slow detox

The other day I mentioned I'm on a bit of a health kick; that includes good exercise, good eating, and also, a little bit of detoxifying life in general.   You know, all those sneaky toxins that you never really pay any attention to, like the ones in cleaning products, nail polish, and yes, deodorant.  It's actually a little scary once you start looking into it.

What to do about it...

lunar elements

In the last few months of 2013, fitness had sort of fallen away as a priority for me.  And that would be ok (I don't mind being a wee bit softer and rounder for a time) except that not exercising actually makes me anxious.  And that's not ok.  So in this wonderful new year, I'm trying to find ways to fit fitness (ha ha) into my new routines and habits. This means cutting back a bit from where I used to be, but I'm realizing, it doesn't have to be so all or nothing.  I can just do a little bit, every day; it's all about balance.

Here's what I'm doing...

just do it

I ran my very first race this weekend.  A new 5K here in Madrid through the beautiful Casa del Campo.  I know 5 km isn't much to people who've been running for years, but for me it was a major accomplishment.  Words cannot describe how excited and proud I felt to participate, and finish, and with a much better time than I'd anticipated too!  So in honor of small goals and huge achievements, I dedicate this post to the runners out there, beginning and advanced.  Go on, get your run on.

Some running essentials...

madcap

Show some skin, cover some skin.  That's how it works.  Gotta keep the sun off the face, cause by now we all know that sunscreen isn't a magic bullet.  (Though of course you know you still have to use it every day, right?  This is still my favorite everyday sunblock for summer days.)

My go-to baseball cap, in fact the only one I can ever remember owning, is a 5 euro cheapie from the men's section of H&M.  It once was black and now is faded, but it does the job.  Maybe it's time to think of something a bit more... more?

Some options...

packable

Remember I was looking at Herschel backpacks a while back? (Oh, and these too.)  Well I still haven't gone and splurged on a beautiful canvas bag, but we desperately needed something for traveling around Mexico, and I came across this little guy.  It's super lightweight ripstop nylon, and despite the fact that it feels like it's made from air, it holds quite a bit, both in weight and volume.  I love those smartypants designers at The Herschel Supply Co.  Why?  Cause it also does this:

See more...

swimmingly

This is where I was swimming last month.  I know I have yet to tell you all about my Super Duper Mexico Vacation, but I still haven't finished organizing all my photos and thoughts.  Needless to say, it was awesome.  I'm back in the big city now, but I'll be damned if I give up my water time.  So...

Husband and I have joined the pool!  We started this week, committing to four full months of membership (gotta get those discounts where you can, and the obligation to keep it up is just a bonus), and absolutely love it.  My pool's not as amazing as the Caribbean, but it's pretty damn wonderful.  All this has made me think it would be a good time to go over some pool essentials.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

Trust me, you need these things...

rashies

How cute is this?  No, not another bathing suit post, but close.  Today I'm talking about rash guards.  Otherwise known as rashies.  Otherwise known as shirts for cool surfer chicks.  Which I am totally not.  Though I would love to be.  One day.  Actually it's one of my top fantasy activities.  Just thinking about learning to surf gets my heart all aflutter.  But I digress...

For now, I can just pretend, and wear one of these super cute rashies to the beach.  And the bonus: they have a upf of 50+, which means they'd be the perfect thing if the sun's beating down a bit too hard while I'm lounging like a sloth.  Dreaming about doing this:

image from beach mentality

More surfer-chic fashion for us mortals to covet...

green tea, blue nails

On a bit of a health kick lately: exercising lots, eating really well, going to acupuncture, trying to slow down and relax, and drinking tons of green tea.  Makes me so happy to finally put my turkish teapot to good use.  Every afternoon I fill it up and it never seems to stop bringing me joy.

Another bit of joy...

under the needle

Yesterday I went to my very first acupuncture session.  Apparently my liver has some issues, causing blood stagnation.  Sounds terrible, doesn't it?  Also I learned that I'm nervous.  I tried to tell the doc I wasn't, but he just chuckled and told me that maybe I wasn't nervous "on the outside".  So there you have it, stagnant and nervous, but now at least there's a light at the end of the tunnel and solutions to these problems I never knew I had.

I joke, but in reality, I loved it.  It was totally relaxing and fascinating, and I came home and crashed.  I can't even remember the last time I felt so relaxed and floaty and sleepy.  Definitely planning on continuing.

Have you tried it?  I'd love to you hear your thoughts and experiences...

i pity the fool

Today I picked up a little something that I'm in love with.  No, not this gentleman.  Just the shirt off his back.  Laugh all you want, I'm dead serious.  I came from hot Wisconsin summer days, so humid and pollen-filled that running was out of the question, and arrived in the sunset district of San Francisco, which might as well be Mordor.  It is foggy and wintery and cold, all the time.  Perfect for a jog really, but not in a tank top.  So we headed over to a nearby Sports Authority and found a women's department filled with teeny tiny skimpy tops and shorts.  Last thing I need is another excuse to not exercise, so I was determined to find something appropriate.  I headed to the men's section and found this.  I look way cuter than this guy, I swear.  And after running in it, I can honestly say that it is perfect.  I bough it a little large so I don't get all the "compression" effects that you're supposed to (I think maybe he's upset that he's being squeezed too tight?), but it was wonderfully breathable and dried in 5 seconds flat, kept me warm but didn't make me hot.  So, even though this guy is frowning at me like he wants to beat me to a pulp, I'm going to buy more.

