this past week of training has been tons of fun! after our speed training workout last wednesday, we had our 60 minute cut back run on saturday morning followed by our Team Brunch at J&R's house! There were probably about 4 inches of snow all over the trails saturday morning so our run was more of a march than a run since we kept sinking into the powder. when we crossed the street to go over to the other half of the trail we felt the difference in resistance under our feet over the asphalt vs. the snow and enjoyed that 10 second stretch! i was soaked afterwards since i think i was working twice as hard just to keep myself balanced and stable, but it was worth it and jayme and i felt like we'd accomplished something when we were done. it was so nice to see so many people being active so early in the morning!  

It was so much fun to have brunch with the spring and summer teams and j&r have a beautiful home! I will be sure to post photos from the adventure soon (see below!). After brunch, my parents came to visit!! Hooray! It was so nice to have them over for a few days and we had a ton of fun.

last night we had speed workout #2 at the armory and it was 24 laps instead of last week's 12 without recovery laps in between our increasing intervals. since we were working out indoors i decided to wear shorts and felt so funny since i am so used to weraing probably 4-5 layers of clothing everytime i run... it was a nice change and needless to say, i was exhausted afterwards! it was really fun to push myself (speed wise) the entire time, and i think that i am truly appreciative of the last four 50% jogging laps since that's my standard pace.

i can either rest today or get in my half hour workout (that's supposed to be friday's workout) in order to avoid the rain/snow that's supposed to show up. we've got sunshine and warmth today and my muscles truly love it. 

saturday's our 14 miler!!! i am pretty excited and hope that i will be able to finish strong. 

also, this week is unofficial st. patrick's day at the U of I, so i am hoping to fundraise out on the quad for TNT! maybe i'll bake or sell pizza slices... either way, i hope i can increase my fundraising skills and get some contributions towards my goal. hooray for saturday! 

a great quote passed on by coach D:

"Wellness is the key to a long and healthy life. Many people have the wrong perception of it. Wellness is from the neck up, and fitness from the neck down. Too many people work out every day, but go around with the worst attitudes, which just wastes all their physical efforts." Reader's comment sent in to Bob Welch, columnist for The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon (2/5/04)

this week is our step back week meaning that we're doing a timed run instead of a distance run on saturday. also, we'll be having our second team b'fast post-run, hooray!

ankur passed this on and it's pretty awesome:

http://www.rei.com/gearmail/gm0215_11/cm?cm_ven=email&cm_cat=gm&cm_pla=na&cm_ite=02_15_gm

[

|http://www.rei.com/gearmail/gm0215_11/cm?cm_ven=email&cm_cat=gm&cm_pla=na&cm_ite=02_15_gm][See all Crosstrain articles|http://www.rei.com/learn/Crosstrain]

var ol_delay = 250;

Quick Tips—Running

By Lauren Reynolds

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1. Warming up before running
        helps prevents injury and encourages better cardio conditioning. Ten
        minutes of walking or light calisthenics will warm up your muscles (and
        your heart). Avoid stretching cold muscles as it's easy to overstretch
        them. Save the stretching for your post-run routine (see #14 below). 
   -----

2. Running too fast, too soon
        often results in injury and puts beginning runners on the sidelines.
        You can tell if you're going too fast by having a conversation with
        your running partner (or talking aloud to yourself). If you can't talk
        comfortably or easily complete a sentence, slow down! 
   -----

3. Shin splints
        are often caused by the forceful impact of heel strike. The best way to
        avoid injury during your stride is to try to land midfoot. This lessens
        the overall impact on your joints and reduces the time your foot
        touches the ground, which helps increase your speed and efficiency. If
        you land heel first or overstride, your foot acts as a brake and
        actually slows you down. 
   -----

4. To 
   build endurance,
        first and foremost listen to your body. Do not add mileage if you're
        still fatigued from previous runs or your starting heart rate is above
        its normal resting rate. You can increase your mileage up to 10%
        weekly, but this really depends on your weekly mileage to begin with.
        Also, be sure to schedule a comparatively light week every fourth week
        to help avoid overuse injuries. 
   -----

5. Running hills
        will improve your overall strength. It will also increase your speed,
        since the motion of climbing hills mimics the high leg lifts of
        sprinting. 
   -----

6. To develop 
   strength and 
   speed,
        alternate intervals of sprinting with recovery periods at your normal
        training pace. Just be sure to warm up beforehand and cool down
        afterwards to allow your muscles to return to normal functioning. 
   -----

7. Remember to 
   drink
        sufficiently before, during and after running, even in cold weather.
        Your body still loses water through perspiration even though you may
        not feel like you're sweating or even thirsty. Don't overdo it, though,
        as overhydration can be as dangerous as too little water. 
   -----

8. In 
   hot weather,
        it's best to wear lightweight, UPF-rated garments, which will breathe
        and protect you from sunlight. A cap with good ventilation or mesh and
        a brim to keep sun off your face is good, as is a generous dollop of
        sunscreen for exposed skin. 
   -----

9. For 
   nighttime running,
        a safety light worn on a belt or armband offers good visibility to
        drivers. Models are available in clear or red light, and some feature a
        flashing beacon option. 
   -----

10. If you get injured while running, make sure you get adequate rest before you go back to your training schedule. 
    RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation) is the first line of defense for pulled muscles, strains and sprains. 
    Rest to prevent further injury, 
    ice to slow swelling or bleeding, 
    compression from an elastic bandage to immobilize a joint and/or further reduce swelling, and 
    elevation to prevent fluid buildup in the tissues. 
    -----

