keep rollin’ rollin’ rollin’ {M80 Roller Review}

Posted by hellyontherun in Product Review, Running and tagged with Foam Roller, M80 Roller, Recovery, Run Eat Tweet AZ, Running April 6, 2015

I recently got the insanely awesomest chance to try the M80 Roller because of my affiliation with Run Eat Tweet AZ and seriously, I am one lucky runner.

Foam rollin’ has always been part of my running life. As many of you know, foam rolling can really help with recovery. I’ve always had the regular ol’ rollers you can find at your nearby Target and like. Nothing wrong with those and they’ve always worked fine. I had no idea really that there were endless options of rollers.

Until I got to try this one.

I picked the M80 up from my buddy Jeremy @ConfessionsOfAnAmateurAthlete (and creator of RETAZ) at the Phoenix Marathon expo and I kid you not, after like 5 minutes of walking around holding that thing, I was approached by TWO people asking me if what I was holding was an M80 roller. No. Joke.

My husband and I immediately looked at each other after the second stranger approached and were like, “Um, apparently this is a big deal.”

We all know what happened that Phoenix Marathon day and I didn’t get to try the roller until my first run after my DNF. It was after a trail run. The perfect circumstances as my legs were all kinds of sore from hills.

And yeah. It’s a big deal.

The roller is firm and that has to be the biggest thing I like about it. I can feel it working my muscles and getting deep in there. I don’t have to forcefully press down like with an ordinary foam roller. In fact, I kinda have to let up a little because truth is, it hurts LOL. Good, awesome hurt, but hurt nonetheless jaja!!

There’s no slippage happening here either. My old roller would sometimes try and well, roll away from me when I’d use it, but this one stays put. It has these grooves that help prevent it from running away and those grooves are what also help get really deep into your muscles.

There are so many ridiculously awesome colors available and I know that’s not a huge deal to some but for others, it is (like you know, if you want to take pictures of you foam rollin’ and share on social media 😉 ) Mine’s pink (purple was taken) and if you take a look online, you’ll see that there are quite a few solid colors and a number of designs to choose from.

There are also different size options. There’s a travel size 6″, a regular 15″ (that’s the one I have), and a 30″.

I know at first glance the price might make you think about sticking with your oldie but goodie, but trust me (and you know you really can), this foam roller is super legit. When you try it, you’ll know why it’s become a reason to stop a random stranger and ask if that is THE M80 roller.

And guess what?

Run Eat Tweet AZ will be giving away ONE FREE M80 ROLLER every day this week!!!!!! Go (like now, seriously, go) to their Facebook page for details. You do not want to miss out on a chance to snag quite possibly the best freebie out there.

And if you don’t win? It’ll be worth every penny if you treat yourself to one. 🙂

–Do you foam roll? Like it?

–Have you heard of the M80 Roller?

I received my M80 roller via Run Eat Tweet AZ. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Thank you Run Eat Tweet AZ and M80 Roller!!

Marathon Training Recap Week 16 and some other thoughts

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with Marathon Training, Marine Corps Marathon, Random Thoughts, Run Eat Tweet AZ, Running, Taper October 13, 2014

It seems like I’ve taken this taper thing a liiiittle too seriously lol!

Yeah, I’ve done nothing.

Well, not exactly nothing. But last week’s 20 miler had been iffy because my husband was out of town. He’s actually still out of town. I had planned on squeezing in my workouts after work and before daycare pick-up (it’s like a 2 hour window) but I ended up swamped with end of quarter grading that I never left work early to run. I know I could have put the grading aside, but I figured the more I got done then, the less I’d have to bring home to grade during Fall Break. Which I’m on now! YAY!!!

So this solo-parenting has left me absolutely exhausted. After my 20 miler last Saturday, I didn’t do anything the rest of the week 😦

My mom flew in on Thursday night and I was able to run on Saturday.

I was really looking forward to this because one of my local running groups #RunEatTweetAZ was putting on a fun run for charity, collecting old shoes and raising money/awareness for pediatric cancer.

These 10 miles were tough. I hadn’t run all week so I’m blaming tired, rusty legs (but really, I’ve kinda felt my legs heavy throughout my entire training 😦 ) Anyway, I got it done and was very happy 🙂 Can’t you tell?? Lol!!

That was pretty much it. This morning I went for an easy, quick 2 miler on the treadmill while my mom did some elliptical. We chatted the entire time and it was fun to have a mom/daughter workout–we hadn’t had one of those in years!!

Total mileage (Sun-Mon)=12

Soda count=I’ve been averaging about 1 a day 🙂

And the other thoughts…

Yesterday, quite a few running friends online and in real life ran the Chicago Marathon. It was so freaking inspiring reading and seeing their race pics and stories. It was seriously the boost I needed going in to Marine Corps. I must have stayed up til like 10 (that’s late for me!) on Instagram and Facebook just catching up. I read about people getting PRs, others having not so great races, and others simply happy with the experience. What I couldn’t get enough of was just the happiness that runners exhibit post race. It’s like we’re in so much pain but we’re happy?! It’s so insanely awesome!

