Get Out and Do Things

I ran with a new (to me) group this morning. I always get a little nervous just showing up places (new running groups, yoga studios, etc), but I'm trying to make myself get out and do things from time to time. This group meets at 7:30am (ewwwwww), but they're about 15 minutes closer to the house than my usual group.

It was a little tricky to find where they meet, but I managed to get there before they all took off. Everyone was really nice, and explained the route to me.

There was another new woman who I started out running with, but neither of us knew where we were going and we were quickly losing sight of the others. She told me to go ahead. I felt bad leaving her, but she had her headphones and seemed perfectly happy to run on her own.

I did a little speedwork to catch up to a couple of people and chatted and ran with one older man for a while before he told me he needed to slow down and that I should go on. They have water and gatorade set up about 3.3 miles from where they start (they take turns putting it out every week), and some of the group waited there to make sure I knew where I was, which was nice. Then they were off again. Some took what is about an 11 mile route, and others went on one that is 13+ miles.

A few of us turned around at the water stop and I ended up running back with a man and his dog in total silence. Not really my idea of running with a group.

They run around a reservoir, which is very pretty (I forgot to take pictures), but there really aren't any mid-pack runners for me to run with.

My usual group starts together and ends together and you can always find someone to run with at any pace. There's more of a community feeling than with this other group. I know part of that feeling is because I'm new to the group, but if I hadn't made an effort to catch up with people, I feel like I may have been left behind.

After I got home, I lounged around with Buddy and some coffee before tackling the enormous pile of dishes in our kitchen. I was doing so well keeping up with the dishes until this week and then we were out of clean plates...

Yoga Camp officially kicked off yesterday, but Adriene understands that people might not be at their best on New Year's Day, so the yoga actually started today. It was a pretty relaxing video, which worked out nicely since I've been doing a lot of running the last couple days.

Do you ever run with a group?

Are you good at mornings? I'm not.

Time Flies

Well, hi there!

I feel like I haven't posted anything in forever! I keep thinking about it, and just haven't made it to the computer. There have actually been days this week that I never turned my computer on, which is rare.

I can't even say what has been keeping me away, because thinking back over the last few days, I don't really know. I don't feel like I've been doing much more than usual, but I must be, because the days keep flying by.

I've been: teaching classes, moving firewood, helping Tom assemble a garage-in-a-box for the tractor, going to the grocery store, making dinner, doing dishes, doing laundry, Christmas shopping...just living life I guess.

I actually started writing this on Wednesday afternoon, and here we are and it's Thursday. Whoops!

My running has been generally lazy since my run with the group on Saturday, but I did get in a good 4 miles worth of intervals this afternoon. I am still liking my Moov Now a lot, and I will try to get a review up for you. Eventually.

I spent more time than I care to admit carefully peeling that blue Nuun sticker off of a box today so I could add it to my training log.

The box was from this cute skullcap that I won on Twitter last week. Yay free stuff!

In case you're having Buddy withdrawals, here's a picture from the other night when he invited himself onto the couch. 

Anything new and exciting with you? How's the Christmas shopping going?

Thanksgiving, Playing Chicken and Shopping

How was your Thanksgiving?

We had a pretty laid back holiday, which was really nice. Tom was up dark and early to do a little sitting in the woods hunting with our neighbor. Buddy and I had a relaxing morning and I finally got myself out the door around 10 to go for a run.

My watch is back and fully functional!

TomTom customer service was wonderful and the only thing I had to pay for was shipping the busted watch back to them. I ran an easy 8 with my audiobook, took a short break at home and then went back out for another 2 with Tom and Buddy. Ten Thanksgiving miles before the big meal.

The house was too hot when we got home, so we spent a little cool off time in the yard. Sometimes when Buddy is running around the yard he plays chicken. He runs straight at you and then veers off to one side or the other at the last second and just keeps on running. Only yesterday, instead of holding still, I tried to move out of the way and took his giant head right to the side of my knee. I ended up on my butt, facing the opposite direction I had been standing. Tom did a really good job of making sure I wasn't actually hurt before he started laughing. There's definitely a bruise, but I'll survive.

We went to Tom's friend's house for dinner and had a nice time visiting with everyone and eating way too much food - as is traditional.

I spent most of today thinking that it was Saturday, and doing dishes. I have no idea how two people create so many dishes. We're just talented like that. Plus I checked out a few online black Friday deals and did a little Christmas shopping from the comfort of my couch. I don't do black Friday. People are crazy.

Did you brave the crowds and go shopping today?

What was the best part of your Thanksgiving? 

Running, Yoga, and Buddy in a Hat

Nothing terribly exciting around these parts lately. This week has flown by and I feel like all I've done is teach classes, do dishes, run and decide what to have for dinner.

That's pretty much life, right? Deciding what to eat for dinner every. single. day. Mom, I'm sorry for all the times you asked what we wanted for dinner and we didn't help at all.

I completed my 30 days of yoga challenge. I actually did every day and didn't skip any!

And - get this - I'm still doing yoga. I have seen noticeable improvements in my strength and flexibility, and while I'm still a long ways off from being a super bendy yogi, I'm way better than a month ago.

