A Cold

I’ve had a cold for the last week or so. It has moved from a sore throat to a cough to major sinus congestion to my chest to a stuffy nose. Well, the last few days, especially during sleeping, I am coughing a lot. While this is no fun, I’ve discovered that having a heavy cough is a great ab work out!

My abs are sore. My abs are tender. Maybe I’m coughing with poor form or something, but I use my abs each time I cough, so it is like doing 30 crunches every hour for an entire day. Blah!

Suggestion: next time you don’t feel like doing abs, just get a cough and you’ll be forced to do ‘emHappy
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10% Off At Lulu

eml_10offcoupon_contest_bI just got an email from Lulu with a coupon code good for 10% off. This makes it the best time to order The Fat Trainer! Enter 'MAYCONTEST10' at checkout. This code expires soon, so order asap! Don’t forget to share this info with your friends.

Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks.

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New Shoes

Last week was the week of the new shoe for me. I got two new pairs of shoes. One pair for basketball and one for running. It seems like all of my shoes are wearing out at the same time... I could use some new dress shoes and casual shoes too. Oh well, those can weightHappy

Asics_Gel_Kinsei_2

Anyway, the new running shoes are quite nice, Asics Gel-Kinsei. (Similar to the above image.) I tried looking at two local running shops, (Salt Lake Running Company, Wasatch Running) but couldn’t find something within my price target (<$80). I ended up at Sports Authority and while I didn’t get the same type of service as at a running shop, the sales people were very friendly.

This is my second pair of Asics, but I had to choose a different size because Sports Authority doesn’t carry 12.5. I got 13 instead of 12 because it felt better. Well, I ran on the treadmill this morning with the shoes and liked ‘em till the very end when the heel started to rub the wrong way. I’m going to give it another go on my Wednesday run, but will have to return them if they still rub.

So what? Well, it got me thinking of some of the things I learned at my favorite running shop: The Starting Block (in Missouri). The owners are great and the service is wonderful. They do a video gait analysis then recommend shoes that will best help you on your run. I learned that I am a neutral runner which means I run with pretty good form.

I also learned the importance of actually running (on a treadmill) before you buy the shoes. Once you buy them, you can continue to run on a treadmill to be sure they’re right and return/exchange them for the right fit. Also, running shoes should offer about a thumbnails width between the end of the big toe and shoe when standing. This gives the foot plenty of room to move while running.

Finally, I learned that shoes break down over time (~350 miles). If the shoe is broken down inside, even if it looks fine on the exterior, you increase the risk of injury and it can make you sorer faster.
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