48 Hours til I'm in the 303!

The countdown is on! 48 hours from now I will be landing in beautiful Denver, Colorado! I haven’t been gone that long, but I am so excited to go back and visit.

I tried not to ‘plan’ too much out for my trip but there are a few things on the agenda:

- Long run

- Race

- Massage

- Date with Lauren (and her new beau)

- Date with Lynne (and her new FIANCE!!)

- Friend’s wedding

- 22 miler with Courtney (and see her new FIANCE too!)

Not too shabby. Why does the majority of the plans for my trip revolve around running? Oh yeah, because I pretty much revolve around running. I’m SO looking forward to running in cooler air. Air that doesn’t make me sweat the second I walk outside, the second I start moving. Amazing to think I could actually do a run where my running clothes weren’t sopping wet with sweat when I finished. I’m a little nervous for the altitude, but I’ll take it as a trade off for the air. Oh and the views. I love Colorado’s mountains. I just want to sit and soak it all in. I hope to hike and run in the mountains while I’m there.

Thanks to Paula for the photos :)

There are no ‘trails’ in Florida, and definitely no hills. My marathon is only 6 weeks away, but I’m hoping to get a few good trail runs in (and hope that works with my schedule.)

I’ve missed my parents a lot. I can’t wait for the home cooked meals, drinks on the patio, and the board games that we’ll play. I’m excited for the friendly people. It will be nice to walk around in my running clothes, smile at someone, and have them smile back. I’ve missed the beer: the selection, the freshness and the flavor. I’ve missed . I’m excited to see my friends. It’s hard to keep in touch with everyone when you move away, but so easy to catch back up when you come back. Maybe I’ll even tie up some loose ends. Who knows. I’m super excited to come home, and am ready to soak up every minute in the mile high city!! :D

Yoga. In (then out) with the new.

Mountain pose teaches us, literally, how to stand on our own two feet.... teaching us to root ourselves into the earth.... Our bodies become a connection between heaven and earth.

~Carol Krucoff Partner yoga with Lauren- One of my BFFs and favorite yoga buddies

I have been doing yoga for about 7 years now. It's been a constant in my life since I started college. I didn't realize though, how spoiled I was with the yoga studios in Colorado. I have always gone to Corepower Yoga. They had 2 studios in Boulder (with a 3rd opening recently) and 3 studios to choose from near my house in Denver. I had many different classes and times each day to choose from. I established a solid practice at corepower and tried every class they had. My favorite classes were C2 (hot power flow) and the sculpt classes. Both were in a very hot room, where you sweat for the entire time. I felt like I was sweating out all the toxins and releasing all the bad stuff from my body.

Beach yoga in Costa Rica

Until I moved to Orlando, I was doing yoga 4-5 times per week. This was part of my health routine, both for the mind and for the body. I came to Orlando hoping to continue my yoga practice and to grow as a yogi. I found Orlando Power Yoga the first week I was here, and started their 40 days for $40 package for new students. This was a different studio than I was used to, but I really liked it. It was a smaller studio, but still did the hot yoga flow. They even have an 80 min flow class.

Note: 80 minutes of hot yoga, especially when it's over 100* outside kicks your butt.

Anyway, this was a great studio. My roommate also bought the new student package, so we would motivate each other to go after work. This was her first real yoga (and hot yoga) experience ever and she loved it. Yay. I didn't go as much as I would have liked to, because of a busy work and social schedule. I was glad to have that studio so close to my house, and available in the evenings as a release.

During my first month here, there was a living social deal for $30 for one month of yoga at a different yoga studio. This studio was farther away from our house, but decently close to work. Liz and I decided to buy it and to use it for when our membership to Orlando Power Yoga ran out. Tonight was that night.

Let me just reiterate that I have been extremely spoiled with amazing yoga studios, teachers, facilities etc. I try to keep my expectations for new things low... but I have had great experiences in the past.

Liz and I pulled up after work to said yoga studio. It is in the corner unit of a small strip mall in a random neighborhood. We grab our mats and our clothes to change in to, since we were still in our work clothes, and we head into the studio. We walk in to silence.... an awkward lobby.... and nobody. A few seconds later someone comes out from behind a big wall partition... who was MAYBE 23. She checks us in, has us fill out a form... and just stands there. One other person walks in while we are filling out paperwork, and by the time class starts, there are 5 of us total.

This isn't quite a yoga specific studio. This is a room in a commercial center with the cement floor painted, and a folding wall put up. No mirrors, no art, no yoga anything. I'm not going to sit here and rant about every second of class, but here are the main things that bothered me.

