Resolution Check-In

Almost two months into the new year and my resolution goal is going strong.  My main focus is balance and within my balance I have other goals to accomplish.

Fitness – I have finally found a consistent routine of working out – consisting of spin class, running, body works class, and boot camp style lifts.  Oh wait, let’s not forget my favorite part about my new gym – the sauna!

Family – My family always comes first.  I’ve kept this a constant while working the other areas back into my life.  We stick together.  I’d save even more so since welcoming my new baby nephew to the world.  My family has been super supportive of my search for a new home as well.

Work – Productivity mood has resumed.  It took about a week once I came back from the holidays but now I’m on a roll.  I’ve made conscious efforts to not let myself work crazy amounts of hours and leave room for others things, such as my workouts.  We are going through a lot of changes again but hopefully things will start to smooth out soon.  I finally scheduled my retake for my Salesforce Admin test too!  Bring on lots of study time.

Friends – I still need some work in this category.  I’ve been getting together with some friends to go to the gym and others for trivia nights, but there are a few others I’d like to hangout with on a more consistent basis.

Hobbies – My most favorite hobby is softball and right now it’s busy season as far as lessons go.  I’ve been running some slapping clinics and giving more lessons.  I have such a great group of girls, it has been the best clinics yet.  I haven’t been able to write in here as much as I’d like, but I will work it back in with time.  Another goal that I set for myself was to read at least 1 book per month.  Working on that one.

2014 has been great to me so far.  I have a ton of things going on, but they are all positive!  I’d have to say that my workout routine has been my greatest accomplishment so far.  I made significant changes in my eating habits and workouts and now I feel great.  Still a long way to go, but I’m loving the path that I’m on.

So far this year I am signed up for the Phillies 5K run in March and I’ve entered the lottery for the Broad Street Run 10 Miler.  Fingers crossed that I make the cut!  I’m eager to get back into my long runs again.

I’m off to go crush some more goals!

❤

The Year of Balance

I’m not one for New Year Resolutions but I suppose the goal I set for myself for the year can be considered exactly that.  To find balance – in family, work, friends, fitness, hobbies and social.

My first step in finding balance in my life was signing up at the new gym in my area.  It has everything that I need – free weight, weight machines, swimming pool, sauna, group classes, tons of cardio machines, a basketball court and even some racquetball courts.  The big seller for me is the group classes… and the sauna!

Tonight I met up with my friend and we tried the Body Works class.  I knew I was out of shape but DAMN did I get my butt whooped!  It felt amazing.  I have a ton of motivation right now to get back to my fit lifestyle.  This gym is exactly what I needed.

In order to fit in my new gym adventures, I’ve not stayed in my office so late.  …It’s been 2 days but STILL, it’s an improvement for me.  I was finding myself working until 7:00 just about every night just to come home and do more.  I was over exhausting myself. My holiday vacation allowed me to refresh and rebalance myself.  Fitness has officially made it’s way back in my balancing act.

As far as hobbies and I suppose social go, I have my first volleyball game tonight. I’m stoked that we decided to play again this year. It seems as though there may be more teams this year because our game doesn’t start until 10:30pm! Yikes. I shouldn’t take a nap. [You get this post instead.]

It’s only been a couple days since the new year but I’m feeling great about where my lifestyle is headed.  I’m loving the energy that I’m feeling. 

Here’s to consistency!

As 2013 Winds Down…

This is one of my favorite times of the year.  I always take off of work the week of Christmas until the New Year.  It’s like a big refresh button for me.  This year I needed it more than ever.  2013 was the year for my career.  I found my little corner, cozied on up in it and began my journey as a true marketing professional.  I am proud of all the things I have accomplished this year, however there are a couple important things to me that I threw to the side for a while.  2014 will be the year of balance.  Balance of my career, my health, my family, my friendships, my relationship, my hobbies, my desires, my goals and everything in between.

And so it begins… the start of my 2014 goals list… Keep a balance.

More to come.

