From one extreme to another.

How was it 9 degrees yesterday and a blizzard today??? I had to take my jacket off and walk in a cardigan because I got so warm! (granted my jacket is very warm, even my “lighter”  spring one) I had such great hopes for running outside this weekend, taking my dog for long walks, but now that has been replaced by this:

Thats the beautiful sight I get to look out the window too everyday 😉 

Now more than ever I would love to go to hot yoga to warm up, but the snow is making it pretty hard to drive. I guess I’ll have to stay snuggled in bed with my coffee 😉 My 40 days of straight yoga are so far 7 for 7, but one of those does include me doing it in my room because I knew I’d be too exhausted for a full class and would have probably fallen asleep in shavasana. It could have to do with the fact that my mild insomnia has returned, or the fact that my entire body aches since Monday was the first day that I’ve worked out with heavy weights in a week…

Anyways, anyone with nice weather now, send it on up!!

Tell me:

Snow or sand?

First thing you want to do when it gets nice enough for staying outside?

What did you eat for breakfast?

New week, new motivation.

Monday is here!!! Today is day 6 of continuous hot yoga, and surprisingly it’s also the day my gym motivation came back. After a hard sweaty workout, I had this to come back to

Also, something I haven’t had for a while. So far this is a great way to start a week 🙂

The last meal

As I noticed all the balloons and pancakes around my Catholic university, I realized that today was Pancake Tuesday! Which means Lent begins tomorrow! Most years I vow to give up some sort of food, and most years I remember for a full 40 days. This year I’m doing something a little different. I’m giving up Diet Coke and peanut butter, as well as something different.

Peanut butter is and probably always will be a trouble food for me. I CANNOT control myself around it. It’s something I genuinely enjoy eating and so many foods taste better with it, but this problem goes years back, beyond a basic over-eating.  So as I packed up my jars and individual serving packets, I had one last meal of pb toast.

Diet Coke, on the other hand, I can control myself around, but it is something I enjoy, which will be a challenge to give up. Which I am pretty sure is the whole point! I once gave up diet soda for years and broke my streak this year.  Who knows if I’ll even miss it that much after a few weeks!

Lastly, the next thing I’m going to give up is not a material object. I’m going to (start to) give up negative self talk. I want to appreciate and forgive myself more. No feeling guilty for missing a day of working out, or not studying as much as someone else.  I really want to become a better person, which is something that I think is a lifelong journey.

Tell me:

What are you giving up?

Do you have any dangerous foods you can’t keep near you because they won’t last??

get your namaste om

I’ve always been a black or white, all or nothing kind of person so it really shouldn’t be surprising that I am so on the yoga bandwagon that I seriously considered the requirements to teach, and if I could exude calmness like every instructor I’ve had. It just is really what I need right now. Stress from exams, I physically need this to calm my flared up muscles and nerves, and I need to spend an hour not worrying!! 

This is completely off topic, but today I had to face two of my irrational fears. In chemistry lab we have to take some acidic solutions in beakers and transfer them from test tubes and vials, and no matter what the chemical (since I really have no knowledge of their qualities) I am terrified that I’m going to get one drop on my hand and it’s going to start burning. Secondly, I’m really scared that someone is going to put a potato in my exhaust pipe and make the exhaust fuel come back into my car. A potato.

 

Tell me:

What is one of your irrational fears?

What relaxes you most?

As I sit here at 5 am sipping my coffee, knowing I’m not going to the gym, I start to think about my commitment to a healthy lifestyle, and how much it really entails. I just have lost a lot of motivation to hit the gym high-energy everyday with a detailed plan of every weight and rep I’ll do. I’m trying to be more relaxed, still putting out quite a bit of effort, but winging it in terms of what exercises I feel like doing. Maybe the yoga is to blame, since it’s always in the back of my mind as something that’s still ok if I miss the gym?  I’m not really sure what the whole point of this post is haha, just feel like maybe a lot of people feel this way at some point!

