9 Running Drills to Make you a Better, Stronger Runner

Transitioning to forefoot running takes time because you often have to reteach your muscles how to function while out on a run. Running drills focused on forefoot running can aid in the transition because they force your muscles to repeat these functions in various ways to build strength and muscle memory.

I've found a few running drills to begin incorporating into warm-ups before starting my runs. They focus a lot on getting used to how it should feel to have a forefoot strike as well as focusing on balance.

Good balance is key to successful forefoot running because all the action takes place in front of your body. Good balance will keep you upright, stable, and less likely to face plant. 😜

Some of the videos below demonstrating these drills are duplicates, but I've embedded each video to begin playing at the time of the particular drill I've just described.

Weekly Wrap - Apr 22

Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by their blogs to see what everyone else was up to last week.

Happy Earth Day! I hope the weather was nice for you and that you were able to get outside today. It was a gorgeous day here, so I made a point to take my Sallie girl for a walk. She's pretty tuckered out now, but I'm glad I made the time. I even raised a little money using Charity Miles for The Nature Conservatory, since it's Earth Day.

Workouts

My workouts were sub-par this week. As you will see, I took 2 complete rest days and did 0 runs. I try to run Tue/Thu/Sat (or Sun) but Tue got away from me. I was going to run on Wed instead but my ankle has been bothering me. It probably would have been fine on the run because the pain is mostly only when I step on my heel in certain ways. It's worse when walking in place. Anyway, I talked myself out of running this week and decided to give my ankle a little rest instead.

Throwback to the 90s with Over 100 Songs

Today, I'm linking up with Kim, Janelle, and Steph for Tunes Tuesday. The theme this month is Throwback Jams (70s, 80s, 90s). Perfect for a trip down memory lane to my high school and college days.

Remember making mixed tapes for your friends? Finding the perfect songs and combining them into a fun mix? I had a few friends that were so good at making them! Me? Not so much. I always had so much trouble choosing the songs. And getting them to flow and fit onto a cassette? Not so much. LOL

Weekly Wrap - Apr 15

Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by their blogs to see what everyone else was up to last week.

I'm so happy to report that I finally filed our taxes. Yesterday. Finished that up with a few days to spare and it feels so good. LOL I never got around to them last weekend, so I'm glad I made the time this weekend, cuz time was no longer on my side. 😂

Workouts

I didn't feel super on Wed and especially not on Thurs. 😒 I ended up needing a rest day on Thursday, and I don't feel too bad about it. Sometimes, that's just life and you gotta be OK with it and move on.

Best Hair Hacks for Your Active Lifestyle

Working out is important to you, but sometimes it's hard to squeeze it all in, am I right?!

I tend to try to get my workouts done in the morning before the day gets too crazy, but this limits my time as I need to leave enough time to get ready for work.

Maybe you squeeze in a workout during lunch and need to get back to the office.

Maybe you workout after work but still need to be presentable for dinner, errands, or meeting friends.

Whenever you choose to workout, does your hair get in the way?

Weekly Wrap - Apr 8

Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by their blogs to see what everyone else was up to last week.

I'm happy to report that April is off to a great start! I'm on track with all of my goals, the weather has been perfection. Life is good!

Workouts

I'm pretty proud of my workouts last week. I got in 3 runs. I haven't missed a day of Rachels' challenge. I only missed one day of my Quick Hit challenge. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and attended Silent Savasana.

Let's Catch Up at the Ultimate Coffee Date!

Hope you're enjoying a lovely weekend. I don't really have too much to say today, so this should be a quick coffee date!

If we were having coffee today, I would tell you how excited I am for April. I've got some solid goals that I really feel will go well this month. At least they've gone pretty good this first week. 😎

March, You Are Finished! April, Come She Will

We're a full quarter into 2018! March didn't actually seem to fly by - even though it was filled with a couple of weekends of visitors and some fun fitness challenges. I wouldn't say it dragged on, but I also wouldn't say that it flew by.

March didn't exactly go as planned. Lots of my goals went un-achieved, or under-achieved. I'm not going to let it get me down, at least not too far down. 😜 Instead, I'm going to reflect on my March goals and where/why I came up short and use that come up with some new goals for April.

Weekly Wrap - Apr 1

Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by their blogs to see what everyone else was up to last week.

It was nice to have NOTHING to do this weekend! I spent it the doing some neglected chores around the apartment and *gasp* got some meal prep done today! Standing in the kitchen for so long today, I'm definitely going to sleep well tonight. :-)

Workouts

I had a couple days during the week that were pretty minimal but overall I'd say it was a pretty decent week workout-wise.

Do you know what time it is?

Time for some Runfessions!

Happy to be linking up with Marcia once again for a little runfessing.

I runfess that...  while my forefoot running transition is going well it is still a bit scary for me. Last week, I shared my full 2018 transition plan and seeing it all laid out is both calming and terrifying. It's definitely feeling more natural but I'll really start ramping things up in April and the doubts are starting to set in. Am I ready? Can I maintain form for longer than 1-2 miles?

Weekly Wrap - Mar 25

Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by their blogs to see what everyone else was up to last week.

Two fun-filled weekends in a row and I'm super late to the Weekly Wrap party again! Totally worth it to spend a few days with my sister and niece, though. As I was going to bed last Wednesday night, I saw a FB Story pop up from my sister that she was on her way to Las Vegas for Spring Break. What?! Despite having no warning and not being prepared for a weekend of shenanigans, it was a blast!

Workouts

Before I tell you about all that, let's talk about my workouts last week. Consistency definitely wasn't the name of the game, but I kind of made up for it over the weekend!

Announcing my Plan to Make me a Better Runner

If you've stopped by at all this year, you probably know that my BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goal) for 2018 is to transition to forefoot running.

