Friday is here again!
I can’t believe how quickly these weeks are going by. Do you realize that Christmas is now officially in less than two weeks!?
We still don’t know what our travel and holiday plans are going to be, but hopefully by next week this time we will have a plan in place! I am just trying to take it one step and one day at a time.
I did another round of spinning yesterday. This time I took it much easier.
I took my iPad along for the ride and put on a movie to make the time go quickly. I wanted to play it safe so I opted for an easy ride at a resistance of 6. I know I wasn’t exerting a lot, but I wanted to make sure to go easy after the intervals the day before.
I complete just over an hour and a half and then crashed on the floor. I was supposed to be stretching but for some reason that spinning session took it out of me.
At 1:00 am on Thursday morning our smoke alarm went off. I completely panicked, flew out of bed, and ran around the house looking for a fire. I know pretty dramatic right?
Turns out there was no fire and I have no idea what on earth set it off. There wasn’t any smoke, dust, or anything remotely close to it around. Maybe it is just time to change the batteries.
Per Friday tradition, I have another Five Things Friday coming at you.
In honor of the upcoming Christmas Holiday and my procrastination with Christmas shopping I bring you Five Great Gifts for the Runner in Your Family.
As the weather gets colder, these become more important.
To me there is NOTHING more frustrating than when your hands get cold. The moment my hands get cold it is all my mind can focus on.
Every runner could use a pair of winter running gloves.
Let’s face it, any runner in your family would love a new pair of running shoes even if they have a million pairs in their closet.
Just ask my husband.
In fact, just recently I won an awesome giveaway off of my girl Jaqueline’s blog.
Mizuno just came out with their Wave Rider 17!
I am so excited to try them out and I promise a review will be coming!
If you are looking for a running shoe to get yourself or a family member, you can’t go wrong with this one!
3. Foam Roller
I cannot stress enough how important a foam roller is to any runner.
I have used one through several running related injuries and try to foam roll each day after my workouts and before I go to bed at night.
Foam rollers are inexpensive and you can even find them at your local Walmart or Target; however, my favorite is the Trigger Point Foam Roller. We bought it last year and love it.
We also happen to have three other types. You can never have too many foam rollers!
I don’t even have to go into detail on these. You all know my love for compression socks.
They are amazing for recovery and helping your legs throughout a run.
I have worn them in marathons, training runs, and even just to bed at night.
Even if you are shopping for a runner who has never worn them before, I promise you they will love it!
5. Massage
This may be one of the pricer options on the list, but as a runner and the wife of a serious runner a massage is an amazing gift.
You can stretch, you can foam roll, but there is just something about a massage that really helps work out your tight muscles.
I have only gotten two massages, but my husband used to try to get them once a week before his big marathons.
We actually found a training school for massage therapists in Erie. You can go and get a 50 minute massage for $25. If that’s not a deal enough, Wes is a student so he gets a discount – 50 minute massage for only $15!!
I can’t promise you can find somewhere like that where you are, but it never hurts to try!
Have you done your Christmas shopping?
Any runners on your shopping list?
As I’ve mentioned we are ~99% done, with only a couple of stocking stuffers for the dogs, cats and kids remaining. 🙂
Good list of stuff – warm gloves are definitely a key, as I find that when my hands get cold it impacts my entire outlook of my run and can psych me out (I wrote about my irrational fear of losing digits due to cold on my blog a while back, which goes back to a bad TV movie when I was 9 years old!).
I have never used a foam roller, and am really not a big massage person, so those would be lost on me. I keep hearing about foam rollers, really need to look into them.
We need to get stockings for our fur babies 🙂 The problem is we aren’t often here for Christmas so the stockings are more for decoration!
Yes cold hands really can disrupt a run!
I swear my foam rollers but you still have to be careful with them like anything else! I know during my piriformis injury I kept foam rolling and it NEVER got better. THEN I decided to step back from it and it finally felt better. Sometimes there is such a thing as over foam rolling. I swear by it for my IT Band, calves, and hamstrings though!
We have 10 stockings on out fireplace this year – the four of us, two dogs, two cats, and we bought two for my brother and his daughter who are visiting us. Doesn’t matter if they are decorations or useful, it is just great to have them up there 🙂
10 stockings!?! WOW!! I am glad your brother is able to visit for Christmas! 🙂 Always nice to have lots of family in the house!
Our smoke detector also is a carbon monoxide detector. Maybe you should make sure yours isn’t that too. Better safe than sorry!
Hadn’t thought of that! Thanks Christy! I will check into it!
i think i need those gloves! mine are useless. haha and yay for mizunos!!!!!
Yes there are TOO many useless gloves out there that is for sure! 🙂
Great list! These are all things that I would love to receive this Christmas! I am done with all of my shopping except for my gift for my husband, still have no idea what to get him! haha
You and me both! Well I am NOT finished with my shopping BUT I have no idea what to get my husband! He is crazy hard and HE doesn’t even know what he wants. Ugh! haha
I love my compression sleeves, and you def can’t go wrong with running shoes. Love the list, glad I found your blog=)
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Soo soo jealous of your new Wave Rider 17s! It seems everyone is posting about them so much that I am getting some major envy (although I just bought some 16s)
Great list, can’t wait to hear about the Wave Rider 17’s … I’m a Mizuno fan and totally jealous you get to try these out!
15$ for a massage?!? That’s crazy! I hadn’t thought of looking into going to a school for a lower price, you’re a genius!
I’m so excited you got your kicks already!! Your list is spot on. As as fellow runner, I would dig every single one of your suggestions.
They are so awesome! Thank you again! I look forward to reviewing them 🙂