My April Whole30: Day 4

Breakfast:

 

Lunch:

Dinner:

Workout: Yoga!

Sleep (Last Night):  7.5 hours

Thoughts:  Today was great.  I felt very productive at work and energized throughout the day.  And yes, I ate the same exact meal for dinner last night, breakfast and lunch today.  Yay for leftovers!  After I came home after work, I quickly whipped up the curry soup, and then headed to yoga.  Class was all about hips tonight and mine are so tight!  I hated some of the poses, but I know they are good for me.  I left feeling so refreshed and knowing that dinner was simmering away on the stove was a bonus.  After dinner I did a little meal prep for tomorrow's dinner.  We're having Shayna and Kyle over for spaghetti squash and meatballs!  Happy almost Friday!

Also, my Facebook page just got 100 likes!  Thank you all so much :)

Are you pumped for the weekend?!

Some Updates

Well, here’s a random round up of some of the things going on right now in my life:

Workouts - I've been fitting them in, yay!  Last week I got up and ran before work, small miracle!  It was a quick 2 miles that were pretty intense, but then again my average pace was a 9:30.  I'm sure I'd feel more relaxed doing a 10:30, the pace I was training for my half at but I do like that I'm getting faster and I can handle suffering for 20 minutes.  We also hit the gym last week for the first time in a long time when our friend Angela brought us as guests to her gym on Wednesday.  I did a lot of free weights including squats and lunges with 20 pounders in my hands and my legs were feeling it for days!  I'd like to keep joining her at the gym if we can make our schedules work.  And I started this week with my 3rd hot yoga class Monday night.  I attended two the first week I activated my Groupon and since have been slacking, but knowing I would be meeting Ashley there was the perfect motivation I needed to get there.  I've had a different instructor at each class I've attended, but Monday night's may have been my fave.  She really pushed us but was very casual and catered to everyone's needs.  I guess it was obvious that I really went for it in bow pose because she came over and rubbed my back afterwards which was amazing.  Needless to say my back muscles are still feeling it!  And then last night the cheer season started so I did some random conditioning with the girls (push-ups, burpees, planks, etc.) and then when I got home I was still feeling inspired enough to do some random lifting with my 10 pounders.  Boom!

Eats - This topic definitely deserves an entire post dedicated to it, but for now I'll give you the skinny.  Dave and I have been trying to follow The Paleo Diet (which is not really a diet, more of a lifestyle change), which includes meats, veggies, oils, fruits, and nuts, and avoids all grains, legumes, dairy, sugar, and all processed foods.  We're actually following more of the Primal way of eating outlined on Mark’s Daily Apple because we haven't given up dairy (because well, I may or may not be obsessed with cheese).  The basic principal is that fat doesn't make you fat, processed carbs do.  So the "diet" is based on eating tons of veggies with fat and protein, a nice combo that makes you full and doesn't spike your blood sugar.  I could try and explain all the ins and outs of it, but you should just take a minute and read this!  It's an easy read (aka not boring science terms) and covers a lot.  To say that we've been following it perfectly would be a laughable lie, but we've been eating burgers in lettuce wraps, extra veggies with dinner instead of starchy sides, lunchmeat roll-ups instead of sandwiches, and I can't say I'm really missing the carbs.  When I do cheat (someone serves me something that I just don't want to refuse, or when I really just can't resist a slice of pizza or some ice cream) I actually find myself feeling kind of awful afterwards.  I don't know, we are still trying to figure things out but I've lost a few lbs and Dave is down 7 or 8 lbs!  Bring on the bacon.

Life - Did I mention we're busy?!  One wedding down, 4 to go, 2 of which I'm in and they are back to back weekends in October.  Between wedding events, beach trips, and a music festival, we are literally booked every single weekend until mid October!  We've got another busy weekend on the horizon, I'm prepping and hosting a bridal shower, Dave's leading church, and hopefully we can squeeze in some time in the sun!  Oh and like I mentioned before, let's add cheerleading to the mix!  I have been coaching for the same organization for the past 12 years.  This year I wanted to step back since I moved 40 minutes away and I'm in the middle of wedding extravaganza 2012... but there's no way I can quit cold turkey!  So this year I am not technically coaching, but I'm the cheer safety board member for the organization, aka I can help with all the squads but I am not committed to 4 nights a week!  I love coaching because I love choreographing routines and making them come to life, it definitely keeps me active, and volunteering is so fulfilling!  I love seeing the girls grow, get stronger, and progress their skills.

Anyway, there's a quick update on some random things going on in my world right now!  Tomorrow is Friday, get pumped

Are you getting those workouts in?  Have you heard of the Paleo Diet?  Do you have a packed summer schedule?

Namaste!

Last week I tried to pull myself out of my two weeks of laziness with some weekly goals, so how did I do?

