running

How was your weekend?

| cheriarmour

So for your personal enjoyment, I will share with you a few of the pics me and Kimmy went through after my brother’s graduation on Thursday night.

photo 2We were very active kids.  Animals in fact.  There were like two other pictures of us doing things on the swingset that are not OSHA approved.

photo 3That’s me in the mask,  I had a sore throat when my brother was born, so I had to wear this so I wouldn’t get the baby sick.

photo 4

Preciouso.

photo 5And lastly, my brother as a sheriff.  How cute right?

Anyhoo, so this weekend was really good.  I was not as productive as I would have liked to have been, but I got a ton of rest, and woke up Sunday morning almost at 10.  I have not done that literally in forevs.

Saturday, I went and checked out a performance of Marcus Anderson, a pretty sweet saxophonist (did I spell that correctly?!) The really cool bit about him is that I’ve been watching him for like 4 years when he came down to regularly perform where I worked in graduate school.  I have semi-fangirled him over the past few years, and now he’s playing with Prince.

tumblr_mi2qao3J2M1rdnvweo1_400Prince guys.

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I need to get my life together.

From there, we headed to Buffalo Wild Wings in Cary where the female server treated us like garbage. But the dranks was poppin!

And from there, I had a semi-lazy Sunday.

We started the day off by binge-watching 3 episodes off Orange is the New Black, and then I cleaned, and topped off the day with some time in the woods on an almost 4-mile trail run.

photo 1And since you asked so nicely, here’s a pic of my poodle.  We were in full-cuddle mode, which includes me talking in strange voices.

How was your weekend?

 

 

Anyone else do this?

| cheriarmour

I woke up yesterday morning, and the left side, in the bottom of my back felt…crunchy.

I know that’s a really weird way to describe it, but it felt like I crunched something between lifting and between teaching a class the day before.  I played with the idea of still going out with some of the girls  from  Lululemon for our Wednesday workout, but by the time I went home and took two Advils, it was pretty clear that it was just not going to happen.  I was exhausted, and the slightest bit of tension on my lower back was killing.

And then the irrationally anxious part of me started to rear its rude, ugly head.

//What if I’m really injured?

//What if I never run again?

//What if I magically, in the time where I don’t work out today, start drinking Cokes, eating Twinkies, and generally stop caring about my health.

And then the rational (ish) side of me kicks in.  You pulled a muscle in your back lifting.  It happens.  Take a day off.  And reassess in the morning.

Am I the only one who gets weird like this? 

“I don’t have time to work out” – Let’s fix it!

| cheriarmour

I’m kind of the office freak.  I’m tall, thin.  I eat green things.  I sometimes pack workout clothes, and then head out around 4pm for a run.  Often a coworker will look at me in disbelief or disgust, and say something like, “I don’t know how you do it!  I don’t have the energy.  I just don’t have the time to work out.”

That line of…interrogation sometimes irritates me.  Usually it’s said with some judgement.  Some disbelief.  A little bit of mean.  And there’s this assumption that I just am some kid with oodles of time and that it’s easy for me to find the time to work out.  I get it.  I don’t have kids.  I’m young.  So maybe people assume that I’m just an idiot.

Well, fun fact.  I work my day job.  I also have jobs at 3 or 4 gyms where I teach classes.  I work at Fleet Feet Raleigh when they need.  And I blog.  Like a decent amount.  So I’m not just some idiot with time and time and time on my hands, I do actually have to work to sneak my workouts in.  And trust me, these days it’s always a sneak.

But if you’re interested in figuring out how in God’s name you’re gonna make some time to work out, allow me to at least offer you a couple of suggestions for good ways to sneak in the time for physical activity that we all need to maintain a healthy weight, healthy heart, and healthy mind.

work out

 

