I’ve mentioned before how awesome I think Em is and how thankful I am that we live close enough to have quickly become friends in real life. We are similar in so many ways, like most bloggies are, and we even have something else in common – she’s pregnant too! She is due almost exactly 3 weeks before me and we found out on the SAME DAY that we are pregnant. Truly God’s work to bring us together, have us support each other while trying to conceive, and then be able to go through it together step by step. You all MUST get to know her better. So read her Q & A and then go check out her blog.

1. Give a brief description of your blog.

I originally started my blog, Homecooked Em, as a way to stay accountable with my healthy eating so that I could lose the weight that I gained after getting married.  My plan was to photograph every meal and post it every single day.  Well, I quickly realized that just wasn't for me.  My blog has become a way for me to stay in touch with all of the wonderful people I've met through it and to show everyone what my husband Andrew and I have been cooking in our kitchen.

2. What does blogging do for you? Why do you enjoy it?

Blogging is the reason my relationship with food is so good today.  For years I was afraid of loving food.  I thought that I was bad for enjoying it and now I've finally figured out that it's all about balance.  I've found that there are many, many other people out there with the same feelings and past experiences I've had.  Finding those connections with others and giving each other support is what I love most about blogging.

3. What is your favorite food? Nutritional value does not matter, so choose anything!

Such a hard question.  This answer always changes for me, especially being pregnant now!  My taste preferences are all over the place right now.  Currently, I'm really loving anything that can be found at a good summer cookout: cheeseburgers, corn on the cob, potato salad, baked beans, and watermelon!  My grandma made a fabulous peach pie for the cookout we had on Memorial Day.

4. What is your favorite type of workout? Why do you love it?

This is something else that always changes for me.  For the longest time running was my favorite type of workout.  I used to run in 10 K's all the time and have completed 3 half marathons.  After struggling with a knee injury in late 2008, I started doing more spinning and that became my favorite workout.  Then after having to quit my gym membership, I started doing more yoga and that quickly became my new addiction.  Now that I'm pregnant, I do lots of walking and yoga.  They are great forms of low impact exercise to keep both my baby and me healthy.  I'm hoping that once I have the baby, I can eventually get back into running again because I do think it is one of the most therapeutic forms of exercise for me.

5. What is a current goal you are working towards?

Being the healthiest person I can be.  For much of my life my goals were to be skinny, to run further or faster.  Carrying another life has made me realize that my biggest goal right now is to give my little homecooked baby the best chances possible that he or she comes into this world healthy and happy.  So by drinking lots of water, eating nutritious foods, working out, staying stress-free & happy, taking my vitamins, visiting my doctor regularly, and most importantly praying, I know that I'm doing the best I can do for Baby and me.

6. What is something important that you have overcome, are working towards overcoming, or hope to overcome one day?

Like many other young girls, I never thought I was good enough.  I put myself on my first diet at age 5 because I thought I was fatter than my friend.  From that early age I started a sad cycle of yo-yo dieting.  I would restrict for a little while and then overeat, which resulted in me being an overweight teenager.  I finally lost all of the weight at the end of college and became way too restrictive and obsessed with exercise for a few years.  I gained back some of the weight in late 2008 because of a combination of being on a high dose of Prednisone, rebellion after years of being too restrictive, and frustration over a knee injury .  I finally overcame all of those issues with the help of my blog, which I started about a year ago.  Even though my family and friends have always been nothing but extremely supportive and loving to me my whole life, there was something about finally discovering things on my own and being able to reflect on it all that made everything click.  Even though I'm still a little overweight, I'm the happiest I've ever been in my entire life.  The balance I've found with eating and working out is something I never thought would happen for me.  I am so thankful.

7. What is your favorite inspirational quote?

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8

8. What are some things on your "Bucket List"?

• Go to Italy
• See Sarah McLachlan in concert
• Visit the Grand Canyon
• Cook a Thanksgiving Feast
• Take an art class
• Sit in the audience of a cooking show
• Meet Paula Deen!

9. What is something you know now that you wish you knew 5-10 years ago?

I wish I understood the importance of balance.  For so long I had such an all or nothing attitude.  I'm so happy that I finally love and accept myself after all these years.

10. Name one crazy, random fact about you.

I think I use the same answer for this question every time I'm asked, but there's really only a limited amount of crazy facts about me.  I'm kind of boring!  I have a tattoo of a sunflower on my hip.  Andrew designed it and I have never once regretted getting it.  In fact I want to add more flowers to my hips some day!

11. If you won the lottery, what would be your first big purchase?

Probably a really fancy car.  I love luxurious cars!!

12. List 5 of your favorite things.

Massages, puppy snores, clean sheets, sunflowers, and birthday cake!

Thank you to Tina for letting me do this guest post.  She is such an inspiration to all of us and I am so thankful to be able to call her a friend.  She is truly an amazing woman!!

Question from Tina…What does blogging do for you? Go ahead and share your blog link in the comments too.

I am loving all the guest posts related to running. Running isn’t something I am too familiar with (yet), so it is great to learn some new things and expose this info to my wonderful readers as well. Now time for Amanda’s great post…

Amanda from RunToTheFinish here to talk about some little tips and things you may be forgetting before you dash out for that stress busting run!

Walk out the door and go…that’s the simple premise that draws many of us to running for exercise or weight loss or stress relief.   The truth of the matter is that to have a really good run, you need to take just a few minutes before you start the engines to get everything going your way.

Following are some well known pre-preparations and my thoughts on how well the work. These are not race day strategies, but every day running strategies.

Walking
Proven:  A number of studies have shown now that walking for up to 8 minutes prior to a run will ensure your muscles are warm and can result in being able to run up to 10% further.  I completely agree with this one and have been doing it for years. It’s so easy to jump right in to the run, but to treat your body right you need to allow the muscles to warm up.

Yoga
Debatable: Run For Life recommends a short yoga session prior to the run. I have tried this a few times and can’t say that I have found any notable difference in my run. I also dislike the idea of static stretching based on what we now know about our muscles needing to warm up.

Active Stretching
Proven: Active stretching, much like walking, helps to wake up your muscles. Ryan Hall and many other notable runners do things before starting runs. I like to use this to warm up my legs and have noticed a DRAMATIC decrease in any ITB tension in my runs due to this alone.   For me this involves swinging my leg forward and back, then sideways across my body.

Eating
Debatable: Runners World says you should eat 800 cals prior to a marathon…uh I am guessing they would like me to eat roughly 400 then prior to my long runs…folks neither of those things happen because I would be upchucking the whole way.  BUT I do know that without proper fuel my run may also fall apart.  I don’t *need* to eat for runs under 5 miles, but usually snack on a few nuts or a handful of cereal.  For anything longer, I try a slice of bread with PB and a handful of cereal.  However, many distance runners like Pam Reed say your body will run on fat and fuel itself just fine…so I say figure out what you need to feel strong!

What are your pre-run rituals?  Are you spending enough time getting your body ready for a good run?