Run With Coach Fischer

Disclaimer: I received a free entry to the Christie Clinic Illinois Half Marathon to review as part of being a BibRavePro.   Learn more about becoming a  BibRave Pro  ambassador, and check out  BibRave.com  to review, find, and write race reviews!   The fall is ending, another cross country season is wrapping up and I'm remembering what it's like to have time to myself and with my little family, so naturally I decided to add a Spring race to my schedule! I'll be running the Christie Clinic Illinois Half Marathon at the end of April 2022 in Champaign, IL. The course comes with a total elevation change of 50 feet (flat!!), aid stations every couple miles and entertainment along the course. The race supplies a goodie bag with a medal, foil blanket and gender-specific crew neck t-shirt. All great things which I'm hoping will lead me to a new half marathon PR! While a flat course, pace groups and well-stocked aid stations are all helpful, the real PR maker...

Having a period is an inconvenient thing and the enticement of full ultimate Godly control by using hormonal birth control methods (like the pill) has been a life saver for some women. Knowing EXACTLY when your period will come, lessening the worse parts such as bleeding and cramping, and even for some completely getting rid of it. When you are planning an 18 week training cycle why would you not want to have that certainty and control? A while ago I wrote another blog about periodization for your period and how you can actually work with your cycle to take advantage of times of the month where you can really amp up training and other times where you need to back off and focus on recovery. Read all about it here .  When searching the topic of hormonal birth control and athletic performance there surprisingly was not a lot of information available. I could find information about types of birth control, side effects, effectiveness, but nothing on how it might affect your athletic per...

Disclaimer: I received an entry to Grandma's Marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a  BibRave Pro  ambassador, and check out  BibRave.com  to review, find, and write race reviews!   If you read my earlier blog about my initial Grandma's Marathon ambitions you might have noticed how I was headstrong and ready to commit to setting a new PR and redeeming myself from my failed attempt at 3:20 during the Milwaukee Marathon. I was ready to go until life set in and I just didn't have the heart to put into the training that I needed to make 3:20 a reality. Before I go into that journey I'd like to recap my race weekend for anyone interested in how it actually went! I had the opportunity to run Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, MN through BibRave. This was my FIRST in person race with the team and I was so excited to have the opportunity to do so. I joined BibRave in the winter of 2019 planning my first race with them to be in Milw...

Disclaimer: I received a registration to Run to Escape Series - Mission Mount Olympus  as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro ambassador and check out BibRave.com to find and write race reviews! *Photo Credit to fellow BibRave Pro RunNerdGirl* The Run to Escape Series is a brand new running experience in the world of virtual events! Run to Escape is a set of six challenges designed around a funky modern twist of the Mount Olympus God's and powered by your running. Think running meets Escape Room! Your goal is to help Atalanta get accepted as a God into Mount Olympus. Each God presents you with a challenge to make sure that Atalanta is worthy of her spot on Mount Olympus. Throughout your journey you meet Dionysus, Aphrodite, Apollo, Hades and Athena and finish up with your last challenge from the big guy, Zeus. Each God brings their humor and personality to the audio clues keeping you entertained. Their theme carries over into their puzzles, but do...

Disclaimer: I received a pair of WhitePaws RunMitts to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a  BibRave Pro  ambassador, and check out  BibRave.com  to review, find, and write race reviews!   When I received my pair of RunMitts to test out there just happened to be a Polar Vortex ripping through Wisconsin. I put these things through a full and comprehensive test within the first week. I'm talking negative windchill, snow, ice, snot and sweat. All of the joys of winter running. And now that the weather is back above zero degrees and spring is starting to appear, I still am using my RunMitts frequently. I can't wait to share my experience with you! Design and Fit The design of the RunMitt is a full mitt that goes over your fingers AND thumb. It looks like a mitten but your thumb gets sunggled up with your other fingers. The top of the mitt is a flip top so that if you need some temperature control or you need access to your FULL HA...

Image by GIFER   Running is a very repetitive motion. You are moving forward in the sagittal plane hopping on one foot at a time over and over. You take about 55,000 - 65,000 steps in a marathon so that's hopping on each foot 27,500 - 32,500 times! The human body is built to run but our current lifestyle is a lot more sedentary than our hunting and gathering ancestors. Improving our durability to keep us running strong requires variety in our training in intensity, distance, rest, movement and what we run on. Intensity and Distance Running one or two distances at the same pace isn't going to increase your fitness very well. You are building up some endurance but in order to adapt and grow as an athlete you need to provide a different stimulus. What it comes down to is you have a few different ways to create ATP to give you energy to run, let's narrow down to are aerobic (with oxygen) and anaerobic (without oxygen).  Running shorter and faster uses up ATP  primarily from ...

Disclaimer: I received the Science in Sport REGO Rapid Recovery in chocolate and strawberry to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a  BibRave Pro  ambassador, and check out  BibRave.com  to review, find, and write race reviews!   I have been searching high and low for sources of protein. I wrote a blog a while back on May 4th on my own research about proper fueling, fasting and fad diets. What are those things actually doing to our bodies and how men and women respond differently. Check it out here for more information! To sum it up, we have a recovery window in which we need to consume about 20 grams of protein (for men) and 30-40 grams of protein (for women). Trying to get 30-40 grams of protein takes a ton of effort and since that research I did for that blog (posted of May 4th) I have been trying out different things to meet that 30 gram mark. Getting 30-40 grams of protein right after a workout requires a conscious effort ...