2012 (WIll the world end, or will I learn to juggle??)

Lately I’ve been spending a lot of my time at the gym.  I’m hoping it’s not just a phase!  This week in my pilates class the instructor said, “Give yourselves some credit, this is the week with the lowest fitness attendance.”  I was like “wahooo go me!  I’m a dedicated gym goer” (as of late, anyways).  I don’t want to be one of those people that only goes to the gym right after the new year.  (BTW I am dreading going to the gym after Jan 1.)  But I don’t want my motivation to fizzle out!

While training for my first 5k, I realized that having a goal in mind really helped me stick to my work-out plan(duh!)

So, I decided to make some fitness (and life) goals for 2012 to see if I can stick to them.

Fitness Goals:

1.       Master the crane pose in yoga

2.       Run a 5k in under 29 minutes

3.       Sign up for and run a 10 mile race

4.       Learn to juggle (ok, this one was CJ’s suggestion, but it sounded like a fun goal to me)

Life Goals:

1.       Move out of my parents house

2.       Go on a trip, even if it’s a just for a weekend

3.       Learn to eat at a slower pace (I always make fun of CJ for eating so slow, but he really has the right idea!)

4.       Continue to blog my little heart out!

What are your fitness and life goals for 2012?  Do you have a New Year’s Resolution? Or do you not even plan to exist in 2012?

I'd love to hear!

Christmas Recap! (and what's really in cool whip)

All I’ve done for the Christmas Holiday is eat!

Here’s some of the food highlights:

Christmas Eve:  homemade pizzas, wine, cookies, and White Russians 

Christmas Day:  Turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, eggnog, pies and more...


Side Note:  When the desserts were being brought out, I noticed the lite Cool Whip container and decided to read the ingredients.  To which my Grandma asked "what are you doing that for? Do you do that with everything you eat?"  "No, Grandma, I'm just curious."  (jeez)

Haven't you always assumed that Cool whip would be made out of milk?  Yeah, me too!  Turns out the ingredients are: CORN SYRUP, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL* (COCONUT AND PALM KERNEL OILS), LESS THAN 2% OF SODIUM CASEINATE (FROM MILK), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, XANTHAN AND GUAR GUMS, POLYSORBATE 60, SORBITAN MONOSTEARATE, SODIUM POLYPHOSPHATES, BETA CAROTENE (COLOR)....

There is no dairy in there! I guess they can get away with that because they call it "whipped topping" and not whipped cream.  The closest you come to dairy is the sodium caseinate, which is made of the protein Casien found in milk.  Answers.com defines sodium caseinate as : A tasteless, odorless, water-soluble, white powder; used in medicine, foods, emulsification, and stabilization; formed by dissolving casein in sodium hydroxide and then evaporating. Source

Christmas Night:  Sushi Boat from Oye’s! This thing was massive and awesome...

Day-after Christmas: Applebee’s soup and salad combo and a Pomegranate Lemonade

I was so sore from my Jingle&Jab class that I didn’t work out at all on Christmas.  And I was perfectly ok with that! 

Oh, and dreams do come true!  Thanks, Santa!

the yoga mat of my dreams

Christmas Eve Jingle&Jab

My gym has been advertising this special Christmas Eve class for a few weeks now.  It sounded intense so I decided to try it.  It was advertised as “75 minutes of Cardio kick boxing and weights.” 

So I thought, “ bring it on, MG Fitness!”

I used to love cardio kick boxing in college, and I haven’t really done it since.  It’s an awesome way to get your heart rate up, and to sweat…a lot! Just don’t expect it to teach you how to be a fighter.  The moves aren’t exactly “UFC” material.

Last night I went out with some friends to Fat Cactus, so I was a little hesitant about crawling out of bed this morning and going to the gym for an intense 75 minute workout.  The class was at 8:45, not crazy early, but still pretty early for a weekend.  Even though I would have rather slept in, I dragged myself there and it was definitely worth it.  The class was very fun, and high energy!  I felt great after, and my arms are even a little sore already.  I’m so happy I went.

We started with a brief warm up, basic jabs, crosses, hooks,  and upper cuts.  The music was really fast and loud.   At some points during the class, the instructor was going so fast, people couldn’t even keep up!  Within the first 15 minutes, I was dripping in sweat!  There were so many people in the class that I was afraid to kick and punch because I didn’t want to hit anyone.  Luckily I didn’t, but I did get punched!  

 After the class I headed home and made myself a nice cup of coffee.  I plan on relaxing for the rest of the day.  How do you like to relax after a tough workout?

Tonight, I’m making pizzas with my family.  I guess it’s sort of a new tradition that we are starting.  We’re also going to open presents tonight because my dad has to work a 24-hr shift tomorrow.  Last year I had to work at the hospital on Christmas eve and Christmas. I was really sad!  The only thing that helped me through it was the fact that I was there to help people, and I should be grateful I got to go home after my shift, unlike the patients. 

After we open presents, my bf and I are heading to out friend's family Christmas party. I can’t believe this will be my third Christmas with the bf, time flies! 

This is my favorite picture of us from last Christmas

 And since I know you've been dying to see it, here's out Christmas card for this year:

Dorks

Merry Christmas!!

Jingle Bell run 2011!

I had so much fun doing this race!  The weather was very cold, but very sunny.  The temperature was in the low 20s!  I was really nervous that the cold would affect my running, but I was fine.  I think the energy of the other runners really helped.
 
