My Go-To Mantra & an Endorphin Warrior GIVEAWAY!

It's no surprise that I adore Endorphin Warrior training bracelets.  In fact, I first fell in love with them after I saw the 2011 Nuun Hood to Coast team girls sporting them around their blogs.  I "dropped hints" (aka begged) around my husband and a "Persevere" bracelet magically appeared under the Christmas tree last year.

My arm looks hairy.

So when I heard Endorphin Warrior was offering to send all of the 2012 Nuun Hood to Coast gals a bracelet (that means ME!) I was ECSTATIC to say the least.  This time around I chose "Relentless".  My go-to mantra while running is:

Never Give Up.  

Never Surrender.  

And this seems to seamlessly interact with RELENTLESS.  And PERSEVERE too, for that matter.  Although I think I personally like the "PERSEVERE" statement better, the RELENTLESS bracelet just happens to fit a bit better (I'm not sure if they're the same size or not, but one is tighter which I prefer) so I pretty much never take it off.  I know you're not supposed to shower and swim with it to prolong it's life, but so far I seriously wasn't lying - I NEVER take it off (not for swimming or showering!) and it's still in awesome shape.  

This picture might be a little unrelated - but it deserves some more action.

So I was even MORE ecstatic (is that even possible?!) when Endorphin Warrior graciously offered to do a giveaway of a Warrior Training Bracelet for a reader.  I knew that you guys would love a bracelet just as much as I did, so I leaped at the chance to offer one to you. 

So I bet you're dying to know - How do I win?!  Here's all you have to do:  

• Go to Endorphin Warrior's website and check out the different warrior bracelets they have.  Leave a comment below saying which keyword or phrase would you pick if you won.  That's it!

Bonus entries:  1 bonus entry for each thing, just leave a comment below.

1. Like Endorphin Warrior on Facebook
2. Like Ricole Runs on Facebook
3. Follow Endorphin Warrior on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway, something like: I want to win an @EndorphnWarrior bracelet from @ricoleruns and you should too! http://www.ricoleruns.com/2012/09/my-go-to-mantra-endorphin-warrior.html

 Fine Print Shenanigans:  This giveaway will run through Thursday, October 4 at 8:00pm PST.  One winner will be chosen using Random.org random number generator.  Although Endorphin Warrior provided me with a bracelet all opinions are my own. 

A Vow, A Promise, Some Goals

Okay peeps.  Now that I feel like my hamstring is on the mend, I need a plan.  I need some goals.  I need to make some promises.  I need to be careful; I need to baby my hamstring.  If I'm going to get better for real, I need to make it a priority.  And this means not doing my normal Ricole-esque situation, which involves getting all hopped up on running and running a billion miles super fast right away.  No, Ricole, No.

I also have to address another issue super quickly - and that involves seeing a doctor.  Several of you have asked me about that and I agree, at this point seeing a doctor would be smart.  I do kind of hate sports medicine doctors as I've never seen one that actually helped me.  So I do have a vendetta against them, that's true.  But also, since I switched jobs I unfortunately don't have insurance right now, so I've been waiting until that kicks in October 1.  While I still don't really want to see a doctor, I do want to see a PT and a massage therapist, and the doctor is the avenue to those other things. 

So here we are - my promises.  For the NEXT MONTH, so until October 25, 2012, I vow to:

• I Will Run SLOW.  Seriously slow.  I will run no miles in less than 9 minutes, and they should be closer to 10.  NO MILES LESS THAN 9!  

•  I Will Take Walk Breaks.  Walk breaks must be taken at least once every 3 miles, preferably more often.  

•  I Will Take Short, Slow Steps.  I Will Avoid Hills.  This goes along with #1 - I will run SLOW and SHORT steps - I will not lengthen my stride, even if a coyote is chasing me.  Okay, maybe then I will.

• I Will Strengthen My Leg Muscles.  We all know the #1 cause of most running injuries is weak glutes.  Whether that's my problem or not, they certainly could use some strengthening, as could the obvious culprit, my hamstring.  I've been doing eccentric hamstring exercises with a band and need to continue doing them.  I will make a real effort to strength training my legs at least 2-3 times a week even if for only 10 minutes at a time.  

• I Will Adhere to the 10% Rule.  No getting over exuberant and running 31 miles in a 50k race I'm signed up for just because I really want to...! 