Yoga makes my heart happy

I got a free month at a local yoga studio a few months back and finally decided to activate it. It could not have been a better decision. I had tried it before but wasn’t always in love with it while I was physically doing it, but loved how I felt after. This time was different. From the first pose we did, I could feel it, and it makes me so happy. Yoga is so beneficially physically and mentally (this is probably the one I need the most) so I am trying to go as much as I can! The class I did was a power flow. Because I had done yoga before, it wasn’t too hard, but the instructor walked teaching, so if you didn’t know a pose she called out, you had to quickly peek and see what everyone around you was doing. What I love was that there was music in this class! It wasn’t the usually chanting-type that I’ve had played before, but slow covers of current songs. It was amazing.

I love yoga for its ability to bring me to the present, however I do have goals that I would love to see progress! Here are some poses I’d like to work towards. It was humbling going into yoga knowing I’d had good lifting workouts for a few months, but still struggling to hold plank while kicking my legs up.

Crow/Crane (Bakasana) 

Every since I saw this in Jillian Michaels’ Yoga Meltdown I’ve wanted to be able to do this without toppling.

Eight-Angle Pose (Astavakrasana)

How badass does this look?!?

Two-Legged Inverted Staf (Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana)

I’m not sure if this looks that difficult but getting that leg up requires some superhuman strength!

Forearm Stand (Pincha Mayurasana)

I want to be able to do this with a smooth transition.  There’s so many variations, legs straight, split, bent, so any of them would be an achievement!

Playlists

As I begin to do more and more cardio (mainly, running), I’m finding myself in need of a playlist update. With lifting I preferred upbeat songs, but could still do a slower one. With running, it has to be FAST or else it gets skipped! These are currently my most played tracks right now:

Supersoaker – Kings of Leon                                                                                   Temple – Kings of Leon                                                                                             Howling for You – The Black Keys                                                                       Everlasting Light – The Black Keys (not for running but my fav in general)  Weight of Living pt. II – Bastille                                                                                  Flaws – Bastille

Pretty much any upbeat glee cover and the occasional Macklemore song are always good pick-me-ups too!

 

Tell me:

What’s on your running (or workout) playlist?

Dream races.

I think about my dream races a lot. Flipping through Runner’s World, it’s hard not to imagine running along the courses they feature. Here are a few that would be great on the bucket list.

Nike Women’s Half Marathon, DC.

You get a Tiffany & Co. necklace as your finishers medal. Who wouldn’t love that?! There’s also a San Fransisco Marathon, but I’m not sure if there’s a half option.

New York City Half

This is one of my favourite places ever, so it’s no surprise I’d love a memorable race here. You go through a lot of the touristy places, keeping things interesting.

Runner’s World Half Marathon & Festival

You can run a half marathon, 10K or 5K, or the hat trick – all three in one weekend. Runner’s World is THE running magazine (for me, at least) so that would be amazing to take part in this race series.

Hibiscus Half Marathon 

I couldn’t write this list without a ridiculously pretty and warm location. They also offer a 15K and 5K. That second picture has been saved on my phone FOREVER, so this would be a great way to combine a vacation and a race 😉

Tell me:

What’s your favourite race (any distance)?

Whats on your race bucket list?

Oh hey there

After my love-hate relationship with exercise (love to do it, hate that I am prone to injury) I finally feel as though I am back into my workout groove, more excited that ever for it to finally be nice outside! Maybe it’s cheesy but these Olympics do it to me every time.  After two weeks of rest and eating pretty freely, I’m excited to train again! For the early mornings, walks home from the gym as the sunrises, a nice breakfast to look forward to as I shower.  Because in  6 short months….it’s Tough Mudder time.

 

Do you see all those electric dangling wires??? SOOOOOO the training plan has been set! I was looking for a low key one that would hit all the major body parts, since I already feel comfortable with lifting, it’s mostly my endurance that will need some work. Not running for 5 months will do that to you 😉 So anyways I’m loosely following this plan, depending on how my body responds in the first few weeks.

 

Tell me:

Have you ever done a Tough Mudder? What’s the worst obstacle?

Ever done any sort of obstacle race?

Stronger

I’m focusing on strength since it’s what I can give the most effort to. This morning (just like last week) was ab class and yoga! I feel stronger already! I’ve tried to incorporate some cardio in to get my heart rate up on groggy days and yesterday the rowing machine and elliptical made an appearance with minimal leg bothering. Also, this is part of my lunch! I have been feeling unwell lately and only starchy carbs seem appealing so I need to get the greens in when I can.