• Her voice was extremely annoying and she didn't shut up for the entire class, until shavasana at the end.
• Because there were only 5 of us, there was no energy flowing through the room, so it didn't feel like a powerful yoga session, just 5 girls stretching together.
• The whole place was air conditioned. When I started to sweat, the teacher walked over and cranked the AC.
• She was saying the wrong names for a lot of the poses. Not the Sanskrit names... the English names. She even made one up: Charlie's Angles Asana. No. Just no.
• She informed us at the beginning that we would be doing a 'flow' class, and we could take downward dog or child's pose at any time if we needed to. We didn't do one flow. Not even one sun salutation. Hmm...
• She walked around with stinky incense during shavasana which distracted both Liz and me
  

Just to name a few. I tried to be very open minded for this class and a new studio. It was definitely a disappointing experience for me. (Liz felt the same way) My body felt good because I was moving and stretching for an hour, it just wasn't at all what I had wanted. Will I go back? Sure. I have a month membership. Will I buy a 10-pack at the hot, awesome, flow yoga studio by my house? Most likely.

It just makes me sad that some people think this is how yoga is and how yoga should be. I just wish there was a way to politely tell them to branch out and try other studios.

I'm not a negative person, and I don't mean to rant. This was just an awkward and not so fun experience.

Paleo Fun

My last meal before starting Paleo...

Two weeks ago, I began the Paleo Diet. I have heard a lot about this diet/lifestyle through different discussions on twitter, but really understood the concept after talking to some trainers at my crossfit gym. The idea is to, "base your diet on garden vegetables, especially greens, lean meats, nuts and seeds, little starch, and no sugar. That's about as simple as we can get."

Taken directly from my friend Paula's blog post on Paleo:
"Paleo basically encompasses eating “like a caveman”, focusing on healthy proteins, fruits, vegetables and nuts. Notably, you cannot eat grains, dairy or legumes on paleo. As a former distance runner, this was a difficult concept to wrap my mind around. I grew up in a sport that encourages grains like pasta, bagels with peanut butter and granola bars. Not to mention the fact that I happen to love grains and dairy. I especially am a fan of yogurt, and greek yogurt with honey has been my standard breakfast for the past year or so. " -----I couldn't have said it better myself.


I have no intention to completely change my diet for the rest of my life. I have always lived on bread, pasta, pizza, etc. This was more just a challenge to see how my body would feel if I eliminated all the processed crap. My biggest worry for starting this strict diet would be the impact it would have on my running. I'm deep in my marathon training at this point, with my long run currently at 16 miles, and I need to be sure I'm fueling my body properly, for both workouts and recovery. After reading the book "Paleo for Athletes," I had a better grasp on how to fuel my body properly for the hard workouts. I don't need to eliminate every single carb from my diet. I'm getting plenty of carbs through fruits and veggies. As I eliminate the processed carbs from my diet, my body is changing to use fat as energy, rather than sugars.

I have cheated here and there, which I believe is ok. It's natural. But for the most part, I've stuck to the diet. I love fruits and veggies, so it hasn't been hard at all. I'll make up a big batch of food, and eat it all week long. Liz and I went to Sam's Club this weekend and got a bunch of fruits, veggies, chicken and fish and I was chopping, baking and mixing for a good 3 hours on Sunday night. Totally worth the effort!

Salmon, Tilapia and Chicken. YUM

My body is feeling great. I don't get the highs and lows that I used to get when I was eating a lot of grains. I am still using blocks, gels and waffles for my long runs, but refueling with proteins, fruits and veggies after. Surprisingly, I feel better than when I would use pasta to fuel and another carb to recover.


Am I using this diet to lose weight: No.
Would I be mad if I did: No.
Will I eat like this forever: No.
Do I like how I feel now: YES.
Do I think there is legitimacy behind the diet: Most definitely.

What are your thoughts on the Paleo diet/lifestyle?

My first month in Orlando (better late than never... right?)

My new "home" in Orlando

Have you ever had a time in your life where everything was working out better than you expected… and life almost seemed, well… Perfect? That’s happening to me right now and I couldn’t be happier!

I’ll start with my departure brunch. It was a perfect morning and afternoon, and I’m so glad that all my close friends were able to make it. I was especially happy to see my running/twitter friends there, and I know that I will be missed by everyone (I miss you too!!). The bottomless mimosas turned into a little bit of a shit show as the afternoon approached, but just know, that they get SOMEONE every week.

Dave and I hit the road from there, in the over-packed Civic, with our sights set on New Orleans, in one straight shot.

This would mean that we were going to be on the road for about 24 hours straight. Since I enjoyed some libations at brunch, Dave drove the first stretch. I ended up driving through the middle of the night, and Dave drove us into NOLA. We had a fun night at the W (thanks to my sister) and enjoyed Bourbon St. The next morning we headed out later than we wanted, thanks to a time change confusion with our cell phones and some delicious beignets, but we had an easy drive to Orlando.