• I Will Make a Doctor Appointment.  There - are you happy??!!  I know you were waiting for that one.  I definitely want a sports massage.  

You'll notice that there's no distance rules.  My hamstring doesn't seem to really mind distance (although the most I've done recently is 8 miles), it's the lengthening of your stride during speed and hills that aggravates it so. 

And those, my friends, are my very important vowels for the next month.

What do you think?  Ever force non-time-related goals on yourself like me?

I Don't Want to Jinx It...

I don't want to jinx it... but I think my hamstring is getting better!  I thought that maybe it was last week, but I REALLY didn't want to jinx it so I downplayed it.  But it really DID feel better this week!

Cooper is happy about this!

I don't want to get my hopes up though.  But... they kind of already are up so I think that's just lying to myself.

My workouts last week aren't very impressive (AGAIN), I've been kind of lazy on my non-running days.  But let's focus on the good, shall we?

Monday - 45 minutes on the elliptical

Tuesday - 2.5 miles of running in the blaring sun, + 2.9 miles of walking

Wednesday - REST (Wednesdays are definitely going to be my rest days this fall - they are way too swamped to fit in a workout, so I need to know this and plan my other days accordingly)

Thursday - 6 miles of running with some hints that my hamstring might be feeling a little bit better!

Friday - No time for a workout because we were headed on the long 5 hour drive to THE BEACH.  Oh the beach, how I love thee, you did not disappoint.

Saturday - Tons of walking on the beach, probably at least 4 miles, plus more miles walking to and from candy shops that sell caramel corn.  :-)

Sunday - I had real dreams for today.  I thought maybe I could run a TON of miles if my hamstring cooperated.  I set the alarm early and left more than 2 hours for potential running before I had to be anywhere.  And then I headed out... and it SUCKED.  It was seriously HORRIBLE.  My calf hurt, I had side stitches, I felt horrible.  I ran maybe 2 miles and walked a whole bunch more, calling it quits after 30 minutes.  I went home completely defeated.  And sad.

Flash forward a 5 hour car ride and feeling sluggish and pretty off all day, and I decided to try for run #2 around 4pm.  AND I RAN 8 MILES!!!!!  Seriously.  Besides the crazy adventure trail run I did with Lindsay a month ago, this is the longest run I've done in a long time.  I thought it was since the marathon but turns out I did a few longer 8-9 milers in late July.  And my hamstring didn't really bother me!

So a total of 18+ miles this week, and I feel excited!  I feel hopeful.  Please please please hamstring, don't let me down now. 

Ever worry about jinxing yourself?  How was your weekend?  What did you do?  How far did you run?

50 Shades of Suck

This post could also be entitled: 50 Shades of Poor Writing.  Or E.L. James Repeats Herself for 528 Pages. 

Who are you people and WHY do you like this book???

source

I just don't understand it.  It's probably related to how I don't understand why everyone is obsessed with Lululemon or loves The Avengers or is devoted to Downton Abbey.  Clearly, I don't always like what society thinks I should.

And in most cases, I can see the appeal.  Lululemon is well made, high quality, comfortable (probably, I'm just guessing).  I'm not the biggest lover of comic book movies.  I'm probably not smart enough to truly enjoy Downton Abbey.  But 50 SHADES OF GREY?  Let's forget it's all about sex for a minute, I don't care about that.  I mean, do I want to read the book out loud to my parents or worse, my grandma?  No, absolutely not.  I don't even want to read that book out loud, period.  But I can get past that.  But there are other aspects of the book that I can't get past. 

First, the writing itself is POOR, at best.  SO FREAKING REPETITIVE!  If Ana says "oh my" one more time I might SCREAM.  Same goes for "clench", "mercurial", "delicious", "eyes hooded", etc.  And what's with the talking to her inner self-conscious or "inner goddess" - who does that?!

Second, it's BORING.  There is absolutely NO story line besides them having sex.  Don't get me wrong, I love a little bit of a love story.  But that can't be the ONLY PLOT LINE.  Katniss and Peeta were FAR from the sole plot going on.  Even Bella and Edward at least have all kinds of crazy vampire and werewolf stuff going on.  And yes, while Harry and Ginny lived happily ever after, first they had to take care of that minor problem of killing all the horcruxes and taking care of that Voldemort character. 