I read about one girl who struggled with cramping but fought through to finish with an amazing time and another girl who struggled with cramping and had to reevaluate her goal. I love reading about others’ experience; I feel like I learn so much from them.

I feel like I’ve battled some motivation issues with this training–I blame the heat–and I feel like while I’m so freaking excited about running Marine Corps, I’m more excited about the experience and not so much about tackling a PR. I mean, I hope I get a PR, but really, I’m going in to this race so totally about the race itself. I’ve never been to D.C.; I’m so excited about that. My dad was a Marine; I’m so excited to run a race with meaning. And, I have a passion for American history. This race is completely about enjoying the experience.

I think having that mindset all through training is what has kept me from freaking out about paces and goal times. Sometimes that’s not what it’s all about.

I hope you guys have a great week! How’s the running going?? Who ran/raced this weekend!?

Friday Five–What’s New?!

Posted by hellyontherun in Fitness, Running and tagged with Back to School, Erin Condren Planner, Fit Approach, Run Eat Tweet AZ, Running, Runtastic, Virtual Races August 1, 2014

I’m hooking up this week with the DC Trifecta girls Mar on the Run, Eat Run Pray DC, and You Signed Up For What!? (<—who’s doing the NYC Triathlon this weekend!!! Good luck Cynthia!!) for today’s topic of: What’s New?!

Well there’s a lot of new happening in Hellyland.

ONE: I go back to work on Monday!!! Last school year, I finished off May seven months pregnant and ready to get out. I packed up my room with doubts that I’d come back. I knew I wanted to take at least a a year off to spend it with my daughter and my newborn son. After that, I’d assess and see where life would take me.

I think it was around when my daughter turned 2 that I started to seriously think about returning to work. Luckily, I have the option and it’s not something I need to do. I feel the need though, as even though I’ve enjoyed all the time I’ve spent with my kids, a part of me isn’t ready to let go of my career. My husband and I looked at the logistics of it all, the biggest hurdle being that my work was pretty far away, and we figured we’d give it a shot for one school year and go from there.

So back to ~~school~~ work I go!

TWO: Sticking with the work topic, I’ve mentioned before that I’m planner. I’m old school and like writing things down. With a pencil. In a notebook. No tech notebook computer thing or fancy phone pencil to jot down notes on an e-calendar for this girl!

For the longest time, I used Jim Burke’s The Teacher’s Daybook to write my lesson plans in and keep things organized. Well, a lot of things changed in the one year I didn’t teach, one of them being the Daybook no longer in production 😦

For a couple of days I was stressed out. Then a friend in my running club suggested an Erin Condren planner. I went to her website and found quite a few options and eventually chose this one:

teacher’s lesson planner–favorite things

I was able to personalize it with my name and school (that’s ^ not my name or school fyi) and create a list of my favorite things to run across the cover like in the photo! I’m so excited to get it! It was a little on the pricey side for my liking, but I’ve heard good things about EC planners so I’m looking forward to seeing how it works for me.

THREE: Me going back to work means that my kids start daycare/school. (I like to call it school 🙂 ) Besides the whole getting sick part, they’ve been having a blast. My daughter has been really opening up and participating in music class, art time, and especially reading (that’s my girl!). The other day her teacher told me that she pointed to and said aloud several alphabet letters. It really makes me feel better about returning to work knowing my kids like where they’re at.

I’ve also been having fun with all the dress up days they’ve been having!

Vintage Nash jersey on Sports Day 🙂

FOUR: I’m super pumped I was asked by Fit Approach to try out a new portable tracking device called the Orbit by Runtastic! I’m not a tech savvy person at all, so I feel like I’m a good person to test these types of things out. If I can figure out how to use it, any one can lol! I’m still waiting to receive it so I’ll have a lot more details later this month. In the meantime, here’s a visual of the awesomeness:

Runtastic Orbit

I’ve always been curious about tracking devices, especially ones that monitor how you sleep. As a mom of a two and one year-old, there’s not a whole of it happening. I often wonder, how much real sleep am I getting? I’m excited to find out!

FIVE: The new running group I’ve joined up with, Run Eat Tweet AZ, has been super awesome. I love meeting local runners/bloggers and being able to talk about things around our city. So far, the group is two meet-ups in with the next one in a couple of weeks. One of the girls in the group talked to us about a virtual run she’s hosting for her friend battling a rare type of liver cancer:

5k Run for Courtney

We all decided that our next meet up would be to do this 5k together. It’s amazing how once strangers, we’re now friends coming together to help another with an important cause. Traci, the one hosting the virtual run, is super sweet and has been working so hard to raise money for her friend Courtney.

If you’re interested in doing an inexpensive virtual run the month of August, go here to sign up. There are medals for completing the 5k too 🙂

That’s it from my end! What’s new in your world??

Are you a planner like I am? Have you used a fitness tracker before? Ever done a virtual race?

Have a great weekend amigos!