Train the Brain

I wrote this lame half-assed post on the flight back from Dallas on Sunday, and then realized it was boring as crap and deleted it. You’re welcome.

Bye Dallas!

Instead, let’s talk about how it’s April.

You know how my crazy little mind works at this point, so you’re probably waiting for me to rattle off a series of things I’m going to strive for in this new month. Well let’s get to it – there are 3 (three).

I’m estatic to be back in Baltimore. The weekend in Dallas was awesome, but most certainly not restful. I’m ready for my routine again this week.

the Friday night performance

One awesome takeaway from this weekend was a speaker we had – John Foley. He touched upon a lot of motivational/teamwork/leadership type of topics, but also mentioned the power of positivity, basically on training your brain to be positive. This may not be exactly how he phrased it, but he described that if you wake up every morning and think of something you are grateful about, that after 24 – 27 days you will automatically start waking up with a positive mindset.

Yes, I love that.

First April goal = work on that positive brain.

Second and third goal kind of go hand-in-hand...

Goal #2 = no running in April.

I actually haven’t run in over a week now. It is just time. Little nagging injuries (including a big toe that’s been bothering me since September) just ain't getting better. And while I CAN run with them, I just don’t think they are gonna go away until I drop down to zero for a while.

                                            

me as I write this.

Between a road trip to Indiana, a visit from my sister and her boy, Easter, and a weekend trip to Colorado to see Andrew's new nephew (YAYY), I predict the month will fly by, and I will survive. Plus I already have a tentative pool date booked for Friday. Never said pool running was out of the picture.

After a month or so I will reevaluate with caution. It's the reason I've yet to schedule a race this year - I'm tired of losing money due to getting hurt. I would love to say by mid-summer/fall I'll have something on the agenda, but that's all speculation. And I'm ok with that. In the meantime, it's strength training, swimming, spinning, the usual. My Crossfit living social deal ends this week which I'm bummed about, but a monthly membership just isn't in the budget right now.

Sigh.

Anyways, goal #3 is to stick to other sweaty options since running is ixnayed. Last night I started the Jillian Michael’s 6-week six pack – it’s a 35 min video on Youtube (part I) – thanks to a recommendation from Kat. I actually really enjoyed it (I don’t normally love the fitness video thing) and am going to commit to doing that, or any other fitness video I stumble upon over the next month or so, 2-3 times per week. Probably in the mornings, because nothing puts me in a thankful mood quicker than starting my day with a little sweat (See what I did there?).

Well this has been fun. Tell me your April goals? Share your fav fitness videos? And have an amazing freaking day.

Cheers –

Kait

Two Days

It’s snowing again today. I suppose I can’t really comment, as I’ve stated in the past that my personal rule is I can’t complain about snow until we hit March.

Two more days 'til March guys.

I realized that the combination of a beautiful weather weekend followed by three crappy cold snowy days of weather this week was been the perfect concoction for a bad attitude, and not feeling so hot. I have literally been a Debbie Downer to the point that I googled ‘things to do to make me happy’ … and super unmotivated to the point that I considered going to bed at 7:30 pm last night.

Instead, I went over to Andrew’s in full-fledged pout mode, and he did two things that I really needed.

• Got me a mini cheesecake from Whole Foods
• Told me to stop being a pansy

Fair enough. So I guess instead of sitting here being a crying pansy, I will do everything in my power to share positive things.

I’m feeling good about the workout balance that I’m finding over the course of this past month. Andrew and I recently bought a Bikram Hot Yoga Groupon, so that will now be implemented 1 – 2xs per week, on top of my twice(ish) a week spinning, running, and crossfitting. Pretty solid balance if you ask me.

source

Speaking of crossfit, here is my most recent WOD:

4 sets, for time

15 thrusters (45 lbs)

15 burpees over the bar

Total Time, 12:36. Shoulders are still feeling sore today.

I discovered a few challenging looking treadmill workouts on Ashley’s blog - I think I may try the one below out this week. I’ve been trying a little harder recently to find more blogger friends who I enjoy reading. Another is Becki over at Bites & Brews who is currently hosting a Craft Beer book giveaway if you’re interested!

original source

Last but not least, one of my favorite ways to stay positive is to find quotes on Pinterest and share them, set them as my phone background, write them down, etc. I find a lot of power in simple words, so I shall leave you with a few.

and my personal favorite - 

Cheers to being halfway –

Kait