Checking things off the bucket list; in bulk

I've always been pretty adventurous, spontaneous, and the kind of person that wants to live life to the fullest.  Over the last few years, I've taken on an even bigger appreciation for this outlook.  I don't want to look back on my life and wish I had done something I chose not to.

How to balance work, running, health, and a social life

It seems like our lives keep getting more and more full and we are being stretched thin and in about a hundred directions at once.  Whether it's kids, being a caregiver for an aging family member, a career that demands long hours and lots of travel, or a multitude of other things, there's never a shortage of something to take up your time (that you just don't have).  So, how do you balance it all without offending people, dropping the ball at work, or driving yourself to sheer exhaustion?

Virginia Wine Country Half Recap and a Healthy Pineapple Dessert Recipe!

Yesterday was the Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon, and, if you saw my post from a few days ago, you know I did not train for this race and knew I wasn't fully prepared going into it.  So, it's not surprising that it was a slow race, but that's okay because I still finished and felt great at the end.  (I didn't even have any knee pain after all of the hills!)

I can't stay away

So, I had decided to take a break from doing races and just focus on my health and do fun/easy runs without the need for a rigorous training schedule.  That lasted for about a month, then I realized I'm simply not that kind of person.  By focusing on my health, that's really all I did, continually focus on my health and get frustrated that I can't fix everything.  I kept being reminded that it is something that isn't within my control and since I didn't have a training schedule or goal to distract me, it actually had a negative impact on my well-being.  Once I realized that, I quickly located some races and registered for them.  I instantly felt better after hitting the register button; I now had something to distract me from the aspects of my health that I can't control (and work of course) and a goal to focus on achieving.

So, as of right now, here's what my schedule looks like:

So, you're saying I'm not invincible?

This morning's schedule was supposed to look like this; wake up at 4:15am, take a quick shower to loosen up my muscles, put on all my race gear, and be out the door by 5am to head to the metro.  By 7am I would be making my way into corral number 19 of 33 with thousands of other runners, ready to complete my fourth marathon in a year.  My day didn't go quite as planned...

Accept the Challenge - A recap of my February Instagram yoga challenge

After experiencing so many amazing milestones in my running, I decided it was time to diversify my fitness and branch out into other areas that I don't yet have confidence in.  The first stop on this new journey was yoga.  I've always enjoyed and experienced the benefits of yoga when I actually dedicated time to it, but while training for marathons it wasn't my top priority.  Granted I did a lot of stretching and used yoga poses to help my running, but I didn't ever challenge myself to try new positions and I certainly didn't openly post pictures of myself trying them so other people could see my blatant yoga flaws.  February changed all of that.

In like a lion...

I think it's safe to say that March really does come in like a lion.  We started March off with another snowstorm.  Thankfully, it wasn't as much snow as the last one, but, I was just starting to be able to see the sidewalks and could almost taste an outside run...now I have to wait again for everything to thaw out.  I'm holding my breath and hoping the "out like a lamb" part comes true also.  At least I have some great tea filled with wisdom to keep me warm and cozy. This is my Muscle Recovery Yogi Tea; it smells so amazing, you HAVE to try it.  Plus, who doesn't like tea that has a fun inspirational saying on each teabag?

Surf's up! (I wish...) A review of the SURFSET® Fitness class

It's February.  It's cold.  It's snowing (again).  And, I really miss the beach and hot summer days. About a year ago I ran across the SURFSET® Fitness class which simulates surfing indoors to provide a great workout.

We've got winners!

Happy Wednesday everyone!  I don't know about you, but I couldn't be happier it is Wednesday; it's been a long week already and I can't wait to get to Friday, AND it's finally time to select winners for the free mud run entries.  Alright, let's get down to business, we have four lucky ladies that have won entries into the Pretty Muddy 5k obstacle race; they are...

Marathon on a whim and more race discounts?!?!

My first marathon was on March 17, 2013.  Since then, I ran two more marathons (one of them being part of the 48.6 mile Dopey Challenge). After completing my last marathon as part of the Dopey Challenge I've been kind of taking it "easy" and just running (mostly speed workouts) and focusing on strength training, yoga, and mixing more cycling into my routine.  It's been going great, but every day I have this nagging in the back of my mind telling me that I need to do a fourth marathon before March 17th.

Sunday Breakfast Experimenting

Sunday is usually our lazy day.  We still go to the gym at some point for an hour or two, but we take our time getting up in the morning, watch some tv, and usually make a big breakfast.

This morning, I finally tried making Gluten Free Protein Pancakes. I've been wanting to make them for months and never got around to it but this snowy weekend seemed like the perfect time to try them out, and, I actually had everything I needed to make them in the house already.