A new challenge & cotton candy grapes

So, it’s been a year… And, given I only posted a few times in 2014, perhaps this is more of a restart.

To level with the 0.5, or 0, of you reading this, for so long I believed that much of my identity involved running (didn’t pick up on that with the blog name right? 😉 I know, Captain Obvious here). I was so excited to run and train again when I came back from a hip injury, that I started this little blog last year. Then a funny thing happened: I stopped wanting to run. I went through a breakup, got overloaded with work, and found myself craving workout classes that made me feel strong and part of a community. I’m not saying that running doesn’t satisfy the latter but, for me, it had been more of a solo escape. All of that left me wondering what I could and would blog about so, I threw myself into my job and vanished from the blogosphere. I’m sure many people mourned.

Source

Well, fast forward a year and …I got laid off from my job. Turns out working for a startup can be risky; who knew? But seriously, I loved this job; I spent a lot of time figuring out what I wanted to do and was truly happy, so this came as a pretty big blow. In fact, I felt like I did when I stopped wanting to run: like a piece of me had died somehow. I know, I’m dramatic like that. Also, my lease is coming up, so my life seems a bit in flux at the moment. All of this made me realize 1) what I have perceived as losses are actually gains, even if I don’t see that at the time. For example, all of those classes have made me a stronger, happier runner. I have also found a great community with Pacers Running. Seriously, these people are the best and they even bribe me to run with Shake Shack once a month. 2) just blogging about running would probably be boring (I’m not fast, people. No winning races or brushes with fame in this girl’s future :D).

So what’s next? First and foremost, finding gainful employment but, also exploring more, especially in the world of fitness and wellness, and doing my best to stay positive during this challenge.

With all of that said, I’m back, blogging about my interests in food, fitness, and my ongoing journey in living a full healthy life. Oh and there will be running.

Side note: has anyone else tried Cotton Candy grapes? They are ridiculously tasty; they actually do taste like cotton candy! Where have these been all my life??

Source

Quick and Effective 30-minute Workout

Hello hello, hope your week is going well so far! Sorry for the short and sparse posting, this lack of home internet thing is killing me; I can’t wait for it to be installed!

Given my fun technical difficulties, I thought I’d just drop in with a quick post about a fun quick workout anyone can do to stay in shape this summer and still have time to play outside. This little gem came to me from Sport&Health and I’m eager to test it out! I will report back on my experience, but in case anyone else wants to give it a whirl and feel free to comment, here it is:

Summer Blast Workout from Sport&Health

Source: Sport&Health article

Enjoy :).

Last Week’s Goals and Some Other Thoughts

Wow, that is a random post title, but I suppose it’s fitting for an all-encompassing post! Hope your 4th of July weekend was great! I’ll have to post about mine later, but it was a good combo of moving, seeing friends, and enjoying the city. Spending a week moving apartments certainly makes it tough to blog and get in exercise (not to mention sleep!) Happily, this blog is already motivating me and keeping me accountable :). Read on to see how.

 

Last Week’s Goals

As a refresher, I set 2 goals for last week:

• Hit my daily Nike+ FuelBand goal – 11,000 steps or 3,000 fuel
• Get at least 7 hours of sleep per night

Result? I hit them both every day! Here are more details:

Daily Nike Fuel totals

Even though I was exhausted and super busy moving, this goal motivated me to take a little time out for myself and go for a walk, run, or even pace while binge-watching True Blood (don’t judge ;).) I’m grateful for the positive change physically and mentally during a bit of a crazy time.

As far as sleep goes, well I hit 7+ hours every night also, albeit a couple times it was more like 10 hours ha! Moving is rough I tell you.  A 3-day weekend = sleeping in.

 

Some Thoughts/Goals For the Coming Week

I love how setting (and keeping) last week’s goals impacted my life, so I’d like to keep it going and build upon the work I’ve done. A couple of things I’d like to get going come to mind:

• Nutrition: My brother’s fiancee works with the woman who created #thatcleandiet, and I’m itching to try the 6 day program, once I can locate my cookware in the box pile, that is :P.
• Running: I’m thinking about getting back into a marathon training program. I have no plans to sign up for a race at this point, I just miss it immensely and want to give my body the time it needs to build up in the most healthy way possible (slowly.) When I trained for my first marathon, I truly took care of myself and focused on balance; I think it would be good to get back into that mentality, and all of the fun runs with marathoning friends!
• Physical Therapy: I know I need to do my exercises, I do, but they’re no fun! Making it a goal to do them every day until they become second nature is essential, so I’m hoping setting this goal will motivate me :).