Third, umm, I'm confused - isn't this book EXACTLY like Twilight??!!!  Like I feel like the beginning of the book is so similar that there is a potential lawsuit on their hands.  Ana (aka Bella) - both pale, very KLUTZY / uncoordinated, innocent, don't know their own beauty, don't know their own effects on others, etc.  Meet Christian (aka Edward), who tries to stay away from her because he's "a danger" to her.  Then Ana (aka Bella) gets herself into a situation that she needs "rescuing" from, and lo and behold, Christian (aka Edward) saves her.  SERIOUSLY IT'S THE SAME.

I just don't understand why this book stands out to America more than cheap romance novels.  What makes it special?  Why is everyone SO obsessed?  I totally get that people think it's a "guilty little pleasure" like ice cream or coffee creamer.  But is it too much to ask for for SOMETHING TO ACTUALLY HAPPEN???? 

Sorry people, I don't think I'm going to make it through all 3 books.  I just can't take it.  End complete rant.  Sorry if you hate me now.

Who's read Fifty Shades of Grey?  What about the other two (Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed)?  Who loves the books and why?  Thoughts???

5 Things I Bet You Didn't Know About Kauai

Oh, you mean we're still not done talking about Hawaii?  No.  We're not.  Sorry I'm not sorry?  Kauai was surprising in several aspects.  You may or may not be surprised about these things, but I sure was:

1)  There are a freaking ton of chickens here.  It’s weird.  Where do they all come from?  Some say it’s because the 1992 hurricane wiped out a chicken farm – essentially setting a ton of chickens free.  Another theory involves the fact that the other islands have mongooses which keep the chicken population in check, but for some reason there are no mongooses on Kauai (sorry Rikki-Tikki-Tavi). 

It's also confusing to me why all the birds seem to be roosters.  Seriously, a very large proportion of the chickens seem to be male.  Unless my reasoning is wrong... HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?  

2)  It rains.  A LOT.  I knew it must rain I guess.  I mean, Kauai is “the garden isle” after all.  But I figured the summer would still be the dry season.  Nope.  It rained Every-Single-Day we were there.  Seriously.  Every day.  It was fine- it was sprinkle or POUR for 5 minutes and then the sun would come back out.  But it was definitely a constant.  

And somehow amongst all that rain and sunshine I never saw a single rainbow.  And I said this entire week until the. very. last. day!  And then there it was!

3)  It's MUDDY.  Oh wait, is this the same as #2?  Well it really is muddy.  Bring hiking boots if you have them.  If you don't, bring the shoes that have the most traction (which I definitely didn't).  Also, forget all those "cute" clothes - leave them at home.  Instead bring extra sports bras, tanks, shorts, and socks that can get muddy.  Because you're not getting more than one wear out of any of your clothes like you normally might. 

You know you've had a good time when your suitcase is a disgusting mess of sandy, dirty, muddy, and sweaty clothes, right?! 

My poor Brooks PureConnects.  Guess I'll have to get the PureFlows to make up for them.

4)  Kauai not only really IS the garden isle but it is also surprisingly mountainous.  Yes I knew it was called "the garden isle" but it really is SO green EVERYWHERE.  And SO mountainous EVERYWHERE.  Not just one mountain, but many!  

5) It's expensive!  Duh, right?  But did you think it might cost NINE DOLLARS for a gallon of milk???  I didn't think so. 

Were you surprised?  Probably not.  But I sure was.  And now I want to go back.  Like right now. 

Luke, You Are an IRONMAN!

This weekend I headed over to Grand Coulee for a friend's IRONMAN.  Remember how I cheered his 70.3 Half Ironman and got all inspired?  Well multiply that by... well... 2.  Holy 140.6 inspiration. 

In case you weren't aware, Grand Coulee is in the middle of NOWHERE.

It was a 4+ hour drive into the desert and isolation of Eastern Washington - land of no cell phone service and no internet.  Grand Coulee is also the home to one impressive dam.  And one UNimpressive laser show straight out of the 80's. 

 Damn that's an awesome dam.  I'm clever. 

In case you didn't know, an Ironman involves 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, and a full marathon (26.2 miles) of running.  Thus that's how you add up to the 140.6 number.  Another way to say this is INSANITY.  Can you seriously imagine completing this?  I can't.

