The Little Things
January 7, 2014

At the start of 2013 I set 13 challenges for myself. I set “challenges” being completely ok with having to change up the mileage of things if needed. This year didn’t pan out exactly like how I planned, but I did hit more mileage than I planned (but just in different amounts than I set).

13 Challenges In 2013

  1. I challenge myself to run 250 miles. I ran only 184.5 miles this year. YIKES! I feel sad about this one, but I had to cut way down on running due to the tendinitis that flared up in May. When I set this goal I said that I would be smart about it, and I feel like I was smart with the situations I had to deal with.
  2. I challenge myself to walk 500 miles. In 2012 I walked 395 miles, but this year I managed to only hit 263.9miles. This I’m pretty sad about as well, but most of the times I spent walking after work last year were spent biking this year. I’m ok with that.
  3. I challenge myself to bike (either road bike or indoor cycling) 300 miles. I biked just over 200 in 2012, and in 2013 I managed to hit 601.9 miles! I doubled my mileage with this, and I couldn’t be happier about how my biking has grown this year.
  4. I challenge myself to swim between 15 and 20 miles. This was totally unrealistic, and I thought that when I wrote out this milage. I don’t have easy access to a pool, so swimming (while I love it) is pretty difficult to do. I only swam 5 miles this year 🙁
  5. I challenge myself to 250 minutes of planks. DONE!!! I actually hit 253 minutes 12 days before the end of the month, so I gave myself the rest of the year off 🙂 My abs are appreciative of this goal…
  6. I challenge myself to go through all the clothes I own. Done! I went through all of my clothes this past winter, so it’s about time that I do that again! I got rid of 3 paper bags of clothing, and it definitely felt good.
  7. I challenge myself to finish the article I started in 2012. Ummm- no. I didn’t even open it once. I got busy writing another article instead, and I’m almost done with it!
  8. I challenge myself to finish typing up all the letters from war. DONE! In 2012 I started to type up all the letters my grandpa sent home during World War II. These letters are fascinating, but they span almost 4 years, and he wrote at least weekly. That’s a lot of handwritten letters to type up! I finished this by the end of January, and I’m so happy that it’s complete.
  9. I challenge myself to write down what I’m thankful for at least one time each week. Yes! I’ve loved this one so much, and I plan to continue to do this in 2014. I think that hunting for the provisions and blessings in life is important.
  10. I challenge myself to run 13 races this year. When I set this goal, I said that I would count both “in person and virtual” races, and I did it this year! You can check out all my race recaps (2 half marathons, 1 triathlon, 1 10k, and a bunch of 5ks!) here.
  11. I challenge myself to read 12 books this year. I just published a post earlier this week talking about all the books I read! I loved having this goal to push me, and I’m glad that I ended up reading more than 12! This was a huge source of relaxation and self care for me this year.
  12. I challenge myself to begin to write my book. “Ok, this one is sort of a far fetched dream. I have this idea for a book and I would love to write it. I challenge myself to dream big and start to write this book that I’ve already formulated in my mind!” <- This is what I wrote last January. Well, I haven’t done much more on this idea that start writing out an outline, but I think of the book often and have “written” lots of bits and pieces in my head 🙂 Does it also count that I came up with a 2nd good idea for a book and began writing it in my head too? 🙂
  13. I challenge myself to be present. (I wrote an entire post on this topic here). This goal I really really loved having! There were so many moments throughout most of my days where I paused to experience my present reality, and it brought so much more peace and enjoyment to my life. I’m definitely doing this one again this coming year!

So, I fully completed 8 of my 13 challenges, and partially completed most of the rest of them. The reason that I didn’t set firm “goals” for the year is that I don’t want to be rigid and pass up the good opportunities that might come my way. I didn’t want to be so stuck on writing a specific thing that I would turn down other opportunities. I didn’t want to be so stuck on a fitness goal that I gave up doing the exercises I really wanted to do in the moment. I wanted to be flexible, but I wanted to push myself too. I think I managed to do that!  My total cardio mileage for the year was 1,054.7 miles, and I’m pretty happy about that 🙂 My miles might not have fit into the categories that I wanted, but health is health and I’ll take it 🙂

Now it’s your turn to share! Did you accomplish anything exciting in 2013? Was there a “surprise” that popped up in the year for you (like cycling did for me!)?

