Days 310-312: Home Sweet Home

Day 310:  Yesterday I flew from Denver to Columbus, Ohio for some early wedding week prep.  When I landed I went straight to my final dress fitting and then to meet two high school friends at Pai Yoga in my hometown of Dublin.  We were trying out a 75 minute flow class in a hot studio, that proved to be challenging and soul-drenching.

My old pal, Kathy Powell, is a seasoned yogi with a personality that can light up an entire yoga studio.  My other friend, Paco Ribot, has never tried yoga before but was stoked to try something different.  Together we all sweat enough to fill a baby pool and laughed so many times that it made me question whether what I had just done could be considered a workout.  Fortunately my incredibly sore body was telling me all day today that it definitely was.

Day 311:  Yesterday morning I stopped by my alma mater, Dublin Scioto, to see one of my favorite teachers of all time.  We hugged for a few minutes and caught up on our lives before I headed out for a 40 minute run.  I left from the high school and ran up and down the surrounding neighborhoods, allowing myself to get lost in pre-wedding nostalgia.

Day 312:  This morning I went on a quick 20 minute jog and then setup my yoga mat for my own version of a 20 minute yoga sculpt/bootcamp/jumping around in one spot and sweating like a monkey- type of workout.  It’s still unclear what I did, but I consider all of it to be a workout.  I think the picture really captures that!

Days 257-262: Listen Up, You Have The Answer

First off, I apologize for the lack of posts that I have had lately.  If you have ever planned a wedding and decided to build a house at the same time, then you understand!  I just got back from a week-long trip of wedding planning and shower having in Columbus, Ohio and have been really spent.  My body is telling me to slow down before I launch into the six-week before our wedding/work your ass off workout/diet plan.  So, here is my easy breezy last week of sweating.

Day 257:   Saturday was the day of my bridal shower and I was STOKED!  I went down to the trusty hotel gym treadmill and went to town.  I ran four miles in 35 minutes (which is fast for this tortoise).  I quickly went back to the room to prep for the family fun that was about to happen.

Day 258:  Saturday night two of my bridesmaids went to the Counting Crows concert with me in downtown Columbus.  We eventually met up with my cousins and stayed out until 2 a.m.  It made me realize that I am so happy to be growing up and crossing over into the married world/leaving the bar world behind.  Staying out late really took it out of me.  After some sleeping in, my friend Sara and I walked around downtown for 30 minutes before heading back to the hotel.  Next, my Mom and I went out for some retail therapy.  We walked up and down Polaris Mall for an hour.   I am counting these walks as my sweating.  Totally acceptable after showers and concerts 🙂

Day 259:  Monday afternoon I had my final dress fitting and met with the caterer/wedding coordinator to get all of our ducks in a row.  After that, I came home and hit the treadmill for an hour.  I walked/ran and talked on my phone.  I tried to make it as enjoyable as possible since the heat outside was making it next to impossible to run outdoors.

Day 260:  I got home in the late afternoon on Tuesday and setup my home yoga flow station.  It was very much-needed.

Day 261:  Yesterday I went for three different 30-45 minute walks while catching up on emails and work.  I could feel my body telling me to relax and it’s the only thing that sounded okay.

Day 262:  Today is the last day I am giving myself the permission to rest from intense workouts.  Tomorrow the bridal ramp up is on!   If you know of a great workout in Denver that I have not tried, please send it my way and I’ll try it out. So what did I do on my last day of easiness?  I walked again for an hour.  I truly believe that if you learn how to listen to your body, it will give you all the answers that you need.  Craving protein?  Eat eggs.  Need a break?  Take a walk.  Listen, listen, listen.  Your body will thank you and work better than ever.

 

Days 253-256: Home Sweet Home

Day 253: On Wednesday I went back to Bonza Bodies for a quick “kick my butt and make me feel as good as possible before I go to my bridal shower” workout.  Not only were the circuits really intense, but I was paired with the human form of She-Ra, which made me feel like I had to keep up.  In my mind, I was, from the glances I caught in the mirror of us, I was not.  Sometimes I prefer my mind, it’s a nicer place than the mirror 🙂

Day 254: Thursday morning I had to be up at 3:30 to catch my flight back to Ohio.  Once I landed in Columbus I had family picking me up and a schedule packed so tight that I was not sure I’d remember to breathe.  So I decided on a rather strange workout for the day- speed walking through the Chicago Midway airport for an hour during my layover.  With a coffee in one hand, my phone in the other, I dodged hundreds of people while trying my best to look as though I was running late for a flight.  Sometimes ya just have to fit it in where you can…

Day 255:  Yesterday I woke up, grabbed my sneaks and headed down to the hotel gym.  Sidenote: have you ever noticed how big hotel gyms look in pictures?  Then you get there and they are the size of a large bathroom.  Well regardless of size, our hotel has the coolest treadmill I have ever seen.  I took advantage of it by running two quick miles and then planking, pushup’ing and doing situps until it was time to meet our wedding DJ.

Day 256:  My Mom and I had a great plan of going to my old high school and having her walk the track while I ran and did a bleacher workout.  Unfortunately, my old stomping grounds locks the track up now if it’s not being used.  So our quick backup plan was to walk up and down Hard Road for an hour while talking about our old lives here.  It’s amazing what comes up when you’re back home.  Now, onto the bridal shower with lots of awesome family and friends.  #homeiswheretheheartis

Days 79 & 80: Anticipation

Day 79:  Yesterday Michael returned home to the US after almost an entire year of being deployed.  Needless to say, working out was the furthest thing from my mind.  Fortunately because of the public commitment that I have made to working out, I forced myself into some yoga in the comfort of my own home.  I put on a Gavin Degraw mix and flowed for an hour.  Or at least I think I did…my mind was absent from my practice.  I am pretty sure it was somewhere with my heart near Norfolk, VA.

Day 80:  I am not sure how many days it has been since I have been to Core Power Yoga, but judging by the amount of sweat on my mat I would say it’s been awhile.  Today I went to a level 2 class and found myself struggling to get through the whole hour.  I fell out of quite a few simple poses.  When I say “fell” out of poses, that actually might be a under-exaggeration.  I think most people in the class glanced at one of my mighty crashes from a sideways twist.  Again, my mind is really elsewhere right now and I’m having some problems focusing on my yoga practice.

Luckily tomorrow is a new day and it brings a new workout.  I think I’ll stick with something that requires less concentration and more intense cardio.  A run in the park should do just fine.

*This is a great picture of Mike and I look confused.  I think it’s hilarious and an accurate depiction of our relationship.

Day 44: Loving Monotony

In the last ten years I have lived in fifteen different places (please excuse me if I have already mentioned that in a previous blog-it blows my mind)!   Out of all of the places I have lived, Denver is the place that feels the most like home.  The day I moved back here I felt the roots starting to grow out of my feet and into the earth.   Once Michael comes home, I know those roots will just go deeper and deeper into the ground until our roots are completely tangled in the Colorado soil.

Today I ran the six-mile path from my house to Washington Park and home.  During my run I realized how familiar the streets, houses, paths, geese, sunshine and snow-capped mountains are becoming to me.  It’s a feeling that I have longed to recreate for the past two and a half years since I have been gone from Denver. It’s the feeling of knowing you are home.  Today’s run is the same run I will be doing in ten months and that’s one of the most beautiful things I could ask for.  Monotony can be boring to some, but at this moment in my life, I have never craved anything more.