The idea of working out for THIRTEEN HOURS (and Luke is way more amazing and fast than I am) is just baffling.  Imagining running a full freaking marathon AFTER you have biked for over 100 miles is just plain crazy talk.  Remember that time when I thought it was ridiculously difficult to run THREE miles after biking just 12?

Luke is my new hero for sure. 

So the day involved a lot of hustling around the course.  Once again, we dominated our cheering duties with rockin' sparkle skirts and capes.

Cheering from sunrise:

To sunset (and beyond):

Once again we were able to cheer Luke on during the swim:

During the bike:

AND during the run:

  We literally were running from place to place to see him as many times as possible:

He ROCKED it.
And thanks to the race I think I have solidly decided: 1) I want to run another marathon.  Like NOW.  I desperately want my hamstring to get better so this is possible.  2) I DON'T want to run a marathon as part of an Ironamn.  Like EVER.  and 3) I would like to challenge myself by doing a Half Ironman.  Maybe next summer. 

And finally - we remain AWESOME cheerers.  We definitely deserved some sort of award.  Especially on a course and place as isolated and desolate as Grand Coulee. 

Ever thought of doing an Ironman?  What's holding you back?  Just the plain craziness of it?  :-)

A Week of Workouts

I'm not going to lie.  And you already know all this.  But I remained annoyed about my hamstring injury.  It neither improves nor declines - it just remains annoyingly "present".

The pain is not intense but is annoying, and I know it means that at the very minimum I need to run less, run slow, and avoid speedwork and hills.  At the maximum, I probably need to rest, and clearly for more than 2 weeks since that didn't appear to help.

So, for right now, I'm continuing to run, with those prescriptions I discussed above.  Since I don't seem to be making it worse and the pain in manageable it seems more fun to finish out my year of "racing" (October Pt. Defiance Trail Race + November Half Marathon) and then rest and rehab through the crappy winter weather.  But then I REALLY want to train for something.  So maybe I should rest now.  I just don't know.

Remember this?  This was the last time running pre-hamstring issues.  I miss this. 

So, let's get down to brass tax.  My week in workouts:

Monday - 10 minutes on the elliptical + 55 minute spin class (music sucked = class sucked).

Tuesday - 6 miles around the neighborhood.  Yeah yeah yeah, it was quite a bit when coming back from 2 weeks off. 

Wednesday - Rest.  Given that I had a busy few days ahead of me this was just plain laziness.  I SHOULD have worked out.  

Thursday - No time, but got myself out there for a quick 3 miles of running with Cooper at 9:00pm at night. 

Friday - No time.  Drove 5 hours to Grand Coulee for Luke's IRONMAN (more on that later!).  It's clear: too much rest this week. 

Saturday - Tons of walking and some short and erratic running with Jordanne and Amy as we cheered Luke on at the Ironman!  Very exciting and full post to come on that.  I didn't wear a Garmin and I have no clue what our total running / walking time / distance was, but I'll guess it was at least 2 miles of running and 2 miles of walking.

Sunday - 6 miles around the neighborhood in the afternoon.  I tested out a "walk-run" method to see if that helps manage the hamstring injury.  In an hour of running I had 3 two-minute walk breaks - spread out every 15 minutes.  I may try this method out this week. 

So, that was my week.  Clearly, it was nothing to write home about.  Total running miles = approximately 17. 

How was your weekend?  What did you do?  How far did you run?

Top 15 Things to Do in Kauai Part 3 (of 3)

Well you finally made it to the Top 5!  You saw #11-15 and you saw #6-10, so without further ado - the top 5 things you should DEFINITELY do if you find yourself in Kauai!

 5) Swim.  Jump off rocks into the ocean.  It’s lovely.  Snorkel at every beach you come to.  See those rocks we're standing on?  We jumped off those, no big deal.  It was fun.  There was a very high rock the young-ens were jumping off but we stayed smart adults and didn't make that leap.  

We also snorkeled at Ke'e Beach (very nice and easy snorkeling - shallow and very calm):

and at Lydgate Park (ridiculously bad snorkeling, but a good swimming spot):

and at Poipu Beach (we saw a turtle here! But a bit rough water-wise):

Again, gorgeous pristine beaches.  Duh, that's why you came here.

