And one...two...three...squeeze that booty tight!

I'm kind of a sucker for fitness videos.

It all started with this:

Get in Shape Girl! It wasn't actually a video, but rather a cassette tape and kit, complete with a baton, some sort of hula hoop looking thing and ribbons. I'm pretty sure I had some sweet leg warmers also so that I could look like the cool girls on the front of the box. I was so excited when I found this tape in my old bedroom a few months ago. I was so excited that I may or may not have put the tape in a cassette player. I also may or may not have marched in place, touched my toes and circled my baton (or hairbrush) in the air. Aaaand I may or may not have recruited my brother and sister to dance and get-in-shape right along with me. No shame.

Anyway, from that point on I was hooked. Get in Shape Girl was followed with Kathy Smith's PowerStep...and then 8 Minute Abs, Buns of Steel, Billy Blanks Tae Bo, Tai Chi, MTV's The Grind, Cindy Crawford's Shape Your Body and tons more that I know I'm forgetting. I actually did the tapes, too. I have friends who say their fitness DVDs and equipment mostly just collect dust, but I really enjoyed them. I didn't do them all regularly, but I did rotate them when I needed a change.

Isn't it fun taking a walk down memory lane?

Now that I've had to build my collection back up with DVDs, I've stuck mostly with yoga and pilates. I did get Billy Blanks in a DVD version and ok, ok...I confess that I also own a certain Carmen Electra DVD as well.

I posted, last week, that my shin splints seem to have healed up nicely and that I was back on track. And I was...for one whole day. Yesterday I started my Tuesday morning run and instantly felt pain on the outside of my left knee. My first reaction was to run right through it. Like I was in disbelief and I just didn't want to accept it. Well, that didn't last long-only about a mile so I headed for home. I'm pretty sure it's my IT band. Bah.

So last night, I decided to pull out one of my trusty DVDs because they always make me feel better. Here is what I choose:

And boy, was it the right choice. The lower body workout was perfect and I swear that I'm going to do it at least 3 times a week from now until the marathon. It was great for stretching out all those pesky (injured) areas that hurt when I run lately. Plus I'm hoping that the muscles get stronger and decrease my chances of getting hurt anymore. It's a two DVD set so I did the ab workout for good measure. Have you ever tried Gaiam's DVDs? You should because they are awesome.