This plane is packed with Dallas runners headed to the Boston Marathon. A lot of running shoes with fun-colored laces and marathon name-dropping t-shirts. And skinniness. Let the complex begin!
Nike fall shoe and apparel lines in Boston
12 Apr
This girl loves shoes [the kind that RUNNN!], so I’m excited about heading to Boston this Saturday through Monday to check out a bunch. Nike’s fall shoe and apparel preview for media types is happening Boston Marathon weekend, so I’m also hoping to soak up some sweet, prime runner rays to fuel up my easily-depleted training tank. I’ll take motivation in any form I can get it, and where better than at one of the most high-tone marathons of ever?
I’ll be blogging (or blerging, as my husband calls it), picture-taking and generally acting as if I’ve just been let out of the basement and deposited directly into a world of hydration belts, Vaseline’d feet, high-end sports bras and GPS-enabled heart rate monitor watches. Should be fun.
*Disclaimer: Nike is paying for this trip, not me. It is not affiliated with The Dallas Morning News. Readers of this blog shouldn’t be surprised if I end up liking some of Nike’s new products, and Nike shouldn’t be surprised if I end up panning some of their products. This blog is a “call-it-as-I-see-it” zone.
Drinking and running
8 Apr
So, drinking a boatload of water all day long really does help my runs. Huh. (Literal runs, people. Not the, um, other kind).
Freelance life is tough on the body
23 Mar
Surprise! Like errant shampoo in your suitcase, I’m slowly emerging from my bottle of winter hibernation. My last proper run was the YMCA Dallas Turkey Trot 8 mile, but I finally “ran” a bit on the Katy a few days ago. Go me!
My return to running isn’t really what’s exciting me. I got a 24 Hour Fitness membership at the downtown Dallas location a couple of weeks ago, and it’s been a blast. Lots of spinning classes that have delivered an expected and much needed butt-kicking. Weights, abs class, indoor track, yoga and a boot camp class that took me four days to recover from. It’s been great to simply move again.
But there’s a question I can’t ignore any longer, for my own good. Why am I prone to mega-breaks from working out and running? I think periodic breaks — two weeks, a month — are fine and even beneficial. But this was an especially long one, and not my first. I’ve tried to analyze it, with hopes of finding solutions and staying on track.
If I don’t have an indoor facility, winter always deals me a blow. I’m a cold-weather wiener and absolutely HATE running in anything but 65-degree air or hotter. Winter races are different, because race day is always different from shivering in the cold by my lonesome without the excitement, t-shirt and free banana to motivate me. Continue reading
Group counseling + boot camp = better body & mind
9 Mar
My latest for The Dallas Morning News, this time about a group in Plano, Texas, that combines group counseling with fitness and nutrition. The results? A better emotional state than solely counseling, and better fitness than just hitting the gym. Click here for a link to the story instead.
I’ve been terribly absent here for a while. I plan to hop back on soon with an update on my own personal fitness/running state.
How to pick the right gym
12 Jan
Here’s my latest Dallas Morning News story, this time about how to choose the right gym, understand the contract and stay motivated. Click on the link to see the whole thing. Thanks to an old school chum’s wife, Natalie Dickey (pictured with barbell, below), for participating in the story. She’s lost more than 85 pounds in a year and a half — pretty awesome, huh?
Runner’s envy
29 Dec
Big ‘ol overachieving running nerd! Most of us have to work our glutes off to keep up our running routines, and this dude’s complaining about his 7-day “vacation” from it. Which I suppose is why he’s an editor of a little magazine called Runner’s World and I’m not. But hmm … I guess if I had scenery like << that << to run around in, I might complain just a bit about the absence, too.
Pout time. Here’s the sad happenings since my last post: My body has been amazingly immobile this holiday season. Well, except for my hardworking mouth, which has done nothing but masticate gluten-free-crust pumpkin pie smothered in Cool Whip, chocolate-covered peanut butter balls and other epicurean badness for the past 30 days. Continue reading
Q&A: Tell me about your first gym experience
20 Nov
I need your help! I’m doing a story about how to choose a fitness center and what to do once you’ve joined. You can answer in the comments here or on Facebook. The story is aimed at people who are out of shape and/or are new to fitness. Now, fitness/the gym scene/running/etc. have always been a part of life for some of you — I have a question for you in a minute. But here are a few questions for those of you who discovered things later as an adult:
• What did you wish you knew when you joined a gym for the first time?
• Were there any instructions or answers that were difficult to get from staff?
• What classes, equipment, services, or other aspect was the most intimidating?
• After you joined, did you discover or experience something that made you wish you’d joined another gym instead?
Now for you fitness lifers (or anyone who’s joined a gym):
• What are your top five factors in choosing a fitness center? For instance, four my must-haves are proximity, fairly low-cost dues, an indoor track and yoga on its group exercise schedule. If the place has a wet sauna, too, I’m there. What about for you?
• What gadgets or programs do you use to keep you on top of progress?
• What do you do to motivate yourself to get in the car and go to the gym?
I look forward to your insight! The story is due to run the second week of January as part of a health package in The Dallas Morning News.
‘Born to Run’ book signing and lecture in Dallas
29 Oct
Christopher McDougall, the man who put a spotlight on barefoot running and the Tarahumara tribe of Mexico earlier this year, will give a free lecture, answer questions and sign copies of his book, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, at the Cooper Aerobics Center. Details:
When: Noon-2 p.m. Tuesday Nov. 10
Where: Cooper Clinic Auditorium, 12200 Preston Road, Dallas (Click here for a map)
More: This is free, but it’s limited to the first 100 guests. Call 972-233-4832 ext. 4329 by Nov. 9 to reserve a spot.
Thanks to DMN editor Mike Merschel for the tip.
Barefoot running: Dallas Morning News story and interview outtakes
20 Oct
This blog sure has been all about the bare foot lately. Thanks to the commenters in my previous post who’ve read the story already. For those of you who haven’t, here you go:
• Barefoot running offers new challenge
(My foot after my first barefoot run; later, with a blood blister. Ew!)Next, some interview highlights from my awesome sources that didn’t make it into the story:
Josh Stevenson, adventure racer from Christchurch, New Zealand
Q. What’s the worst barefooting injury or situation you’ve been in?
A. Stepping on dog poo would have to be the worst problem.
Q. What do your feet look like?
A. My feet are in the best shape they have ever been as you wear the dead skin off, and one of the important parts of bare foot running is looking after your feet … using products like glycerol bp to stop the feet from cracking and using medicated methylated spirits for drying certain parts out as to harden them up as required. Continue reading