4) See Waimea Canyon.  Even if you’ve seen the Grand Canyon (which we have), it’s still impressive.  10 miles long, 1 mile wide, 3,600 feet deep, with beautiful amazing colors.  It’s worth the drive for sure.  

3) Swim in Wailua Falls.  The view from the top is just okay:

But the view from the bottom is AMAZING!  Let's be clear, the "hike" to the bottom is no joke.  Although it's short, it is definitely an "adventurous" hike on the way down, so be prepared.  We were wearing flip-flops and I ended up going barefooted.  Again, hiking shoes would be helpful.  Just like nearly all the hikes it seems, it was VERY muddy, VERY steep, and therefore VERY slippery.  Although it seems the government doesn't endorse this as a "hike" or consider this a true trail (so don't expect to see signs or trail markings) there are ropes in places which help with descent but especially with the ascent. 

It was AWESOME.  And then we got to celebrate our accomplishment with a beer by the same name:

See that girl? That's where WE were standing!

2) Hike to the top of “sleeping giant”.  Although we did several other hikes, this one was by far the best and is definitely a "must do".  This was the "east" hike (of the 3 hikes to the top of sleeping giant), which apparently is the longest and steepest but definitely has the best views.  Unfortunately we did this hike first, so then all the other hikes we did the rest of the week were kind of big let-downs.  We should have just done this hike every single day.

It's about 2 miles each way and fairly steep, but the views at the first stopping point (the picnic table area) are worth it alone.  HOWEVER, the best part of this hike BY FAR was continuoing on to the very top of the mountain, which involved some scrambling up scary rocks and was EXTREMELY FROWNED UPON by our guide book for safety reasons.  So proceed with caution, but cresting the top of that peak was one of my favorite experiences of the whole trip. 

You seriously don't get better views than this:

1) Snorkel at Tunnels.  Okay okay, so this isn't that different from #5.  But while #5 is optional, #1 is not.  If you want to snorkel at ALL while you're in Hawaii, it is highly recommended you snorkel HERE.  While we snorkeled with turtles at Anini Beach and Poipu Beach (but not Tunnels), the snorkeling was so ridiculously awesome at Tunnels and just adequate (to poor really) elsewhere.  Seriously.  It is AWESOME.  

Plus the view from Tunnels ain't half bad either:

You also might get to see a Hawaiian Monk Seal, which is an endangered species, no big deal:

Anything to add to this list?  Ever been to Hawaii?  What's your favorite island?  Favorite activity? 

Top 15 Things to do in Kauai Part 2 (of 3)

So yesterday we covered #11-15 of the top 15 to do in Kauai.  I must tell you though, there are a few things we didn’t do which others might recommend.  Many were crazed about helicopter tours – since you can’t reach the Na Pali coast without a 22 mile (round trip) hike or on a boat or on a helicopter.  Helicopters aren’t for us and I couldn’t convince JMan to make the 22 mile hike (shocker).  Others also recommended going to the tropical botanical gardens.  Nah, that’s not for us.  Finally, many recommend kayaking in various places, and I DO wish we had done that, but at the time it just seemed like an expensive hassle.   

So the next 5 things you should do in Kauai:

10)  Read at the pool.  Sit in the hot tub.  Relax.  Having time to read is one of my favorite things about vacations.  Plus pina coladas aren't too shabby either.  And if you loved Hunger Games and you already read Divergent... now check out Across the Universe!

 

9)  Take a bath at Queen's Bath.  I imagine when conditions are right, Queen's Bath is a rather lovely place to go.  It's basically a decent-sized salt-water swimming pool created by tidepools and the incoming ocean, with fish to look at and nice calm water.

For example - someone else's experience with Queen's Bath, which is how the Guide Book looked:

source

But when we got there, which, in Queen's Bath's defense, was on the most rainy and worst-day-weather-wise of the trip, this is more like what it looked like: 

So no, we didn't swim in it. We're not THAT adventurous.  No need to add 2 more tally's to that sign today.

8)  Observe the local wildlife.  Donkeys are the best.  And who doesn't like an ENDANGERED Hawaiian Monk Seal?  I was excited to see that little guy. 