7/1 - 7/7
- Run 3 times, any distance, 1 speed workout: B-
- Arms & abs twice: D+

On Monday I sucked it up and ran 2 miles in 90 degrees.  I completed another super hot 2.25 mile run down at Cape May while we were on a nice 5 day vacation.  I didn't do any speedwork, unless you can count a few sprints through the yard to exercise the pup.  I did some brief arm and abs one day, but nothing to write home about.  Meh, I didn't crush my goals, but something is always better than nothing!  And now that we're back from vacation I'm starting things off on the right foot!  Dave and I running a 5K tomorrow night!  And after realizing I needed to activate my yoga/zumba Groupon for CoreFit by Wednesday or it would expire, I decided to attend my first hot yoga class last night!  I'd done some yoga in my living room before and I once attended a yoga class at the YMCA (that my sister told me didn't count as a real yoga class), but I'd never really been to a real yoga class and I'd certainly never done hot yoga!

Why practice Yoga in a heated room?  (source)

• Heat is used in Bikram and Hot Yoga in order to allow you to go deeper and safer into a Yoga Pose.
• Your body becomes more flexible in the heat and since most poses used in Bikram are physically challenging, heat allows you to get into a pose that you never imagined you can do.
• It also eliminates the risk of injuries, promotes sweating, and helps you release the toxins in your body.
• The Bikram Yoga Poses not only work on your muscles but also on your internal organs.
• Each pose stretches and strengthens your muscles, joints, and ligaments and, at the same time release the toxins and work on your internal organs like the glands and the nervous system.

When I arrived nice and early, there were a few other women activating their Groupons, so I wasn't the only newbie to the class.  I filled out some brief paperwork while the previous kettlebell class was wrapping up... and then they turned on the heaters.  Dun dun dun!  I picked a spot, rolled my mat out, and soon the room was uncomfortably hot.  I started sweating just sitting there, and I started to wonder what I had gotten myself into.

Surprisingly my body quickly adjusted to the heat and it actually didn't feel that bad.  The room filled up with a bunch of women and two men, the lights were dimmed, and I was pumped when the class started to one of my faves, Better Together by Jack Johnson.  We went through most of the standard bikram poses, holding each for 60 seconds and then for another 30.  I was familiar with some of the poses and others were brand spanking new to me.  The instructor was very engaging.  She demonstrated the pose in the beginning and kept reminding us to breathe and how to find proper body position throughout.  She spent some time walking around correcting or helping people and praising others.  The room was full of various skill levels and it was a very relaxed atmosphere.  I fell out of some of the poses but so did a bunch of people and it wasn't a big deal.

I'm not sure exactly what I thought about yoga before, I knew it could be great for flexibility and relaxing, but I'm not sure I really ever thought of it as a workout.  Well, hello burning muscles!  I was shaking so hard in some of the poses and I definitely felt the burn.  I was soaked in sweat when I left and the 80 degree temp outside never felt so good.  I woke up this morning feeling sore in muscles I didn't even know I had!

I was pretty nervous going into this experience.  I wasn't sure how strict the atmosphere was going to be, if I was going to feel horribly out of place, if I was going to feel lighted headed and nauseous, etc.  But I'm so glad I went!  All of my worries were eased, I didn't feel like I was going to pass out, and I got a great workout!

Are you a fan of yoga?

Half Marathon Training: Week 13

Week 13:

- Monday, 40 min dog walk, 10 push-ups
- Tuesday, 4.56 mi group run, 47:20, better than nothing arms & abs
- Thursday, 3.51 mi around the park, 34:52, better than nothing arms & abs
- Friday, 15 min dog walk
- Sunday, 7 mi on the Schuylkill River Trail, 1:13:37
- Total Mileage = 15.07 mi

I killed it this week!  My quads were feeling it, but I didn't have any shin pain at all.  I was kind of dreading running 7 miles by myself, but it went extremely well!  And I've run over half of the 13.1 mile distance now.  Running 6 miles beyond that still seems pretty crazy, but I have time!  I also ran pretty fast this week, check out my splits.

I did have some 11 minute miles, but I also had some under 10.  My 3.5 mile run was pretty quick, but you can see from my 10:40 mile that I died on the giant hill.  But, please let me point out the last 2 miles in my 7!

Goals for week 13:
- Run 3 times: A+
- Arms & abs 2 times: B+
- Yoga 1 time: F

For some reason I just can't get myself to do yoga.  That will change whenever I activate my Groupon, but I've kind of been dragging my feet on that.  The deal is that I have to use all 20 classes within 3 months, so I want to make sure I can fit it in my schedule before I activate it.  I know there will never be a perfect time.  But at the same time I can wait until July to activate it, so I'm sort of thinking maybe the yoga and zumba classes would be a great motivator for me when my half training ends.  I don't know, I'm still contemplating what I should do.  What do you think?

Goals for week 14:
- Run 3 times
- Leg workout
- Arms & abs 2 times

This week is a semi relaxing week in my training plan since I was supposed to be running a 5K on Saturday.  Dave and I are headed down to Cape May for the weekend, so no 5K for us.  I don't have a long run planned for this week, but maybe I'll throw one in if I'm feeling it!

Do you think I should activate the Groupon or wait until my schedule is more open?  Do you know of any good yoga videos online?  Link 'em up!

