14 in 2014 Challenge Halfway Update

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2014 Challenge, Biking, Exercise, Mental Health, Pilates, Planks, Race, Relationships, Running, Walking

Happy July! Are we seriously half way through the year already? This has been such a strange year of my life, and so different than the last few years, so it’s been hard to judge the passage of time the same way. Since we’re now halfway through the year, I thought I’d do an update on my 14 Challenges in 2014.

I challenge myself to run 200 miles. Running has gone much better this year than last year, and I’m not fully sure why that is, but I’m not complaining. So far I’m at 147 miles for the year.

I challenge myself to walk 275 miles. Last year I had to stop walking quite so much due to my tendinitis and IT band syndrome, but this year has felt ok. I try to hold back on pace and distance just so I don’t put extra strain on everything, since I don’t want to have to stop running. So far I’m at 177 miles.

I challenge myself to bike 900 miles. I’m right at 516 miles for the year. Many of those miles have been done on my bike trainer, and most of the first 3 months of miles for the year were spent studying for my big test I took in mid-March. Since then I’ve had some great outdoor rides too!

I challenge myself to 75 hours of pilates. 75 hours may have been a little too high, and I refuse 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 38.25 hours for the year, which definitely has me on track. We’ll see. I’m still really enjoying pilates though, and really appreciate all that it gives to my body.

I challenge myself to 250 minutes of planks. This one has been pretty easy so far, although less so now that it’s warm. In cold weather (October-March) I seem to have no problem doing planks, but the summer months I definitely cut down. No idea why? So far I’ve clocked a total of 152 minutes for the year.

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 races in person and 5 virtual races, so I’m doing well! I have a few more races set for the rest for the rest of the year too!

I challenge myself to read at least 14 books. This one has been so fun, and now that summer, it’s been REALLY easy. So far I’ve read 13 books this year, and have really gotten into crime books that have me on the edge of my seat (like John Grisham novels!). I’ve also read a few inspiring books like The Hiding Place and Notes From A Blue Bike. 

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) items of clothing. I just did another haul at the beginning of June, getting rid of another 75ish items. I think that just shows how much I’ve really held on to over the years that’s been ridiculous! This podcast (Freedom From Stuff) has been inspiring!

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 just a few days behind on the reading plan, so I’m close to being on track!

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! We’re close to submitting it to the review board now!

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’ve even made some new blogging friends, like Melissa and Meg.

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 one. 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?

Looking for more ways to connect?

• Connect on twitter @kalolainastar
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Carmel Half Marathon Training Week 13 Recap

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Exercise, Half Marathon, Running, Training, Walking

Well, my half marathon is complete, and it was a great race (recap linked). This last week of taper felt really tough to me. I was antsy all week, and the walks that I took on Wednesday and Thursday were simply because I couldn’t sit still anymore and needed to move. I’ve never felt quite like that in a taper, but I guess it worked out for me! Here’s what my final week of “training”, in the taper period, looked like:

• Friday (4/4): REST
• Saturday: 2.3 mile run, 35 min gentle Pilates
• Sunday: 1.6 mile walk, 1 hour Pilates
• Monday: 30 minutes gentle pilates
• Tuesday: 20 minutes Barre (while teaching barre class), 20 minutes strength training (arms)
• Wednesday: 1.2 mile run (final run of training cycle), .65 mile walk (at a very slow pace)
• Thursday: 15 mins pilates (while leading class), .6 mile walk (at a very slow pace)
• Friday: REST

And then of course half marathon #5 on Saturday!

This training cycle went better than my first four did, so I think I’ll do a post in a few weeks once I’ve processed it a bit more about what I did differently this training cycle.

I’m a bit sore and stiff today, but not nearly as much as my other half marathons, which is nice to see. I can’t believe another training cycle is complete! Thanks for following along!

Now it’s your turn to share! What is one thing you’re doing differently while training this spring? What is one thing you’re keeping the same?

 

Carmel Half Marathon Training Week 12 Recap

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Biking, Exercise, Half Marathon, Pilates, Running, Training, Walking

Well, here we are, almost at the end of this training cycle. The next training recap I post will be after my half marathon, and I can’t believe how quickly these last 3 months have gone! Training for this half marathon definitely helped me deal with all the nasty weather this winter, so I’m pretty thankful for the training. Here’s what my week looked like:

• Friday (3/28): 3.5 mile run
• Saturday: 10.75 mile bike
• Sunday: 1 hour pilates, 2.35 mile walk
• Monday: 3.9 mile walk
• Tuesday: .6 mile walk, 35 minutes pilates
• Wednesday: 14.75 mile bike, 1.75 mile walk
• Thursday: 30 minutes pilates, 30 minutes strength training
• Friday: REST

I still had a busy week of workouts, but I decreased the duration and intensity as taper started. Taper has bothered me a bit this time– more than other times. I’ve found myself getting pretty antsy, which is why I walked more this week. I tried to force myself to walk pretty slowly, but the antsy-ness combined with beautiful sunny days led to walks being a necessity 🙂

Now it’s your turn to share! Do you go on walks when the weather is nice? How do you handle the taper- crazies? 

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?

Just Go Walk!

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Walking

Yesterday when I left work, it was 51 degrees and sunny! (Oh my gosh- is this endless, cold winter finally starting to break?!) I came home and plopped down on my couch to eat a few chips with greek dip, and was looking outside. It was a beautiful day (these are rare right now) and I was inside eating chips. Doesn’t seem right, does it?

I quickly changed into yoga pants and a t-shirt, slipped on my tennis shoes, grabbed my phone and headphones, and headed outside. I’ve really missed the feel of the sun on my face and arms- there’s something about it that immediately relaxes me.

I listened to a podcast called “The Extra Mile” and enjoyed the sunshine and warmth. I walked just about 2 miles, and it was wonderful. Children were out playing tag, adults were standing in the street talking, and dogs were out running in their yards. Birds were out chirping, and I was smiling. It was fantastic.

Sometimes, especially on days that I’m awake at 4:50 to teach pilates and barre classes, I just want to come home and sit. However, now that I’m not studying for my test anymore (YAY!!! I’m still so excited!), I don’t have a good excuse to go sit on the couch. So, I told myself- JUST GO WALK! You won’t regret it….

Related: How I Find Time To Walk {and other types of exercise}

Now it’s your turn to share! What was the last walk you took that you really enjoyed? 

Snow Day Fun

Tags

Biking, Cooking, Walking, Winter

I never thought that as an adult I would get snow days, but I’m lucky enough to have a job where I do get a few (my place of work has closed down 4 days in the last 4 winters, but two of them were when I was in Ecuador, so I didn’t get to enjoy those days…). I assumed with this winter that we were having that at some point we would have a travel ban in our county and work would be closed, and two weeks ago was the day!! (See- there are good things to be happy about in the winter!)

I woke up and found out that work was cancelled, so I headed back to bed, sleeping until 7:15. Got up, ate breakfast, and watched storm footage for awhile. Then I turned on NCIS: LA and hopped on my bike trainer for an extra long ride (extra long= half an hour longer than I would’ve done sans snow day) at an hour and a half. The time flew by and felt like about 25 minutes.

I spent a few hours in the afternoon and early evening baking cookies. I made these heart shaped gingerbread cookies and heart shaped sugar cookies, which I then frosted and sprinkled! I’m so thankful to have had some extra time to do that, as this past weekend was busy and I didn’t have a few extra hours to spare!

Even though I had exercised that morning, I of course made sure to go out on a short 30 minute (but very slow due to the layer of ice underneath the snow) walk so I could enjoy the snow and beauty around me! I’ve really enjoyed going on short walks while listening to podcasts lately, even though it’s cold and snowy!

I made breakfast for dinner (isn’t that the best?!) for my brother and myself and we ended the night watching a movie. Of course my snow day fun ended to early, as my pilates sessions have started up again, so I have a 4:45 wake up call for teaching again.

