Monday, April 4, 2016

Sunset Hikes + Monday Rambles



It has been a hot minute since I wrote on this blog! Somehow that is no surprise as I go through these spurts pretty much every second month. Life has been good - busy, but good, though too much to put in one blog post. Perhaps if I were better about this whole "blogging" thing then I wouldn't have to play catch up so often!

I will update you on the last couple weeks, at least! My days have been filled with the usual working, Brownies on Tuesday evenings, and hanging out with friends and family. I am trying to be a little bit more adventurous in the sense that I am saying YES to doing more things. Although this is great in the sense that it can get me out and about, it is a curse at the same time because Ryan often says I tend to "over commit" myself and eventually end up feeling overwhelmed and drowned by all the tasks I have on the go. Yes, he is right about that! So, I am saying YES to things within reason.

Some of these YES items include signing up for a two week yoga pass at a local yoga studio called Harmony Yoga. This was a great experience and opened me up to yoga. Sure, I have tried yoga here and there from the comfort of my home, but there is something about going to a studio that actually makes you unwind rather than become distracted by all the outside factors at home. Once things settle down around here (mortgage changes, Brownie camp, personal training homework), then I would like to purchase a monthly pass and incorporate yoga into my weekly routine.

Speaking of work out routine, what has that been looking like lately, you ask?

Well. It has been pretty diverse, with the inclusion of yoga the past few weeks.

I am trying to balance strength training, cardio, and yoga, which is simple when a routine is in place. This past week especially my routine has been different as I threw in some evening walks with Ryan and a sunset hike in there with my sister (pictured above). For me, working out needs to be something that I love and enjoy. A few years ago I was in the habit of working out because I felt like I needed to workout, not because I genuinely wanted to. Now, it's time to turn the switch and head the other direction as I truly feel if you want to work out, then you should work out. If you don't want to, then that's fine. Sure, you can force yourself to go, but if you are passing up on activities with your friends and family because you feel like you HAVE TO go to the gym, then that is not a good place to be. Been there, done that, time to move on and enjoy myself!

Further, I am not sure if I have mentioned this or not, but I will be running the Lululemon Seawheeze Half Marathon again this year. This means that I need to start being more consistent with my running! Since I am still avidly using my planner, I wrote down that my fitness goal for April is to run 60 miles. While this is a far cry from the previous 100 mile monthly goals I had set for myself back when I was running almost every day. However, this is something for me to focus on until I can get my mileage back up. Besides, 60 miles in April equals two miles per day, and if some runs are 3 miles, 4 miles, etc, then that will add up quickly. While I will not be running half marathon distances this month (I highly doubt that right now!), I will be adding in more mileage once my body is more comfortable. Plus with the spring weather upon us, it makes it even easier to get out there for a run in the sun!


Now let's talk about today! Pictured above: some recent buys from today that I am going to test out. I will report back after!

Since I am off Sunday and Monday, I took advantage of this and lounged in bed scrolling through social media and generally being lazy. There is something comforting about simply laying in bed knowing that you have no where pressing to be. Once I was awake, I grabbed myself a cup of coffee and settled at the kitchen table to chat with Ryan as he got ready for his work day. I love this little Monday morning ritual! It sets the tone for a good day. Ryan has been making smoothies every morning and has been giving me the portion that doesn't fit in his cup. So, this become my pre-run snack. It was a mix of banana, pineapple, blueberries, and spinach. Super tasty and was nice and light as I was running. There is nothing worse than running on a full stomach! I have been running on the trail by our house lately, and this morning I completed 4 miles even. It felt great to get out in the fresh air and get my body moving before the day kicked off!

After a shower, I took our cat Simba to the vet for his second set of shots. Everything at the vet went well, and Simba received a perfect bill of health! He actually stayed in his little carrier crate when we got home, despite having the door open for him to crawl out and settle back in at home.

Other happenings today included an upper body work out from home, which was a mix of shoulder presses, front and lateral raises, bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, rows, etc. It was nice to work out at home since I didn't exactly want to get back into my work out gear and drive to the gym. Does anyone else immediately change into their pajamas when they get home? It was 10:30am when we got back from the vet, and there I was in my Christmas pajama pants, because, why not?

After getting a strength work out in, I made some lunch, ran some errands and came home to meal prep! I am very loosely following the start of my competition prep plan in the sense that I am weighing and measuring things again. I know, right? What a concept. I let this habit go shortly after I came out of my competition, and unfortunately it has been catching up to me! So, I am stopping that and getting back to my old, good habits.

What's left for tonight? Maybe watch some TV (this is the first time I have sat down pretty much all day!), have dinner. Just relax!


Well, I think that about brings us up to speed! I will talk to you sooner rather than later :)

Until next time!

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