Meet Carie
The jack-of-all-trades, Carie has a background that includes a long list of activities. She prefers to try new things to get her heart racing. You might find her on the golf course, volleyball court, bike path, kayaking or in a zumba class. She’ll train for the Dirty Girl WI event in her hometown Madison gym.
It’s Not Always Easy
Hey Dirty Girls. You know how sometimes you feel great and other times you just don’t? Like the other day when I woke up and had enough motivation to go to a Body Sculpt class, but then when I got there I felt like the weakest person in the entire room. Why? I don’t know, but it kinda sucked. The good news is that I realize there are going to be days like that, and that it shouldn’t discourage me from continuing on a program that’s really difficult sometimes.
By the way, if you haven’t tried a class like Body Sculpt, I’d highly recommend it for Dirty Girl event training (even though I just said it was really hard). Basically, it’s a great upper body, lower body, abdominal workout that utilizes stretchy bands, hand weights, weighted bars, steps, stability balls, medicine balls, bosu balls and other things…but you get the idea. It’s a fairly high impact class and the instructor really pushes you with a lot of reps and frequent changes in weight and exercises to really tone your body. If you have bad knees, skip the lunges, but wow…what an awesome workout. I usually feel great and quite accomplished afterwards – it was just that one day that I felt like a complete failure! I’m pretty sure no one judged me though, so that’s good. 
So that’s one of the more recent classes I’ve added to my workout routine lately. That and now I get to run outside more often since it sometimes gets over 40 degrees (and I’m a wimp about running in cold weather). But it’s a great sign that summer is very close, which means the Dirty Girl Mud Run is right around the corner – awesome! What have you guys added to your workouts lately? Any cool classes I should look into? Let me know!
Have you signed up for Dirty Girl yet? You should…right here.
March 31st, 2011
What “not” to wear
If you’re like most women, you not only love the show, What Not To Wear on TLC, but you’ve learned a few things from it as well. Stacey London and Clinton Kelly know how to make anyone look good and feel good – after some crying and secret footage of course. Unfortunately, not many of us get the chance to have our wardrobes completely overhauled by fashion experts, nor do we often take the time to consider what we’re going to wear, especially to the gym.
You might be saying to yourself, “Really Carie, you’re going to discuss workout fashion on your blog post today? What does that have to do with running the Dirty Girl event?” Here’s my response: when you feel good about yourself, you take care of yourself (and vice versa)…whether you’re in the gym or not. And, it could be just that little motivational push you’ve been looking for to get your butt in gear and start (or continue) training. For example, I just got some really cute Nike Free running shoes at the Nike outlet. Now, every time I’m on the treadmill or lifting weights and I look down at my cute, new shoes it makes me smile. I even want to go to the gym more often just to look at them.
I’m not a proponent of spending loads of cash on cute, little yoga-inspired leggings, wraps and shoes, but it’s fairly simple to fit your body with clothing that flatters you and makes you feel good. Pay attention to your assets, show them off. Pay attention to those trouble spots, and don’t show them off. Simple as that.
We’re all aging, our 18 year old bodies don’t look the same as our 30 or 40 or 50 year old bodies (mine doesn’t anyway) and that’s totally fine. Wearing short shorts to kick-boxing class might be okay for some, and not for others. Although, I’m of the mindset that short shorts should be saved for running, Bikram yoga, college volleyball or Pilates class.
It comes down to respect for yourself. And you should have lots of it because you’re worth every bit of time and energy you put into taking care of yourself. There are a lot of places to find cute gear perfect for sweating in. I find a lot of great deals on brand names at stores like TJ Maxx and Marshalls (they have NB and Nike sports bras at a fraction of the cost – they aren’t paying me for this endorsement). And, wearing the proper materials made for sweating is also key – don’t plan on wearing your flannel pajama pants for a 3-mile run on the treadmill…that’s not going to work out so well (physically or mentally). Most brands make a moisture-controlled fabric perfect for sweating in – Nike’s Dri-FIT is a great option . You might also consider a tank-top with built-in support instead of your husband’s big, boxy Nascar t-shirt. You’ll just feel better – and you’ll look good too.
Here’s some other online resources that might inspire your workout attire:
What Should I Wear?
Cute “Gap-inspired” clothing
Adorable stuff by Lucy
What are some of the places you like to shop for your workout gear? Share with us!
