Today’s WIP is a pair of Selbu socks that I started several years ago. The actual knitting on these socks is very enjoyable, but the pattern requires a lot of clicking on links and being at my computer. That means I only work on it when I have dedicated time.
Since I’m knitting them two-at-a-time, they should go pretty quickly once I turn the heels. I’m not in a huge rush, because I have a lot of socks and these are more of a process knit for me.
In non-knitting news, I got feedback from my latest assignment for my yoga teacher training and it was so nice! I have one section left of assignments and then my final. They were really encouraging about my teaching style, my sequencing and my cueing. That felt very good. I’ve been practicing yoga for most of my life, but I still wasn’t sure how that would transfer to teaching.
On my run this morning, I listened to an old episode of the Why I Knit podcast. Today’s episode talked a bit about how Instagram might make it seem like knitting projects just fly by and how people should maybe consider sharing more WIP photos. Perfect! LOL. It’s true, though. As someone with a lot of WIPs, I can show a lot of FOs in a short amount of time. That’s not exactly reflective of how quickly a project goes from start-to-finish, though. Some of my WIPs have been on the needles for years, with stitches added in hundreds of tiny sessions.
I hope you’re having a great start to your week and the weather isn’t too crazy for you. I just let the sheep out and it smelled like smoke, so I’m off to see what that’s about… Climate change is super fun, y’all.
Woohoo! We’ve made it to Day 3. This project is very different from my first two. Not only is it crochet, but it’s a WIP that can’t be finished before the year is done.
I loved the idea of temperature blankets (where you knit a row for each day of the year), but I didn’t really love the thought of having to knit an entire blanket stripe every day. I came up with this option instead. Each round represents one day, and each color represents a 10-degree range. Depending on where I am in the square, a day can be a relatively small number of stitches, but I will have a really good-sized blanket at the end.
When I did all of the math, I needed 6 more squares for it to be even. Luckily, we have 6 people in our family, so I added a rainbow square in for each of our birthdays. Our year is kind of front-loaded with birthdays, but I feel like the rainbows melt right in anyways.
In other news, I am nearing the end of my 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training and my brain is feeling quite mushy. I’ve been doing a lot of simple knitting and crocheting while watching lectures and reading books. Truth be told, I absolutely love learning and having a project, so I’ll probably be a bit sad when I get to the end. Because I have a few other fitness certifications, I’m lucky that I can double-dip, and any new certifications count as CEUs for my existing ones.
I’m not exactly sure how I want to implement yoga teaching into my schedule. I attended a lecture on “yoga for athletes” and I was very drawn to the idea of including custom yoga sequences for my run coaching clients. I think that would be really useful. I also miss teaching in-person fitness classes, so I might pursue that. Either way, I’m having a blast and learning lots of new things.
It has been almost 3 months since my last trail race, and I’ve really missed it! After my 50-miler, I needed a break. I feel like I’ve finally recovered, and it is nice to feel like I’m back in the groove. 🙂
The communication leading up to the race was great, including detailed trail conditions and lots of reminders. A couple of details changed in the weeks/months leading up to the race. They initially advertised a beanie, but instead decided to give out a race shirt. The start time also changed. I didn’t mind the changes, although I do love a good beanie, since I have a million race shirts. 😉
Packet pickup was smooth and easy. It was hosted at Boone Mountain Sports, and they offered a generous discount to race-goers. The pre-race emails mentioned that the first 15 full cars could get premium parking spaces, so we all crammed into Joy’s SUV and made sure to arrive nice and early.
The initial climb – taking it very seriously
The weather was clear and cool. My phone said it was 15 degrees (with a “feels like” temp of 5) when we started. Luckily this race starts with an uphill climb, so that helps you to warm up quickly. 😉
When it was time for the race to start, we were given a few brief instructions. There were no aid stations on the course, but there were photographers along the way. They explained that the first 3 miles would be uphill, and that they’d be pulling you off of the course if you couldn’t finish them in 50 minutes. I’m honestly not sure how they would’ve pulled you off of the course, since the trails were open to the public as well as racers. I’m guessing that you could’ve just taken off your bib and kept going. They also mentioned that there was a 2.5 hour cutoff for finishing, but it sounded to me like it wouldn’t really be enforced if you made the 3-mile cutoff.