Think or Not Think

 

 

Not too long ago I participated in a self assessment quiz.  My results displayed that I am a thinker personality.  This did not surprise me at all.  However, it has helped me realize why I do things a certain way and how I interact on a daily basis.  For example, when I was in high school one teacher always used to ask me why I don’t smile when I walk down the hallway. It didn’t hit me until this assessment that the reason why I didn’t smile was because my brain was too busy thinking a million thoughts a second that I usually have a blanked out look on my face.

Being a thinker is a blessing and a curse at once. I love who I am and how I operate, but there are certainly times when I wish I could just let the thinking slow down and relax. And that brings me to running.

Running is one of the only times where I can let my mind go.  The only thing I focus on is the inhale and exhale of my breath.  It’s calming… even though my asthmatic lungs are usually gasping for air.

Tonight I went out for a 3.1 mile run in the neighborhood and decided to walk the last quarter mile to get home for my cool down.  It was then that I realized I had no idea what I was thinking about during my entire run.  I didn’t think about anything.  It felt great to just escape.

The reason I posted the picture above is to remind myself to just look down at my feet and tell myself that they can bring me anywhere I want to go – both physically and mentally.  I’ve been struggling with running consistency. Why do I find it hard to do something that I love doing?  I am hoping that this picture will now help motivate me to hit the pavement more often.  My body and my mind will both thank me for the long run. 😉

A Healthy Balance

The last week of August is now upon us.  Seriously…where did the summer go?  I think I’ve been living under a rock – more like working my little tushy off.

I’m actually not too sad that summer is ending.  There was something I had to do every single weekend the past 3 months.  It was all fun, but I’m ready for a couple weekends of just doing anything I want at that time.  No more weddings, no more softball tournaments – me time!

Me time means more routine and more balance.  For instance, this blog.  Since I’ve re-committed myself back to my blog I figured the best thing to do was…SIGN UP FOR A RACE! 

Last week my friend messaged me about getting together to run some races.  We both looked up a few to ease ourselves into.  We decided on the Ben Franklin Bridge Run.

It’s a 10K that starts on the Jersey side of the Ben Franklin Bridge heads to the Philly side and back then ends in Campbell’s field.  I’m pretty stoked about it (especially since they have medals) and couldn’t be happier to now have a running buddy!  We are going to try and get together a couple times throughout the week to start training.  Her distance speed is slightly faster than mine, but I think she will ultimately help me improve my times.

The run isn’t until November so we are also on the look-out for a 5K or two to run in the meantime.

Over the weekend I went on a hike that was absolutely fantastic – both mentally and physically.  It was only a short 2.5 miles but there was this killer hill that Peeg and I conquered.  After feeling off and weak last week, this hike brought my spirits back up and motivated me.  I felt so alive.  I felt great.  Now I am on operation lose 10lbs.  I’m not strict on the exact number, but more so I know I was at my healthiest and fittest when I was about 10lbs lighter than I am right now.  It’s time to tighten a few things back up.

The first step I took for operation lose ten was a visit to the grocery store.  I used to eat a good amount of healthy/organic food and know it makes a huge difference in how I feel.  I went ahead and bought all of my favorites for the week.  Since moving back home it’s been easy to just eat whatever is available, but in order to feel great again I know I need to consistently food shop for myself.

Now it’s only Tuesday but I’m still feeling motivated and proud of the steps I’ve made so far – like walking past the candy bowl at work and not taking a piece of chocolate or a handful of sugary mints.

Let the healthy balance continue!

In Need of a Reunion!

It’s time to reunite… me and my blog. I miss this outlet, for many reasons. I love to write and while I do get to write some for work, it’s nice to come here and let myself out. I originally started this blog while training for my first half marathon. It wasn’t just a vent session about exploring the world of running… it changed my lifestyle. I became healthier. I felt accountable and accomplished about my workouts. This is something I truly enjoy.

I’ve been working my little tush off and it’s time to get some balance back. I love most aspects of my new lifestyle but it’s time to add some healthy fitness as a constant.