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one of your favorite “snow day” activities (either now or when you were growing up!)? Have you gotten a snow day yet this winter?

14 Challenges in 2014

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2014 Challenge, Barre, Biking, Exercise, Mental Health, Pilates, Plank, Planks, Race, Racing, Relationships, Running, Self Care, Walking, Wellness

I’ll be back tomorrow with another post about my trip to Ecuador… 

Last year I set 13 challenges for myself for the year, and I loved having these to push myself throughout the year. Why challenges? I want to give myself the freedom and room to take new paths for myself that may arise throughout the year. I like the freedom as well as determination that a challenge gives. So, because I loved it so much last year, I am setting 14 challenges for myself this upcoming year:

1. I challenge myself to run 200 miles. Again, I shoot very low, knowing that I get injured easily. I would love nothing more than to have 500+ mile years, but I know this isn’t practical for myself.
2. I challenge myself to walk 275 miles.  I enjoy walking, and used to walk much more than I do now. 275 might still be high, depending on how my fitness plays out throughout the year. I refuse to give up what I WANT to do just to meet a certain number.
3. I challenge myself to bike 900 miles. This would solidly mean the highest biking mileage I’ve ever done in a year before, so we’ll see if I can make this happen. I would be solidly happy with 700+ miles for the year.
4. I challenge myself to 75 hours of pilates. This is pretty much hardly over an hour a week, which I think is reasonable. I’ve never kept track of how many hours I’ve done pilates in a year before, so we’ll see how this one goes! I love pilates though and think that it’s incredibly beneficial for life. (I’m counting reformer, mat, and barre pilates here)
5. I challenge myself to 250 minutes of planks. I chose 250 minutes of planks last year, and I felt like that number was pretty reasonable. Instead of trying to go up (because…why?) I decided to keep it at a number I was happy with for the year.
6. 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!
7. I challenge myself to read at least 14 books. Just like the books I read in 2013, I want them to be a mix of fun, health, and educational.
8. I challenge myself to go through all the clothes that I own. I almost feel like I’m cheating with this one since it was on my list from last year, but making it a challenge somehow made it more fun (and a little easier to part with clothes). I want to continue to make space in my closet for the clothes that I really wear.
9. I challenge myself to continue to be present. I talked about the benefits of being present last January, and I felt like it was really healthy for me throughout the year. This one is a huge priority throughout the year for me.
10. I challenge myself to continue to hunt for provisions and blessings (continuing to develop gratitude in my life). I will write down at least once a week what I am thankful for (I’ve officially started a specific gratitude journal for the year), and will continue to hunt throughout the week for the things I’ve been provided. I really feel like this makes a huge difference in mental health.
11. I challenge myself to read the entire Bible this year. I’m pretty sure that I’ve read it all in bits and pieces, but I’ve never read the entire thing in a condensed amount of time. This one will be an average of maybe 15ish minutes every day, although obviously there will be somedays that I’ll have to play catch up for other days that I’ve missed. This one has already been interesting so far.
12. I challenge myself to publish an article this year. 
13. I challenge myself to put more time and energy into friendships and relationships. This is something that I have really done in the past 3 months, and I want to continue to make this a priority in my life. This involves both keeping up with a few close friends from my past, current friendships, and maybe making a few new friends as well!
14. I challenge myself to be brave. 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, that’s it-my 14 challenges for the year. Obviously, like I mentioned on my final update for my 13 challenges, I am giving myself the freedom and space to take the year however it comes. I have no idea what the upcoming year holds, so I don’t want to make my goals to rigid. So- here’s to a great 2014 for my own personal growth, and it’ll be interesting to see how it all turns out!

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s a challenge for yourself for the upcoming year (or month or week- you can choose!)?

