Today is the day! The A Gutsy Girl Leggings with Four Athletics have arrived. But remember…..they are ONLY available for one week.
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A Gutsy Girl Leggings
Dear Gutsy BFF’s, guess what we have coming?! Our very own A Gutsy Girl Leggings. Ahhhhh….I’m so excited to finally share this with Y’all.
What I Really Think About Workouts and Gut Healing
Today I’m giving it to you straight – what I really think about workouts and gut healing. In some way, shape, or form, I’m asked weekly about it.
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The Repercussions of Overexercising and Under Eating on the Gut
Kendall Strampel connected with me quite some time back, and we finally had the chance to sit down and record an episode for her podcast that she titled, “The Repercussions of Overexercising and Under Eating on the Gut.”
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I Run 4 LilliAnne
After waiting almost 2 years, yesterday I was matched – I Run 4 LilliAnne.
Almost 2 years ago I applied to be part of the I Run 4 Michael program. I never forgot about it, but honestly thought maybe my information had gotten lost somewhere in their massive pile of people wanting to participate in the program.
And then about a month ago I got an email that I would be matched soon.
Yesterday was the day.
It has all come at the perfect time.
I Run 4 Michael
What is I Run 4 Michael? Their mission sums it up well,
Here at IR4, we foster relationships. We want to see runners and buddies alike experience the profound power of encouraging and being supported by people who were once perfect strangers. Running can just be about health. Or it can be about dedicating our miles to and creating awareness for our buddies with special needs whose conditions span the spectrum from total physical disability to developmental delays to autism spectrum disorders, as well as myriad rare conditions we’re only now learning about thanks to our participation in IR4.
Today the group is over 22,000 members and nearly 7,000 matches, with 3,500 athletes waiting, within 18 months. (That timeline is pretty accurate based on my wait.) (I actually think those numbers are much higher than what’s stated on their website because the Facebook group is over 43,0000 people.)
I Run 4 LilliAnne
The girl I was matched with is almost 10 (next month), and her name is – you guessed it – LilliAnne. She is high functioning autistic, and has femoral anteversion in both legs.
According to her mom, Amanda, (who has raised her on her own, even though she has milk cerebral palsy),
She loves people, and she will talk to anyone. She is always the first to try to get the smaller kids involved, but just because she has an outgoing personality doesn’t mean she doesn’t struggle. I’ve had to take her out of public school twice because she gets stressed out, breaks down, and refuses to go.
Here is a picture of Amanda and LilliAnne.
About the picture, Amanda said,
This was taken while we were waiting for her to be seen at the ER the other day. We were there for six hours because of chest pain she was having while breathing. This picture captures her silly and sweet side perfectly.
(And YES, yes Amanda gave me full permission to share this and their picture here. I would never, ever do it otherwise.)
What Does it Mean?
So what does it mean anyways when you are matched?
It’s very simple. The idea is just that we are forming encouraging relationships between buddies and runners.
Each week, I will post (in the private Facebook group) a minimum of three (3) times weekly whether or not I have run so LilliAnne knows I’m still around.
They aren’t picky about the workout – running, walking, cross fit, yoga, or strength training – as long as it’s done in honor of your buddy. Many choose to devote races to their buddies, too.
In other words, you run for someone who can’t to help inspire them while realizing that they will ultimately inspire you as well.
So Why Did I Do It?
Everyone says that running is “so hard.” Or that working out, in general, is “so hard.” I love that there is an organization that celebrates children who could only wish for the so hard that we are afforded the luxury to do each and every single day.
Running (<– if you click that link you can see all the posts I have written on running and my journey with it) has never come easy for me, and yet I have accomplished things through it I never thought I would.
Originally, I wanted to do it for accountability (that was around the time when I started getting really consistent with running again).
Like everything else in life I live and breathe by Ecclesiastes 3:11,
Everything is beautiful in its time.
Being matched wasn’t supposed to happen until now.
I’ve been in my own drenches for a couple months now, but this has (once again) opened my eyes to, “…..but I still can – run, lift, all of it.” There is nothing so great in my life that limits what I can do. The only thing limiting is myself. Which brings me to the second reason this was supposed to happen now….
Matt Fitgerald published this post on Monday, “The Goal of Becoming a Better Runner is Highly Compatible with the Goal of Becoming a Better Person.” In it, he states,
Because the mind truly is the athlete, the goal of becoming a better runner is highly compatible with the goal of becoming a better person. Addressing the weaknesses that limit your success in running will make you happier and more effectual in other parts of life. Likewise, becoming a stronger person through crises outside of running will pay dividends on the racecourse.
Running is a metaphor for life. I have so many things to work on in my own life. Now I get to work through them, while dedicating all those miles and hours to a girl, somewhere in Texas, who might hang on to my messages and activity daily.
When we learn to get out of ourselves, out of our own heads, and lean in towards something and someone else is the point at which healing (for us and them) happens. Helping is healing.
Summer and Fall Race Schedule
I figured I’d end this post with my planned summer and fall race schedule. I’ve been working with Michelle to set these races, so they have been intentional. I wanted to wait to share them until I had my match.
- August 18, 2018: Mendota Bottoms – 10 miler (we have a wedding that afternoon, but I really wanted to do this one, so I’ll make it all happen)
- September 22, 2018: Surley Trail Loppet – half marathon (this is kind of set as my “A” race – the one I’m most excited for!)
- October 20, 2018: Surf the Murph – 25K (this will be my longest race yet)
These are all trail races, and I’m so excited to experience them in Minnesota. I’m not opposed to 5-10K road races along the way (or even an awesome half marathon) so if you’re in Minnesota and know of some, let me know, mmmmmkay?! (By the way, this image makes me miss my friend Tami so dang much.)