Do ever shop men's?  In sporting goods stores?

wave inspire

Mizuno Wave Inspire Osaka.  That's the full name of my new running shoes.  Impressive, eh?  I think their razzle dazzle flash lives up to the name.  Of course, here I am, in my new superhero shoes, shuffling along like an old man.  But I'm totally ok with that.  At least now I know I'm not hurting my knees or hips or anything.  And eventually I'll be able to pick up the pace a bit.  Right?

Since my post the other day I went to 4 different running stores (5 if you count Nike, which we really shouldn't), and had my gait analyzed in a variety of manners: running barefoot on a treadmill, standing on a magical glass plate, squatting, standing, walking...  Most folks agreed, I am a mild pronator.   I tried on thousands of shoes (slight exaggeration), and while it was hard because I honestly don't know what a good shoe is supposed to feel like,  I eventually went with these babies.  The woman at the store said they'd be great for me just starting out, but that they would also last a super long time (a year and half she said.  That's considered a long time?!) and that they would hold up well even if I ran for 4-5 hrs.  4-5 hrs?!  I can't do anything for 4-5 hrs, except sleep.  I'm really good at that.  But running?  Well, maybe one day...

running around

So, I recently started jogging and I'm pretty excited about it.  I'd tried it before, years ago, and failed miserably, always feeling like I was on death's door after just 15 minutes.  But the other day, I don't know what came over me, I just got up and went for a jog.  And I absolutely loved it.  I survived a good 30 minutes, which seemed miraculous to me, and since then have even lengthened my route.  Honestly, I didn't even know there was that much green in downtown Madrid!  I mean, yes, we have the Retiro, but I'd never really explored the area around the Templo de Debod and the Parque del Oeste.  It's absolutely gorgeous over there, and so close to home!  Again, as you can tell, I'm really giddy about this whole new world that's opening up to me.  And of course, the shopping that goes along with it.  Because clearly I need to buy some new shoes.

I think I'm going to go to a specialized running store here in Madrid and have my feet checked out and have them do a gait analysis, which is funny to me because as a total beginner I think, I don't even have a gait yet!  But of course I do, we all do.  And I definitely want to be as kind to my body as possible on this adventure.  So, for all you runners out there, serious and casual alike, how did you choose your shoes?  Which ones do you wear?  How much do you run?  How long have you been doing it?  Any tips you want to share?

images from geodistance and zappos

water

This week I've been on a mission to fix my bad habit of reusing disposable water bottles.  I know it's horrible for your health, and I promise to stop.  Of course I have to find the perfect replacement, and I'm a chronic researcher, so it's taking a while.  I think I'm close to a winner though.  First up on my list of finalists: Klean Kanteen. 

These super lightweight food-grade stainless steel bottles come in tons of lovely colors.  My only gripe is that the lid squeaks when you screw it on or off.  Not too many people seem to be complaining about that in the reviews, so either I am hyper-sensitive to metal screeching, or it goes away with use.

A few more great options and some water packaging that totally threw me for a loop after the jump...

suit up!

Today I made some unexpected purchases.  Impulse buys that are very different from my usual ones.  No shoes, no jeans, no lipstick (well, ok,  I did buy some jeans, but that's for another post).  I bought myself a month's membership at the gym here and a bathing suit.  Not a cute lay-out-on-the-beach one.  A serious I-think-I-plan-on-swimming one.

image from poolweb

Yeah, ok, I'm still a little wishy-washy about it.  I've been wanting to start swimming for almost a year now, but in my daily life I'm so exhausted that there's no possible way I could do any more exercise outside of classes and rehearsals.  But the idea of physical exertion without any motives other than feeling good and fit is definitely appealing to me, as is the mere idea of immersing myself in water and simply moving.  So now, here I am, on vacation, nothing but time on my hands, and I'm doing it!  Or at least, I intend to! I'm incredibly excited about this.  I don't even remember if I know how to swim, but I'm giddy like a kid on the first day of school.

Anyone out there a swimmer?  Anyone wish they were?

back to the barre

I know this video's made the rounds lately, so many of you have probably seen it, but I couldn't resist posting it now because after 2 months of not being able to dance due to illness, I'm sort of feeling like this myself.

Cracks me up every time!

Every day I feel stronger and a bit less like a foreigner in my own body. I just have to be patient and remember that it's always quicker to recover what you've already learned than it was to learn it the first time. I'm sure in one month I'll be back in tip-top shape. Still, I can't help but think of this girl when I'm struggling to get my body to obey. Lucky for me I end up laughing a lot rather than getting frustrated.

healthy new year

I kind of want to do a new years post, resolutions and revelations and things like that, but I don't want to even more (how's that for grammatical?). So these things will just sort of trickle into my posts slowly. And while you may not notice it in all the shopping and fashion ones (though I am dying to purge my closet, so maybe you'll see some of that), I'm going to start jotting down other things here too. Since there's only 1 or 2 people reading this, I figure, it doesn't matter what I do. This is just a place for me to think out loud.

In any case. Today it's snowing. Which is very pretty, but makes me not want to walk 20 minutes to and from the gym. But I refuse to just sit on my ass. So I did a Rodney Yee yoga video! This gets an exclamation point because aside from my stint in Bikram (which feels more like kamikaze stretching for wannabee superheroes and masochists), I sort of hate yoga. All that breathing and relaxing makes me anxious. But on the recommendation of my sister (thanks sis!) I tried this one. I really enjoyed it! So I'm feeling floaty and relaxed and tired and good and pretty proud of myself. It's nice to know that I can still do something good for myself even if I'm too tired/lazy/cold to leave the house. And not only that I can, but that I did! Let's see if I can keep this up this year.