Ironically enough, I am unable to do any workouts this week. 😦

On Monday morning I woke up at 3am with spins like I’ve never felt before. No lie – this felt like college drunk spins x10! It was horrible. Going back to sleep helped…while asleep. Every time I lifted my head or turned to my right I became extremely dizzy. I didn’t understand what was happening. I heated, I iced, I chugged water, I drank tea – all thanks to my boyfriend who helped me do all these things while I was dysfunctional. Eventually, I notified my boss that I was going to have to take the day off. I could barely sit up. This was the first day in my entire life that I ever missed school/work for being sick.

By evening I still wasn’t feeling better so Pj took me to the doctor – another thing I never ever do. I usually try to overcome any sickness on my own first but this was just too much. It turned out that I was experiencing vertigo. It was torture!

I was prescribed some pills to settle the motion sickness feeling and a couple exercises that were meant to rebalance the sensors in my ears. I did the exercises twice Monday night.  I wasn’t feeling 100% but by Tuesday afternoon I began to feel somewhat normal again. Today I finally felt stable enough to drive to work.

My packet about vertigo said I should not do participate in exercise for a couple days, not even sit-ups or yoga.  So relax I will. Honestly, I think all of this was my body telling me I needed to slow down and get some rest.

My lifestyle doesn’t involve me to just do nothing.  I’d go crazy.  Since exercise isn’t the only way to get healthy, I decided to dabble into some others. Tonight I went for a massage and ended with a sugar foot scrub. I have a package for one massage a month – I really need to go more consistently.

A massage always brings me back to a happy place and lets all my stress disappear. The foot scrub made my feet super soft. (It’s also a great detox!)  My body was as tense as ever and after all of the vertigo ish, this was perfect timing.  My body now feels relaxed and relieved.

In other healthy news, I made (at least) two healthy decisions today. During lunch I was feeling a slight headache and wanted a milkshake to make me feel better. I chose not to get one. Willpower!  I was also very tired and wanted a redbull.  Again, I chose not to buy one. Willpower x2!  As of recent, I consider these two very big accomplishments. Two steps towards a healthier lifestyle.  This reunion with my blog will get me there. It will get me back to a healthy, fitness filled lifestyle.

The next step… getting more rest!  Time to catch some Zzzz’s. Goodnight.

 

Success will be within your reach only when you start reaching out for it.  -Stephen Richards

MidWeek Mileage

Spring is here!

Monday I had my first official run outside. (Yes I ran outside for the Phillies 5K but it was freezing therefore Im not counting that.) It was absolutely beautiful out and there was no way I was going to sit inside. I have an 8K coming up and I needed to get some training in anyway.

I set out to do 2 miles, which is out to this local school and back. Once I was on my way I didn’t feel like running to the school and back because it’s a usual route for me. I decided to take a right down one of the side streets and follow it for a full loop around the neighborhoods. There were hills, shady spots, sunny spots, speed bumps, busy roads, windy roads, and straight roads. I saw quite a few other runners along the way, and I felt great when I passed a few. 😉

After I finished I needed to know how far I ran so I jumped in my car and followed my loop.  My car told me it was 3.5 miles.  I thought it was more like 4, but I suppose the hills threw me off. I also made myself a delicious Naked blue machine smoothie by adding in some whey protein. Delicious.

Tuesday was projected to be super busy.  I didn’t think I was going to have the time to get a good workout in.  Fortunately (for my workouts sake) my first lesson of the evening cancelled, which meant that I didn’t have to be there until 7.  After work I headed over to the state park across the street from my building.  I’ve only known the park existed since last year but never actually went over to run at it.  I wasn’t sure how much I was going to run, I was just going to go like Forest Gump and keep running until I felt like stopping, or had to for time.  The trail had different routes all over the place.  You could go left or right or stay straight, and I was scared I was going to get myself lost.  I tried to stay simple and make the least amount of turns as possible.  Eventually I hit a dead end.  The trail just ended into the beginning of a neighborhood.  Ugh, I was only 1 mile in at that point.  I know this trail has approx 11 miles to it.  I turned around and decided, I’ll head back to my car for a total of 2 miles and go get a lift in at MapleZone.  So I found my way back and drove to MapleZone drenched in sweat.  I swear there were sweat marks on my shorts when I walked in to lift. But I didn’t care too much.

