30 Day Yoga Challenge 2015

February 15, 2015

I haven’t gone running in over a month now and I had a 5 day break from working out completely.  I was sick and the snow was preventing me to getting to classes that I had signed up for.  I used to be really good about working out at home with DVDs I have or videos online but I just wasn’t motivated.  I had the winter blues.

I realized that there isn’t a day I go without hip pain.  I always am feeling like my body needs to stretch and my mind needs a refresh.  After my 5 day break, I returned back to working out with a yoga class and it reminded me how yoga is the answer.

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Sichuan Garden in Woburn

February 11, 2015

Dave and I have been making some progress on my 30 before 30 mission to visit all 50 of the best restaurants in Boston of 2014.  One of the places we recently went to and really enjoyed was Sichuan Garden.  Although there is a location in Brookline, we visited the location in Woburn since that is the one noted in Boston Magazine’s list.

When you arrive, it doesn’t look like the best looking place (that might be because it is in a historical building) and when you walk inside the building, it is like you are inside someone’s house!

Sichuan Garden II

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No More Twisted Intestine = Pan-Mass Challenge Take 2

February 9, 2015

Two years ago I signed up for the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC)–a 192 mile bike ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown that raises money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Jimmy Fund.  My training was going really well and I was feeling strong.  I even had bought Dave a road bike or his birthday so that I could force him to go on rides with me.  We really enjoyed getting up early and heading out on the road before most others were out there.

The only issue with my training was that after my long rides, I always felt really sick.  The summer of training was one that it was really hot out, so I thought maybe I was dehydrated.  After running the Finish at the 50 and feeling sick for 4 days straight, I finally hired a nutritionist to help me but she said I was doing everything right.  I began to think it was a gluten allergy or something else so tried to be careful about what I was eating.

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I’m not Little Miss Runshine?

February 8, 2015

My blog is called Little Miss Runshine but I don’t feel like I’m living up to the name.

I like the idea of running again…but I think my hips still being in pain and me not being able to run at the distance or speed that I could makes me dread any run or race.  The only time I enjoy running lately is when it’s on a treadmill in a bootcamp class with loud, obnoxious (but at the same time amazing) workout music and some instructor cheering me on and me secretly competing with the person running next to me.

I recently had my gait analyzed at the Spaulding National Running Center (SNRC).   I ran on a treadmill and they video taped me and also measured the force that my body was taking while I ran.  They found that my hips dip a bit when I run and they are supposed to stay steady at on level.  My femur and bone structure is tilted inwards a bit but not too much that it is a huge problem.  They said I actually am pretty strong (they said all the classes that I’m taking are helping!) but need to learn how to activate the proper muscles while running.

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