March 14th, 2011
Mind Games
Isn’t it funny how your mind plays little tricks on you? Not like funny, haha, more like funny weird. There are days when I feel like I can do anything…run for miles, climb a wall, paddle for hours, give an awesome presentation in front of 20 people. And then there are those days when those things (and everything else) seem pretty impossible. So it comes down to mind over matter. And, if you’re like me, this is something you deal with fairly often. The good news is that most of the time, I overcome the doubt and just go for it. Luckily, that’s seemed to work out pretty well for me in life.
So if you’re unsure about attempting the Dirty Girl Mud Run, let me tell you this secret…you can do it. Yep. Simple, I know. The fact that you’re even visiting this website, reading this blog or even thinking about the event means you have it in you to do this. At this point, there is no “level of fitness” you need to be at in order to sign up. If I had to sum up my advice for preparing it would be based on endurance and attitude.
When it comes to endurance. You can start out slow with a level you’re comfortable with. But, you need to keep pushing yourself too. Jump on the treadmill, run for as long as feels right, walk for awhile, run some more, alter the incline, alter your speed, etc. Before you know it, three miles will feel pretty doable. Try some strength training too. Weights aren’t anything to be afraid of. In fact, women can benefit greatly from them. Ask someone to help you figure out a plan that works for you or attend a strength training class where you can learn some good technique and exercises you can eventually do on your own.
Attitude is a whole other ballgame. And, it’s equally (if not more) important. Sometimes keeping your mind moving forward is harder than the physical part (it’s that whole mind game thing I mentioned earlier). Just know that every race has its ups and downs, but you have to be okay with that. And, there’s no doubt that you and your mind will be on a nice high when you cross the finish line and head to the party tent for some celebration.
February 24th, 2011
Ready to Conquer
My training over the past four days consisted of downhill skiing at Lutsen Mountain in Northern Minnesota. I have to admit, I’m fairly new to the sport so the idea of skiing for four consecutive days kinda freaked me out at first. That fear probably had a little to do with the negative temperatures I’d be facing as well.
When we arrived, I was overwhelmed, intimidated, cold, excited, in awe. The gorgeous view of Lake Superior from the ski lodge took my breath away…so did the -8 degree weather. Once I found out the mountain was 1,000 feet, my knees buckled a little. This might not sound like a big deal to those of you in other parts of the country used to actual mountain ranges…but this is the best we’ve got in the Midwest. And, at that point in time, it was all I was ready to conquer.
So there I was. Six layers of clothing, face mask, skis and a determination to not hit the ground (much). And, although I felt a little like the Pillsbury Doughboy in all those layers, it helped to know it probably wouldn’t hurt as bad IF I happened to fall.
The first run and I was hooked. A little shaky, yes, but hooked. The feeling of conquering that mountain was overwhelmingly satisfying. I did it. I didn’t fall. And now I have another winter sport to add to my list of favorites. I’m probably not going to go head-to-head with Lindsay Vonn anytime soon, but I’m guessing I’m going to be pretty darn good at the “One Ugly Mudder” event at the Dirty Girl Mud Run. That little mud hill’s got nothing on me.
February 11th, 2011
Life is what you make of it
This morning I happened to be listening to Sid Caeser (you may remember him as Coach Calhoun in the musical Grease) do an interview on public radio on my drive to work. His words just kinda hit me…”Life is what you make of it. It’s your decision to live it to the fullest or not.” It was simple, yet profound. And as I drove I became more and more excited about what the future holds.
Sid’s life has been filled with medical and emotional crises, but his outlook remains positive and quite inspirational. We all have the choice to improve upon ourselves, do the things we never thought we could or challenge our “limits”. It might be hard to overcome the mental aspect at first, but once you see what you’re capable of, you realize just how strong you can be and how you really can do anything you put your mind to.
So obviously I started thinking about the Dirty Girl Mud Run. But not just for myself…for so many of the women I know out there who may not think they could ever finish a race like this, but haven’t ever tried. My challenge to them? Give it a shot. There’s nothing to lose and everything to gain. It’s okay if you start slow. It’s okay if you choose to go to the gym a couple times a week and do the Dirty Girl race next year. It’s all okay…just challenge yourself, have fun and be yourself. As for me, I’m a Dirty Girl.
February 3rd, 2011
