Wohoo

I promise I've been active. There haven't been a whole lot of pictures

I've had two interval runs. and I always walk away from the run saying I'll be at the gym more. But I've only made it twice in the past two weeks. I've done some walking with pokemon on my lunch. However, it's getting super hot. And I don't do heat well. I hate heat. And humidity. I also turn into a whiney little thing. 

New news is I've begun foam rolling. Once a week after my low aerial yoga class, I now get to teach a foam rolling class. It's a lot of fun. It hurts but it's fun and is good for me. You wouldn't think that something that looks like an oversized pool noodle could hurt so dang much but you would certainly be wrong. Being a new class and practice, I've been doing a lot of research both with websites and talking to other yoga teachers. Don't spend too long in an area. Avoid rolling the lower back but you can use the foam roller as a tool for bridge. Ditto for the neck. Using it 2-5xs a week is best and I'm not great at that. My roller sits in my trunk waiting for Wednesdays. It is sort of a full body workout too. There are body contortions you have to do, and planks. So far I've had class each week with a few students. I hope that it continues to be successful and maybe we can get a few people into low aerial after watching it while waiting for class. Peek some interest. 

The lyra is still a painful partner. Instagram is helping me find new interest in aerial yoga and aerial hammock (not the same). We do Friday Night Live as a studio during the summer. It's a street festival every Friday. I've run into old classmates and coworkers. It's so much fun and opens conversations. It helps I think that we are also all different body types. We aren't all the lithe yoga woman everyone conjures up when they think yogi. We are short, tall, skinny, curvy, young, not so young. I think, we embodied that yoga is for every body. There are as many types of classes and teachers as there are students who want to learn. 

Circus/Lyra hurts

There are a few things that I still need to get done. One is to run more. I feel better overall. Another is to get that legal name change then so I can officially take my hubbies name. I could also use to figure out how to avoid bees. Two bees found it necessary to sting me, once on Friday-so no FNL for me-and one on Sunday and my knee is still not happy. It's not an allergy necessarily but a small reaction combined with my overreactive immune system. When I woke up this morning, it still hurt. One more day of rest. 

And I've started selling some of my photography on Etsy. Printing is done by a local store. The audience is slowly building and then I can figure out what people are most interested in. I had my first sale. I even got a picture of where it was going to hang and the background as to why the buyer wanted that specific picture. This sort of connection makes the sale rather special. I hope other interactions are just as rewarding. So far people are looking at this one the most....

As for now, it's just photos, but maybe in the future I'll learn how to do scented Epson salts or resin jewelry and paperweights with the photos or dried flowers. I'm feeling crafty. Part of me wants to make clothing too. Women's clothing with real pockets that actually hold things. However, the intial investment and the slow return....It's a little prohibitive.

 Life is moving forward. I'm trying to work on the flow. And going with it. Finding the love of life and inhaling it with deep, nourishing breaths. 

And We Are Back

Oh, wow. I’ve been MIA for a while haven’t I?

I’ve only run twice. No reason other than lazy and it’s hot and I’ve not been sleeping well so getting up is very hard to do.

But the running has been feeling great. When I’ve been doing it. It feels good to express myself thru it. How? Because I’m pushing myself and I’m expressing my determination. I’m expressing my willingness to put myself thru great discomfort. Running isn’t really easy. When you start, your brain says nope. But you have to keep going through that. It is literally mind over matter. I could use the shirt that says that.

Then, there is the wall you hit when you’ve run for a while and your body goes “nope.” And it’s easy to just give in but that’s why you train. If you train, your brain just goes in to auto-drive and the legs keep moving. I hit it when I did my half marathon. It was hard. I wanted to quit so bad. My body was cramping and crying for a chair or a tree stump. But no, my brain overrode my body, overrode it’s safety protocols.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m slow. Very slow. Turtles have nothing on me. But I can keep going. My mother always said I was stubborn. And here is where it comes in handy.

