Product Review: CEP Compression Night Run Socks - SportsCompression.Com

written by runnergirl training

SportsCompression.com provided me with a pair of CEP women’s night run socks. They are an effective and wonderful product!

CEP compression socks provide compression to prevent muscular fatigue and recovery and also prevent post workout cramping and swelling. The night socks also provide additional benefits with the added bright color visibility and reflectiveness. It adds to your safety to have additional visibility when exercising outside, especially at dusk or dawn hours.

I have previously reviewed SportsCompression.com CEP women’s compression socks. Since the review, I have worn them almost every day for the past year. They are great for running and for being on your feet for many hours (travel, work, etc).

I have worn my CEP compression socks in my most recent races, the Dallas Marathon and the Dallas Turkey Trot 8 mile race. I am generally prone to muscle cramps after long races (such as the marathon) and the socks prevented the cramps in my lower legs. 

I highly recommend the SportsCompression.com CEP compression socks!

Dallas Marathon Race Review

written by runnergirl training


I ran the Dallas Marathon on December 9, 2012. It was my third Dallas Marathon, formally called the Dallas White Rock Marathon.

I had been training for months for the race. I used the Hal Higdon Intermediate 2 marathon program. My goal time was 4:30.

I have been in school full time for nursing school prerequisites and taking care of my mom with stage 4 brain melanoma. Around my obligations this semester I was maintaining a training volume of 70-90 miles per week. I was adding onto the Hal Higdon program, it did not require that weekly mileage. Running is my escape and way to stay sane through all of the stress. 

The race course changed this year and acquired a lot more hills in the front half. The back half retained a lot of the previous race course.

During the race I hydrated with Gatorade, Gatorade Energy Chews, Clif Bar Shot Bloks and water. I drank 6 ounces or ate 2 chews about every 15-20 minutes. I used the portable restroom around mile 17.

I started out with the 4:15 pace group from miles 1-3. Then I joined the 4:30 pace group from miles 4-14. Midway through mile 14 the damage from the hills affected my muscles I was unable to keep my pace and started walking until mile 15. From mile 15 until the end my legs (quads & hamstrings) felt like Icy Hot was on them and had sharp painful cramps. I was able to hobble run and drafted behind a few runners to reach that finish line!

At the end of the race I visited the medical area at the Dallas Convention Center. I was such pain that I could not stop walking or moving my legs because the pain was too intense to stop. The nurses and doctor laid me on a cot and massaged my legs for an hour. I was finally able to stand up with their assistance and left with my family.

I was unable to walk for the next 2 days after the race. I have never experienced such intense and painful muscle cramps and spasms. I have consulted with several sports medicine gurus and my conclusion is the cramps results from the excessive hills in the first half of the race and the high humidity.

I have been a runner since 1997. Racing has been a passion of mine since 2000. I am always learning new aspects of the sport and ways to improve! Thank you for joining me in my race reflections!

Product Review - Tommie Copper Long Sleeve Compression Shirt

photo credit www.tommiecopper.com

written by runnergirl training

Tommie Copper makes a variety of athletic compression clothing. Their unique incorporation of copper in their products assists the recovery and health of various body systems.

They provided me with a long sleeve compression shirt to try out and review. I was impressed with the fit, comfort, and qualities of the shirt. I wore it on a 10 mile run and weather was 38 degrees F and breezy. The shirt was extremely effective in wicking moisture and drying in the sunlight. It kept me warm and the compression worked to keep the blood flowing back to my core.

I have tried a few brands of compression shirts previously and have been disappointed with their moisture wicking, warmth, and comfort. I highly recommend checking out the Tommie Copper long sleeve shirt.

I also own their calf compression sleeves, see my review for them. They are effective at eliminating leg fatigue and swelling while running or walking around for many hours (work, travel). I also highly recommend them!

Speed Work For Runners

written by runnergirl training

Want to know the secret to running faster? You run faster. Thoughts are conjured of painfully pushing your legs to go just another lap while obsessively checking your watch. There are actually ways to make speed work doable & even enjoyable! Read more below!

Avoid Locker Room Infections

written by runnergirl training

Gyms are great breeding grounds for germs to be shared. It is easy to pick them up on exercise equipment, shared air & shower stall floors. I’ll share about the commonly found ones. Also find out how to keep the pick up on the down low. Click below to read more!

Book Review: NSCA - Developing Endurance

Written By Runnergirl Training

Human Kinetics provided me the book Developing Endurance for free from a Twitter contest. The following is my book review.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) has authored a fantastic book for designing endurance programs. 

The book provides a brief discussion of exercise physiology. Various endurance tests are explained and training heart rate and rate perceived exertion (RPE) tables are provided. There is an exploration of several training conditions including environment, health status, and more.

It does an excellent job covering nutrition and hydration principles. Basic weight lifting techniques are discussed and include the pictures for each featured lift. Running and triathlon training programs are provided. 

Several aspects needed to build endurance training programs are described. To begin, gain background information regarding history of injuries, training status, the amount of time that can be invested into training, and seasons/periodization of training for the sport. Also to be included are rest days, recovery workouts, and components of mental and nutritional training.

The mesocycle and microcycles of the training year are broken down into segments and discussed. It does a thorough job of describing the incorporation of races into the training cycles. Specific facets of training (aerobic, strength, and flexibility, etc) and tapering for races are examined. 

This is an excellent book that uses research based rationales to design endurance training programs. It is practical and easy to implement into training programs.

It is sold at Human Kinetics. 

NSCA Texas State Clinic

Written By Runnergirl Training

This Saturday, I attended the NSCA Texas State Clinic at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

I have attended many NSCA events over the past 10 years. I really enjoyed this clinic! Great speakers, helpful and practical information, and opportunities to meet fellow colleagues.

The clinic began with weight lifting and track drills demos.

The Back Squat: Baylor Football Coaching Staff

The Bench Press: Baylor Football Coaching Staff

The Back Squat with Chains: Baylor Football Coaching Staff

Track Drills: Baylor Associate Track Coach Michael Ford

There were informative speakers from several schools both at the high school and college level. They spoke on various aspects of strength and conditioning programs for their level of athletes.

Lecture: UNT Director of Football Performance Frank Wintrich

This was a great experience! I would like to see a few tweaks for the next NSCA Texas State Clinic such as a vegan meal option, on site signage (there were no signs on the exterior of the facilities), and guest wifi.

Great job Baylor Athletic Performance staff! Their website is here & twitter is here!