Excited to get back to this 🙂 🙂 🙂 :

Mile 20 and going strong!

More on these goals to come. I am on the final day of #100happydays, so I’ll be doing a post on that journey as well. Have a great rest of your Tuesday!

Busy week and a fast check-in

Happy not-Monday and, of course, GO USA!

Today has been a bit crazier than expected with all of the moving fun, so this will be just a quick update.

Weekly Goal progress:

Monday:

Nike FuelBand goals – Check!

• Fuel – 3016
• Steps: 12,017

June 30 goal reached! – apologies for the glow!

Sleep goal: Achieved – 7:15 hours of glorious sleep

Off to deal with moving fun, have a great rest of your Tuesday!

Last week’s workouts and this week’s goals

Hello hello, hope your weekend was full of fun. Mine was, well, productive :). I am moving this week, so most of my weekend was spent packing, organizing and moving some small things before the movers come for the furniture. That said, I still got in a little fun and some exercise.

Friday night – Room 11

Last week’s workouts:

• Monday: Rest/stretch
• Tuesday: 6.5 mile run!
• Wednesday: Metabolic Effect class at Sport&Health. This class kicks my butt and is so fun!
• Thursday: Rest/Stretch
• Friday: Off
• Saturday: Packing/Moving – this counts right? moving is tough!
• Sunday: Moving/4.5 mile run/a long walk <– more on that adventure next post

Returning a U-haul (with a great view)

 

I was hoping to get in more workouts last week but moving plus still getting back up to speed since getting my cartilage (labrum) fixed in April means I have to be patient and thankful for the exercise I do get in. So, keeping that in mind and knowing that this move is still in full swing this week, I’m focusing on a couple of goals for the coming days:

This week’s healthy goals:

• Hit my daily Nike+ FuelBand goal – 11,000 steps or 3,000 fuel
• Get at least 7 hours of sleep per night

Both of these are seemingly small goals, but both are attainable and make it easier for me to achieve bigger goals, such as going out for longer runs and balancing daily stress so I don’t stuff my face with chocolate eat too unhealthily ;). Funny enough, I think the sleep goal is going to be harder. I love sleep, and maybe it’s commuting to work plus the longer summer days, but often I find myself staying up way too late at night doing little things around the house, catching up on a show – True Blood is awesome, etc. Focusing on shutting down completely earlier is definitely going to be a challenge!

What are your goals for the week? Play along in the comments if you’d like :).

 

 

 

Tuesday’s workout

Is anyone else enjoying the fantastic and unseasonably mild Mid-Atlantic weather? I can’t believe it’s nearly July and I haven’t felt like melting into the Potomac! Given this good luck, I decided to forgo yoga on Monday and take it outside for an evening run.

Purple shoe!

sunset!

It was so nice outside that I ended up doing a loop around Roosevelt Island and a few miles out and back on the Mount Vernon trail. All in all, I ended up doing 6.5 miles, and obviously enjoyed stopping to take some pictures along the way ;). It felt so good to be back running post hip cartilage surgery (more on that later), but I also realized how silly I’d been to not bring fuel and hydration along with me. Running in June, mild weather or not, is no joke! Hope you’re enjoying your day and had a chance to catch the World Cup games. GO USA!!!

First post! Or, this is my motivation

I’ve been thinking about starting this blog for so long, but have always wondered what I would say. Could I make something as special as the many healthy living blogs I read daily? Then it occurred to me: those blogs have made such a difference in my life, maybe I can do the same for someone else. Or at least I can keep myself accountable and document my ongoing journey living a healthy,  balanced life. Yes, that word is bold on purpose. I am a marathoner, tech nerd, lover of health/fitness, and a ball of energy. I strive to find balance in life, whether it’s in running, work, or healthy eating – except chocolate, obviously ;).

On the blog I will post my workouts and some meals/snacks, as well as some other fun along the way. Thanks for visiting and I’m excited to kick off my little corner of the interwebs!