 

 

 

I completed the Circuit Challenge workout from my Nike Training Club app.  It was mostly legs.  I had a lot of lunges, squats, jump squats, froggers, etc.  I loved the feeling. I am excited to get these legs back into shape!  They’re slowly getting there.

Today I am giving myself the day off.  I’m letting my legs get a bit of rest so that I can go hard on them again tomorrow.  Well actually… the #1 reason that I’m giving myself the day off is because I’m going to my first Phillies game of the year tonight!  YAY!  I received the tickets from my Phillies race so I essentially got them for free, kinda.  I can’t wait to hear the crack of the bat and the crowd and yes even the $7 beers.  Ahhhhhh baseball season!

 

I’m thankful that my job has a laid back dress code so that I can wear my Phillies gear to work. And flippy floppys.

Tomorrow I am going to one of Rustin’s games, finally.  They are playing one of their biggest rivals.  The field is about 3.5 miles from my house so I think I might run to the field.  Running back after the game might not be as fun.  I’ll have to think about that one.  I do know a shortcut.

I could double my midweek mileage in just that run alone.  Now that’s some motivation.  I’m slacking on my goal to run 365 miles this year.  I need to start making some of those up now that the weather is more cooperative with my desire to do run long distances outside. I’m finally back into the swing of workouts and I want to keep this going and going and going and going.

10 days until Grey Towers 8K

3 months 3 days until Spartan Race

3 months 4 days until Color Run

BRINGIT.

Blinked By

Hello there! I’m not quite sure where this week went.  I feel like I blinked and all of a sudden it was Thursday.

I did have a pretty busy week on the professional front.  I don’t foresee any upcoming weeks that won’t be busy, but I’m 100% okay with that.  I like being busy.  It’s still weird to not be out on a softball field in the afternoons at this time of year.  Honestly, I’m okay with that too.  I’m really loving everything that I’m working on at my job.

A couple of things that went down this week:

• I started lifting again – my hammys were/are so tight, a hurt so good kind of soreness
• I attempted the Eat Your Heart Out cleanse again for a couple days – stopped today just because I felt like it
• I finally submitted my taxes to get done – this was the first time I’ve ever had to take them somewhere myself, woof

Tonight, I have plans with a friend to hang out.  I should have the perfect amount of time to get a workout in, shower, make dinner, and start my banana bread before she comes over.  We work together and get along great!  We’ve been trying to find time to get together outside of work.  We’ve planned to watch one of Ellen’s stand up comedies!  I’m stoked.

Later on, I’m driving up to Peeg’s house for the weekend.  I decided to just work from there tomorrow so I don’t have to worry about traffic tomorrow.  I would seriously do just about anything to avoid that trip on Friday’s at 5pm.

Ready for some great news!?

I conquered two pretty big goals today!

1. Doubled our goal for a campaign we ran at work this month!

2. I had a goal to save a certain amount of $ by May 31, and I will hit that goal with tomorrows paycheck…two months early!

Both of these things put me in a great mood today!  I then started to write down some new goals to go after.  I will be sure to add them into my monthly goal list for April. 

I’m off to go keep that lift 3x this week goal in check!

❤

Freezing, Phillies, Fun, Feet, Future

I don’t know about you, but I had a wonderful weekend! It had just the right amount of activity and relaxation. 🙂

Friday night I took it easy. Peeg came down and we hung out over at a friend’s house to watch some March Madness. My bracket is in horrendous shape! We stayed a bit longer than I anticipated since I had my race the next day.

