Christmas in Pictures

I started Christmas Eve teaching class, which was just perfect. We did a '12 Days of Christmas' workout. I typed it up below. You do it just like the song. 

1 30 second plank

2 star jumps and a 30 second plank

3 bent over rows, 2 star jumps and a 30 second plank

etc.

It was a lot of fun! It ended up taking my class about 30 minutes. We stuck together through the whole thing. I let some people go ahead and told them to just meet us in a plank each round. 

Afterwards, Milo and I got on the ferry to head over to the Peninsula. There was hardly a ferry line at all and we got on the ferry within 30 minutes! Woop!

Milo and I on the ferry. Poor little dude still hates the car. We did make it within 10 minutes of my parents' house before he threw up though! Progress!

My parents don't do a real Christmas tree anymore. This was a tiny guy with some lights and LOTS of presents!

Milo was very happy with lots of room to roam in a big house. We actually ended up tying him and my parents' dogs on opposite ends of the room because they are both puppies and play so rambunctiously!

Hey, Dad, can you get any closer to the TV?

Christmas morning was great! We ended up going out to get coffee and then came back to open gifts. I got a new Vitamix! And some stuff for Milo including some personal training and a Gentle Leader harness.

I went for a short run on Christmas and was wearing the most ridiculous outfit ever, so I asked my Stepmom to take a picture. Please note the green and black striped socks and pink shoes.

The rest of trip was spent hanging out with family, taking lots of walks with the pups and soaking in some relaxing time.

 I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Two Day Weekend

What a great weekend! It was so nice to have two days off in a row, I can't even tell you how much calmer and more relaxed I was! 

Friday included a final trip to Core Power Yoga on my week free pass. I've really enjoyed this place. I do feel like it is more about getting in a workout than actual yoga, but I found myself loving the sweat-fest that happened each class! This Friday class was rough for me because my body was pretty sore and exhausted. Which meant Saturday was a complete rest day for me!

Saturday I took and PASSED the NASM Personal Trainer Certification exam. Thank goodness. My previous certification was WITS (World Instructor Training School), which I've always been mildly embarrassed about. Glad to have another certification under my belt! I have plans for several more in the next year including Ace Group Fitness, Les Mills Body Pump, and hopefully TRX!

I didn't feel like I was well prepared for the exam. I had studied a bit, but didn't feel like I had put everything to memory or that I could use it in a practical situation. I fully expected to have to retake the exam, and was kicking myself in the butt because it was going to cost me $200. On the way to the test, Mt. Rainier was out in full force and gave me a moment of calm that I desperately needed!

After I found out I passed the exam, my anxiety literally melted away! I spent the rest of the morning finishing up a little Christmas shopping before heading home to wrap presents! Milo helped. I also baked cookies that I planned to decorate Sunday. My sugar cookies are at least a 3 day process of making the dough and chilling it, cutting out and baking the cookies and then decorating. More on that to come.

On Sunday, I slept in until almost 7:30am, which felt GLORIOUS! (By the way, I know it's sad that 7:30 is sleeping in for me.) Milo was itching to get outside at that point.

"MY ball!"

After a slow morning, I headed out for a run. I randomly decided to wear headphones, which I haven't done while running outside in probably almost a year! It was fun, but I remembered why I like running without headphones. I missed the quiet! I spent a lot of my run being thankful. I feel like there are so many people who are injured and sick right now and I'm just so grateful to be able to continue doing what I love!

One of my co-workers hurt her MCL and is hobbling around not able to do much at all. Three of my co-workers are also sick, like been out for almost a week sick. My Dad is suffering from his up-teenth time with plantar fasciitis. My Stepmom has to tiptoe around her tight back that is prone to injury. And then I always think about those with chronic illnesses like Ali and Robyn, who fight so hard to get the chance to live their lives the way they want to live it. It must be so difficult when your body fights you and it feels like everything is against you.

Anyways, I'm very lucky and I try not to forget that.

And here's a random tidbit: I've been trying to grow my hair out and have been putting coconut oil in it once or twice a month. This stuff is awesome! I slather some on my hair and comb it through before I go out for a run and then I come back and wash it out. My hair ends up so silky and smooth ("Oh really fool, really! Stop looking at me swan!" - name that movie)! I'm not sure if it helps the lengthening process, but I'm sure it makes my hair healthier.

My run was great, if not a little slow. I wasn't shooting for anything, but ended up with about 6 miles.

The rest of Sunday was designated as cookie decorating time! Cookie decorating is a process for me because I might be a bit of a perfectionist about them. I ended up doing trees, holly, mittens and santa hats. I think they turned out pretty well. Although, of course, now that I'm done I've thought of ways to improve them next time. I decorated for about 6 hours and by the end, I was SO finished smelling that sugar! I'll be gifting these to my co-workers and some friends and family. Hope everyone likes them!

Onward to Monday!

Christmas 2012

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I know I sure did!

No real tree this year. I did NOT make a fuss.

We had a low key Christmas this year. Most of it was just me and my parents, and it felt more like a quick vacation than a stressful holiday.

Wood stove equals relaxing.

