Monday, July 29, 2013

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 30


First of all, HAPPY MONDAY! I know, you're just as excited to be back at work as I am. :P Right? This was kind of a crazy week. Not as much yoga as I'm used to - a lot of running and a lot of teaching.

Sunday I took the advanced class at Cardio Barre in the morning. I almost went to boxing, but decided against it this time.

Monday I ran 3.4 miles. I wrote about it here. It was tough, like whoa.

Since I committed to a training schedule for my half marathon, Tuesday I went for a 4 mile run. It was so hard. Ohmygosh. I am so out of practice. Walking up and down the stairs in my house that night was brutal.

Wednesday I taught Power Yoga and then took the candlelit class afterward. It felt amazing to stretch out after the previous two days of running. Sheesh. I also started a 30 day plank challenge on Wednesday. I jumped in on Day 3 since some people I know started on Monday. Day 3 was 30 seconds. No problemo. :)

Thursday I taught my class from 7 to 8, then went home to change and get ready for my run. That night I needed to run 6 miles to stick with my training. That was tough. There's a route by my house that's a perfect 5k, so I thought about just running it twice (6.2 miles), but then I thought that would be really boring. So, I decided to just run wherever and turn where I felt like it. It was still really hard, but less boring and monotonous.

Friday I got up super early for beach yoga. The gate to the beach we planned to go to was locked and I didn't know I had access to a key, so we did yoga at the beach house. Then I drove back into the valley for some pre-birthday cardio barre. It was the instructor's birthday, so they had her all decked out in beads and a tiara. She shared some of her birthday beads with me since it was my birthday the next day. Made me feel all special.

Saturday was my birthday. You bet your butt I still worked it. Got up at 745 and ran 5 miles then went to get my CPR certification. It was HOT. Phew. That run was tough. I thought I would run 2.5 miles and then just turn around and go back, but most of the time I was running with the sun on my back, so I knew just flat turning around would not be an option. So, I did some meandering and some diagonals so I didn't have to just turn around and run into the sun. It worked out. :)

How was your week?

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Ventinove; On Being a Big Kid @ Almost 29



30 seconds ago I realized my birthday is the day after tomorrow. Every day its a shock that its a whole day closer.

29 isn't a big deal. There's not a huge difference between 28 and 29, really.
So, my birthday is on Saturday and last night my husband asked me how it feels to be 29.

Ok, first, if we're going to get nitpicky, TECHNICALLY I am not 29 yet, but on a very real level I feel the same as I felt the last 3 or 4 months - like I'm in my late late 20's - and at the same time, I'm still very much a kid.

Earlier this week, I was looking at fancy restaurants trying to pick the one I wanted to go to to celebrate my big day (as a grown up), and I kept getting frustrated. Don't get me wrong, I love me some fancy meals. The lavender goat cheese with honey at Church & State downtown may be one of my favorite foods on the planet ever, but the more restaurants I looked at, the less I felt like celebrating.

Then my husband gave me an ultimatum. I pick one soon and be happy about it, or we were going bowling for my birthday.

and I was so relieved!

I felt like I'm an adult, so I have to have an adult birthday. My response to that is SHUT UP! I want to play!

And that's exactly what I'm going to do. Cocktails, mozzarella sticks, dancing around to loud top 40, and bowling.

Happy birthday to me!


This is a linkup. Make sure to follow the links to some amazing ladies' journeys to everyday happiness.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

30 x 30; Run 100 Miles (2nd Progress Report)



Last Friday, I met up with a friend for drinks after work, and we got to talking about all our workouts and what we're working on and it came up that she is running the Giant Race Half Marathon the first weekend in August - and how that is just two weeks away.
Then it dawned on me, that my half marathon is only one month after hers... and I had not started training.

Oops.

I hadn't even been pushing myself much towards completing my 100 miles for my 30 x 30.

Oops again.

