Try, Try Again

Apparently I had some preeeetty wrong info in regards to being sore and lactic acid. According to this article and many others, it is not lactic acid that causes muscle soreness. Our bodies use lactic acid during exercise as an energy source and once we're done exercising, the lactic acid is burned up and out of our systems. So I was wrong but now we all stand corrected :)

Today was a great day exercise-wise. Was able to go to the gym, run 3.1, and never once was sore. It had to have been the "hill" run I did on Sunday, which consisted of 6 "hills" or overpasses. I hadn't done that route in months and my legs went through some shock.

I also managed to get some good solid leg exercises in at the gym. I love having all that equipment and freaking people out when I do these step-ups onto a tall stool with weights in hand. Everyone thinks I'm going to jump on top of them...they wish!

Me, if I was blonder and wearing less clothing...so...not me!

I'm keeping this post brief, as I am very tired and really want to watch another Grey's Anatomy episode. I've been watching the episodes on Netflix and now everyone's relationships really make sense! I had started watching back in season 5 and would randomly see episodes here and there and nothing was cohesive in my head. Now I get it!

Before I go, I'll leave you with this wonderful piece of wisdom :)

Goodbye Spring, Hello Summer!

Yes, you are reading that correctly. My car, as I was driving home, told me that it was 82* outside! Glorious day of sun and warmth!

Even the tulips came out to say hello!

Besides having the glorious warm weather, one of my teachers cancelled our big lab practical that was supposed to happen tomorrow! Best news! Except, thinking I would need to come home and study, I left all my gym clothes at home. So I decided to run around my neighborhood instead once the temp came down a bit. At 5:30 PM, it was still around 80* and I was tired of waiting.

Eating blood oranges is a productive way to wait until it gets cooler outside.

Off I went, expecting all puppies and rainbows for this run. I had taken a day off to let my legs stop being so sore and even done yoga. Nothing could go wrong, right?

Ha! Stupid legs rebelled again and the lateral shin splints rose from the dead and came out to play. Not nice! I had to stretch every couple minutes to ease away some of the lactic acid. Eventually, around the 20 minute mark, the pain went away but my Achilles tendons were tight. A girl can't win! I kept going and finished my 3.4 miler in 28:12. Not too bad for stopping so gal'darn much!

Yay! I'm done! And sweaty! And smelly! And red!

I did some leg exercises, like a ninja...

Don't be jealous of my grillz!

Instead of walking like an Egyptian, I prefer to walk like a zombie.

This lactic acid buildup is cray-cray. I'm not sure what's going on, but I had this problem last summer when I was training for the half marathon I ended up not being able to do because of an injury (more on that later). I've been drinking a lot of tea lately, maybe that's a factor?!

What's the worst exercising injury or pain you've ever had? How did you deal with it?

Yoga Bear

I decided to give my legs a day off from running to see if the soreness would magically disappear on its own. Of course, nothing ever fixes itself on its own and I should know this, but a girl can have dreams! I go to 24 Hour Fitness on the regular and they offer yoga classes. Stretching with a bunch of my closest strangers friends?! Poi-fect!

We did a bunch of this:

Whaddup dawg?!

And a little bit of this:

Humans in photo seem larger than they really are.

Please ignore my clothing choices. When I go to the gym, I'm not trying to impress anyone and a hodge-podge of outfits occurs.

So did all this yoga-ing help any? Big fat NOPE :( Legs are still sore and stupid. If the next time you see me and I have no legs, I probably chopped them off and donated them to someone who needs them more than I do. They come with pretty pink toenails and shaved legs! Quite a deal!

Silicone Boobie Calves...Hawt

As far as running days go, this was to be a great one. The sun was shining, it was 50* with a slight wind, and I felt good. Then I hopped out of bed. My calves were sore in all the wrong places. I forgot to stretch them after my run yesterday and they revolted against me.

So I used The Stick (check out "Gear I Use" for the link and more info) and tried to massage out the lactic acid. It refused to budge. I gave up and went on my merry way, hoping my gastrocnemius muscles (heck yeah big scary anatomy lingo!) and Achilles tendon, as well as my soleus muscles, would calm the heck down and relax during my run. They did no such thing.

When one has to stop after 8 minutes of running to massage one's legs, it is annoying and disheartening. I wanted to turn back but I kept going and had to stop at least 4 more times to massage and stretch. I wish I could say I was going on a 10 miler because the amount of stopping wouldn't be too terrible. Alas, it was only a 3.4 miler :( Sad day indeed.

