One WHIRL YogaFest: An annual event for yogis in Pittsburgh

July 30, 2015 - Mel

I can’t remember if last year was my first WHIRL YogaFest or the year before… in any event, I attended again this year and was genuinely pleased with the event (despite the heat and the lack of usable toilets).

Beautiful morning: my walk over to Point State Park

I woke up with a massive headache (day two of it, in fact), but a little extra coffee seemed to keep it at bay — at least long enough to walk over. I guess the excitement of the event was enough of an alarm clock, as I was up early enough to walk to the event, grab another coffee and granola bar (a delicious homemade one from Chateau Cafe), and attend the 7:30 a.m. session.

Session #1 (7:30 a.m.): Salty Power Flow, which was a super-intense start to my day. I loved it (even if I didn’t really connect with the instructor).

Session #2 (9 a.m.): Pure Barre. This was an intro class of sorts, and no bars, obviously. But I didn’t really like it. Like, at all. I’d rather do regular old ballet.

Session #3 (11 a.m.): Another Power Flow — Claire Bear was this session’s instructor. I was straight in the sun for this one, and not happy. I really wish that WHIRL would get larger tents for each space, considering the time of year they plan for this event. Or at least a tent that is a resting space for those of us who want to get out of the sun for a minute or 20.

Between sessions, I snacked and shopped through the many vendor booths. It’s really nice that there were so many gluten-free options for me (even though I missed having my cheesy scrambled eggs from Marty’s Market like last year). I mean, I had my choice of three different scones, so… winning! As I mentioned in my weekly training update, the vendors are always amazing, so I came home with quite a bit of free swag (aerie really upholds a standard of being so generous and inspiring). I also purchased two tanks and seriously eye-balled those Pittsburgh print leggings (how awesome were they?!).

The heat and sun took over again though. I had to drop into my office downtown real quick (which was a much-welcome source of air-conditioning) and still had to walk home. And then I decided to go to the country club and sit by the pool (but mostly in the pool) for the rest of the afternoon while the boyfriend golfed.

Too much sun and so much fun! (In my new aerie tank.)

Needless to say, I had a BIT too much sun on Saturday. But overall, I’m glad that YogaFest ended up being on such a beautiful day (didn’t it rain a ridiculous amount, like, two years ago?).

Training Week 7: Niagara Falls International

July 27, 2015 - Mel

No long lead-ins from me this week. I just reached 22 pages on my Capstone paper, so I’m all word-ed out.

MONDAY: My usual weekly resty rest day.

TUESDAY: Ran 3.02 miles (10:15 avg pace); should have done 5, but I just wasn’t feeling it.

WEDNESDAY: Rest; completely crapped out after being in a seminar all day. Skipped my weekly run//yoga club, and I’m bummed about that.

THURSDAY: MOAR REST! I had to prepare for my weekly Capstone session with my advisor.

FRIDAY: Rest; again, what a weird week — we had our departmental retreat, so my schedule was just all out-of-sorts. I could have run after work, but… I opted for napping in my hammock. Oops.

yogafest pittsburgh park outside — Ommmmmm

SATURDAY: YogaFest — I did three sessions: two hour-long flow classes (the first was at 7:30am — yay, me!) and a pure barre intro class in between. The barre class one was so… weird. And not at all what I expected. But doing three classes five hours really tired me out, and made me feel less bad about taking so many rest days this week. Also, I freakin’ woke up at 6am — with a massive headache, but STILL. Considering my sunburn from just the morning, I’m glad that I went early.

Side note: I feel like Whirl YogaFest always has THE BEST vendors. Like, I got to eat a gluten-free scone for breakfast (thank you immensely, Chateau Cafe). Soergel’s is always there too, with the perfect snacks. And I come home with a bag full of awesome free swag. I also always purchase at least two new tops every year. But please bring back Marty’s Market and their scrambled eggs?

SUNDAY: Ran 6.14 miles, which also (randomly) included a Flash 5K with SCRR to coincide with this summer’s last Open Streets PGH (sad face). The Open Streets events have given me the motivation to wake up early and do training runs with the SCRR group; I didn’t recognize anybody and wasn’t feeling very social (or awake) though, so I just ran by myself. But it’s part of my monthly goals, to run more regularly with them. I had already ran a mile to the meeting point and didn’t find out about the Flash 5K until I arrived, but decided why not? (I mean, aside from being totally exhausted and unable to run another two miles). Well, I was exhausted, and part of that fourth mile was power walking, but I did my six.

In complete random turn of events, realized that I beat my 5K PR time by 7 seconds. So I have a new PR: 28:08! Certainly wasn’t expecting that as part of my training week, but I’ll take it!

