Happy Earth Day

Hope you have all had a warm and sunny day wherever you may be while reading this. We have had a surprisingly nice day here in Aroostook county, which included a nice and brief afternoon spring shower.
In my effort to do my part for the earth on the 40th anniversary of Earth Day I want to share some of my daily efforts of living green.
Recycling is an easy task that everyone can do with the smallest amount of effort. In addition to the recycling of your basic household items I working on bringing the left over brass from the two biathlon ranges in to be recycled. There are also a great number of recycling programs for running shoes. Nike has one of the best. They have a number of drop off locations around the world. Unfortunately there aren't any up in the County but they do have one near my in-laws, so when making the trip South I try to get a collection to bring down and drop off. Check out the Nike program at: http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/. It's very cool and inspiring.



Another great program working hard at keeping our earth green is Greenlaces.org. It is a very cool organization bringing greater awareness to saving the planet one promise and two shoe laces at a time. If you haven't already heard about them, check them out at www.greenlaces.org. Make your promise to the planet today and get your green on.
The last and most enjoyable green effort I'd like to mention today starts right in your backyard. Eating vegetables and herbs you grew yourself not only cuts down on your grocery bill but plays a big part in keeping the earth green by keeping things local. You can get any more local than your back yard! If you are missed out on green thumb gene check out the local farmers markets in your neighborhood. Not only will you be doing your part by eating local and supporting the farmers of your community, your stomach will thank you for fresh, nutrient rich, flavorful food. Localharvest.org is a great website for helping you find farmers markets and other fresh produce, meats, dairy products in your area.

Fresh Start with a new training tool!

It has offically begun, training season 2010/11. Today was the first offical day for me. My break over the past few weeks has been a good one and a much needed one.
I am now craving more sunshine and time outdoors. Hopfully I will have more of both in the weeks ahead.
One of my goals in the upcoming year is to keep things in better balance, both in training, recovery and life. And thanks to my friends and supporters at Pressure Positive Co., I have a new tool to help me out with this. It is called the Tiger Tail Muscle Massager. It is a great tool I use to help flush out my leg, hips, arms and even feet after training, helping me recover faster and feel better faster. I defiantly needed after my run today. Running is always a little harder on my body then other activities. Adequate recovery, including stretching, food, drink and activities such as massage and using great products like the Tiger Tail and stretching strap are important to stay in touch with throughout all parts of the season. These activies are crutial to staying healthy, happy and injury free through the hours of training that lie ahead.
Check out the Tiger Tail and all of Pressure Postitives other great products at their website: http://pressurepositive.com/index.aspx.

Lots more udates to come as the training begins,
Think sun!

-BethAnn

Refresh button

I'm finally back with a long overdue update. It has been a long, tough couple of weeks. Nationals came and went. It felt like a week of suffering for me, which happens. I had a couple of ruff races and was challenged in new ways every race. My not so stellar performances has forced me to take a good, hard look at my training, racing, race approach and life over the past few weeks. What is good, what isn't,
what to change, what to keep the same, what needs the most attention and what am I working towards? A lot of tough questions to ask yourself but important one's to0. a For this reason, I will say my races at National weren't a total loss.
X-C Nationals followed the week of biathlon Nationals. I had planned and was excited to race in all of these also. My body had a different plan. I came down with a chest cold and all kinds of nasty sickness after the closing of biathlon Nationals. So I was stuck in bed for the week instead of racing. Another downer but what are you going to do?
On a side note from Nationals, I was very excited to see many faces from the Southern Maine Biathlon Club during the events. Not only did this crew race but they were some of the best cheerers I have encountered all year. Three tough races for me left me digging deep to keep on pushing. All the voices from SMBC really help pull me through some low spots. Thanks to all these folks. You are an inspiring group who I love being around!
After taking nearly two weeks to recover from my sickness, I am finally feeling back to normal. I am currently staying busy thinking through my past season and working out a plan for the year ahead. I am also spending as much time as I can in my own personal therapy, of the garden variety. It is most relaxing and therapeutic activity I can do this time of year. It's amazing what a little sun, dirt and greenery can do for you.

Happy spring to you all!

-BethAnn