goals check-in.

Hi everyone!  I can’t believe it’s already mid-April.  This year is speeding by and I’m not sure I like it.  I figured since we’re past the 1/3 mark on the year, I’d do a little update on how my 2014 Resolutions/Goals are going so far:

• Read 12 books. – I’m relatively on track for this one, about to finish my third.  I got a little off track while moving, re-arranging everything, but I think I can do this one.

• Do yoga 50 times.  I was on track with this one all the way through the LA Marathon, and then I fell off the wagon a little bit. I was doing yoga at a studio in Santa Monica (I had a groupon).  Once that expired, I’ve been less stoked on yoga.  My gym doesn’t have any instructors I’m loving, and I’ve been getting a little bit more into Body Pump.

• Buy a cheap used bike and get comfy with it.  Still haven’t made moves on this front. I know, pretty lame for a spin instructor to not have a real bike. Must. Remedy. This.

• Travel. I haven’t done a ton of traveling just yet (although I did JUST go to San Diego for the weekend with my girlfriends), but I am hoping to plan a trip for after the bar exam and some shorter trips as well before my job begins.

• Expand my blog. My goal was to incorporate collaborations/working with sponsors (I’ve done some awesome product reviews: HaloBelt, Camelbak Relay, and Clif MOJO bars, to name a couple) and have a couple of fun events lined up. I’m not gonna quit the legal field to blog full time by any means, but I am excited that my blog is heading in the right direction.

• PR in the marathon. DONE. While I was initially disappointed I didn’t BQ at LA, I am really happy with my PR of over 5-minutes, running a 3:44.

• No Regrets Bar Studying.  Too early to tell.

• SUP more often and learn to surf.  I’ve gone SUPing…once so far this year and also haven’t made surfing moves.  There’s time.

General fitness update:

• Running:  I’ve been toning down my runs post-Ragnar.  I have been getting back into the swing of running with my DTLA Running group once a week, which I love, and running with Back on My Feet – Team Homeboy Industries 2-3 times per week. Last week, my left quad felt a little strained and hasn’t entirely bounced back, and I experience a little bit of top-of-foot pain on my right foot every once in awhile, so I’m trying to listen to my body and not push it.
• Once again, I wore Thirty48 during all of my legs for Ragnar and their compression sleeves and running socks pretty much saved my legs and feet.

• Spinning:  I am still teaching 2x/week, and more if I pick up other classes.  I love making playlists and hanging out with my gym friends, and the fact that a gym employees me is always a good laugh.

• Yoga: See above.  I need some sort of yoga inspiration. Any ideas?

• Strength/Weights:  Just when I thought it was practically impossible, I picked up another obsession.  What is it, you ask? Body Pump. I have seen results physically and I love how efficient it is — if I were meandering around on the gym floor for an hour, there is no way I would be able to accomplish as much as I do in a body pump class. Also, the new release (Body Pump 89) just came out and it is no joke.  I have been doing body pump 2-3x/week.

• Nutrition: A few of my friends from the gym and I are taking part in a “challenge” for the next two months. It’s essentially a paleo diet — no carbs.  So far, it has been pretty easy for meals, but it is a bigger challenge for pre-workout snacks. Does anyone have any carb-free snacks they swear by? I am not doing this for weight loss.  I am comfortable with how I look — I don’t weigh myself because who needs that?  I am doing this because I generally eat whatever I want, all the time, and don’t think about it.  This challenge will be good for me to be thoughtful about nutrition, and it will also be interesting to see if I notice any difference.

• Walking: I prefer to walk whenever I can — but my FitBit needs some major charging so I have been lagging with stats for that lately.

How are your resolutions coming?  

What are you checking off the list and which are proving to be more of a struggle?