2010 Walk for Farm Animals

On Saturday, October 16th, I joined several other people from our community (including some fellow members of the Louisville Vegetarian Club) in the very first Louisville Walk for Farm Animals, benefitting Farm Sanctuary, an animal shelter/charity based out of Watkins Glen, New York (with two farm locations, in New York & California).

 
The 2.5 mile route took us through downtown Louisville, past several busy areas, including the new KFC Yum! Center. As we walked along, we each carried a sign, some with just words and some with super cute animal pictures.

 
 
We also had pamphlets and information to share with people (I even left a few about the benefits of a vegetarian diet at the Diabetes Walk which took place that same morning).

 
We also got to wear these cute T-shirts! 🙂

 
About a month before the walk, we held a bake sale at Eternal Health Yoga, where we raised over $230 for Farm Sanctuary in one weekend! By the time the walk was over, we had raised over $1,000 for this organization!

We were very pleased with the turnout (around 40 people signed up!) and the amount of money raised, especially considering this was our first year doing this walk. I can’t wait to do this walk again next year!

For more information about Farm Sanctuary and the Walk for Farm Animals, visit this link. To see more photos from this walk and other Louisville Vegetarian Club events, check out the Louisville Veg Flickr page.

2010 Kentuckiana Start! Heart Walk

On September 25th, I participated in the Kentuckiana Start! Heart Walk benefitting the American Heart Association. This wasn’t a race for me but it was a pretty cool event that I felt was worth sharing with you here.

It was a chilly morning and I parked a little ways away, which allowed me to walk past the baseball stadium. I can’t believe my phone takes pictures this good, better than my camera even.

 
Since we were walking and not running, we brought our 4-legged friends to join us. They need their exercise too! Meet Suzie (my dog, the Beagle) and her friend Alf.

 
Alf also found his “brother from another mother.” Ha!

University of Louisville football coach Charlie Strong was there to deliver the kick-off speech. Both of his parents passed away as the result of heart and cardiovascular diseases, so obviously he is passionate about this cause. He also pointed out the survivors, who were wearing red hats. I was once again counting my blessings.

As we walked downtown and across the 2nd Street bridge (I believe the walk was around 3 miles), I took a lot of pictures of things we passed by, including the new KFC Yum! Center, which if you live in Louisville, you either find really exciting or really disappointing. I can’t decide.

Going across the bridge to Indiana!

And one last one because it turned out cool and totally not how I intended.

 
Hope you enjoyed this little recap! Obviously, I am passionate about running but I also enjoy a nice walk or anything that gets people to be active, especially if it means supporting a great cause.

Heart Disease is still the #1 killer of both men and women here in the United States. Let’s do what we can to make sure us and our loved ones don’t go down that path.

For more information, check out the American Heart Association webpage.

Can't take the heat?

I haven’t complained (much) all summer so far, but man…the heat got me today!

Right Now

Forecast: Partly Cloudy
Temperature:                   95°F Feels Like: 104°

Details: Hot and humid.
Past 24-hr:
Precip: 0 in
Snow: 0 in
Wind: From ESE at 3mph

Farrah and I set out to run 4 miles as we finally begin our training for the Louisville Half Marathon on October 16th. Yeah, we knew it was 95 degrees outside but we thought we could handle it!

Well, maybe she could but a mile in, my face was on fire! Farrah said I looked like a tomato. What do you think?

So we called it a day at 2 miles and did some walking too. It was just too dang hot!

Now, how are we (okay, how am I) going to survive this weather and train for a half without spending a lot of time on the treadmill or waking up at an insanely early hour everyday?

I was trying to remember what I’ve done in years past. Last year was easy because our Summer was rather mild. But this year, we hit the 90 degree mark and never looked back! The year before I just gave up running completely after May and I definitely don’t want to do that again. Guess I’m going to have to come up with a new game plan.

How do you “beat the heat” and exercise in the summertime?

Getting back on the wagon

It has been a struggle for me to work out lately. I haven’t been motivated at all and I’m starting to think me and the gal who runs half marathons are two different people!

But, we all go through peaks and valleys in life, right? One thing I have going for me is that I’ve been reading this book:

The only time I seem to be able to completely focus on reading is on the bike or elliptical trainer at the gym. At home, I get distracted by so many other things that I usually end up reading the same paragraph four times before giving up.

So I’ve gotten a few sessions in the past couple of weeks. I was on the elliptical for 60 minutes on Tuesday (keep up with my weekly workouts here)! Plus, it’s a really good book so far. When I finish, it will be the first book I’ve read all the way through in a very, very long time.

Another thing that has helped me get back on the fitness wagon is my friend Farrah.

I haven’t seen her in a while because we’ve both been busy. But today we got to workout for the first time in a long time and she kicked my behind (she’s a trainer, haha)! We walked outside for 3 miles and then came back in to do weights and abs. I know I will be sore tomorrow for sure!

