Project 12: April

{Our Easter pic... check out those springy colors!}

It's practically the second week of May and I'm just now posting my April recap... I don't know what happens to the days y'all, I really don't. If you're just jumping into things, Project 12 is a fun way to recap the month. I talk about dates, books, movies, things I discovered, important events, and basically anything else I found important that month. You're also supposed to take a picture on the first day of the month- I've decided that if I get a picture within the first week of the month, I'm going to call it good. Because of mine and my husband's work schedules, I didn't even see him April 1st. So without further introduction.... 

DATES

1. Lest you think we go out on dates all the time, this month is proof we don't. We went out to eat a couple of times and had family in town a couple of times so even though I can't say we had "technical" dates, we still had a blast this month. 

DISCOVERIES

1. Sonic shakes are 1/2 priced after 8pm. Need I say more? If you start noticing that I'm getting chubbier in my pictures it's probably because I am. I blame the Oreo Caramel delicacy that I'm slightly obsessed with. 

2. Hobby Lobby by myself is dangerous. Especially when all their wall hangings are 50% off. I had self control and only bought one decoration for myself. 

{That "Eat" sign is the only one I bought for myself}

BOOKS & MOVIES

-BOOKS-

"31 Days to Becoming A Happy Wife" by Arlene Pellicane. Though the title may be trite, this was one of the best books I've ever read on marriage. I would actually say it's in my top 3 books I've read on marriage. I've been working through it since January (I clearly don't read it every day), and it's been wonderful for my marriage! The thoughts she shares are simple yet motivating. I would highly recommend this to any wife, and have added it to my list gift list for newlyweds. 

-MOVIES-

Insurgent. This was the second movie in the Divergent series and I enjoyed it a lot. I would say that I liked Divergent (the first movie) better, but this one was quite entertaining as well. Have any of you read the books?? 

Furious 6. Alright, so I like all these movies. I realize that they're all unrealistic but this one seemed especially unrealistic. For that reason, I didn't like it as much as the previous five. And seeing Paul Walker made me sad. 

NOTABLE EVENTS 

1. My first half marathon ever! It was an exciting weekend to have all my family up and watch me. It was a gloomy day but I landed up pretty much hitting my goal time which was awesome, and now I don't have to be so strict in my training plan (which is probably a bad thing). For a full recap of the run, head over here.

{These are my people who rock...minus a couple people that aren't pictured}

2. Alex shaved and only left a mustache. He kept it for the weekend and even got a couple compliments on it. I, however, made him shave it off before I was seen in public with him because I don't like to be associated with child molester lookalikes. I am 100% serious. 

{100% pedophile status}

3. Easter (spent with my in-laws) was awesome. We relaxed, ate good food, and played our fair share of ladder ball.

{I sunbathed on Easter. Now I haven't seen the sun in two weeks}

4. My younger 21-year old brother (who has been traveling the world since December 2014) happened to be in Nepal when the earthquake hit April 25th. We didn't hear from him for three days after it happened, and though I am incredibly grateful we didn't have to wait longer than 3 days, I do know that those 3 days were some of the longest of my life. I honestly surprised myself in the fact that I was able to stay calm and trust in the Lord. But I definitely broke down and cried when we heard he was okay. He's supposed to be home in a week to walk in his college graduation and I get teary every time I think about picking him up at the airport. 

My heart aches daily for the Nepalese and I still don't know how to help such a hurting nation. I feel useless even though I know prayer may be the best thing I can do. I hope you'll join me in praying for the families of the 7,500 dead, the 14,500 injured, and the many that have yet to be found. 

{My brother pictured on the right, me, and my husband on top of a 14er last fall.}

BY THE NUMBERS

Miles run: 56

New recipes tried: 2. This orange chicken recipe that I'd been looking forward to turned out totally weird and lemon, parmesan, and ricotta pasta with grilled chicken sounds like a way better dish than it actually is. Bummer dude. 

Number of Sonic shakes drank: You don't even want to know. 

How was your April?? Are you seeing the sun in your part of the country?

