! In the process I found a passion, a community of amazing people, and an acceptance of myself that I would have never imagined (#RealTalk - it is still a daily struggle, but one I am working on continually).

Since I have been running though, I have pretty much just stuck with that. Of course once a week I will do some strength training (YAY for my 5lb weights...) and cross training (normally biking or swimming), but for the most part I am perfectly happy just running until my little heart is content.

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PS Pardon the french ;)

I have always said I wanted to try things like yoga or spin, but with race after race on my calendar I have never found the time to squeeze it in with my already busy training schedule. (More #RealTalk - I am frugal, so shelling out money for classes I'm not sure I will like isn't high on my priority list.)

Last week I changed that! (It also helped that I was taking the mandatory rest week from running so I had time to test the waters a bit.) I took a Yoga for Runners Workshop and even agreed to go with the one and only Smitha to a spin class that StuftMama is teach (Smitha was sick last week {BOO sinus infections} so we had to postpone it, but it is still a BIG STEP just to say YES)!

I am even considering hitting up a free yoga class that is at our local Patagonia on Tuesday nights and maybe even trying out the November Project down in San Diego (the difficult part with that one is it takes 45-50 minute to get there and the workouts start at 6:30am so I really have to be committed).

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Baby steps, baby steps I tell ya! I know me and I know that if I want something to stick I need to make sure I can fit it into my life on a regular basis or it will be a one and done sort of thang. Normally if I go big, I end up just going home and scrapping it all. One foot in front of the other and I will broaden my horizons!

What are you triumphing in lately?! 

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Here are all the RULES you need to know to participate in the Thursday Triumph LinkUp!
     1. Linzie, Smitha and I will start the LinkUp Post every Wednesday night by 11:59 EST. It will be hosted here, on Sharp Endurance and on Running With SD Mom. You can link up your posts any day of the week but the most common day to do so is Thursday. The post can be about any TRIUMPH in your life! Each linkup will be open for one week only.
     2. Entries that are not associated with a POST or just linked to your homepage will be deleted.
     3. Link back to Running With SD Mom, Sharp Endurance & Carlee McDot so others can add their link and find others too! You can use the above graphic if you'd like!
     4. MOST IMPORTANT: You MUST visit the person's blog who linked up directly before you and leave them a motivating comment and share their POST. This is the most important part of the linkup. We want lots of links and we want to help each other out. This is MANDATORY!
     5. Void where prohibited.

An InLinkz Link-up