December 9th- 25 Min yoga sesh

December 10th- 3.3 mile treadmill run

I finally broke my non-running streak! It amazing how busy I got with finals, but after my last one today I made sure to hit the gym before leaving campus.

December 11th- Rest

December 12th- 30 min yoga sesh

December 13th- Rest

December 14th- Rest

December 15th- Abs

As November draws to a close and December creeps right around the corner, it’s crazy to think how far I have come this past year. Everything this blog encompasses are the things I have been working towards this past year.

I’ve retaken up some photography.

• I actually just bought a new Nikon D3300 camera earlier this quarter and am hoping to get to put this to good use over winter break.
• I have been reading up how to shoot in manual mode (something I vaguely remember learning in high school). I can’t wait to put this to the test.

I’ve done more hiking

• I still haven’t done as much hiking as I would like to, but with having homework on the weekends or spending time with friends and family makes this hard.
• I am hoping to get to see some new places and try some new hikes this upcoming year. One goal of mine is to do some falls hikes while it’s still sunny out.

I’ve gotten in the habit of working out consistently.

• This took some getting used to and I’ll admit I wasn’t always the best at going all the time, but I did get more consistent with my running and trying to make it to the gym.
• I am to the point where after 2 days if not working out I get antsy and feel the need to run. Which is a great feeling and always rewarding when I finish.
• I also started eating healthier, making sure my body got the nutrients it needed after my runs.
• I’ve been more conscious of how much water I am drinking. As staying hydrated is very important for so many reasons.

It’s been a rewarding year tracking the progress I have made. I actually even started tracking my data on excel to help me visualize exactly what I have accomplished. I am hoping to share this in January’s post, as the year isn’t quite over yet and I don’t want to cut my data short!

Monthly stats

December saw a drop off in motivation, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t get good workouts in. There were a few weeks with high rest days, but I did get at least one run in a week.

November 18th- Rest

November 19th- 3.3 mile treadmill run

It was tough to motivate myself to get to the gym after class. I was mentally exhausted and was coming up with a million reasons why I should skip the gym. Fortunately I did the opposite and pushed myself to go.

I’m glad I did! It felt good being able to sweat all my stress from the day away. As dead week and finals draw closer I need to remember this and use the gym for my benefit when it’s too dark to run outside.

November 20th- 20 min yoga sesh

My back and neck felt really tight when I got back from classes today, probably due to stress. Instead of going for another run, I decided to try to do a beginners yoga session.

I found a 20 min YouTube video to follow. It was great to get to stretch. It made me realize yoga is something I want to incorporate into my schedule next quarter by either taking a beginners yoga class on campus or attending one of the evening classes at the rec center.

I think this will be a great way to heal, stretch, and stay toned on top of running.

November 21st- Abs

November 22nd- 3.71 Fairhaven Run

I decided to run down to Boulevard Park and along the water front. It was fun to run this route backwards. Something I hope to do more of, even as the weather changes.

November 23rd- Abs

November 24th- Rest

November 11th- 3.2 mile run

With having today off of work and no classes I had some extra free time to get a mid-day run through campus. I was surprised how quiet campus was, it made my run go fast as I was able to take the outside world while running. I decided not to use headphones today, but to be present while on my run. This was a great change and I really enjoyed this freedom of taking in the world around me.

November 12th- 2 mile treadmill run

Tonight I was on a time crunch and wasn’t able to get to the gym until 8 pm. I decided to sprint a few miles to get the blood pumping and start sweating. Although I didn’t get 3 miles in, it still felt good to push myself with my mile time and run the stress off.

November 13th- Rest

November 14th- Abs

November 15th- 4 mile run

Today I was able to get outside and enjoy Lake Padden. I got around the lake at a decent pace, but decided to push myself a little further and venture to hit 3.5 miles. To my surprise, I hit 3.5 and decided to push an extra 1/2 mile to make it an even 4 miles.

I’m so glad I did. It felt great to push myself like that. There really is something to be said about the first 3 miles of a run are the hardest. Normally when I push past the 3 miles I find myself more motivated to continue. I guess thats the Runner’s high kicking in?

