My Testimony

Hello Beautiful people,

I hope everyone is enjoying their Friday! Today I wanted to take some time and discuss how I came to my faith. In high school my friends would always share their testimony on how they found Jesus. I was always too scared because I felt like my testimony was not “profound” enough.  I finally learned that as long as you found Jesus that is profound enough. Well here is my testimony and I hope you enjoy it!

Have a blessed weekend!

Jamie

Safely yours

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. I want to talk about some running safety tips. There are many important tips but here are two important tips:

1.     I know I have already mentioned it, but make sure you run with a buddy. There have been numerous accounts of people being abducted while running alone. It doesn’t even matter if it is in the early morning, middle of the day, or late at night, you should always run with a buddy. I am very guilty at running alone, but I am working on it. If you insist on running alone just make sure you run in broad daylight on open streets.

2.     I have a very hard time doing this, but don’t run with headphones in. The danger of running with headphones is that you aren’t aware of your surroundings. When running with music you are unaware of the honking, the jibber-jabber, and the pain. If you aren’t aware of honking, you could possibly cross the street and not be aware of a car coming towards you.  Also by not hearing people, you could become startled when people are behind you. Most importantly you could miss hearing your friends say hello as they drive past.

Safety may be annoying at times, but remember it can be life-saving.

The bible verse that I chose this week is 2 Corinthians 4:9: “We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.” It has been a very difficult few weeks for me. I have been through failure, disappointment and sadness. Sadly at times I felt like I had nothing left. But God is always there to pick us up no matter what situation we encounter.

Have a blessed day,

Jamie

Cross Training

Greetings,

            I hope everyone is enjoying a beautiful week. I was thinking about workouts today and how sometimes running gets old. If you are ever bored or injured it is a good idea to “cross train”. Cross training is just doing some alternative exercises that work other muscles while at the same time keeping muscles in shape.

There are many things that you can do to cross train. My top two favorite cross training activities are biking and swimming.

Biking is my favorite cross training activity. Biking can be done two ways.  You can either ride on a real bike on a beautiful trail or go to the gym and use a stationary bike.

If you want to go on an actual bike ride, plan do about double your usual running distance or more to get a good workout. You can experiment with hills, speed, and trail conditions and even just a new environment.

If you want to do a workout on a stationary bike, the options are endless. You can experiment with resistance, time and speed. The possibilities are endless. Just remember to keep your heart rate up and get a good workout.

If you cross training by swimming, your workout depends on your comfort level in the water. When I swim for cross training, I usually start by swimming three laps down and back in the pool. Then I take a few quick breather and “run” down and back four times. I then repeat this workout and end it with a casual swim to cool down. This workout may seem short but trust me it takes effort.

Sometimes working out makes you sore and want to quit. Just remember that the more you work out the more you will love it and crave it. Just like Jesus. Keep Jesus in your life. Even if it is just a few minutes a day, take a few minutes and thank him for everything. Psalm 106:1,“Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever”.

Have a wonderful week,

Jamie

The Winning Stretch

Hello,

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week! I was recently thinking about being sore after a workout. I am a college student; I admit that I don’t work out every day like I should. Once I do workout I am usually sore the next day. There is only one way to effectively prevent soreness: stretching.

I have a lot of favorite stretches, but these are my favorites:

1.     Figure-Four: This stretch is probably one of the most well-known running stretches. To do this stretch sit on the ground and extend one leg out forward and bend the other one leg in towards the groin.

It should essentially look like a four. Next slowly try to grab your ankle. The common misconception is to grab your foot, but grabbing your ankle reduces the pulling and straining of muscles. This stretch stretches your calf muscles and just feels great.

Repeat with the other side.

2.     Calf Stretch: This is a very easy stretch to do.  Basically all you need is a wall. What you need to do is face the wall and put the bottom of your foot against the wall. Your foot and leg should form a “V” with your ankle being the vertex. This again stretches your calf muscles.

Repeat with the other foot.

3.     Hip Swings: This stretch should be done both before and after a run. What you need to do is find a pole, wall or anything that you can keep your balance on. Stand facing the pole, shoulder length apart and simply swing your leg back and forth. You can face the wall for some or standing perpendicular to the wall. This stretch loosens up your hips and gets you ready for a great workout! For a more detailed description on hip swings see the video http://bit.ly/1ab7fq0.

Repeat with the other side.

4.     ABC’s: This is my absolute favorite stretches. Since I have previously had ankle problems, these saved my life. This stretch just requires you to sit on the ground with one leg out and the other bent held up against the chest. Then with the leg up against the chest, use that ankle and simply “write” all of the letters of the alphabet with your foot. This loosens up your ankle and again reduces injury.

As before, repeat with the other side.

Many people overlook stretching and feel like they don’t have enough time or they are strong enough to go without it. This is surprisingly very similar to Jesus. People believe that they don’t need any help and can do it well all by themselves. It may work for a while but sooner or later it will leave them broken. Just remember Psalm 32:8, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.”

Have a great week.

Jamie

OMG shoes

Greetings,

The week is over, finally. This week I wanted to take time to discuss my favorite topic about running…shoes. I love shoes. I love heels, flats, boots and especially running shoes.

Out of all of the running gear you can own, shoes are the most important. For good running shoes you need to have ones that have good support, are comfortable and most importantly fit your feet. In my running experience I have used many different brands of shoes. But my two favorites are Asics and Saucony. They all have good and bad qualities but they are both fantastic shoes.

Asics: Asics shoes are wonderful. They come in bright colors, are comfortable, and make running more fun. Asics are known for many qualities. But their most well-known trait is balance.

Some shoes can make you unbalanced and mess up your form. With added balance support, your form is improved and you will probably have a lower chance of injury. The only caveat is that most Asics shoes “run” over $100. At first glance this could seem like an overpriced pair of shoes.  But to be honest they are worth the money.

Saucony: Saucony is my all-time favorite shoe brand. My favorite thing about this brand is the fact that they fit my feet. I have tiny feet, very tiny feet. Sometimes it’s hard to find shoes that fit correctly. But I always have good luck with Saucony running shoes.

 I also love them because they are reasonably priced. Some of them are very expensive, just like Asics, but a lot of them are reasonably priced. The “all-purpose running shoes” are priced from $55-$150.

One thing my coaches drilled into my mind was when to get new shoes. Most people get new shoes when they just start to look dirty. That is not always the case. With running shoes it is important to change shoes every season (winter, fall…etc.) in order to avoid shin splints. 

This week I chose to discuss Psalm 105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”. This is one of my all-time favorite verses because it perfectly describes my view on running shoes as well as Jesus Christ.  Running shoes are the most important part in a running sport.  Without them, you would be in pain and not a cheerful person. The same goes for Jesus! Without him in your life, you will be lost.

Shoes are the window to a girl’s soul and the same goes for Jesus. Without him you will not know your potential and won’t know how blessed you actually are.

Have a great week,

Jamie