  • Are you a grad/college student?  Got a break between classes?  Even if it’s like only a 40 minute break, use that time to put on some running shoes, and walk/run.  A lot of times on Tuesdays my second year in graduate school, the only way I could ever get a workout in was to run between my second and third classes.  A lot of times it meant that I got to my last class sort of sweaty, but honestly, I probably wasn’t going to show up to that class looking cute anyways so it all worked out.
  • If you’re into this, wake up early.  I truly hate to wake up early.  I do it two or three times a week now for a Body Pump/Body Attack class, and the waking up part of it is literally the worst thing ever.  I’m miserable when I first wake up, but I’m a happy gal by the end of it.
  • If you’re not an early bird, pack your workout stuff with you, and sneak out of the office when you can.  In my office, typically around 4 pm I can sneak out without anyone asking me too many questions.  I can come back, finish some work, and generally, no one asks me a question.
  • If you’ve missed the early morning, and you didn’t pack your workout clothes, do something after work.  For me, sometimes that means a run.  Sometimes a class.  Sometimes it means getting on my bike for a few miles and cranking it out.  But it makes me feel good, and as Austin says, it’ makes my dinner taste better 🙂
  • For the ladies with the kids, I understand how tricky this can be.  I honestly commend you for what you do.  And I’m not a mom, so I don’t want to overstep my bounds and give crazy suggestions, so I’m opening this part up to the moms – Mamas, how can you sneak your workouts in and keep yourself healthy and sane?  I’m really interested in hearing your thoughts on this.

So moms, kids like me – how do you sneak in your workouts? 

How I got into running. (National Running Day)

| cheriarmour

So, yesterday was National Running Day, which I celebrated by sneaking in a quick run after work, and then heading over to Fleet Feet to supplement the staff for one of our events, Ladies Night.

10338232_10100333307830413_5297024876603291970_nLiterally, this is one of the fastest runs that I’ve ever done in my life – I actually did it mostly in the rain, and since I live near Crabtree Creek, I also spent a good portion of it running in a puddle up to my mid-calf.  But running in the rain is the best, right?  Makes you feel like a badass.

It got me thinking about how running radically changed my life.  I mean, it partially helped me start this blog, and helped me to accomplish some of the wildest things I’ve ever accomplished in my life.  But I’m not sure where I would be or who I would be without it.

I got into running by just trying it.  I would run.  Run a little further.  Then run a little further.  Until finally, I signed me, and a newer boyfriend (now fiancé) up for a Warrior Dash in Virginia.  He drove, we ran, and had one of the best times ever.  And I realized that not only had I done it, I’d done it WELL.  About a year later, I ran my first half, and less than a few months after that, my first full.  And I wasn’t hooked necessarily to the misery that you feel at mile 17, but more to the elation of starting something, and finishing it.

Running brought me:

  • A new body.  My body was fine before.  Good even?  But I feel that my body looks it’s best when I’m in the throes of marathon training, and I’m craving good-for-you foods.  I love the confidence that running has given me in my body,
  • New friends.  Yesterday, when I worked at Fleet Feet, it was so amazing to be around my people.  Beautiful, nice, likeminded people, who just take care of themselves.
  • New experiences.  Ask me two years ago, would I do a 5k?  How about a half marathon?  How about SIX half marathons?  Two fulls?  Ever consider an Ultra or a tri?  I would have never guessed that for myself.  And it makes me wonder what other incredible things that my body can do.

After celebrating this wonderful day (National Running Day), what can some of you guys say running has brought you?  

 

Baby copperhead scare.

| cheriarmour

So I hope you guys got a chance to get out and run in the past few days.  At least, in my neck of the woods, the weather has been pretty beautiful, and the humidity has been bearable, which I need to hang onto, because eventually the heat and humidity here in Raleigh become wholly unbearable.  I can literally recount dozens of times that I’ve felt nauseous and drippy in the heat.

photo 1I managed to squeeze in a very quick 3 miles after a long day at work (can you make some noise if your Monday freakin BLEW) and check out that pace.  For exactly 1/100th of a miles, I ran a 5:27 pace.  I felt like I wanted to die approximately, so I won’t be breaking any world records anytime soon 🙂

photo 2I copped a squat on the sidewalk after, and let Coco run around and get a really good poop in because she told me she was lacking in good poop that day.

So, let’s chat about something really really terrible and awful I ran into her the other day.

SO I was taking a little walk on a rest day last week when I literally ran smack dab into a snake.

Copperhead Snake With Young
via http://piperbasenji.blogspot.com/2013/05/copperheads.html

I wasn’t at all interested in sticking around to see what he looked like or what he wanted to eat for dinner, but Austin, being a dude, was interested and made me look, with my poor eyes at him.  He was a little baby copperhead, just laying around, looking dangerous, and seemed to be getting more and more agitated at the fact that we were staring at him.

