10 Days

We are officially 10 days out from our first half marathon. How do I know? The prediction for September 1st showed up on my 10-day forecast today. Which is kind of scary. And nerve-wracking. And intimidating. Not the weather, but the race. I know I'm ready and I know I can run the distance, but I feel so unprepared. I have all the race information, where we're staying, how to get everywhere, etc. But I still feel completely unready. A 5K is one thing, but a half marathon? It's a much bigger deal. My running seems to have been suffering recently, both mentally and physically, I think because I'm afraid of messing up anything physically, before the big day. But every time, I also feel a mental anguish that I'm not doing enough/doing it right/training hard enough/etc.

As excited as I am for this race, I'm looking forward to being able to run and run whatever distance I want, for the fun of it again. I've enjoyed the challenge of training for this race, but man has it messed with my head! It's bad enough that I'm stressed about my (un)employment situation, but the pressure I'm putting on myself for training (or occasionally the lack thereof) is just getting to be too much. I stymied myself this morning and only ran two miles-argh! However, I have a long 9-10 mile to look forward to this weekend with Will, so hopefully that will help me land back in the correct mental state before the race next weekend. And I think I'll load up on lots of yoga this week too, just to help even more!

Barre Belle

I'm sure many of you have noticed that I am in LOVE with my new barre classes! Growing up, I did ballet for about 10 years, before foregoing it for music (and another type of dance-clogging). I knew I would never achieve the ideal dancer's body of tall stature and long, muscular legs. I had the leg "muscle" (jiggle jiggle), but that was about it. Even though I enjoyed it, it was time to move on because like many activities we participate in as kids, there's a point you get to when you either have to go all in or back out. Well, I've realized that as an adult, you can kind of get back into some of your childhood activities, without having to make any sort of commitment other than to yourself. It's actually pretty nice, you know, to be able to do something because you enjoy it and not have to worry about how "good" you are at it! What a concept!

I'd been seeing on some friends Facebooks about these classes called "barre," which got me intrigued. I didn't actively start looking for a place to try it, since I was still looking for a yoga studio, which was a higher priority. Then I got our free monthly paper, The Health Journal and as I perused it, found an article about barre classes. Since the journal covers all of Hampton Roads, most of it was about classes in VA Beach or other cities, but then there was a quote from an instructor of a studio in Williamsburg. So I googled up Studio South and discovered it was a yoga studio that taught a couple barre classes-the perfect combination! After reading through their whole website, I sent them an e-mail via the "contact us" page and landed myself a free class. So I figured, might as well try a barre class, because then if it didn't live up to my expectations, at least it was free.

Well, I went to the first class and was immediately hooked! My body somehow remembered after 10 years, how to do the ballet poses and postures accurately, yet it was a more fast-paced workout than I anticipated. I felt great that I had no problem keeping up with everything and doing most things in releve, and I left feeling wonderful! Best part? No pain the next day. I went back again for class this week and still love it. The combination of traditional ballet postures, combined with pilates-style exercises, and a little bit of yoga stretching, truly is ideal. It fulfills me on all levels of fitness, plus it's just really fun. It allows me to have a class that falls somewhere between the zen-like slower pace of yoga (my preferred way to practice) and the intensity of running, but without the responsibility of figuring out what new moves to try at the gym. I FREAKIN' LOVE IT.

And to make things even better, I've tried a couple yoga classes at Studio South, and enjoyed them, including a hot yoga class. The instructors are as nice as can be and the environment is calming. They have a super-fancy air filtration system that makes hot yoga bearable and not stuffy, and they provide everything else you need. They're also into essential oils, which I've not experienced before, but I have to say--my cool towel that was doused in lavender oil after hot yoga was amazing, as was having the instructor come and hold his hands over my face with more lavender oil in restorative yoga. Definitely a whole new aspect to my practice! Needless to say, I'm in love with this studio and am so excited to have a warm, welcoming place to do barre and practice yoga! As they say at Studio South, Namaste y'all!

Smoothie Cleanse

So I decided to do a smoothie cleanse, since cleansing seems to be a popular thing right now. Usually, I'm not one to follow what's "popular," but something about the concept of cleansing your body seemed intriguing to me. I decided to try a smoothie cleanse recommended by a friend, instead of shelling out the big bucks to do a juice cleanse, like Blueprint. I figured I could save a few $$ by DIY-ing the experiment, and if I ultimately had a positive reaction to the smoothie cleanse, I would look into investing in a juice cleanse.

