Treadmill dayz or daze?!?

So a few more days (hopefully not weeks) of morning runs on the treadmill!!!  For those of you who know my love of the outdoors and probably more importantly my disdain for being stuck in the gym you know that I am going a little stir crazy by this time of year.

I definitely run outside until it's about 15 degrees, however once there is snow/ice I'm off to the treadmill.  Now in Charlotte this was rare and if it did happen it did't last long, alas we are no longer enjoying the perks of the southern weather.  However, in Charlotte it was more common for me to be banished to the treadmill due to a missed morning run and excessive afternoon/evening heat!!  Nonetheless it is important to learn how to keep yourself entertained on the treadmill.....

1)  My first and favorite trick is finding a good movie/show:  No, seriously!! If I can preoccupy myself I am no longer focusing on how I feel like I'm dying and wondering "is it over yet?"  Get sucked into those "Sex & the City" marathons or the NCAA tournament (as we currently are) and the time will sail on by!

2) Intervals:  I'm usually fine running at a steady pace (around a 9:30-10 minute mile for me) for about 3 miles, but after that I am shot aka sooooo effing bored.  Time to give myself some goals and change it up a bit with some intervals.  I rarely do inclines because I seem to jack up my stride and tweak my knee a little, so I mainly play with speed.  My favorite is a 30 second sprint usually between 7.0-7.5 mph (depending on how sluggish I'm feeling) and a 45-60 sec recovery at a jog around 6.0 mph.  This is great because you really get your sweat on, feel that burn in your legs & lungs, and the time will sprint on by as well (so corny ;) ).  Generally I focus on the intervals for about 1 mile or so, but you could definitely time your intervals and say do 30 sec sprints with 60 sec recovery for maybe 5-7  minutes or so.  Trust me you will feel so accomplished when it's over and that last mile won't feel like such a hall.

3)  Trick yo'self:  Yes, different from treat yo'self (my favorite way to justify chocolate & shopping).  I do this with outside running as well, but on the treadmill it's a little trickier as you can't really use visual objects as goals.  I try to talk to myself in terms of mileage.  For example, if I'm planning to run 3 miles, once I'm at a mile I'll tell myself that I only have to do that same mile 2 more times.  Once I hit 1.5 miles hey, I'm halfway there!  And with hitting 2 miles, man that last mile is nothing.  It's all about how you talk to yourself and trust me you can talk your mind out of anything & really turn that boring, monotonus treadmill into a mind game!

After this morning's treadmill work out of intervals and RHONY reruns!

4) And lastly shut it out!! That's right move your damn towel or hoody you've stripped off and place it over the clock/mileage.  Don't give yourself even the chance to count down the time or tenths of a mile.  Block it out, put on some good tunes, and you are good to go!




So hang in there for a little longer my northerners the treadmill is almost over!  And for my southerners maybe reference this blog in August when the humidity makes you feel like you are running underwater ;)

Change it up.

I think one of the most important things with keeping fit is variety!  When you constantly keep up with the same activity you end up with overuse injuries, boredom, and just feeling plain stale about working out!  So CHANGE IT UP.

I get bored easily so for me I can't just run or just do yoga, LAME.  I am also prone to overuse injuries and/or residual tightness.  Overuse injuries are your "itis" injuries, like your typical tendonitis, bursitis, tightness through the hip flexors, etc.  So I avoid boredom and injury by keeping a variety of work outs going at the same time!

Running and yoga are my first loves, but there's always too much of a good thing.  So a typical week for me looks like this:

Running 2-3 days

Yoga 1-3 days

Spin class 1-2 days

Weight training 1-2 days

and always 1-2 days of rest (your body needs it and you deserve it!)

Obviously this schedule varies a lot for me based on work and if I'm training for a race or what have you, but for the typical week this schedule gives me everything I need!  I get my outside fix with running.  I get off my knees during spin.  Then I get my flexibility, mindfulness, and stability during yoga.  During the nicer weather I love to get outside for my work outs even more!  This may include a little paddle boarding or a hike with Colin and the pups, but either way it's a great way to work out, get some variety, and spend some QT with friends and significant others!

Yay for balance and variety!!

One thing I notice patients and friends forget is weight training!  Especially as women we think we need the cardio, when in fact we need the strength more than anything!!! The strength is what helps us to prevent injury and plus it keeps you toned ;) !  So make sure to make some time for weight &/or resistance training to keep everything high and tight! I could write an entire blog on this (hmm  maybe I will) so I'll just stop there.

So do me a favor and try and change up your work outs?!? Spring is here so try a new routine, or go check out that class at the gym you've been wanting to go to!  Bet with a little something different you'll feel pretty damn good and practical ;)

Yoga and hiking! holla!!

My bib from my last and fav 1/2 marathon with my bff!

Training to teach.

Whew.  Just got done with my first weekend of yoga teacher training and what a weekend it was.  I thought I'd take the time to just write a quick blog updating my weekend, but look forward to an upcoming PracticallyFit blog in the next week or so.

Let's just start off with the fact that teacher training is so much more than I thought it would be.  There are aspects that are challenging, easy, interesting, educational, etc. all both physically and mentally.  I am learning so much more about myself than I expected to learn.  Now this is not to say that I thought teacher training would be all about students and just teaching, but I never expected it to effect all aspects of my life.

Now I could go on for days about everything that was amazing this weekend, but I'll spare you all the details and try to sum it up!  Taking a look internally was the most insightful part of the training.  Who do I spend my time with?  Why?  How do I react to different situations?  Why?  Why do I eat what I eat?  How do I breathe?  How do I move? Meditation, do I meditate?  And those are just a few examples of the introspective questions and reflection.
All amazing introspective questions and really makes you examine your life.  I left on Saturday night feeling like every person should take yoga teacher training just to become a better person and most of all a better version of themselves.

Most of all after this weekend I feel that I am doing exactly what I should be doing with my life in this moment.  After the move and a job that wasn't the best fit I think I lacked direction.  After this weekend I have realized that all of those changes have allowed me to do this teacher training.  So not to sound cheesy but this teacher training was me following my heart and soul and taking a bit of a leap of faith.  Just a testament to how rewarding it can be to follow your intuition.  Try it!  The reward is immense, trust me I feel as high as a kite after this weekend.  Can't wait to see what's to come in the next 8 weekends over the next year!!!!!