Week(s) In Review!

Hey everyone!

I hope everyone is pushing through the cold and snow! We've certainly had our fair share of nasty weather, but I'm so glad to notice that our area parks have been the busiest I've ever seen in winter! So proud of my NEO neighbors for sucking it up, not whining, and getting out and enjoying our parks in the winter time! Snow covered trees are a beautiful thing! Check out this list of 15 Natural Winter Wonderlands by CNN. The CVNP made the list! So thankful to have this National Park only an hour away. If you've never been to the CVNP please check it out! You won't be disappointed.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/11/travel/gallery/15-natural-winter-wonderlands/index.html

Despite the nasty temps and conditions full on training mode has commenced for us. Speed work is on! It's amazing how you run so fast it hurts in every way, and all you want to do is stop - then when you finally DO stop amnesia sets in and all of a sudden you loved it. LOL. So glad to be doing speed work again!

In addition to running I've just completed week 2 of my 108 day Ultimate Yogi challenge. There were some challenges outside of yoga this week that could have given me the excuse not to do yoga OR run, but I stuck it out and am so grateful. The DVD's are great so far! I've noticed I can handle stressful situations with a great deal of calm (2 cars breaking down in one week, to such an extent that it forced us to replace BOTH). I've never experienced this level of calm in "crisis" situations before. It's unreal!! The last 2 weeks (and first 36 days) have me doing the following DVD's in the series:

Cross Train, Hardcore & 10 minutes of Meditation
Cardio & 10 minutes of Meditation
Strength, Hardcore &10 minutes of Meditation
Yin & 10 minutes of Meditation
Detox, Hardcore & 10 minutes of Meditation
Vitality & 10 minutes of Meditation
Mountain Pose & Pranayama Meditation

I really love it, and it's had no ill effects on my running. In fact, I think it's improving things! I am having a hard time picking my favorite DVD. But I do know what my least favorite is, it's Mountain Pose. It's a bit boring to me, but it's really good that this DVD is on a Sunday after two long weekend runs, so I really shouldn't be complaining. The Detox video comes on a perfect day - Friday (my running day off), after a week of good quality running workouts.  I notice I'm getting stronger by the day. The hardest video for me is probably Yin of all things, because you have to hold the poses for the longest amount of time. I did notice an improvement already this week however, and I do like the video despite it being more difficult for me. The hardest out of ALL the material? The guided breathing techniques, not the poses! I've never really done any kind of breathing techniques, so this is all new to me. The first week I felt like passing out sometimes! It's going to take me a long time to master this. A VERY long time! That leaves the meditation. During the first week I decided to do my meditation portion while doing "Legs Up A Wall" pose.  Sitting in mediation for me is rather uncomfortable, and "Legs Up A Wall" has so many benefits, especially for runners! It's working perfectly, and I find myself going well over the prescribed 10 minutes. Check out this article on the pose:

http://www.active.com/mind-and-body-yoga/articles/pose-of-the-month-heavy-legs-on-the-wall

In non fitness news, I leapt into the new year with a decluttered space. It took a few weeks, but it got done! I saw a great article on Mind Body Green this week (great website) on the benefits of de-cluttering your life. I highly recommend it! It's so refreshing to get rid of old, unwanted items. And feels so great donating items!

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-17427/why-decluttering-your-entire-life-will-bring-you-abundance.html

I hope everyone has a great week ahead! I'll be staying warm by running and yoga! Just remember spring is near!

Happy Running,
Laurie

2014 news and what's in store for 2015.

Before I begin please note I have also updated my Yoga, Family, and Huskies Tab! Check them out!

So 2014 was a non eventful running year. I only did a couple of races (and was ok with it at the time - however the lack of real goals bothered me and am back at it this year)!  Other areas of my life were busy however - my little brother got married to an amazing woman! They live in Myrtle Beach, SC so we all went down for the wedding (which was a blast). My son was in the wedding and I had a (gasp) speaking part. My brother called me one day to ask if I'd do it, and this introvert put on a great face and said "OF COURSE"! But vomited a little in my mouth after haha. I was happy he asked though, and it turned out ok actually (except for the part where I could not hold in my tears).

 

Now, what was expected is happening...this amazing couple is having a baby! I'm going to be an auntie! We'll be going back to Myrtle for a few days this year around the due date. I can't wait to see my new niece or nephew! My brother and his new wife are going to make amazing parents xoxoxo.

 

As far as running goes in 2015 I have a pretty packed year scheduled so far. A road race in OH - April, a trail 30k in P.A. -May, a sky marathon in N.Y. -June, another trail 30k in N.Y. -July, a mountain marathon in P.A.-August, and a 50k trail race in OH -September. I have not yet planned for after September as I want to see how well I will recover from these mountain races. This is what I will work on this year, learning how to recover fast from crazy hard efforts.  I'm also contemplating a trail 1/2 marathon in March which will be a good test to discover how training should go for the Sky Marathon. The trail 1/2 is 4,000 feet of elevation gain, and the Sky Marathon will be 9,000 feet of elevation gain. I'm leaning towards going to give me a better idea for June.

 

I also have been doing yoga on a regular basis for about 2 years now. I really love it and it's the perfect balance to running. (Sometimes I wonder if I love yoga more! (GASP) I'm not going to go into full detail here, (jump onto my yoga page to read more) however tomorrow I'm starting a 108 day yoga challenge - the Ultimate Yogi DVD set. I'm super excited about this! Again, I'll post updates and reviews on my yoga page of this blog.

 

 

Last up for 2014....my huskies. They've kept me insanely busy and are just so high energy. Runs with them left me fried beyond belief as they run incredibly fast. So, this year I decided to take action and get electric collars for them, for when we are out running. This is like a miracle to me! It's made my decision to have goals for myself once again real and attainable. Now I don't have them pulling me along at an ungodly pace. I can do speed work again, and I can do easy runs again! I'm so excited, and I think they are a lot happier as well! They can explore and sniff at their leisure, go off trail a bit - and catch up when they need to. It's made both our runs just so much more enjoyable.

 

 

I hope to see everyone out on the trails this year, and good luck with all of your races!

 

Happy Running,

Laurie