Well, let me tell you folks-this has truly been an experiment! Here are the things I've learned from this experiment:

1. I actually have some semblance of self-control and rarely felt the need to snack during the cleanse. On day 2, I indulged in a bowl of plain brown rice, but that was mostly to balance the flavor of the smoothie. The rest of the cleanse was only supplemented by a couple bananas for breakfast (mostly because I didn't feel like tangling with my food processor/blender before having a full cup of coffee and on an empty stomach) and raw cashews. 
2. Straws are crucial elements of cleansing. We had to make an emergency straw trip on day 2 and are now well-stocked on straws for any future smoothie endeavors.
3. I really don't like drinking thick things, i.e. smoothies, soups, pulpy orange juice, etc. This relates to #2-the need for straws. Straws make it possible for me. A spoon is somewhat useful, but a straw is where it's at.
4. Raw cashews are the best snack discovery I have made in a long time. We loved our tamari almonds from EarthFare in Tallahassee, but raw cashews are my new best friend. They were my favorite snack during this process and even in their natural state, they have a buttery kind of flavor to them that is beyond delightful. Definitely a keeper.
5. Avocado's make everything better. I think I'm a Californian by nature. I would love to have an avocado tree in my backyard, like Will's grandmother does. I could literally eat avocado's at every meal. Every. Meal.
6. I don't really like beets as much as I thought I did. Borscht may be the only exception and led me astray thinking I actually enjoyed beets. Maybe I do. The juries still out on beets for me.
7. I really really don't like raspberries. Or at least I'm blaming them in some part, along with the beets, for the unpleasant taste of smoothie day 2. But I'm pretty sure I just don't like them.

After three days of giving this a go, would I recommend it? Sure, but I would definitely recommend eating foods you're unfamiliar with in a non-smoothie meal before diving in. I should've reminded myself what beets tasted like before cleansing, as well as tested raspberries, since I was pretty sure I didn't like them anyways. Otherwise, I found the Day 1 smoothie to be pretty good, but I know kale might not be everyone's favorite green-it can be bitter, but it didn't bother me (you know we cook a lot of it). Day 2 smoothie was horrendous, in my opinion. I suffered through many beet burps, had to get a straw to prevent myself from gagging, and ultimately threw some away (although I threw it away because I was so full and wasn't going to keep forcing myself to drink it, and I didn't exactly want leftovers). Day 3 smoothie was the nectar of life and perfect in every way. Even after getting full, I still wanted to keep drinking it. It was the only smoothie that also had the good fortune of straw-usage for the entire day, so that may have helped. But I would definitely make Day 3 smoothie again and it was the only one I looked forward to sipping on for a second time, during the day. I almost craved it.

My conclusions about the smoothie cleanse are that I feel fairly successful with it. I definitely dropped a few pounds, which was fun (check back in a few days to see if I've kept them off-pretty doubtful). I didn't feel super low on energy, although Will would argue that I got a little ornery at times. And while I can't tell if toxins have left my body or not, I feel lighter and I guess cleaner? I'm not really sure how you're supposed to determine that. Would I try it again? Maybe with some different smoothies. Would I try a juice cleanse? Definitely. Was it worth it? Sure, I have nothing else going on at the moment.

If you're interested, I've included the recipes below. Our blender is crap, so we prepped all ingredients in our food processor before doing a final blend in our blender. We had to do most of the food processing in groups, because we have a tiny food processor. If you want to see the original recipe, visit here.

Day 1 Smoothie-"Green Smoothie"
2 cups tuscan kale, packed
1 cup spinach leaves, packed
1 large handful parsley
1 frozen banana
2 cups green grapes
1 cup frozen blueberries
3 tablets TJ's spirulina
1/4 cup sliced raw almonds
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
5 ice cubes

(Finished smoothie pictured at the top of the post)






Day 2 Smoothie-"Red-ish Smoothie"
5 TJ's pre-cooked baby beets (I would recommend using less; the original recipe calls for 3 beets)
3 cups swiss chard, packed
1 frozen banana
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/4 cup flaxseed
1 tbsp raw cocoa powder
2 cups almond milk
5 ice cubes








Day 3 Smoothie-"Sweet Smoothie"
3 cups spinach leaves, packed
1/2 avocado, pitted
3 inches ginger, peeled
1 frozen banana
2 cups frozen mango
1/4 cup raw cashews
1 scoop TJ's vanilla protein powder
2 cups almond milk
5 ice cubes

Seeking New Gym

When you move, there are lots of things that you have to find again. Hairdressers, dentists, car repair guys....and your gym! And truth be told, I'm not having much luck with finding many of these, most specifically a gym. I had told myself that until I knew where I'd be working, I wouldn't spend the money to join a gym because I could just run and do some machine-free exercising at home. Well, while that's true, our schedule has been so all over the place that my discipline has been slipping and I haven't been making the time like I should. It's easier to convince myself to take time to work out if there's a dollar figure attached to it.