How to Run Without Getting Hurt- Part 1

I recently shared my first half marathon experience. Though I wasn't a blogger back then, I also ran a full marathon in 2010. Though I am not an expert on running by any means, I have learned a lot about running through my own experiences and by reading a lot of books and articles. I ran track in high school and suffered from terrible shin splints. Later in high school, I cross trained for tennis by running 6-7 miles at a time, and ran without any pain. I successfully trained for both my full and half marathon without injury, and I'm a firm believer that almost anyone can successfully train for a long distance race. Below are the main tips that you should follow in order to successfully be able to run long distances without getting hurt. 

INVEST IN GOOD SHOES
A good quality pair of running shoes is crucial to being able to run without getting injured. If you're starting to run consistently, I would invest in good pair of running shoes right away. I have a hard time spending money on clothes or shoes, but running shoes are one thing I will splurge on because I know how important they are. You are not only protecting your feet with a good pair of shoes- you're protecting your knees, your hips, and your back. Buying good shoes will save you from a host of problems later in life (think knee/hip replacements or spinal fusions).

If you haven't already, I strongly encourage you to go to a running store and have them film you running. You run on a treadmill while they video just your feet, and they're able to slow the video down to see how you run (whether you land on the inside of your foot, outside, or pretty flat). Depending on how your feet land, you'll need a different type of shoe. Running shoes are not all built the same and I can tell a huge difference in a shoe that works for my type of stride versus one that doesn't.

Most (if not all) running stores do this analysis for free even if you don't land up buying a pair of shoes. Don't be intimidated by this process! I know I was nervous the first time I did it, but people at running stores are usually super friendly and want to help you get in a good pair of shoes.

I've also found that most running stores are pretty respectful of my budget when I tell them my price range. A lot of times you can get the same shoe but the previous year's model for a big discount. That being said, I would realistically expect to spend  between $60-$120 on a good pair of running shoes. I usually spend around $80 and that is getting the year's previous model.

One last note- I usually try to shop at a store that has a good return policy. Usually this means a full refund within 1-2 weeks of returning your shoes, and I look for stores that are okay with me running in the shoes on my normal running surface to test them out. It's really hard for me to decide on a pair of shoes in store because I don't normally run on treadmills. Obviously, I wouldn't abuse this policy- I usually run a maximum of 5 miles in the shoes and that's usually enough for me to tell if the shoes will work for me or not. I recently returned a pair of shoes before I got my current ones because after just a couple of runs in them my shins started hurting- a sure sign that I wasn't in the right shoes.

START SLOW. 

I can't emphasize this enough- if you only get one thing out of this entire post it would be this point. A lot of people think that starting slow means going from not having run in years to running 3 miles a few times a week. This is not slow. Before I started officially training for my marathon, I completed a couch-to-5k training plan that had me work up to being able to run 3 miles. Before I started training for my half marathon, I was consistently running 1-3 miles about 3 times a week for two months. 

The slower you start, the less likely you are to get injured. It can feel long at the beginning when you're barely increasing your mileage, but taking your time in the beginning will pay off later when you're able to run 10+ miles a week without getting injured. Starting too quick is a surefire way to get injured and doom your training before you even really begin. 

DON'T OVER TRAIN

A lot of people think that they have to run 5 or 6 days a week to be fast. This may work for some people, but I know that for a lot of people, this much running can quickly lead to overuse injuries. I believe that my running injuries in high school were directly related to running for 2 hours 6 days a week. 

Thanks to Amanda (that link goes to her AWESOME page of running resources), I learned about the Run Less Run Faster book. Back in December, I checked this book out at the library and though I didn't read every single page, I read enough to understand the premise. By having fewer but more focused runs, you'll still be able to get positive results. 

This book and methodology is precisely why I chose this half marathon training plan . This plan only has you run 3 times a week and cross train 2 days a week and rest 2 days a week. This plan was perfect for me because I work three 12-hour shifts a week and there is no way that I am working out after my shifts. That leaves me four days to work out- 3 days of running and 1 day of cross training.  I'll be honest- I was consistent with my running, but my cross training was doing yoga maybe once a month.  

I'm a huge believer in only running 3-4 times a week (I ran 4 times a week during my marathon training). I think this frequency really lowers your chance of getting injured or even getting burnt out on running. The plan I followed for my half marathon is adaptable to whatever pace and goal you're shooting for. Do your training runs and do something different on your off days- yoga, hike, or one of my personal favorites- dance on the xbox. 

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Check out part 2 of how to run without getting injured. 

What other tips do all you runners have for running without getting injured? What questions do you have about these tips?