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My Feet in Motion

On the run with a dietitian

Archives for August 2023

half marathon running

Week 9 of Mo’ Cowbell Half Marathon Training

This is the recap of Week 9 of Mo’ Cowbell Half Marathon training. I had a really nice week of training this week, however I ended up not running my 5k race on Saturday. I’m kind of glad, because I actually got to spend the morning in bed with my family watching cartoons and then we made pancakes and had a nice breakfast, before a day date to Paducah. I probably would have been exhausted with the driving and back and forth.

Also, I have decided to stop including my heart rate data and also decided to stop focusing on that during my run. I just don’t want to have “rules.” I want to just run freely. No one needs another metric to be trying to follow when they just want to go on a run.

Monday

4.81 miles @ 9:35 pace

Since I didn’t get my workout in last week, I ended up mid run thinking “let’s go ahead and see what I can do.” This was right after I hit 1 mile and decided to call that a warmup.

  • 10:33
  • 9:35
  • 8:50
  • 8:47
  • 10:22

I didn’t look at my watch for the 3 miles that I was pushing for and really thought I was flying. I got home and checked my splits and just laughed. This was the point I decided to stop focusing on HR zone 2 and just have fun and run. I just felt that I need more quicker runs in there that aren’t structured speed workouts. I will still keep my recovery runs easy but I can’t have all my runs be that way because I just feel like I’m struggling to pick it up when I need to.

Tuesday

3 miles @ 10:58 pace

Started off on the treadmill and after 1 mile decided to go outside and run. I’m really struggling with the treadmill these past few weeks.

  • 11:30
  • 10:57
  • 10:51

Wednesday

4.1 miles @ 10:39 pace

Birthday run!!! I thought of just doing 3.3 to celebrate my birthday but I was having a good time and went longer.

  • 10:53
  • 10:33
  • 10:41
  • 10:35
  • 9:58 (.1)

Thursday

Evening family walk – 1.2 miles

Friday

off

Saturday

Was supposed to have a 5k race but we had thunderstorms when I woke up and a watch for the next few hours. I didn’t want to drive all the way to the race for it to get canceled nor did I want to run in a thunderstorm. Thought the idea of a slow morning sounded better.

Sunday

8 miles @ 9:44 pace

My first run where I just ran freely without looking at my heart rate, pace etc. It was really humid and muggy. I knew before my first mile that it was going to be an interesting run. Ran out of fluid early, so may need to take my vest until it cools off. I wish they had water fountains along my route, or I thought of going into McDonalds and asking to fill up my handheld.

  • 10:08
  • 9:45
  • 10:01
  • 9:53
  • 9:26
  • 9:19
  • 9:34
  • 9:44

I think my long run ramps up from here. This will be my first half marathon training where I end up running more than 9-10 mile long runs. I think the most I have planned is 12, so I’ll be easing in with some 10’s and 11’s in the next couple of weeks. Can’t believe we are getting close to race day.

ICYMI – I posted my review of the Chirp Wheels earlier today, feel free to check it out!

review running

Review: Chirp Wheels, Yay or Nay?

Have you heard of Chirp Wheels, or seen them on your social media, or even better, Shark Tank? This has been a product I have been wanting to try for a few years now! I was so excited when Chirp wanted to partner with me and gifted me The Ultimate Back + Neck Bundle to review. I’m going to share what is in the Ultimate Back + Neck Bundle and highlight my favorites out of it, if I had to choose!

chirp wheel

What is Chirp?

The Chirp Wheel puts pressure on the muscles surrounding the spine. In doing so, the muscles are stretched and strengthened. The technical term for this is Myofascial Release. Myofascial is a fancy word for muscle, and release is referring to the tension within the muscle.

How is a Chirp Wheel different than a foam roller?

There are two main differences — width and pressure.

1. All Chirp Wheels are 5″ wide. This width is perfect for putting the pressure where it is needed along the spine and between the shoulder blades. A foam roller just steamrolls the whole area with no real focus. 

2. Chirp Wheels come in 3 sizes (diameters) — 12″ 10″ and 6″. Due to the size change, the area in contact with the muscles at any given point provides a different amount of pressure. Think wearing high heels in the snow vs. actual snowshoes.

Check out this video to see more.

Difference between the Chirp Wheels

There is a fabulous chart on their website that really shows how each wheel can benefit you. I can’t fit it all on here, so I am going to link to it. If you scroll down you will see each wheel compared to each other. This was helpful to me when I first got the bundle to help decide where to start.

Chirp Wheel in Action

My Review

I really love this product. I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary to own all the different sizes, but I think the price point on bundles, especially if you do an open box version, is very justifiable. Both my husband and I had the snap, crackle, pop effects on our very first roll. It does take some patience to make sure you have correct positioning of your spine, but otherwise I did not find it hard to use. I think that was the biggest selling point for me when I first heard about the product was the spine protection. I also love the different amounts of pressure. It’s no surprise to me though that there is a wheel that I keep going back to and starting with all the time. My choice: 10″ Firm. If I could only pick ONE, this would be my go-to.

chirp wheel

Not only are these simple to use and effective, but they are aesthetically pleasing and I love that they nest within each other. I don’t like when things clutter my area, so for these to all nest within each other and then zip up into a case to either travel easily with or just store, is an amazing feature.

Most Surprising

The one that surprised me most that I love is the 4″ Focus. Just having my neck rest on it while laying down provided some amazing relief that I didn’t know I struggled with.

Have a tight budget?

I’m also a huge advocate for saving money, so if you are interested in these products and don’t mind open box, they do have a refurbished section with some great deals!

Once again, a big thank you to Chirp for allowing me to review this product. It’s definitely been added into my rotation of recovery tools for my training!

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