Gigabody Review and Giveaway!!!

Disclaimer: I was given a 2-month subscription to Gigabody in exchange for a review and giveaway through my Sweat Pink Ambassadorship. As, always, all opinions are strictly my own.

I began this blog with the idea that I am just like so many active, busy women out there. I, like many of you, have a busy career that I devote a large percentage of time to, relationships that are important, activities that are important and there is just only so much time in the day. Fitness is something many of us do find ourselves, whether we want to admit it or not, scheduling. And there is always something, “It’s too dark now”, “the gym closes in 40 minutes”, “I have to do laundry first”, “I don’t really want to run at the crack of dawn before work” (pssst, that one is all me!). Gigabody has created a platform to access legitimate, challenging, efficient work outs, at home, any time you want. This isn’t your mother’s work-out video.

Gigabody is an online platform hosting virtually endless high quality work out videos for you to access 24/7 from wherever you are. For a monthly membership of  you will have unlimited access to a variety of videos and tools to ensure that you maintain your fitness even if you’re busy or traveling or otherwise unable to get to the gym.

Gigabody Mission: Our mission is to help you form & maintain healthy exercise habits, by giving you easy access to efficient, effective workouts that make you feel great.

One of the things that I find the most useful on the Gigabody site is that you can enter any search criteria you want to begin finding the perfect workout. Want to do a 10 minute work out before getting your day started? You can add the 10 minute filter. Specifically want cardio or strength and sculpt? Add those filters to get the workout that is exactly what you are looking for. Not only is that efficient but it keeps things fresh. You can do a different work out every day (or multiple in a day!). You have the option of using equipment such as free weights or doing a full session of yoga. And it is on-demand, so you can access it when it is the most convenient for you.

I have gravitated towards the dance and barre inspired workouts. That is the one area that I really enjoy that is not widely available at my gym.  The instructors are experts. I know that when I’m doing a workout through Gigabody with Jennifer Galardi, I am getting a high quality workout. And it’s not the same thing over and over (which is definitely a pit fall with workout DVDs or other videos). I have used others in the past and lost interest because I did them over and over again. With Gigabody, they are constantly adding workouts so you can’t beat the variety!

   

Value. IT DOES NOT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS. Get unlimited access with your membership at only $8.99 per month!!  When you register with Gigabody you will get a 2-week (14 day), all inclusive free trial. When you register, you will enter your credit card information but Gigabody will NOT charge your card until the end of your 14 day trial. It’s risk free and you can cancel at any time (not that you’ll want to).

There are over 90 different work outs including everything from cardio kick boxing and floor barre to Bombay Jam! There are dozens of workouts no matter what your interests are.

Another great feature of Gigabody is your access to work out plans and challenges.These plans are for a prescribed duration (4 or 6 weeks) and include a schedule of which type of workouts to do when. This is a great way to keep you accountable and challenged, even though you are in the privacy of your home.

Whether you are at an advanced level or want to dip your toes into a variety of workouts to find what works for you, Gigabody has an option right for you. And the price, really cannot be beat. Now, as a special treat for my readers, I am giving away a FREE One-Month subscription to Gigabody for you to try out! You will have to enter a credit card to register but you will be given a code for your free membership and your card WILL NOT be charged until that free one month membership expires.

>>>>>>>CLICK HERE TO ENTER GIVEAWAY!!!<<<<<<<

Thank you Sweat Pink for giving me the opportunity to check out Gigabody. I am likely to keep using it. Thank you Gigabody for really getting what many of us need. And thank you for reading my review!

New Year, New Adventures!

Happy New Year everyone!! 

I love starting a new year, not because I can make a list of resolutions, but because I can reset my goals. I don’t consider them resolutions because I’m constantly trying to improve myself. The New Year is a great time to take a pulse on where I’m at in general and make adjustments to move forward.

2014 was what I will now call, “Injury Year”. If it wasn’t one thing, it was something else. But I learned a lot from it, so that’s a plus. I’m hoping not to let any of these issues sideline me for too long in the coming year. Time will tell, but for now I have some races on deck that I need to be preparing for. I have a couple coming up very soon; San Francisco Hot Chocolate 2015 which is on January 11 (um, yeah, in 9 days), followed closely by the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon on February 01. All of those holiday goodies I just consumed for the past 2 weeks…. BE GONE! I have some goals for later in the year, including the Rock and Roll Seattle Half Marathon in June with Team in Training. The last half of the year is still in progress.