Total runs: 2
Total weekly miles: 9.16 (this week was another drop-back week in the training program)
Total training miles: 72.80 miles

Weekly Therapy: Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.

July 24, 2015 - Mel

the week:
I started making plans for what I wanted to do once I finished my degree program (in THREE WEEKS!), and my focus will be on decluttering my life. I have this really weird habit of making sure that I have back-ups of stuff that I *might* need when something runs out, and sometimes it’s months before I actually need it. I have hundreds (thousands) of people who I follow over a variety of social media platforms who add no value to the online conversation. My brain is cluttered. My house is cluttered (albeit organized). My inbox is cluttered. My twitter is too noisy.

I seriously have 20 things already on its own Uncluttering to-do list, and I am serious about living a more minimalist life. I feel as though I’m drowning in stuff lately… and frankly? I don’t want to clean or organize it anymore.

weekend:
I have, like, 10 hours of OMMMMMM planned for the Whirl YogaFest on Saturday (place any bets if I actually wake up for the 6am session?). And Sunday is this summer’s last (boo!) OpenStreets PGH event. I’ve got another 6-mile run on my plan for the morning, so I’ll be running with SCRR peeps again.

52 books in 52 weeks:
I feel as though I’ve been reading this book I’m on forever… and I’m only 20% through. I’m wondering if I should just switch to something else.

seven things, seven days:
1. Do you get the daily helloprompt newsletter? Every day there is an amazing source of inspiration within. It’s a beautiful and fun little community.
2. Before I implement a self-imposed shopping strike, I bought myself a little something (and something else) from the lululemon factory sale and because I’m not buying cheap, trendy workout shit anymore.
3. This week, I had the opportunity to attend a seminar titled: How to Deal with Difficult People. Isn’t it great when you learn a little bit more about yourself at these things? (I’m totally High C, “get it right”-type personality, by the way.)
4. Propelled (*honk*) by the ladies of Propelle, I did this 60-second/30 circles creativity test. Follow along on social media #propelle30
5. Came home from work last night to cat puke all over the sitting room (including the couch and side tables, wtf), and dotted along the hallway and dining room. SRSLY, CATS.
6. More of the same from the gluten-free haters… or, rather, the people who want to be first in line to pitchfork someone for wanting to feel better by adapting their diet. Don’t read the comments. Also: do you even understand what placebo effect means, bro? UGH. The Myth of Big, Bad Gluten. {via NYT}
7. Rethinking exercise as a source of immediate rewards. {via NYT}

Training Week 6: Niagara Falls International Marathon

July 20, 2015 - Mel

This week doesn’t deserve any gold stars. While it’s not something often-talked about in runner’s circles, my motivation and energy takes a nose dive when I’m premenstrual. BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR US, LADIES! I wish, probably like most women, that my cycle would coordinate with my training schedule (especially in my drop-back weeks), but that isn’t reality.

Pun intended: I just gotta flow with it.

My goal was to get all four of my runs in, but when Friday came-and-went (had to drive to Cleveland), I knew that wasn’t going to happen. My second intent was to at least increase my mileage from last week, which… ehhhhh.

MONDAY: Rest Day

TUESDAY: ~~Cross-training~~ NOPE.

WEDNESDAY: Ran 4 miles with run//yoga club — at a 9:30 pace (seriously). And then 75 minutes of yoga. Admittedly, it was a tough practice after that warm run.

THURSDAY: Rest Day

FRIDAY: Rest Day

SATURDAY: Rest Day (but for serious, I walked all over Cleveland today, so I don’t feel too terrible about skipping another cross-training day).

SUNDAY: Ran 8 miles. It was already 90-some degrees at 9am in Cleveland. Regardless of the ridiculous amounts of sweat (omg even my super-old sports bra ran color onto my white tank because of it), this was a fun run around the city. Tackled two bridges, saw three sport stadiums, and ran through four different neighborhoods and through my old college campus — which has changed something amazing since ten years ago. My amphipod handheld water bottle only took me 5 miles before I had to buy another bottle at Starbucks (did I mention: HOT?).

Weekly Runs: 2
Weekly Miles: 12.04 miles (that’s not an increase from last week, unfortunately)
Total Training Miles: 63.64 miles

Training Week 5: Niagara Falls International Marathon

July 13, 2015 - Mel

With my workouts this weekend, let me just say how awesome it is that the boyfriend can drive me to work this morning. WOOF, my legs. I will enjoy my Monday rest day to the fullest.