Since my friend lives in Davis square, we parked at her house and walked over.  I got there early so my and my personal photographer (aka my bf) sat in Au Bon Pain while we waited for the start.  We met up with my friend from college and her boyfriend.  At about 10 minutes to the start, we walked over to the starting line.  I couldn't believe how many people there were!  It was so crowded!  We saw some really funny costumes, people really go all out for this thing.

I finally found my coworker, Tracy, through the crowd.  It was a good thing I found her because she had some antlers for me to wear.

When it was our turn to start running, there were so many people around us we couldn't really get going.  I thought it would thin out as we moved on, but we spent the rest of the run weaving in and out of people.  Like I said, the energy of the crowd really helped me forget about the cold.  It was great to see people cheering on the side of the roads.  Someone even had a sign that said, "GO AMY!"  It wasn't for me, but I pretended it was. haha.

I lost Tracy in the first mile, but I stayed with my college friend.  We kept a pretty good pace throughout the course.  I'm really glad I did all the training I did because at the very end of the race had a giant hill.  It was really tough!  That was where I lost my college friend, but I found Tracy at the top of the hill and we crossed the finish line together.  The end of the course was a full on sprint for me!  It felt great to cross the finish line.  I saw my bf on the sidelines and that put a smile on my face.  I also saw my brother (remember him and his gf were running it too?), and he told me "good job".  I didn't see my brother at all during the run but my bf got some pictures of them crossing the finish line.  Go Mike and Yulia!

 When I crossed the finish line, the clock said 37 minutes, but since I didn't start running when the started the clock, it wasn't an accurate time for me.  According to my nike+ I ran 9 min miles, but according to the official results I did 10 min miles.  Either way, I'm very happy with my results!

My very first medal!

 I definitely want to do another race (but not until the weather is warmer) :)

Oye's and last workout before the 5k

Friday night I decided to take my bf out to dinner.  He recently started a new job and has been working a lot, so I thought he deserved a treat.  I even let him pick the destination!  He suggested we go to Oye’s, an Asian fusion restaurant in Reading.  We haven’t been there for a while, so I was pretty excited for it.

Since I’m really boring, I always order the same thing: miso soup and Pad thai with tofu.  But this time I ordered the Pad Thai with tofu AND Shrimp.  I know, I’m so interesting.  The bf ordered yaki udon noodles (which I had no idea what they were), and crab Rangoon.  

I rate Oye’s 3.5 out of 5 peas.  The food is great, the atmosphere is lovely(they had a live jazz band last night), but the service is not always the best.  

Saturday morning I headed to the gym for a workout.  I ran a mile just to loosen my legs up from Friday's run with cement filledsneakers.  Then, I hit the arc for a 20 minute cardio workout.  After that I used some ab machines, and the hip abductor machine.  After the machines I stretched, and then did a few core exercises such as the plank.  I made sure not to over do it because I wanted to be in tip top shape for the 5k! 

Dave&Busters, Nutcracker, and Pre-Race Jitters?

Yesterday was a very fun/busy day.  I headed to work at the usual time and worked until about 2:30.  Then, my coworkers and I headed to Dave & Buster’s in Braintree for the NuVal company Christmas Party.  At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the location but it ended up being really fun.  

We had our own little function room with food and waiters to bring drinks.  We even had one complimentary alcoholic beverage(which I did not take advantage of.)  The food they provided was yummy but not very healthy.  They had cheese and crackers, mini pizzas, sliders, chips and salsa, and chicken nuggets.  

After we ate, we were split up into teams to compete in some arcade games.  Luckily, Tracy and I were on the same team!  We played the basketball game, Ski ball, and a Racing game.  I didn’t do very well, but I still had fun.

I had plans to see the Nutcracker with a friend at 7:30 so we headed back to the city after the party.  I did a little shopping in Downtown crossing while waiting for my friend.   When I met up with her, we headed to Ufood to get a little snack.  I got the Unfries(baked not fried!) and a little side salad.  Not my ideal dinner but at least it had some green in it!

The Nutcracker was amazing as usual.  It’s just so Christmasy, I love it.  This was the second year that my friend and I had gone there, and we vowed to make it a yearly tradition.  Yay!

I took today off from work.  I have a lot on my To-do list!

• ·         Finish Christmas shopping
• ·         Go for a 3+ mile run
• ·         Go to the bank
• ·         Clean bedroom
• ·         More things I can’t think of right now….

Before my run today I decided to try the GU Energy gel my runner friend gave me.

Flavor: Peanut Butter

Consistency: Gel-like  opaque peanut butter stuff

Taste: Nasty peanut butter

Conclusion: Grossest thing ever!

It says to take 15 minutes before a 45 minute workout.  My friend said it works miracles for him...

My thoughts:  It couldn’t hurt! 

Results:  I’m not sure if it made a difference.  I felt pretty sluggish on my run.  I felt like my sneakers were filled with cement, and I couldn’t get them off the ground.  I don't think this had anything to do with the gel.  I’m pretty sure I felt sluggish due to many different factors… being tired, not eating right, cold air, incorrect combination of sports bras(I usually wear 3)….any or all of those could have contributed to my sluggish run.   

When I plugged in my Nike+ sports band, I thought my time was going to be a lot slower than it was.  I did 3.18 miles in 28 min and 58 seconds, which is much faster than I imagined.  

Overall, not my best run.  Maybe the pressure of the 5k is getting to me! 

This will be my last 3+ mile run before the 5k.  I hope I’m ready!