Playlist

You may agree that it's like striking GOLD when you find a song that matches your stride or one that keeps your mind off the pain. Maybe you've got a song you always play during the last stretch of a run/race to keep you going strong to the finish or some tunes that get you through the "wall". Either way I always enjoy seeing a list of great running songs so I can make updates to my playlist so I thought I'd share mine in hope to get some suggestions in return. (My favorite newest additons are in bold)

• ADELE - Rolling In the Deep
  


• THE BANGLES - Walk Like an Egyptian
  


• THE BLACK EYED PEAS - I Gotta Feeling
  


• BRUNO MARS - Grenade, Runaway Baby, Marry You, Just the Way You Are
  


• DUFFY - Mercy
  


• CASCADA - Everytime We Touch
  


• D.H.T. - Listen to your Heart
  


• FAT BOY SLIM - Gangster Tripping
  


• FERGIE - Clumsy, London Bridge
  


• FLO RIDA - Club Can't Handle Me
  


• GAELIC STORM - Scalliwag, The Beggarman, What's the Rumpus?
  


• GLEE CAST - River Deep, Mountain High
  


• JESSE McCARTNEY - Leavin'
  


• JOHN MAYER - Say
  


• JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE - Sexyback
  


• KANYE WESY - Stronger
  


• KATY PERRY - Firework
  


• KELLY CLARKSON - My Life Would Suck Without You, Whyyawannabringmedown, I Want You
  


• THE KILLS - Sour Cherry
  


• LADY GAGA - Bad Romance
  


• MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD - Say Hey (I Love You)
  


• MUSE - Supermassive Black Hole
  


• P!NK - Get the Party Started, So What
  


• PITBULL - Hey Baby
  


• PLAIN WHITE T's - Rhythm of Love
  


• ROB THOMAS - This is How a Heart Breaks
  


• RUSTED ROOT - Virtual Reality, Who Did You Tell it To, You Can't Always Get What You Want, Martyr, Rain
  


• TRAIN - Hey Soul Sister, If It's Love
  

What are your favorite running songs?

Spreading the Word - Crossfit

Ever wanted to give CrossFit a try? Now is the time!

I've got an amazing girlfriend, Shellece Gunnel, who is opening up her own CrossFit Training facility and I wanted to spread the word.

To celebrate her GRaNd OpEniNg she and her husband Josh have made this week completely FREE!!! It's located in Providence (Utah) and classes begin tomorrow and go throughout the week. Check out her website for additional details and have a great time! Tell her Fitness Junky sent ya! ;)

Ragnar Recap - Probably my Last

7 days ago I spent my weekend running around in the Wasatch Mountains conquering my 4th Ragnar Relay. I was a bit apprehensive about my running performance because I joined the team at the last minute (about a week before kickoff) and I hadn't been doing any distance training after getting back into my running routine last month. I was assigned runner #11 which covered a total of 16 miles and had some severe uphill/downhill portions. This is what my legs looked like.

Leg #11 - 3.2 Miles UPHILL

I totally surprised myself and ran this whole thing. Good thing it was only 3.16 miles because I don't think I would've lasted much longer. I was able to crank it out in 31 minutes giving me a 9:47 pace and I was very satisfied. Getting anything under a 10 pace going uphill is good for me. Bad part was that there was so much traffic that I ended up running faster than the cars (which so did most runners) and had to wait 18 min at the top for my van. Time to re-think your cap margin Ragnar.

Leg #23 - 5.5 Miles - Flat (or at least it felt that way in comparison)

This was a great little jaunt around Rockport Lake by the light of the moon. I think I started this leg around 2 a.m. and actually felt pretty good. I got my highest kill count (25!) during these 5 miles and was very happy to throw down a sleeping bag and zonk out shortly thereafter. I finished the 5.57 miles in 45 minutes with an avg. pace of 8:07. Not bad. FYI - Kills are defined as anyone you pick off or pass during the race.