So, Monday evening, after sitting in the car for an hour and 45 minutes in the worst traffic ever - ALL FOUR lanes were closed on the 101 at Lost Hills - I changed into my workout clothes, put on my running shoes, set up my heart rate monitor, my running playlist and my Nike Run app, complete with totally awesome armband to carry my phone, and I got going.

I just ran until I couldn't anymore. I ran until my side cramped and my knee was screaming at me, and then I ran home, and by "ran home", I mean, hobbled awkwardly at a pace slightly more run-like and faster than walking.

It was definitely a wake-up call. I can't screw around with this running business.

So, here's where I am with this right now. I have a half marathon to train for and I'm less worried about completing my 100 by 30 since I've completed 42.5 miles thus far, and I'm pretty confident most - if not all - of the remaining 57.5 miles will get eaten up by my training. The half marathon alone is 13.1.

I'm committing myself to my training as of now.

Those three steps I talked about in my last running update back in February?
1. Take the jog outdoors - No problemo, yo. It's beautiful out these summer evenings and the sun it setting so late, I have plenty of time after work.
2. Playlists, not Pandora - YES! This is helping so much! I need some more help with music suggestions though. Do you have any great motivational running music you love? My problem is that I find songs/albums I love for running and then I play them until they bore me... and then they totally lose their Oomph.
3. Run in the morning - This is still a no. I'm trying, but I've been beat lately and the mornings are the worst, so I'll give this another go and keep you posted.

Something else I've done? Last night after my run, I recommitted to the RunKeeper App on my phone. It tells me when, how far to run, and how much to push myself. Tonight I'm supposed to run a "4 mile easy". Even though I'm way behind on my training, it's too late to start at the beginning, so I'm just going to do the very best I can and keep doing my very best all the way through. :) Because in just a few days I'm supposed to run 10 miles at "race pace" - which currently is the same as my easy pace - and I'm really not sure I'm going to be able to do it.  That will be the furthest I've ever run, so I'm just going to do my best and see what happens. :)

Do you run? Do you have any tips, motivation, music, you'd like to share?

Monday, July 22, 2013

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 29




This week was out of control. So much teaching in conjunction with trying to push myself now that I'm healthy again. Whoa.

Sunday I taught the first mommy and baby class at the studio! It was a blast. I only had one mommy, but she brought her baby (duh) and her own momma to class. We had a ton of fun.
I wasn't quite up to challenging myself with my own exercise yet, but I got a little bit of a workout doing the demos in class, which I felt good about.

Monday I taught at 7am and 430pm at the gym. Then I stayed in the studio from 530 to 630 for the combat cardio class, which was SO HARD. My first day back exercising and I got my butt kiiiiicked.

Tuesday was a weird day. I subbed at 730 and 1030. So for the two hours I had between classes, I went and hung out with my mom, and we did some mellow yoga. I passed out a lot of business cards this week. People coming up to me, knowing I'm a sub and wanting to know when they can come to MY classes. It's a wonderful feeling, but it's bittersweet to have to tell them I don't have any mixed level flow classes at a studio. So, I've been hawking yoga in the park and passing out business cards.
Tuesday night I took Power Yoga for the first time in almost 2 weeks, which was amazing. Yoga is challenging every day. Keeping that mentality throughout the day and just breathing through things is such a huge feat, but on the mat, it's easy. One the mat, I can push my body and make these ever-so-subtle adjustments to my form that make such a huge difference in how I feel mentally and emotionally. It's peace and it's triumph.

Wednesday I was maybe the most tired ever. Teaching is the morning was a challenge. I managed to power through the day and get my butt over to Cardio Barre at 530. I didn't check the schedule online though, so I didn't know there was a sub and I wouldn't get class with one of my favorite teachers. Sad face. It was still a good class though. Not a fan of releve's in 2nd position. Don't think I ever will be.

Thursday I taught and I thought maaaaybe I could do some exercise after class, but I didn't. Also, I still love teaching. Happiness.

