WOW Link-up-Happy Heart 5k

I seem to have gone a bit link-up crazy lately, but as a new blogger I think it's a great way to interact with other bloggers and to share tips, ideas, stories and inspiration so here I go again!

The awesome ladies at Femme Fitale Fit Club, The Frugal Exerciser, Eat Hard Work Hard and Mean, Green, Clean Eating Teen are hosting a Workout Wednesday (WOW) link-up to connect like minded bloggers to link their posts on fitness, healthy eating and general wellness. I like the idea that this link-up is open to a variety of ideas and topics!

Happy Heart 5k-

This morning I participated in the Happy Heart Virtual 5k to support Krysten at Darwinian Fail. Krysten is a great blogger who has overcome a variety of health issues, including a rare heart arrhythmia, to live a fit and healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately Krysten lost her dad at the age of 61 to a heart attack and is raising money for the Happy Heart Project to benefit the Heart and Stroke Foundation. If you would like to participate or learn more, please click the link to her blog above!

Every day that we, as runners, get to lace up our shoes and hit the streets or the treadmill is a gift. We often take for granted the health that we have that allows us to pursue our chosen athletic and fitness endeavors. Some people will never have the opportunity to walk, run, or anything else that some of us do without even thinking about, we are lucky.

When you do your run, bike, swim, spin, weights, walk, yoga or whatever it is you love to do today, please take a minute to remember those who cannot do the same and add a little extra gratitude and purpose to what you are doing!!

Have you had to overcome health issues to reach your fitness goals?
What can we do to be more grateful for the gift of health?

Plank-A-Day

I've been participating in the #FFaprilabs Plank-a-Day challenge from Fit Fluential. I've been posting my times on Twitter and Instagram and I'm pretty pleased with my progress. Over the course of April, I've gone from holding it for a minute to a minute and a half, and got to two minutes earlier this week. While it doesn't seem like a lot, I'm happy with a 50% improvement on average and a 100% improvement every now and then! I did have some wrist issues yesterday that made me stop at 1:30, so I really need to focus on form over just trying to hit a certain time at any cost. The last thing I want is a plank injury!!

What do you do to improve your planking form?
Do you have a planking goal?

Thanks for reading and please remember to check out the blogs of the link-up hosts!!

Weekly Chase Link-up

Mindy over at the awesome Road Runner Girl has a weekly link-up entitled the Weekly Chase where you post your goals for the week just to give you a little added accountability ;)

This is my first time doing this, so I don't have goals to report on from last week, but here are my 5 for this week:

Goal #1- Get 20 miles of running in...this will be a slight increase to my weekly mileage, but I think it's a good aim as I move towards upcoming 10ks, 15ks, 10 miler and 1/2!

Goal #2-Roll and stretch daily. I'm haven't been good at developing a stretching routine so I used one that I found on Amazon Prime Instant Video called Ultimate Flexibility. It was a good one and has three different levels for differing levels of flexibility. (side note...I finally convinced Joe to roll yesterday and later in the day he said, "I didn't want to admit this earlier but my calf feels like 110% better..LOL!)

Goal #3-Do at least one day of yoga. I have done yoga in the past but really felt like I could not get out of my own head enough for it to be effective (if that makes sense). However, I know my running will likely improve with regular yoga since it focuses on flexibility and breathing.

Goal #4- Get at least three strength training session in. I'm obsessed with kettlebells so my goal is to get at leas three kettlebell workouts in at some point (I've even been known to bring them into my office!)

Goal #5- Eat salmon at least once. I know this seems like a crazy simplistic goal, but the truth is that while I don't hate salmon, I'm not a fan of fishy tasting fish. I know the health benefits are so high and I know that it's likely something that I'll love once I find different and interesting ways to cook/pair it.


What are you goals for the week??

I'll check back in next Monday to let you know how I did and what I'm working on for that week!