“Babe, we should move him so he doesn’t get run over!” <-Austin

Please guys, I love my animals, but I had no interest in helping a baby copperhead cross the street, but Austin, being the sweet pea that he is, let the baby climb up onto a stick, and then kindly escorted him into the grass where he wouldn’t get run over.  Blech, but I get it.

So my runner ladies and gents that do a good bit of running on trails, in grass, or on cool pavement where snakes may like to chill, please, keep your eyeballs open for these guys, because a bite can be an ugly ugly time.  I’m not a snake specialist, but from what I understood from Austin (through my hysterics), your best bet if you get bitten by one of these suckers is to remain really calm (don’t go doing anything to get your heart rate up), and call 911 because they’ll probably get you where you need to go a smidge faster that you can (with your now injured appendage).

Seriously guys, chime in.  Any other tips for beating dangerous critters on your summer runs?

Weekend Buzz

| cheriarmour

So, I totally hope you guys had an awesome weekend – I sure did!  It went by way way too fast, and I don’t feel like I got to spend enough time with Austin, but I’m hoping to make up for some of it this week.

So, after I did wine with Matthew on Friday night, and taught Zumba, I headed to the Raleigh Half Ironman expo to grab some cowbells, because come Sunday morning, I had plans to wake up early, cheer on some Half Ironman and Half Iromwomen, and grab brunch with one of my best friends in the entire world.

Let’s review really quickly.  So for those of you who are unfamiliar (cause prior to last year, I was!) with what a Half Ironman is, a Half Ironman (often denoted as 70.3), is a triathlon that involves a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile (whew!) bike ride, and a half marathon at the end (13.1 miles), to top it off.  I spectated last year, and had such a great time, that I went for it again this year.

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We started off by spectating some of the guys that would be considered elite.

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DSC_0710DSC_0711We changed locations to meet up with the Lemons (the cool chickaroos from Lululemon)

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Caitlin, on the left, was giving out free hugs, and it was really really cute to see folks stop, look really relived, and then go in for a big, sweaty hug.  At one point, she said she had to spit someone else’s sweat out of her mouth (GROSS!!?) but she was an awesome sport about it.

After I cheered and cowbelled for the Ironmen and ladies, I headed down to a carwash closer to the north side that had been revamped, and that was doling out free carwashes.  Since I’m on a budgeting kick, I could not justify paying to wash my car, so I went and got a wash, and vacuumed it out as well.

DSC_0720DSC_0719I’ve got to admit, the part where I put my car in neutral, and just sort of rode along was a little scary, and I’m not sure I’d like to do that again.

And finally, I was inspired by the folks from this morning that I topped this busy day off with a run.

How was your weekend?  

OMG PS ONE LAST THING!!!!!!!!!!  I finally registered for my Body Pump Training – so as of mid-July, I am going to Wilmington to get trained to teach Body Pump.  I am SO excited!!!!  Can you tell by all the exclamation points?

Luluemon Run Club

| cheriarmour

So first, look at this thing I made today.

photo 2I had a hankering for Chinese food, so instead of getting a big greasy box of rice noodles, I went for my own.  Super yummy, and I ate WAYY too much of it instead of splitting it like I was planning to for lunch.  As a result, if you need me, I will be running laps around the parking lot of my building.  (Jk!)

Hoookay, so guess what I did today?  I didn’t work out this morning cause I wasn’t feeling up to it, so I made a deal with myself that I had to find something to make me sweat.  I kinda remembered that the Lululemon in North Hills had a running group meeting up, so without too much into, I totally went for it.  So glad I did!

The group was a small, but super cozy group, and we headed down Lassiter Mill to start off our run.  I hung with Caitlin, who works for Lululemon, and chatted while we pretty easily cruised through four miles.  Fun fact, going up the hill was not fun, but it made for some really good conversation!

Wanna see what this chick looks like after a 4-miler in sweltering heat and humidity?

photo 1Don’t worry, I will be back at the Lululemon giant mirror to take selfies often 🙂

But on the real, Raleigh peoples, especially in the North, check this little group out.  They were awesome, and I truly felt like the girls there were some of the nicest girls possible.  They’re [unfortunately] not paying me to say this 🙂 but check out their small but mighty running group, Wednesday evenings at 6pm.

