Weekly Recap: Almost Christmas Time!

By Jess in Minneapolis

Merry-almost-Christmas to you all!

The past week flew by. Work is getting a little crazy with year-end approaching and I have been busy, like many of you, with some last minute shopping.  I also had a cookie exchange/book club combo on Thursday night: not exactly Fitness, Fashion, or Fitness Fashion related, but hey, a little indulgence this time of year is okay!

There were so many tasty cookies at the exchange. There were coconut macaroons, oatmeal chocolate chip, fudge, peppermint bark, rum balls, Russian tea cakes, chocolate crinkles, ginger cookies, and my peanut butter and chocolate melted snowmen.

Each of us brought five dozen cookies to swap, so I came home with a LOT of cookies. Post-holiday, I'll be happy to delve into Flying Pig marathon training to work off all these cookies!

So how is "pre-training" going?  I'm running again, but its been tough- really tough. I'd like to blame it entirely on the snow, but I know that part of it is just the pain of getting back into shape. But, it's true that the snow isn't really helping the cause...even with my YakTrax, the terrain is definitely a challenge.

My "injury-prevention" running plan is going to be to run only four days a week, maybe five when training really gets going. On the days that I used to toss in an extra run, I will swim or take a spin class instead. My goal is to run four days a week, take one yoga class, one to two strength classes (barre or kettle bells) swim or spin, and one complete rest day. Previously, during marathon training, I would run up to six times a week, and clearly that method did not work for me. So instead, I'll be incorporating a lot more cross-training and non-running days.

This past week was a good start! Here's how it turned out in fitness:

Monday: Complete rest day, unplanned- was stuck at the office much too late.
Tuesday: Morning run. barre class at The Barre
Wednesday: Morning run, climbing at Vertical Endeavors
Thursday: Morning run
Friday: Vinyasa (C2) at Corepower Yoga
Saturday: "Long" run (10.5 miles)
Sunday: Swam laps for 30 minutes, barre class at The Barre

A pretty good balance this week!

Fitness and Fitness Fashion are sort of on hold until after Christmas, but I do want to remind you of the Athleta Semi-Annual Sale that is going on right now. Check it out HERE!  I was there shopping for a birthday gift for my sister, and I might have had to toss in one of these neon stripe racerback tanks for myself, only $34.99!

In Fashion, you can still use my referral code to sign up to try out Stitch Fix HERE.

That's all for today. Enjoy your Christmas Eve's eve tomorrow!

Weekly Recap: Pear Sweaters, Cookies, Lucy Apparel, and I'm Running Again!

Happy Saturday friends! I hope you are enjoying the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. After being in Chicago last weekend, I'm happy to have a weekend at home to catch up on all the present wrapping, cookie baking, and holiday prepping!

A friend is hosting a cookie exchange this week, so I have to make five dozen cookies to bring- yes, FIVE dozen! I've decided to make these cuties:

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So, I have some downtime right now between cookie batches, so I wanted to fill you in on what's been going on in fitness, fashion, and fitness fashion!

What's new in Fashion?
I received my second package from Stitch Fix, so stay tuned for a full post about what I received.  Until then, I'm loving this pear sweater from JCrew factory! I saw it on Chicisimo and in Lucky Magazine as the Outfit of Yesterday.

Currently marked down to $44 (find it HERE)  this cheeky sweater is a lot of fun, 

even when toned down with a gray blazer for the office.

What's new in Fitness Fashion?
Remember when I posted about the bkr water bottles? You can find them now at the lucy store in the Galleria in Edina. They just came out with a larger sized bottle. Check it out here! They make great Christmas presents. Stay hydrated all winter long!

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I often forget about the lucy store in the Galleria, but I was there the other day, and they have lots of cute fitness apparel. I love these Hatha leggings or any of the fun colors of the Hatha capris.

What's New in Fitness? 
I didn't share a weekly recap last week, so here it is. I'll keep it brief....

Monday- Some time on the elliptical for some cardio, and then a Balanced Barre class
Tuesday- More elliptical time and then Surfset Yoga at Anytime Fitness (such a fun class!)
Wednesday- Kettlebells at Balance Fitness,  and lots of snow shoveling afterwards!
Thursday- More elliptical...boring.
Friday- barre class at The Barre
Saturday- Flywheel spin class <--- review to come- loved it!
Sunday- Rest!

And guess what? This week was super special because...I'm running again! Yay!

I eased back into it with some easy treadmill runs, but I'm hoping I'll be getting back to normal by next week. It's amazing how tough it is to run after just two weeks off. I feel like I am so out of shape!

But I know that I just need to stick with it. SkinnyRunner actually posted some good tips for "What to do When Your Pace Blows" I'm going to follow of a few of her tips, like Leave the Garmin at Home and of course, Run with Someone (as I did this morning.)

Monday- short run on the treadmill, Balanced Barre
Tuesday- short run on the treadmill
Wednesday- The Barre, swam laps for 30 minutes (I definitely want to keep up with this swimming thing. I feel great afterwards!)
Thursday- Kettlebells at Balance Fitness
Friday- short run...outside!!! I hadn't run outside since the recent snowfall, and I forgot how much harder it is to run on the slippery snow.
Saturday- "longer" run....outside again! Yes! I was so happy to be running outside. Matilda (the dog) and I met up with my friend Abby at 6:30 am for a couple of lakes. Yes, 6:30 am on a Saturday. I hadn't run with her in a long time and she had to be somewhere at 9 am, so we were up before the sun, but I really enjoyed the company.

There were a few fresh inches of snow, so I decided to bring out the YakTrax Run

But apparently, I had them on backwards! Total blonde moment there....They seemed to work just fine though. Next time, I'll put them on right and see if they work even better.

With the snow and my return from an injury, I wasn't too concerned with my pace this morning, so I didn't worry about the Garmin. I just enjoyed catching up with my friend.

I can't say that Matilda enjoyed it quite as much. She kept lifting up a paw and running on three legs, poor thing. But it wasn't really too bad out this morning: 10 degrees and beautiful fresh snow. Its sad that 10 degrees feels warm, but last week we were in the negative temperatures, so it is a bit of a heat wave.

I wore two layers on bottom (two pairs of Brooks tights), a tank top, my Athleta long sleeve twist top, and the bright Brooks toplayer you see, a neck gator, ear band, my snowboarding gloves (couldn't find my Craft ones?) and my wool snowboarding socks. Lots of layers, but I felt pretty cozy. Oh, and of course I had on the backwards YakTrax Run. 

Tomorrow I plan to do a class at The Barre to finish out the week in fitness. 

FYI, newbies to The Barre, they are currently offering a free first class! You just have to set up an account online, and when you go to check out, select "First class free." But let me know when you're going- if I bring you as my friend, I get a free class too! Who wouldn't want to take advantage of this opportunity! Let me know, local readers, if you want a "barre" buddy.

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday, and stay tuned for my Stitch Fix #2!