So I started my foray into searching for a gym in Williamsburg, online last night. I can always join the W&M gym at an alumni rate and get a Fitwell pass once the semester starts, which would be nice because I could take classes again AND my yoga practice would be included. But despite being a slightly better deal than a non-W&M gym, something about returning to my undergrad gym and taking classes with freshmen, seems weird to me. Granted, it's a fantastic gym with lots of offerings, but for some reason I'm just not feeling it. I feel the need to explore other options before just settling on what's familiar.

However, the problem is, all the gyms I've found in Williamsburg have high monthly rates. Granted, it's because they all include unlimited classes, but $45/month is steep! But one gym offers spin, bootcamp, yoga, pilates, and some other classes I'm interested in, so part of me wants to give that gym a shot because it's set to a "real persons" schedule as opposed to a student schedule. They have a "free" trial week that I'm tempted to partake in next week, just to see what it's like. They have super early classes that I want to summon up the discipline to attend, but again, $45/month is steep! Especially when I know similar things will be offered at W&M, but I'm afraid their Fitwell class times won't mesh with my schedule.

I guess my question with this is, how much do you invest in your fitness each month? In Tallahassee, we paid $20/month for the gym (that got me in all the time and Will could come with me an unlimited amount as a "guest"-Gold's didn't do family rates) and another $120/20 classes of yoga, which usually covered us both for 2-2 1/2 months. So I guess paying $45/month for everything included is less than $20/month for gym + ~$60/month for yoga. But it just SEEMS so much more expensive! If you don't mind, please share with me what you invest on a monthly basis for your fitness and what that includes-I'm curious to know so I can have some sort of price comparison!

Fitness Funnies

Folks, yesterday the internet provided lots of funnies related to fitness. I'm sure many of you saw The Oatmeal's running contribution, but I also wanted to make sure you saw Buzzfeed's Ludicrous Things Yoga Teachers Say. That's all I've got, so enjoy!

Excerpt from The Oatmeal

Excerpt from Buzzfeed

New Products!

It's always fun to get new toys. I don't care how old you are, it's always exciting to get something new, especially if it's stuff you haven't gotten before. I felt that way when I came home to two packages sitting in my mailbox--my first Runnerbox and Bondi Bands! I had already received a new outfit that I ordered from Lucy last week, that I plan to use for the half-marathon, so to get the rest of my new running gear made it even better. The reason I had ordered these products is because Mitzi had recently blogged about a bunch of fun new stuff she had snagged at an expo of a race she ran. She raved about these Bondi Bands, so I wanted to give them a shot--with my short haircut, it's hard to find products that hold my hair back without looking atrocious, so I'm always game for something new.

Well, I took some of my new gear out for a test this past Sunday when I tackled my furthest running distance yet--7 miles! I wore my new Lucy outfit, a Bondi Band, and took some Pro Bar Bolt Organic Energy Chews to help keep my energy up on the long distance. The result was great! I loved my new outfit, which has a lot of pockets in the top, equipped for stashing things over the course of a long run. And the Bondi Band worked great-I'm definitely going to keep using them (I ordered two) because they hold the hair back, don't shift while you're working out, and soak up the sweat really well. Plus, they have cute sayings on them :) And I LOVED the Pro Bar organic energy chews. I had asked in a previous blogpost about energy gels and received pretty negative reviews of them, so I feel like these little energy chews might be a good alternative. However, I got lots of fun goodies/snacks/energy supplements in my Runnerbox, so I might find something I like even more!

If you have any favorite products that you like to use, let me know! Clothing, sunglasses, shoes, food, water boosters, supplements, etc.--I want to know it all!

Bondi Bands

Runnerbox Goodies

(Sorry for the terrible photo quality)

True Confessions of An "Athlete"

I am starting to feel so pumped for this half-marathon! I know I blab about it a lot on here (point of the blog...duh), but at the moment, it's my only real fitness "goal." I'm keeping up strength training and toning as best I can without a gym (for the moment) and am trying to be better about practicing yoga on my own. And I'm trying to be harder on myself about truly making sure I'm doing something beneficial every day because well, we're getting married in less than six months and there's a dress that I want to look good in!

But anyways, this post is not for that. This post is to share a little bit (okay, a lot bit) about my journey to becoming the "athlete" I may be considered today. I struggle with the term "athlete" because I think of true athletes as people who play sports and win medals and things. However, the more I read about fitness and running, the more I recognize that "athlete" is a much broader term for people who are part of this healthy, active way of living. In Merriam-Webster, "athlete" is defined as:

"a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina"

And while I struggle with the label of the word itself (it's the academic in me), I guess I can be considered someone who is trained in something that requires physical strength because of running. Or something like that.*

It occurred to me recently that I find this whole fitness regimen (particularly running) thing still shocking, even though I've been really good about keeping things up for the last year. I find it interesting how much easier it is for me to convince myself to go for a run, do some strength/toning exercises, go for a bike ride, or go to a yoga class, than it is for me to practice my instruments. I struggle with a little guilt because I feel like I'm replacing time I should be spending practicing, with exercising instead. And even now, when I'm unemployed and have lots of free time, I find it's so much easier to tell myself "oh, spend an hour working out" than it is to pick up my clarinet for the same amount of time. I almost feel, in a sense, that I'm making up for some sort of "lost time" over the years. And I've talked about some of this before, but I wanted to share a full recap of my "athletic" life over the years, here.

