Back to running!

The weather was perfect today (it has been an unusually warm and wet winter for us in the Southeast). Rex and I took advantage of it and headed out to the trails with the dog. Since we're just getting back into training mode we took it pretty easy. The dog has to have a chance to work up his endurance too, so I paid careful attention to him. Dogs won't tell you they are hurting or are out of energy, so be very mindful if you want to run with your dog.

All in all it was a great time! Rex needs to make a visit to a doctor for his feet, but we knew that was coming and he's working on it. This half marathon is great motivation :)

Happy New Year!

Now that the holidays are officially over, the feasts eaten, gifts bought, opened, and possibly exchanged or returned and alcohol consumed, we now look forward to the new year and hope for a fresh start in more ways than one. This has been a rough year for a lot of people for a lot of reasons, but I think the reason we keep making resolutions is because we'd like things to be better. We're creatures who hope for better. In the spirit of clean slates, we vow to do things like make more time for family,exercise more, lose weight, and become more financially responsible. I hope everyone manages to meet at least some of their resolutions.

For those who have made fitness or weight loss related resolutions, I have compiled a few articles here to help you get started. Happy new year!!

Need music to work out? Check out these reviews.

Want to be healthier but need an idea on how to do that? Try one of these resolutions.

It's one thing to say you'll run more. It's another to actually commit and register for a race. Set a goal by finding a race here.

Good luck!

Rex and I are committed to a race!

And what a race! It's the Chicagoland Half Marathon!!! Can I use more exclamation points? YES!!!!!!

So what's this race about? Raising funds for cancer research, for one. The link for the site is here. There are several things about this race that have me excited:

• Chicago is an awesome city to visit.
• The timing is great - May 20th is perfect since we have time to get in shape and the weather will be good.
• The race course will be flat!!!

I really liked the Georgia Half Marathon, but honestly it was really too hilly for a first long race. I'd like a chance to try a flatter course, and then I can go back to that race. It's well organized and fun to run. It's just something I'd like to try it again next year.

This means the Warrior Dash is out too, but that's okay. I don't want to over do that race. Rex and I are going to have a lot of fun, the money goes towards a great cause, and it'll be a chance to get out of Atlanta for a long weekend.

Woooohooooo!!!

Are antibiotics making us fat?

It's been a while since I've posted, and mostly it's because nothing of interest has really happened. I did, however, come across this article that I think most people need to be aware of. So far it seems that this data is correlational (meaning we haven't determined a cause, if one exists), but this is some scary stuff. If antibiotics are used to make animals fat so that they yield more meat at slaughter, then would those same antibiotics not make us fat when we eat that meat? I'll let the article go over the details, but needless to say this makes me rethink eating as much meat as I do.

Turkey Trot!

With the holiday that involves giving thanks and stuffing yourself stupid coming up very soon, it might be a good idea to start the holiday off right by participating in a Turkey Trot. They're usually 5k races so anyone can join in the fun. There's one by my parents' house, so I am thinking of showing up. What better way to justify all that glorious food than to burn a few calories before hand? Plus there's always the free t-shirt!

I suggest checking out active.com as an easy way to find your nearest Turkey Trot. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!