What else is new for 2015. I’m REALLY excited to share that I will be a Nuun Ambassador for this year! I’m super excited because Nuun has been my hydration drink of choice for the past few years. I love it and want to share that with other athletes.  I’ve shared this pic before, but as you can see, I have a bit of a collection going:

The collection has grown since this picture was taken.

I also am looking forward to a great work-out video app review. More on that in a separate post. Thanks to Sweat Pink that will come with a giveaway! Woohoo! Free stuff, who doesn’t love that?

It’s going to be an exciting year. I’m looking forward to advancing the blogging a bit. I had a difficult time with that over the past year but hoping to become more active.  Phew! So much going on. Looking forward to it all.

What are some of your goals for the year and what are you looking forward to?? Please share in the comments section!!

Thanks for reading!!

Sunday Funday

Today I’m finding it very difficult not to go out and run at least a little bit. Why? Because I feel great today. But I have a tendency to overdo it when I feel good. (Let the Great Injury Debacle of 2014 be a lesson on that). So today is technically a rest day. Kind of. I’m going to yoga later. More on that shortly.

While I am talking myself out of running today  resting, I found this gem:

Rest day is also difficult when B is not on his rest day. So he’s out running. I tried to convince him to be lazy on the couch rest with me, but he wasn’t having it.

I recently learned about the Nike Training Club‘s Weekend Wind-Down Yoga on Sunday nights. It’s a free, in-store, 60-90 minute yoga class lead by a local yoga instructor. You bring a water bottle, a towel and show up. They provide the mats and even can loan you a Nike Fuel Band if you’d like to use one. Did I mention it’s free? Oh yeah! This class has proven to be a great way to prepare for the week ahead. And it gives me something to look forward to when I don’t run on Sundays. Because it’s at our local Nike Store, the instructor is very aware that there are several runners in the class so she does quite a bit of work geared towards run recovery.  I would HIGHTLY recommend checking it out. NTC has other classes as well, but this one happens to be my favorite.

So that’s my Sunday Funday. What do your rest days look like and how do you navigate them? Would love to see your comments below!

Thanks for reading,

Adventures in Acupuncture

Disclaimer: I’m not a medical professional and these opinions are solely my own. One should always use their own judgment when seeking treatment for any kind of pain or injury and consult their physician as needed. 

We’ve all been there. Plantar fascitis. GI issues. Shin splints. Tendon and muscular problems. These problems for anyone, including runners, can not only be annoying but can be debilitating. Injuries are the worst, especially when you’re training for a race. Injuries are frustrating, painful, confidence shaking and as we’ve all learned they can derail our progress.

After having to take weeks months off of training due to a pretty serious case of shin splints, I was thrilled to get back to my workouts, now pain-free. I started slow, I listened to my body, I single-handedly drove up the stock price of various brands of kinesio tape. And then one blasphemous day in July, while stepping onto a curb, my right foot slipped and I came down very hard on my right foot. I felt like I tweaked my lower back but kept about my day, as it didn’t seem like a big deal. Just stretched a little more that day. The next morning I had an intense dull ache around my tailbone. As I would walk the area around my piriformis muscle began to ache and a tingling progressed down the back of my right leg to the bottom of my foot. This got worse the longer I walked and became intolerable to run. The only relief I would get was from sitting or bending over and taking some pressure off the nerve. Of course, no one can run that way. Unless you’re Phoebe Buffet.

Sciatica. I’ve heard of it. I know people that have had it. I’ve never personally experienced anything quite like it.  But I knew that’s what it was pretty early on. I don’t have time for this nonsense, I’m mid-season with TNT and I already lost 4 months last season and missed a race.

What is sciatica, anyway?  Sciatica refers to pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve — which branches from your lower back through your hips and buttocks and down each leg. Typically, sciatica affects only one side of your body. (Source: The Mayo Clinic. Click here for further information on sciatica)

I called my chiropractor, who is amazing and treated my shin splints. Had two visits, but my symptoms were not improving. Running was out, and walking was very uncomfortable. So I asked her about acupuncture, since there’s a practitioner in the same office. I made an appointment and saw her the following week. Now, I should say this, I’ve had acupuncture before and already swear by it. So I may be a bit biased. But I did it for relaxation, not for pain management, so I was hopeful, but not sold.

Visit number one was good. I always reach a deep state of relaxation, but my back muscles were so tight in my lower back that I knew it was going to take some time. Visit number 2 was two days ago. One of the needles was placed along my sciatic nerve relatively low on my hip. Bear in mind, I can’t see any of this because I was face-down. She told me this one placement was “going to feel really weird.” I felt nothing for a few seconds and then a deep ache in the same spot I’ve been feeling it. I had some needles along my lower back, back of my leg and inside of my ankles and then she turned out the light, left me alone (on a heated table which was awesome) and let me rest for about 30 minutes. I fell asleep.

When she came back the level of relaxation was ridiculous. I wasn’t tired. I was so relaxed I keep saying I was drunk with relaxation.  Luckily this was the evening and I went home and fell asleep for the night. When I got up, I wasn’t as stiff as I had been. Standing in the shower wasn’t torture, and running around at work wasn’t as irritating. This morning I still went out with my team, but I didn’t run, just walked. There were a few times that I had to stop to stretch my back out, but I got in about 5 miles and was not in any more pain than I was in when I started. I even took another walk later in the day. Today I am more comfortable than I have been in a few weeks.

Did acupuncture cure me? Too soon to tell. Did it help with symptom management? Absolutely.

Here are my general thoughts on acupuncture. I once was afraid of it, but the needles actually don’t hurt at all. Every now and then one might hit a sensitive spot, but in general, they don’t hurt and you can’t feel them when they are in. I have never done anything that can relax me the way that 30 minutes of acupuncture can. And the relaxation effects for me last several days. It’s non-narcotic, which means I don’t have to worry about side-effects. This approach has several benefits and I have found it to be extremely effective. I would definitely recommend it to others and suggest that if it’s something you’re curious about, talk to your healthcare provider and consult with a practitioner to see if it’s a good option.  I will continue to report on my progress with it over the next couple of weeks.

To read more about acupuncture check out the National Institute for Health National Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Have you tried or ever wondered about acupuncture? What was your experience?

 

Happy Running!

Brie

 

Oh Hey, Here I Am!

Well hello again! That was far longer of a hiatus than I ever intended. Truth is, I was having a ridiculous pity party for myself after being derailed for months with some serious shin splints.  

After my great run in January at the Hot Chocolate 15K, my legs just never fully recovered. I was just beginning my training season with Team in Training for Spring, but never was able to get above 2 miles without significant pain. I was having bilateral shin pain that was fairly localized to mid-tibia. My right side was more painful than the left, and frankly, it hurt like a SOB whenever I so much as bumped it. So my training stalled, and then eventually stopped. I was hoping it would be somewhat limited to a few weeks. Unfortunately, they would get better enough to try running a short distance and would regress right back to where they were. SO. My coach recommended that I look into seeing someone that does the Graston Technique. I had talked to a few people that have done it and sworn by it. As much as I wasn’t looking forward to “a hot butter knife scraping over my injured shin” as it was often described, I also knew that FOR THE LOVE OF SHIN I needed to do something. With that, I found a chiropractor who specializes in sports injuries and does Graston, ART (Active Release Therapy) and some other rehab techniques and so began my rehab.

I was seeing Dr. Randall weekly for about 2 months. I will say this. It wasn’t horrible, but it certainly wasn’t comfortable at first. That being said, I could see immediately why Graston works. We basically went a little Chuck Norris on my shins, between Graston, ART, some cold laser and some ultrasound. And it took awhile. My mood during my off time was spectacularly cranky. My motivation was worse. But staying off of my legs was necessary. I’m now seeing my doctor every other week. I’m back in a regular training schedule and have been for about three weeks. In the mean time, I had a touch of plantar fasciitis which is all but healed now. I’ve been able to run, for the most part, pain free. Yesterday’s short run felt great, but today my legs are a little tender, so I’ll back off of today and RICE instead. But I think that the hiatus was necessary. To think that I could have ended up with a stress fracture that would have likely been worse is kind of scary. I learned the hard way not to become overzealous with events and training and what the cues are when your body needs a break. Had I skipped that one race in January, I may have saved myself 4 months of rehab. 

Looking forward, I’ve scrapped nearly all of my race calendar for the year and focusing only on my one half-marathon in October, the Nike Women’s Half Marathon here in San Francisco. This is an important event for me as I am doing it again with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and raising money to fund Acute Myeloid Leukemia research (more on that soon).

Tell me about your running injuries. How did you get through them both physically and emotionally.

