Ahhhh massage...

* Note:  I started writing this article on March 8, 2014!!!

This weekend  is the AMTA-WI (American Massage Therapy Association) Spring Education conference in Milwaukee.  I am the secretary for the Chapter.  A year ago, I decided to fill a vacant seat and am up for re-election this year.  I did this "job" a couple of years back for something like 5 years.  It is a pretty simple job really.  In return for taking the minutes at every meeting, I get to go to some fun places.  This Spring the conference is in Milwaukee, so I didn't have to travel far.  In the fall, the conference is in Eau Claire, my college town!!!!

Today is March 21, the second day of Spring.  I am cleaning up the house and my blog today!  I did get re-elected to the Board that weekend.  I am excited to go to Eau Claire in August and cannot WAIT to run the streets again there!  I am also going to take some facial massage classes.  Not sure what is more exciting to me the classes or getting to run over my old stomping grounds.  LOL!

I was going to write about the benifits of massage for runners.  I will tell you that it really does help in the recovery after hard work outs.  Many professional athletes as well as Olymipans get massages at least once every other week if not every week.  If you want to read some articles on the benifits of massage check out the AMTA website here!

On this website you will find all kinds of AWESOME information.  Including information on the National convention this fall in Denver, CO.  As a board member, we need to submit a letter of intent to the rest of the board.  I have been thinking about my letter and am going to submit one in the next week.  I would LOVE to see Dr. Oz and check out Denver!

Off n Running,
AnnMarie

New motivation found...

Seems my posts from my iphone have not made it to the actual site.  Hhhhmmmm… I will have to look into that!

I have been a busy beaver here in my little corner of the world.  The weekend of March 5, I was at the AMTA-WI Chapter Spring Conference.  I was elected as the chapter secretary for another 2 years.  Kind of exciting really.  I will blog about that another time.  Today I want to tell you of some awesome blogs I have found in the past few weeks!

First, I am not sure if I have linked up with Another Mother Runner here.  So I am going to plug them again.  I know I mentioned that I got to meet Sarah and Dimity in January at the Tinkerbell Half.  These two are awesome.  They are moms just like me trying to stay healthy and fit for their families.  Every Wednesday they offer a giveaway.  They have been following a mother runner on her marathon training every Friday.  Once a week they offer a Follow that Mother post and highlight a mother runner blogger.  I think this is how I found Jill.  Maybe I found her on Instagram or Pinterest…  At any rate, I am now getting her emails in my inbox.

Yesterday, I was reading over a challenge Jill at Fitness, Health and Happiness put forth.  March 20 is the first official day of Spring on the calendar.  Jill is hosting a virtual race to welcome Spring.  As I was reading about this challenge, I saw she is also hosting a 14 races in 2014 challenge.  If you know me at all I am up for a good challenge!  I have not taken the time to read through all of her race plans, but started to think about mine.  I think this is TOTALLY do-able for me.  I already have one race in this year and signed up for 8 more with Badgerland Striders.  Plus my friend, D and I signed up for the Disney Wine & Dine Half in November.  I am also going to do the Jungle Jingle 5K that weekend.  (It's all about the awesome medals!!!!!)  SO if I am counting right, that is 11 races right there.  Lets not forget the Run 4 the Paws in July, the my sister is the race director for and that I hope to make this year!  If I sign up for Jill's virtual race that would make 13!

That's it, I am signing up for both the 14 in 2014 and Jill's virtual race this weekend.  I will keep you posted.

Off N Running to yoga this morning,
AnnMarie

Day 6 of 45...

Whew, what a week!  I am on the bike again today.  I am thinking about the past few weeks and realized that I have not been updating everyone on my successes and pitfalls very consistently.

I started my 45 day challenge on February 10.  I was doing well, I guess, until last weekend when I got a flu bug or something.  So, I restarted my challenge on Monday February 24 with a 45 minute ride on my beautiful Felt bike.  I shared my tragic flu story with my Monday night client.  We decided to do an 8:00am yoga class on Tuesday.  She announced at yoga, that she was going to join me on my challenge and that was day one for her!  Cool I have someone to be accountably to, awesome!!!!  

When I went home to tell my husband, he replied, "You're doing a challenge?"  Seriously, I don't think he listens and HEARs me when I talk! Anyway, today is day 6 for me.  My butt bones are not too sure what to think about sitting on that seat, but my legs are loving it!

I have not added more yoga as I wanted to.  I have not gotten to a chiropractor or figured out what is bothering my butt.  I did roll it out on the ball and that seemed to help.  So I'm going to add rolling daily to my list.

*NOTE:  Written on March 1, and posted March 2, so today is day 7 of 45.  Off to yoga at the gym…

Off N Running,
AnnMarie

What to do on the bike for 45 minutes?

So, that's a great question.  It is much harder to read on your bike when it is not a recombant stationary bike, that's for sure.  It is harder to blog here too.  Today I am sacrificing my time to get a post in because I haven't in a few days.

This is a pile of books that I gathered up from my shelves.  Once apon a time, I belonged to a couple of sites for bloggers who read and posted their review on their blog.  Some of these books are from that time.  Some I bought for guidance and wisdom for myself, some were gifts... 

I follow some bloggers that post their list of reading material and it got me thinking about my time on my bike and trying to make the minutes pass faster.  Over the course of this challenge I have used my time to listen to some podcasts, check my mail, blog and read.  

Yesterday, it sank in that Lent starts on Wednesday.  As a Catholic, we observe in three ways: fasting, prayer and alms giving.  I think I am going to focus on getting the sugar out of my diet over lent, I am also going to tackle this pile of books, or at least the POWER OF A PRAYING  MOTHER one.  And this weekend I am going to talk to my children about who we can give to and how.  

