OrthoLite Giveaway!

So the soreness has gone away only a little bit.  My arms are mostly recovered (I would hope so after 3 days of rest) and my legs are getting there (more discomfort than I would like after 2 days of rest).  I was able to move and the 4 miles on the trail this morning felt good (It was probably my last run with the boys – love them and the dogs and the 87% chance of a “coffee run” but it’s time to get serious again).  There was some residual soreness with each step and I would say most of it remains in my hamstrings and butt area BUT it is coupled with this feeling of tightening and lengthening…..(at least in my mind anyway).

OrthoLite Orthotics and The Runners Exchange.

Time for another organization that is doing great things through running!  This one is called the Runners Exchange and is partnered up with OrthoLite Orthotics.  The Runners Exchange is a multi-city, one-mile run tour led by Jonathon Prince to encourage an active lifestyle in different communities.

International runner, speaker, imaginarian, and philanthropist, Jonathon Prince has run over 12,000 miles pioneering the concept of “Social Athli-vist” using his feats of endurance to promote positive change and to inspire people to not only dream big, but to put action behind their dreams. He has earned widespread praise for his innovative approach to cause marketing and has been hailed by Ebony magazine as the “Future of Philanthropy.” Prince was selected by Bono and his wife Ali Hewson to appear in their Fall 2011 Edun “Pioneer Project” campaign recognizing him as a man of style and substance. NBC News honored Prince by including him in TheGrio’s 100 for Making History Today in 2012. Prince recently announced his goal to run the first Mile on the Moon.  To learn more about Jonathon Prince, follow him at www.facebook.com/PrinceOfStrides.

Recognize that Store?!

One of his recent stops was Memphis, TN!  Unfortunately I found out after the fact so couldn’t alert y’all – my apologies.

He receives support from an insole company called OrthoLite.  I’ve never used insoles before but OrthoLites have the following qualities:

• Designed to fit all athletic and outdoor shoes or boots
• Made with open-cell foam, allowing air to circulate around the foot, keeping it cooler and drier inside the shoe
• Wicks moisture away from your foot leaving your foot cooler and drier
• Unique spring-back technology ensures that your insole won’t flatten out and it will retain over 95% of its thickness over time
• Patented anti-microbial formulation (approved by the EPA and FDA) fights fungus, bacteria and shoe odor
• Lightweight and fully washable

They were kind enough to send me a pair to try and I’m thinking of putting them in for my run this weekend.  I’m nervous, never change something that works!  Who knows though, could totally enhance my running experience!  I also have a couple pairs to giveaway – all you have to do is 1. Like OrthoLite on Facebook 2. Follow @ortholite on Twitter and 3. Leave a comment below describing how you stay active on a daily basis (OR how you are going to start including activity on a daily basis!)  You can enter through Sunday afternoon and I’ll notify the winners on Monday (will need to contact you for shoe size and mailing address!)

Motivation Mondays – Sunday Morning Bakery Giveaway!

Good morning y’all!  Happy Monday, happy July!  Today’s motivation is two-fold – first some current event inspiration and then a chance to win a bag of Sunday Morning Bakery’s Granola (from my California trip!).

But first, a quick running re-cap.  I did 4 miles with my dad this morning – we were both surprised when we pulled into the trail parking lot to find no one there.  I knew one of the boys wouldn’t be there because he just returned from a Greek vacation with his family (although dad remained optimistic about his appearance and was hoping he would show up to go get coffee and entertain us with tales of the isles).  Not today.  Dad offered for us to go home and go back to bed to which I replied “Well we’re here, I’m awake and I’ve got my shoes on.”  “We can fix all those things if we go home.”  True, but we ran instead.  He watched the Olympic trials last night, which I missed, and told me a story about the gymnastics portion that I thought was pretty inspiring.

Did anyone see the trials last night?  According to my dad (and then I saw a coverage on the Today Show this morning), Nastia Liukin (she won 5 medals in Beijing four years ago) had an unexpected fall on the uneven bars.  She was performing a combination in the air and when she came down to try to grab the top bar, it went right through her hands.  She landed flat on her stomach (watch the video here – it happens SO fast) on the mats.

What now?

(source)

According to the news reports I’ve read this morning, she knew when she was face-down that the fall wrecked her shot at making the 2012 Olympic squad.  But that didn’t stop her.  She laid there a moment (probably plotting her next move, catching her breath and holding back tears) and then got up, chalked her hands again and finished with a flawless routine.  What an incredible show of determination, dedication, character and class.  I wish more athletes provided this example of finishing what you start (including myself sometimes!).

“Getting up after a fall is never easy,” she said. “It’s always very tough. It shows your true character if you are able to get up and that’s something I’ve been taught since I was 8 years old.”

(source)

Do you have a fall you need to get back from?  Maybe you’ve been away from running too long.  Or the heat has you sitting inside instead of sweating it out for a few miles.  Or maybe it’s something bigger than that in your life.  Well, get up.  Put your shoes on.  Drink some water and get out there.  When you’re done, if it was particularly hard, cry a little.  Nastia did.  Or if it made you feel great, give a big fist pump.  Just get up.

Giveaway time!

So that was a little bit of a downer story with an uppity ending.  Let’s have an even happier start to July!  In an effort to practice utilizing social media to the fullest extent, I’m asking for reader participation!  And in order to encourage that, I’m giving away a bag of Sunday Morning Bakery Granola straight from their California kitchen!  I love their granola because it’s tasty and has half the fat, sugar and calories of a lot of big name brands.  I also enjoyed meeting the couple behind the bakery on my visit to California and am happy to support their endeavors to make the world a little healthier!

Giveaway time!

All you have to do to be entered in the drawing is leave a comment below with a suggestion for a daily July health challenge.  Previous monthly challenges have included running/cardio, yoga and Memphis activities.  Basically I try to complete the challenge activity once per day and report back on it – trying to inspire any of you to participate along the way!

Kelsey Granola

The Kelsey Granola variety is named for their daughter and includes some of my favorite ingredients like almonds, pecans, cinnamon, dried apples and strawberries! YUM!

Ready, set, suggest!  I’ll announce a winner tomorrow morning!

Organic Savings – 50% off Whole Foods!

I love Whole Foods because:

• All of their food is organic
• They usually have a variety of samples from cookies to chocolate milk to cheeses to fresh fruit
• They have a hot foods section where I can eat lunch
• They have fresh ground peanut butter and almond butter (I literally grind it myself right there – that’s my grocery splurge!)
• It makes me feel super healthy to shop there.

I hate Whole Foods because:

• They are SO DARN EXPENSIVE!

I mean come on, I’m a recent college grad with no trust fund on a tight budget!  I’m not about to liquidate my assets to buy all organic (someday maybe, and then when my house is furnished with Pottery Barn and I can dress in exclusively Lululemon and Nike, I’ll know I’ve made it- right?!) .

Well today Memphians, it’s our lucky day – LivingSocial is offering 50% off of groceries at Whole Foods!

You pay $10, you get $20 to spend but hurry up – it ends tomorrow!  Won’t buy you much but it’s a start!

Here’s the link: Organic Savings!

What do you like to splurge on at Whole Foods?