And yes, that is an older picture, ha ha. It’s hard to imagine wearing sweaters right now as it’s been over 100 degrees here recently! But I shall not complain, I am no fan of winter.

Anyway, if you have been struggling with exercise (or lack thereof) try enlisting a really inspiring and active friend to get you moving or start diving into a new book while you sweat it out at the gym. Whatever it takes to get you moving so you can feel good again 🙂

I feel better already! Let’s hope this continues.

I'm back…sort of

I haven’t been on here in so long that I had to go back and read the last few posts I wrote to see where I left off. It’s really only been a week but when you are used to writing about your workouts everyday, a week off can feel like an eternity.

Basically, all of last week, I did not feel like moving — at all. Not even walking.

Over the weekend I went out of town and where I was, I had to walk, but if it hadn’t been for that, I don’t know that I would have on my own. My motivation level has been in the negative.

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But, after some time off, I went back to work on Wednesday. I tried to talk myself out of it many times throughout the day, but somehow I dragged myself to the gym and did a 50-minute workout. I took it easy, doing 30 minutes on the bike (while reading a book) and then walking for 20 minutes on the treadmill. It felt really good.

So yesterday I decided to give running a try. I’m signed up for a 4 mile race this Saturday and I knew I wanted to at least re-familiarize myself with running before then. It had been so long, I wasn’t even sure I remembered how, ha ha. Talk about waiting until the last minute.

It was later in the day and way too hot to run outside, so I stuck to the treadmill. And I went slooooow (for me). Before I got started, I thought about the article that had inspired me to just slow down and enjoy running for the heck of it.

While I was on the treadmill I even repeated to myself “nice and easy, breathe, no injuries” and other phrases that kept me going and also kept me from saying to myself “you are too slow.” Because that is just ridiculous.

I ran 3 miles in 35 minutes and some change. I ended up utilizing the 4:1 ratio of running to walking and the longer I went on, I increased my running speed. At the end of it, I felt like I could keep going which to me is a good sign that taking it easy is the way to go on Saturday. 🙂

I finished up my second day at the gym with a full 15 minutes of stretching. It was very nice!

So I feel like I’m back, sort of. I’m still not 100% but at least the past two days I’ve been able to do more than just put one foot in front of the other. Progress!

“See” you all later! Hopefully not too much later…

Hip update

No, unfortunately I don’t mean cutting edge or exciting “hip” but rather my actual hip. Ha ha!

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But it’s still good news. Last week, over at my other blog, See Sarah Eat, I told you guys that I had injured my hip after deciding to take up walking again two weeks ago.

Well, I rested it over the long weekend, walking as little as possible and I also did some yoga to stretch it out. Then yesterday (Tuesday) I went for my first walk to see if I could determine what was making it sore and to prevent that from happening.

Since I did a few different things and I’m not really sure what worked the most, I’ll list them all out here:

• I wore different shoes — I have a sneaking suspicion you aren’t supposed to walk in your running shoes!
• I made my stride length shorter in order to avoid over-extending. This was hard and took a lot of conscious effort.
• I made sure my foot hit the ground in a  heel-toe motion, instead of trying to walk like I run.
• I didn’t walk as fast as I usually do.

I have nothing to report! My hip feels better and I think using the above strategies when I go walking will insure that it doesn’t happen again.

I had no idea that I had been out of the habit of walking, so much that I have had to re-learn how to walk! For fitness purposes anyway.

Is there a form of exercise you haven’t done in a while that you picked back up recently? Did you have to “re-learn” anything?

Losing focus & 30 days of yoga

I have not made it to Body Pump this entire week!

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Yesterday, I was just way too tired because I had stayed up late on Wednesday night and had some house cleaning to do for this weekend.

And on Tuesday, I was way too sore from a yoga class that I took on Monday night. It was seriously the most intense class I have ever been to. I was sweating like I was in hot yoga only it was just a regular, air conditioned room.

Now, to me, the point of yoga is not to sweat as much as you can, burn a lot of calories, or to be extremely sore the next day. What I like about yoga is that it makes me feel leaner and longer, plus it gives me so much mental peace and happiness. It also stretches out the tight spots I get from all the walking, running and other activities I inflict on my body.

And it’s fun to challenge yourself in new ways you didn’t know were possible. That’s what happened in this class and that’s why I was a bit sore Tuesday. We did some long holds in chair pose and with support, I got to do wheel again! I hope someday I can do this one on my own. 😉

I recently read about Healthy Ashley’s 30 Days of Yoga challenge, where she is committing to doing at least 10 minutes of yoga per day for 30 days. This caught my attention and I totally intend to at least give it a shot. I mean, certainly I can do 10 minutes, right? Sometimes I stand in tree pose while I’m waiting for dinner to finish cooking. 😉

But then again, as a person who enjoys multiple forms of exercise, I have a hard time staying focused on any one (or two) activity in order to see real progress. I jump around between running, weight lifting, yoga, walking, etc. so much that I don’t stick with one thing for very long or I neglect one activity for another.

