CEP compression sleeves

I finally broke down and bought a pair of compression sleeves for my legs. I wasn't sure how I would like running with them, especially during the summer, but so far I like them. I wore them on a 9 mile run yesterday and they felt good and my legs didn't cramp as much. The sleeves run about $40 and the socks are $60. I decided not to get the socks because I already have socks that I like to run in and the sleeves seemed like a better deal. They come in multiple colors ranging from hot pink, kermit green, white & black. You can guess what color I got....I am interested in testing out the sleeves more, especially on longer runs while training for CIM.

Yes, they look a little silly, but they are comfortable

Check out my Brook's ST 5s!!!!

According to the information on the box CEP compression sleeves or socks have multiple benefits:
1. Improved blood circulation
2. Preventative function
3. Muscle & joint stabilization
4. Improved coordination

Positive effects from wearing CEP include:
1. Reduced risk of injury
2. 30-40% improvement in blood flow
3. Stabilization of ligaments & tendons
4. Reduced muscle vibration
5. Fewer muscle pains
6. Accelerated regeneration

Check out their website at CEP Sports

--Tasha

Racer ST 5

I have been putting off buying a pair of racing flats for my 1/2 marathons and upcoming marathon for quite sometime. I got fitted for the Brooks ST 5 back in July when the Calvalcade was in town. I am glad that I had the opportunity to have an expert tell me what racing flat I should invest in because there are so many to choose from!

I finally decided to cave in and purchase the shoes this week, partially because I wanted a couple of other small things for HTC and figured it would be a better deal with my discount if I got the shoes now too. I am so glad that I ordered them now because they are great! One of my favorite things about Brooks (other than the fact that their shoes and gear are awesome) is that I ordered my stuff Monday morning and got everything delivered yesterday (Wednesday). I was so excited to try out my new ST 5's that I completed my 5 x 1 mile repeats in them. They felt awesome! Sure, not a huge fan of the color scheme (why can't they be pink?!), but the comfort factor is huge. They feel supportive, but are light weight at the same time.  All of the reviews I read about them were spot on. I am pleased with my purchase and I might even wear them for HTC next week!

Speaking of my 1 mile repeats....I was a little sore from class on Tuesday (thanks Amy! :-)) so I was really dreading this workout, but I managed to average a 6:37 pace. The pace felt good and I probably could have ran more. I was dreading and apprehensive about the workout because 1 mile repeats are intimidating and it has been years since I have had a similar workout. I am starting to realize that I am much more capable than I give myself credit for. I have never been so focused and determined to get stronger and faster before and I love seeing how far I can push my limits.

--Tasha

Go Girl Recap

What a fun and quick weekend!!!! I left for Portland after my 7:30 am spin class on Saturday and got into town a little after 4:30. I looked up a running specialty store called Foot Traffic and then met up with Cassie. We got some delish Thai food for dinner and then stayed up until midnight chit chatting and wedding planning. I was exhausted! Got up a little after 7 on Sunday to get ready for Go Girl. I was excited to get Go Girl done so we could get breakfast at Biscuits afterwards (I need to stop thinking about Biscuits right now because it is that good).

Go Girl was a lot of fun, but reiterated that I don't like trail running. I would prefer to run on even surfaces where I don't have to constantly be looking down and rolling my ankle. Trail running can be dangerous! The course was fun and challenging. There were so many hills that my quads and hamstrings were burning before I had even hit the halfway mark. The downhills were nice, but I felt that because the terrain was so uneven it was hard to get good speed and utilize them. I ended up placing 4th overall and got 3rd in my age group. I was pleased that I finished and held a fairly consistent pace over the hills. The 3 women in front of me didn't have a huge lead, but after rolling my ankle multiple times I figured that catching them wasn't worth the potential injury. Now that Go Girl is in the books, I am looking forward to my first 25K this coming Sunday. :-)

My new Brooks singlet

Run world, run :-)

Lucky #205

Run Oregon & Run Washington

I think I am ready.....

Waiting to start

Wave 1

The start of Wave 1

Cass & I in are super cute Go Girl finisher's shirts

The sweet shirts I bought us at Foot Traffic

4th place overall, 3rd in my age group

--Tasha

Food Detox

I officially have started a week of food detox to recover from the 4th of July weekend. I was good for the most part, but sorta feel gross today! The whole food extravaganza really started on Wednesday last week with dinner at the West Wing, followed by dinner at Gordy's on Thursday. Saturday morning we ate breakfast at Chaps and then on Sunday we went to Silverwood where (gasp!!!) I ate a funnel cake!!!! You could say that I am "living on the edge". Other than that, I was good. BBQ'd at home and made my healthy Chinese salad and corn on the cob. It was a great weekend, but now it is time to get back on track.

After talking with Amy about my food, I think that I am going to start not logging every single thing I eat and see how that goes. I shouldn't be losing anymore weight, if I did nobody would see me! LOL. I have a good idea of what and how much I can eat everyday. If I feel like I am falling off track then I will start logging everything I eat again. For the first couple days this week I am going to log mostly everything as part of my 4th of July detox process. :-)

My running over the weekend totally sucked. No other word to describe it. It was awful, I felt like a snail out there. Mostly it's my fault for staying out too late the night before and not getting my run completed before it was warm out. On Saturday I had my slowest long run to date and I honestly don't think I could have ran another step past my 8 miles. It wasn't a great feeling, usually I have more energy than that. Yesterday my 6 mile tempo ran felt the same. It wasn't my slowest tempo run, but definitely not my fastest. I was just glad to get it over with.

One of the better parts of my weekend was going to the Brooks Cavalcade of Curiosities that was visiting Spokane on Saturday. I won some free Brooks gear and got a free gait analysis. I have never had an official gait analysis so it was kind of cool to have done. They have you run bare foot on a treadmill while they film you running. Then they play it back and show you how your gait compares to what is considered normal. A normal leg should be positioned at about 180 degrees when you run...mine was far from that at about 167 degrees. My left leg is much worse because that is the one I had my ACL reconstruction surgery on. After they analyze your gait then they recommend shoes for you.  I was fairly certain that I have been wearing the right running shoes, but I was more concerned about what type of marathon training shoe I should invest it. Brooks has several to choose from so I was glad that I was able to get a good recommendation and now I know what I need to buy. Luckily, I have been wearing the right training shoes- I love my Adrenalines!

They had treadmills on the top of the double decker bus for the gait analysis

Run Happy :-)

I have a 10K on Sunday in Portland so I will be taking the week a bit easier than normal. The following weekend I signed up for my first 25K...eek!

--Tasha

Windermere!

The last couple of weeks have flown by! I had every intention of updating Healthy Diva, but I had way too much going on to even think about updating. It all started with selling my Jeep which escalated into this huge 2 week ordeal where that could have possibly gone wrong did (most of you have already heard the story). In the end I go the car I wanted and everyone, including the husband, is happy. On top of the car, I was busy at work etc. Bad excuse I know. Lets get to the fun stuff!

My last couple weeks of training went good and I felt great overall. I was pretty nervous for Windermere, but excited to be racing again. It has been how long????? The week seemed like it took twice as long as it should have to be over. I hate that!

The weather in Spokane has been crap lately so I was really starting to get concerned about the rain/wind that was being forecasted. Luckily, it wasn't so bad. Little chilly/windy at the start, but it wasn't what I had imagined. Out on the course it got pretty warm and there was quite a wind in spots. Wish it would have been more of a tailwind, but I will take that over rain any day. I felt great running wise until about mile 5 when my feet really started to hurt. I made the mistake of wearing my Nike Frees (which I had been training in) which probably weren't the best option for running a 1/2. Once my feet started hurting then my legs started cramping. It was a good lesson learned and I went home and ordered a new pair of Brooks (I know those work great!!!)

Overall, I finished and was happy that I was even in shape enough to run a 1/2. Of course I wasn't thrilled I didn't get my PR, but then again I haven't raced in how long????? I was more happy that I was able to get an automatic qualifying time for the Houston 1/2 in January.

Saturday also marked the last day of my most recent session with Amy. Now that I have been training with her for 18 weeks I am starting to see some muscle definition. Who would have thought?! I still have pea shooters, but they have a touch more definition. :)

Our next official session doesn't start until June, but in the meantime we still get to workout on Tues & Thurs mornings. No more Saturday class for the summer....what am I going to do???? Angie came up with the brilliant idea to start a class running group for Mon & Wed mornings. Should be fun!

I can't say enough just how amazing Amy Black is. She has done so much for me physically & mentally- I can't even begin to describe how much I have transformed since January. I am only a couple of pounds away from where I need to maintain my weight. If you would have asked me in January if I thought I would weigh 125 lbs in May I would have laughed at you and said "NO WAY". My skinny clothes that I wore the summer Cam & I got married are falling off of me. If my wedding dress wasn't boxed up I would put it on- I bet it would be too big.  I am telling you, Amy Black is WONDER WOMAN!!!!!1

Next up on my schedule is the Helvetia 1/2 on June 11th. Last year I "wogged" it in 1hr 58min. This year it would be nice to run it at least 10 minutes faster, even though I would prefer 15 minutes faster. :) I will be wearing better shoes for it!

The rest of the summer I just plan on training for my 1/2 in October and start my marathon training for December. I am doing a 10K in July and will also be doing the Warrior Dash in September (yes I am stoked to get a viking helmet). Warrior Dash is a 5K, but like Cassie said, there probably isn't much running involved. I might have to sign up for the Pints to Pasta 10K for the next morning......

--Tasha