I woke up Christmas morning and, after opening presents, went on a short 10 mile run. It was a glorious morning, and I was happy to be out on the trails. I pretty much hit every hill I could find in my parents' town.

I came home to a lovely brunch filled with some of my favorite foods. Then, because it was raining, my stepmom and I played an epic game of Jenga. We ended up getting to 34 levels, if I remember correctly.

And, boy oh boy, was it stressful! Haha. I don't think either of us expected the game to get so intense, but by the end, we were on the same team and just trying to get the tower as high as possible. Put two anal perfectionists in a room and there's trouble! Our efforts to capture the final collapse on camera didn't happen. We were pretty much on camera standby the whole time!

My Aunt, Uncle and cousins ended up coming for Christmas day dinner, so it was great catching up with them.

The next morning, I took off on the same trails for an 8 mile run. My hips were barking at me from all the hills the previous day.

I did, however, manage to look like a complete stud with capris and neon pink compression socks. Had to get some photo proof of that, obviously.

I also got to try out a new Christmas present I got, a headlamp! Finally no more running in the dark. It was definitely needed while I was running at my parents' house. Goodness gracious it gets dark out in the country!

I tried to secure the lamp around my arm, but it didn't shine in front of me correctly, so I surrendered and put it on my head. It didn't stay exactly like I wanted it to, so I may take it back to REI and see if we can find a solution. By "we", I mean the helpful staff, because they sure are knowledgeable there!

What else did I get for Christmas, you may ask?

My parents made me a photo mug with my puppy (she's actually 13 years old, but I still remember the day I got her, so she will always be my puppy) on it! So cute. I can't wait to use it!

I also got....

Ellen underwear! Totally random, but my stepmom and I both share a love for Ellen and apparently her underwear is super comfortable! I'll let ya know!

Other family happenings included getting my haircut!

Finally! It's only been almost 8 months. Needless to say, my hair was a little scraggly.

Luckily, my aunt is a hair stylist and she is always happy to give me a trim when I see her. Thank goodness because I've got better things to spend my money on! Like race fees. Obviously.

We also played lots of Uno, which I forgot how much I enjoyed! That was, until my stepmom, aunt and I all ended up in a fierce 40 minute game, which we were all happy to finally finish!

The other thing we do when we are bored...hike! My parents live right next to a national park, and we always have a good time taking walks with the pup.

All in all a great Christmas full of lots of family time!

And lots of Jilly cuddles. My favorite kind.

Christmas, Recovering and Crossfit

There is only one week until Christmas Eve! How did that happen?!

Every year around this time I wonder how the holiday season flew by so quickly? It seems like I just get my tree up, start belting out Celine Dion's Christmas album, and then it's all of a sudden over. Wahhhhh!!!! 

Best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!

Living by myself, however, means I have full control over when the Christmas decorations come down. Past roommates have become enraged with me when I refuse to put the tree away after January 1st. I may or may not be the trashy white girl who has still had her tree up in February (obviously my tree is fake). One year I even tried to convince my roommates (sorry, Shannon and Annie) to keep the tree up year round and swap ornaments for each holiday. Haha. That didn't go over too well!

Christmas-time in my apartment!

I am very excited to head to my parents' house out on the peninsula of Washington for Christmas. Unfortunately I'll only be able to spend about 2 days there, but it's better than nothing! I am so thankful to have family that I can spend holidays with and who welcome me home with open arms each time! It sounds like Christmas is going to be a somewhat quiet affair this year. My cousins and Aunt and Uncle will be coming later Christmas Day, but I'm just going to be happy to have a no-pressure holiday with my parents. 

Switching gears, I'm not sure it has completely sunk in that I ran 31.1 miles on Saturday. Like, who does that?! 

I do, now, I guess! Because as much as I didn't have fun because of my stomach, I'm already searching for more 50k's. Specifically one in February. I have a 50k on Tiger Mountain at the beginning of January, I am planning to pace Ultra-Marathoner Jess at a 24-hour race in March, April is the Eugene Marathon, and I just signed up for the Rock 'n Roll Marathon in June. I used to think half marathons were my favorite distance, but I guess marathons are now!

I definitely felt pretty stiff on Sunday after the race, and I took it easy that day. It was odd, the only part that hurt afterwards were the tops of my feet, right above my arch. Odd place for pain, and I am thinking I may be tying my shoes too tight? 

Shoes too tight? Or too bright?

Anyways, I felt well rested yesterday and managed to get in a short run and a good Crossfit workout. I was thinking back to my first marathon and how I could barely walk for a week afterwards. It's interesting how one's body can adapt to those long distances and learn to recovery quickly. 

Our Crossfit workout yesterday was "long". Our box categorizes our WOD's (workout of the day) as short, long, or intervals. Of course, the first Monday back from a 50k and the coaches tried to kill me. Haha!

Beth and I decided to be partners so we could keep ourselves from going too hard. If you remember, Beth just rocked her first marathon on Saturday. Our workout was as follows:

Source

Start with a 3000 meter countdown on the rower.