Friday I taught my last AM restorative class at the WHAC - well, I don't know if it was my LAST last, but the regular teacher is back in town after 6 weeks away, so my long term subbing gig is over. That night I met a friend for drinks on the way home from work, so exercise was a no go.

Saturday I was back on my mat for Power Yoga. It was so hard. I guess Mercury is in retrograde, which is the going explanation for why everything and everyone is so tired/tiring lately. So, that class kicked me in the arse. I also got to chat with the studio owner about some upcoming subbing that she needs, so I'm signed on to teach three power yoga classes over the next week and a half. It's pretty exciting stuff. Power yoga is a lot of fun, so I am super pumped.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Make It Happen



Every week in the be happy link up, I am so inspired. I am inspired by all of these wonderful women and what they're doing to take control of their lives and be as happy as possible.
Thus far, for me, it hasn't really been about taking initiative. Since my default is to err towards anxiety, the struggle for me has been to just be happy how I am no matter what. Love life and emit love.

I didn't even really realize that I was doing things to make myself happier. I was taking initiative and making things happen - rather than just letting things happen to me and being disappointed with the outcome. How naive of me to have lived that way for so long.

But here I am, days away from my 29th birthday, taking some control of my life. Finally doing what makes me happy because I decided I wanted to and I made it happen.


Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Currently; July 2013



Currently, I'm...

Reading...
I dove back into the Sookie Stackhouse books that I used to be addicted to 4 years ago. On my trip home from Portland I downloaded the last two books in the series. They are so wonderfully trashy. I love them. Easy to read. Easy to pick sides. Only hate the bad guy. Characters still do stupid things, but in a warm and likable kind of way. 

Watching...
True blood is back, which is a little weird to watch as I read the later books in the series and see just how far the show has diverged from the books. We're also loving the final season of Dexter, and we're a couple episodes into Ray Donovan now and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I like it, but I care about the relationships and not the big drama with his dad being back. Last week, while I was sick and stayed home from work 3 days. I spent those days attached to the couch marathoning old episodes of Buffy and Bones. 

Listening to... 
Podcasts mostly, but I've been using the heck out of our shared data, so I'm trying to cut back and just listen to the radio and my ipod more. 

Struggling with...
Umm...training for a half marathon. Gosh, running is boring. And I can't seem to find a good time of day. I've been so busy

Planning...
Mini trip to Vegas is planned. My mom and I had a collective mini panic attack when we realized that my sister's nursing school graduation is the same weekend hubs and I were planning to get out of town to celebrate our birthdays. Luckily, her graduation is in the afternoon on Friday and we don't leave until late that night. PHEW!

Teaching...
A ton. It's about to calm down like crazy though. I got a lot of requests to sub recently - one teacher going out of town and another with an injury. I am so so SO happy to do it, but its completely exhausting, especially since I don't just go home and relax and build classes afterward - I still have to go to work. 

Inspired by...
Being outdoors. This weekend I got out my easel and did some work on a painting I started ages ago. I've also been trying to ride my bike around more. I love being out on my bike. I love the air and the peacefulness. Maybe I can bike ride my half marathon. HA! (not really)

Confused about...
My birthday. It's in less than 2 weeks, which is all fine and dandy, but people are asking me what I want and what I want to do, but I don't want things. I told T to buy himself a bike so he can ride with me. I'm also turning 29, which is kind of just another year... and I pretty much already tell people I'm 29 - I am actually turning 29, not turning 29 again. ;)


What are you up to lately?