In order to accomplish any BHAG, it's important to have a plan. I know we're pretty much at the end of March {how did that happen?} already but I'm finally ready to share my 2018 Forefoot Running Transition Plan.

2018 Forefoot Running Transition Plan

I started the year very slowly but will start increasing mileage over the next couple of months. It's important to me to also include specific drills and exercises for forefoot running, so I'm excited to start incorporating those as well.

Weekly Wrap - Mar 18

Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by their blogs to see what everyone else was up to last week.

Daylight Savings Time mess with anyone else last week? I think I got cocky on Monday when I said I wasn't really affected. Tuesday was OK too, but then BAM! Wednesday came along and hit. me. hard. My energy was zapped. The later sunset, while welcomed, encouraged me to stay up later than usual so my mornings became nearly impossible.

Hoping to get my sleep and energy levels back to normal this week!

Workouts

With my lower energy levels, my workouts were definitely a little less than usual. I tried to {mostly} keep up with my daily challenges but didn't really do much extra.

Women of the 80s: A Totally Awesome Playlist

Last Thursday was International Women's Day, and I was pleasantly surprised at how many posts I saw come across my social channels celebrating the day. It seemed a much bigger deal this year, or maybe I was just paying more attention.

Women, of course, should be celebrated every day, but at least we have this one day set aside internationally as well as March also being National Women's History Month here in the U.S. (maybe other places as well).

One of my favorite genres to listen to while I run is 1980s pop, so I thought it would be fun to celebrate National Women's History Month with a playlist of the awesome female artists of the 1980s.

Weekly Wrap - Mar 11

Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by their blogs to see what everyone else was up to last week.

My cold is still hanging on a bit. I called in sick to work last Monday to give myself another day of keeping my germs to myself. All week everything tasted and smelled a bit off. I hope I get those senses back to normal sometime this week!

Workouts

Even with a sick day on Monday, I still did my daily challenges plus a little yoga. Other than Wed, I pretty much just stuck to those daily challenges with maybe just a little something extra.

Yesterday, I had cramps pretty bad, so I slept a lot and skipped my daily challenges. I did do 7 loads of laundry, so I still hit my steps goal. We don't have laundry in our apartment, so I have to walk to the laundry room.

5 Easy Steps to Save More $$$ with Ibotta

Disclaimer: This post contains referral links. If you join Ibotta using my link, we both earn a bonus. That said, this is not a sponsored post and I am not being compensated to write it.

Have you tried the Ibotta app? It's one of my most loved apps right now! It's super easy to use, saves me money, and gets me to try some new things that I might not otherwise try. There are a lot of offers on items that I regularly buy as well. I definitely call that winning all around. 💕

I recently listed it among the things I'm currently loving. After that post, a reader reached out to me to say she downloaded the app, but wasn't seeing very many offers. She asked if I might consider writing up an easy tutorial on how to use the app. I thought that was a great idea, so here you go - complete with screenshots from my phone!

I hope you find it helpful to start saving money today!

1. Add Stores to Your Favorites

Weekly Wrap - Mar 4

This post contains affiliate links.

Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by their blogs to see what everyone else was up to last week.

How was your week? In case you missed my Ultimate Coffee Date post, I'm currently battling a cold. It's the worst I've had in a while, and it sucks! I've already gone through So. Many. Tissues. I bought some Kleenex with soothing lotion and they are a lifesaver! My nose is still a bit raw but the tissues are nice and soft when I need to blow, which makes this situation a little more bearable. I've also been drinking tea with honey and lemon. It's really been hitting the spot.

I'm crossing my fingers that this cold doesn't stick around too long. I'm ready for spring!

Workouts

I started the week pretty strong, but my body probably knew a cold was coming on by mid-week. I was so tired on Wed, but I still finished Rachel's Supermans, Planks, & Twists February challenge before heading to bed.

She started a Total Body challenge on the 1st. It's a little different format than January and February's challenges, and I'm really excited about it! Sundays are supposed to be rest days, but I took my rest day yesterday instead. 😜

Join me! Time for the March Ultimate Coffee Date!!

March was off to a great start until I woke up with a running nose, sore throat, headache and zero energy. Booo...

Good thing this coffee date is virtual. 😉

If we were having coffee today, I would tell you...

I'm drinking tea with honey instead of coffee. Tea always sounds better when I'm sick. My husband got sick first. He doesn't like tea, so he's just been drinking hot water with lemon and honey. Did you know that honey and lemon not only taste good but also promote healing?


If we were having coffee today, I would tell you...

What Made February Great and Promising Goals for March

Man, February really flew by! I feel like I said that at the beginning of every month last year. Will 2018 fly by just as quickly?! Time, won't you please slow down just a little bit?

I'm definitely trying to accomplish great things this year, so I'm going to act and plan and dream and believe. How about you? What are you going to accomplish this year?

Part of all this is also analyzing and evaluating. How am I doing on my goals? What are my next steps to get me where I wanna go?

5 Heart-Pumping Workouts You'll Want to Try Now

American Heart Month has nearly come to an end, but we all know that taking care of our hearts goes beyond just the month of February. After all, heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. While we can't control all the risk factors that may lead to heart disease, being active and eating healthy can help reduce the them.

The American Heart Association recommends getting in 40 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise 3-4 times a week.

Such activity helps reduce your risk of heart disease by:

• Preventing and managing high blood pressure
• Improving blood circulation
• Boosting your levels of good cholesterol
• Helping to manage stress levels

You don't need to pay for a fancy gym membership to get in a good workout!

I've rounded up 5 heart-pumping workouts that you can do right in the comfort of your own home!