Sunday, December 26, 2010

One last try

Switched to Wordpress.

Click on it.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Weekend To Do List

It's going to be a sunny, quiet, but busy weekend at the Craven home this weekend. Quite a few things will be happening, but plenty of relaxation and fun will be as well! On the agenda for the next couple of days:


I'll be teaching 2 yoga classes on Saturday morning, and hopefully attending one myself on Sunday at the Shala. Yoga is such an important part of my weekends these days, and it feels so strange to go a full weekend without attending a class!


The local wholesale bead store is having their annual sale, and I plan to attend on Saturday to see what new products they have in stock and what awesome deals I can score. Love it!


I've got tentative plans to finally see Inception with a friend and see what everyone's been talking about! One of my coworkers tried to talk to me about it today, and I had to stop him before he spoiled anything. It'll be nice to finally know what everyone is talking about!


I'll be participating in another team triathlon on Sunday morning with two of my coworkers. This will be my second year competing in this triathlon, and I was on the winning team in my division last year - I won't lie, I'm hoping for a repeat. We'll see!


Sunday will mark the grand opening of the first cupcake boutique in Spokane at the Garland Street Fair. The shop is owned by a friend of mine, and I can't wait to go eat their delicious red velvet cupcakes and show some support for a locally-owned and -operated bakery!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Breakfast of Champions

Or at least of Becca. For this morning at least. I guess at this point I'm technically a champion of something, at least.


2 large eggs scrambled, a piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter, and a small glass of juice (apple juice in this case, since Matt always has a bunch left over from home-brewing apple cider). Protein, carbs, and sugar, yum yum!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

I actually made it to yoga this morning! Today was the first yoga class that I'd gone to since I jacked up my hand over the 4th of July - put a nice little crack in proximal phalanx - and it was pretty rough, honestly. I can tell that I'm out of shape and definitely have some work to do to get my hamstrings back to the shape they were in before I stopped, but I genuinely missed the feeling of shaky muscles on the way to work in the morning. Some things running just can't do for you!

I think yoga is the only thing that will actually have me ready to leave the house at 5:45am (relatively) happily!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Races of Sorts

Yesterday I participated in my second triathlon ever, and it was awesome! I didn't do the whole thing myself - I don't have a bike and would be terrible at biking even if I did, and the last time I swam without pool noodles was more than 10 years ago. If you're considering a triathlon but feeling shaky on one or more of the events, then I highly suggest getting a couple of friends together and doing a triathlon relay style!

So anyway, yesterday two of my awesome coworkers joined me at the Coeur d'Alene Triathlon to go the (olympic) distance and see how we measured up against other Inland Northwest ladies. And let me tell you, we measured up pretty darn well! Especially considering my training was limited to a 12k run on Tuesday... and that's really about it... I was super happy with my 10k time of 47:01 (7:34 miles on average). Our team as a whole finished with a stellar time of 2:36:41 - which means that Team Are We There Yet? finished FIRST among the women's relay teams! I'm excited to see what the medal is going to look like - we didn't think we'd won, so we didn't stick around for the awards ceremony - and hopefully we'll get them sent to us soon!

So far I'm two-for-two on triathlon team entries (my first one last year was a sprint triathlon with two friends and we won the corporate cup relay division), so I guess I'm going to have to keep this up! The same team I competed with yesterday is already 99% committed to doing the Troika triathlon - a half Ironman - next August, so watch out for us to own that triathlon, too!

I'll be participating in a sprint triathlon next weekend with another set of coworkers - I'm hoping we take first in that one, too! They're so fun, and such a nice break from the traditional running races. See you at WunderWoman if you're heading out there next weekend!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Volleyball and Cauliflower

Last weekend, I discovered that I should have made learning a new sport a goal on my 101 list! I got invited to play in an annual volleyball tournament in Spokane, which just so happened to be my first experience EVER playing any sort of organized volleyball. My teammates were great, and didn't care that I had no idea what I was doing... and by the end of the day they'd taught me to bump, hit, rotate, and serve. I figured my chances of learning to play volleyball were basically over after college ended and people stopped asking me to be on rec teams, but now I can say that I know how to play (though I'm far from either being good or being an expert!) a new sport.