Dave singing to me on the drive down...

We met my new roommate, Liz, and her boyfriend Paul. After checking out our new amazing apartment, we decided to enjoy a glass of wine together at the corner wine bar, just downstairs from our apartment. Talk about dangerous… a wine bar within a block of my house? Not just that, but probably 10 super cute and trendy restaurants, Starbucks, FroYo, Pizza, AND a grocery store? I’m in love with this city and my neighborhood already.

As the week went on, Liz (more about her to come) and I hung out with the other people in our group. Among food, drinks and dancing we have all decided that:

1. We have a lot of fun people in our group.

2. Liz and I live in pretty much the best part of Orlando

3. It rocks having guy friends that aren’t hitting on you because they have to work with you for the next year and a half (and longer)

4. We need to find a friend with a boat. (Still working on that)

After a trip to Ikea and a few trips to Target, my room was finally complete and feels homey. I also have a huge bathroom attached to my room, and an enormous walk in closet attached to that. Ahh, bliss. This closet is seriously amazing as it holds all my clothes, and all my shoes, and the rest of the crap that I decided to tote down with me.

Orlando is treating me better than I would have ever expected. The city is amazing, the people here, for the most part, are amazing. I have to initiate the smile to break theirs…

My roommate: Liz. She is absolutely amazing. I couldn’t ask for anything better. If you would have asked me to write out exactly what I wanted in the ideal roommate, she surpasses every one of those qualities. She is from Michigan, went to Michigan State, and studied Engineering (She’s super smart). She also grew up playing soccer, and leading a very healthy life. So she’s super fit and eats healthy and understands my crazy food and training etc. She is also very sociable and we have a great time going out together. She’s low key, so she can deal with my running late and messiness. Our lives are so busy that we live in each other’s messiness. And who else would get up at 5:30 with me every morning to run? She is also going to teach me how to golf, a vital skill for business down in Florida.

Liz and me on the first day of work :)

Job: For those of you who don’t know, I got a job with Siemens Energy in the Sales and Marketing development program. It’s a 14 month rotational program with three- 4 month rotations. We will get to work in 4 different parts of the energy industry, and work in 3 or 4 different cities. We will have the opportunity to network with a lot of people in different offices, and get to travel around. It’s an amazing program. My first rotation is based out of Orlando, and I’m doing sales and marketing with the Latin America Region (RLA.) My current tasks and projects haven’t really been defined yet, but there is definitely a lot to do. Everyone speaks Spanish, and the majority of the meetings are in Spanish. I was a little rusty on the first day, but I can now understand ~95% of what they are saying… just don’t ask me to respond. I’ve found that I’m a little more timid with speaking Spanish than I should be. ****Note to self: work on speaking Spanish…. **** There is opportunity for international travel, so I’m really hoping I get to go with the group! Woo hoo! Venezuela/Argentina/Colombia/Mexico… doesn’t matter to me!

The SMDP group of 2011. WOOT!

The SMDP group: There are 10 of us in the Sales and Marketing Development program. 3 of which are junior military officers, so they’re a few years older, but they have definitely seen and learned things that we can’t even imagine. The rest of us have graduated recently. I’m definitely the oldest non JMO, everyone else either graduated in December or in May. Liz and I are the only two girls. Some people would hate it, but we love it! The guys are great and they are more like our brothers than anything. We have formed a little clique and we go everywhere together, whether its out to dinner, or grabbing a glass of wine on the weekdays or whatever. We all get along well and they are a great group of people to both stay friends with and work with for the next few years.

Orlando: The city itself is amazing. Our apartment is right on Lake Eola, which is literally 3 blocks away from downtown. The area has the same feeling as the highlands or Wash park (Denver) but it right next to downtown. It’s an area full of young professionals, and a few homeless people. The Casey Anthony trial took place 4 blocks away from my house (don’t even get me started with her….) There’s a Farmer’s Market every Sunday in the park on the lake. We enjoy going every weekend to buy fresh produce, art, and I purchased my first orchid. I’m amazed I’ve kept it alive so far.

Farmers market next to our house

The path next to the lake.... and our apartment is on the corner here... 2nd to the top :)

The bar and club scene in Orlando is bigger and better than I imagined. I don’t really know how it compares to Denver because I didn’t really go out much in Denver. We (the clique of SMDPs, including Liz) go out pretty much every single weekend, and some weeknights. I haven’t partied like this since I was in college! It gets kinda crazy sometimes. There’s clubs and bars everywhere, and we just go out and have a good time. The guys in our group are very entertaining to watch as they try to pick up the girl of the night. In general, we move through downtown in our little pack of 5 or 6. We usually end up at the lodge, 80s dance music and fun people. Who doesn’t love 80s dance music? Liz and I usually have at least one person sleeping on our couch/floor every weekend…that’s the price we pay for living downtown!!