My training week called for four days of running — with one fast finish workout and a Fartlek (which… what?) and two cross-training days (which, two-a-days are my BFF). I was also back to my increasing-weekly long run on Sunday. My home TRX system was delivered this week, so I’m excited to start those workouts (buuuuut probably not until next week, since I’m traveling this weekend).

Highlights of the week: 7-mile long run and CrossFit

MONDAY: Day of REST

TUESDAY: 4.03 miles at average 10:11/mi pace. I made sure to stretch a lot today after this run.

WEDNESDAY: 3.04 miles with run//yoga club at average 9:29/mi pace, followed by 75 minutes of hot yoga. This was an awesome class tonight too!

THURSDAY: Today was supposed to be my cross-training day, but I got enough of that from yoga the previous night.

FRIDAY: REST. Today was supposed to be my Fartlek training day with 4 miles easy and some hard 15 second bursts. I was already anticipating a tough CrossFit class the following morning, and of course we ended up doing sprints! #nailedit

SATURDAY: Run 1.45 miles to CrossFit. Today’s workout felt like TWO workouts (I don’t know if I was quite ready for this kind of return to CF). Warm up with some kettlebell swings and single-arm snatches, then 4 rounds of 8 box jumps/8 burpees/40 jump ropes (that was just the warm-up!). The WOD itself was a 20-minute AMRAP: 5 pull-ups, 5 knees-to-elbow (I did my first set of these toes-to-bar), 8 thrusters, 8 cleans, 3 flights of stairs, then road sprints. I intended to run home, but nah, I was good with walking it off — especially since I tweaked something in my glute during sprints (thankfully, while it still feels strained, it didn’t prevent me from my long run on Sunday).

SUNDAY: Run 7.01 miles at a (miserable) average 11:00/mi pace. I felt OK, but definitely felt like I was slogging through these miles again. I took a few 30-second walk breaks throughout the training run too. One of these days I’ll wake up early enough to get ahead of this humidity, but today wasn’t that day. And amidst all the crazy homework I had due, I’m happy that I mustered the energy to pull myself away from my computer for a little while.

Weekly Runs: 4
Weekly Miles: 15.53 miles (that’s a 3.41 increase from last week! woo-hoo!)
Total Training Miles: 51.60 miles

Training Week 4: Niagara Falls International Marathon

July 6, 2015 - Mel

The most important WIN from this week is that I did all four of my scheduled runs. They weren’t fast or pretty and one was a mile short, but I went out there (in this humidity, ugh) and did it.

MONDAY: Active rest day: foam rolled with a new app, called simply Foam Rolling, that targets areas for runners. The app is great! There are instructional videos, sport specific “exercises” and timers for each release. Today I also had a few bonus miles by walking to/from work.

TUESDAY: Run 2.06 miles at 9:06/mi pace (yay?) The plan was for three, but there was a heavy thundering in the air that provoked me to run straight home. I followed up with some upper body work with weights at home. Also, walked to/from work today.

saucony shoes run club pittsburgh — Saucony Party!

WEDNESDAY: Lunchtime restorative yoga for an hour, then run//yoga//run club at Urban Elements after work. We did 3.06 miles at 9:47/mi pace and 75 minutes of hot yoga. I didn’t feel strong today at ALL and found myself not being able to keep up in the flow much, which was disappointing, but… meh. The instructor did a LOT of core-based movements too. I also walked to/from work/yoga studio today.

THURSDAY: Rest day; walked to the hair salon from work which is a little bit further than my normal walk home (boyfriend was nice and dropped me off before he went to golf for the morning).

FRIDAY: NO WORK, NO EXERCISE. FREAK OUT ABOUT FINISHING PROSPECTUS. [repeat] I have no excuses for not running, other than I was just plain tired and decided to listen to my body. I moved this run to Saturday morning.

SATURDAY: Ran 3 miles at 9:43/mi pace and then did some core work at home.

SUNDAY: This week dropped back into a foundation week, so no “long” run today (I move up to 7 miles next weekend!). I completed 4 miles at an average 10:44/mi pace — another hot and muggy day AND IS IT OVER YET. I scheduled a 90-minute massage for the afternoon, and let me tell you: BEST. DECISION. EVER. Not only has my shoulder felt messed up all week (yay, sleeping injury!), but when he got to my feet, I was in 7 minutes of pure heaven.

I’ve probably talked about this here before, but getting a monthly massage is part of keeping my body healthy and I consider it my physical therapy. Admittedly, I don’t stretch as much as I should, so I get deep tissue or sports-specific massages and it REALLY helps my muscles relax.