Part of the reason I’ve been taking it easy is I’m in the middle of a little flare. It’s not full blown but it’s hard to do things. My skin hurts, I’m tired all the time, and my joints are aching. When this happens, I have a choice to make. Run or not. I have to ask myself if it’s beneficial in the future. Will it do more harm than good. Last night, I had every intention of going to bed early and running this morning. I even slept in running clothes. But my discomfort kept me awake. To get up and run would leave me with a 2 hour sleep deficit. When I’m going through things like this, it’s important to get rest. It helps with the healing and recovery.

I have been using my fabric at home for basic aerial yoga and doing restorative aerial in class. Less power and more deep stretches. I think it’s been going well. It’s hard to tell in a flare. But I do have a new class on the schedule. Foam Rolling. It’s always a love hate relationship. My first class was this past Wednesday. I had three very different people join me in the class. It hurt. I have no metaphor or simile to describe how bad it hurt. When you leave class, you feel completely beat up. It takes a day or two to feel the improvement in your body.

While I skipped the last Friday night live, I’ve been doing research on how to improve my lyra and aerial hammock. I’ve put them aside to run and now I need to find greater balance but I need to keep challenging myself like I do with running. There is the flow in the hammock that I need to improve. I need to find grace. With lyra, I just need to learn it. It’s a new apparatus for me and it’s painful.

So what’s the take away? Balance. I need to find balance in my life. Good food, healthy food, snack food. Emotionally, it’s good to feel the full range of feelings. Running and aerial stuff helps me find a safe place to express my emotions and sort thru them. Autoimmune flares makes me think about does this serve me or hurt me. Exercise should be balanced too. Cardio and strength training lead to a well balanced person.

Two more things.

I play Pokemongo. It’s fun and it lets me get some walking miles in. I found a wild Pikachu. I’m hunting Evies so I can have all three.

I also opened an Etsy Store. It has some of my photography. I already had an old cafepress store but it seems like an Etsy Store is where things are at. It might also have some other things as I get crafty. Maybe Epson salts or resin jewelry. I still have to figure out what I want to do.

The Natural Heart

EnfireDesigns-CafePress

So that’s it. I will see you sooner than later.

Post Wedding Report

The wedding is over. It was a success. My running not so much.

There was no running streak as I hoped. I underestimated all the errands and last minute things that needed to be done. I did run around a lot. A. Lot.

The wedding went off without a hitch. It was beautiful. I am more comfortable in running shoes and combat boots than peep toe pumps. The weather was beautiful. It was a wonderful day with lots of great people.

So I picked up a couple of runs this past week. Tuesday, I ran a fun run. I ran with varying difficulty with different levels of incline. And it felt good. It was hard but it was nice at the same time. I didn’t sprint that much. I wanted a smooth run. Not to say that I didn’t sweat. I did. And then I realized I forgot all my bath stuff at home. A quick sink bath had to do.

Stormy day=no outside running

Wednesday was a different run. I kept it flat and worked on sprints. Every five minutes I would bump up the speed to 6.7mph and sprint 30 seconds to a minute. I would keep the towel over the time so that I wouldn’t stare at the clock. Again, this was hard. Parts of it were unpleasant. But I understand what people mean by feeling rewarded by running. It wasn’t a fast run but it required a lot of effort.

After a 5k, I went to the stair climber for 15 min. That is a weird machine. I don’t like stairs. I will run thirteen miles but I still hate stairs. And why are they so tall? And why are the steps so small? If I didn’t need to improve my lung capacity, I would avoid this machine like the plague. Have I mentioned that I’m a sweater? I believe the stair climber and I will become friends in the future but right now we are frenemies.

Then, I did something I should have done a long time ago. I pulled a foam roller off the rack and used it. It’s pleasant torture. It is not pleasant but it hurts so good. I have to figure out a few other positions to get a few muscle groups I missed but why have I waited so long? I will be visiting the foam roller more often. I wish I had taken one to Door County for the HM. I might have been able to not walk like a cowboy the next day.