In 3 minute intervals:

• Partner 1, followed by partner 2: 50 wall balls followed by rowing as far as possible in the remaining minutes.
• Partner 1, followed by partner 2: 50 kettlebell swings followed by rowing as far as possible in the remaining minutes.
• Partner 1, followed by partner 2: 50 air squats followed by rowing as far as possible in the remaining minutes. 
• Do 1 burpee for every 100 meters you have left on the rower.

Beth and I didn't take it too easy other than using a lighter medicine ball for the wall balls and a lighter than usual kettlebell. Beth also was smart and did sit-ups instead of air squats for the last interval. We ended up having to do 7 burpees at the end, which I think was better than most of the class.

I didn't particularly feel tired by the end, so I left feeling disappointed that I hadn't pushed myself. This morning when I woke up, however, I was sore! I guess I'm just not a good judge of my own output during a workout!

It may snow here today, which I'm pumped about. I hope you have a great Tuesday!

All I Want for Christmas...

I have quite a few fitness related gifts on my list this year. I thought I would share them so you can either put them on your list or to give you ideas for the runner in your life. Some of these products aren't necessarily on my list, but are my favorite products. And the only reason they aren't on my list is that I already have enough of them =)

Lululemon Inspire Crops

I always always get asked where I get my crops from. The Lululemon Inspires are, far and away, my favorite pair. First, they are insanely flattering. They lift and tuck where they should and come up high enough on your waist to hide that pooch. Most importantly, they don't fall down when running and working out. I wear these at work at the gym, during Crossfit workouts and for running.

Oiselle Roga Shorts

I bought a pair of Rogas on a whim several months ago and, since then, have barely worn any other shorts. I ran the Seattle Marathon in them and have taken them out on numerous trail runs. I have even slept in them. They are so comfortable, the waistband doesn't dig in to you and they have so many pockets. So. Many. Pockets. There is a back pocket, an inside front pocket and an outside hip pocket. I have so much love for these, I asked for another pair for Christmas.

Petzl Zipka Headlamp

I decided awhile back that I didn't like wearing a light on my head while I was running. It just wasn't happening. When I lived in New York, my dark, morning runs were along streets with lots of street lights and I never had to worry about not being able to see or not being seen. When I moved to Seattle, it became apparent this was not going to be the case any longer. I ended up buying a cheap clip that I put on a string and around my arm, but admittedly, it didn't do much and has since been pretty much forgotten. This headlamp was recommended to me by an over-zealous REI employee who said that most runners love this lamp because you can put it around your arm instead of your head. I was sold. 

Pro Compression Socks

Holy cow I love these socks. It took me quite awhile to jump on the compression bandwagon. People always used to ask if I "compressed". My answer was always no, compression is bull*hit. I hereby state for the record that I was oh so wrong. While I'm not convinced that compression "works" for recovery, it sure does feel amazing! I have tried several of the different compression companies out there and Pro Compression is by far my favorite. Their socks aren't too tight, but give you just the right amount of squeeze. It's like a hug for your calf and shin. And they always have some sort of discount going on each month. I have yet to pay full price for a pair!

Lack of Recovery and Holiday Love

When I added the Seattle Marathon to my race schedule, I knew I was going to be running a 50k several weeks later.

The plan: Take it nice and easy. Don't push it and kill yourself so you can keep up 50k training.

And I think we all know how that plan went. Lesson learned: I have trouble holding back.

On that note, most people take a good amount of recovery time after a full marathon. I am not most people and I am still hanging on for my 50k's in December and January.

Unfortunately, the marathon has left me somewhat fatigued. Yesterday I was pretty creaky, and my left psoas was very tight and ornery. I pretty much rocked the compression socks all day and was wandering around the gym as slowly as possible.

Neon compression for the win!

I took things nice and slow all day and today I am feeling much better. I'm hoping to feel loads better by tomorrow and get in a nice run at Discovery Park before the rain comes. I'm going to do my best not to beat myself up if that doesn't happen, though. Bigger picture!

So the holiday season is finally upon us! I can't even begin to convey my love for this time of year! I have always been big into the holidays and love everything that comes along with it! (so many exclamation marks)

Case in point. I got my tree all set up and decorated this weekend!

So pretty!

Unfortunately in my move from New York, several of my ornaments were broken. I also lost two of the pieces that stand my tree up. It is precariously balanced against the wall for now. Not sure how to make it more sturdy.

Time for some superglue?

Another sad ornament story: my first year in New York, my parents mailed me all of my childhood ornaments. I never got the package and when I tried to track it down, no one would claim to have it, even though it had been delivered. I remember being so sad because there were so many sentimental ornaments in that box. Obviously I got over it, but seriously! Who steals and box of ornaments?!?!

I went to Crossfit last night basically just to see my friends. I planned to just take it super easy and sit out if I had to. After being mellow like Jello all day, I somehow had tons of energy once I got to the box! Our workout was a take on the Tabata, which is 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest. Our coach had us do 40 seconds of work and 20 seconds of rest instead. We did 5 rounds total.

As I said I would, I took it easy and used a lighter wall ball and kettlebell than I normally would have. I started off using a band for the pullups, but by the end made the effort to do them unassisted, even if it was only two in a row. Gotta start somewhere, right?

I hope everyone is having a great Tuesday!