Double or Nothing- That’s the new plan!

So, as I recently posted, I am determined to stay in shape and more importantly, stay healthy! Now that 85th is over, I have slightly more time for myself. I’m still fairly busy, but I do have time to fit more work outs in! It’s been interesting stepping it up again:

I’ve noticed that my knees are slightly more irritated when I run again. Instead of running 21-22 minutes, I’ve upped my runs to 25-30 minutes. It means that I can’t run more than two days in a row, but I will take that- I would rather need a rest day than have a mediocre run every day for five days in a row. I have noticed the difference now that I am pushing myself. The fresh blood pumping is really doing me good, and I would whole-heartedly recommend it.

In a bid to motivate myself to run more, I bought myself a new Swiftly Tech Crew Neck from Lululemon in Menthol! It matches the Menthol Speeds I bought in the summer and means that I can last a full week of running without doing laundry! Everyone else seems to hate them, but the Alarming Speeds might end up being mine…

My nights are still quite busy, unfortunately, so it is limiting my yoga time. I don’t have time in the mornings- I’m already up before 6 to get ready for work/commute, so earlier doesn’t go so well. I have started to increase the length and intensity of the sequences I am doing in order to keep progressing! I typically try to find videos that are 20-25 minutes- it seems a good amount after a long day at work. However, this past weekend I decided to give this 40 minute video from Adriene a try. I find I am enjoying her videos, but I don’t feel like I’ve worked as hard as Erica Vetra’s. Until Sunday. The sequence starts off gently, but you really start to notice a burn about 20 minutes in. By 30 minutes in, I was almost shaking! I felt it for a few days after- different from earlier sequences, and a good challenge. (Your abs WILL be sore for a few days. Sorry ’bout that!) The only change I would make is that there isn’t much of a cool-down. 2 minutes for a 41 minute video isn’t much, another minute or two would be nice.

I have found writing yoga into my planner for the evenings makes a big difference for me. If it’s written there, I have to do it! The other big difference in my exercise is that I made myself a Christmas running playlist. I don’t care what people say, I love Christmas music, I listen to it all year round, and it motivates me!

The biggest difference in my life (not just my fitness) is the fact that I can actually sleep again! I slept 11 hours on Friday, and 9 hours on Saturday- not my usual 4-5 fitful hours. Once again, it becomes blindingly obvious how much stress can affect your sleep. Whomp Whomp,  adulthood strikes!

Next week is my one year anniversary of getting back into running- I’m proud I have maintained it for a year! It is certainly a habit now, and a good one at that.

Do you have any fitness goals at the moment? Are you preparing yourself at all for the holidays?

Until tomorrow,
The Historian!

The Historian