So what should I do?

I think this is happening because I do not have a specific goal. No races to train for (yet) and nothing else really motivating me right now.

I don’t like choosing between so many things I enjoy but is it really realistic for me to think that I can run, walk, do yoga and Body Pump each multiple times in one week? There are just not enough hours or days.

If I were able to fit them all in, I feel like I would be doing each thing one day and then not devoting enough time to anything to keep it up.

Hmm…deep thoughts for a Friday afternoon!

I feel so distracted right now. Did I mention my high school reunion is tomorrow?! Perhaps I should wait until Sunday to make any major decisions. 😉

What are your favorite forms of exercise? Are you able to fit them all in?

Rediscovering the beauty of walking

After I walked my most recent 5k on Saturday, I really got to thinking…when was the last time I walked?

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Like really walked? Not just to and from the car or around the grocery store? Yeah, I couldn’t remember.

Which is really sad because when I first started on my health journey more than three years ago, walking was my thing. I walked just about every day and it definitely contributed to my weight loss, better moods, and better sleeping at night.

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So, why have I abandoned it so?

I guess I get caught up in running sometimes. When you become a runner, it can be easy to see walking (for exercise) as a sub-par workout in comparison. Which is so not true and anytime we think that we should slap ourselves! 😉

Anyway, as luck would have it, I have really just felt like walking this week.

On Monday, I had my clothes packed for the gym and when the time came to go, I had this incredible urge to just put on my shoes and head outside for a walk instead, even in the 90+ degree weather and humidity.

So I DID! I sweated like crazy and drank an entire 24 ounces of water in an hour but man did it feel good. I did the same thing today.

I have decided that I need to take a break from running and enjoy some nice walks this week, especially since the weather is so hot and my running partner is out of town. And I don’t have any races planned until the end of July.

Here’s what’s been great about walking so far (the past two days):

• Walking doesn’t require me to leave work early to go change my clothes at the gym or have to change back into them afterwards (just my shoes).
• Walking allows me to be comfortable carrying a water bottle and not see it as a hassle.
• I never feel out of breath.
• I can walk in high summer temperatures/humidity and feel totally fine (running in summer heat makes me want to pass out).

That reminds me of the time I walked to Walmart in 6 inches of snow (for French bread and Nutella, ha ha), while it was still coming down. Walking is a year-round sport for sure.

I have no plans to quit running beyond this week’s hiatus but perhaps I shouldn’t neglect walking as much anymore. I didn’t realize how much I had really missed walking. But I will be back to running next week!

I can certainly love them both and do them both often, right? 🙂

Do you enjoy walking? If you are a runner, do you walk regularly too?

Champions 4 Her 5k 2010

On Saturday morning, I woke up to the sounds of thunder and heavy rain. Then came the flashes of lightning. I have to admit…I was NOT happy at all.

I ate breakfast, got dressed and drove down to the race site. I sat in my car as the rain kept coming down and the lightning kept striking. Surely this race is going to get canceled, I thought. But it didn’t. And I feel sort of guilty for wishing it had.

The Champions 4 Her 5K started a few minutes after 8:00 and we didn’t get very far before a massive downpour came over us. I had already decided to walk before this because my aunt was there and also I wasn’t feeling motivated to run at all because I had ran on Friday and my hip was a little sore. But the downpour just helped solidify this commitment.

As we were walking, we noticed that they changed the course a bit this year. We used to go across the bridge to Clarksville, but thanks to construction on Main Street (probably related to the Yuck Yum Arena) we ended up just going all the way down one street, turning around and coming back.

As far as race courses go, it was pretty boring. But I was glad for the time I spent chatting with my aunt, mostly about the crazy weather we have been having here lately!

My aunt and I walked the 3.1 miles in less than an hour in the pouring rain. Which I thought was pretty awesome considering.

The rain also cleared up enough after we finished so that we walked around a little bit and got some free health screenings. They had quite a bit of useful information at this festival, it really is a great event and I’m glad I went down there after all.

I’ve learned from this that sometimes we just need to slow down and enjoy the walk and take the “race” part out of it.

If that’s not a metaphor for life, I don’t know what is.

This week's workouts

I feel really good about how my workouts went this week. It’s been a long time since I can remember saying that!

I am really grateful for this new gym membership, it’s really motivating me to “fit it in” on the busier days! 🙂

Here’s how the week went down:

• Monday -Long walk with Suzie
• Tuesday -Ran 1.87 miles outside, abs, Body Pump class
• Wednesday – 30 minutes on the elliptical
• Thursday -Ran 1.87 miles outside, abs, Body Pump class
• Friday – Ran 3 miles on the treadmill
• Saturday – 15 minutes on stair master, Weight training, abs + Walk with a friend and lots of shopping!

I’m not sure what I’m going to do tomorrow, but my goal for the next week is to increase my running distance, since I have a 5 mile race coming up soon! I’m also hoping to get myself to a yoga class. 🙂

How did your workouts go this week?