Wellness Wednesday...2015 Ep. 4

Wednesday: 3.75 mile run
Thursday: rest
Friday: rest
Saturday: 1:00 yoga class (fun yoga - an all levels mixed class)
Sunday: 8.3 mile run, 1:15 yoga (deep stretch)
Monday: 1:15 yoga class (yin yoga)
Tuesday: rest

Miles for week: 12.05
YTD miles: 45.5

Had to take a few rest days this week.  I didn't run on Friday because I was just plain tired.  I have found when I get that way, it's best to not push myself to run or do anything but rest.  I also rested Thursday and Tuesday for the same reason.  I tried some different yoga classes this week.  I may go back to yin yoga next Monday, I'm not 100% sure if it's for me, but I want to give it a few weeks to see.  The fun yoga on Saturday is kind of "teachers choice,"  it's intended to be for all levels, there are all kinds of modifications, and the teacher rotates each week.  I enjoyed the class, but not sure if the teacher is for me...she was great, but her style is different, and that works for some but not all.  I'll probably keep fun yoga on the list of classes I go to, but only when I don't have other things planned.  Like next Saturday is a partner yoga workshop that I'm going to with my hubby....so I won't go to class that morning. 

Long run felt great.  My legs have felt pretty good the past few weeks.  We'll see how it all goes when I move to double digits in another week or so.

I have stitched...

a tiny bit.  This month has been pretty non-existent in the sewing area.  My ALYoF project hasn't been touched, so not planning on meeting that goal.  This past weekend I finally sat down and spent a few minutes getting all of the corner pieces sewn, cut and pressed on my Jellybean quilt. (since it was what was laid out on my table).  So now I have a stack like this:

And now it will be set aside.  Hopefully I'll get back to it a bit more in February.

Wellness Wednesday...2015...Ep. 3

Happy Wednesday!  Love having a short week of work this week.  I won't dilly dally too much here, let's just jump in to the past week's fitness results:

Wednesday: 4.1 miles run and 20 min yoga for runners sequence
Thursday: 1:00 yoga class
Friday: 4.05 mile run
Saturday: 1:00 yoga class
Sunday: 7.5 mile run, 1:15 yoga class
Monday: rest
Tuesday: 1:00 yoga class

Miles for week: 15.65
YTD miles: 33.4

Well, I didn't make a full 7 days of yoga.  And that's ok.  I was just plain tired by Friday evening, and so I took a break.  My mileage is much better this week.  I can say that I've felt the difference yoga has made in my running.  It's not a huge difference, but it's enough that my legs are much more comfortable even after a long run.  I hope to see continued improvement in this area. 

That's it for today.  It is a short week, so I've got lots of stuff to get done in just a few days!   Off to work I go!

Wellness Wednesday...2015 Ep. 2

Happy Wednesday!  So here was what I did the past week:

Wednesday: rest
Thursday: 1:15 yoga class
Friday: rest
Saturday: 1:15 yoga class
Sunday: 6.4 miles and 1:15 yoga class (deep stretching!)
Monday: rest, 15 mins light yoga (video)
Tuesday: 1:00 yoga class (core flow)

Miles for week: 6.4
Miles for year: 17.7


Not as much mileage as I would like, but I'm ok with that for now.  It was a bit of a random week, lots of stuff going on, so running didn't necessarily happen.  What did happen was yoga, lots of yoga!  I'm so excited to be taking classes again.  I'm hoping that it will be the difference that helps improve my overall time.  Not to mention that the mental health benefits are out of this world!

Now, last week I said my goal was to cross train AND have yoga.  Well...for some reason I was thinking that yoga wasn't enough for cross training.  It turns out it is.  I fell in love with yoga last year, but reached a point where it wasn't working for me with the class schedule, location, etc.  So I stopped going.  Well, my teachers have opened a new studio, the class schedule is fabulous, plus they offer classes on the weekend!  AND...they are offering classes that really work as cross training for runners in particular.  The core flow class I took last night...WOW...definitely helped work some of the areas of my body that are somewhat neglected or weak due to running.  So my new plan is to just keep up with yoga.  Right now I've practiced yoga for 4 days in a row, hoping to make that 7 (at least 10 minutes a day), and then go from there.  There is such a thing as too much yoga, don't want to risk injury or problems by over doing it.

So there it is.  Plans for this week:  get my mileage back up a little bit, continue yoga at least 10 minutes a day, eat well!

Wellness Wednesday...2015 Ep. 1

Happy Wednesday!  This Wellness Wednesday started on Thursday, January 1...so it's not a full week, but it's a great start to the year!

First my 2015 goals:

1. Run 600 miles this year
2. Run a full marathon (already signed up for this, it's in December, lots of time to prepare!)
3. Finish 2 half marathons in March, injury free
4. CROSS TRAIN!!! (what's going to help me attain goal #2 and #3)
5. YOGA (in addition to cross training, not in place of)
6. Nutrition

To accomplish the mileage goal, I need to average 50 miles/month, which I think is very doable considering the last 3-4 months of the year I'll be marathon training.  Yeah, I signed up to run a full marathon...only mild panic happening with that.  The two half marathons in March will be the only races that length for the year (maybe), but I will be doing lots of 5k races as well. As for cross training and yoga, I've got to get it back in gear!  I was able to run a faster half in March last year than I was in November last year because I was cross training, and the yoga helped keep me injury free for the most part.  Last...nutrition.  My eating habits have gotten out of control, and I really need to be back to fueling my body properly, get my weight back down, and feeling healthier.

So there ya go!  

and now, how it went this week:

Thursday: 3.54
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 4.55
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3.25

Weekly Mileage: 11.3
YTD Mileage:11.3

Nutrition has been pretty decent the last few days.  I'm back to counting my calories and balancing my carbs/protein/fats/etc.  It's all about developing the habits (or more accurately, re-developing the habits) that got me to where I wanted to be 18 months ago. 

So there ya have it!  Have a happy and healthy Wednesday!

ALYoF---January Goal

I'm giving A Lovely Year of Finishes another go this year.  While I didn't always participate last year (unfortunately) and I didn't always complete my goal (insert sad face), it did help me focus a little bit of my sewing each month.  Sometimes it's the only sewing I did in a month!

My January ALYoF goal is to finish my Red Letter Day blocks.  I've got 6 done

and three to go!  I've got all of the fabric for the prints cut out for 2 more blocks, just need to get the background cut.  And I'm still working on what I want to do for the final block.

2015 goals

Well, here we go, another New Year, another set of goals!  I'll just go ahead and dive in:

1. Finish 10 quilts
2. Use my stash
3. Handquilt more
4. Make at least one scrap quilt

Really short and simple this year, and I'm really happy with that.  My "theme" for 2015 will be to keep it simple.  I don't want to feel so bogged down by something I said I was going to do on January 1st, when by February 1st I could going in a completely different direction!  More "go with the flow," less "stick with the script."  

On a different note, Wellness Wednesday will be back next week.  I have some 2015 fitness goals, so it's time to get that post back and regular!

I'm so looking forward to seeing what 2015 has in store...Happy New Year!