As a kid, I was fairly active, doing dance 3-4 days a week and soccer 2-3 days (two practice, one game usually). And even though I was never a star athlete (although I believe in 6th grade I finally got the coveted presidential physical fitness award...or maybe I imagined that), I was what we would consider "fit." I wasn't a skinny or muscular kid, but I was active at least five days a week and my parents fed me mostly healthy foods, which I consider pretty darn good. And then somewhere around middle school, choices had to be made to prioritize time. Soccer got cut first because most girls on my team left to join more elite travel teams, and even though I could have qualified for that, I preferred dance. So then I mainly balanced dance and music. But then dance got really competitive, and again, I could have pushed myself to become Clara in the Nutcracker, or I could focus on the whole music thing, which I was really really good at. (This is also the time I started clogging, which is where I discovered my heart for dance truly lies, so that is what I began to pursue and still continue, when possible, these days).

By the time I reached college, I had been so focused on music, that I didn't recognize that there were other "extracurriculars" or "hobbies" beyond that. So in a weird kind of way, I judged people who "worked out." Not out of jealousy, but just wondered why they would waste the time, I guess? I understood and appreciated organized sports, and would occasionally participate in IM Wind Symphony soccer, but other than that, I mostly was happy to consider walking around campus my "exercise." During college, I did discover yoga and began to practice regularly, but then the Rec changed it's schedule and I never managed to get a yoga class to work with my 5-day a week evening rehearsal schedule, so it fell by the wayside. There was one summer where I joined a gym and was pretty proactive about going--I managed to shed a few pounds and gain some muscle definition, but looking back, I'm not sure how well I was working out.

When I moved to Tallahassee, the thought never crossed my mind to pick up a fitness regimen. But I was hearing more and more in my performance classes that keeping the body healthy will make you a better player. But I looked around and didn't see many people who did that, because as musicians, we are always keeping weird hours and never have enough time to fit it all in. But after hearing my friend Julia start talking about going to the gym every day after work, and seeing her boss, Mitzi (who is a total fitness and running CHAMP), up at 4:30 AM most days to go to her bootcamps/regular workout/whatever crazy class she's doing, I started to think maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. Then I started to work for Jeff, who is a triathlete, and that's when I decided to join the Gold's up the street (talk about motivation). I took advantage of my free personal training session which turned into a few months worth of personal training sessions, and between that and the results I was seeing, I happily stuck to a workout routine. I also bought a bike and relearned how to ride, from Will.

Even though it meant early morning hours (getting up at 5 or 5:30 some weeks) to fit in practicing daily and working out a few days a week, I stuck with it because I was enjoying the results. And then sometime in December, after seeing Mitzi always bombarding my Saturday mornings with fun race photos on FB, and having several piano students who ran races, I decided it was time to give running a shot. I had always avoided it because a) really, it's no fun when you first start and you feel like a lazy ass no matter how "fit" you may think you are and b) I had previously been diagnosed with patella femoral pain syndrome (a knee problem) and was advised not to run. But I figured, why not give it a shot?

After a few weeks of giving it a good effort, it started to get easier. So I started actually tracking this improvement on the Nike+ app. Then I got some true "running" shoes. Then I signed up for a 5K and made Will do it with me. And here I am now, about 7 1/2-8 months later, and I'm enjoying training for a half-marathon. I have a full fitness wardrobe involving clothes for all the seasons and all the activities (running, yoga, regular working out, strength training at home, biking). I subscribe to Runner's World and Self magazines. I just made my first order of RunnerBox. I actually do the workouts I pin on Pinterest. And I do some kind of workout every day. WHAT THE WHAT.

So this is where I think "making up for lost time" is coming into play. I think because for the last 10+ years I thought it was silly to do physical activity purposely, I'm now doing it every day because I feel guilty for neglecting my body all that time. And while the clarinet is really nice and deserves to be played, it's finally time for me to figure out what I enjoy doing in life, not necessarily what I'm good at. Running and workouts are a gateway to determining who I am beyond the musical talents that have defined "me" for the last 10 years. The increasingly more toned arms and race bib collection (plus some finishers medals) are just bonuses ;-)

*If you wouldn't consider me an "athlete," tell me! What is your definition of an athlete?