So much for my attempt to do doubles. I went to class this Sunday morning, and a few minutes into my class, I felt like I was really going to throw up. I stood really still and hoped that if I didn't move, I wouldn't spew. So I just did one class, which I sat through most of. It was a little rough. Today I'm still at home because I still felt icky. With all this flu nonsense, I figure it's better just to get home, just in case.

So in better news, I really wanted to share this with you guys. These are the people I run with. We're like a little running family who encourages each other to do stupid things, like run more marathons. If you're looking to sign up for any endurance races, I would really I love these guys, and now you can follow all our adventures on a brand new blog! I recommend you do. There's guaranteed to be shenanigans!

One last note, who watched the Golden Globes last night? I usually don't watch the whole awards show because, let's face it, they're a little boring. I only tuned in because of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. I was not disappointed.

Look! I'm on a committee!

Not sure if I mentioned this before but this year I'm the DetermiNation committee chair for recruitment. I'm a little nervous. It seems like a lot of responsibility but I'm gonna do my best. I love this team more than I ever imagined I would and I would do just about anything for them. Even head up a committee :) So if anyone is thinking about doing an endurance event, talk to me. I can get you in with the best team ever.

New Year, New Challenge

I think my new year is getting off to a good start. I kicked off the Spring training season with DetermiNation this weekend. I’m not training for anything, but it’s good to have my running family back. I even went for my first winter run ever. Winter running is so strange. I’m kinda cold, but kinda sweaty, then I’m warm again. I think I need to buy warmer running clothes, but running clothes are expect it, and honestly, my goal for winter is to run just once a week for 30ish minutes. So I don’t know if all the fancy clothing would be worth it.

I also celebrated my 3 year yoga-versary. My actual yoga-versary was at the end of December, but I usually celebrate with a 30 day challenge in January. A 30 day challenge is when you do yoga once a day for 30 days. But this year, I didn’t have the time, and really, I just don’t want to. So I’m making another sort of challenge for myself. I’m going to do a double once a week during January. I was a little nervous because I had never done a double before and it’s literally 3 hours of hot sweaty yoga. The first class wasn’t too sweaty and I was holding back a little. I started thinking, Hey, this might be easier than I thought. Then came the second class. My legs were shaking just from standing. Every time I raised my arms, they would quiver. I thought I was going to fall down for most of the standing portion of the class. But I have never felt so amazing. Usually I have pain in my hip and a lot of postures hurt quite a bit. But in the second class, I didn’t feel it. Everything was open and my whole body felt like butter. I think I’m going to like doing doubles.

And finally, because I wouldn’t be me if we didn’t talk about cats, I have a kitty update. Every now and then I check back at the rescue group website to see how the tiny little kitten I found is doing. Remember him? Well here he is now.

He’s healthy looking and super cute and I’m hoping he finds a good home soon. I can’t wait until the day when I check the site and he’s no longer there.

Happy New Year!

I know. I’ve been a bad blogger recently. With all the holidays and running around and seeing family, I’ve been a bit busy. Now that’s all done and life can get back to normal. So here are the highlights:

First stop, Southern California. We went to Disneyland where there were no lines. We went to Crystal Cove and saw an octopus (and other critters) in the tide pools. We ate LOTS of yummy Mexican food, did lots of driving and saw lots of family. And there was lots of sun.

Back to New York for a few days then off to Virginia for Christmas. We again at lots of yummy food (there was goose and bread dumplings!). We drank lots of wine. And I saw a fox! It was not a white Christmas, but it did snow the day after, so I’m going to say that counts.

Honestly, at this point I was feeling like a giant beach ball after two weeks of food and alcohol and my body was yelling at me for not going to yoga or doing anything physical for two whole weeks. One of the first things I did when I got back into the city was head to yoga. I felt a little like the tin man and I needed my oil can. Feeling much better now.

Then it was time for New Year’s. Luckily we didn’t have to travel anywhere for this. We just had to avoid the crowds in Times Square, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. We rang in the New Year with friends and champagne, so I had no complaints.

So what are my plans for the New Year?

1. Run a half marathon in under 2 hours. This means I’ll have to work hard and actually try to run faster.
2. Weight train at least twice a week. Gotta work on my guns.
3. Save up enough money to visit MiMi in Japan in October or November. This is going to be quite a bit of money so donations are welcome :)
4. Make more money! This could be finding another job (though pickings are slim), working freelance jobs on the side, or just getting a raise. I think I might have to go with option number 2.
5. Learn something new. I’m signing up for a free online class on the Greek Hero. I’m thinking about learning more about graphic design as well but I'm just doing research on that now. That might be a 2014 goal.

That's it for me. What are your 2013 goals?

Christmas tourist

I've been out of it again. Honestly, my feet were still hurting from my marathon, then I started having really bad back pain, and I didn't feel like writing about my adventures. I felt pretty lame actually. I think I felt since I wasn't running, I had to push myself more in yoga. Except that didn't really help in the end. I took a step back and the strange thing is I feel like I'm getting more from my yoga practice by doing less. I'm not necessarily doing less, but I'm focussed on doing everything right. Sometimes that means not doing as much. Good lesson! So here's my post Thanksgiving update.

Kitty really enjoyed Thanksgiving. Now he's enjoying our Christmas tree.

Take a look at this tree. Ours is a little smaller.

I like to be a Christmas tourist on my lunch break. Even though it was 65 degrees and I wasn't even wearing a jacket, it still puts you in the Christmas spirit. You can't help but feel wintry when everyone is ice skating.

I also forgot to mention all the weird people I saw on the street today, like the people with the dog stroller, the old lady with the grill, and a man who looked like Santa in disguise. Actually, I'm pretty sure he was Santa. So that's it for now. In exactly one week Josh and I will be heading to Cali for an early Christmas there. We should have lots of fun pictures from that.

Happy Thanksgiving

I got in a quick run this morning. Jaclyn and I made our own turkey trot. Now I have a helper. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Apparently everyone is supposed to hug me today. Today is "Hug a Runner Day!" Find the nearest runner and give them a big fat hug. Or for more awesome ideas on how to hug your runner, like interval hugging, click here. Runners give the best hugs :)