Also, I wish there were pictures of me showing up for the first game and being tossed the ball and told to serve - total deer in headlights moment! The rest of the team had no idea that I didn't know what to do at that point - I believe my serve was basically the same as my tennis serve... just without a racket. And it was about as successful as a tennis serve without a racket, too! :)

I have been working on a few things off the actual goal list instead of just lamenting about things I should have put on it, though. Most of that work has been in the form of cooking - specifically making some new recipes out of the Joy of Cooking cookbook that's been collecting dust on my kitchen counter since I graduated from college! This week I've made a couple new recipes, and have a few more in the works for later.

I've been eating this cheese quiche (with steamed broccoli added in as the recipe suggested) for breakfast for the past few days. It's cheesy and egg-y and delicious. I used 1% milk instead of the heavy cream the recipe called for, and I think it turned out great. I have felt bad for my coworkers during morning meetings though - reheated steamed broccoli is not the most appetizing smell to fill a meeting room with!


I also had my first adventure with mashed cauliflower... which was tasty, but doesn't quite fall into the "success" category yet. I basically tried every kitchen appliance I have (except my food processor, which the recipe said to use) to get this stuff to mash, and it wasn't having it! I think the combo of using 1% milk instead of cream (great for quiches, not mashed veggies apparently!) and not steaming the cauliflower long enough before attempting to mash it were the culprits. It still tasted buttery and delicious, but the texture left something to be desired.


The mashed cauliflower was a side dish to go with some baked tofu in a chile-lime marinade, and a spinach salad with cucumber, avocado, yellow bell pepper, and drizzle of balsamic vinegar. It sure did make a pretty plate!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

First Goal Accomplished!

On July 16, 2010, I accomplished my first goal off of my 101 in 1001 list. Holla! And I wasn't even (really) trying (yet)!

I opened my Etsy store a while ago by posting 12 items that I'd made over the course of a few weeks. Featuring crappy photography, a lack-luster selection of products, and a temporarily one-handed shop girl (my right hand was in a splint for a couple of weeks... long story), I really didn't expect too much from this first venture into the world of online craft-selling. So imagine my surprise when I received an email on Friday afternoon stating that $30 had been transferred to my PayPal account for two necklaces! Now I've got them all packaged up for their journey to Canada - and my little store front has been updated to say that I've made two sales. Yes!

Now that I've got two working hands again, I plan to put in a bit more effort (and elbow grease on the photography side) to make things a bit more... professional looking. Ha! But until then, my goal of "selling something on etsy.com" has been entirely completed. Bring on the rest of the list!


Sophia necklace in white


Cassandra necklace in white

A fresh outlook on blogging

A lot has changed since I last blogged anywhere. We're talking major life events, not just the acquisition of new (and amazingly beautiful) Timbuk2 bags - although that happened, too, and was surprisingly hard to do! I got married. I finished my Masters degree, and received that piece of paper that I jumped through so many hoops for on my 25th birthday. I spent so much of my life focusing on achieving those three goals that, come May 2, 2010, I found myself relatively adrift!

I'm supposed to be an adult - an adult that's satisfied with working 9-5, coming home to my husband, doing housework, and seeing friends occasionally. Well, after two months of trying to "settle in", I've decided that it's not for me. Don't get me wrong, I love so many things about my life right now (my husband being at the very top of that list) - I just miss the excitement of always having a bunch of stuff going on, as well as accomplishing giant goals at the end of all of that hard work!

A "101 in 1001" list is perfect for me in this regard. There are so many things I've talked about doing but keep putting off - and finishing a list of 101 things in 1001 days is apparently surprisingly hard. But, if there's one thing I'm always up for it's a challenge. So bring it on, 101 in 1001 list!

I accomplished my first item on the list on July 15, 2010. I have until April 12, 2013 to finish the remaining 100 things!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

This Week's Training Plan

We're going for realistic achievement this week. We'll see how this goes!

