Out of Shape and Yoga Camp!

I had a total "you know you're a runner when.." moment on my run today. I was getting all whiny and feeling really out of shape when I realized that if I were truly out of shape, I couldn't just go out and run 6+ miles. Yes, I'm slower than I would like to be right now, but I'm by no means really out of shape.

I haven't been very consistent with my workouts lately, and, hello, the holidays are not known to encourage healthy eating.

Basically, I need to adjust my priorities over the next couple weeks as I start training for my next half.

I went to yoga again this morning. I woke up late (aka I didn't set an alarm) and was all ready to decide not to go, but managed to get myself out the door in time.

The teacher was doing a lot of walking around during class today and I feel like she lost track of how long we were in some poses since she wasn't doing it herself. We were in a high lunge and/or warrior pose for a really long time, and my legs were dying. I was definitely feeling my hips on my run this afternoon. There wasn't a class after ours, so class ran over by about 15 minutes. I was more than ready for savasana (corpse pose) when the time rolled around.

I told you guys about Yoga with Adriene and the 30 days of yoga challenge that I did earlier this year. Well, she's doing a yoga camp (on youtube) in January - you should sign up! It's another 30 day challenge, so there will be new (free!) videos every day!

I'm going to do it, you should join me! Adriene cracks me up (she gets a little goofy in some of her videos), and I love all her videos. Her videos are what got me back into yoga after a very long break.

Sign up for yoga camp HERE!

Have you had any "you know you're a runner when..." moments?

Are you going to join me for yoga camp? :)

It's So Shiny!

First, and most importantly, Happy Birthday Mom! Hope you're enjoying all your birthday snow!

One of our more interesting adventures!

I hope you all had a great Christmas yesterday!

We had a relaxing morning drinking coffee and exchanging presents. Tom got me some new running socks, knucks lights to combat the gloomy darkness, and a replacement for my slowly dying computer (among other things)!

As I was trying to download a program to help me move my files to the new computer, the old one staged a protest.

Brat. That's why you're being replaced.

Look how pretty my new computer is!

We're an all-Mac household now. I've been doing work things on our office computer (which is a Mac), so it's not too tricky for me to make the switch. Plus if I can't figure something out, Tom knows how to fix things.

Christmas afternoon/evening was spent visiting with Tom's family and eating a lot of delicious food. It was a fun day!

I had grand plans to get out for a run today. I have new socks to take for a spin! Unfortunately, my stomach has been feeling off all day, so the only thing I really accomplished was some serious running shoe online window shopping (I've got my eye on the Brooks Launch 2) and the dishes.

Tom and Buddy went for a run instead. I was jealous.

Fingers crossed that I'll be back to normal tomorrow so I don't feel quite so lazy.

Fudge, Star Wars and Other Randomness

My pistachio fudge turned out pretty good! I actually think it's more of a nougat texture, but it's tasty!

I used this recipe, but I let it cook a little longer than it said because I felt like the mixture needed a little longer to smooth out and become less gritty. If I make it again I would use a larger pan so the fudge would come out a little thinner. It's very sweet, so I think it would be better if it was more spread out. A better pistachio to fudge ratio. 

I cut some seriously consistently sized pieces too. Ha!

We'll see what other people think on Christmas.

The Sound of Music was on tv the other night as a sing along - it was basically movie karaoke. Pretty funny.

Tom and I went and saw the new Star Wars on Monday.

And again on Tuesday.

Tom is a big Star Wars fan, so the fact that he wanted to see it again is a big endorsement for the movie. I really liked it too! Have you seen it yet?

I can't remember the last time gas was this cheap!

I got this body butter as part of an Influenster campaign, and I ended up really liking it. I'm officially out!

I'm still looking for my motivation. It's been really hard to get out the door for a run this week. I made it out on Tuesday for 6 miles around the neighborhood, and I wasn't ridiculously slow, which was nice. My made up training plan has gone out the window this month. I'll be back to an actual training plan in January, so my goal right now is to do what I can so I don't feel like I'm starting over when that time comes.

And since no post is complete without a Buddy picture:

Pistachio Fudge and Yoga!

I've been meaning to get out and meet some people around here. I have my running buddies, but they're a 45 minute drive away since we moved.

This morning I made myself go out of my comfort zone and went to a yoga class outside the house.

Crazy, right?

I was a little nervous because I haven't been to a yoga class in years - I've just done yoga on my own or with videos. It ended up being funny though because for all my worrying, there were only 3 other people at the class, and none of them were crazy yoga masters.

