Quick lunch run

Today's workout was a quick 3 miles at Cherry Creek Reservoir with my friend Julie. We left earlier than usual but it was still so darn hot!! I felt like I was running much slower than usual but it felt good to have a light, easy run today. Then I looked at my iRunner app on my phone and it said I was doing a 10 minute mile which is pretty standard for me. Which means either I'm getting used to that pace as it seemed so easy today or maybe I fueled my body right before hand... Probably both. Time to step up my interval training. Fun run none the less. The temp outside when we started was 84 and when we finished 30 minutes later was already 92. Yikes! Can you see the gorgeous lake behind us?




Now a turkey sandwich and my Dad's homemade black bean soup for lunch. Yummy!
Happy Friday Eve!

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Lazy Wednesday

Well somehow today turned into a rest day somehow. Maybe it was because I was so tired today and kept thinking it was Thursday or maybe because it was 96 degrees at what would be my lunch time and run time, or maybe it was because I wanted to get my hair done after work, or maybe it was that I really just wanted that glass of wine by the time I was done with dinner. At any rate I did not work out today and while I do regret it, I am loving snuggling on the couch with Lia watching Sleeping Beauty.



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Hot A$$ yoga

Tonight's 75 minute hot yoga class was by far one of the hottest classes I have been to yet. I don't know if the thermostat was not working or what but was easily 106 or 107 degrees in there tonight! There were a couple times I had to pull out of a pose as I thought I might pass out. It was so hot in there I glanced down and noticed my hands were all pruny. Gross. Kind of hard to see here.




Somehow I made it through and feel amazing of course. It is always worth the strain and sweat! Great physical and spiritual workout!

Lia is learning how to ride her new bike with training wheels. Here's a couple pics before I left tonight. Love her!







Finally pre-yoga class "before pic"




And after... You can't tell but I am soaked in sweat!



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Rest day - stent removal

Today is hopefully the end to my health nightmare from my gallbladder surgery as I am scheduled to have my biliary stent removed at 4 today. I am super excited but super nervous! No food all day either which isn't helping. Needless to say today is a rest day for me. Found a couple of inspirational quotes instead.










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Two run type of day

I could not be happier tomorrow is Friday! It has been one long, stress filled week for me... Today especially! I think today is a two-run type of day. As soon as I get home I am hopping on my treadmill and running the stress away.




Whew! Tough interval training tonight. 3 miles, 37 minutes and 337 calories






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Lunchtime run

I escaped from the office at lunch today and made my way with my girl Julie to Cherry Creek State park for a little lunchtime run. The route I do is about 3.2 miles and takes just over 30 minutes. We try to make it out there at least 3 times a week. I love running at lunch as it is such a great break from my day and I love being done with my workout before the end of the day.
Look at this view.... Gorgeous!



Although I must say I do get boat envy as I watch the people out wakeboarding and jet skiing.
It was only 80 out today but felt much hotter.
At the end of the path there are a ton of prairie dogs. I must say I love these little guys! So cute!




Leftover turkey burger with 2% American cheese, lettuce and avocado with a salad for lunch and now back to work...

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Hot Yoga

Tonight was my first night back doing hot yoga since all my operations and gallbladder crud and man, oh man did it feel great! I didn't realize how much I missed my yoga practice. There is something about being in a room heated to 104 degrees and 50% humidity while doing yoga that does a body and mind good. I love the camaraderie of all the other yogis in the room all coming together for a similar purpose.

All my fears, anxiety, stress, and depression dripped out of me (along with all my sweat) onto my mat and I just focused on the moment. Honestly it's hard to think of anything other than the yoga pose I was trying to hold anyway.

Here I am all ready to go tonight




Tonight's class was 60 minutes instead of the 75 or 90 minute versions, which was perfect for my first time back in over 6 weeks. If you have never tried hot yoga before, I cannot say enough good things about it or recommend it enough!! LOVE it!

And I love the feeling of being drenched in sweat when I get out of class. It makes me feel like I rocked it!




