Find your greatness

Nike Women is helping me find my greatness, they continue to push/motivate me throughout my training for the NWM2012.  I am also lucky to have a great group of ladies on twitter #sistersinnike, family, friends, co-workers and my fiance who continually cheer me on. 

Nike has launched their new campaign "Find your greatness" and it couldn't have come at a better time at the start of the Olympics. Greatness is for all of us, it's not just reserved for the championship athlete.  It is found in everyday athletes who have personal goals, train hard, work hard and achieve that goal.  Whether it's crossing that finish line, or even getting off that couch and going for a jog - that is greatness.  No regrets, and each time you get out there do the best you can do, go for that extra inch and strive for better.  Challenge yourself. Find your greatness!

Tempo Run

Yesterday as part of my training schedule I saw I had a 3mi tempo run to do today.  A tempo run you say??...hmm should I be trying to run at a similar tempo to the tunes blasting out from my playlist?
Again I'm still a bit of newbie to all these running terms.

Thank goodness for Google and twitter for saving me from the embarrassment of attempting a running dance along the boardwalk. :P

Tempo runs are similar to high-intensity intervals, but with this strategy you don't sprint as fast as you can. Instead, you hold at a fast (but not too fast) pace for a longer time period, like 10 minutes, before slowing down. This helps you get past your running threshold. I've been running several times a week, and noticed I've been slowing down and my endurance waning, esp on my long runs Saturdays. Why is this happening?

Your body eventually acclimates to a particular pace and/or distance. So overtime, you won’t get what you used to out of that regular 5-miler every other day. Stagnation sets in. Active.com

Tempo runs help push out your lactate threshold (that burn you feel in your legs when you run fast). Tempo workouts teach your body to more quickly clear out the lactate buildup delaying or preventing that fatigue-causing burn. The goal of this type of practice run is to improve your race pace and help improve your overall efficiency.


So how did I do?

MILE	TIME	CHANGE	AVG PACE
1	11:06	--	11'06"/mi warm-up
2 *Fastest	20:08	- 2:04 (18%)	9'02"/mi tempo run
3	30:53	+ 1:42 (-19%)	10'45"/mi cool down

DRINK RECIPE :STRAWBERRY MOJITO

Strawberry Mojito is the perfect drink for a hot summer afternoon. The strawberries in this mojito not only add flavor but antioxidants too. 

INGREDIENTS
5 strawberries, sliced
3 mint springs
4 lime wedges
2 ounces rum
crushed ice
soda water

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine strawberries, two lime wedges, and mint in a large glass and crush with a muddler until strawberries are juicy; add your rum and stir gently.
2. Pour mixture evenly between two glasses, add ice and top with soda water.
3. Garnish with extra lime or strawberry halved 

Keep it simpElle: The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the tru...

Informative and great read by Danielle Linton.

Keep it simpElle: The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the tru...: This episode of Panorama entitled 'The Truth About Sports Products' which aired on the 19th July informed us that 1 in 5 of us in the UK at...

13 weeks to 13.1mi - 13 tips I've learned along the way

There are 13 weeks left until the NWM2012 - time is flying by so fast o_O


I've picked up a lot of tips/advice and learned from my own mistakes during my training, so I thought I'd share 13.1 of my favs.  These are can also be applied to other forms of sport/workouts.


BEAT THE HEAT

• hydrate! hydrate! hydrate!
On training days, make sure you’re taking in extra fluids before, during and after to keep from getting thirsty and dehydrated
• listen to your body
  When training/running gets sweaty and tough, take a walk break (try some run/walk intervals) or hit a Savasana. Know when to push through a mentally tough part of your run and know when to pack it in.
• sunscreen!!!Wear sunscreen – ‘nuff said

SMOOTHIES FOR 13 MILES

• Crunchy Coffee Fix - soooo yummy

• Mango-Coconut Water Smoothie  

  2 cups ripe mango chunks (from 1 to 2 mangoes) 

  2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 

  2 cups unsweetened coconut water 
  Pinch of cayenne powder (key) ;)
  
  Combine all ingredients in a blender; blend until smooth. 

RUN MANTRAS

• run with your heart not with your legs 
• you’ve done harder things than this before…
• You’ve made it this far, only (insert distance left) left!
• Dig for that extra inch. Take the best you can do, and do better.

GEAR & GADGETS

• Nike Cheyenne Vapor Backpack
  This is a great bag, just what I need for my long runs, hiking and navigating the city. Big enough bag to carry all your necesities.

• Nike LunarFly+ 3  comfortable and nice fit 

• Nike+GPS app Nike has put together a very polished app that allows you to get accurate readouts for speed, distance, GPS mapping and listen to music. Voice alerts during your run give you the vital stats such as time, distance and pace, and post-run entreaties for you to go faster, longer, and further really do work. There's also a social aspect, where you and your friends can have friendly competitions, trash-talk each other into a fitter,and better lifestyle.  Post run you can sync you run onto Nike+ and see beautiful graphs of your run splits and see how you compare with fellow runners in the NIke community.  

• Nike Filament Capris  stays in place, does not bunch, and are very breathable. Back pocket is perfect for a house key!

Lastly, JUST DO IT! as Nike encourages us to do...get up and get moving!  Whether it's for a charitable cause, competition or just for yourself, your body will thank you.  You will reap the rewards by becoming healthier, stronger and confident because you achieved a goal.