7) Watch the sunrise (or the sunset if you’re not staying on the east side).  This is easy because you're already naturally up early thanks to the time change!  Therefore my favorite activity became walking the beach as the sun came up. 

6) Walk on the beach.   Better yet – RUN on the beach if you’re not a hamstring-gimp like me.  Seriously - do views get any better than this?  Better soak them in while you're there. 
 

Come back tomorrow for the epic conclusion to this amazingly riveting trilogy!  I know you can't WAIT to find out what the top 5 things were!  :-)

How far are you running today / yesterday / tomorrow?  Make me jealous with your running stories. 

Top 15 Things to Do in Kauai Part 1 (of 3)

Oh Kauai, how I love thee, let me count the ways.  We had such a lovely time on "the garden isle".  So, since it seems even the spin class I went to today deserves at least a two-part post, we've got another multi-parter on our hands.  And without further ado - some of the top things you should do if you ever find yourself on Kauai! 

15) Eat.  While eating is one of my favorite past times (obviously), it gets the lowest number on this top 15 list because I did not have one single meal that I was impressed with.  Overall, I was very disappointed with the food on Kauai.  We ate at Bubba’s Burgers (burgers good but so tiny), Brick Oven Pizza (pizza fine but nothing special), Garden Isle BBQ (Chinese food that was not impressive), and Chicken in a Barrel BBQ (again, unsatisfying).  My only recommendation for you is to get Hawaiian Shave Ice at Jo-Jo’s in Waimea.  Yum.  Make sure to get the macnut ice cream on the bottom.  

14)  Hike.  Get muddy.   We did 3 other hikes besides the "best" hike which will be thing to do #2 (spoiler alert - it's hike the east trail of sleeping giant).

We hiked the Pihea Trail to Alaka'i Swamp (or we were SUPPOSED to make it to the swamp) and I do NOT recommend this one.  Okay okay, the book and others raved about the swamp part, which is supposed to be this surreal walk through a swamp on a boardwalk.  But we never made it that far.  You can't really tell from the picture but the trail was MUDDY (okay you can tell that) but more importantly, it was STEEP.  Armed with our crappy (traction-wise - sorry Brooks PureConnects!) running shoes, we were in way over our head.  We were mostly sliding down super steep hills and it was scary.  I don't know how to describe to you how terrifying it is to be out of control on a trail with cliffs on either side.  NOT FUN.  So we never made it to the "cool" part. 

 

Second, we did the Kuamo'o-Nounou Trail up onto Nounou Mountain / Sleeping Giant (again - my favorite hike, so we thought it would be fun to see the same place from a different angle).  This hike was good, just not great.  About 4 miles round trip, but the views aren't as great as the East trail although the hike itself was much more scenic through interesting forest. 

Third and finally, we had a replay of our first hike times a million with the STEEPEST MUDDIEST HIKE OF ALL TIME.  Hanalei 'Okolehao Trail: ugghhhhhh I was pretty much wimpering all the way down "I don't want to do this I don't want to do this I don't want to do this".  The same problems occurred again, but magnified since the trail was even steeper.  Just so slick.  You're just constantly afraid of hurtling to your death.  At one point the trail pretty much disappeared but we continued on because we thought we'd come across something awesome until finally we gave up and turned around.  So the views were lovely, but I'm not sure they were worth the dangerous trek. 

13) Visit the Koloa Rum Factory.  A brand new company but already winning medals at rum competitions (who knew there was such a thing?) for their rums.  

The rum is fairly tasty (at least the dark rum and the spiced rum was - the white was disgusting), but it's fairly pricey (around $30 for a fifth) - but guess what?  The tasting is free and quite informative.  Plus you get to try the most delicious rum cake you've ever had.  And who doesn't like cake?

12)  Drive the whole island.  Stop at every "scenic lookout".  Gawk at the fanciness of the luxury resorts (i.e., The Marriott, St. Regis Princeville, and The Grand Hyatt).  Agree that someday you will be rich enough to stay there.

11)  Visit the Kilauea Lighthouse and the "Spouting Horn".  They're nothing amazing, but they're worth the trip!  Besides, you're already driving the whole island and stopping at every scenic stop (see #12). 

Come back tomorrow for Part 2 of the top 15 sights of Kauai!

Have you been to Hawaii?  Where did you go and what did you see?