Weekly Runs: 4
Weekly Miles: 12.12 miles
Total Training Miles: 36.07 miles
*Walking miles from commute not included in mile totals

2015 Goals: Halfway Check-in

July 5, 2015 - Mel

Like others in the blogosphere, I created a list of Running Goals for 2015. Prompted by Chelsea of Pittsburgh City Girl, I wanted to do my own mid-year check-in.

1. Finish my half marathon in 2:20: YEP!
2. 100 individual runs and 500 miles: Based off my training journal, I have 44 recorded runs so far this year (MapMyRun dashboard gives me 51, but I know that I tracked a few courses to work to determine how far I was walking every day); also according to MapMyRun, I’ve logged 195.18 miles so far. I expect while continuing to train for the full, this number to jump exponentially.
3. One race per month: ERRRRRR *buzzer noise* I messed this up already in January; however, I have completed one race a month since April, and I have a race scheduled for every month for the duration of 2015.
4. Get a 5K sub-30 time, which wasn’t identified in that particular post, but was on my goal list: YEP!

As I’m moving through the foundation weeks of my training into the meat of my plan, here are some other goals I’m setting:
1. THREE runs per week. I don’t care if that third run is only a mile. Three times.
2. I need to research speed work, since it’s coming up in my plan; with that, 1x/week speed work.
3. Weight training! Ugh, why do I keep slipping on this? I’m doing a lot of body weight workouts, but I need to get into the weight room and lift some heavy shit. I won’t be unrealistic here, so I’m planning for 1x/week to start, with the eventual goal of 2x/week as I approach my half marathon in August.
4. YOGA. Our work-site lunchtime yoga program has ended, but I really enjoyed that break away from my desk every week. The PNC YMCA has its own lunchtime yoga sessions twice a week (and I already pay for a Y membership), so I’ll pick a day and make it part of my regular schedule. I fully intend to continue going to run//yoga club on Wednesday evenings so long as that’s still happening. My goal is to keep up with my 2x/week plan.
5. Run AT LEAST once a month with SCRR. I have this amazing group at my disposal, and keep making excuses for not joining in on the training runs (and not setting my alarm for weekends). I really had fun at Open Streets last weekend with the group, and I love my Wednesday night running group. Plus, I’m going to need that support when I start approaching these double-digit weeks.

How are you doing on your goals so far this year?

Weekly Therapy: Party on, Wayne

June 19, 2015 - Mel

the week:
It’s been another week where I’ve felt I haven’t slept enough and slog through the day just out-of-my-mind exhausted. Hopefully it’s just some good old-fashioned PMS and not another glutening.

weekend:
Tonight is the Urban Garden Party at the Mattress Factory. I love this party because it’s an awesome fun time, mostly outdoors, celebrates a fabulous institution in Pittsburgh, AND it’s in my neighborhood. Last year we ended up with an amazing painting of Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner, and I can’t wait to see what silent auction items are available this year to add to our quirky collection.

I’m also trying to find somewhere to do my 108 sun salutations for the solstice this weekend. Unfortunately, my yoga studio is holding an event on Friday evening, which I can’t attend. Whomp whomp. I might attempt to do on my own Sunday afternoon. MIGHT.

Because finals week is next week.

52 books in 52 weeks:
#21: The Gluten-Free Cheat Sheet: Go G-Free in 30 Days or Less by April Peveteaux

The publisher sent me this book, and it was a super-easy finish (I’m not sure if their contacting me was triggered by reading her previous book or because of my 52 books goal or just a coincidence). I like this one for its main purpose as a recipe guide — especially the 30-day meal plan chapter — and probably would have chosen this book first (I like it’s “pocket guide” size too). Most of the info in the first few chapters was similar to Peveteaux’s other gluten-free book, which was annoying and redundant… and, I don’t know, I just don’t find her all that funny or informative. Meh.

#22: The Blind Side by Michael Lewis: I was a HUGE fan of Lewis’ “Moneyball,” and I equally enjoyed “The Blind Side.” A departure from the psychology and mental training books that I’ve been reading but touching still on the sport element that I enjoy immensely. This is a terrific story about football with a wonderful story about its athletes who play that “blind side” position, specifically Michael Oher. Highly recommend!

