A few workouts before Thanksgiving

Wow, can't believe we are on week 8! Monday I recovered from Sunday's 7 miles at Woodland Hills Physical Therapy. My right shoulder has been acting up so that got a little love and I was encouraged to sleep on my back instead of my right side (wonder if that's why my right hip has issues too). Right after I rushed over to Bar Method to catch the 6:15 class. We did pretzel again and I have to say I think I'm improving! When class was over I heard some of the 7:30 students talking about Cardio Barre and how they don't like it. The consensus was that you are pretty much asking for an injury and the classes are so large there is no way the instructor can make corrections. I still have 8 classes to use up there and I can't wait to burn them up and commit to Bar Method completely.


Tuesday at Fleet Feet Encino we had a lesson in cadence followed by 5 miles in the hills. Cadence is how many steps you take per minute but has nothing to do with pace. To prove that Coach Trey has us take 180 steps per minute standing in place. That is said to be the most efficient cadence which was determined by studying elite runners. Taking so many steps means taking shorter steps which leads to a midfoot strike (how we run when barefoot). Obviously you don't want to have to count your steps while running so you can download a metronome app and just run to the beat. The idea is that eventually you'll just run that way without the metronome.


After I got home Tuesday I called my brother back and he shared some really interesting info with me. He told me about the history of the marathon! "The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon (the namesake of the race) to Athens." I had never heard that before! Once we hung up I read the Wikipedia entry and couldn't believe it took so long to establish the distance. It also got me thinking about the NYC marathon and I found out you can get guaranteed entry by committing to raise money for a charity. Something to really think about.


And as for Wednesday, I was planning to join Fleet Feet for the fun run but instead I'm sitting here on the couch miserable because I'm sick. I'm not the kind of girl that ever loses her appetite and I have none! I'm kinda stressing because tomorrow is Thanksgiving and some of those dishes I only see once a year. I've eaten 2 Chewy bars, an apple, and a little chicken noodle soup and it's 6:30pm. I usually eat that much before lunch! Luckily my mom is going to bring me a burger and hopefully the protein will whip me into shape. 


Lastly, an update on my fundraising. I'm at $965! Just $35 more and I'll get my name printed on my jersey. That's not much right? And don't forget any donation over $26.20 will also get you baked treats (if you are in the LA area or can think of a cost efficient way to ship). So how bout it? http://www.crowdrise.com/crystalarrieta


I have no pics so far this week but here's one from last week when I won the Nike towel: