A college student taking in the world around her. Becoming the person I want to be and offering advice, my experiences, and random thoughts with those who are interested. ~Started December 3rd, 2018~
I’m starting to stress again about the future and life after graduation. There’s a lot on my mind and it seems like I can’t shake it. I got through a 30 min workout. It felt good pushing myself harder and feel the burn in my muscles. I’m hoping to get a run in later this week!
February 19th- HIIT workout
I competed another Fit On workout tonight. This one got my heart racing while also focusing on toning my arms, legs, and abs. I’m starting to become a huge fan of these workouts at they are quick but get you sweating and working hard.
February 20th- 3.1 mile treadmill run
I finally made it to the gym and got a run in! It felt really good to let the stress go and focus on my workout at hand.
February seems to be off to a rough start in trying to get back into a routine. This was also seen throughout January. It seems like after the holidays I lost my motivation to hit the gym or get a run in. I have been a little disappointed in myself lately for not pushing myself to workout. I’ve been making a lot of excuses to not workout and they seem to be working. I am aware I need to continue to push myself, but need to find a little more motivation to actually get myself out and doing the things I love.
Along with the excuses, I’ve definitely noticed my stress levels and mental health have not been very good. I have been stressing a lot more and feel way less confident in myself than I do when I workout. I’ve been stressing over things that are not in my control and I need to fix this. This is what has been pushing me to try and get on a schedule and back into a workout routine. I’m already a week and a half into February and am now wanting to make the change to do better.
I know once I do make this change I will start stressing less and feel better about the things I cannot control. To further push myself in the right direction, I went ahead and looked at my January goals. Even though I ran less than I would have liked I did make sure to hit 3 miles or more on every run. This is something I am proud of and want to continue to do as February progresses. I look forward to getting more workouts in and making sure to push myself to help relieve the current stress I feel from not working out.
This is the first time I have tried a HIIT workout and I really enjoyed it. I got my heart rate up and was sweating halfway through the first set. This is a great alternative to running and it incorporates arms, abs, and legs. I’m really like that Fit On app! It has a lot of great video workouts to follow along with.
February 11th- 15 min ab sesh
I’m really liking these Fit On classes. They are easy to do at home and only take 30 min max. This ab workout I’ll definitely feel tomorrow. I’m sore from the workout I did yesterday but it feels really rewarding.
February 12th- 0.5 mile run, arms, and abs
I hit the gym tonight and got a solid workout in. Ran for a bit, used some arm machines, went back home and did a 5 min ab workout.
Today I got out and ran Lake Padden. When I left the house it was barely raining so I decided to leave my rain jacket at home… big mistake it started dumping rain on my drive to the lake. By the time I was not even half way around the lake I was soaked. I got a pretty cool photo though!
Tonight I tried a different ab workout through a new app called Fit On. I found it through an Instagram ad and thought I would give it a try. I LOVED it!! I haven’t been running a lot lately. I haven’t made the time for it and lost motivation, so I thought I would look into some workouts I can do at home.
This app is awesome! You get to choose what you’re interested in and it will give you trainer videos to follow along with. Excited to give this a try!
January 29th- 25 min yoga
I’m loving this app! My abs were sore all day today from the workout I did last night. Tonight I was debating whether or not to the another workout or to give my body a break. I’m glad I decided to do the yoga workout.
It was really challenging. There were times I had to pause and give my arms a break. I love how easy these videos are to follow along with and how motivational the person leading the video is. It really helps me push myself. I’m excited to see what other workouts they have for me this week!
With a few extra snow days, I have started getting some practice in using my new Nikon D3300 DSLR Camera. See some of the photos below and check out the stories behind each photo!
This past week has been filled with snow days, meaning classes at Western have been cancelled. This has given me a lot of extra time to get out play in the snow and take some photos with my new Nikon D3300 camera. It’s been awhile since using a DSLR. Remembering how to adjust the manual settings correctly took some getting used to and took more time than I thought it would. While these photos aren’t necessarily my best work, I am proud of the shots I took and can’t wait to get some more practice in as time goes on.
Here are some photos of my first day out in the snow (1/13/2020). I was walking and pausing to take photos on the trail I normally walk to get to school when all of a sudden two deer ran out in front of me. Luckily I had just finished figuring out the correct light settings for my camera and was able to take a few photos of them. It amazed me how used to people they are. They could hear the shutter of the camera, but they would casually look up and continue doing their own thing. I also was able to get a cool photo of a bird sitting high up in a tree.
On the second snow day we had (1/15/2020), I decided to go explore Sehome Arboretum on WWU’s campus. The trails were pretty snowy, but I was able to get some cool photos of moss and leaves. There was a lot more people out on the trails than there was on Monday. This made it a little more difficult to take photos, as it felt like people were constantly passing me.
I am proud of the photos above, but am excited to get some more practice with my new camera and get faster at switching the settings based on the environment around me. I started to realize how important lighting is when taking photos manually in the snow, especially how the light reflects off of it.
Today I ran my Fairhaven Park route backwards and found another part of the Interurban Trail! I’m going to have to run this more often as it reminds me of my XC days in high school.
January 22nd- Rest
January 23rd- Abs
Tonight I did an abs, arms, and legs workout. Feeling good after my rest day yesterday and hoping to get a run in tomorrow, if I have the time for it.
Today was the first snow day of winter quarter! That means classes were cancelled, which in turn means the gym on campus was closed. I thought about running outside, so decided to go for a walk and check things out… there was ice EVERY WHERE! There was no way I could run safely, so I opted for a longer ab session today as well as some leg and butt exercises. Hopefully the snow will subside later this week and I will be able to hit the gym to run and avoid the ice.
January 14th- 3.2 mile treadmill run
Campus was open today, so I decided to venture out and hit the gym. The sidewalks are still way too snowy and icy to run outside. It felt good to get 3 miles in. Ive been missing running the past couple of days and am glad I’ve finally broken my no-running streak! It’s time to get back on a schedule and push myself to run longer distances.
January 15th- Rest
Classes were canceled again today, so I decided to take an hour walk through the Sehome Arboretum in the snow and out my new camera to work. Hoping to edit and post those photos sometime this week!
Still not feeling good, so I decided to take the day off and try to rest up. I think I’ve slept a total of 13 hours today. Definitely needed the time to catch up on my sleep.
January 7th- Abs
I’m feeling better today and wanted to do a ab routine to try and get in a routine. I am hoping to get a good run in on Thursday when I’m feeling stronger.
January 8th- Abs
January 9th- 2.7 mile run
This was my first run after winter break. It’s gotten a lot colder out since my last run… Winter is definitely in the air! I decided to do a shorter and easier running route today through Fairhaven Park. It was difficult to find a steady running pace. I often found myself pushing too hard and easing off to quickly. I’m hoping next week to get into a better routine of running and make it part of my schedule again.
Wow! Another year over and another one to look forward to.. Welcome to 2020! I am excited to continue on my journey of staying active and pushing myself to achieve my monthly goals. To view my personal stats of 2019, you can find those here. To start 2020 off in the same fashion I started January 2019, here are some goals I have made for myself:
Keep running at 3 miles or more each run
Focus on eating healthier and fueling my body with sustainable foods
Make sure to stay active on the days I don’t run, either with an ab or yoga session
One long term goal I have for the year is to try and hit within the 65% mark for active days. I was impressed that I hit the 50% mark in 2019, but want to continue to push myself to do more. I am hoping this long term goal will help motivate me on the days I feel that I am too busy to go to the gym. I am pumped to see what January will bring and the things I will be able to accomplish this year!
My Not-So-Secret Diary 