Monthly Archives: February 2012

Skate Skiing

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As I mentioned in my previous post, Craig and I recently learned how to skate ski.


We have been renting skis from REI and practicing at Kincaid Park.

If you have never heard of skate skiing before, here’s a little bit about the sport:

- The motion of skate skiing is like ice skating or rollerblading.

- The equipment looks similar to classic cross country skis or downhill skis, but it is different.

- People really enjoy skate skiing because it is a high cardio activity and you go a lot faster.

We aren’t very good yet but slowly we are getting the hang of it.

Craig has been practicing without pole so he can get the mechanics down better. He’s looking good in this photo.


So far we’ve gone out four times. I like it, but I don’t foresee myself getting an itch to drop $500 to buy all the equipment.

I’ve never found a winter sport I love. (I only run during the winter for summer running/racing.) I am just not a winter person, period. Seriously, you could give me skate skis in the summer (if this was possible), and I would love it, but for the plain and simple fact it is winter, I don’t like it. I know, it isn’t fair to winter.

But, Craig enjoys it, so I’ll suck it up for him once in a while.

~~~~~~~

Question

What is your favorite winter activity?

Life Update

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I know it has been far too long since I last posted.

Life has been busy, as usual, but I mostly did not post because I had no desire to. I was happy living life without blogging. But I’m feeling obligated to throw up a post and fill in my family and friends as to what I’ve been up to, so here’s a quick update:

 

Life in General

- I’m excited for Hawaii (Maui) in less than two weeks!

- And I’m even more excited for the end of the school year. . . 53 more school days left!

- I’m tired of the snow though—it is still coming down, and while I keep thinking spring is right around the corner, I know better after being here for 5 winters. The truth is that there are probably about 2 more months of winter, and then we have to wait for all the snow to melt. ugh!

 

Running and Working Out

- Running and working out have been going very well!

- After tomorrow, I will have put in 42 miles this week.

- I did a long run of 12 miles today. Overall, it went okay, but it was only 12*F and those temperatures always zap my energy, making me feel much more tired, and making it difficult to run fast. I was averaging 9:30-10:00 minutes/mile. But I had running buddies to keep me company.

- I have been running with other people 3-4 times a week, which is a lot of fun.

- I have been continuing with Jamie Eason’s Live Fit Trainer. I love lifting weights and can tell my muscles are getting bigger and stronger.

- It looks like I’ll be able to run Grandma’s Marathon in June, which I’m stoked about! It was my first marathon two years ago, and I loved it!

 

Job

- My focus: there are only 53 days of school left.

- I don’t feel as though I can say much else for fear of offending someone.

 

Other

- I got my hair cut and colored today. I can’t believe how much it lightens up in-between colorings.

- Ever since moving to Alaska 4.5 years ago, I have had the hardest time finding a salon and stylist I like, but I think I’ve found both now. Escape Salon (an Aveda salon) just opened up downtown, and I was very happy with the experience.

- Craig and I learned how to skate ski last weekend. Unlike classic cross country skiing where your skis are parallel to each other the entire time, in skate skiing, the skiing motion is like that of ice skating, rollerblading, or rollerskating.

Well, that’s a brief update on what’s been happening here. Hopefully next time I’ll have some pictures to post.

Fitness Direction

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I’m not quite sure the direction of my fitness regime these days.

I’ve thought about doing several different races this summer, but I haven’t committed to anything yet. In addition, I am also hoping to do a triathlon this spring, which has been something on my bucket list for about 10 years now.

I really want to run a marathon (or two) this year, but the opportunities in Alaska are limited, and I don’t think I’ll be able to fly out of state to run one. (I already have other trips planned to visit family and take a “real” vacation.) I’m optimistic something will work out, but as of right now, I’m not sure what/when that will be.

I do know that once the race seasons starts up (end of April for Anchorage), I want to run as many different races as possible. I love racing!

However, since I don’t have a specific goal to shoot for right now, I’ve been kind of doing it all since I’m an overachiever. I’ve been running 6 days a week, weight lifting 4 days a week, and practicing yoga 1-2 times a week. I would love to throw in swimming, but I think I’ll have to wait on that for right now.

With all these workouts to accomplish, I usually end up working out before and after school, which I don’t mind, but this also means I have less time to blog and cook. Blogging has taken a back-burner (as you have probably noticed), and I have been trying to cook and prep all of our meals on the weekends. I make meals that we can reheat when we get home since our schedules are so different, so it works out quite nicely.

Last week my workouts looked like this:

Monday – 6.5 mile run (AM)

Tuesday – 5 miles + 30 minutes of weight lifting (AM)

Wednesday – 30 minutes of weight lifting (AM) + 8.5 miles (track workout) (PM)

Thursday – 60 minutes of yoga

Friday – 3 miles + 25 minutes of weight lifting (AM) + 25 minutes weight lifting (PM)

Saturday – 9 miles

Sunday – 5 miles

Total mileage: 37 miles

I am also trying to complete Jamie Eason’s Live Fit Trainer, which is virtual training program that focuses on building muscle and toning up.

I am on the start of week #3, but so far I love it! I’ve always enjoyed lifting weights, and I especially love having a pre-determined workout to follow—rather than ad libing every time I go to lift weights.

During the first 4 weeks of the plan, you are actually supposed to do little to no cardio, but I can’t live without my running, so I’m trying to do both. I was fine the first two weeks with 4 days of lifting weights, but week #3 has you doing 5 days of weights, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to stick with it, but I’ll try because I’m an overachiever.

Yoga practices, stretching, and foam rolling are thrown into the mix when I “get” (take) the time to. I usually try to do some stretching and foam rolling before bed.

As you can see, working out takes most of my free time, but I love it, so why not? I’ve got to get ready for Hawaii in 23 days!!