Please enjoy this random photo dump from the week:

I've been researching showers and bath tubs for the new bathrooms. It's not a kind of shopping I find fun.

The obligatory weekly trip to the laundromat.

My computer did this again. It happens so often now that I don't even freak out anymore. As long as it turns back on - we're good.

Buddy hates when I get in his face to take a picture.

A little post-run Nuun and my new Moov. I ran a cadence workout on Wednesday with the Moov; it was interesting. The focus was on shorter, quicker steps, and since it can tell your range of motion (you wear it on your ankle when running) it yells at informs you when you are striding out too much. The shorter steps feel odd, and a little bit like I'm shuffling, but it is allegedly a more efficient way to run once you're used to it. We'll see.

I never knew how much work wood stoves were to get them burning efficiently. I'm not good at it yet.

Wild Sockeye salmon was $7.99/lb instead of $14.99/lb the other day. I couldn't pass that up! Tom made a fancy salmon - the picture doesn't really show how pretty it was.

Just harassing the dog. As usual.

The longer I was in the store the other day, the less healthy my choices became. This was a little odd, but also pretty addicting. Luckily it's a small bag.

Buddy and I went for a run this afternoon, and then I harassed him with my Nuun hat.

I can't help myself.

How was your week? Anything fun planned for the weekend?

New Sponges and Other (Not)Exciting Things

Today was one of those days where I was so productive I wonder what on earth I do with my time normally. It helps that I don't teach classes on Mondays right now, so I did have the entire day to get things done.

I spent some time in the morning putting together email lists for work stuff. I felt like I was back at my old life, entering blood donation records for the Red Cross. Type a bit, flip a paper over, type some more, click a few things. I don't miss that job. I also don't miss my basement cubicle life. I do miss working with Tiny and seeing her everyday though.

I tackled the dishes, which somehow ended up being almost all of the plates we have out (the kitchen is going to be gutted, so we still haven't unpacked) despite the fact that I'm pretty sure I washed them yesterday.

My reward was throwing out the old kitchen sponge for a shiny new one. Being an adult is lame sometimes.

Buddy and I went for a 3 mile run around the neighborhood. He went out way too fast and we had some serious positive splits going on. He had a blast though. I have built in running with Buddy days on my "not training for anything" training plan, so he will get out and about more often.

An added bonus of taking him running is that his nails aren't quite so lethal from running on the pavement. This is good because I can usually only get one nail clipped before he completely loses his mind and starts playing keep away.

When I got home I hit the mat for day 15 of my (self-imposed) 30 day yoga challenge. I don't want to speak too soon, but I have been enjoying taking a bit of time to slow down and do a little yoga. I'm definitely noticing some increased flexibility.

I'm not a fan of how early it gets dark now. Seriously, the sun is setting before 5 o clock! Not cool.

Don't forget to enter my hemp hearts giveaway! It takes a few seconds and you have seriously good odds of winning because apparently no one likes free stuff anymore.

Two for One

I meant to post last night, and then it didn't happen, so you get two days in one post - a great value! Speaking of great values, our grocery store keeps having buy ONE get TWO free english muffins. It's pretty exciting. I'm all stocked up :)

Monday:

I finally tackled the dishes that we have been ignoring for days. Dishes are my least favorite part of eating.

The order is eating - cooking - dishes, in case you were wondering.

Buddy is pretty excited that the snow is finally almost gone - there are so many new smells to smell!

 I did laundry and then I pulled everything out of my drawer of running stuff. It turns out that if I fold everything (and put away my heavy duty winter gear) it all actually fits in the drawer. It closes and everything!

So fancy!

Buddy tried to get me to nap in the afternoon, but I still can't nap. Any nap tips would be greatly appreciated.

Tuesday:

My run today was 4 easy miles with some Gilmore Girls. I came upstairs to find his highness in my spot on the couch.

Brat.

We're having some seriously strong wind gusts tonight - the power has flickered once so far and I keep hearing various sirens going off outside. Fingers crossed that it sticks around.

Mostly Pictures of Buddy

Happy Tuesday! Sorry I've been MIA the last few days. I've actually had things to do lately, so I'm getting back in the swing of properly managing my time.

The less exciting side of things is that I've been setting an alarm this week, which I have to get used to again. It's been a while. That's not to say that I've been sleeping until noon every day, I'm usually up by 8, but 6 and 8 are quite different.

Some highlights from the last few days:

We got a few inches of snow Saturday night into Sunday, and then Sunday we were treated to some above freezing temperatures. It's so wrong when temperatures in the upper 30s feel sort of warm.

I did some shopping and managed to only buy the pants that I set out to buy. I was pretty proud of myself.

Buddy tried to stop me from running, but I managed to make it down to the treadmill for the last 4 miler of my cutback week. I was not feeling it at all, but I trudged my way through it.

I took no pictures on Monday. And I didn't run. I did, however do a TON of dishes that we were avoiding all weekend.

Today's run was a good one. My training plan called for 3 easy miles, but I was in the groove, so I ended up at 4.32 miles in 40 minutes.

I sat down on the treadmill to stretch and was promptly joined by Buddy.