11. On 
    race day,
         it's best to eat a light meal, high in carbohydrates so you'll have
         plenty of quick energy. You can get your carbs from energy bars,
         bananas, bagels or even pasta or rice. Sports drinks are also a good
         source of carbohydrates and will make sure you're well hydrated. 
    -----

12. Cross-training
         is an excellent way to work different muscle groups, prevent workout
         boredom and overuse injuries. Cycling, stair climbing, cross-country
         skiing and aerobic dance are all great ways to cross-train for running.
         Weight training also adds the core strength you need to maintain proper
         running form when fatigued. 
    -----

13. Wear the right running shoes. If you have low arches and tend to pronate
         (have excessive inward foot movement), a straight lasted shoe is
         usually a good choice. Curved lasted shoes with cushioning are best if
         you have high arches and tend to supinate (have excessive outward foot motion). See our Expert Advice article on running shoes for details.
    -----

14. Stretching
         after running is a good idea. This moves lactic acid out of your
         muscles as well as stretch some of the complementary muscle groups that
         aren't used as much during running.

</div>

</div>

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See all Crosstrain articles

everyone's been talking about chocolate milk!! r.b., our postdoc, told me today that when coaching hockey, he had his team drink chocolate milk post workouts. he mentioned the carbohydrate to protein ratio being really great to restore your body after a strenuous workout. i think ankur had also mentioned chocolate milk as his favorite post-run. also, when we went to our first group brunch, many people there were drinking chocolate milk and coach dolores said it was her favorite...

i started doing some research and here's a paper from Feb. 27, 2006 — "Chocolate milk is an effective postexercise drink

that improves recovery, according to the results of a small, randomized

trial reported in the February issue of the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.

"Our

study indicates that chocolate milk is a strong alternative to other

commercial sports drinks in helping athletes recover from strenuous,

energy-depleting exercise," coauthor Joel M. Stager, PhD, from Indiana

University in Bloomington, said in a news release. "Chocolate milk

contains an optimal carbohydrate to protein ratio, which is critical

for helping refuel tired muscles after strenuous exercise and can

enable athletes to exercise at a high intensity during subsequent

workouts." "

It's amazing that it's published! i did a pubmed search of "chocolate milk" and 385 hits came up! it is truly amazing.

the details of the study are as follows:

Chocolate milk as a post-exercise recovery aid.

<!AuthorList>[Karp JR|http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=Search&Term=%22Karp%20JR%22%5BAuthor%5D&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVAbstractPlusDrugs1], Johnston JD, Tecklenburg S, Mickleborough TD, Fly AD, Stager JM.

</div>

Dept of Kinesiology and Applied Health Science, Human Performance Laboratory, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405, USA.

Nine

male, endurance-trained cyclists performed an interval workout followed

by 4 h of recovery, and a subsequent endurance trial to exhaustion at

70% VO2max, on three separate days. Immediately following the first

exercise bout and 2 h of recovery, subjects drank isovolumic amounts of

chocolate milk, fluid replacement drink (FR), or carbohydrate

replacement drink (CR), in a single-blind, randomized design.

Carbohydrate content was equivalent for chocolate milk and CR. Time to

exhaustion (TTE), average heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion

(RPE), and total work (WT) for the endurance exercise were compared

between trials. TTE and WT were significantly greater for chocolate

milk and FR trials compared to CR trial. The results of this study

suggest that chocolate milk is an effective recovery aid between two

exhausting exercise bouts.

PMID: 16676705 http://community.active.com/people/pavni/blog/2008/02/12/the-miraculous-chocolate-milk/PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

• i guess i better get a move on and try chocolate milk after our 12 miler on saturday! woohoo! 

while checking out: http://www.luckymag.com/shopping/blogs/beauty ... i came across the following article! 

Marathon Miracle Also Works for Glamorous Shoes

!http://luckymag.typepad.com/shopping__beauty/images/2008/02/05/0205_blisterblock.jpg![http://luckymag.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/02/05/0205_blisterblock.jpg]

I ran a half marathon (13.1 miles) around the perimeter of Key West

last weekend. Katie Holmes-style, I gave myself four weeks to train (I

needed a New Year's resolution and an excuse to spend a few days

somewhere warm in the middle of winter).

The first two weeks were no problem: not terribly intense compared

to my regular runs. But as I started to increase my mileage, I started

getting blisters.

Looking for a solution before the big race, I pored over back issues of Runner's World. In just about every one, a writer recommends Body Glide—which I'm sure is great, but I just can't get past the name.

The more straightforward-sounding Blister Block (made by Band-Aid),

however, caught my eye: It's a chubby stick that feels like silky wax

and smells sort of like baby shampoo. I slathered it all over my feet,

concentrating on my big toes and heels, before I put on my socks—and I

didn't get a single blister.

And Blister Block is not just for running: I now can't wear my

semi-uncomfortable-but-amazing-looking Kors boots without it. —Dawn

Spinner, associate beauty editor

</div>

</div>

the weather the past few days has been incredibly odd. it's warmer than it has been in quite some time but you can't see anything since all of champaign-urbana is under this white blanket of fog. it's unlike anything i have ever seen and it makes the entire neighborhood look completely mystical. nothing looks quite the same and you can't remember if you are walking the right way since all of the visual cues and markers that i usually use are hidden by mist.  

yesterday, in my attempt to run outside, i couldn't see farther than maybe 5-10 feet in front of me... i aimed to stay on the sidewalks, but the snow that was previously residing there has now turned into a grayish-brown-muddy-runny mess and seeped deep into my shoes. sigh. atleast i didn't need to wear ten layers and a face mask to be outside! i keep thinking of warmer days and sweet sunshine.

  &lt;-- this is what accuweather.com has to say about champaign