I hope you love sharing the journey with me, LilliAnne!
Xox,
SKH
Studio Run App Review
Awhile back on Facebook an ad for Studio Run popped up (go figure – Facebook knows everything about us 🙂 ). I asked if anyone had tried it. It’s new, so no one had, but people commented that if I tried it to let them know what I thought. I did the free trial immediately, and 7 days later purchased it. I’m ready to share my Studio Run App review.
Studio Run App Review
Click HERE to save this post for later.
Simply stated, in case you don’t care to read the full details, I love the app, and I’ve been using it at least 2-3 times per week. But in case you do want all the details, here they are:
What is Studio Run App?
It’s an app that allows you to take running classes from the comfort of your own home, on your own treadmill.
How do you use it?
When you open the app, you start by choosing, “Go Run.” Then, you are able to drill down by the type of workout you want to do for the day:
- Difficulty (beginner, intermediate, advanced)
- Length (20, 30, or 45-minutes)
- Workout Type (endurance, intervals, hills, sprints, walks)
- Music Genre (top 40, hip hop, rock, Edm, artist theme, holiday, 2000s, 1990s, 1980s, 1970s)
- Instructor (currently there are 13 to choose from)
I typically only choose the difficulty and length each day and based on the results, make a decision at that point.
What is a class like?
It depends which workout and instructor you choose, but immediately upon choosing the workout, their voice + music will come on. Simultaneously a countdown timer begins for whatever length you chose. And then they guide you through the entire workout, telling you when to increase/decrease speed, increase/decrease incline, and foreshadow for what’s coming up next.
Music
Many times I’ll choose a workout based on the type of music I’m interested in listening to that day. I’ve listened to all the genres so far, and yesterday I saw a country one for the first time.
Instructors
If you scroll to the bottom of the Studio Run App homepage, you’ll see a list of trainers. Once you’ve taken enough classes and tried a variety of instructors, you’ll get a sense for whose style you like best. I’ve never taken a bad class yet, but I love Veezy. Not only are the workouts awesome, but he has all sorts of motivational thoughts throughout the workout.
Fitcoin + Leaderboard
Fitcoin is their virtual currency. You earn it after every single class based upon how long you’ve run for and how far you’ve run. Your Fitcoin allows you to rank up and show your status off on the leaderboard. Every user starts out as a ???? Basic Bear. I only need 1537 more Fitcoin until I become a Carefree Chick. Ha. Love it.
How much does it cost?
FREE trial for the first 7 days. Seriously, just try it if you’re on the fence and then decide. After that it’s $14.99 if you pay by the month (which is what I do currently) or you can pay up front (about $100) and it ends up being $8.33 per month.
Is it easy/hard enough?
Easy? Yes. There is an option to walk. If you’ve never run before, just start there. Y’all know my running history by now, yes? If I need to remind you….I ran about a 13-14-minute mile in high school. I was NOT a runner. I never thought I’d be running like I can today. In 2008-ish, I just started. Run, walk, run, walk.
Hard? Yes. One of the first workouts I did was with Adam Wasserman. We trained for 6-minute miles, and I thought I might die.
FAQ
After I used the app awhile, I connected with Lisa (another instructor), to ask a series of questions for this post. Here were the questions and answers.
When can we expect an iPad version of the app?
As soon as we can make that available, we will – so the answer is at some point, hopefully soon. The issue is that iPad does not have health kit (the apple program) and health kit is required for tracking within Studio!
What is the “upcoming” feature?
Upcoming is upcoming classes. That may change to schedule moving forward but just a list of what classes are upcoming and at what times. Usually it is for a week out, but as our process becomes more streamlined anticipate being able to see more than 1 week out on the schedule.
SKH note: on the main screen is where you see this “Upcoming” option.
How come you can’t hit “pause” on a workout?
If you could hit pause, then the leaderboard would stop and essentially you could do better – right? Rest, recover, and keep going. From the standpoint of our real-time and asynchronous leaderboard it only makes sense to have it not pause. However, we just released a feature that if you receive a call mid-workout we understand as busy professionals, parents etc. you may have to pause or stop a workout. Although we would love you to have uninterrupted time for fitness, we understand and now if you receive a call and MUST take it your workout can pause. That being said, you can imagine this might be a Segway to a future pause button. STAY TUNED! …
Anything new and exciting coming up next?
LOTS of exciting new features, workouts and classes coming up – you have to stay tuned to find out. This is only the beginning. Providing you the best content, instructors, constantly varied workouts and functional training movements is of the utmost importance. For us, the name of the game is accessibility so imagine the possibilities with us being even more readily available to you in many ways. For now, keep earning that FITCOIN – you are going to want to have a LOT of it!
Final Thoughts on the Studio Run App Review
So the final question is, “Would you recommend this app?” The answer is a very clear “Yes.” Moving back to Minnesota this winter meant that I had to get creative with workouts. I don’t want to go to the gym every single day because…..time (this is why I can’t wait to have my home gym back again), but there is no way I’m about to head outside for a run when it’s freezing cold.
If you have a treadmill at home and it’s been collecting dust, this is the perfect way to dust it off and get moving! The workouts go by so fast, and they are effective. In fact, I even do these workouts at the gym on the treadmill and I’ll continue doing them through summer because I love that I don’t have to think about a workout – what to do, what speed, incline, etc. I make approximately 8 million decisions a day, and I’m grateful that someone else makes this one for me.
Even if you only used it one time per week each month and paid month-to-month ($14.99), that’s a little less than $4.00 per class, which is so worth it!
Click HERE to learn more. Alternatively, if you want me to shoot you an email and/or text with a direct link to it, simply email me HERE your email address or number and I’ll send immediately.
Xox,
SKH