Yoga was quite interesting. We had three new students. One almost new student as well. There was a request for an abdominal focus. I like the challenge. It involves planks and inverted toe touches and my favorite; straddleback into bridge into straddleback to pike/plow. I think that series use all those adominal muscle groups. Sometimes, we are zen in class and sometimes we are a little more active.

There was a plan to run this morning but I ran into a small issue last night. Since Sunday, my left foot had been itchy. I thought it was athlete’s foot maybe but nope. I was stung by a bee. And while swelling was minimal, the itching was getting unbearable. With close inspection, I noticed a blister and in the skin beneath a stinger (I think). It doesn’t feel good and I thought a rest would be good. 

Hopefully, it will feel well enough for a quick run this weekend. 

Running to the Wedding

It’s crunch time. The wedding is less than a week and I have a wedding streak going since Monday. I hope to get at least a mile in every day till that morning.

Monday was a nice run. Well, it was hard but I got to 5ks in. I was doing the Global 5k with Runkeeper and Top Gun Run with Will Run for Bling. It just didn’t feel natural. Running more than 10 min together was nearly impossible. I’m not sure why. It could be medicine. It could be autoimmune. It could by bad aerobic ability which I know needs some improvement. Maybe I could do the Bridge to 10k again. Monday, I worked on sprints with some inclined moments. A few of the half marathon improvement plans included that. I worked with a fartlek mentality rather than a hard and fast 2 min of tempo and 30 seconds of sprint. I also added a walking component, since I was struggling. It just feels like my lungs don’t take enough air in. I’m seriously considering doing a stair stepper. Steps wind me right away. I used to work on the third floor of a building and for nearly five years I took those steps and puffed as much from the first day to the last.

Later that day, the dog and I went to a dog park. So I got some more walking mileage in. With hills. The little stinker didn’t want to go very long. In the past, I’ve had to chase her down after two hours. Monday, she was tired after a half hour and sitting next to me waiting to go.

This morning I went for a run. Again, I felt like my lungs weren’t getting enough air to my body. But truthfully, I just felt discombobulated. Even though I woke up at 3:59, wide awake, I kept dropping stuff. I forgot my phone in the car. How does one track one’s run and watch daredevil without my phone? I did some sprints, I did some tempo runs. Personally, I think my natural gait is 4.8mph. This means that some people walk faster than I run. I forgot running socks and only had some thin socks. So I ran sockless. Now I have chafing on the side of one of my ankles. The runs have been more rough than easy as of late. At the same time, I feel happier on days I’ve run. I feel more content and easy going.

So I hope to get a jog in tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow will be a good run. Maybe it will be a great run. 

Post-Half Marathon

So what happens after a half marathon?

Well, I plan on how to improve.

Not a whole lot has happened since the race. I’ve had my aerial class which was nice. I enjoy the oasis in the middle of the week and I will take time to practice even when I don’t have a class. In some things, you can find joy and serenity all wrapped in one. I find I can do that, especially when I add a flow or strength element to it.

The week after the race I took the week off from running. I think it’s usual to maybe have a few jogs but I was hurting and I thought to take it easy. Lots of walking and stretching. My autoimmune popped up a bit but the rest nipped it in the bud.

Truthfully, the night after I ran the race, I was already looking at training suggestions. I could barely walk but I was already looking to torture myself again. Maybe the next race will be flat.

So I did run Tuesday morning. It was a hill and sprint run. It was hard. I was dripping in sweat. Sometimes, I would catch myself staring at the clock and not at Daredevil even though we’ve gotten to the Punisher part in the series. (Now there is a movie to be made that would benefit from an R rating. And I want to see it)

And it was tough. I almost fell twice while wiping sweat off my face. My chest feels a little gunky still. There may have been some bargaining going on too. Just make it 30 seconds, and then you can stop. I felt out of practice and I probably was. I did feel strong. I was wearing a Door County HM shirt. I felt comfortable enough but I just didn’t feel great. I need greater aerobic ability. I feel like that was my undoing.