January 6, 2014

One of my challenges for 2013 was to read 12 books. I went straight from high school to college to grad school, and in that time almost all the books I read were from school. Once I graduated from grad school, I was trying to establish myself as a counselor, and continued to read all sorts of counseling material. I learned a lot, but I realized that I really was missing reading for fun. Besides the magazines I read regularly (Runner’s World, Real Simple, Psychology Today, & Psychotherapy Networker) and the numerous other journal articles I read (whether for writing other articles, the lectures I give, or for clients I’m seeing), I wanted to get a balance of reading for fun and education this year. I was a little nervous about managing to get in 13 books, but I blew it out of the water. Here’s what I read:

Mental Health

Health

Lighthearted Enjoyment

So that’s 18 full books and 1 half book throughout the year. I’ve already started to accumulate a list of mental health/other type of educational books for the coming year, but I’m looking for some lighthearted “for fun” books too! Any suggestions?

Now it’s your turn to share! Do you have any books that you read multiple times? Are you a reader? Finally- any suggestions for my book list this coming year?

January 2, 2014

HAPPY 2014! It’s fitting that my first post of 2014 is one on thankfulness, since my practice of gratitude made such a big difference in 2013, and it’s one I plan on continuing throughout the upcoming year. Here’s what I’m thankful for right now:

I’m thankful for a fun NYE with a “long time” friend! I met my friend back in 2005 when we worked at camp together (we spent weeks together scrubbing bathrooms, washing windows, and vacuuming). We’ve kept in touch since then, and we’ve seen each other a few times along the way. I was able to spend NYE with her, and we had such a relaxing and fun evening.

I’m thankful for safety. As I was driving home yesterday, I hit pretty lousy weather. I ended up passing 11 or 12 cars that were banged up or in ditches, and a huge semi that was twisted sideways on the road. It was pretty nerve-wracking to say the least, and I was really tense for 4 hours through the sleet and snow.

I’m thankful the semi saw me at the last second and didn’t run me over! As I was driving to my friend’s house (also in bad weather), a semi came barreling down the road at over the speed limit (everyone else was going under due to bad weather conditions). He tried to move into my lane, and at the last second saw me. I ended up sliding a bit off the road, but if that’s the worst I got then I’ll take it. Stupid semis.

I’m so thankful for all the good relationships I have. I think I’ve taken so many of the relationships around me for granted over the past decade. These last few months have made me absolutely thankful for all the amazing people I have around me.

I’m thankful for warm cozy fires. Perfect for cold, stormy, winter nights, right?

What’re you thankful for right now? How did you ring in the New Year? 

December 27, 2013

My “thankful thursday” post is coming at you on a Friday this week instead of Thursday, as I’m just starting to resurface after the Christmas holiday! I hope you had an enjoyable day. This was definitely not one of my favorite Christmases, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty to enjoy and plenty of fun. Here are the things I’m thankful for about Christmas this year:

I’m thankful for paid time off: I’m thankful that I got to sit around in my pjs all day in front of a fire and have fun WHILE ALSO getting paid for it! Win-win, right?

I’m thankful that my brother in the Air Force got time off! Every time we are together I’m thankful for it! I can’t believe that we didn’t always appreciate the everyday living that we did growing up where we got to hang out so often (but who does when they’re 8, really?). I’m so thankful that the military gave him the time off for a few days at Christmas- especially because we only were able to get a short phone call late on Thanksgiving day.

I’m thankful that all of us siblings could be together. So fun.

I’m thankful for the perfectly cheesy hallmark movie that we ended Christmas watching. I love a good hallmark movie with lots of cheese at the end of it. We found a perfectly cheesy movie that was upbeat and completely dripping in cheese. We had so much fun watching it!

I’m thankful for the gifts that I was able to give and to receive! I got a mix of fun, useful, practical, and all around fantastic gifts this year, and I’m thankful for that (rolling pin! Milk frother! running shoes! Runner’s World!)

What’re you thankful for this Christmas week?