Monday: Ashtanga yoga class, 12 mile long run from last week

Tuesday: 5 mile easy run

Wednesday: Mysore Ashtanga yoga class

Thursday: Ashtanga yoga class, 5 mile tempo run

Friday: 3 hours of yoga school, including 1 hour of teaching

Saturday: 14 mile long run

Sunday: 7 hours of yoga school

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Abysmal Long Run

Things that contribute to an abysmal long run:
  • Not drinking water. Literally any. Since yesterday afternoon at work.
  • Not setting a route or bringing any sort of device to tell you how long you've run. It doesn't help when you're trying to figure out how fast you're going or how much you've got left.
  • Waking up late. And having a time commitment you have to meet, thus feeling rushed.
  • Already feeling sore. From three hours of yoga less that ended less than 12 hours before you set out.
  • Failing to wear socks that keep your shoes from ripping your feet apart. Basically I just need to get new shoes - my Asics SUCK.
As a result, my 12 mile long run today turned into a slow, dragging 7.86 mile run that took 1:10 to complete. *sigh* Maybe I'll count it as the 6 mile easy run that I skipped earlier this week? I'm completely failing at this whole training plan thing thus far.

Monday, February 15, 2010

This Week's Training Plan

It's Presidents Day and I have today off, but I still got my butt out of bed at 5:30 this morning to head to a 75 minute yoga class. That's dedication, folks (or pure insanity) and now I'm ready to have a productive day all to myself! But anyway, since it's already Monday and I've already fulfilled the first task on this week's training plan, I thought I should probably POST that training plan to keep myself honest!

Monday: Ashtanga yoga class, light cross-training

Tuesday: Easy 6 mile run

Wednesday: Ashtanga yoga class, 5 mile tempo run (2x1600 at 7:21)

Thursday: Ashtanga yoga class, cross-training

Friday: 3 hours of Yoga School

Saturday: 12-mile long run

Sunday: 7 hours of yoga school

Saturday, February 13, 2010

A quick run in the park

I finally got off my butt and worked out today for the first time since Wednesday. Rachel and I took off for a run around Plantes Ferry Park in Spokane Valley - I clocked about 35 minutes of run time and made it around the perimeter of the park about 2.5 times. Nothing spectacular, and certainly not the 10 miles on the training plan for today, but sometimes you just have to take what you can get! Plantes Ferry is a difficult place to run because of the short grass - with your regular training shoes you just sink! And it's quite slick if there's any sort of moisture at all. But it's a fun place to go for an easy run because it's so large and so pretty, and the hills provide great training opportunities.

Once again this week, life got in the way of my training goals. This happens a lot in my life - it's not that I don't value training and my goals, just that there are a lot of other things going on right now. BUT, at least "life" was mostly fun stuff this week!


Matt and me in the stands at the Gonzaga game.

Thursday's plan of a yoga class and some cross-training was dashed suddenly Thursday afternoon when I was given a pair of tickets to the Gonzaga vs. St. Mary's game! Those of you in Spokane know - you never turn down free basketball tickets. Matt and I hit up the game and really enjoyed ourselves, and obviously did absolutely no thinking about workout opportunities!
Me with Shalane Flanagan.

Then, instead of my 10-miler today, I hit up the National Cross Country Championships that just happened to be held in my city! As the picture above proves, I turned into a total fan-girl and tracked down Shalane Flanagan (who killed the competition and is the national xc champion for 2010!) and asked her to take a picture with me! Not every day you get to talk to an Olympic medalist after watching her race.

So basically I've been having a lot of fun and getting a lot of inspiration to get my butt in gear and jump back into training! I may never run a 25 minute 8k like I saw a few runners do today, but it's certainly an inspiring image to keep in the back of my mind while putting my miles in on the treadmill.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

A sweaty evening of Mysore

I utterly failed at getting up this morning (which is not unusual, as those who know me offline know!) and thus didn't make it to my morning yoga class today. Instead of having a led 75 minute class this morning, I went to a Mysore class at 5:15 and stayed for about 90 minutes. I doubled the number of Surya Namaskar A's and B's because I knew I would only be doing half of the Primary Series, and then went through the flow to Navasana (4 times), and concluded with a really long Savasana - exactly what I needed by the end of class!