He's kind of ridiculous.

Cooking, Cleaning, and Hanging out Upside Down

I've been busy busy cleaning the house the last couple days. 

I had a mellow morning on Wednesday and made myself some biscuits and gravy. I have tried several times recently to successfully make my grandma's biscuit recipe (I have the recipe, I just don't have the touch). I'm getting closer. These ones were good!

At around 1:00 someone made an appointment to come see the house at 4:30, and I ran all over the house to get it clean in time.

Buddy and I went to Rockefeller Preserve and wandered around for all of 15 minutes before we decided it was much too cold.

We drove around town to kill time until we could go home.

Another person made an appointment to see the house this morning, so I did some quick dishes, swiffered the floor and packed the dog into the car. Since I knew it was going to be too cold out to be outside, we drove up to the new house to check out the snow (and because I hadn't been up to see in in a long time).

I got 4 mile runs in both Wednesday and today - fairly uneventful, as cutback weeks tend to be. The only thing less interesting than cutback weeks are taper weeks.

I've also been spending some time upside down.

I find this arm positioning way easier than the tripod stand I was doing the other day. I still have terrible balance, but I'm getting a few more seconds of balance off the wall, so I'm getting better.

It's fun. :)

I made stuffed chicken breasts for dinner tonight. As an added bonus, they actually turned out the way I wanted (this is not always the case when I cook).

They're stuffed with goat cheese and arugula and wrapped up with prosciutto - hard to go wrong with that combination!

I win at dinner tonight.

Some Early Thoughts on PiYo

There was a decent amount of snow falling this morning. Buddy and I felt that it was much too early to have snow blowing in our faces.

I made a super delicious breakfast with an English muffin, guacamole, greens and eggs.

It was a good way to start the morning. Much better than the snow in my face.

I did two PiYo workouts today. The first one was Define: Upper Body. It was a short one, about 20 minutes, and honestly, it didn't feel like it even counted as working out for the day. Next up was Sweat. This one meant business. It was about 35 minutes and I was definitely sweating! I liked the variety of moves, and the fact that it has a countdown on the screen so if you're in a tough segment you can check it and decide that yes, you can actually do that for another 30 seconds. The two combined made for a good workout!

Some things I like about PiYo so far (as I have done 3 workouts I am now clearly an expert):

• The pace: it uses a lot of yoga moves that I was already familiar with, but is more up tempo. Plus, the variety of moves makes time go pretty quickly. 
• It's low impact strength and stretching. The style of workout is so different from what I'm used to, but that's why I think it's a good complement to my running. I already feel like my muscles are less tight than they have been.
• The feeling I have when I'm finished. It's a relaxed soreness that kind of reminds me of how I feel after a massage.
• I like the instructor. She doesn't yell at me or want me to throw up (I'm looking at you Jillian Michaels). She wants you to work hard, but is more worried about keeping correct form than killing yourself.

Some things I don't like:

• Every workout ends with an ad for Shakeology (a Beachbody meal replacement shake) or some skincare product. I paid for workout program, not the home shopping network on dvd.
• The cost of the program. I actually found my PiYo on Ebay for about $30 (please don't hate me if you're a Beachbody coach), but if you buy it through Beachbody it's around $73. That just seems insane to me (and this is one of their cheaper programs), especially since they're still trying to sell you more things even after you buy the program. 
• There is such a thing as PiYo burpees. Need I say more?

If you do decide to poke around on Ebay (or another site) just be aware that there are a LOT of fake copies of Beachbody programs floating around. 

I managed to convince myself to do some laundry and the dishes this afternoon, but otherwise have had a pretty mellow day. 

And if anyone has control over these things: Buddy would like the snow to please go away now. Thanks!

 What's your least-favorite workout move? Mine is burpees, hands down.

I Really Like Food

Buddy and I had a pretty typical day today.

I made myself a really delicious breakfast of roasted sweet potato, broccoli and cauliflower topped with eggs and hot sauce. After putzing around reading blogs and watching the Today show, I did the dishes and hit the grocery store before lunch.

I made some really good life decisions at the store. And by that I mean I bought some really delicious things.

I knew these were coming out - I've been keeping my eyes out for them. For some reason they only come in a weird small package.

We haven't tried them yet, but I'll keep you posted :)

And I couldn't pass this up:

It's mocha ice cream with cookies and cookie dough - it's really good. Don't be like me. I am not a healthy living blogger.

I'm a total spaz and left my groceries on the counter for longer than I care to admit when I got home. I was headed to the basement to workout and noticed my space cadet moment.

I did a HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout today. Then I remembered that I really don't like HIIT workouts. I'm still trying to find a workout for my non-running days that I actually like. I'm open to suggestions.

Then I got a surprise in the mail!

Apparently, I won a giveaway from FitFluential and didn't know it - hooray snacks! I've had the coconut chips Bare Fruit makes (amazing), and who doesn't like apple chips? I was actually trying to find apple chips at the store the other day and after going up and down pretty much every aisle, I don't think our grocery store has any, which I thought was weird.

I'm pretty sure I need this tank

What's your favorite healthy snack? Less-than-healthy snack?

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