Monica Bruno's Blog, page 3

How to Keep Running Through the Holidays

    It’s officially the holiday season! It’s time to spend with family and loved ones, to be grateful and count our blessings. It’s the most wonderful time of the year … but maybe not the best time for running. As great as the holiday season is, it’s also a time when a lot of us go on a see food diet (we eat all the food we see) and slack off on our running. Let’s face it, keeping to a running schedule isn’t always easy starting from Thanksgiving and going through the New Year. It’s understandable, we should be able to relax a bit and not be so demanding on ourselves. Besides, New Year’s resolutions will soon be made and we can always get back on tract after the New Year starts, right? Well yes, but since we do tend to overeat around this time, and our stress levels can increase due to family expectations and commitments, traveling and whatnot, we really should still try to get in as much running as we can. Running can help us feel less …

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Thankful for a Ferry Ride – My Daughter, Autism & Blessings

  It was on a Sunday night, last November. We had taken the kids to New York City for the Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was the last night of our vacation and we were on the Stanton Island Ferry, on our way back to Manhattan. My eight year old daughter, Gianna, was crying. She didn’t want to be on the ferry. At least, I think that was why she was crying. She couldn’t tell me why because she has autism and has a very limited vocabulary. So when she gets very upset, it’s hard to know what’s going on and I can only try to access the situation the best I can. My son, Gianna’s twin brother, asked if we could go see the Statue of Liberty. Because we had promised him at the beginning of the trip he would be able to see Lady Liberty, we agreed and took a cab from Central Park to Battery Park. My daughter picks up on routine quickly and at the end of each evening while we were there, we …

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5 Surprising Symptoms of Sleep Deprivation

  I haven’t been sleeping well. I try to go to bed at a decent time, but lately my biological clock isn’t cooperating. I end up falling asleep a little after midnight and wake up a few hours later to use the bathroom, which is weird, because I always empty my bladder before I go to bed. I guess it’s like reading glasses, just another side effect of getting older. I have a really hard time falling back to sleep after I get up. Usually I’ll spend the next few hours trying to fall sleep only to hear my alarm clock letting me know it’s time to get the kids ready for school. After they leave, I’ll lie down on the couch and finally fall asleep. “Only thirty minutes, ” I tell myself. When I wake up an hour later, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck … I’m so tired. I force myself into the kitchen to make coffee. I take my cup with me upstairs, wait for the caffeine to kick in and …

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You Know You’re a Real Runner When …

Click here to get my free vision board template & start one of your own today!   I recently came across a fun post in The Running Bug about how to tell if you’re a real runner. Here’s a list of some of my favorites: You Know You’re a Real Runner When … 1.    You plan your daily schedule around your run 2.    You know the exact point that marks one mile from your house 3.    Your running shoes are the most expensive shoes you own 4.    The first thing you ask your doctor is “Can I still run?” 5.    You get jealous if you’re in your car and see a runner pass by 6.    Your running gear is the first thing you pack when you get ready to travel 7.    You check out places to run when you’re on vacation 8.    You run up and down your house until your running app completes the mile 9.    You’d rather run 5 miles than do housework, office work, basically any work …

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10 Powerful Foods to Fuel Your Run

Click here to get my free vision board template & start one of your own today! I’m the first to admit I don’t have a great diet. I’m usually so busy in the mornings, I don’t make have time for a decent breakfast. I brew some coffee and get straight to work. It’s a bad habit, I know. What I didn’t know, until I did research for this post, is that it’s important to eat well in the morning because it helps restock the liver glycogen (or stored energy) that gets depleted during the night. According to Jackie Berning, Ph.D., R.D., sports nutrition and metabolism professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, “Liver glycogen keeps your blood-sugar level steady during exercise.” So even though I need to do a better job of eating breakfast, the one thing I do make sure to do is eat something before I leave for my run. I try to eat the right things to both nourish and fuel my body. I should note, I have no problems with eating before I run, …

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Ten Powerful Foods to Fuel Your Run

  I’m the first to admit I don’t have a great diet. I’m usually so busy in the mornings, I don’t make have time for a decent breakfast. I brew some coffee and get straight to work. It’s a bad habit, I know. What I didn’t know, until I did research for this post, is that it’s important to eat well in the morning, because it helps restock the liver glycogen (or stored energy) that gets depleted during the night. According to Jackie Berning, Ph.D., R.D., sports nutrition and metabolism professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, “Liver glycogen keeps your blood-sugar level steady during exercise.” So even though I need to do a better job of eating breakfast, the one thing I do make sure to do is eat something before I leave for my run. I try to eat the right things to both nourish and fuel my body. I should note, I have no problems with eating before I run, but we’re all different, so make sure your body can handle these foods first, …

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Top 10 Scary Classic Movies for Halloween

Since Halloween is right around the corner, I thought it would be fun to share my top ten favorite scary classic movies with you.

I don't watch a lot of television, but if I have it on, it's on Turner Classic Movies. I LOVE classic movies, I’ve been watching them for as long as I can remember. When I was little, I spent a lot of time at my grandmother’s house, and there were two things she loved to do ... read and watch old movies.

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Feeling Overwhelmed? Why You Need to Run Today

Click here to get my free vision board template & start one of your own today! Have you ever felt so overwhelmed with so many things to do you actually froze up instead of getting anything done? Sure, we all have, right? And for whatever reason, it seems like this time of year, right before the holidays, is when things get particularly challenging. I felt like this on Monday morning. After having a birthday party for my kids over the weekend, I woke up with a house in a mess, a pile of dirty clothes I swear grows and breeds by the hour, and a to-do list as long as my arm. I had deadlines to meet, calls to make and bills to pay. The list stared me down and I felt paralyzed. So, what did I do? I knew I was going to need to change my state of mind if I was going to get anything accomplished, so instead of trying to tackle my to-do list right away, I laced up my shoes and went for a …

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How to Get a Little Yoga into Your Day No Matter What

If you’re a runner, or even if you’re not, you should do yoga.

It's no surprise that practicing yoga can be a powerful, life changing activity. Even a little yoga is beneficial for the body and the mind.

Runners in particular should do yoga to lengthen their overused front and back muscles and strengthen their side body, which is often overlooked by just running alone.

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Why Fall is the Best Time of Year for Running

It’s here, it’s here, it’s finally here. It’s fall! I know it happens every year, so you might be wondering, what’s the big deal? Call me kooky, but this season really does make me oh, so happy. And yes, I realize it’s still really hot here in Texas, but just the anticipation of autumn has me giddy with excitement. I don’t know exactly why it is, but all my senses come alive this time of year. Maybe it’s the change of weather, the foliage, the beautiful sunsets, the pumpkins, the smell of cinnamon and orange clover, the chance to wear jeans and boots, I don’t know … but I just love it. October, in particular, is my favorite month. It’s the month of my children’s birthday, my wedding anniversary (we’re going on nineteen years, yowza), time for the Austin City Limits Music Festival, and of course, Halloween. And did you know fall also just happens to be the best time to run? It’s true, here’s why I think the fall is the best time of year for …

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