We started our Saturday morning early with some dunkin and headed down to the race. It was freeeeeezing! I was all stuffy, and I really was not in the mood to step outside of my cozy car. However, the race must go on! Poor Peeg stood out in the cold watching us run. He’s a trooper! 🙂

My group before the race

It was a big crowd, which caused for a slow start.  Unfortunately they have not adopted the wave starts yet, but it was still a good time.  The course was much better than last year, though still super crowded and narrow.  I don’t think I will be doing this run again next year unless they implement the wave starts.  There’s just not enough space to really get a good pace going.  My time on Saturday was 29:07.  I know my usual pace is 25-26.  I like trying to make good times and Saturday was more just a casual jog.  I actually didn’t mind too much since I could barely breathe out of my nose before the race even started. 😉  Overall, I had a great time!

Medals!

I love getting race medals! 🙂  I think it’s soon time to order a rack to hang them all on display.

After the race we rewarded ourselves with a few beers at Xfinity live.  I remembered that Lock Haven softball was playing at the University of the Sciences so Peeg and I decided to head there afterwards.  We watched them go into extra innings for the first game, stood in the slowest line for the worst tasting hazlenut coffee ever at Starbucks, then watched them get a run rule win for the second game…all complete with some sunburn on our faces! It felt great to spend the day outside.

And this is how my foot looked at the end of the day…

Not sure what that is

I call it my kickstand

I’ve had a good size lump there for a few years now, but it was a little more swollen than usual.  I’ve had 2 podiatrists check it out and neither could tell me what it could be.  Maybe the third would be the charm but I’m not really eager to spend hundreds of dollars for no answers again. Pretty isn’t it!? 😉

The rest of the weekend consisted of some great relaxing and lounging.  I think this race has started my itch for more runs again.  My next race isn’t until July and I want to sign up for a few others in between now and then.  Pee g and I are contemplating an 8K near his house.  I’d also like to get a 10k in soon.  You know…to add the new distances to my medal collection! 😉

Tonight I have a rare night off from lessons!  I’m going to take full advantage of it by getting some things done that I’ve been meaning to as well as start a strength routine.  That spartan sprint is going to creep up on me and I want to be in strong shape.  I’ve set a goal to do 3 NTC workouts this week. and I will accomplish it. It’s time to tone everything up!

Sticking to the Plan

Snow!?

Yep. Woke up to snow.  😦  I guess yesterday being the first day of Spring doesn’t mean a thing to Mother Nature.  She’s on her own agenda! ha.

My body did not want to get out of bed this morning.  After last night’s run I started to feel all stuffy.  Luckily I woke up with a clear path to breathe but my throat and ears still feel flemmy.  I almost didn’t complete my run yesterday because a friend had asked me to help with a softball practice.  But I stuck to my plan. I was proud of myself.  I always give up way too much to do softball things.

My goal was an 8:30 pace for 3.1 miles. I started out at a 9:00 pace because my legs were feeling heavy.  However, they did not want to go that slow so I bumped up to speed 7.5 and a few times to 9.5 again.  I finished with an 8:23 pace.  My overall time was 26:01.  I was NOT happy about that.  I wanted to be under 26. 😦  I guess I should pay more attention to the time before the last 10 seconds next time hehe.

I log all of my miles on DailyMile.com. (Let’s be friends?) I love when they send weekly reports of your workouts for the week.  The ones that say 0 workouts, your friends miss you really get to me! ha. They truly are motivational.  I also like to log them to keep track of my goal to run 365 for the year.

 

Tonight’s workout may be changed to walking around Ny&Co.  It depends on how long I feel like shopping and how my breathing feels with this flem at the time.  I may just default to hitting a couple buckets of softballs instead.  Oh maybe I’ll start my arsenal of batting videos!

March Madness started today and I filled out my first bracket ever!  My guesses are not very educated, but I’m excited to see how it goes.  Hopefully all the Philly schools do well. 🙂

Hope you are enjoying your day!  It’s almost Friday! ❤