On that note, I had such good convo with some of the Lemons there – you ever meet someone and feel like you would be great friends with them cause you have so much in common? 

The Vibram thing.

| cheriarmour

There’s a saying in Haiti, and it translates loosely to this. “You eat the meat, and spit out the bones.”

What it means?

Take what you want or need from every situation, and “spit out” what you don’t need. This logic should have applied in the case of Vibrams. Vibram, which is under the umbrella of New Balance (fun fact!) advertised these zero-drop minimalist shoe, and claimed, among other things, that the shoes would alleviate knee pain, blah blah blah.  I need you guys to understand that any shoe that across-the-board, promises to alleviate knee pain, is probably bs because of the sheer fact that shoes are subjective.  Everyone cannot wear every shoe.  Because every body is different.

I digress however.

vibram.jpg

I started running in Vibrams like 3 years ago.

It was fine, until my achilles tendon on my right side started bothering me.  So I stuck to the shoes mainly for things like weightlifting, and left the long runs to shoes with more cushion.  I love cushioning, and minimalist running just wasn’t for me.  Didn’t mean it sucked.  But certainly didn’t mean it ruled either.

So back to my original point, Vibram just lost a class action lawsuit for making claims such as the one I mentioned above, with the knee thing.  Folks were getting the shoes on, running like 8 miles in them their first day, and experiencing some serious issues.  Which is obviously Vibram’s fault.  <-that was sarcasm.

So yes, perhaps claiming that Vibrams would magically cure the common cold was a stretch, but where does consumer common sense rule in making decisions about running shoes?

I cannot tell you how many time folks would walk into the store, state they had just had surgery to fix a ruptured achilles tendon, and then ask to see all minimal shoes, despite our suggestions toward something with a little more structure.

Here’s the lesson you should take from this Vibrams thing.

USE YOUR BRAIN WHEN SHOPPING FOR SHOES.  If you’ve been injured before, it’s really not the time to try some crazy shoe with zero support.  If something hurts, stop it and consider a different shoe.  And for the love of God, investigate all wacky claims for yourself.

Have a ever run “barefoot”?  What did you think?

-I did for a short time, like I said, before my achilles started bothering me, so I stopped.  After that, I ran in the Saucony Kinvara for a while, which seemed to agree with me a little bit more.  Austin actually lifts daily in his Vibrams, but he is relatively injury-free and has no problem with it, but he saves his long runs for a more traditional running shoes.

 

Getting Old…

| cheriarmour

Let me start this off by saying that I feel absolutely ageless. I’m 26 years old, and I don’t feel a day over 27.

Jk, but I think between the working out, and spending most of my summers with high schoolers, I’m kind of a young spirit.

But there’s something going on inside of me that indicates that I’m getting a little hold.

So, when I was training for my first marathon over a year ago, the Shamrock Marathon in VA Beach, I started “reading” books on tape, especially during my long runs when my partner, Jenny, couldn’t make it.  During that time I tried to read some crappy book that my religion professor told me was good, I read Kathy Griffins memoir, and I read Tina Fey’s Memoir.  All awesome.  Like, falling-off-the-sidewalk-laughing-so-hard funny.  Kathy Griffin surprisingly isn’t all piss and wind the way she makes herself out to be, she actually had some pretty sketchy things happen in her immediate family, suffered with binge eating, and suffered with a terrible end to a marriage.  Tina Fey is perfect so…

So anyways, now that I’m not really training for much, I’m kind of in my groove where I run anywhere between 3-however many miles a day, and I discovered the best thing ever to help pass the time.  I found comedians on Spotify.

photo (7)Now, I LOVE a good comedian or comedienne.

My faves are obviously Tina, Chris Rock, and Kathy Griffin.  (I can’t sand Chelsea Lately cause I think she’s not funny and really racist, and I hate that she has that little person running around her show like he’s some kinda of novelty item when he’s a human being.)  But as I was listening to a Chris Rock album from about 2005, I could not help but be a little uncomfortable in response to some of the ubiquitous swearing.

Trust me, I can swear with the best of them.  But my speech, in general, is not peppered with offensive words because I don’t want to sound like a dumb dirty idiot.

The older I get, the more offended I find myself getting with profanity, especially ubiquitous profanity just thrown in there for shits and giggles.

I kid.  But anyone else starting to feel this way?