Turkey Trot

  Thanksgiving day my family and I went to run in the Turkey Trot 8k. The Turkey Trot is a 8k run that benefits the Kidney Foundation.  For most of us it was our first race ever! We had to get up really early and spend the start of the day freezing outside. Not a typically start to a Thanksgiving day right? But, the excitement of the people around us kept our thoughts away from the cold!  My Mom, little brother and little sisters did the 5k fun run/walk while my older brother, Dad and I ran in the 8k. I had been training for this since we signed up, but I didn't realize how different running by yourself and running among so many other people was! I loved the energy that running with other runners gave me! My Dad and I kept together and I am proud to say that we ran more than we walked!

  Here is us getting ready for the run! My toes and legs were freezing....all until I started running! Then I wanted to take my jacket off because I was getting so warm!

  Mom and my little brother. He wasn't too happy about getting woke up so early, but he was great through the whole thing!

  The morning of the race we didn't have much to eat for breakfast, just something that would give us energy but not make our stomachs too full. I had a yogurt and coffee and I  wasn't hungry or anything until after the race.

  So since this was my first ever race, I  learned a few things. Firstly, make sure that your layers are easy to take off while running. I made the mistake of pinning my race number over the zipper of my jacket so I couldn't take it off too easily. Second, Covering up my ears and hands was a great choice! Like I said in a previous post, its important to keep your ears, face, hands and feet warm!

  The race was a mix of downhill, uphill, through neighborhoods and on highways. I was a little unprepared for this because I had been training going up and down my drive way and on the treadmill. I have made a mental note to change up my training for future races. The race started and the runners were let out in burst, so as to not crowd the running space. I was thankful for this because going around people is not always easy. As we ran through the neighborhoods there were people in front of their houses cheering us on and blasting music to keep us going! There were volunteers who handed us water and called out our times as we past the mile makers.  I was very thankful for those people, and for the running community. Every one was so nice and encouraging no matter what their abilities were!

  Like I said before, this was my first race so obviously I didn't win or finish in very good time. I started out slow and from start to about mile 2 I was still getting warm and I was a little uncomfortable. Once I got warm though I was feeling great and I was able to push a lot harder than normal for me! Running with my Dad was a lot of fun too! We were able to stay together and talk while we ran! We finished in just under an hour ( My older brother's time was 45 or 46 minutes) and afterwards the feeling of relief and pride was wonderful! I had just completed my first race and I was so proud of myself! No, I didn't have great time, but I finished and that in its self is something to be proud of!
After the race we went on to have thanksgiving dinner and I felt at liberty to stuff myself and not worry about it! After all, its thanksgiving!

This post really isn't informational or a healthy tips or anything, its just my take and story from my first race! I hope it inspires you to go out and try something new, run your first race like me or something else! Let me know if you have ever done the Turkey Trot or any other race! What did you think and how long was the race?


Remember to follow me on Pinterest and Keep Healthy and Safe!

H.Banana

The 'Wear Yourself Out and Feel Good About it' Workout

A few days ago I wrote down a workout which combined a few parts from several workouts that I have been doing. I was wore out at the end of it, but proud too because when I read over it I was amazed that I was able to do all of this in a short amount of time! Before I go on, I want to say that this workout may not work for every one. Please be careful and stay with in your means to avoid injury. Make sure you can do these exercises without harming yourself.

Here is the workout, get ready!
*
40 Jumping Jacks
30 Crunches
20 Squats
10 Push-Up
*                                (Repeat from * to * 5 times)

15 Super-mans
20 Donkey Kicks per leg
20 Lunges per leg
15 Dips ( I call then Bridges dips....)
10 Squat Jumps
30 Kettle Bell Swings

#
40 Jumping Jacks
30 Sit-Ups
20 Plie Squats
10 Push-Ups
#                           (Repeat from # to # 2 times)

50 Flutter Kicks
20 Burpees
15 Bicycle Crunches
10 Plank Knee to Elbow per leg
10 Single leg dips per leg
10 Shoulder (Or V) push-ups

*
12 Lunges per leg
15 Squats
12 Step-ups per leg
5o second plank
*                                   (Repeat from * to * 2 times)

Garb you ankles and hold for 20 seconds.
Bring knees to chest and hold for 20 seconds per leg.
Take 10 really deep breaths.

Well that it! I was sweating up a storm when I finished this, but I also have new workout to add to my collection! Let me know if you try and it and what you think! If you have any questions, leave it in the comments or email the blog at healthypinner@gmail.com . Please be careful and stay within your abilities.
If you liked this post, let me know and share it with a friend.

Keep Healthy and Safe!
H.Banana

Turkey Burner

So, Thanksgiving was yesterday and you probably had a typical Thanksgiving dinner right? With the turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and so on. So now its time to get back on track again! Here is a great workout to help you jump start you workouts after Thanksgiving. Its called the Turkey Burner from Spark People .

Get ready, 'cause here is its!
                                                The Turkey Burner Workout:

                                                         50 Jumping Jacks
                                                         40 Plie Squats
                                                       30 Burpees (Groan..!)
                                                       20 1-leg push-ups
                                                       10 bicycle crunches.

Sounds easy enough right? LOL, that's what I thought too! Man, I really don't like burpees... But I felt it work and I worked up a sweat and that's what I was going for anyways! Try this workout even if its not after Thanksgiving. Use it in your daily workouts!

Let me know what you think about this post and please share it with a friend!

Keep Healthy and SAFE!
H.Banana

Ps. Remember to keep you health in mind and never do a workout that you aren't capable of.

Motivation!

Staying motivated is key to success in everything with no exception for working out and staying healthy! I know for myself motivation isn't something I get done one day out of the week, but its a daily thing that we need to do in order to have success. But sometimes we can't find the right things to motivate us or we can't seem to get motivated at all! What do we do about that? How do we get motivated? Here are a few tips that hopefully will help us all get motivated and stay motivated!

  Set a goal and reward for yourself! Having a goal to work to, even if its only a little one, is a great way to motivate yourself. And reaching that goal is a great and motivating feeling in itself! Reward yourself when you reach your goal, even if only in a little way like doing a yoga session instead of a tough cardio workout, or doing something you enjoy! Let me know what kind of goals and rewards get you motivated to workout and stay healthy!


  Workout with friends or family. You can keep each other in line and remind each other of what you are working for. Family and friends  can motivate you so much, so use it as much as you can! I have been working out with my sisters lately and I have found a whole new joy in working out because I get to spend time with them when other wise I would have been by myself. Do you like working out with friends and family? How do you keep each other in line?

Pinterest is a wonderful place to find motivational quotes! I love going on in the mornings while I eat my breakfast and ready all the amazing motivational sayings and quotes. Here are a few that I love and hope that you do to!

"You get what you work for, not what you wish for. "

Dear stomach, you bored not hungry. Shut up.

When you feel like quitting, think about why you started.

The only bad workout is the one you didn't do.

and finally....

One hour workout is only 4% of your day. No excuses. 

Another thing that motivates me is watching weight-loss stories on you-tube, The Biggest Loser and Extreme Makeover Weightloss addition .


Let me know what motivates you! Hopefully I will be doing more of these kind of post in the future so if you enjoyed it please check back and share it with a friend.

Follow me on Pinterest!

Keep it healthy and Safe
H.Banana