I ran again on Thursday and that felt even worse. But the goal was slow and easy with some sprints and hills for part of it. I dialed it down a bit. I might be suffering a bit from over training. Or undertraining. It’s hard to tell when you have an autoimmune. Too much training and you’re tired and worn out. Too little and you’re tired and worn out. By continuing to work on my aerobic base and maybe doing some more strength training, I should be able to greatly improve my performance. But I have to do it. And right now running feels a little discouraging.

Maybe I should take up swimming. And biking. Maybe I should be a triathlete. Yup, this former coach potato suggested the possibility of me taking up three sports. Because why not? I can do a half marathon. So why not do other seemingly impossibly things?

And that was about it. We are getting ready for the wedding in two weeks. A lot of time is spent on final preparations. We did go to the zoo so that even though I did not run, I definitely was moving this weekend.

I also got the potted garden finished. The plan is that me and the husband to be can eat everything planted. And so can the bearded dragon, except for the herbs. The bunnies can be voracious so I hope the height will be a small deterrent. It was fun. The dog sat in the shade for the most part. The bearded dragon took off. There was hunting and scratches but she was found. And was very ungrateful about being found. Despite that she got to taste her first hibiscus and it was a hit. Someone is getting a leash ordered for her today though.

I hope to get some aerobic activities in these next two weeks. I want to make a little extra breathing room in the wedding dress. And I want to make room for any stress or convenience eating that happens during preparations.

These next two weeks will be interesting and busy and I will do my best to report in before the wedding. I will also try to make a couple of honeymoon entries. The scenery will call for a mile or two jog while we are traveling thru sea stacks and redwoods. 

Wedding Hair Dye Complete

From a previous trip

Happy Pi Day

Happy Pi Day!

I have pie.

On Wednesday, I had a fun class. It was a class that was full of regulars and we adjusted some of the regular aerial yoga moves into low aerial. It was fun and challenging. I also finally figured out a move that has had me baffled for a couple of years.

Friday, I picked up the stepdaughter to be (SDTB) and we went to aerial yoga. It was a full class with lots of different faces and personalities and experiences. I am still not a fan of the leg warm ups. It feels like the hardest part of the class, the part where I sweat the most. It is also the part where my pants got super slippery and I slid out of my plank. I just laid on the floor and giggled at myself. Such a simple move and I slipped right out of it. While I was on the floor, I also realized how comfortable I was in the studio. In the past, I would have died from embarrassment and Friday, I really could have cared less. That is such a blessing to find such a safe place where I can exist.

Saturday, SDTB and I had a 5k in honor of Pi Day. We both received an individual pie, nice V-neck tech shirts. I had warned her the night before that there might be a hill or two after looking at the course online. The weather was one of those days where you weren’t sure if it was going to rain and the temperature made it difficult to figure what to wear. We both went in with goals.

There weren’t a couple of hills. There was 4 big hills. Big. Hills. And then a few other rolling rises. It was hard. People walked hills. People got sick from the effort. I ran, albeit, slowly up the hills. My left foot and knee niggled a little bit but after the first hill, it went away. Detachment had to happen quickly because my brain was very loud about how impossible this course was and how walking was ok. It reminded me that I hadn’t trained at all. I had brought music with me this time around. When things got hard, I started singing the lyrics. Anything to drown out my brain. And by the time I hit the second hill, I started feeling more confident. I knew I wasn’t going to win any awards but I knew I was going to finish. Seeing all the people being beaten by the hills as I slogged up them, I felt good.

The last hill took us right to the finish line. I didn’t see my SDTB except once in a turn around. She was a full minute ahead of me. She took second in her age group and got a medal. I found some speed out of somewhere and got up that hill and sprinted thru the finish gate. We waited around for the results and the medals. My time was 32:17 and I was 20 out of 36. The run seemed to be middle sized with 400ish people. It was more than two minutes faster than my last 5k. I can only imagine what my time would have been without the hills.

