Bikram Day 1

I tried my first Bikram yoga class this morning. Bikram yoga is a series of 26 poses and 2 breathing exercises performed in a room heated to 105* with 40% humidity, lasting approximately 90 minutes.

  Here are my thoughts, 100% candid.

- First thought, WIERD! The breathing exercise at the beginning lasted for a few minutes and made me feel super silly.

- Cleansing. The heat cleaned me out so much. I felt clean from the inside out and refreshed.

- Suffocating. At times I really had trouble breathing with all that heat.

- Contradicting. During power yoga sessions at my studio we’re always told to never compromise or hurt our back. This teacher literally told us we want our backs to hurt.

- Distracting. This studio was plain and the bright fluorescent lights shining down on me didn’t help me relax and get into the practice.

- Stretchy. The heat loosened my muscles so I was super flexible. It felt great to bend farther than I had ever before.

- Boring. I’m not sure if I could do the same practice each session.

- Intense. The heat combined with the poses definitely challenged me.

- Amazing. For the rest of the day I felt renewed and fresh. I noticed my skin was glowing too!

I think my thoughts are biased since I wasn’t a fan of this particular studio and teacher. I didn’t get a good feel from them, you know? Bikram might not be an addiction for me, but I’d definitely like to try more classes at other studios.

After yoga I joined the YMCA! I’ve realized I have to join a gym for access to a heated indoor pool. I’m excited to be able to swim more often! Today I swam 1,000 meters and biked 10 miles. I love exercise :)

My photos of today’s food are so repetitive- and for the good stuff I forgot my camera! David and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for pizza and Jeremiah’ s Italian Ice for dessert. Divine! Anyway, I did take a photo of my lunch: kale chips, sweet potato fries and one cup of garbanzo beans tossed with teryaki sauce and baked. Yummy!

Have you practiced Bikram? What are your thoughts on it?

A Tri Kind of Day

Friday was crazy! Dixie was at the SPCA all day getting spayed and I was a nervous wreck. I dropped her off before my long run. To keep my stomach light I had a green smoothie and an apple on my drive.

When I finally got back home I drank some OJ and slammed some down some raw cashews. Then I headed out for 12 miles!

….12 miles that just didn’t want to happen! My legs were tired from my workout the day before. So I could meet Ryan and Caitlin for a swim I cut my run short at 8 miles and promised myself to finish later in the day.

Before I met the girls to learn how to swim I ate the best salad ever- spinach with a whole avocado, bell peppers, mango peach salsa and some ground pepper. MMMMM!!!

The farthest I’ve ever gotten with swimming is keeping myself from drowning. Luckily Ryan is an awesome teacher and had me doing laps and loving it! I think I have a slight addiction already.

After swimming I ran 2 miles on the treadmill and then picked up my baby from her surgery. The poor thing was so sad looking! The surgery went well but she was still getting over the anesthesia. I came home and had blueberries with an apple and PB.

Later I munched on more OJ and cashews.

Then… David and I biked a fairly fast 8 miles (at 17.5 mph) and then I ran another two miles to bring my daily total to 12!

We tried to go out for dinner but ended up eating simple at home. I chose…surprise!… naner oatmeal with tons of PB! It was perfectly warm and carby.

     

What a day! I had my own little tri with a 12 mi. run, 8 mi. bike ride (at 17.5mph) and 1,200 meter swim. It was awesome… and I was so exhausted by the end of the day!

Today I ate the same things… no need to duplicate photos :) I also took the day 100% off from exercise. Aaaaaaand I went to orientation for my new job!!!! Here’s a hint as to what it is:

Do you combine workouts?

Healthy Spirits: Beer of the Month Club February 2010

Now available for pick-up!!!

cheers,

dave hauslein
beer manager
415-255-0610

Healthy Spirits: HITACHINO NEST GINGER SALE!!!

HITACHINO GINGER is now on sale!

was: $6.99
now: $4.99

Come and get it!

Cheers,

dave hauslein
beer manager
415-255-0610

Queen of the Road

I finally got my new bike professionally fitted at Orange Cycle today. They set me up with my bike on a trainer and took all sorts of adjustments. Then my bike was adjusted and given a few new parts to make the bike fit me better. After two hours I left with a bike that felt like it was made just for me! If you have any issue with your bike or have a new one, I definitely suggest a professional fitting! It was reasonably priced, too ($60).

This afternoon I took my shiny new toy out for her first ride!!! She is fast!! The bike felt seamless and light. It was just begging to go fast! I averaged 18-20mph easily.

