kac7700 Member

What I love: 1. Easily programmable with lots of screens 2. Very accurate 3. Heart rate monitor 4. Garmin training center and Garmin connect to analyze 5. Ability to program custom workouts to stay in certain ranges or speeds 6. Wireless transfer of data 7. Long battery life 8. Virtual running partner, great for pacing…

I shop the thrift store. Then I don't feel bad when I shrink out of them.

I made this on the stove top because everything I cook in the slow cooker tastes like dust, especially chicken. I even bought a new one. I'm a rather accomplished home chef, but slow cooking and me do not get along. Only took about 30 minutes to make. I seasoned the chicken with taco seasoning, seared it in a cast iron…

Stripetti squash, cooking it whole. My favorite way to make squash.

Same with me. I write and eat left handed. I golf, bat, cut, etc. right handed. The only weird thing is I can only shoot long guns right handed, and pistols left. I have no idea why. But being I am left eye dominant, I pretty much got kicked off my trap shooting league because I can't hit a thing!

I'm not really a Pampered Chef fan, but their stoneware is all I use for baking. No other stones have compared and I couldn't live without them. I have a stone sheet pan, 9x13, bread/loaf pan and muffin tins. I love the way the food turns out on them.

Holy moly! I'd say it was time for some new jeans! That's awesome, congrats!

I love to take canned salmon and mix it with chick peas and make a dressing with mustard and olive oil, add some spices, your spinach if you want and it's amazing. Capers are also a nice addition.

I did a lot of research on this. I'm a runner, and was wondering if it was something that was going to work for me. I bought them for recovery after long runs, but thought I'd give it a try on a shorter run this last week. I am in love. My feet and calves felt awesome after the run. No tightness, nothing. They are safe to…

Me too! Well, if you can call it that...don't feel much like one this last week :-)

Eating clean is always a good idea. You'll be healthier, get more out of your food, enjoy the flavors, and overall you can't go wrong. It's not a diet or a means of weight loss as much as it is a sustainable philosophy to live by.

Me too...Anoka.

OMG...replace everything you own with their stuff!! Serioulsy. Some of my favs that are unique blends though are the California Seasoned Pepper, their taco and chili seasonings and chip dip mix. The quality of their products cannot be beat. Replace everything you own, you will not be sorry. People think I'm an awesome…

6 months is a good amount of time to build a base, especially based on your current 5K times. I would do all the above. Set three or four days a week aside for training. When I'm organized, I try to do the following: Saturday - long easy run. Mileage varies, but try to increase that slowly. Sunday - Short moderate run…

I love my heavy bag. What a work out. We got our bag brand new at a garage sale for $10, and then my husband bought a stand for it that also had the speed bag on Craigslist. Get some good wrist support gloves though.

Get a foam roller or use a hard ball to roll them and massage them. Also, if they hurt too much, you may need to take a rest day. I swear by the foam roller though, it really makes a difference.

I got my 5K PR walking more than a mile prior to the race. I would say since you have to be there early to line up anyway, get a good 20 minutes of walking in, and you'll be fine.

I joined a meetup group where I met a lot of people with the same goals (running mostly) and met a lot of good friends. I'm rarely without a buddy these days and I love it.

I'm in the same boat. You have to schedule it like anything else. I get up at 5 a.m. and run in the mornings since cardio keeps me awake at night. I do strength later at night a few days a week since that makes me tired and doesn't take as long. Gyms are out of the question, too much travel and prep time, and I hate them.…

I think it just depends on what works for you. I'm a morning person, so I love an early a.m. cardio workout. It wakes me and energizes me throughout the day, I'm at my best in the early morning. I prefer to do weights/strength at night. Cardio keeps me awake too long at night, weights wear me out. It all depends on your…

If it's been going on for years, you might need a consult. You could have a tear that requires repair.

They are my favorite shoes! Get them if you can for half off!

That's probably the best way. You don't need videos, gym memberships etc. I run, walk, hike for cardio. For strength, nothing beats using your own body weight for resistance. Sit ups are more challenging then machine crunches, Push ups harder (for me) than a bench press. You get the idea!

Usually a gluten free diet is higher in calories and a lot of people gain weight when they are forced to switch to a gluten free diet. It's also not healthy to cut it out if you don't have a compelling medical reason to do so. Do your research, but if you're not sick from gluten, don't do it.

I try to stay gluten free as much as possible. I get boated and very ill and when I cut out gluten, those symptoms resolve. I try to stay naturally gluten free, don't purchase gluten free products that are meant to resemble products that would have gluten. It's easier than you think. There are times when I give in and have…

Enjoy your run! I'm going too and I can't wait. :-)

DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED! Pat yourself on the back, you did it!!! You should be proud. There is no such thing as being too slow, you're still lapping my husband who hasn't moved from the couch all night :-) Take that as your starting point, and work to improve it. It takes time, perseverance and patience and it's so worth it!…

If you have a good base, it would be good to start on speed work once a week. You can incorporate hill workouts or tempo runs. Check out some running resources, such as runners world that can give you an idea. Once a week I do speed work, easy run, long run and race pace runs. I run a lot at night/early morning. We use…

About 2 hours.

Gallbladder issues are very common in women who have "rapid" weight loss. I lost 40 lbs. in about 6 months several years ago, and had to have it removed. I've been just fine without it - and I can't handle greasy food, which is a bonus side effect (well, it will if you work your body into and keep pumping greasy food…