Overall, a good end to 2010

Today is my Friday! Our office usually gives us two days off for Christmas, but since the holiday fell over the weekend, they gave us one day for Christmas, and one day for New Year's Eve.  So today was my Friday.  YAY!

I've had two particularly good runs this week.  So after each I've taken some time to reflect what made these runs better than the others.

1. My goals

I tend to set some pretty terrible goals for myself, runningwise.  For example, I'll head to the gym after not running for a couple of days and say "oh I'm gonna run for 40 minutes non-stop"  or "I'm gonna run 5 miles today non-stop."  For me, the first mile is always the toughest, both mentally and physically.  But once I get through that first mile, I'm ok.  However, when I'm still in the first mile, I start thinking "omg, I can't do this for 4.5 more miles," and I doubt myself, making it harder to keep going.

However, the past two runs I've set realistic goals for myself.  Tuesday morning I got up and ran before work.  Because time was tight, I set the timing and 25 minutes and just had myself go.  No promises to run non-stop.  Once I was about .75 miles in, I evaluated how things were going and saw that 2 miles was a realistic option for me.  I ended up running the whole time without stopping.  However, if I needed to, I was prepared to stop and walk.

Today when I ran, I updated my pace a bit from Tuesday.  Because I upped the pace, I told myself that if I needed a short one or two minute walking break between miles, that was fine.  And that is what I did.

• .75 miles - moderate pace
• .25 miles - fast pace
• 1 minute 20 seconds - brisk walk
• .75 miles - moderate pace
• .25 miles - fast pace
• 1 minute  30 seconds - brisk walk
• 2 minutes - moderate walk

Not putting so much pressure on myself really helped me to keep going.

not actually my feet - source

Breathing

Breathing when you are running is different that how you breath the rest of the day.  At least it is for me.  When I don't focus on my breathing, I seem to take in a lot of quick, short, shallow breaths.  As a result, I never really feel like I have the oxygen and energy to continue.  However, this week I've really focused on concentrating on breathing.  For me, its four counts in, six counts out.  Is it normal for my exhale to be longer than my inhale?  For some reason I thought they were supposed to be the same length, but that hasn't worked for me yet.  This 4/6 count seems to work the best for me right now.  I also think focusing on my breathing and running, and not the numbers on the treadmill screen in front of me, has  helped a lot.

Five goals for 2011

2011.  Its a big year.  I'll be a quarter century years old.  I'll change last names.  And as expected, I'm working on a list of goals for 2011.  Here is what I have so far. 

 

1. Maintain a workout regimen: get at least 2.5 hours of exercise per week.  Since most of my exercise tends to be on the active opposed to moderate style, that puts me above what the government recommends for a healthy lifestyle. 
 
2. Cook more: Cook at least one new meal per week, and to have a dinner that does not focus around pasta at least 2 other days of the week. I can not eat pasta forever.  Ok, I probably can, but it wouldn't be a good idea.  Maybe I'll find a cook book to cook my way through (a la Julie and Julia!)

3.  Get married with as little stress as possible:  I try and make my goals measurable and concrete.  Not sure stress level is really measurable.  But I think this is an important one. I will do as much planning and organizing up to the wedding as possible to make things move smoothly during the weekend's festivities.  Any idea how I can make this goal more measurble?

4. Blog Blog Blog: Keep on blogging.  Every day isn't realistic right now for me.  But I will find a schedule that works for me and stick to it. 

5. Excel at work: Again, I don't get too specific about work things on here, so lets just leave this here and ya'll can trust me that I have a plan.  Cool?

Are you developing a list of goals for 2011?  What goals have you set for yourself?  Any ideas how I can make my stress free wedding goal measurable?

Top 5 stories of 2010

As its the end of the year, it's time to recap 2010. 

1. The Engagement
Sure, the actual engagement happened in 2009.  But waking up engagement on January 1st and having my family coming into town was pretty exciting.  Plus, planning this wedding was one of the biggest topics of 2010, and it all began with the engagement. 

2. Ben and I move in together
Shortly after the engagement, Ben and I moved in to our apartment just outside of D.C.  Living together has been exciting and we've learned so much more about each other during the past year.  I absolutely adore our apartment, and we were both devistated when we thought we were going to have to move this January (don't worry, we aren't moving). 

3. Securing a wedding location
After tons and tons of research, we finally narrowed our wedding location to three places.  Each different but awesome in their own way.  But when another couple wanted one of our location, we were given less than 24 hours to stake our claim.  After lots of analysis, talking and tears, we decided to take Hibernian Hall.

4. Haddis' passing
 The death of Haddis was both shocking and sad.  Ben lost his best friend and a groomsman in our wedding.  I'll never forget when Ben recieved that phone call.  Some days, it doesn't seem real. 

5. Running a 10K
When we all decided to run a 10K, I wasn't sure we were actually going to follow through with the plan.  But somehow, we did.  Despite getting lost, running a mile warmup, and being 10 minutes late, it was an amazing experience.  It has inspired me to keep on running.  Bring on Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon 2012!

T-3 Days

Christmas is just 3 days away! I'm so excited!  Things have been super super busy, so I am very ready to head home for the holidays.  Just one more day of work and then off to my parents I go!

Well, I've been an epic fail regarding the Yoga 31 Day Challenge.  With the craziness that is December, I totally fell off the bandwagon.  I've done a handful of yoga classes, but I can't really say I've been really good about following it.  But at least I've been thinking about doing yoga?

I have however, started to work the elliptical into my workout routine.  I haven't done the elliptical in forever.  In college, I could just jump on to the elliptical and go for hours.  But give me a treadmill and I would practically cry my way through a mile (little did I know that after the first mile, it gets better).  The first time I jumped back on the elliptical, I thought, "well that blew!"  So I've decied to start weaving it the elliptical back in with running. 