Monumental Half Marathon Training Recap Week 10

Tags

Barre, Half Marathon, Pilates, Running, Training, Travel, Walking, Weights

10 weeks from start to finish to train for a half marathon. My training felt less than ideal, and I certainly ran VERY low mileage. POTS throws a wrench into training. However, one thing I can say for myself- I stayed pretty balanced. I did strength training, pilates, and biked every week (except this past week- no biking because I didn’t want to accidently fall and hurt myself!). This balance led to some strong training, and I ran a great race (you can read the recap here). Here’s what my final week of training looked like:

• Sunday: REST
• Monday: 2.15 mile walk (fit in a workout at the airport!)
• Tuesday: 1.4 mile run, Best Body Bootcamp Phase 4, Workout A, & Pilates Barre
• Wednesday: REST
• Thursday: Pilates
• Friday: Walking around expo
• Saturday: HALF MARATHON: 13.1 mile run!!!

So, here we are, at the end of another training cycle. I’m not sure where I’ll go from here, but I know that I plan to continue staying balanced and biking, running, walking, strength training, and doing pilates and barre. I love the mix of exercises, and I think a balanced approach is what’s best for me.

Thanks for following along on my journey to my fourth half marathon!

Walking The Final Mile of the Boston Marathon Route

Tags

Travel, Walking

Last week I was in Boston for 36 hours for a 2 day conference. My plane landed about 5 hours before the conference started, so I knew I had a few hours to check one or two things off my “to see” list for Boston. Two of those things were to see Fenway and to walk the final mile of the Boston Marathon course. Lucky for me these things are very close together, so it easily worked for me to do both!

I started off at Fenway, and spent some time walking all around the stadium! I’m a Red Sox fan, so it was great to finally be there in person!

Fenway (with Dunkin Donuts!)

After I had my fill of Fenway, I started off down the final mile. It was fun to see the streets I’ve seen on TV while watching the marathon. It was fun to imagine the thrill and excitement that runners felt as they ran those final steps down the street. But then I hit 755 Bolyston street, where the second bomb went off on Marathon Monday. The Forum Restaurant, as well as a Starbucks, is located there. I walked along both sides of the street there, amazed that this place where people were chatting outside pleasantly was the scene of so much chaos that day.

Blue and yellow hearts wrapped around a light pole in front of the site.

After a few minutes, I kept walking those final steps of the marathon route. After passing the place of the 1st bomb (671 Bolyston) that went off, I walked myself right across that finish line.

I don’t think I’ll ever run a marathon, but even if I did I KNOW that I wouldn’t be fast enough to every qualify. Every year I watch the Boston Marathon with so much excitement, so even though there was definitely sadness in my heart standing in the place where bombs went off and people were injured and killed, there was also happiness as well in getting to imagine the excitement of Marathon Monday.

Standing on the finish line

The few hours I got to spend in Boston were really fantastic, and it felt like I spent many more hours there than I actually did. I ended up walking a total of 6.5 miles  through that area, and really enjoyed my time. It almost made getting up at 2 am that morning for my flight worth it…

Now it’s your turn to share! Have you been to the finish line of the Boston Marathon? If you could see anywhere in Boston, where would you go? 

Weekly Exercise Recap

Tags

Exercise, Walking

Yay for holiday weekends! My last exercise recap I posted was the day of my triathlon, and life has been a bit different since then! The biggest thing this past week was that I tried pool running for the first time, and I think I really like it. I plant to write an entire post on thi soon, but I think this could definitely be a good thing for me! It’s a weird thing to go from training for something to not having a specific thing to train for at the moment! I’ve connected with my love of walking which has been pretty pushed aside lately for training! Here’s what the week looked like:

• Sunday: 5 mile walk
• Monday: 4 mile walk, 2 mile kayak (arm/shoulder muscles were SORE after this! The wind was really rough!)
• Tuesday: 2 mile walk, 1 hour Pilates barre
• Wednesday: 4 mile walk, 35 minutes pool running
• Thursday: 6.45 mile walk, 30 minutes pool running
• Friday: 3 mile walk
• Saturday: 5 mile walk

So I walked a bit over a marathon this week, and I really enjoyed it! I also got in some good cardio with barre and running!

Now it’s your turn to share! Did you try anything new these past few weeks?