The G Series

During a race last year I took some Gatorade at an Aid Station and it was a BAD idea. My mouth was dry and my stomach cramped. So I have avoided sports drinks entirely ever since. Until the day of my marathon. I got a G Series Recovery drink. I liked it.

So tomorrow I am running a half marathon. It's sure to be a GORGEOUS race and I am more than a little bit excited about it. I decided to give the whole G Series a try. 01. Prime. According to the package it's loaded with carbs, B vitamins and electrolytes. It's supposed to be taken 15 minutes before exercise or competition; delivering energy and helps your body sustain its ability to burn additional carbs. I am going to try Fruit Punch.

02. Perform. I am trying G2 Low Cal {didn't notice that part} Blueberry-Pomegranate flavor. Loaded with electrolytes and carbs with half the calories of original Gatorade. I will probably take this with me on the run and drink water at the Aid Stations. On their website it mentions that the Low Cal is designed to deliver hydration to athletes during lighter exercise and competition so I may go switch it for Original G, due to the length of the race.

03. Recover. Protein and Carbohydrate drink, said to provide hydration and muscle recovery benefits. I love the sound of that! I will be trying Mixed Berry.

I have high hopes. I'll let ya'll know how it goes when I get back!

Homemade Ice Pack

Now I'm sure you guys were picturing something totally awesome and crafty!! Yeah, no. THIS is my homemade ice pack!But this is no ordinary chunk of ice!! It is pliable too... kinda slushy! So here's how you can make your own:

In a QUART size freezer bag mix one cup rubbing alcohol and two cups water. If you need a bigger bag, simply double the liquid to two cups rubbing alcohol and four cups water in a GALLON size bag.

The alcohol doesn't allow the water to freeze all the way. It's awesome!

I have spent A LOT of time with this bad boy lately. My knee has not improved yet; I am hoping it does in the next day or two. I am getting more and more anxious with every day that goes by.

Not any better

Today I headed out expecting a MUCH better run than Saturday. I felt great for about 2 miles and then my dang knee started hurting again. I tried to just slow down and take it easy but it gradually got worse over the next mile. At 3.2 miles I stopped and was going to call it good and just walk the rest of the way home. But Hawkeye was home with the kids and would be needing to get to work. So I ran/limped and walked on and off the rest of the way home! I am so ticked!! I don't think I'd be so worried if I hadn't JUST BARELY forked out the money for this race!! So the plan is that I'll ice again today A LOT. 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off... I'll do that 2-3 times. Then Wednesday I'll walk instead of run so hopefully by Saturday I'll be 100% again.

*Stay tuned for a cool homemade ice pack!!

Recovery Time

This week was initially supposed to be P90X Bring It Week!! It has turned into RECOVERY WEEK! Wow. I haven't taken a whole week off from working out for 10 months!! Double WOW! I listen to my body though and it's telling me that it needs a break!

See. My sweet little family had some AWESOME pictures taken on Tuesday {I will post a pic when we get them back; suffice it to say that they are totally FABULOUS}. My hot hubby and I decided to do some water shots. It was cold outside; 42 degrees cold, not freezing but cold! That water was snow not too long before!! We waded out waist deep and got some really REALLY sweet pictures!! We had towels and a change of clothes, didn't think anything of it.

We did dinner. Put the four sprouts to bed and whipped out PLYOMETRICS {a tough leg cardio workout}. I'm thinkin that was a bad idea! Both of us were really struggling. We didn't complete the workout and we have been SO SORE!!!

So I think the cold water combined with the intense leg workout was a bad combo. LIVE & LEARN right? My point though is A} LISTEN to your body and B} let your muscles RECOVER!! Know how hard you can push your body and when to back off! And what MOST people forget is that RECOVERY is JUST as important and working those muscles!!! You should NOT do the same thing {sit-ups, push-ups... whatever} every day! You NEED to recover in between!! And sometimes that recovery process takes LONGER than 48 hours {hence my week long-ish recovery period}! Listen to your body. Let it Recover!