A Case of the Runs

Halloween is peskily falling in the middle of the week this year (as will Christmas and New Years' Day, unfortunately), so my sisters' annual costume bash has already taken place.  Admittedly, Halloween (<~ click link for all the other times I've blogged about this holiday) kind of snuck up on me this year for some reason mentally, though I was proactive and planned our costumes as early as I could after knowing what the theme was.  Oh, and I also made my usual Halloween Chex Mix . I was a bit lazy this year and purchased most of our costume elements.  However, when I couldn't find certain things (at a reasonable price) I had to do a little crafting: The final product: The theme this year was "magic," so we were able to piece together a bunch of stuff for "The Ukrainian"'s costume .  It's hard to see in the picture, but he even trimmed his beard in a different way for the occasion.  We only needed to get a robe (Party C...

And just like that, it's been 7 years. Like last year , I don't really have a lot of sentimental ruminations about the anniversary of my first real post about my first Long Beach Half-Marathon . However, I have been thinking about the blog and its future lately, more than usual.  When I started, I basically lived and breathed running.  Of course, I was also a (college!) student, newly into the workforce, and all that good stuff, but I used to take the little vacation time I had just to run... just to train , even.  Nowadays, perhaps because working the "9 to 5" for years kills your soul (so to speak), running occupies such a smaller space in my life, both time-wise and mentally. This past weekend, after 4 months of running no more than 5 miles (most days under 4), I ran 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 2 minutes -- in a training session, faster than a good percentage of my actual half-marathons, not even at 100% effort.  I truly believe that this came from my "me...

Wow, it has really taken a long time for me to review this DVD. If you've been reading for a while, I have tried quite a few of Jillian Michaels ' workouts.  However, I got all excited and wrapped up about Insanity and T25 , which now I can't really do at this time due to logistical issues .  Jillian's videos are not really as high-impact, so I have been doing more of them lately. This DVD consists of two levels of workouts, about half an hour each.  I don't think I've ever tried to do both in one session, though you totally could.  Usually, I will do about 15 minutes of cardio or something to supplement this workout. I actually think Level 1 is a touch more difficult than Level 2.  In Level 1, you're doing a lot more floor work, which is definitely effective. In Level 2, there are a lot more standing exercises, which seem to engage more areas of the core.  Both levels go through two circuits, and then you do both circuits quickly for a final time....

It's starting to cool down around here (finally!), so I know that my days out (very) early morning running around the neighborhood might be over.  While I've gotten used to running in the dark ( unpleasant as is), "The Ukrainian" has clearly stated that he'd rather not run in the rain.  The formerly "hardcore" runner in me wants to ignore him, but for the sake of not slipping or damaging my shoes when I'm too cheap to replace them, I'm now seriously considering a treadmill. A treadmill is something that I've always eyed, but I couldn't justify spending money on something that I wasn't sure if I'd use, which is a funny thing to say since I've been running (no serious distances) as my primary source of exercise these days.  I used to run on the treadmill a lot, but since I'm gym-less , I am not used to it anymore.  I'm sure I'd use it if it were there, I had some entertainment on, and the weather was bad.  Of cours...