Leg #35 - 7.3 Miles Severe downhill (with a couple severe uphills thrown in. Gee...why not right? )

I actually really enjoy a good long downhill. It often thrashes my calves and quads but I love the speed that can result. This leg was no exception as it hurt more to slow down than to just let the lungs burn and go a little faster than ideal. For example, my second mile was done at a 6:47 split because it was so steep. Then right around 3.5 miles I came upon a giant incline that kicked my can. I can't remember EVER walking in a race but I only got about 1/2 way before I succumbed. I don't think I would've been able to finish as strong had I totally blown my legs trying to be tough. So I did a little speed walking and still managed to kill 2 more runners. So mile 4 was not quite so fast and ended up being a 9:47 split but at least I was able to enjoy the rest of my run and finish strong. My remainder miles were sub 8 with a finish time of 57 min. I was hoping my avg. pace would be sub 8 but it happened to be right on the 8 min mark. Ahhh...so close! Just a few more yards and I would've had it! It still makes me smile though since that was my longest run this year done on tired legs, no sleep, and random eating spurts.

Check out the scenery on my last leg. This is running down into Deer Valley and heading into Park City, UT. Gorgeous!

Getting a little support from a fellow teammate. Can you see the little black mark on my calve? They passed out Ragnar Tatt's that were more realistic then any I had seen. It took several days then some serious scrubbage with my fingernails to get it off.

Here I am coming in to my last exchange. My body was so done after this run. After 15+ years of running I've gotten pretty mentally tough but that doesn't always mean I'm physically at the same level. So then I go and run a race like I am in shape and push myself harder than my body can handle. Check out the close up on this pic...

How's that for a look of pain.

I couldn't walk normal for a couple days and my stairs were torture. During my sweet 5 year old's prayers she would ask to "Please bless Mommy's legs so I can sit on her lap again." Yeah, it was bad.

Finish Line -

Our last runner had some chaffed nipples so he was hooked up with some leopard print band aids. Comin' into the finish he just couldn't resist showin' those babies off.

Team Picture -

Kevin, Sheena (our pregnant driver and the reason I ended up running...luv ya lady!), Dustin, Me, Andy, Ashlee, Mindi, Lindsy, Malory, Gentry, Jenna, Brady W., and Brady.

I absolutely LOVE relays and have been in LOVE with with Ragnar but they just keep raising their price and I can no longer afford it. When I started 5 years ago it was only $70 and this year it was $90. Then I just found out they've raised it to $105 for next year. Some one's gettin' a little greedy! So I bid you farewell Raggie until you either lower your price or a sponsorship comes my way.

If your in my area and feeling the same way, here's some other options to look at that cost less and have a lower cap. Let me know if I've missed some so I can get the word out!

Lake to Lake Team Relay - St. George

Red Rock Relay - Moab

Cache-Teton Relay - Logan

Ogden Marathon - Run it as a 5 person relay

Hurt in the Dirt - Ogden

Dirty Dash - SLC

When to use Hot vs. Cold

I'm getting old.

Last Sunday I was being the cool Mom and playing a mean game of soccer with my kiddo's (3-7 years I remind you) and after about 5 minutes I pulled my right quad muscle just slightly. What the...??? It felt like a charlie-horse at the top of my thigh and so I dropped out of the game and went limping in the house for an ice pack. Not such the cool Mom anymore.

So for the next couple of days I had an ice pack down my pants. This is what it looked like.
I left my head out of the picture since it was day two of no shower and it was ugly. It's pretty sad when I'm driving around with a slightly expired driver's license because I haven't taken the time to get ready this week and I don't want a homely looking photo on my card.


Can you tell which side is my rear? The pockets kinda give it away but if they were gone I'd be rockin' a double butt.

So when do you apply the cold pack versus a hot pad?

Here's your answer...

ACUTE INJURIES

An acute injury is one that has a sudden onset and pain is felt right away. Often it is caused by a twisting movement, direct blow to the area, or a fall. Ice should be applied a soon as possible to reduce swelling, inflammation, and pain. Since the cold reduces or slows blood flow to the injured site, ice should be applied as soon as possible to reduce swelling, inflammation, and pain.

After approximately 3 days it can be beneficial to alternate between hot and cold treatments. Typically this is done with 10 minutes of cold followed by 10 minutes of heat. The heat will increase the blood flow and aid in tissue repair and when used in conjunction with the cold it double the effect. Just make sure all bleeding has stopped before applying any type of hot pack.

Another benefit of the alternating treatments is to first use heat to loosen up a stiff area before stretching and strengthening a weak area. Then follow up with the cold to reduce any subsequent pain and even making the tissue less pliable. Sometimes a muscle/tendon that is too relaxed from heat can get even more injured.