Speaking of... off to the gym and then to pack for my trip back home!

Yoga Challenge

So, I kinda fell off the yoga band waggon.

"But Anna, it's only December 5th.  How have you fallen off already?"

 Well, December 2nd was the day we get to get our Christmas tree.  We left right after work, and by the time we got home, I was ready for bed.

December 3rd...I forget what happened.

On December 4th, I had the pleasure of babysitting Parker.  Babysitting was from 3:45 until about 10:45 (including travel time), and then Ben and I decorated said Christmas tree until after midnight.  While I know about said evening plans, I forgot to schedule in yoga during the first part of my day.

But, today is December 5th, and I am back on yoga!  Today, I decided to try YogaDownload.com.  I downloaded a few different free videos to try.  Today, I did the Yoga for Weight Loss #1 - Beginner.  I probably could have down an intermediate level class, but I always seem to start with beginner.

Overall, I liked this class.  While still a beginner class, I feel like I got a better workout than with the "21 Day Yoga" video I tried out on Dec. 1.  If there was a day that I needed a lighter workout, I would definitely do the Yoga for Weight Loss #1 again.  Today I did a quick run (a little over a mile at a faster pace than normal), so pairing this yoga routine with the run was perfect.

I also downloaded Yoga for Weight Loss #2, so I'll have to let you know how that one goes.

Have you used YogaDownload.com?  What videos from there have you found to be great workouts?  Have you tried yoga routines from other sites that you think I should try?

December Goals!

Let's hope that I do better with December's goals than I did with November's...

December Goals:

✭ Get a real Christmas tree and decorate it and the apartment for the holiday season!

✭  Make at least one batch of Christmas cookies!
✭ Run at least 20 miles throughout the month (including this short week, that’s just 4 miles a week)
✭ Do at least one hour of yoga each week.  Whether its once a week for an hour or six 10-minute sessions, it doesn’t matter.
✭ Pack a real lunch at least 3 days per week (throwing a granola bar in my purse and calling that and a bag of chips “lunch” doesn’t count)
✭ Create a training plan for the upcoming March 8K
✭ Confirm all the loose ends on wedding planning
✭ Plan the honeymoon
✭ Schedule engagement photos

Here's to December!

Delta 10K!

Well, we did it.  We actually did it!  On Sunday, Miranda, Kate, Jane, Christen and I woke up super early and ran the Veterans Day 10k!

This race was my very first race (it was most of our first races actually). You would think for a first race we would have chosen something a bit shorter – like a 5K perhaps. Nope! You know my motto – go big or go home. So run we did all 6.2 miles of it!

We had a bit of a stressful start. Ben and I got turned around and were totally confused as to where the race started. He ended up dropping Christen and I off at the Jefferson, which was prob a good mile from the actual starting point. Talk about a warmup! Christen and I ran around the monument area, hoped a fence, and somehow found the starting point. Due to my lack of direction, we started twenty minutes after the gun. But off we went together and Christen definitely kept me going.

Mile one was ok – the first mile is never fantastic. But mile number two was brutal. At one point, Christen and I looked at each other like “we must have missed the two mile marker. That one way up in the distance HAS to say 3 miles.” Nope. It said 2 miles.

Somewhere between mile marker two and three, we found Kate and Miranda who had already turned around at the half way point. Shortly after, we found Jane! And then at mile three, the boys were waiting with a smile to cheer us on! When Christen and I hit the turnaround point, and then she took off! I needed a bit of a break and didn’t want to hold her back. The second half was what I call a “healthy mix” of running and walking. Once I hit the five mile marker however, I took off! I had gone that far I wasn’t going to walk into the finish line! Once I got back into my stride everything felt ok.

I ended up crossing the finish line in 1 hour and 14 minutes. Yes, I’m a bit slow. But considering I walked a “healthy mix” and was able to keep my pace under 12 minute miles, I was pretty happy. Pretty much I was just happy that it was OVER!

Afterwards we went to breakfast at Crystal City Sports Pub and had a good laugh at what we had just done. Oh and we ate – a lot – and enjoyed some birthday mimosas. We found ourselves saying “should I have that [second mimosa, plate of bacon, second helping]? Sure, why not – I just ran a 10k!

Long Week

Sorry for the lack of blogging.  Last week was really really long week.It started last Sunday, when we got an email from our building saying the power would be out hour an hour. 12 hours later, at 4 in the morning, we finally got our power back.  Needless to say, I didn't sleep at all that night. 

Now for some life updates:

Wedding

• Save the Dates: I was finally was able to pull together addresses so we can send the save-the-dates.  Benjamin should have his addresses soon as well.  Yay for checking this lingering thing off our plate!
• Alcohol:  While our caterer does provide bar services, we aren't required to use them.  Considering their bar pricing was outrageous, we have been looking for better options.  This weekend, we found our bar service.  Basically, we just need to check and make sure they aren't gonna overcharge us for glassware and then we can send in the check!  
• Invitations: We've narrowed it down to two invites.  Who knows which one we will pick.  You'll find out when it appears in your inbox. 

Life in General

• 10K Training:  This is still going on.  I'm not running quite as much as I would like, but I'm getting there.  This weekend Ben and I went for quite a long run.  It sucks, but was awesome at the same time. 
• Baking:  Last week I attempted the blueberry maple cupcakes that Val suggested.  They were fantastic!  I frosted 1/2 with the maple frosting, and 1/2 with cream cheese frosting.  Ben preferred the maple frosting; I liked the cream cheese.  I want to play with the recipe a little bit.  I think the batter needs more sugar and definitely needed more blueberries.  Next up: chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes