14 in 2014 Challenge First Quarter Update

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2014 Challenge, Barre, Biking, Exercise, Pilates, Race, Racing, Running, Thankful, Walking

Happy April (and Happy April Fools’ Day). Did anyone play any good pranks on other people? I don’t play pranks on people now, but when I was little I did stupid little things (screaming about a huge spider in the bathroom was one that I’m embarrassed to think about. haha). Since we’re now through the first quarter of the year (WHAT?! How did that happen?), I decided to do a “14 Challenges in 2014” Update.

I challenge myself to run 200 miles. I’m at 60.3 miles for the year, which has me right on track with about 30% of my mileage done.

I challenge myself to walk 275 miles. I’m at 74.8 miles for the year, which also has me right on track with a bit over 26% of my mileage done for the year.

I challenge myself to bike 900 miles. I’m right at 237 miles for the year, which also has me just over 26% done for the year. All of those miles have been done on my bike trainer, and most of them were spent studying for my big test I took in mid-March.

I challenge myself to 75 hours of pilates. I am starting to think that it might be difficult to get in 75 total hours for the year, and I don’t want to push myself to do it just because I HAVE to, and then get burnt out on it. Either way I’ll end up pretty close. Right now I’m at 17.5 hours for the year, which puts me at 23% done for the year. Obviously this doesn’t even put me at the quarter mark. Like I said, I had no idea how many hours of pilates I did each year, so I just chose a random number.

I challenge myself to 250 minutes of planks. This one has been REALLY easy so far, and I’ve clocked a total of 100 minutes for the year, putting me right at 40% complete! I guess this winter just called for lots of planks?

I challenge myself to run 10 races for the year. Like 2013, these races can be in person or virtual, but I’d like at least 5 of them to be in person! So far I’ve done 4 virtual races, but I have my first “in person” race of the year coming up soon! I’m on track with this for the year!

I challenge myself to read at least 14 books. This one has been so fun! I’ve read 6 full books and half of another book so far this year. I’m doing great with this goal.

I challenge myself to go through all the clothes that I own. This one I finished at the end of January when I got rid of 54 or 56 (I forget which)

I challenge myself to continue to be present. Am I present every single moment of every day- no, but I don’t think that’s fully possible for most of us! But being present has really changed my life, and I’m continuing to enjoy this challenge!

I challenge myself to continue to hunt for provisions and blessings (continuing to develop gratitude in my life). Yes! I’ve written it down twice a week, and am really enjoying it. I even started a gratitude journal outside of this blog, and it’s great to have a hard copy I can flip through.

I challenge myself to read the entire Bible this year. I found a plan online (it’s this one if you’re interested) and have been following that. I don’t necessarily exactly read what is outlined on the day, as sometimes I get ahead or behind (and then have to catch up). I’m right on track where I should be at this point in the year though.

I challenge myself to publish an article this year. I haven’t published it yet but I’ve written it and it’s gone through a few rounds of revisions now! On my way…

I challenge myself to put more time and energy into friendships and relationships. YES! This one has been so much fun, and I’m loving the relationships that I’ve either strengthened or built over the last three months.

I challenge myself to be brave. Oh yes! I wish I could write blog posts about this, but at this point I can’t so much. Brave (or courage) is my word for the year, and while this probably deserves an entire post of it’s own, I thought I’d throw it out there anyways. I want to continue to push myself to be brave in any area of my life…

So, overall, I’m pretty much on point with where I “need” to be for the year in each of these goals, although slightly behind with pilates. It really hasn’t felt like too much effort, but knowing these goals are out there helps keep me motivated. So, we’ll see how this next quarter goes–

Now it’s your turn to share! How are you going on your goals/challenges/resolutions etc… for the year? Is there anything that you hope to accomplish in the next three months?

Weekly Exercise Recap

Tags

Biking, Exercise, Planks, Running, Walking

Whew- this past week flew by! It seems that every day fell into the same routine- wake up, work, exercise, dinner, bed. It’s a good schedule, works well for me, and the week really did fly by pretty quickly! Can you believe that we’re less than a week away from Thanksgiving? I’m so excited! This past week I was still recovering from my half marathon, so my intention was to keep things a little bit lighter than usual. Well, I didn’t necessarily do that (partly because I know that this next week will be a little mroe relaxed than usual), but I did cut down on the runs, which is hopefully helping my IT bands. Here’s how the week looked:

• Sunday: 3.15 mile walk, 3:00 planks
• Monday: 3.2 mile walk, 2:30 planks
• Tuesday: 5.34 mile walk
• Wednesday: 2.00 mile elliptical, 2:30 planks
• Thursday: 4.7 mile bike, 2:30 planks
• Friday: 6.00 mile walk, 2:30 planks
• Saturday: 3.1 mile run, 2:30 planks

Total Miles: 17.69 mile walk + 3.1 mile run + 4.7 mile bike + 2.0 mile elliptical= 27.49 total miles + 15:30 minutes planks

So, I had intended for my total mileage to be shorter. I only set out to walk 3 miles on Friday, but it was so beautiful outside that I just couldn’t make myself go inside after only 3 miles, so I kept going. Every step of that walk was gorgeous. I’m also happy to be continuing to do planks each week. For those of you who regularly do planks- does it seem like they don’t get any easier? That’s how it feels to me anyways…

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one healthy thing you plan to continue to do throughout the holiday season? 

The Plank Challenge

Tags

Exercise, Planks

Back when I danced regularly, we were forced into doing planks. I kid you not- if we hit the ground before a minute was up, my less then 5 foot ballet instructor would stand over us and scream like she was our drill instructor. Needless to say, I really disliked them, and as soon as I quit dancing I quit doing planks. Fast forward a decade or so to just a few months ago, when I decided that planks might be a good idea. For those of you who don’t know what a plank is, check out Tina’s explanation on her blog Best Body Fitness. When I do planks, I can feel my core muscles working almost instantly.

I try to regularly do the three standard positions on a regular basis:

• elbow plank
• straight arm plank
• Side plank (balancing on my forearm & foot)

So why the Plank Challenge? If you’re following me on twitter or read my monthly recaps/goals for the month (here’s my January Recap/February goals post), you’ll know that I enjoy setting goals for myself. By setting a goal, such as an overall time goal for the month, I stay motivated and have something to strive for each week. However, by setting a time goal for the month instead of per day, I allow myself a little flexibility (like the week I lost my voice and had a wicked cold), which I think is also important.

It’s been a great first month of strengthening those core muscles, and I’m happy with the way I have my monthly plank challenge set so far. Here’s how I’ve broken it down. Most days, this is what I do:

• elbow plank- hold for 45 seconds
• side plank (right side)- hold for 30 seconds
• straight arm plank- hold for 45 seconds
• side plank (left side)- hold for 30 seconds

This gives me a total of 2:30 on a regular day. Fridays (my yoga/strengthening/stretching day), I tend to hold my slide planks for 45 seconds each instead of 30 (giving me a total of 3:00 for the day), and maybe once every week or two I will do my elbow and straight arm planks for 30 seconds instead of 45 seconds each. No matter how i end up doing them, it’s been fun to see my strength steadily increasing over the last month.

Now it’s your turn to share! Do you do planks regularly? If you do, what are your favorite types of planks to do?

Recent Eats

Tags

Cooking, Food, Plank

This is actually much more of a “What I Ate Wednesday” post. Today was a pretty typical day, minus a few foods I’m currently out of. I need to go to the grocery store, but I don’t like going during the week if I can avoid it.

Breakfast: 10 ounces orange juice, 16 ounces combined coffee & almond milk (unpictured)

Mid-Morning Snack: 4-5 handfuls of mixed nuts (unpictured)

Lunch: Whole Wheat & Flax Wrap w/hummus, ham, and spinach, 1 apple, Blood Orange Chobani

Lunch almost always consists of a sandwich, 1 pice of fruit, and yogurt. Sometimes a soup or other “main dish” replaces the sandwich

Late Afternoon Snack: 1/2 Lemon Luna Bar to get me through my run after work

Dinner: 2 eggs with fresh spinach, ham, and red onion w/nutritional yeast on top, 10 ounces orange juice, and canned pineapple slices

My lunch and dinner was made up of many similar items although this rarely happens. The pineapple slices I had in the back of my cupboard, and I’m out of all other fresh fruit except for apples. There will be some pre-bedtime snack, but I’m undecided on this right now.

And that’s a sort of typical day for me, although definitely on the boring end of what I eat. I try to have a banana or something like that for breakfast, but again, I’m out.

In other news, today starts the Plank Challenge that I’ve set for myself this month. I will be doing 45-50 minutes of planks this month! Does anyone else want to join in with me?

Now you get to share: Do you eat breakfast, drink something for breakfast, or skip it all together? What’re your favorite snacks to eat throughout the day? Do you have a plank goal for yourself this month?