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    Alissa Costello

    Alissa Costello

  • Putting Exercise in It's Place. 10 Healthy Reasons to Skip Your Workout

    I've encountered more than a few raised eyebrows from well meaning friends when I tell them I recently ran a marathon. They knew me back when I was obsessed with running and suffering from and eating disorder.

  • User Post: Adventures in Cross Training: Inline Skating

    I've owned a decent pair of inline skates since I was about 11 years old. When I was that age, my sister and I loved to pretend we were Olympic figure skaters, spending hours choreographing routines in the cul-de-sac outside our home. By the time I was a teen the skates went in the closet rarely to

  • Running with an iPod and keeping that cord from bugging the heck out of you!

    This is how you do it ladies. The cord goes under the sports bra in the back. Tada! No more bouncy, annoying headphone cord. Illustration copyright Alissa C. (thats me!) Visit my running blog http://www.BalancingAct.typepad.com

  • Hydration Belts for Running: The Nathan Speed 4 vs. the Amphipod Runlite Waist Race Hydration Pack

    I bought my first hydration belt two years ago when I was training for my first marathon. I was a solitary runner back then. I did all my long runs alone and I really didn't know many runners. Needless to say, I was pretty much unaware of the latest running fashion and gear trends.

  • Mind games on the treadmill

    Lets face it, sometimes running is boring and long. Sometimes, you wish it could be over as soon as you start. If you don't give your brain something to focus on, you will start to wonder "why am I doing this?", and after that you'll soon start to think "I should just do a short one today" or "I sho

  • Skirts: the new trend in fitness apparel

    Have you seen the latest trend in women's sports apparel? Skirts, they are not just for tennis anymore! I first heard about running skirts over a year ago and initially I was not a fan. Probably because I have always been disgusted by the women who come to the gym with full makeup and matching desig

  • Finding your stride: Tips for starting a running routine

    Starting a running routine is can be a frustrating experience if you don't know what to expect. Let me break it to you now. Your body is going to scream at you and you are going to think you weren't cut out to be a runner. I guarantee you, it will get easier. Consistency is the key. Here is a good p

  • Running to lose weight? Consider a new motivation.

    I started running because I wanted to lose weight. It seemed a noble goal in the beginning. I had gained the freshman 15 during my first year of college, and I wanted to get back to my high school weight. It didn't take very long to get back down to where I started, less then a year. I didn't stop t

  • The joys of shopping for a swimsuit.

    First I just want to thank everyone for their encouraging and heartfelt comments. I can see this is an important topic to the readers of Shine, and I think we should keep talking, and keep encouraging each other to nourish and care for our bodies.This weekend I had to face the hard fact that summer

  • Life After Exercise Addiction: 10 reasons to skip your workout

    I know it sounds bad to start a fitness blog with this topic, but in the interest of promoting a balanced life, I think this is incredibly important. I've encountered more than a few raised eyebrows from well meaning friends when I tell them I recently ran a marathon. They knew me back when I was ob

  • One girl's blog about running and living the balanced life.

    Hello and welcome to my blog about women's running and fitness! This is my first attempt at entering the blogosphere and I am excited to give it a whirl. To introduce myself, my name is Alissa and I have been running for fun and fitness about 7 years now. I am no expert, but I love running and I hav