Running: I am keeping up with my marathon training while I’m here. I’m doing the Rock’N’Roll Chicago half marathon in August, and the Chicago (full) marathon in October, so I have to keep running! Liz gets up at 5:30 and runs with me most days before work. I also have been doing my long runs with My twitter friend Maddy (@maddyhubba) on Saturday mornings. It’s so nice to have someone to do my long runs with! We usually meet at 6am on Saturdays, which means I have to leave my house at 5:30… and wake up at 4:45 or 5 to eat… Needless to say, Liz and the other guys in the group don’t like that fact that I don’t go out late on Friday nights. We say that Maddy is cock-blocking my social life. Haha. I substitute going out late with happy hour, so I’m still out and social.

Note: before you start thinking that I’m partying all the time… it’s not all the time, but a couple nights a week. However, it’s not going out and getting drunk. I’m too old for that and my body can’t handle it (and I’m training!!!) Liz and I are known to order ‘soda splash of cran’ (without the vodka) so it looks like we’re drinking…. But we know better. It’s just fun to be out with everyone and be social.

I am starting crossfit at a local ‘box.’ I went through my foundations classes, learning how to do all the Olympic lifts, and will start with my WODs (workout of the day) today! I also found a great yoga studio in town that is similar to the studio I went to at home.

All in all, I LOVE it here. I love the people, my friends, my apartment, the city, my job. Everything. I’m super busy, but loving life. I’m down here through mid-October, if anyone wants to come and visit!!

Finally, I want to congratulate one of my best friends Lynne in her engagement last week!! She and Alex have been together for a long time and he finally popped the question! I’m so happy for you both!!! I’m excited for all the wedding planning! Congrats Lynne!!! I LOVE YOU and miss you!

Back to the Blog

I decided that I am going to start blogging again . The last blog I had was for the 9 months that I was living abroad, in Costa Rica and in Argentina. I wanted to write down my adventures, remember the fun events, good food, fun people, and share my fun with anyone who wanted to read it.

It's been about 3 years since I've posted last, but my adventures haven't stopped, I just returned home and stopped writing. Well my (traveling) adventures are officially going to start again. I will be moving to Orlando Florida on Sunday, for work. I will be moving around every 3 months, to a total of 4 different cities, to do 4 different jobs for my company. I'm stoked about this experience and ready to share!

While I don't consider myself a great writer, the only way to get better is to write, right? :) So that is what I'll do! Who knows what I'll write about, or how often, but it'll be fun just to keep an online journal of my thoughts/adventures. I'm sure I'll eventually be posting race reports, recipes and random pictures, so ENJOY!


Side note: I kept my old blog from studying abroad and am just going to add to it. My international adventures have helped to mold me into who I am today, and they are there if you want to go back in time and learn a little bit about me!

Also, if anyone has suggestions, tips or expertise in blogging/layouts etc, I need all the help I can get! My page is boring now, but I'll make it look pretty, I promise!

My new team

http://toughgirlcycling.com/

Check it out!!

Story of my life

Sorry I haven't updated for about 10 years. Life has been really really crazy. I'm taking 18 credits worth of classes this semester (and they're all pretty boring classes) along with my online class (that I was supposed to finish this summer) and I"m helping Ryan with his online spanish class. So what, 24 credits? That's healthy. I'm learning how to manage my time better though,a nd work on studying. Ah. Just a little different from life in Argentina. And let me say, I miss it SO SO SO much. Michelle (one of my best friends down there) is back for this semester and living with my host family. I wanna be there.

I'm back on the bike and pretty excited about it. I joined the Tough Girls team (www.toughgirlcycling.com). This is a 'dirt' team, focusing on Cyclocross and Mountain biking. I'll be getting a new, super sick, mountain bike, YAY!! I had my first road race this weekend, a time trial. It sucked. I know TTs are supposed to hurt, and it did, but it was very humbling and I realized how out of shape I am and how 10 months off the bike really affected my cycling potential. I'm coming back. Maybe not for road season, but I'm coming back. Bryan hooked me up with a sweet deal at Full Cycle, so I'll be getting a new road bike too! SWEET.

And finally, I'm going BACK to Costa Rica for spring break! YAY! 16 days and counting. I'll be with Ryan :), Laura (a friend from HS who's in a lot of my classes), Kellie, Sessa (who are both CR Veterans) and Lynne! SO MUCH FUN! I have a lot of crap to do with school before then, but it'll be a great reward.

I'm just trying to get through school, and get to summer. Let's see if I can get a job?! Who knows.

besos a todos.