Days 217-219: Asana’s and Rattlesnakes

Day 217:  On Tuesday I went for a 90 minute walk, while trying my best to catch up on phone conversations with friends and family. Although the catching up was not very successful, the 80 degree weather was incredibly successful in helping me sweat.

Day 218: Yesterday my friend Jenny and I went to Karma Yoga for the all levels vinyasa flow.  The instructor, Uma, had us dedicate our three opening “om’s” to ourselves, a friend and something in our community.  It helped me feel grounded to think of all the things in my life that I not only love, but feel gratitude for every single day.

Day 219: Today Mike and I rode our bikes 20 miles to the Cherry Creek Reservoir.   We averaged a pace of 14 mph going uphill the way there and 17 mph going downhill on the way home.  At one point we saw a man in the middle of the trail who had gotten off of his bike and was taking pictures.  Naturally, we slowed down to see what was so fascinating.  He was taking pictures of the longest and fattest snake I have seen in the wild.  It. Was. Huge. and Scary.  I am pretty sure I yelled, “oh hell no,” before my bike hit 22 mph to get out of there.  After we were a safe distance away I asked Mike if it was a rattle snake and he said it very well could have been.  I googled some pictures when I got home and I’m convinced that it was and am really hoping that I am able to calm that new-found snake fear before I head out for my next solo ride.

 

Days 209 & 210: Foam Rolling Enemy

Day 209:  Yesterday I went to checkout Powerhouse Gym to see if I could finally commit to a gym membership.  It’s exactly T minus 100 days until the wedding and my bridal guns could use a consistent weight lifting routine.  I ran for 30 minutes on the treadmill and then did 15 minutes on a machine called the Summit Trainer.  Has anyone heard of this?  I thought it was an elliptical machine when I got on, but my strangely moving body did not want to quickly get off and embarrass my less than knowledgeable gym-rat self.  The machine was a hybrid between a stair-stepper, elliptical and the devil.  I sweat more during those 15 minutes than I have in a hot yoga class.  There was a pool underneath me and the elevated machine made me feel as though all the regular gym goers were laughing at my man-made lake.

After I collected my wits off the floor, I headed over to the free-weight area and lifted for thirty minutes (still sweating through everything I had on).  Finally, I finished up with some foam rolling and abdominal action in an empty workout room in the back of the gym.  The ab workout was nothing special.  The foam roller, was a different story.  If you do not know what a foam roller is, then I highly recommend asking a trainer at your gym to show you how to use it.  Here http://www.strengthcoach.com/public/1303.cfm

It’s primary use is to use your body-weight to massage out any pain in tender/sore muscles.  My orthopedic surgeon brother recommended I start using one on a regular basis (again).  I have not used one in almost three years and OH.MY.GOSH did it hurt.  I winced in pain as I slowly rolled the foam down my IT band on the left leg and then the right leg.  Holy cow.  I don’t get why it helps just yet, but I’ll keep you updated on the progress of my IT band if I continue to use it.

Day 210:  Today Mike and I rode our bikes to REI to gawk at the expensive camping gear and then biked our happy selves back home.  The 45 minute ride was enough to make me sweat there and back while spending some much-needed time with my man.

Days 174-176: Macaroni and Snow

Day 174:  I thought that winter was done for the season, but Mother Nature clearly had something else in mind.  On Sunday it was 75 and sunny and on Monday it turned to 35 and snowy.  I had some errands to run that day and wanted to get them done before the snow really started.  I spent an hour on my bike powering through my list, came home and did a generic push up, jumping jack and crunch workout before hunkering down for the night.

Day 175:  Yesterday it snowed and then snowed some more.  I was not feeling very courageous, so I decided to stay inside and use the ol’ TRX.  I did a 45 minute workout while jamming out to songs from Rent the musical.

Day 176:  The weather has turned back to a warm 65 degrees and I laced up my kicks for a run in Wash Park.  I made it about 1.5 miles before my really healthy lunch of macaroni and cheese with a chocolate chip cookie started upsetting my stomach.  I decided to walk for a few minutes to see if I could calm down my stomach…no dice.  I walked three more miles home.  I suppose some workouts just end like that.  That’s okay.  Tomorrow I won’t eat like crappola and I will make it a better run.

Days 171-173: Pedal Your Heart Out

Day 171:  Core Power Yoga, C2.  I spent a lot of time in child’s pose.

Day 172:  Yesterday I walked for an hour at Washington Park with my friend, Sarah.  Talking about life and burning calories at the same time.

Day 173:  Today I wanted to travel.  Not travel like go on a vacation, but travel like go far away from my thoughts for a while.  Sometimes running in the same neighborhood day after day is not enough of an escape and I’m not exactly in running shape to take me too many miles from home.  So I hopped on my bike, turned on Pandora’s 90s hits and escaped the regular 4 mile radius of my home for a 15 mile bike ride.

I felt like a kid that just gained some new-found freedom.  I feel like that every time I ride and stop thinking for  bit.  I tried my best not to pay attention to my pace, but instead, listen to my body by playing games with myself to catch up with riders or sprint to a certain spot.  My favorite spin instructor in Boston use to have us close our eyes and imagine something that we loved in our minds while we sprinted on our bikes.  For safety reasons, I kept my eyes open, but held all the love I could muster up in the front of my mind and let my  body sprint down the Cherry Creek Trail.  It’s amazing how when I let go of everything but love, my body takes over and my mind can rest.