Monday, July 15, 2013

Kitchen Adventures; Bagels

That's right, folks, I made bagels. It was exciting and kinda fun.
For MONTHS, I have been meaning to join in on Love & Olive Oil's Kitchen Challenge and this month I DID IT! I even asked some friends to join in with me. Amy even beat me to posting about it! ;)

So, bagels...
They were totally not as hard as I thought they would be. I was a little stressed/worried while I was making them - afraid I would miss a step or screw them up in some way, but that's just me. I get all paranoid.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 28



This week I'm in bizarro mode. My honey brought home a brutal cold that knocked him out most of the weekend and took me out of commission for the better part of the week. I finally made it back to work on Thursday, but as for exercise, there was hardly any.
I did get to do some teaching, which helped me get my yoga quota in for the week, but it was so strange and surreal to not be able to exercise.

Sunday I had a hint of a cold - tightness in the back of my throat when I woke up that morning - but I thought I should sweat it out and I went to Power Boxing with my aunt and sister. It felt fantastic and I'm still glad I did it.

But by the time Monday rolled around, I was no good to anyone. NyQuil and the couch were by BFFs. I spent the next 3 days marathoning old episodes of Buffy and Bones. I guess I was on a David Boreanaz kick.

Wednesday I thought I was better and got up to teach my class. Luckily I was smart enough not to make direct contact with anyone in class or even get that close to them because as soon as I got home, I collapsed into bed and when I finally got up it was an effort for me to relocate to the couch. But it looks like that one day of rest was all I needed because by 7pm that night I was up making cookies and prepping bagels, which is good because I'd gotten a call to sub a few more classes and I'd agreed even though I had no idea how I'd be feeling. :/

Thursday morning I taught a class at 7:30am, went to work, and then taught another class at 7pm. I still wasn't feeling up to physical exertion, but walking around and telling other people what to do, I could handle. :)

Friday I was up at 6am to teach, then went to work, and was back at the gym to teach again at 430pm. My first class had one person and my second had TWENTY! So crazy to teach such different classes on the same day... and amazing, as always...totally amazing.

Saturday I just ran errands and prepped for Sunday, which you'll hear all about next week. ;)

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Kitchen Adventures; Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies



The first time I made these cookies for my husband I didn't say I was making oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I just said I was making chocolate chip cookies... because to me that's what they were. These were the cookies my mom had been making since my sisters and I were small. This is how chocolate chip cookies were meant to be, right? So, when he asked me "is there oatmeal in these?", my answer was just shy of "well, duh".

Monday, July 8, 2013

Seven Days of Yoga, Week 27



27 is my favorite number. It's my birthday, which is mostly where it came from, but now I'm realizing that July starts in the 27th week of the year, which makes me dig the number more since I was born in July. ;)

Week 27 started with a bike ride to and from Cardio Barre on Sunday. On my ride home one of the girls from class stuck her head out the window to cheer me on for keeping the exercise going. It made me happy.

Monday I went back for round 2 of Pump It Up. I think I went too easy on myself with some of the weights, so it didn't seem as challenging as the first time I took the class. Maybe next time I'll step it up a little more.

Tuesday I took Total Fit Body. Not really sure what happened there. The teacher was injured, but I don't know if that's why class felt kind of slow/easy. I dunno. It could have all been in my head.

Wednesday morning I taught my class bright and early. I took Power Yoga. We had a sub, so the class had a very different vibe than I'm used to. It just felt like we were holding things past the point of keeping the mind clear. That was also probably more me than the class. Some things I like holding, others I do not. Meh.

Thursday my class was cancelled because of the holiday and I was going to take spin, but we got ants in our pants and didn't want to wait until noon to workout, so I ended up weight lifting with the hubs. I didn't feel like I worked super hard, but according to my heart rate monitor, I burned upwards of 350 calories. Kinda surprising.

Friday morning I had class, but it was empty. None of the regulars had work to go to after class, so they slept in, I guess. I used to opportunity to have the room to myself for an hour of solo practice. It was kinda cool. I wiped me out though. The rest of the day I pretty much just wanted to go back to sleep. That night I ran two miles on the treadmill, but hubs was coming down with a cold (which I now have), so we didn't stay long.

