Good morning friends!

How are you this morning? I hope you’re getting some nice springy weather where you are today. All I have to say is that all these April showers better be bringing some mighty fine May flowers!!

This morning I had my usual Tuesday morning workout with Mr. T and we are now moving onto a new training phase. After my session with him, I hit the treadmill for a heart-pumping run before racing home to get ready for work (and to post this, of course!) As I ran, I began thinking about my fitness progress over the last year or so.

I’ll admit that a little while ago, I wasn’t feeling overly motivated to run. You might even say I’d sort of fallen out of love with it. Yes, I know that “run” is the third word in my blog title, but to be honest, there wasn’t a whole lot of running going on. Well actually, it was happening, but they weren’t those “oh my goodness I feel ahhhhhhmazing“-type runs. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a stubborn runner, and about a month ago, despite not really feeling all on top of the world like I used after pounding out my usual morning miles, I still persisted and put myself through the motions on the treadmill. I felt like a hamster running on the same wheel day in and day out. However, there are a few things I’ve done recently to change that, and I’m pleased to report that running is once again one of my besties. These things included:

  • Changing up the scenery. My gym has a women’s side and a co-ed side, and up until the co-ed side was built, I always ran on the same treadmill (“my” treadmill if you will) on the women’s side. Then when the co-ed part was added on, I switched things up and ran over there every morning. I don’t know what it is – the brand or design of the treadmill, the fact that there’s a TV right in front of my face, or something else – but running on “my” treadmill on the women’s side just feels better. (And no, it’s not because I’m worried about smokin’ hot guys seeing me all sweaty – there’s very little of that sort of scenery at 5am. And even if there were, I think sweat is sexy. Just sayin’.) I’ve switched back, and lately have had some flippin’ fantastic treadmill sessions.
  • Changing up the tunes. I know I haven’t updated my Tunes page in ages, but I recently switched up some of my running playlists, and now the time flies by! I’ll post a new one shortly, I promise!
  • Forcing myself to make a plan. I used to always head into the gym with a plan in my head as to the exact intervals I was going to run, but after a while I got lazy. Now, my plan is to get my harder runs out of the way on Tuesday and Wednesday, then save lighter runs and/or cross training for Thursday and Friday. (I teach spin on Sunday and Monday, so those are still challenging, but lower-impact workouts).
  • Finding inspiration from others. As always, I am super inspired by all the other lovely running ladies whose blogs I read regularly, and whenever I read a race recap, it excites me like a kid in a candy shop. I’ve also re-started reading articles and posts on RunnersWorld.com, which are also uber motivational. I’m not saying I’m going to go signing up for loads of races again, but I’m not saying that I’m not either. There just might be one this summer. We’ll see. ;)

By now, you’re probably wondering why on earth I named this post “TLC for sore muscles”. Well, it’s because lately all my running has been causing just that, the same sort of soreness I used to feel after my varsity cross country workouts. Because of this, I’m forcing myself to take my stretching and post-workout recovery more seriously. And do you know what’s  even better than a good post-run stretch? A basket of goodies to stretch with!

TLC for Sore Muscles Giveaway!

Recently I was contacted by a representative from Rub A535 who gave me the opportunity to give away a basket full of fabulous goodies for soothing sore, hard-working muscles. Rub A535 was something that I never went without when I used to run cross country, so I was pumped when I found out that I was going to be able to share some of the goodness with you. Here’s what else you’ll receive:

  • Epsom salts
  • Yoga mat
  • Neck pillow
  • Stretching bands
  • Water bottle
  • Hot/cold packs
  • RUB A535 Natural Source Arnica Gel Cream (a rapidly-absorbing topical cream that effectively and naturally treats bruises and swelling)
  • Rub A535 Ultra Strength No Odour Cream (a deep penetrating, stainless, greaseless, and odourless cream that provides long lasting relief from arthritic pain and muscle aches – without heat!)

Here’s what you’ve got to do to win:

Comment below telling me about your post-workout recovery routine. What do you like to do? Yoga? Basic stretching? Ice? Heat? Sleep? All of the above?

For additional entries:

  • Tweet about this giveaway and leave a separate comment saying you did. For example, “Soothe your sore muscles with this giveaway from @eatspinrunrpt! http://wp.me/pSUCS-1Yf“
  • Blog about this giveaway and leave a separate comment linking to the post.

I’ll announce the winner on Thursday morning, so comment and tweet away!

Note: This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only.

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