Elevation profile (miles 3-5 were tough!)
The race started like most trail races. It was basically single-file, and the pace was really comfortable. We had no problem getting to the 3-mile cutoff with plenty of time. The conditions, however, might’ve been tough if you weren’t used to running in snow/at altitude or didn’t have the proper gear. The trail climbs gradually over the first 3 miles, and then gets much more steep.
The course was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. The views were amazing, and it seemed extra magical with the snow everywhere. I’d run these trails before (during the Bergen Peak Half Marathon), but in reverse. It was fun to see them from a different angle and in such different conditions. I remembered the trails as being a bit rocky, but also covered in pine needles. I’d twisted my ankle pretty badly during the Bergen Peak Half, so I was extra cautious this time. The snow made it so it was very hard to tell if you were going to land on a rock or on a soft surface. Everyone in my group was wearing traction (I use Kahtoola MICROspikes), but the snow was soft enough in many areas that we didn’t need them. As always happens with spikes, we gathered some pretty impressive snowballs on the bottoms of our feet, but that’s still way better than slipping on ice.
Colorado is so pretty!
We nearly missed several of the turns along the course. Luckily there were a few volunteers who pointed us in the right direction. It seems like they removed the signs before we reached them… or maybe we just didn’t look in the right place. Either way, we definitely weren’t the only ones who struggled. We were told that the early leaders took at least 2 wrong turns during the race (one that gave extra miles and another that shaved some off), and we ultimately took one wrong turn at the end that shortened the course. This was acknowledged in a Facebook post from the race directors, and they took full responsibility. Mistakes happen, and sometimes it is hard to know where to put signs, especially in the snow. I trust that they’ll do a better job with that the next time.
All in all, I really enjoyed this race. The short course wasn’t a deal breaker for me, and the trails were gorgeous. I would happily run this race again or run another race put on by the same people. I understand that sometimes mistakes happen, but they’ve been really responsive and open with communication, and that’s what matters the most.
For anyone interested, here’s a short video from the course 🙂
I was just reading about the 21-day yoga challenge on Eat, Live, Run, and I decided that it sounded like a great idea! I always feel better when I’m practicing yoga regularly. Truth be told, I’m a bit of a Zumba addict, so yoga has taken a back seat… I’ve been going to a few yoga classes a month, but I haven’t been as regular with it as I’d like to be.
Anyways, so why 21 days? It is good because it is a small, attainable goal. 21 days is the amount of time that Dr. Maxwell Maltz claimed in his book (in 1960) that it takes to a form a habit, so it is now a popular number to choose. Realistically, the “science” behind that isn’t really backed up today. He arrived at this number because that is about how long it takes people who’ve lost a limb to adjust. In actuality, the latest research points to 66 days being the point at which habits take the deepest root. So, since we aren’t losing limbs here, at least 21 days will give us a good head start on forming a new habit. 😛
Even if you don’t stick with it after the 21 days, regular yoga practice for the next 3 weeks can have a positive impact on everything from your stress and anxiety levels to your sleep and sex life.
The rules of the challenge are that you need to spend at least 5 minutes on your mat for it to count for the day. That’s easy enough!
When I’m practicing at home, I love trying the MANY free yoga podcasts. Here are a few that you might like too:
For my first day of the challenge, I did this overall toning series from Yoga Journal. It is less than half an hour long, so it was a little easier to fit into my day.
We are finally settled into our new house! Yay! DH is dragging in some new book shelves as we speak. Once my books are in place, I’ll really feel “home” 🙂
A group of friends and I decided to go ahead and attempt our first half marathon! Its actually a 15-miler, so it is longer than a typical “half”, but I really think we can do it. We talked amongst ourselves and decided to go with Jeff Galloway’s Half Marathon Schedule. I’m super excited, but totally nervous at the same time. I went for my first run at the new elevation (1500ft lower than our old house) and it felt amazing. I felt like I could run forever. I wonder how long that’ll last? Hopefully through May so I can feel that way on race day, hehe.
