May 23, 2013

Post-Graduate Life

I spent last weekend at home relaxing and getting a few freelance stories done. I also got some running in as well in my new running shoes. It was nice to finally feel like I had some time to myself.

I got back to Philly late afternoon Monday and I had planned to go to ballet–but my left leg really started to ache again (out of nowhere) and I decided it was best to stay home, even though I really wanted to go. I kept having a nagging pain in it while I was working all day Tuesday, and knew I’d have to put off running for a little while longer.

Yesterday, I got a different brand of Kinesio Tape in the mail that I had ordered (KT and I occasionally don’t get along–plus I ordered tape that wasn’t precut so I could cut it to the length I wanted). My leg seems to be doing better today. My boyfriend and I were supposed to get some running in this morning–but neither of us really moved from bed (and I wasn’t sure what time the track opened at my college since everything is on reduced summer hours). But, I’ll be trekking to ballet tonight in the lovely thunderstorms they’re expecting after over a week off.

 

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May 8, 2013

A Huge Accomplishment–I Completed a 5k!

Well, for me at least, given all the troubles I’ve had with my legs/ankles.

photo.

 

I’ve written here multiple times about how I’ve dealt with horrible shin splints. I attempted to run a 5k back at the beginning of April and didn’t even get a mile in before giving up because it just hurt THAT bad. It was embarrassing.

So I’ve been working on doing a Couch to 5k Program for the past few weeks, and recently I’ve gotten frustrated with the set of intervals I’ve been on (as well as treadmill running–which I DETEST because I can’t seem to move fast at all), so today my boyfriend and I decided to run on the indoor track at my college’s gym. I decided that we’d be doing a two minute walk/two minute run interval kind of arbitrarily (knowing that the previous intervals of 1:30 were too easy and 3:00 was slightly rough on my shins)–BUT it worked. After doing about a mile and a half (which has been our normal distance without warm up or cool down walks with C25k, I decided we should keep going and try to complete a 5k and I did it, in around 34:00 (the GPS was slightly off between our two iPhones, 34:00 is the average).

I just feel so happy to have been able to come back after what felt like such a failure over a month ago.

What exciting goals have you accomplished lately?

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April 23, 2013

Dancers=Clumsy?

Is it possible that dancing could be making me even more clumsy?

Dance requires a fair bit of balance and coordination, but according to an article by the The Dance Training Project, it could be making you clumsy.

Now, I’m a pretty clumsy person to begin with–and I’m clumsy in my dancing too–but part of me wants to blame these reasons that dancers are clumsy for the reason I tripped and fell on my ass yesterday when attempting my first Couch-to-5k run.

I was doing my second walking portion of the training and trying to fix my headphones–when BAM!–my foot landed at an awkward on the part of the track where it just begins to slope downwards and landed on my butt, just barely scraping my knee. Now, there weren’t too many people on the track to witness me being a complete klutz, but the two guys who were walking near me asked if I was okay cause they saw it happen. I’m just glad they weren’t laughing.

Otherwise–it was a really good first training run and I finished 2.64 miles and got an exciting e-mail with some exciting news which I’ll be sharing next week!

Have you noticed that you’ve been more clumsy as a result of dancing?

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April 17, 2013

Should Dancers Run?

English: Running woman Nederlands: Hardlopende...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was going to post this earlier this week, but it just didn’t feel right, after the Boston Marathon bombings occurred. A few of the #sweatpink members ran the marathon, and thankfully they’re all okay. It’s great to see that everyone in the running community coming together after such a horrific event.

Now, I’ve only just started running, and I’ve dealt with a few issues with it (HELLO, shin splints) especially given the injuries in my background. There’s a lot of controversy surrounding the idea of dancers–especially ballet dancers–and running, with many people saying it’s too high of an impact and stresses your body too much. Some suggest swimming, biking or the elliptical instead. Trust me, I love all three of those, but there’s nothing quite like running.

Personally, I think both are perfectly fine in moderation. Charlotte Stabenau wrote in a blog post for Pointe Magazine that she became a runner after being a dancer for a long time–and it only helped improve her stamina and confidence.

Especially as recreational dancers, why not go for it if you want to?

The best way to do it, as Charlotte wrote, is to start out slow. How do you manage that? Add running to your schedule slowly, 3-4 days a week (max), alternating between walking and running. Programs like Couch to 5k (available as iPhone Apps and downloadable schedules) are great. Another free app, RunKeeper, has a similar program (as well as a bunch of others of other levels).

Do you run or have your wanted to run?

*I am not a personal trainer or medical doctor, this is just information found through my own research that I have found useful.

Filed Under: Ballet, Blog, Etc., Info, Outside Class Tagged With: , , , , , , 7 Comments
April 1, 2013

Pro Compression Sock Review + Giveaway

I love compression socks, both for recovering after ballet as well as running.

According to PRO Compression’s website, “Whether at rest, playing a round of golf or running a marathon, your PRO Compression socks are working to circulate blood back to your heart and lungs. With more efficient circulation comes less fatigue and your tired muscles are replenished with fresh oxygen and nutrients to reduce soreness and give you the extra stamina needed to exert yourself at the fullest.”

Compression socks have been great for recovering from tough calf straining ballet classes too.

I own about three other pairs of compression socks (some CW-X pink socks, a pair of grey Adidas ones, a pair of black Adidas compression sleeves). While all three of these pairs of brought me some necessary relief, I’ve had gripes with all of them. The CW-X ones slide down my leg easily and easily collect hair and dust from the floor (ick!) and the grey Adidas ones are too short (where I usually have the most shin splint pain is just below my knee). The sleeves are awesome of actually wearing to ballet (under legwarmers) but other than that they seem to be too tight for extended wear.

Cute and Compact Packaging!

Cute and Compact Packaging!

The PRO Compression socks were awesome. No sliding problems and they felt perfectly snug! Not to mention, they’re a pretty great price if you (40% and free shipping with code BLG13=30 dollars for a pair of their Marathon socks) compared to a lot of the pricier compression socks. And they come in pretty awesome colors, like bright pink.

I felt awesome Friday morning after sleeping in my PRO Compression socks after ballet.

photo (8)

Pointed Ballerina feet in cute compression socks!

The only cons I found about these (although they’re my favorite pair so far) is that sometimes I suffer from a little too much compression in my knee area, but this is usually solved by pulling them down a bit (probably because I have the bad habit of pulling them up too high because I have to pull my CW-X to get them to stay up). They also seemed to make me slip in my sneakers a bit more, but that wasn’t a huge problem.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend them if you’re looking for some awesome compression socks for a good price. And if you’re interested, Adult Ballerina Project is giving away a pair of PRO Compression socks! Click to enter the giveaway through my Rafflecopter giveaway.

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PRO Compression Marathon Socks were provided by PRO Compression free of charge in exchange for a review. I was not paid for my review.  The opinions contained in this review are mine and based on my experience, and do not reflect the opinions of PRO Compression or anyone else.

Filed Under: Ballet, Etc., Info, Outside Class Tagged With: , , , , , , 17 Comments