Edited to add: And I just realized that this was made into a movie with Sandra Bullock recently, so I’ll have to watch that!

seven things, seven days:
1. Friends who host dinner and find all my dietary restrictions a fun cooking challenge are the best kind of friends.
2. Finally floated successfully out of Crow position at yoga this week…
3. AND the same night we got a free pair of Run Top Speed Crops from lululemon at run club!
4. I also received a few more pitches this week for more advanced copies of books. I like this perk of whatever PR list I am on.
5. Pay-day lunchtime manicures are my new favorite.
6. Recently fell in love with Stash Tea; subsequently bought 100 different teas.
7. Another great column from Brett Steenbarger, compiling the recent findings of how the focus on positives can bring negative consequences: when Strengths are Weaknesses and Weaknesses are Strengths {via Forbes}

Training Week 1: Niagara Falls International Marathon

June 15, 2015 - Mel

The Niagara Falls International Marathon is 20 weeks away, and I have my plan mapped out from various training programs across the internet. I found one that has 3-4 days of running and incorporates my love of cross-training for a total 6 workouts a week. I’ll be trying to stay on plan for most of it, with some two-a-days as my body (and schedule) tells me that I need another day of rest — or for the days I go to my run//yoga club.

Check out this course map!

niagara falls marathon course — Niagara Falls International Marathon Course Map

I think I’ll struggle most with the intensity of my cross-training days though, since I still want to do some CrossFit-type workouts. It will be challenging, but I’ll need to back out of any super high-intensity WODs that I cannot scale for the next 20 weeks. Also, Monday is called for a Rest Day throughout the plan and I REALLY like my low-impact spinning classes on Monday nights. Might just alternate rest days every other week. I’m a work-in-progress!

MONDAY: Rest Day

TUESDAY: My training plan called for 20 minutes of cross-training, but I scheduled another rest day because of my Wednesday workout plans.

WEDNESDAY: Restorative yoga practice at lunch time for an hour; we focused on some core work, and the session felt a lot more intense than usual. After work was my weekly run//yoga club with the lululemon crew at Urban Elements (seriously, if you’re interested in joining this group, send me a message!). It was a warm one! We did a quick 3 miles (9:30/pace) and 75 minutes of hot flow yoga with a LOT of hip opener exercises.

THURSDAY: Rest Day / plan called for 20 minutes of cross-training but Wednesday was enough!

FRIDAY: Three miles before breakfast (uh, that was dumb). I don’t know how it happened, but MapMyRun told me that I ran that first mile at 6:19 (I didn’t run with my watch, so was not replicated); altogether average pace over three miles (3.02) was 8:28. OK. I think I’ll run more at 6am, eh?

SATURDAY: Did a 20(ish)-minute cross-training workout that really burned, adapted from a Runner’s World program:
1 minute of squats
3 sets of biceps curls (10# x 12 reps)
1 minute of jumping jacks
1 minute of mountain climbers
1 minute of static lunges (alternating)
30 seconds of weighted “car driving” (10#)
1 minute of burpees
1 minute of front kicks (think: kickboxing; alternating)
1 minute of plie squats
3 sets of triceps extensions (this was actually really hard for me at 10#, so I did 1 set of 12; then alternated reps of 6 with following movement; followed up by a 12-set of flies)
1 minute of squat jumps (doing in the attic was fun! LOL)
1 minute plank

#dead

SUNDAY Eh, sometimes the rain and humidity come along at the same time, and you’re all NOPE. I had a small window where I could get out between finishing a major paper and having dinner with friends, but I flaked out on my run. Meh.

Total Runs: 2
Total Miles: 6.02

Training for a Fall Marathon? Share your link in the comments, so I can follow along on your adventure — and we can commiserate together in our long-run weekends. 🙂

Accountability Week and May Wrap-Up

June 10, 2015 - Mel

I’ve got one accountability week left until I start training for the marathon (*gasp*). There isn’t/wasn’t much accountability this week, as I was considerably sore for a few days after my yoga retreat (and inadvertently glutened at some point too).

yoga//run club (me, on right) — run//yoga club (me, on right)

May was mostly a month of rest from running (or short runs), as I considered my plans for my full in October and recovered from the half. May I totaled 29.42 miles, which includes the Pittsburgh Half Marathon.

MONDAY REST

TUESDAY REST

WEDNESDAY No lunchtime yoga this week. In run//yoga club after work, we covered 3 miles at about a 10-min pace, and it was another 75 (tough) minutes of hot yoga. Man, I was still so very tired and realized that I needed much more recovery.

THURSDAY So, REST

FRIDAY And REST.

SATURDAY Does running around cleaning, moving furniture, setting up for the yard sale, and chasing my six-year-old niece count? Because I’m beat! #functionalfitness

SUNDAY Ran the Stride for Pride 5K (recap coming!)

Total miles: 6.22
I also walked my round-trip commute to work 4 out of 5 days this week.

Next week’s post will be Marathon Training Week #1!