Things I wish I knew a long time ago!

 

 Avoid Ponytail Breakage!

When you exercise most women (and some men) need to put their hair up in a ponytail.  But what about the hair breakage?!  You know, you see it on people that wear ponytails a lot.  They end up having all these chunks of hair that won’t stay in the elastic, because they’re too short, no matter how ‘long’ their hair is.  Well. . .

My hairdresser explained why your hair breaks at the elastic, and how to avoid it.
When you exercise your hair gets sweaty and wet.  When your hair gets wet, it stretches to accommodate the elastic pulling it back.  BUT when it starts to dry, it shrinks and then breaks.  To avoid the breakage, I ALWAYS put my hair in clips as soon as I finish exercising. I bring them with me and leave them in the car.   The clips allow the hair to move and not break, but you’re still comfortable as you are cooling down.  I have no ponytail hair breakage and I run three days a week!

Don’t use Rain
As an Excuse!

I make a “rain jacket” for my GPS watch when I’m afraid it’s going to rain.  I’m not sure it has any waterproofing.  But with a little plastic wrap and tape, I don’t have to worry about it.  It doesn’t have

              be fancy, just make sure that you can see the front of the watch. And tape the ends so water can’t drip inside.  You might have to trim some of the plastic as you shape it to the watch face.

You’ll need to take it off to download your run, but it’ll be protected in the rain.  And then I can’t use the excuse “my Garmin will get ruined” to skip a run!  Be VERY CAREFUL when you cut the plastic wrap and tape off, don’t cut your watch strap!!!!

Don’t Choke Yourself with Your Earbuds!

       

 As you can see I use an iPod when I run.  But any device with ear buds will have the same problem – the cord is too long and flopping all over the  place while you are trying to concentrate on your workout!  Here’s my simple fix.

1. Take a small rubber band and loop the cord around and to make it smaller.  Put your earbuds in and measure it, so that you can turn your head right and left when it’s attached.
2. Slip a bobbie pin (tan in this picture) to the rubber band.  Don’t make it too tight. Just enough to hold the cord in place.
3. Slip the bobbie pin with the earbud cord to your sports bra, or edge of your shirt, or the waistband of your shorts.
4. Attach your device right next to the cord.  And put your ear buds in!

I like to have my iPod where I can reach it to change the song, or pause it.  But it’s great not having that cord tickling my belly while I run!

 

Remember WHEN
You Bought Your Devices!

When you are required to name your GPS watch, iPod, or other devices name it the month and year that you bought it.  It will remind you how old your device is.  You’ll know when it’s getting old, and you can start looking for a sale on a new one.  I had to run once without music and it was torture for me!  This helps you plan ahead.

And this concludes my tips for today.  I hope these have been helpful to you.  Let me know what you think!

Keep putting one foot in front of the other!  It’s all up to you to take charge of your health!!

~ Donna