Other than my inability to breathe with the teacher counting, I managed to keep up. Plus, now that I've been to that studio, I won't be such a baby about going again.

Funny story: when I was sitting on the floor during the warm up I looked out the window and thought, "what a pretty view!" All I could see were trees and sky. When I stood up, I realized that the studio backs up onto a cemetery. So maybe pretty wasn't the right word...

This afternoon I got some jambalaya going in the crock pot for dinner and attempted to make some pistachio fudge.

I say attempted because it's still setting and I haven't tasted it yet. Hopefully it turns out and we have something to contribute to Christmas dessert!

Nothing like making candy on your patio!

Last year I made Eggnog Cookies, and man were they delicious! I had to get creative this year since we are still kitchen-less.

How was your weekend? 

Do you go to group fitness/yoga classes? 

Jingle All the Way

I saw snow this morning! It didn't stick around or anything, but it was a nice festive start to my day.

My running group (Rivertown Runners) likes to run with jingle bells the weekend before Christmas, so we were a noisy bunch on the trails today.

We had a pretty good turnout, and it was actually cold out!

I swiped this photo from the facebook page - photo credit to Joe Golden. You can see my black headband 4 in from the left.

For some reason, the run felt tougher than usual, but having people to run with always makes things go more quickly than running alone.

In house news, there hasn't been a lot going on that I can really show you pictures of. Rough electrical and plumbing just don't scream photo op.

Our shower base and tub are in now, one of these days we'll take that window out!

That right there is a 6 foot tub. It's going to be awesome to have a tub that you can actually soak in. I hate tubs where you have to choose whether you want your legs or your torso in the water.

Buddy's very excited.

Our weekend project (well, one of them) is to re-watch the Star Wars movies so we can go see the new movie on Monday or Tuesday while kids are still in school.

Have you seen the new Star Wars yet? Are you going to?

What's the last movie you saw in the theater? We pretty much never go. The last movie we saw in the theater was The Martian, but before that it was the third Hunger Games movie - we average about one per year.

Buddy The Running Dog

Have you seen my motivation anywhere? I seem to have lost it.

The last couple of days I have just NOT been feeling my runs/workouts for some reason. I have mostly been getting some decent workouts in, but I just don't want to.

I took a total rest day yesterday, and was well on my way to saying goodbye to today's run too when I saw this face:

Ooooookay, fine.

We hit the road and ended up having a nice, if slow, run. Buddy was doing really well, and every time I tried to let him take a walk break he would just keep running. He hit a new distance today - 4 miles!

He's a little tired now.

A kiddo in one of my classes gave me chocolate covered pretzels and holiday scented hand sanitizer today. Sweet.

I sent most of my Christmas presents off in the mail today. The woman at the post office was not very friendly (there's a guy who works there who is much nicer), but the end result was the same.

Oh, and if you need/want anything from PRO Compression, they're having their year end sale right now - 42% off (and free shipping!) with code: YEAREND

The code is good until the 31st - go get some socks!

The Best Intentions

I had planned on getting back to the blog sooner. The days around the holidays just go by so quickly!

I tried to update iTunes the other day. The install failed and then I had no iTunes at all. I then spent several days trying to figure out the problem. In the end, I have no idea which of the many things I tried actually solved the problem, but at least I have access to my music and audiobooks again.

Technology is fun like that.

Buddy is the best training partner. I don't know anyone who is always this excited to go for a run.

I have been taking him with me two days a week for 2-3 miles, and he's doing great! He gets so excited when I change into my running clothes, and I always feel bad when I don't take him with me. Maybe someday we'll work up to longer runs.

I couldn't pass these up at the grocery store the other day. They're already gone.

I met up with my old running group again on Saturday. I was really tired, but it ended up being a really nice run on the trails. It was almost too hot by the time we finished. Our weather is really weird right now (way too warm for December), it doesn't feel like Christmas is almost here.

When I got home I hung out (in my running gear) with the lap dog for a while.

And I learned that there is an entire channel just hanging out, waiting for the Star Wars red carpet. Seems weird.

I had a long run on my (made up) training plan for today. I was shooting for 10, but quickly realized that was not going to happen. I don't know if it was the weather, my 7 miles on Saturday, or if I'm just tired, but every mile was a struggle today.

I pushed through and my last mile was actually my fastest least slow, so at least I rallied and finished 8 miles strong.

What's your weather doing? 

How's your running lately?