Since dinner was late tonight, I kept it light after class with a whole wheat tortilla wrap filled with mesquite smoked turkey, Colby jack cheese, lettuce, dijonaise and a squirt of mayo. It was delish!!

Now off to put my muchkin to bed and get some well needed rest myself.



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Intro

I am starting this blog to post about my fitness quest and workouts as a way to track my results, encourage myself and maybe even encourage others to get out there and follow their fitness goals.  This is also a little bit of an online journal for me as I find writing about what's on my mind often easier than talking sometimes... and to boot, it's cheaper than therapy.  While not everyone is into blogging, I am choosing to see the positives.  If you want to read my posts, that's up to you... this is really for myself. 

A little about me... I am 31 and 1/2 years old when I am starting this blog (yikes).   I have been married for 5 years to my husband Taylor and have a beautiful 3 year old little girl, Lia.  For the past few years I have been a casual runner; running when I can here and there and doing the occasional 5 k race here and there.  We live in beautiful Colorado where we are fortunate to have over 300 sunny days a year, something I love to take advantage of on my runs.   I do love my treadmill though... 6 years and still working...

This past year has been very rough for myself healthwise.  I have battled an extreme amount of anxiety and health problems and physical injuries.  I think the starting point was an awful round of Pneumonia I had last year and then months of continuous sinus infections and an overall feeling of not being healthy.  All of this stood out as I had recently lost 30 lbs through eating healthy and working out and I couldn't figure out why I didn't "feel" great.  After months of searching for answers, it was something as simple as needing my gallbladder out due to gallstones.  What would seem like a simple procedure, turned into an absolute nightmare including a subsequent bile leak, emergency surgery followed up by an ERCP with biliary stent placement and 6 day hospital stay.   My doctor during this tiime made everything so much harder on me emotionally and I felt like I would just crack.  People who have never dealt with anxiety do not seem to understand it or the impact it can have on one's life.  It's embarassing to talk about but I feel I have to get it out there.  There were several times when I truly feared I may not make it out of that hospital.  Imagine the impact of all that on my anxiety... yikes!!  Just writing about this upsets me as it was just overwhelming all together.  I am really looking forward to putting it all behind me.  Prior to all this recent stuff, I have battled with anxiety and previously battled with depression in my twenties.  I am currently weaning off of Zoloft which I started in March before the gallbladder diagnosis.  These last few weeks have been tough and I have been feeling extra down.  Increasing my exercise seems to be the healthiest way to cope and overcome it's effects.  To say my life has been easy would be lying, but ultimately it is all worth it and I do know how blessed I am to be here. 

While I am on the road to recovery, my body is still feeling the pains of healing and I am trying to take each day one at a time and continue my quest to return to a healthy state of body and mind. 
When everything in my life seems chaotic and out of control, the one thing I have control over are my runs.  When I was 18 I was hit by a boat propeller and easily could have lost my leg.  Everday that I get out to run, I feel so thankful I have both legs and am able to do something as simple as run. 
In addition to running, I am focusing on cross training as well including the elliptical machine (scored one for $95 on Craig's list), hot yoga, Zumba, barre class and light weight lifting. 

I do not have an end goal weight, clothes size, body type or muscle mass in mind, just want to feel and look fit and healthy.  I think I am down about getting older so I am determined to look and feel the best I ever have. 

I should note, I LOVE to eat... so being able to eat what I want in moderation and not worry about if I can fit into my jeans the next day is a bonus motivator for me.

We would love to expand our family in the next year or so and I want to be in the best shape possible when I get pregnant in order to have an active, healthy pregnancy.  While I may have to cut back on certain exercises during that time, I plan to do all the exercise I safely can during those 9 months.  I did not work out much at all when I was pregnant with Lia and ultimately I did not enjoy my pregnancy that much.  I am hoping this time around will be much more enjoyable. 

So, that's my background, and a glimpse into myself and why I am choosing to start this blog.... here we go. 

Right now my current goal is to increase my endurance and length of my runs... I would love to be able to say that 4 miles was my short run of the week.