Days 151-153: Saving Sunlight

Day 151:  On Saturday morning my gal pal, Jenny, and I went to Kindness Yoga in Cherry Creek for a “kinda hot” yoga class.  Thirty minutes into the class the instructor asked me if I had ever practiced that type of yoga before (I have, lots of times), after that, my ego clouded my mind with thoughts of doubt in my practice.  I have been practicing yoga for two years and my ego felt defeated.  I had to hold back my thoughts and remind myself that yoga is not about skill level, it’s about being able to quiet my mind and look deeper inside.    Realllllll deep….. 🙂

Day 152: Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of a horrific event that shook my life, the lives of my friends, co-workers and a close-knit community.  There were feelings of extreme sadness, fear, doubt, bewilderment and every other emotion on the spectrum.  March 11th would now be marked as a day that changed the lives of many loved ones and my own self.

I walked two miles into lululemon and thought about all of the emotions that I felt one year ago.  The fear rushed back into my body quicker than I imagined, but it was replaced with a sense of peace in knowing that this year has come to a close.  Regardless of the closure, there is no manual on how one should feel when going through a traumatic event.  The feelings still overwhelm me to think about, so I tackle them one by one…at an incredibly slow and manageable pace.

So how did I sweat on that dreadful one year mark?  I practiced yoga with six other lululemons and with an outstanding instructor, Roger Martin-Pressman.  Roger talked about daylight savings and the theme of our class was how to “save sunlight” in our lives.  It seemed incredibly fitting, seeing as how last year it felt like sunlight was briefly taken away.  He said that in order to bring light into our lives we have to be able to embrace the dark.  Embrace the dark- sometimes that’s incredibly hard to do.  Without the dark, the sun wouldn’t be so welcomed and spectacular.  Although there are some things that take place in life that we will never understand, I can find peace in loving the light and knowing that beautiful souls in heaven contribute to the light the warm our lives.

Day 153:  Today Mike and I skied in Keystone for two hours in the morning and then came back to the hot sunny Denver and hopped on our road bikes for ten miles.  Ski boots + riding shoes (in the same day) =  #coloradorocksmyworld.

Days 146 & 147: It’s All About The Sun

Day 146:  Yesterday morning I ran two miles to Washington Park to meet my friend Jenny for a much-needed walk and talk session.  We walked our chatty buns over to Wash Perk (sidenote:  this hidden gem of a coffee shop is my soon to be new work home- come stop by and say hello!), filled up on coffee and then walked five miles while gabbing away about life.  It’s so easy to forget that I’m walking when I’m in good company.  I highly recommend adding something this light-hearted to your workout, it’s healthy and cathartic all in one! 

Day 147:  Today I spent an hour biking while running errands.  I found myself adding on extra blocks just so I could stay on my bike and enjoy the 70 degree sun for a longer amount of time.  There is something special about the first warm days of Spring (or maybe just a few freakishly warm winter days) that makes a city come alive.  After I came home from biking I laced up my running sneaks, threw on some neon shorts and a tank top and ran four miles to and from Washington Park.  I could feel the vitamin D being soaked into my body like a plant that had not been watered in weeks.  It felt phenomenal and even my Pandora Britney Spears station was spot on with my mood.

All this running in the beautiful weather the past few days has me thinking about starting up my Colfax half-marathon training plan.  This thought then took me back to my New Year’s Resolutions and where I am with them.  The weekly crossfit with Mike?  Non-existant; however, we have both being doing TRX fairly often, so I am going to count that for now.  Higher quality blog pictures?  Fail.  I’m going to start taking pictures with a real camera tomorrow (it’s hard to carry one on a run!).  Today Show with Al Roker?  I am figuring out my action plan for how to tackle this beast, any suggestions?

While I am talking about resolutions and goals, one of my biggest ones is to have a full schedule of life coaching clients.  At this point, I am halfway there and am learning how to market, network and run a small business.  I am always 100% open to any ideas or suggestions on how to grow my clientele, if you have any suggestions for me then please, please, please feel free to pass them this way.  Thank you devoted readers for the support and encouragement.  Now, how can I support you??  Shoot me an email at betsysalzler@moxie-coaching.com if I can help you out with anything 🙂

Days 143-145: Back On The Bike

Day 143:  On Friday evening I got off of work and headed straight to Core Power Yoga for a good ol’ fashioned kick my butt, sweat buckets, yoga session.  And that it did.  By the end of the class I had done four crows, five headstands and barely had enough energy in me to wash the sweat out of my hair afterwards.  The sickness is completely gone and the sweaty Betsy is back.  Hallelujah!

Day 144:  On Saturday morning I wanted to have a lazy morning with my fiance more than anything in the world, so we did; and it included coffee, coffee talk and lots of laughing.  Ahh, the blissfulness of young love.

Unfortunately the young love keeps me by his side more than it makes me want to run to the gym.  Since I chose our morning together, I had to find a way to workin my sweat sesh.  I had to work the next eight hours of the day and decided to go for a run on my break.  It was a balmy 32 degrees and I ran for 25 minutes in whatever direction the sun was shining.  Although it wasn’t ideal, it did make me realize that a run during a work day is way better than a cup of coffee or gummy bears to give me a jolt.

Day 145: Today was 65, sunny and everything that a person coming out of winter dreams of.  Mike and I strapped on our biking shoes and hopped on our bikes.  We rode our bikes along the Cherry Creek Trail to REI to stock up on biking goods, then up to the highlands to say hello to a friend and then back home.  We went about hour and I decided that no matter how short my rides are from here on out, I will ALWAYS wear padded shorts.  I swear that they are a better invention than the bike.  I think that my bruised bum and thighs would strongly agree to that too!