I was on such a high I passed every cyclist in my way. It was funny because I passed two very fast cyclists right before a big bridge… I passed them and made it up and down the bridge- and then had a mild asthma attack!! I was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma but it’s came under control with all my training. But today I was wheezing and taking little breaths… it was terrible! That’s what I get for being cocky ;)

Before my biking adventure I had naner-PB-oats and sweated through a great 90-minute yoga session with Ryan and Katy. The oats were very un-photogenic so we’ll leave it at that :)

Then Ryan and I said goodbye to Katy  and headed to Infusion Tea for some lunch!!

I’m happy to report everything was great. Good service and perfect portions!

Ryan and I split the Milton Salad and Pesto Panini.

This is hands down my favorite lunch!

I love spending time with Ryan :)

After lunch I had my bike fitting and then went to three grocery stores to restock our kitchen! To hold me over I had 1/2 bottle f High Country Kombucha, a dark chocolate square and a ton of Costco samples :)

For a second snack before my ride I had an apple with some blueberries (and an unpictured glass of OJ).

Is it weird that I had a cup of mango salsa for a snack after my ride? It is delicious.

For dinner I was planning on a big, veggie-full salad but after my ride all I was craving was oats- AGAIN! I gave in since it’s good fuel for my long run tomorrow morning.

   

What is your favorite lunch?

Happy Birthday Dixie!!

Dixie turns 1 today!!!

Just over 6 months ago Dixie came into our lives and made our little family complete. She is an angel and I couldn't possibly love her more.

Dixie is always by my side. She is innocent, trusting and gentle and will always be my baby. She sleeps in-between David and me at night. She loves flax in her food and enjoys meeting new friends. She's getting big, too- 70 pounds already!

I love you Dixie!!

This morning I had a banana with PB before meeting Katy for a run. I did 9 miles. It wasn’t the best run, but I’m so glad I did it!

Dixie got a special treat in her breakfast- a cookie!

I literally ran through the door for a big bowl of PB-naner-oats- with frozen peas on the side to ice my knees and shins!!!

After the oats we headed to the dog park to play!!

Other eats included a fruit pop…

…tea…

…and some wheat grass to help me feel a little more balanced!

Then we did some baking! The girls helped:

For myself I made (and proceeded to eat way to many of) vegan Chickpea Blondies. Instead of jam I used 1/2 unsweetened applesauce and 1/2 a banana because that was all I had. I enjoyed my batch, but I bet these would be amazing with the jam!

Umm, about double this plate was my lunch. Mmmm.

Dixie’s birthday activity was baking cookies with mom. We combined several recipes online to make a vegan PB-oatmeal cookie. I blended everything in the food processor so the cookies were smoother :)

Dixie approved!

I’m definitely having some veggies with dinner!

Do you celebrate your pets birthdays?

My New Bike is Home!

Today was wonderful. I started the day with a light breakfast of two bananas served banana soft serve style! Breakfast is normally big for me, but with yoga just an hour later I wanted to keep my belly light.

Then Katy, Ryan, Caitlin and I had an awesome 90-minute power yoga session at our favorite College Park Yoga.

Then we had lunch at Infusion Tea! Megan and Meghann met us for lunch.

Last time I went to Infusion Tea I had a little rant about their service and portions going downhill. The portions were much better today, but the service was still pretty curt. I’ve taken your advice and sent them a friendly email.

I went with my favorite- tempeh chili with 1/2 a Milton Salad. Delicious!

After a quick stop at Costco with Katy for Larabars only to find out they don’t carry Larabars anymore, I came home to find my new bike delivered!

The puppies modeled so you could see how large the box was!

The bike was all wrapped up and packed in a box. I was so determined to try to put it together by myself… but there wasn’t a chance!

My part of the operation was unwrapping everything and laying it out. And for that I deserved a fruit pop.

Then I called in the big guns: David!

Turns out how I thought the pieces were supposed to go together were all wrong!!

It’s funny- I loved my old bike, but now my eyes are only for my new, shiny bike!

Bike #1 is a Specialized Vita. It’s a hybrid- a road bike body with straight handle bars. It’s a great bike for commuting with a smooth ride but more upright handlebars for easy maneuvering.

Bike #2 is a Specialized S-Works Tarmac. It’s 18 pounds and heavenly. It’s an all-out road bike so I can use it for my Ironman 70.3 in May. It was double my budget but I think it’ll be worth it :) I have to take it to a bike shop to have it properly fitted. I can’t wait to take it for a good ride!

I took Bike #1 out for a 25 mi. bike ride. Before I left I had a granola bar.

For dinner I had just what I wanted- naner oatmeal with lots of PB! I finally restocked my PB stash at Costco earlier so it was totally necessary that dinner included it :)

Tonight I’ve been sipping tea- with soy milk and raw sugar of course!

             Do you ride a bike? What’s your dream bike?