What is a Workout?

by Rose Wetzel on January 8, 2012

Welcome to 2012! I love how excited everyone gets about health and fitness in January. Runners and walkers fill the trails while sweaty bodies pump away in the gym. My last seven years as a personal trainer taught me to take full advantage my clients’ fantastic post-holiday motivation. Here’s an inspiring quote I saw from my days volunteering in the physical therapy department at the Ballard Swedish Medical Center. Read it right before your workout!!!

WHAT IS A WORKOUT?

- A workout is 25% perspiration and 75% determination; it is one part physical exertion and three parts self-discipline.

- Doing it is easy, once you get started.

- A workout makes you better today than you were yesterday. It strengthens the body, relaxes the mind and toughens the spirit.

- A workout is a personal triumph over laziness and procrastination. It is a way of preparing for life’s challenges and proving to yourself that you have what it takes to do what is necessary.

- A workout is a key that helps unlock the door to opportunity and success. Hidden within each of us is an extraordinary focus. Physical and mental fitness is the trigger to release it.

- A workout is a form of rebirth. When you finish a good workout, you don’t simply feel better; you feel better about yourself.

~ Antoine T. Velour

Tim Sinnett working up a sweat in Colorado

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Racing in Costumes 101

by Rose Wetzel on October 19, 2011

October brings us the best holiday of all – Halloween! If you’re like me, costume 5ks are the highlight of your year.
After running a couple dozen road races in costume over the years, my closet costume fetish has officially been exposed. Costumes make racing ever more fun and let me tell ya, guys definitely do a double take when they get passed by a girl in a red-and-white polka-dot tutu!!!

Check out a post on the Brooks blog to see me in one of my favorite race costumes – Lady Gaga! http://talk.brooksrunning.com/2011/06/17/brooks-id-member-dressed-as-gaga-wins-fremont-5k/

If you’re looking to run a road race this month, but aren’t sure which costumes work well for racing, then look no further. I’ve done the arduous hours of research to discover the costumes and accessories that do and do not work well for racing:

Costumes/Accessories that work:
1. Capes (in fact, they make you even faster!)
2. Wings (light and small are best)
3. Tutus (fun on women, hilarious on men)
4. Full-body morph suits (crowd-pleaser! visibility is limited, though, and they aren’t great on hot days)
5. Hats and tiaras (as long as they are secured to the head/hair, they work really well)
6. Boas
7. Hand-held accessories that are light and stiff such as swords and pitchforks

Costumes/Accessories that don’t work:
1. Wigs (unless they are on really well or you don’t plan to sprint all-out at any point)
2. Full-body animal suits such as the Brooks Beasts costume (even on a cold day, you will get sweaty and no one wants to be stuck in an outfit full of their own B.O.)
3. Masks (fun, but very hard to breathe in and see out of)
4. Hand-held accessories that are big, bulky, and/or floppy such as a lasso/rope or a baby in a Baby Bjorn

The best thing about racing in costume is that you will get cheers from tons of complete strangers. So, if you choose a wind-resistant outfit, you may just have the fastest race of your life! Plus, you’ll look good doing it. : )

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Broccoli: It’s what’s for dessert

October 2, 2011

Recently, at my friend’s graduation party, I strolled past the table with fudge and the cooler full of Mike’s Hard Lemonades (common party pit-stops for me). No problem for the new and improved Runnin’ Rosie. While my friends water-skied on beautiful Lake Washington with Mt. Rainier as a backdrop, I sat in the boat and [...]

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Let’s Get This Party Started!

September 2, 2011

“You could be so good if you would just focus!” The words of my old coach, Chuck keep ringing in my ears. Despite a track record of fast races and good grades, my closest friends would describe as easily distracted, overly enthusiastic, and not exactly, well, focused. In high school, my cross country teammates nominated [...]

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My Wonder Woman Fantasy

May 18, 2011

I want to be Wonder Woman. I love to race in her costume. Wearing a Wonder Woman t-shirt to bed before every race gives me a confidence boost. I want to run super fast, have a fantastic career helping others get healthy, and be an incredible friend, fiance, sister, daughter, and auntie. Helping others gives [...]

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Lucky lady

May 5, 2011

Last weekend I raced the Bloomsday 12k and while I didn’t race as well as I wanted to, I came away with a renewed gratitude for my health and my ability to run. Over the weekend, I met amazing athletes from around the country and even around the world. Bloomsday, a 50,000 person road race in [...]

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It’s all about determination, baby!

April 21, 2011

Four months before I was born, the doctor told my parents that I wasn’t going to make it. After eleven pregnancies and seven births, my mom’s body was tired. My itsy bitsy negative four-month-old brain thought, “Screw that! I wanna live!” So I fought and fought and bounced out a healthy baby girl. : ) [...]

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