November 16th- Rest

November 17th- Abs

December 2nd- Abs

December 3rd- Rest

December 4th- Abs

December 5th- Rest

December 6th- Abs

December 7th- Rest

December 8th- Rest

October 28th- Abs

October 29th- 3.5 mile Treadmill Run

Tonight was a treadmill kind of run. I got out of class around 6pm and the sun was already setting! I can’t believe how dark its getting so early. Hopefully after day light savings this weekend I will be able to do more running at night after classes. Since I haven’t been to the gym in awhile, this run actually went fairly fast.

October 30th- Rest

October 31st- Abs

November 1st- 3.15 mile run

Today was a Lake Padden run day. The hills are getting easier every time I run them, which is a great feeling. I love that confident feeling I get when I run Lake Padden and my mile times or hardness of the hills decreases.

November 2nd- Rest

November 3rd- 3.1 mile run

Tonight I opted for a treadmill run at the gym. I was able to get 3.1 miles in and felt really good! I am glad I was able to end this week on a running note.

Another month over and another month to go until this blog turns 1 year old! It’s hard to not start reminiscing about what has happened this past year and all the things I have accomplished. I don’t want to go into too much detail about this now, as this is something for next month, but I think it is important to keep this in mind to help motivate me through this next month especially as classes pick up and the Holiday season approaches.

Starting October, my goals were to eat healthy, take care of my body, and run at least 3 miles each time I run. For this month, I really want to make sure I am getting at least 2 runs in a week. Already being a week into November, I have not had a good start with keeping a good routine as classes start to pick up. I want to make sure I take the time to get to the gym and get the workouts in my body needs.

I have started getting stress headaches and I think part of this comes from not working out. These headaches get so bad to the point where I have to lay down and try to sleep them off. As these are becoming more frequent, I have noticed I have been putting off going to the gym and this is doing more harm than good. So, my main goal for November is to try and cut down on these frequent headaches by running every other day and doing home workouts on the days I don’t run. I am hoping this will help cut down on the headaches and help keep me sane as finals approach and the Holidays begin.

Monthly stats

November was another month with a solid mixture of workout days with rest days. Time to carry that through and finish 2019 out strong!

November 4th- Rest

November 5th- Rest

November 6th- Rest

November 7th- 3.1 mile run

I finally was able to get a treadmill run in today. This week has been so busy and crazy, so I am glad that I was able to get a run in today. My goal is to get back into a good routine next week.

November 8th- Abs

November 9th- Rest

November 10th- Abs

October 21st- 3.1 mile run

I’m starting the week off right with a 5k on the treadmill. It’s been awhile since I’ve got a run in and I have to admit this one felt pretty good. It felt good to sweat and let all my stress disappear as I focused on my run.

October 22nd- Abs

October 23rd- 3.51 mile Arboretum Run

It was beautiful out today! The sun was out and so I decided I needed to be also. I decided to run up through the arb on campus. This was a high elevation gain run , but all the fallen yellow and orange leaves on the ground was beautiful and couldn’t be passed up.

October 24th- Abs

October 25th- Rest

October 26th- Rest

October 27th- 3.33 mile Lake Padden Run

This weekend I went home and came back up to Bellingham today. I got back and instantly felt like I needed to go for a run. Luckily it was sunny out, so I was able to get out and enjoy the sun while running around the lake. I was surprised at how many people were out walking around the lake. It made the run go by faster because of having something to look at while running.

October 14th- arms, legs, cardio

Today was a weird day at the gym. I couldn’t make up my mind on what I wanted to do, so I decided to do a little bit of everything. I did the stairclimber for 15 minutes, walked a couple laps around the track to stretch my legs, got to work on toning my biceps and shoulders, and then decided to sprint a mile on the treadmill to get my heart rate up.

October 15th- rest

October 16th- rest

October 17th- Gym Day

It was a weird mix of a routine at the gym tonight. I started out on the stair climber for 15 minutes, then moved onto arms (using various shoulder, bicep, and tricep machines), then finished with a 1 mile sprint.

October 18th- Abs

October 19th- Rest

October 20th- Abs