My workout schedule for the week is still a little messed up, but I just don't have the energy for any speed pieces tonight. *sigh* I really wanted to be sure I had 2 days off of running before doing my first long run of marathon training, but it looks like I'll have to cut it to one and do my pieces tomorrow. The sacrifices we make for training!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Improvising a little

Even though my workout plan for the week said I needed to be at a 6am yoga class, I turned my alarm off at 5:30 and went back to sleep. Why? Because instead of sticking to the plan I decided to hit up a 7pm Zumba class with Rachel at the gym instead! We've heard awesome things about Zumba from friends for a while now and were super excited to try it. Unfortunately for us, a lot of other people were as well - and by the time we got there the class was completely full! We'll have to try some other time, I guess.

So instead, we improvised a little. I hit the machines for a cross-training workout, and Rachel did a bit of running and some elliptical. I spent a total of 42 minutes doing cardio - 15 minutes on the elliptical at level 10; 25 minutes on the step-mill at 80 steps/minute (this one was different than the one I usually use that has a choice of levels 1-20, but 80 steps a minute seemed to closely mimic a level 10), and a cool down for 2 minutes on the step mill.

The best part of the gym time by far, though, was the 20 minute soak in the hot tub that we indulged in afterwards. I love love love hot tubs - a fact I always forget until I'm in one again. They make your muscles feel soooooo good after working out, especially if you've been working hard for several days in a row. And they're super relaxing, too! I think as the mileage gets longer in my marathon training plan I'm going to have to start soaking a little more often.

To get back on track I'll be hitting a 6am yoga class tomorrow - so this yoga-practicing runner has to get to bed! Goodnight!

Monday, February 8, 2010

A Busy Monday of Activity

My goal is to 100% stick to my workout plan for the week, and so far I've been successful!

This morning I woke up at the ungodly hour of 5:30am to get my butt to the Yoga Shala for a 75-minute Ashtanga Prep class. I learned really quickly that one of the best parts of morning yoga is the warmth of the shala - it was a balmy 30-ish degrees outside this morning, but inside the studio it was at least in the upper 80s. It's basically like walking into a cross between a hot tub and a sauna, with a bit more activity involved. The instructor was great for the morning, too! She was the right combination of happy/perky and calm/collected - not too overwhelming for us morning haters. Plus she did some great adjustments that felt awesome! Further proof that a good adjustment during yoga really can feel like a massage.

This was my first time ever going to yoga in the morning before work. My pre-work workouts have traditionally consisted of either a hard run or hard cardio at the gym, so yoga was a completely different way to start the day for me. And let me just say, it was FANTASTIC. No coffee or anything and I didn't get tired all day! I'm definitely looking forward to another morning of yoga tomorrow.

This evening after work I hit the treadmill for a 6 mile "easy" run. Easy in quotation marks because I (of course) took it faster than I was supposed to! My training plan said 6 miles at 9:15/mile pace, and after a mile of that I decided I just couldn't make it through 5 more miles going that slow. So up the pace went to 8:34 - which felt much more comfortable and like I was GOING somewhere! At mile 5 I threw in a quarter mile speed piece at 7:03/mile pace, and then slowed it back down to 9:15. A quick quarter-mile cool down walk and in 56 minutes I'd completed my easy run.

So overall I'd say this was a successful start to my week of exercise. Now if only I could be as successful with my job, wedding planning, and thesis writing this week, too!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

This Week's Training Plan

This week begins the 14-week training plan I've set for myself for the Windermere marathon in mid-May. It's going to be struggle just to get my running shoes on and get out the door with all the things going in my life at the moment, but I know that I won't regret training for and completing this marathon, and that in the end the running will help my mood and make me feel better!

Monday: Morning Ashtanga class; 6 mile run

Tuesday: Morning Ashtanga class

Wednesday: 5 mile tempo run

Thursday: Morning Ashtanga class; short cross-training session

Friday: Cross train

Saturday: Long run (10 mile); maybe a yoga class at the gym

Sunday: Off!

Superbowl Sunday

Today, while everyone else was preparing for the Superbowl and parties and all kinds of crazy stuff like that, I was happily spending 7 hours in a yoga studio learning about anusara yoga and my body and all of the fun things that I can do when I combine the two. It was an interesting day in that we didn't spend many hours "practicing", but I still feel as tired as if I'd just come home from an intense three hour practice none-the-less. Our instructor worked some magic on my shoulders as well, which basically reiterated to me that I need to come up with some sort of long-term care plan to get them taken care of (physical therapy? chiropractics? massage? all of the above?).