December 23, 2013

Last week I did a 2013 in Running post, so I decided to do the same (or close to the same) sort of post for biking. While I started to bike again after an 11 year hiatus in 2012, 2013 really was the year where I stepped it up in the biking department, biking over 550 miles in the year.
  1. Best Race Experience? I’ve never done a biking only race. I did a sprint triathlon this year, so I suppose that since this was my only race where biking was involved, it would also have to be my favorite? Truth be told, it was one of the most scary bike rides I’ve ever done to date.
  2. Best Bike Ride. That’s a tough one. Just like my run recap, I’m going to choose 2 rides. The first would be the 40 mile bike ride I went on this summer, which is my current PDR. I also went on a 20 miler this fall which is the longest distance I’ve biked on my own, and that felt pretty fantastic.
  3. Best new piece of gear. This year I got my first biking jersey, I got Old Blue, and I got a bike trainer. I love all 3 of them! photo
  4. Best piece of biking advice received. I’m going to take this in a bit of a different direction and say the biggest lesson I learned: I need to make sure to not only bring gatorade, but also to bring salt packets on long rides. When I got really dizzy during my 33 mile ride, salt packets immediately turned me around!
  5. Most Inspirational Biker: I don’t have one… yet. I’ve loved watching Mirinda Carfrae race at Kona though!
  6. If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would it be? I still freak out at some point during almost every bike ride (I’m really terrified to fall), but I’ve conquered my fears and have loved flying with the wind in my face on my bike!
  7. Most exciting biking moment of 2013. Bringing Old Blue home with me and heading out on my first ride with him! I’ve loved going from refusing to ride for over a decade to looking forward to jumping on him after work for a quick ride!

Now it’s your turn to share! Tell me about your biking for the year!

December 19, 2013

Not many Thursdays left in the year, are there? The fact that we’re in the 2nd half of the last month of the year sort of boggles my mind. Wasn’t I just watering plants and pulling weeds? Here’s what I’m thankful for at the moment:

Snow! It’s been SO beautiful the past week as we’ve gotten snow almost every single day. I actually didn’t drive from Friday night until Tuesday afternoon, and I had to spend almost half an hour digging myself out. I couldn’t be annoyed, though, because it was just so beautiful.

Space heater. In the middle of the snow storm this past weekend, our “feels like” was in the single digits. While this is by no means REALLY cold, it made my place feel a bit drafty. I’m thankful for my space heater to chase the draftiness away!

The semester being over. This was by far the most crazy semester client-wise that I’ve ever had. I’m thankful that all clients are safe and alive. I’m thankful for the growth and lessons learned at work this semester, but I’m also glad for a short break!

My bike trainer! This week the roads were too icy to run or bike outside, so I’m thankful that I have a bike trainer now so I can still fit in some good cardio!

My co-workers. They’re so fantastic.

What’re you feeling thankful for today? 

December 18, 2013

This year I’ve fallen in love with the Gingerbread Lattes from Starbucks. However, I don’t choose to spend the money every day to get one because that’d be expensive. I almost never get the lattes, and usually get black coffee with 1-2 pumps of whatever flavored syrup I want (a hint to make drinks MUCH cheaper!). Even so, I don’t want to do that every day either. So, that left me to try and create something that tastes similar. Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients

I put all the spices in with the coffee grounds and brewed the coffee as I usually do. Once it was reading, I put the molasses in my cup and poured the coffee into it. I mixed and threw in some sugar. If you’d like it a bit creamier, you can add some milk or cream.

Of course you can play around with the levels of the spices, depending on what you like! While making coffee isn’t the exact same as a delicious drink from Starbucks in that happy little red cup, this was a pretty great substitute!

Looking for other recipes? Check out my recipe page.

What’s your favorite drink from Starbucks (or another coffee shop)? Do you ever try to recreate your favorite drinks at home?