CHRONIC INJURIES

Chronic injuries do not typically have a sudden onset. Rather they gradually appear and are often brought on by overuse. Also, if an acute injury is not treated appropriately or doesn't heal properly, it can become a chronic injury.

Heat is most often used with chronic injury to help promote blood flow to site and tissue repair. This will allow any tight areas to relax and respond better to stretching Apply heat for 15-20 minutes using a hot pad, hot water bottle, or warm damp towel (damp heat usually gets deeper into the tissue).

Again it can be beneficial to follow up any exercise with a cold pack to reduce any swelling or inflammation to the chronically injured area.

I've got the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay this weekend so I've been rotating hot and cold like crazy for the past 2 days and trying to take things a little easy. I even got runners during my softball games this week. Not my ideal thing to do since running the bases is my favorite part but it's all in the name of racing!

New Toy + Baby Tortilla Wraps

Isn't it amazing how fast electronics get outdated? I've had my Ipod Nano for about 4 years and I can no longer find accessories for it. My poor armband has been held together with duct tape for quite some time and it has a permanent odor that has caused my closet to radiate with "B.O.'dior".


It's long past due for a replacement but there is not an armband like this to be found. There's a "fit's most Ipod's" arm sleeve for $20 at Wallyworld but there's no access window for the control buttons and it looks huge. So I thought, why spend the money on something that probably won't work when I can spend $20 more and get this...

Bye-bye armbands! Hello clip-on.

Also, thought I'd share a new meal idea I got from a friend (Connie:).

Baby Tortilla Wraps

Why haven't I thought of these before? I've made plenty of wraps in my day but never thought to cut them like little sushi rolls. Inside the tortillas I added turkey, cheese, tomato, pickle, lettuce, and some low fat cream cheese* to hold it together. Walla! I can pop these right in (probably because I have a big mouth) and not have to mess around with my wrap that keeps falling apart (probably because I'm retarded).

*Suggestions on a healthier spread would be fabulous!

Calorie Calculator

I often wonder if I wore my Garmin around for a full day, how many miles would I cover and how many calories would I burn? Of course that means I'd actually have to break open the heart rate monitor that I've never bothered to try so I could utilize my resting heart rate. I gotta be able to count my sitting at the computer and blogging calories right? Hmm, now I'm considering other activities and what they do to my heart rate...I'll leave things up to your imagination.

Too bad the battery would burn out before I the day was done but I think I'm still going to do it. I'll just have to break the day up into segments until I get a full day in.

So while I conduct this experiment, here's an interesting link to check out. It's a calorie calculator I found that is pretty all inclusive. It lists just about every activity you may be involved in. All you do is input your weight and duration and then you'll know how many calories you burned playing hacky sack, cleaning rain gutters, making your bed, and even standing in a line.

Good News - I burned 53.1 calories sitting here reading blogs for an hour. Nice! Oh, and I think for my new cross-training program I'm going to do a little foresting. ;)

Ever wore your Garmin around just to see how many calories you burned?

Do I smell?...I Hope So!

Did you catch the ad on the back of this month's Runner's World?

Yeah, that's what I'm gonna tell myself (and everyone around me) next time I find out I'm the smelly one. If it means I have to stink to get a PR, I'll take it!

How Did You Celebrate?

NaTioNal RunNinG DaY

June 1st marks an exciting day for us runners. It's a day that while many of us solo runners are out pounding mileage, we know there's a whole lotta people out there celebrating with us.

In honor of National Running Day I finally left my slacker habit behind. I've been meaning to do some hill repeats for a while but had a lot of "good" excuses to focus on getting my base mileage done instead. Well not any more! Yesterday on my 5 miler I snaked some blocks set on a hill so I would get both an uphill/downhill length and a flat length between them.

Why do hill repeats? Here's some benefits...

1. You'll Build Strength - Running on an incline is a form of resistance training and will strengthen all your running muscles (calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes, and hip flexors) more than training on flat ground.


2. You'll Decrease Chance of Injury - Since your strengthening your running muscles your less likely to get running-related injuries.


3. You'll Get Faster - The muscles you use to run up hills are the same ones used for sprinting, so the strength you build will improve your speed. Often as I've conquered a hill on my route, my pace gets faster for the remaining mileage.


4. You'll Fight Boredom - If you're getting tired of your flat courses then changing it up a bit can renew motivation

There is technique that goes into a hill repeat as well. For some great advice visit this link.

How did you Celebrate National Running Day?