Saturday morning I taught yoga in the park, which makes me happy. Not a big turnout, but my mom came and later that night she told me she really thinks I am a great yoga teacher, which was so so wonderful to hear. Right after yoga, I ran up to Cardio Barre to catch the 930 advanced class.

I feel like I worked really hard this week. Still eating too much ice cream though. Have to get away from that. ;)

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Celebrate!


Just a quick note to wish you all a very happy and joyous Independence Day! Enjoy the fireworks and barbecues and time with your families! 

Maybe take a few moments and remember what this day is all about. Maybe agree to watching the historically inaccurate Patriot because it's your hubby's favorite movie. Maybe not. ;)

Happy 4th, y'all!!!


Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Date Day; The Getty & Santa Monica

This past Saturday my honey and I spent the entire day together. We walked Panda together, went to the gym together in the morning, spent the afternoon at the Getty, and then had a lovely dinner and walk around Santa Monica.

Here's what it looked like...

Gazing out over Los Angeles. That's downtown all the way over on the left. You can just barely make out the tall buildings through the haze.


Monday, July 1, 2013

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 26



Happy halfway through 2013! Can you believe it? I'm ringing in the halfway point by giving up potato chips. Over the weekend, hubs and I bought a bag and I just could not stop eating them. I didn't even want anymore and I would just reach into the bag and grab a couple. I do this every time. So, I've decided to give them up. Apparently, it's hugely challenging, but I'm doing it.

Sunday I got up and taught another class. I'm hearing good things, so I want to keep it going. *fingers crossed, y'all. I feel like Sally Field. ANYWAY, my inlaws hit the road while I was gone, so I didn't feel like a jerk running over to Cardio Barre a little later in the morning. I've been feeling sore lately. I don't know if that's because I've been working harder or because I'm just really tired. My plan is to power through it though. 

Monday I left work just a smidgy smidge early to make it back into the Valley by 530 for Advanced Cardio Barre because I got a call that morning asking if I could sub a 730 class. Of course I said yes, but that limited the time I had to work out. CB was awesome. Totally got my butt kicked. Had some minor piriformis annoyance, but I worked with it and got through my workout. Then had time to run home and shower before heading back out to teach class.

Tuesday night I was back at the WHAC for Total Fit Body. I love this gym so much. There is such a great sense of community there that you really don't get with the bigger gyms. Since I've been subbing a lot lately, one of the girls at the front desk has been calling me "one of us now", which is really flipping cool.

Wednesday I taught my class in the morning and then that night I went straight from work to Power Yoga. It was a smallish class by power yoga standards and there were a lot of teachers and training graduates there, so, while she kept the class really simple in terms of what she asked us to do, she left it to us to challenge ourselves and we totally did. It was such a cool class. We were all so completely in our own space and out of our heads that is just flowed. Awe-some.

Thursday night I taught my class. I thought about going for a run afterward, but just didn't get around to it. I tried to eat a super healthy dinner to make up for it, but ended up opening up the pistachio gelato. Oops.

Friday I got up early again to teach, and then instead of lounging around for all my extra time, I got up and took Panda for a walk - just a quick mile loop, but it felt so good for us both to get out and do something early in the morning, especially since I knew how hot it was going to get later in the day. That night I was back at the WHAC for Combat Cardio - always a challenge.

Saturday morning I tried the Pump It Up class at the gym. Same instructor as the combat cardio class. It was hard. I didn't wear my heart rate monitor, so I don't know what my calorie burn was like, but I definitely plan on taking it again, so I'll bring my HR monitor along next time. :)

If you've made it this far reading (first, thank you), here's a little summary for ya; I've been working out hard this week. I've been burning calories and building muscle left and right, but I don't feel good and here's why: ICE CREAM, and general overeating of junk food. So, I've basically been eating so much not good stuff that I've cancelled out any forward momentum I feel like I would have gained. This para is a promise to myself that I will do better.

That's all for this week, y'all. Catcha on the flip side.