Friday Links!

This week I joined and started following the Another Mother Runner Stride Through the Holidays plan for Heart Strides.  AND WOW.  I am sore.  Not from the running - no, running is the easy part.  It is the cross-training workouts that I always say I want to do but then never do them.  This week, I did a strength circuit (twice!) with things like burpees, Russian twists and other intimidating names, AND 30 minutes of yoga targeting my hamstrings.  And I am still feeling it. I am hoping that by the end of the 5 week plan, I will be more consistent about incorporating these beneficial workouts into my weeks.

Now the links. 

How A Step Back Was the Way Forward

Love Sarah Mac.  And my main takeaway from this article (and learning lesson from this past week) is that it might be worth dialing back on miles/running days to incorporate these workouts that I always want to get in, but then never do.  I also have learned that I need to be intentional about non-running workouts.  Having a running plan helps me stay on track with getting running in so it should come as no surprise that having a plan for things like yoga and strength training might also be helpful.  (DUH.)

Runners Try: Jasyoga

I first heard about Jasyoga from Oiselle.  I bought the Hit Reset book, which I (and my daughter) like.  Having the book was not really helping me incorporate yoga in a more consistent way so I have considered purchasing a Jasyoga subscription to have access to the videos.  I have had some hesitation in doing so because I own yoga DVDs and still...I do not do yoga regularly.  I liked that Oiselle has some free Jasyoga videos hosted on their blog so that I could try them out before taking the subscription plunge.  I really liked the hamstring workout.  It was hard for me (hello! tight hamstrings) but I could feel (and am still feeling) a difference after doing it.  All I want for Christmas is a Jasyoga subscription! 

8 Ways to Become a Morning Runner

Morning running is where it is at!  The quotes in this article are spot on.  It hurt a bit to get out of bed this morning.  The hubs and I went to a neighborhood social where I had 2 glasses of wine and because I am getting old, that was enough to make me feel not so great this morning. It was time to Woman Up! so...at 5:06 AM, I slid out of bed, scrolled through my Instagram feed for motivation, and got out there to slog (and I mean SLOG) through a 30 minute run.

What Does Sub-Elite Mean and Race Offerings for Sub-Elites

I have heard this term ("sub-elite") and didn't know what it meant.  Thank you Salty Running for this series.  And...some of those half-marathon sub-elite times are NOT too scary to me. I loved my recent half-marathon experience and it was not an easy race...and yet, it wasn't god awful.  I have room to push there. (2017 goal?!)  

Have a great weekend!