Half Marathon Training: Week 10

Week 10:

- Monday, 2.25 hours of volleyball at Dave's church, 20 mins online yoga videos

- Tuesday, 2.37 mi in the park, 25 mins
- Wednesday, 4.75 mi in the park, 47:33
- Thursday, better than nothing arm weights
- Friday, 2.04 mi run/walk/wait for Puddin' to sniff things, 40 minutes
- Saturday, better than nothing arms & abs in the living room
- Sunday, Shock Run 5K 3.09 (according to my Garmin), 29:09 (PR!!!), 20 minute dog walk
- Total Mileage = 12.25 mi

Look, look, look!  I worked out every day this week!  I ran 4(ish) times!  I even did some yoga!

Goals for week 10:
- Run 4 times: B+
- Read the owners manual for my Garmin: F (oops forgot)
- Lift my arms twice: A
- Determine when I will activate my Groupon: D

It was either walk the dog or run on Friday and I decided I couldn't leave the pooch home but I needed to get this 4th run in!  Puddin' likes to stop and sniff everything while she's on a walk and I can't really take the thing she loves most away from her on her one walk of the day.  So the run/walk was a mix of walking, painfully slow jogging (Puddin's favorite pace), me doing squats and lunges and stretching while waiting for her, and some regular paced running when Puddin' seemed to figure out what pace I actually wanted to go at.  It was definitely a better than nothing run, but yay for running 4 times!

I wanted to start my Groupon this week but I had to make a last minute appointment and we're going away this weekend so it's just not going to work.  I don't want to keep pushing this off, but at the same time I have to use all 20 classes in a 3 month span, so I want to make sure I can get my money's worth and not set myself up for failure.

I did 2 different yoga videos online on Monday.  The first one was only a 5 minute quicky off of youtube and the other was from this website that my sister told me about, DoYogaWithMe.com.  I picked out a 45 minute video, but only did the first 15 minutes.  That's the beauty of online videos!  I really need to go out and get a yoga mat, the kitchen floor just isn't working out for me.

Goals for week 11:
- Run 4 times, which is me challenging myself because my training plan had this as a nice little relaxing week with 3 runs and the holiday this weekend.  But I'm still trying to get back up to where I should be in my plan, so I don't want to slack this week.  Gotta get that!
- Workout my arms & abs twice

And can we just talk about how amazing the weather is going to be in PA this week?!  I have a meeting in the field tomorrow (aka underneath the always scenic I-95), I'm really looking forward to enjoying the fresh air and the 70s!  How's the weather near you?  I hope you get a chance to get out and enjoy that extra hour of daylight!

Do you own a yoga mat?  Any preferences or recommendations?

On a Roll

Yesterday I bought this!

I did a bit of rolling when I got home.  It hurts when I roll my hips, but it's like when you get a massage and it hurts... but it hurts so good.  From what I've read, I believe this just confirms that I will definitely benefit from the rolling.  I'm thinking it will also inspire me to clean the kitchen floor more often, because for some weird reason sliding my body along the floor yesterday was a little less than desirable!

And tonight I did some yoga.  I went into the fitness menu in Xfinity On Demand and found a yoga for athletes video and a yoga for all video.  I did all 17 minutes of the yoga for athletes workout and then I sort of did a pick and choose method with the 20 minute yoga for all video since it had a lot of repeat poses and my hamstrings were over it.  I liked the videos and will definitely be trying them again.

I'd like to think I'm pretty fit and more flexible than most, but yoga is so humbling.  I am a beginner!  I love that there's so much room for improvement, but I just need to stick with it.  There are so many videos on youtube, I need to find some that I like so I can master them!  One of the hardest things for me is just to remember to breathe during the poses, but practice makes perfect.

Tomorrow is Friday!  Get excited!  We are getting some days in the 50s, I love it.  Happy Weekend to you, my friends :)

Do you like yoga?  What's your favorite pose?  Any online yoga video suggestions?

Some venting & some yoga.

Things I Hate:

1.  Struggling on a cardio machine at a high resistance while watching the person next to me zoom away at no resistance.  I know I'm getting a better workout, but still annoying.

2.  Hurricane Irene rolling in to ruin my bday weekend at the beach.

3.  Putting away laundry.

4.  Packing & unpacking.

5.  How quickly my phone battery dies.

6.  Applying for jobs.

7.  Randomly heading into a crabby mood.

On the flip side, I got myself back to the gym today for some abs, lunges, and some time on the arc trainer.  I'd been on a slight hiatus and it felt great to go back.  My goal for tomorrow is to head to the gym in the a.m., spend some time on the treadmill and do arms.  I need to stay on track, I hate falling off the wagon!  I also did some living room yoga today after cheer practice.  I love stretching but never really got into yoga, so I googled the 26 Bikram poses and shabam.  It was a good starting point, although I was definitely missing the meditation/relaxation portion since I was doing it in my living room in front of the tv, but a girl's gotta start somewhere!  I definitely want to expand my yoga knowledge and experience.  I need to enlist my sis, she definitely knows a thing or two.

Do you like to do yoga?  Have you ever gone to an organized class?