 

Until Next Time,

Brie

You Know You’re a Runner When…

I’ve often thought about at what point I became a runner. Fellow runners might say that it was as soon as I started running. That may be true, but I don’t think that is when I knew I was a runner.

I started running for real with intent about a year ago. I didn’t know then that I was a runner. I ran three times per week with my Team. I didn’t know I was a runner. I did 1/2 mile repeats, but I didn’t think I was a runner. I ran 1 mile repeats. Still not sure I was a runner. I did hill sprints and long runs and it didn’t occur to me that I was a runner. I ran. Those to me were not the same thing.

I got a monster case of shin splints (these are my vice), and I thought, “Okay maybe I’m a runner, runners get these.” And then I had to stop running, so I most certainly couldn’t be a runner.  I went an entire season coming in last, moving slow, recovering slower. Actually, I grew to really embrace this. I knew I would never be a runner if I didn’t struggle through this part. After all, my body was not used to the schedule, the hours, the pounding. I knew though, that as long as I didn’t give up, there would come a point when it felt less like “work”. But it was hard. There were days when I cursed my shoes. And my calves. And my lungs. And my back, and my hand that went numb after an 8 mile run. I bought my foam roller shortly after I finished a round of physical therapy. I was buying runner-like things. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, right? Sometimes you just have to call a duck a duck. But I wasn’t yet willing to call myself a duck runner.

I lined up in my coral for my first half-marathon on October 20, 2013. It was dark, cold, crazy early (all of the things runners embrace about mornings). My head was ready, my body was as ready as it was going to get. And I ran. At this particular race, I ran for those who can’t. Those who will and those who won’t. I ran for those effected by blood cancer. And I ran hard. Perhaps a bit too hard because when I hit the Presidio hills I thought my legs were going to quite literally detach themselves and walk back down the other way. I most certainly am not a runner.

A funny thing happened between mile 10 and mile 12. As I was running through Golden Gate Park, I thought it was over. I must, somehow get to the finish line. The only way to be finished is to get myself to that finish line. It wasn’t until much later that I realized that at any time I could have walked off that course. I could have exited out (left, right, sat down, etc). But the thought of exiting out never, once crossed my mind. The only way this race was going to end was if I finished. And it was at that moment that I realized, that I was, in fact a runner. A runner doesn’t take the easy way out. A runner sees the finish line no matter how difficult the course. A runner goes the mile (or dozens of them) to claim that finish as their own.  A runner feels the pain, heals the pain and keeps on working. And the really funny part is that I had been doing that for months. I knew I was a runner when “FINISH”  was the only conceivable way. And now I know I am, and have been, a runner all along.

Tell me, when did you realize that you were a runner?

Happy New Year! (And 2013 in Review)

2013 was one of the most trying and most amazing years for me so far.  In January 2013 I had no idea what kind of year I was in for. Let’s review.

January: Still going between Seattle and San Francisco and still trying to figure out if we would stay or go. My guy went, but it wasn’t a definite stay. Limbo continues. Better than bi-coastal by FAR.

February: Same. I was going to work, going to the gym, and going to Seattle. But incidentally, B was starting to spend a great deal of time back in San Francisco when he was able.

March: After spotting a billboard that showed an ad for Team in Training registration for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon I said to B, “Oh they do a half here? Maybe someday I will do that….” (I had no idea just what that statement would mean later). Annnnnd…..I became an auntie again to a beautiful little baby nephew!

April: Co-worker emails me asking if I would consider signing up for Team in Training Fall for Nike Women’s. (Seriously). It’s a sign, of course I said yes.  2 weeks later while celebrating Marathon Monday from the West Coast (if you’re from New England, this is a holiday wherever you may now be), I watched terror unfold on the computer from my office. The next few weeks were a horrible blur.  Life-changing, sad, scary, unbelievable blur. Officially signed up for TNT and thus began an amazing journey.

 

May: Lost a very dear friend, far too soon in a terrible accident back East. Heartbroken. Learned that she died trying to save a friend that had fallen into the ocean on the coast of Rockport, MA. Both, unfortunately were lost. Evelyn Howe was one of those amazing people that you are blessed to get to know. Was a big sister to me when we lived in the same building in Newton. I think about she and her son, a 20 y/o college student, every single day.

June: Back to Boston for a weekend for the Promising Pals end of year breakfast. I have volunteered in this program for 5 years through my grad school, Simmons College, in partnership with the James P. Timilty Middle School in Roxbury, MA. Mentoring and pen-paling with a middle-school student for the year. This event is AWESOME.  You can read about it by Clicking Here. Training with The Team also began in June. (Holy crap, I’m actually doing this!)