Now I'm putting on a face mask, giving my feet some TLC (and a pedicure!), and cheering on the Saints (I suppose) for the rest of the Superbowl. I'm also not super impressed with these commercials. HaRUMPH.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

2 weeks off...

I was a cranky-pants this entire week, and it didn't occur to me until Thursday or Friday that I hadn't really exercised in over 2 weeks. Sure, I went to yoga school last Sunday, but it ended up being a lot more lecture than physical movement (which, let's be honest, was kind of nice for once!). So starting this week, with just barely 80 days until the wedding and less than 100 days until my first marathon ever, I've decided to rededicate my free time to training and exercise.

Last night I had yoga school for 3 hours - the first two were taken up by a lively and interesting discussion of ethics in the yoga "business", which was fun, but involved a LOT of sitting. The last hour was a pretty restful practice that involved a lot of holding poses - like child's pose and pigeon, as well as a long savasana. It was a good way to ease back into exercise mode and stretch out my muscles a bit.

This morning I went more for the kick-start approach and got my butt to the gym by 8. It was markedly less crowded than the last time I was there on a Saturday - I guess it really is true that the January rush of people with resolutions only lasts a month. It was nice having my pick of machines for the first time in a while. I arrived at 8am and left shortly before 10am, and while I was there I got in 20 minutes on the treadmill (2 miles at 1.0 incline, 6.5 pace, with a .25 walk afterwards), 20 minutes on the step-mill at level 10, and 45 minutes of yoga (I wanted to stay for the whole thing, but only had half an hour on the meter... oops!). It was nice to be back in the gym, getting sweaty and doing what I do best.

Tomorrow is a day full of yoga school again, and afterwards I'll be watching the Superbowl like everyone else! It's been a busy weekend, but I can definitely tell how much better a little exercise has made me feel about things.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

My first yoga class!

As a teacher, that is!

Friday night I taught half of a 45 minute yoga class that consisted of 10 other yoga-teachers-in-training. It was terrifying and stressful, but super rewarding and uplifting at the same time. And my partner was great - she and I worked together really well and she's already a fabulous teacher!

Together we designed a class that focused on forward folds. We had to make some adjustments for time constraints and stuff, so I'm not exactly sure what the sequence was that my partner led everyone through. But here's the sequence I led the class through:
  • Seated breathing with flowing arm movements
  • Baddhakonasana
  • Flowing cat and cow poses with the breath
  • Uttanasana - held for 5-10 breaths clasping elbows in front or behind legs
  • Surya Namaskara A - twice, holding down dog for 5 breaths
  • Parsvottanasana, flowing to Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana
  • Prasarita Padottanasana with hands clasped behind the back
  • Prasarita Padottanasana with fingers hooked around the big toes
It's not super challenging - which is good, because my class came after two other 45 minute classes - but it's great for stretching out the hamstrings and relaxing after a tough day. The whole sequence took us about 20 minutes to move through, so it's pretty quick, too.

I'm excited to start working on designing more of my classes now! It's a pretty awesome rush to successfully make it through your first one.

Thursday night workout

Thursday I decided it was time to take a break from the yoga and get in a good hard cross-training session at the gym. I need to get more running in, but after the treadmill wall I hit on Tuesday, I thought cross training would be a better option.

The gym is generally difficult to navigate in the month of January. Lots of people join to try and fulfill their New Years resolutions; lots of people are involved in various weight loss contests that coincide with these resolutions. All of this leads to the same number of machines and a much higher number of people. So Thursday night's workout was kind of disjointed and all over the place because several machines had broken down and the machines I wanted to use weren't open when I wanted to use them.

So here's what was in the mix on Thursday night:
  • Treadmill: 2 miles @ 1.0 incline, 8.0 speed
  • Rowing machine: 5 minutes of 30 seconds on/30 seconds off
  • Step-Mill: 20 minutes at level 10, 10 minutes at level 5
  • Rowing machine: 3 minutes of 30 seconds on/30 seconds off
Ideally I would've done the rowing portion all together, but I had to jump as soon as the step-mill opened up; otherwise I would've never gotten it!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

I HATE TREADMILLS


Image courtesy of Treadmillreview.net

I have such a huge mental block when it comes to treadmills it's ridiculous. I swear, it's 10 times harder for me to run on a treadmill than run outside. I think that makes me weird, because I always hear from other people that they find running on treadmills easier and have a tough time going the same speed outside as they do on the machine. Well not me! Give me a run outside any day over the stupid treadmill!

