Have you ever had a nagging injury that just wouldn't go away? Well, they say "nothing changes if nothing changes," and "they" are right.  Back when I first began running as a casual form of exercise during college, I thought running was just a natural thing.  I didn't know that there was actually a right way and a "not so right" way for the human body to run.  And in order to discover the answer to my nagging injury, I had to make a change in my running form.

The body is built as a machine with parts that stack and depend on other parts. When one part doesn't work right, then the surrounding parts have to pick up the slack. Eventually they get tired of picking up the slack (as I am sure you would get tired of always picking up the slack for one of your co-workers, right?!)   So they stop helping. When that happens, injuries happen and things just stop flowing right.  

Let me share with you my story of how achilles tendinitis bothered...

When it comes to posture, we can all agree that it seems to be getting worse and worse, going right along with our sedentary lifestyle of sitting too much, looking down at phones, and lack of proper musculature on our backside. 

So, I wanted to share this small tip with you that you can implement RIGHT NOW, as you sit there reading this.  

It's the end of one season and the beginning of another for me. Today's paddle (and video above) marks a huge shift for me. It had been 2 years since I was able to do something I loved (paddleboard).

Some seasons suck. But remember, winter doesn’t last forever. Neither does spring, summer, fall, or any other season you can think of. 

So, no matter what season you find yourself in (season of injury, season of love, season of grief, season of pregnancy, season of fill in the blank), you have to honor the season that you are in, no matter how shitty or wonderful it may be.

Lots of love to you and your season!

-Abby

If you've ever tried to lose weight (and I assume that almost everyone has), then you've probably experienced a weight loss plateau (or a stall in weight loss) at some point.  Weight loss plateaus can be a seriously frustrating experience, so let me tell you why I think weight loss plateaus are a GOOD thing, and why you need to honor them. 

Every body has a set point weight. The set point is your "happy weight," or the weight that your body fluctuates around give or take 4-5lbs.  Now, when you're trying to lose weight, you need to train your body to reset your set point to a new, lower one, and sometimes that happens during a plateau. 

Let's say you're 200lbs, trying to reach 150.  You get to 175, and all of a sudden, the weight loss stops.  What are you doing wrong? Nothing!  Some folks want to know every tip and trick to bypass a plateau like this and continue pressing on toward the end goal, but I caution you to not blow right past it, and...

"I ONLY ran a half marathon."  

I hear this all the time from newbie runners as well as marathon vets.   I mean, why bother running at all if it's "only" a half?  It's as if the value of 13.1 is "less than." 

In fact, I'm guilty of this myself. Having run 13 full marathons, I've said, oh it's no big deal, I'm "only" running a half.   Or walking around at race expos, hearing first time runners saying, I'm "only" running the half, as if they are less than or embarrassed, or scared of being judged for running 13.1 instead of 26.2 miles. 

I call BS on not only myself for saying this, but on everyone else who says it, and anyone who judges another person.  13.1 is not easy, I don't care how conditioned you are.  It's still a long ass time to be running.

Never say "I only" did or received ANYTHING!  Whether it's a race, a workout, a project, a class, an income, number of pounds lost, or anything at all, when you say "I...