I think that is a good plan, don't you.  Of course I will still be figuring out my training plan for all the races ahead this year, too!  

*NOTE:  I wrote this on March 1, 2014.  Editied and posted on March 2, 2014.  

Planning on a yoga class today for my exercise.  I also sat down and scheduled time with my trainer again, I have not worked out with her since maybe Christmas time!?!!?  SO, I booked all of the Mondays in March and what she had available in April, that's a start and gets me to my next race.  I am planning, weather and children illness permitting to attend the Hard Core Class on Tuesday mornings and the 7-week Interval Treadmill class on Thursday mornings at the gym.  Now to get the running legs back and add more yoga classes…  Currently I am committed to a 6am Wednesday yoga session, I would like to add at least 2 more times a week to that schedule.  Fingers crossed that it happens by April!!!  Happy Sunday to you all.

Off n Running,

AnnMarie

45 day challenge RESTART...

I was doing so well too!  Over the weekend, I get sick.  :(  I threw up and everything.  Light-headed, achey, and just plain yucky feeling all over.  Needless to say that won over my challenge.  I was really mad about it all too, as I was doing so well.  For those just joining me, read about my challenge to myself here.

Yesterday, I sat down with my calendar and my training plans and looked at the year ahead.  Or at least to my first race this Spring.  I am not sure if I told you all that I signed up for a running challenge with the Badgerland Striders Running Club in Milwaukee, but I took the plunge.  The challenge…  Run 8 of 9 races that the Striders host, starting with a half marathon on April 5!  (South Shore Half Marathon)  I looked at my calendar and the only race that I cannot commit too is the last one in November.  (If I am re-elected to the massage Board that I am currently on, we have something planned that day already.  AND if the Spartan Race is the same weekend as last year, that is the same weekend...)  When I cross all 8 finish lines, I will earn a Strider jacket!  AWESOME!!!!!  Plus I get all the race swag before that.  I see I am going to get some gloves in April.  I have been told they are pretty loud colored, that makes them even cooler!!!!  If you want to join me in the Super Strider Challenge, go here and sign up.  We can attend the banquet/party together.

Today, is day one of the challenge re-start.  I biked for 45 minutes and hope to start adding some strength stuff this week.  I really need to get into a yoga routine too.  Baby steps, and I will have the perfect work out plan.  As it is I have about 6 weeks, I think to get ready for this first half marathon.  I still have yet to see a doctor or chiropractor about my butt issue.  So that is on the adgenda for this week too.  One day at a time I guess.

Off n Running,
AnnMarie

My training partner...

My beautiful bike, a birthday/mother's day gift one year.

                                   

We got the bike trainer back!  

So, my DH, I love him but…  A couple of years back, he had this contraption called a bike trainer.  OK, for those who know me, I am a farm girl.  I didn't have a good place to learn to ride a bike except for the grass and gravel roads!  I didn't know the difference in bikes until I graduated from college and some of my track and cross country team mates started something called cross training and triathlons.  What the heck is all that about?  I just ran.  

Fast forward back to this contraption my DH bought/inherited from someone, I can't even remember the story correctly.  Anyway, he got this thing, set it up one winter in the basement and used it maybe two times.  (Honestly, he had good intentions.)   He complained that it was crooked and clicked and was too loud and…  You get the point, I hope.  It collected dust in the corner.  Then two winters ago, he insisted that he would use a trainer all winter, if it worked correctly, to be prepared for riding into work all summer.  (In my head I thought YEAH RIGHT!!!)  So off to the bike store he went and came home with my new training buddy!  

Last winter, after I finished the Tyranena Half Barrel race.  I rested a few weeks, then my body started to morph back to flabby.  He had set up the trainer and used it a couple of days/weeks.  I asked him if I could use it and one morning before he went off to work he hooked my bike up to it.  Isn't she pretty!!!!  I used it quite a bit in February and March of last year to get back into sweating again.  Then the snow melted and I met with D to encourage her to start running and the next thing I knew the trainer was back in storage.  I completed 3 half marathons last summer and it was AWESOME!!!!

Here we are in this weird fridged winter in WI and I do not have the right winter gear to be out in the elements.  Summer clothes are sooooo much easier to come by, anyway, I am getting off topic.  And my DH lends the trainer out!  YOU DID WHAT?  I thought!  That is my training buddy, how dare you do that without talking to me and getting approval!!!!  OK calm down AnnMarie, I can go to the club and use their bikes and elliptical trainers for rehab.  That was ok for awhile, but the 10 minutes to the club and 10 minutes back cuts into my training and sleeping time.  SO, we had to ask for our trainer back.  

I set her up on Tuesday.  Today, Friday is my 3rd day of using her!  She is going to get a few good 45 minute rides in this next month as I get this leg/butt thing figured out.  Welcome back training buddy.  See you again tomorrow.

Off n Running,

AnnMarie

Happy Valentines Day, workout check in

It is 5:50am, I left the house before anyone else was up, so as of this time I have not gotten any Valentines.   I am getting in my 45 minutes of exercise though.  :)

I did make cards and treats for my husband and children.  If they have not been devoured by the time I get home, I'll take a photo.

Want to update you on my 45 challenge...  I have biked a couple of days, did yoga a couple and had to do Wii Fit U another.  We own a bike trainer and my husband loaned it out.  I want it back!!!!!!   I could just as easily bike on time trainer in my basement as come to the club and waste 20 minutes driving.

Cutting my bike today short so I can go home and make pancakes for my family!

Will update as i go,,,

Off n running

AnnMarie