December 17, 2013

I did a 2012 in Running post, so I thought I’d do another one this year! It was really interesting to be able to go back and read that post, and think about what has changed in both my running and overall fitness (which is a topic for another post) over the past 12 months. So, once again, here it goes:
  1. Best Race Experience. I think that once again, the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon tops this list! While my last mile was rough, the first miles of the race were run at pretty near perfection. The race was really good, and mentally I really felt like my head was in it, even through the tough leg cramps I experienced! IMG_5524
  2. Best Run. I did a “fall kickoff 7 miler” in late September, and I felt like it was the best run that I had done in months (despite the high humidity). Ironically, last year I had a 7 miler listed as one of my best runs of the year too (hmmm- I wonder what to make of that?). I also ran a virtual St. Patricks’ Day 10k race (and then tacked on a little over a mile more for a 7.5 mile run) earlier this year, and that was really great too. So, between this year and last, I’m seeing a trend in really enjoying my 7 milers.
  3. Best new piece of gear. I got my garmin and “the stick” for Christmas last year, but didn’t start using them until 2013. Both of these pieces have been critical components to training and racing this year.
  4. Best piece of running advice receive: Don’t skip out on cross training! I get injured pretty easily, so cross training (specifically pilates and biking) have both been really critical components to my year in racing.
  5. Most Inspirational Runners. There is no way that I can pick just one or two. There are runners who inspire me regularly for so many reasons! Just search #running and #runchat on twitter and you’ll find all sorts of inspiration there.
  6. If you could sum up your running year in a couple of words, what would they be? Not exactly what I was hoping for, but I learned a lot!
  7. Most exciting running moment of 2013? Setting a new PR in the 5k! I had held my previous PR for 2 years, and I hadn’t set out that race to set a new PR, so it was an awesome surprise!

While I had hoped to run more miles in 2013 than I did in 2012, that just didn’t pan out. With the tendinitis that I had for over a third of the year, I cut way back on running, and didn’t hit the mileage I wanted. That’s ok, but I am a little bummed. One thing I’ve learned through running is that it isn’t predictable. There are so many things that come together when we run, and depending on how each of those things play out, our runs can be awesome, painful, or non-existent.

Now it’s your turn to share! What was your favorite running moment from 2013? Was there a specific lesson you learned from running?

December 16, 2013

I can’t make myself stop with the Christmas-y types of Oatmeal. While I’ve been enjoying my Gingerbread Oatmeal and Peppermint Christmas Oatmeal throughout this month, yesterday I felt like I wanted something a little different. I saw a container of cocoa powder sitting on my counter (for cookies!), and I wondered how it would taste mixed into oatmeal, so I tried it!

Ingredients

photo

Microwave oats and milk for 1:45-2:00 minutes. While this is microwaving, crush candy cane (I break it into 4-5 pieces, put in a plastic bag, and pound with a meat tenderizer). Once you pull it out of the microwave, mix in cocoa powder, candy cane, and whatever other toppings you’d like! Delicious! I will say that mixing in the chocolate powder made this a bit less sweet than when I just use oats and almond milk, so while the peppermint helped with that, if you really like it sweet, you might want to mix in some brown sugar.

I can’t wait to continue to eat this mix throughout the winter, but I’m going to especially enjoy it for the rest of the Christmas season!

For more variations of oatmeal or other recipes in general, check out my recipe page.

Do you like candy canes? If you do, what’s your favorite way to eat them?

December 11, 2013

I had a good reminder about exercise on Monday. I had dealt with a 3 hour crisis at work, followed by a few more hours of work without a break. I was so completely focused on handling the situation that at 4:30 pm I realized that I hadn’t had anything to drink since 9:30 that morning- yikes! I had been planning on biking when I got home from work (using my new bike trainer!), but after the crisis I was pretty wiped out.

That’s the thing with adrenaline inducing events. It allows you to focus in the moment, but leaves you pretty drained and tired afterwards. I had about an hour of thinking that I wasn’t going to bike because what I really wanted to do was sit on my couch and eat a warm bowl of soup (I did that later on in the evening anyways).

Instead, when I got home, I made a decision based on what I cognitively knew was healthy, not based on what I really felt that I wanted in the moment. After 40 minutes of spinning my extra energy out, I felt much better. I was able to relax the rest of the evening and I slept pretty well. I don’t think I’d have been nearly relaxed without spinning it out.

It was a good reminder to me how much our mental and physical health is connected. There are plenty of things in our life that happen that make us want to sit instead of exercise at the end of the day. While sometimes that definitely is the right call, for me the decision to bike even though I didn’t feel like it at the moment was the best decision that I could’ve made.

Taking care of ourselves mentally means taking care of ourselves physically. I biked, took a shower, ate a warm bowl of soup, and watched a few episodes of NCIS… because really, what goes better with a mental health crisis than some murder? I mean- fake, scripted murder. Not real life.

Motto of the story- go ride a bike, or run, or do pilates, or swim- just move, even when you don’t necessarily feel like it. It’ll be good for you physically AND mentally.