July: GREAT friends back east got married! YAY P&K! We also spent a glorious few days in Boston disconnected on our first actual vaca in 4 years. And then I came back and got strep throat. Totally worth it.

August: Continuing to raise money to cure cancer. 2 months til NWHM and I haven’t given up yet!  B, officially moves back to San Francisco!!! After 4.5 years, three moves, three states and almost 5,000 miles apart, we AGAIN are in the same state.  LOVE.

            

September: Running, running, and more running. NWHM is a month away. What the heck am I going to do when this is over? Also, my honoree, Maggie, got her bone marrow transplant! YAY! #cancersucks I also realized that I, for better or worse, am a runner. Sure, why not do the Big Sur Half Marathon in November. #crazygirl

           

October: NWHM month! I actually started this journey in April. I actually finished it. On 10/21 I got up with the birds, met in Union Square with thousands of other runners and I ran SF. I just did it. I finished my first half-marathon. Dang. I finished. Emotional crash. I drank the purple cool-aid. I also raised almost $3K for blood cancer research.

November: Same co-worker and I decide to apply to come back to Team in Training as Mentors for the Spring Season. #GOTEAM!  I ran the Big Sur Half Marathon. By run, I mean run-hobble or runble. Mile 9 my plantar fasciitis really started to bother me and I just couldn’t run. I could barely walk.  Cursing my foot. But I finished! It’s now my Keri Strug race.

 

December: Training for the Spring Season of Team in Training begins! San Luis Obispo Half Marathon here I come.  Getting ready for the Hot Chocolate 15K in January. Putting together my 2014 race calendar. Oh and have a raging case of shin splints. Holiday season means fewer work days which means plenty of time to #RICE. I also had the honor of spending a patient’s last hours with him. This changed my life. I hope to live a more authentic, meaningful, positive, charitable, kind life. In those hours he asked me what I do outside of work and we talked about running and half-marathons. He wrote me a note that said, “Half? Go all the way!”

In the spirit of living all the way, I welcome 2014. I will raise the bar and challenge myself. Live as authentically as I can, worry less and run more.  How will you  live all the way this year?

Happy New Year Friends!!

The Mighty Ouch

Sunday I completed the Big Sur Half Marathon. And I use the word “completed” loosely. Yes I finished. I now refer to this as my “Keri Strug Race”. I’m babying my left foot in all of my pictures (or walking) due to an unfortunate flare up of plantar faciitis. If you have had this before you know it’s miserable. I’ve dealt with it in the past and it generally is a little bothersome in the morning but when I get moving it feels much better. I do my foot exercises (*Go see your doctor if you think you need them*) and I tape it with some KT Tape to run or do any strenuous activity which helps. Sunday it did not help. 

Please note the untouched banana and pretzels. I just. Wanted. Ice.

 

You should know this: I am not a risk taker. I have had enough injuries and illnesses in my life to know the difference between a growing pain and an injury. I don’t need to touch a hot stove to know it’s going to burn if I touch it! Injuries are a very real part of any sport, running is certainly no exception. Some are more common than others, more treatable than others, more detrimental than others. All athletes (and non-athletes) are probably guilty at some point of pushing through something that in hindsight they should have listened to. 

My question is this: what makes you (us) do this? Is it the race itself, the worry of a lost PR or qualifier? Is it that we really don’t think the injury is a real injury? Is it that “we know our bodies and what they can handle? (Which confuses me because if that were true, we wouldn’t have an injury to begin with, right?). What is it that helps us to determine when to push through and when not to? Is it really worth it? (PS, I ask because I genuinely don’t know.)

When I realized that the pain in my foot was getting worse and different (and I was getting nauseous because of it), I made the active decision to stop running. I told myself I would walk unless it got worse in which case I was prepared to do the “unthinkable”—STOP. Heaven forbid! Regardless of the turnout, I still woke up the next day, the world was still spinning, my work email was still collecting. There will be other races. I realize that this is easy to say for a novice runner. This isn’t my livelihood. Disappointing, absolutely.

At work I use the airplane analogy frequently. You must take care of yourself first. The Mighty Ouch can easily go from bad to worse if you don’t use good self-care. 

What keeps you from stopping when you’re hurting? What have the results been? What advice would you give someone who is struggling with that decision?