Lets All Share Our Favorites!

If you have been a reader of our blog from the beginning, we thank you so much for being kind enough to read what we write. If you have just started visiting, we hope that you stick around and become our "virtual friends". 

We put time, effort, and heartfelt thought into each post that we write. With that being said, here are some of our more popular posts ( based on number of views) from 2013.

If you have already seen these posts, thank you for reading them the first time around. If you haven't seen a post or two, we'd love for you to take the time to enjoy them!

In no particular order:
(Our giveaways generate the most views of course, but we decided not to include those in our top 11 list)

Why I am Banning Dicks Sportinggoods.com. This was just posted on a whim actually. It was our second post for the day, and we never post more than once. I was so angry over an issue ( that is still not resolved by the way) that I had to write it.  I was amazed how many views it got in just one hour! Thank you to all who passed it on!

 

 

Food and Drink for Runners: An honest Review  This was one of the yummiest posts we got to do. It was great trying all these products.

 

 Dallas: A City A Show, A Legacy  There was recently a Blogger conference in Dallas so I think a lot of them were looking for some cool attractions. This definitely could have been one of them! Just in time for the new Season of Dallas coming up in a few weeks.

 The Great Race Shirt Debate: This was probably our most controversial post. It is nice to hear everyone has an opinion and no one is either right or wrong!

 A Look Inside Runner's World Headquarters: What a great Company this is. And how fun it was to actually run with the Editors of Runner's World on National Run At Work Day!

The Stick: A Runners Best Friend, Enough Said!

 

 

 Things To Know About Disney's SciFi Dine In: For all the Disney lovers who read this!

 I Want You To Meet Dave McGillivray: The Original Forrest Gump  By far the most interesting person I've met in 2013!

My Beach Work Out With Kim Lyons:  Working out with Former Biggest Loser Trainer.

 

 

Tips For Visiting Disney Land Paris: Who's ready to put this on their next itinerary?

 

 

 

 Completing the Boston Marathon 2013

 

 

Which post did you enjoy reading the most in 2013? What was your favorite post that you wrote? Feel free to share your link below!

Healing Back and Shoulder Pain.

When I went to bed on Sunday night I was in excruciating pain. My upper back and left shoulder were in pain ( more of my shoulder at this point). Over the weekend I had felt achy and felt as though I just needed my back cracked and I would be okay. Ever felt that way? But that wasn't the case. The pain continued. It felt as though my arm and shoulder were bruised ( although they weren't) and I couldn't remember doing anything that would have resulted in this pain.

So in an effort to see if I could "fix" the pain. I resorted to these tools.

I did some back exercises on the yoga ball and it actually felt quite good, but did not "fix" what was wrong. I then thought a good massage with theses other tools might hit the spot, but I was wrong. Using those tools was quite painful ( but then again I think they are suppose to be. Does that mean it was working?)

I then resorted to putting a heating pad on it. That gave me enough relief that I could fall asleep for the night.
When I woke up on Monday I thought maybe the heating pad had done the trick, but with in a few minutes of being awake, the pain persisted. I then slathered on the Bio Freeze to see what that would do.
My afternoon then consisted of sitting with the back massager. This was probably the greatest relief I had found ( although it was only temporary).

This massager by Dr. Scholl's has several settings. It targets two areas, upper and lower back. Since it has a remote, you can set it so both areas are being massaged at the same time, or just one of them.  you can also set it to have the roller balls move up and down your back,  have a vibrating type motion, or both. I prefer the roller ball motion.  It is like the shiatsu massager. Having that rolling motion dig into my shoulder gave me the most relief without being painful.


This was my buddy for most of the afternoon. He sat beside me while I massaged and watched repeats of Grey's Anatomy. Life Time was playing the very first episode of Greys. They all looked so young, and aww, to see George again!

Because he's not a Labrador, this guy hasn't been properly introduced, but he is part of the family.  We'll get to him in a later post!

SO, My question today is: Have you ever had such shoulder pain? If so, what did you try ( before going to the doctor)? My shoulder pain is actually moving down my arm too.

Thanks for any advice you have ~M

Rock n Roll Virginia Beach : Health and Fitness Expo

A great way to start off any race weekend is a stop at the Health and Fitness expo!  The Rock n Roll Race expo was held at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.  This race was sponsored by Brooks and they really did a great job with the expo. It was one of the most fun and interactive expos we’ve been to.

We started by picking up our race credentials.

 

 Brooks had a part of the expo called “Run Happy Island”.  This was really fun.  When you entered you signed up for a “race passport” and took it to different booths to win prizes. 

 

 

Various prizes included T-shirts, hats, key chains, visors, and even some Brooks running shoes!  Unfortunately neither of us won a pair of shoes, but here are the fun prizes we did win!  ( Although a bit goofy, that visor did come in handy at the beach the next day)

This is the market where you won your prizes.

 

Participants got to “ride” the Brooks shoe ( which was similar to riding the mechanical bull). That thing was pretty wicked but I stayed on!

 

This next activity was really fun. You raced against others by running on this mat. The faster you ran, the more the little guy moved up the mountain. The first person to get their guy to the top of the mountain won a prize.  I ran against my mom and sister!  ( This is obviously not us in the picture!)

 

We then spent time at the various vendors here. We visited some old favorites and also found some new favorites! I talked to the rep for The Stick and he showed me some new techniques to use. I also saw my picture at the Big Sur booth as they played a slide show of this year’s race!

 

We were sad to see that the RunDisney booth was not here this year. That booth is always a favorite! One year ago on this day, at this expo, is where I signed up for my first  Disney Marathon!

 

What booth do you most look forward to seeing at a race expo?

We will be looking forward to hearing your reply because one of the vendors that were at this expo will be doing a give away on our blog tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

The Stick ( and the Pin): Ways to Soothe Those Muscles

I was looking for something that would help get some kinks out and loosen my muscles for after my runs. Now I am a big fan of the foam roller, but that is not very portable nor suitable for traveling. When I was at this year’s Walt Disney World Marathon Expo, I discovered "The Stick." The Stick is like small plastic rings that rotate when you roll it on your body.  They come in a variety of sizes, but I got the medium one because it is large enough to reach all places yet small enough to fit in a carry- on bag if you are traveling. 

 

 

 

 According to The Stick, Here are a few of the benefits of using it.

-The Stick rolls knots out of muscle, providing myofascial release and trigger point therapy.

- This therapeutic procedure inactivates trigger points, warms muscles, increases circulation and blood flow

-It relieves pain, increases range of motion, promotes flexibility, and accelerates recovery

You can go as deep into the muscles as you are comfortable. The harder you roll, the deeper into the muscles you will feel it. It does come with a guide that shows what moves to get to certain pressure points. You'd be surprised how much you can do with The Stick opposed to just foam rolling the common arm and leg areas. If you really want to see how much the stick can do, go to an expo and they will show you all the moves that can be performed with it. It basically sells itself. I was sold the first time I used the product!

Those of you who are going the Disneyland Half Marathon real soon might want to make a plan to stop by this booth and try out The Stick!

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are hesitant about buying The Stick, a fellow runner has informed me that you can use a rolling pin!  That’s right a regular old rolling pin that can be found in the kitchen.  Check it out and see how it works!

 

Have you ever used The Stick? If so what did you think of it?

~L