See those bruises? I made them trying to massage my legs :(

My calves felt like they had been transplanted with rock hard silicone boobies. They didn't move, were hard to the touch, and hurt. Yay fake boobie legs!

Go away silicone legs!

And so begins an all-day event of massaging my legs with The Stick. That lactic acid better leave or else!

Hurts so good!

I also had fun after my run, playing around with my camera, trying to get awesome Ninja Girl pictures. I am amazed I have friends...

Yeah...I'm a special one!

Anyone have any tips for making my legs stop hurting? Or how to prevent my normal insane lactic acid buildup?

10 Things

Since we're all getting to know each other here, I figured a little ice breaking was appropriate (insert lame polar bear joke here!). So here are 10 things you probably don't know about me, unless we're already BFFs and in that case you should be able to repeat these 10 things under any high pressure situation, like say, gunpoint. Yeah, I have high expectations for my friends :P

1. I am allergic to cheese. Cheese and only cheese. No, I am not lactose intolerant.
2. Sometime I laugh like a dolphin. It's weird and embarrassing. I also cackle sometimes. I'm ashamed for myself too.
3. When I was about 7 years old, I discovered what I thought to be a dinosaur burial site. Turns out, the previous owners had just thrown all their chicken bones down the side of hill by my house and I was collecting their relatives' remains.
4. I can't stand lima beans. Ew!
5. I'm pretty dang flexible/double-jointed. Case and point: while stretching, I can make my head touch my knees just by bending. I can also put both legs behind my head...but this isn't that kind of blog.
6. I get random claustrophobia attacks.
7. I've sung my whole life. It was disruptive enough to the point where my teacher in 1st grade taught me how to hum so I could still eat my food at lunch because I was singing rather than eating (What was wrong with me?! Food is AMAZING!). And thus started a humming habit that lasted until middle school. Then I had to be cool...until I did choir all 4 years of high school.
8. I've eaten/gotten animal poop in my mouth more times than anyone should ever be subjected to. All I'm going to say is that it tastes like it smells. *Gag, cough, gag*
9. I've only been out of the U.S. once and that was to Toronto so it basically doesn't count. I have visited a plethora of U.S. states, though, and love going on roadtrips!
10. I would rather crawl around in a cave or roam around with wild cats than skydive or bungee jump. Falling to a possible death is not my cup of tea. If I'm going to die, at least I can try to run away from it and pretend I have a chance to live.

I ended that pretty morbidly. My badz. Anywho, tell me 10 things about you, or less if you're feeling timid. Sharing is caring, people!

Donut Dash? Sign Me Up!

My friend wants to do the Donut Dash next year. I think this is one of the best ideas ever since peanut butter and jam or chocolate and caramel. Donuts and running...perfect...um...come to think of it, maybe not...

Perfect recipe for vomiting? Probably. Most fun you could have on a Saturday with your friends? I think so.

Like this, only better, because the donuts will be in my tummy!

Welcome!

Hi there! I'm Jennifer. Welcome to my blog!

I'm obsessed with my daily reading of other runners' blogs and thought I should start my own. Maybe I'll inspire some people to become crazy like me and run for miles at a time or at least just get off the couch or maybe I'll just provide some good solid entertainment. Whatever the case may be, I hope to provide an enjoyable reading experience.

I think this will be a good mix of running, workouts, food/recipes, and whatever else I decide you should all read about. It's also probably going to have some animal info/pics mixed in because I love animals and think they are the bee's knees. And you should too :)

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So I guess to start, I ran 4.2 easy-ish miles this morning in 35 mins and some change (I'm not very fast). The goal was to meet up at my local Fleet Feet for their weekly Sunday run at 8 AM. It would have been my first time but I got chicken because I wasn't sure if my friends were going to meet me there. I don't like socializing in a crowd of people I don't know. I get scurred. So I stayed home and got some miles in on the bike path that's right across the street from my house.

Let me tell you, when there are signs that say "Keep dog on leash at all times" that means keep your freaking dog on a leash at all times! Nearly got clotheslined a few times and had one dog charge me. I love me some doggies, but not when my safety is at risk. No siree!

After the run, I had delicious French toast and a raspberry/blackberry smoothie.

I used frozen raspberries and blackberries, orange juice, and Instant Breakfast vanilla powder. Blend it all up and enjoy! The only thing wrong with it is the seeds from the berries. I hate them! They get stuck in my teeth and they are annoying to chew. Yeah, I know I'm weird. Having this was my attempt to get over my fear of berry seeds. It didn't work, but it sure tasted good!