Today I completely messed up my workout schedule. I was supposed to hit up a Mysore class at 6am this morning, and then hit the 'mill for 4 miles after work. Failure number one was sleeping in and completely missing Mysore. Oops! To make up for it, I went to an hour long yoga class at the gym instead. That was good, but it's pretty hard to run 4 miles after you've spent an hour getting hot, sweaty, and limber - and you already hate the treadmill. Failure number two was only running 1.5 miles on the 'mill after yoga (1.5 miles at 1.0 incline and 8.0 speed - with a .25 walk at 1.0 incline and 4.0 speed). No where close to the 4 miles I was supposed to put in. Argh!

I need to start holding myself accountable to the workout plans I make and not slack off so much! I also need to actually come up with a formal training plan for the marathon in May - which is less than 4 months away! Ack!

This week's workout schedule

This week's workout schedule is pretty intense because I'll be gone all next week - I've got a lot of yoga practice to get in and a lot of miles to run!

Monday: Off! After yoga yesterday, I need a day off.

Tuesday: Mysore yoga class; 4 mile run

Wednesday: Cross-training; light weights/abs

Thursday: Mysore yoga class; 4 mile run

Friday: 3 hour yoga school - I'm teaching my first class tonight!

Saturday: Long run (7-10 miles)

Sunday: 7 hour yoga school

Monday, January 18, 2010

A Sunday full of yoga

This blog is quickly becoming a yoga blog and not a running blog. Oops! Since September, I have spent about 10 hours a weekend, three weekends a month, doing yoga and working towards my teaching certification. It's a lot of yoga, but it's totally worth it - I've learned so much about the philosophy of the practice and my own body in the process.

So this Sunday was spent like so many in the past few months have been - on my mat. We had 3.5 hours of practice in the morning, focusing on opening and strengthening hips. Alison of Harmony Yoga was our teacher - she's so fantastically motivating and pushes you, yet is kind and gentle at the same time. We did all sorts of pigeons, threw some arm balances in there, and (after a bunch of other poses) ended with a 10 minute savasana.

After the certification class ended at 4, I decided to come back to the shala for a 75-minute restorative yoga class. Like last time, it was fantastic and exactly what my body needed to end the weekend.

So that's how I spent nearly 10 hours in a yoga studio on Sunday.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

When life gets in the way

The past week-and-a-half have been full of life craziness that has made it extremely hard to get up the motivation to get out and move my body. It's so funny to me that I abandon running so quickly when things get busy, even though I love it so much and I know that it's one of the few things that keeps me sane.

A wedding, house guests, and master's degree thesis that seems to have a life/mind of its own, general work craziness, and a bout of the flu... it's like everything that could be thrown at me in the last few weeks was. But now it's time to get back to business! I'm running a marathon in 4 months, and I need to train for it darn it!

I hopped back on the exercise horse last night with an awesome 90-minute ashtanga-inspired yoga practice at the Yoga Shala. We got pretty sweaty going through sun salutations, warriors, and various triangle poses, and then busted out the chairs for some supported shoulder stands and back bends. It felt great last night to get back into everything, and I'm only a little sore so far today.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Insanity takes many forms...

... and for me, it comes in the form of racing.

My first brilliant plan regarding race strategy was to register for Bloomsday - a race that will take place exactly 1 day after I get married, and is in a different state that's a 6 hour drive away. My honeymoon is not scheduled to start until Monday because I wanted to make sure I had the opportunity to run it if I wanted. But alas, I've been assured by just about everyone that this whole idea is completely insane and that the last thing I'll want to do the day after I get married is run a 12k, let alone traveling the opposite direction of Hawaii and running a 12k.


Instead, I've decided to run my first marathon 4 days after returning from my honeymoon! May sound crazy, but this plan is waaaaaay more logical. Look at it this way: almost every marathon training plan includes a taper of some sort - usually a week or two where the running is light in preparation for the "big day" (my second "big day" I guess!) - and my two weeks will perfectly coincide with my wedding and honeymoon! Genius!


Saturday, May 15th, I will compete in my first marathon - the Windermere Marathon, which finishes in Spokane. I have a date to train for, and am working on coming up with a training plan and realistic goal.

Here goes nothing!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Restorative Yoga FTW

Today I was definitely in need of a bit of relaxation - a way to destress without taxing myself too much before the crazy week ahead. I was contemplating going for a half-effort run when an email from my yoga studio arrived in my inbox saying that there were plenty of spots left in a Restorative Yoga class starting tonight at 5:30. Just what I needed!

I love Restorative Yoga because I feel stretched out afterwards, but not exhausted and hot and sweaty like so many other types of yoga classes. It truly is the yoga alternative to massage. You won't get a workout - it's no substitute there - but it's great for those days that you're taking off from training completely. We did supported Hero Pose, held some looooong supported Pigeon Poses, and of course had an excellent relaxing Savasana to finish out the class. It's amazing what the addition of a bolster or block can do to help you get deeper into a pose and really feel an awesome stretch.

Spokane was lucky enough to have a visit from the famed Judith Lasater in late 2009, considered by most to be the Mother of Restorative Yoga. If you ever ever ever have the chance to take a Restorative class from her you should jump at it because you won't be sorry! I also highly recommend that those interested in Restorative Yoga check out her books and writings on Restorative Yoga because they have some great ideas for poses, many of which can be done at home with regular household items.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

First workout of 2010!

I had every intention of working out yesterday - but between the champagne and not getting home until 3am, it just didn't happen. New Years Eve will do that to you, I guess!

So this morning I went to the gym bright and early hoping to beat the resolution crowds. It was a testament to my dedication, rolling in at 8am on a Saturday in the middle of a three-day weekend, but I did it! I was a little too proud of myself for that, though, cuz I definitely didn't do as much or work as hard as I should've... oh well!

Here's what was in the mix this morning:
  • 2 mile run on the treadmill @ speed of 8.5, incline 1.0
  • 400m walk on the treadmill @ speed of 3.5, incline 1.0
  • 10 minutes rowing, 30 seconds on/30 seconds off
  • 10 minutes on the step-mill @ level 10
I think I was in the gym for a total of 45 minutes, so these was not much rest between each part of the workout. It was a great way to start the day!

Friday, January 1, 2010

About the Runner

Hi there! I'm Becca, a 24-year-old college graduate trying to make her way in the adult world. I live in Spokane, Washington, with the love of my life (soon to be my husband!) and my pet fish. I work full time, am finishing up a Masters degree, and am also getting my yoga teaching certification on weekends - and boy do those things make my social life suck! :D Besides being super active I love reading books, drinking wine, watching reality tv, and taking long naps - that's how exhausting life is these days!

Basically I'm the coolest person ever.

So what's this blog all about anyway?

Well, long story short, I've been running since I joined my junior high cross country team in 7th grade, and I love it! The best feeling in the world is beating a PR, crossing the finish line of a race, and having people cheering for you. I took a break from running in college to pursue a different sport at the Division I level, but now I'm back and better than ever and making up for lost time! It's been fun reconnecting with the beloved sport I left behind and pushing myself to improve.

So obviously, all this means that it's time to set my sights on the ultimate race - the mecca of American running - the end all be all of competitive races: the Boston Marathon. My goal for 2010 is to qualify for the 2011 Boston Marathon that will take place in April, 2011. To qualify, I need to run a 3 hour, 40 minute marathon (26.2 miles) on a certified course at some point in the next year.

So are you ready to join me on this journey to every runner's dream? Follow along as I run, stretch, and train my way to Boston in 2011. You can also send me an email at shipuptobostonblog@gmail.com if you want!

A fresh blogging start!

2010 is a year of beginnings for me: the beginning of a new marriage (in May), the beginning of a post-school life (in March), and the beginning of the second quarter of my life on this earth (in April). So why not start this year of beginnings out with a fresh blog beginning as well?

This blog will document my journey to qualify for the Boston marathon, which will obviously also include my participation in my first marathon. I love to run, I love to compete, and most of all I love to accomplish the goals that I set for myself.

Join me on my quest; it's going to be a fun ride!