Check out this book giveaway!

Just a quick post to let everyone know about a great book giveaway.  Trish is giving away 14 books to up to five people (YES - 14 BOOKS PER PERSON!).  You have until Saturday July 12 to enter!

Running Knitter is running again!

My new running shoes came today and I promptly put them on and hopped on the treadmill. It's been a long 2 1/2 weeks without running and I couldn't wait to get out there again. I knew I had to start out slowly and resist the urge to run longer - even if I wasn't having any foot problems. So, my run was a slow, steady, and short 1.5 miles. More importantly - no pain! I even ventured outside in the 108 degrees and did a tenth of a mile outside. It felt so good to be out there running again.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July!

Where is Running Knitter?

Thank you to all who stopped by to check on me. The foot is doing much better - no more pain at all, except for a dull pain in the morning when I first get up. I have found that stretching before getting out of bed will prevent that.

No running as I'm still waiting for my new running shoes to come in. I decided to order the same shoes that I had before, and wouldn't you know those take 7 - 10 days to arrive. I was going to try running with my old shoes, but thought I'd better not risk it. So the new shoes will be here on Wednesday, and you can bet I'm going to try them out as soon as I get my hands on them.

Nike posted training plans for the marathon and half marathon. I was still searching for a plan until I found these, so now I'm all set.


Here are the socks I knit for one of the lucky winners of the IWLC. I love how they turned out. I used Fannie's Fingering weight yarn by Farmhouse yarns, and the pattern is Blueberry Waffle Socks. I've already made a note to get more of this yarn and knit some socks up for myself.





Last night, Mr. Running Knitter and I went to see Wanted. Great movie. If you like "Matrix" type movies, you'll enjoy it. Afterwards, we went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. The Factory Peach Bellini is probably the best drink invented - just my opinion.

I'll post again after I try out the new shoes. Have a great week!

A Minor setback...

I did something to my foot during last weekend's long run. The pain started Sunday night and though it's gotten much better, it's still there. Plantar Fasciitis. So I took 4 days off from running, and have been icing it, and stretching it, and icing it some more. I did manage to get in a mile and a half today on the treadmill, but then my foot started to bother me again so I listened to my body and called it a day.

No long run for me this weekend. Thankfully it's early enough in my training that I can still play around with the mileage. I'm following Mizfit's lead on being positive. Not running for a few days is MUCH BETTER than not being able to run for who knows how long, right?

I was going to get new running shoes, as mine are getting up there in mileage, but I'm thinking I wouldn't really be able to try them out properly until my foot is back to 100%. Any thoughts on this from my running friends?

In better news, I finished day 3 today of the push up challenge. I did a total of 78 push ups today. How are you doing with the push up challenge?

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend. Mary Gee, Viv, Southbay Girl, RBR- I'll be thinking of you! I know you will ROCK! :)

The key is to acclimate...

I finished these socks for my friend's birthday (a little late but it's the thought that counts, right?). I used Regia Stretch yarn and the pattern is called Twin Rib Socks. I made sure to start the second sock at the same place in the color variation so that stripes would line up.

I'm halfway done with the socks I'm knitting for one of the winners of the Independent Weight Challenge. I'm loving how they are knitting up, and I'm sure they will be oh so comfy.


I went out on my long run this morning and got 7 miles done. Since I started at 4:45 AM and it was still pretty dark out, Mr. Running Knitter came along with me. Pre-dawn runs are definitely going to be the norm going forward as now I can tell how much of a difference the sun really makes. I felt pretty strong during my run and it was one of those runs where your mind just takes off and you forget you are running. My running has gotten a little bit easier the past couple of weeks, so I think I may be getting acclimated to this craziness called running outside during the Arizona summer months.

Have you heard about the 100 push up challenge? We take a push up test every month at boot camp, and my numbers are usually in the 30s. Hopefully this challenge will help me improve.

Have a great week!

Gummy Bears

I followed the advice of this article and since I didn't have any gels or clif blocks for my long run today, I took along some gummy bears instead. They actually worked well for me and gave me a little extra boost at the end of my run. It was again slow and steady but I was glad I was done by 6:30 AM as it was already 78 degrees at that point.

Thank you to everyone for the advice on hydration. I'm going to keep experimenting and see what works best. Today I just held by bottle of G2 and it worked out OK.

Yesterday I met up with my local knitting group (and no it's not a bunch of old ladies) at a bakery. Another older woman (she was maybe in her 60s or 70s) comes up from behind me and asks what we are all knitting. Since I'm working on the 2nd sock of a pair, I had the first completed sock in front of me. This woman - a total stranger - says "Oh how cute!", picks up my finished sock, and walks back to her table with it!!!! As everyone around me says "SHE TOOK YOUR SOCK!" I turn around and see the woman showing the sock to everyone at her table. After a minute she came back with it. Good thing too because you know you shouldn't take anything from a table of women who all have knitting needles in their hands. Obviously this woman's mom never told her to ask first before just taking.

Hope everyone has a good week!

Learning new things

Now that summer is here, I'm sure we're all sporting flip flops more often. I wear them year round here in the Southwest. But after reading this article that said wearing flip flops affects your gait and can cause leg pain, I won't be wearing them anymore. I don't need foot problems or leg pain - I'm a runner! :)

My training runs this week have been productive (translation: slow but steady) and as Viv says, I'm still getting acclimated to the heat. I've tried running with a fuel belt (the kind with just one water bottle) and hated it, so I'm currently looking at other hydration methods. Not sure if any kind of belt will help me - I may just have to run with a bottle in each hand. I'll let you know how that works out after this weekend's long run.

How's everyone doing with the Independence Weight Loss Challenge? Here's some motivation for you - dropping as little as two pounds can help you run faster, according to this RW article. Check out this chart:



Happy almost weekend!


PS - I came across this video from this blog post. It's about the power of words and the hurt that words can do. It was very eye-opening, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to pass it on. Be warned - you might shed a tear or two after watching it.