In reading news, I have picked up several more books. The librarians here in town already recognize me when I come in the building (probably as “the weird girl with the hoop through her nose and the crazy hair, but hey… whatever). Here are my current reads:
Patricia Gundry is an author I’ve wanted to check out for a while. This book was written when I was a year old, but it is still so applicable. I love the way that she tackles the lies that so many women believe. I will definitely be blogging about this in the very near future.
This book was recommended by a friend, so I picked it up when I saw it for a quarter at Goodwill. It is very grace-based and I have been surprised (in a pleasant way) by a lot of things he has said. I’m still not sure if its too focused on works not mattering, but we shall see.
John Holt is considered a “classic” for homeschooling, and I was quickly able to see why. This book has had me laughing out loud. My mom has been a teacher for the past 20 years, and I could hear her saying everything that he says in this book. I’ll be blogging about this too!
I wish all of you a happy and blessed new year, and I am excited about what it holds for me and my family. I’m off to look up parks and hiking areas now, because my kids have been scratching at the doors to get out due to all of this snow! Have a great night 🙂
After a bit of a break thanks to selling our house, buying a new one (we’re still waiting to close on each), I am back running! I went out yesterday and today and it felt great 🙂 I’ve been doing about 3/4 of my runs with the kids in the stroller and then the other 1/4 I jog around the playground while they play at the park. That way they get to stretch their legs, I’m still near them, and everyone is happy.
Interestingly enough, I found YogaToday and it was recommended to me by a new friend at almost the exact same time :) I like that it comes through my iTunes. That’s very nice.
I just did the ashtanga workout from yesterday, and it was pretty true-to-form for the primary series. She took a few liberties, but I didn’t mind at all. I think I’ll probably do another yogatoday workout tomorrow!
Well, I am still awaiting a reply from the Oxygen network, so I’m trying to move on and find another yoga practice until my beloved Inhale returns.
I’m on a mission to find a replacement workout that is portable. Naturally, I decided to turn to apple (iTunes specifically), as there are few problems that apple cannot solve for me :P I found quite a few podcasts and decided to give one a go tonight.
My butt is kicked.  My legs are jelly. It feels great! Here was today’s workout: Yoga to the People It is a flow class, which I like. If you don’t know posture names, its going to get a little hairy for you, but if you’ve been practicing a while, then I think its definitely worth a shot :) I like that it is aimed at a higher difficulty level. I get bored with those yoga 101 classes ;) If you were practicing Inhale, then a lot of the postures will be very familiar to you (lots of flow connections (up dog, down dog) and sticking a leg up in the air).
I might try a different podcast tomorrow or I may try this one again. Either way, I’ll let you know :D and I’m happy to have something for the interim.
I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently, and I really want take another step forward in my goal of running a marathon. As of right now, I am hoping that I will be able to run the “mini” marathon (15 miles) in the Colorado Marathon next May. I have lots of time to plan, and my weekly base is strong enough to start 🙂
I hope to make up a full training schedule and post it here in the next few days 🙂
In other encouraging news, our family was at a BBQ restaurant up in Boulder, and I was feeling pretty good that day ;) One of the ladies who works at the restaurant came by our table and said that she saw me helping the kids and wanted to say that I had an awesome figure, especially considering that I have two kids so young. She asked how I did it and gushed on for a bit. It felt so good 😀
I’m not trying to lose weight or even firm anything else, but I am excited about continuing to strengthen my body and make it healthier. I love the thought of treating my body right!
A few years ago the folks at Oxygen pulled Inhale from the air. I was moping around the entire time it was gone! It stunk! Now its happened again!!!
I was so depressed to see that my TiVo recorded over my beautiful yoga workouts and replaced them with Xena the Warrior Princess. I was even MORE disturbed that my kids came downstairs while it was recording and turned on the tv and have now been subject to more violence in 30 seconds than they’ve seen in their whole life, LOL.
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