This morning I went to the gym. It was an easy run. The pace was nice and slow and comfortable. I looked at it as a recovery run. Some people ran next to me for a bit taking off at speedy speeds. Now don’t think I didn’t sweat, because I did. I’m a sweat-er. I was really glad to get some time in on the treadmill. I like running outside but there is something nice about the treadmill with easy access to amenities. And not need to be quiet because the rest of the house is sleeping.

No great revelations this time around. Just enjoying my time on the fitness journey. I’m happy to be able to do all this Bechet’s and myalgia. I wonder what the future holds.

Here are a few shots of my dragon and dog.

I caught her sleeping like this

 The dog watched Castle with me Saturday night.

 The dragon was not as impressed with the acting styles of Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic

Spring is on it's way

Hi, all.

It’s time I get going. I have to start running more for two reasons: the half marathon in May and my last fitting for my wedding dress is March 18^th and then I have to maintain my weight till my wedding day.

My weekend was the opposite of getting in shape. We had a tasting with the caterer and dinner with friends one day and brunch for a family member’s birthday. I stuffed my face. And it was delicious. I regret nothing. There was a blondie brownie sundae that had to be consumed.

While the gym was discussed over the weekend, it did not happen. Monday, again, it was discussed but a case of the Mondays lead to no trip. It was such a lovely day, I still had to go for a run. The dog stayed home. I need to socialize her a little bit a more as she still has issues on the leash and since the day was so lovely, I knew there would be too many issues. She sulked when I left and ignored me when I came home for a while. It was 60 some degrees and it was too nice too not get outside.

It was capri and tank top weather. I may have been able to go with shorts even. I don’t know how long this weather will last but I’m enjoying it. X-Ambassadors kept me company and moving. My goal was to hit up some hills. My soon to be sister in law told me the half marathon I signed up for has hills. The last thing I want to do is not be prepared for the elevation changes. The good news is my area is full of all sorts of hills, big hills, little hills, slow rise, and steep. As I ran, looked around at intersections to look for hills. I zigzagged thru the city. It was a hard run. I ended up quite sweaty. Many other runners and walkers strolled the sidewalks.

As Runkeeper notices came, I felt like the mileage came slowly. I pushed my discomfort. Running isn’t always comfortable. Well, it is rarely comfortable.

 Running is changing your body every second you do it and change is not comfortable. You are pushing and arguing with your mind. Your mind will be telling you to stop, or make excuses to not even start. That is why I listen to music so I can distract myself. When I do long runs, I find myself detaching from my legs but the first part of the run, I try to talk myself out of it.

In the end, I felt good. I hadn’t run in a while and I hadn’t run outside and even longer. I wish the dog could have come with me but I’ve got some work to do with her. It wasn’t easy. There may have been some swearing in my mind. Yet, there came a point when I just felt joyful and successful. I don’t know if it’s a runner’s high or it’s just being excited at my accomplishments.

I have a race on Saturday with the step daughter to be. One of my regulars and few others might join us. It will be interesting to see what the results would be since I didn’t run much in February.

Till next time J

Running Humor

Lucky me. Just as I sign up for a half marathon, I get a nasty head cold.

So we had yoga and it was nice and fun and we had two new people and two regulars. We all had fun. It was a very relaxing class as I was starting to come down with this cold. No selfies after, Just wanted to get back to my bed and an alka-seltzer cold and flu.

So I don't want to leave you hanging and found some fun running memes. Hope you enjoy and have a great Friday.

This is still true even today

If I don't get to use the dog as an excuse, this is a great one for a early evening

Chafing where you didn't even know you could chafe there

oh yes, so true

We tell ourselves this over and over again

I might be getting carried away here but there are so many good memes. Runners are a funny group. When we get our runs in

And lastly, a few from the Harry Potter Fandom

That's it for now. Hope you all have a good weekend. Running helps you live longer. So does laughing, So if you can't run, laugh.