Yoga Pose May- Staff Pose & Giveaway Winner!

Hi everyone! I'm super excited to be participating in Tina and Kate's Yoga Pose May challenge, as yoga has become one of my favorite physical activities (aside from running, of course!). The pose of the day today is "staff" pose, which is a strength pose. There are a few variations of the pose, but after perusing Yoga Journal online my interest was piqued by the four-limbed staff pose, or chatarunga dandasana. According to the site, staff actually refers to the spine, or strength of the body, which makes sense, as this pose definitely requires a lot of strength! I still have a little lower to go on my chatarunga but I'm getting there!**



To start, come into downward facing dog by placing your feet about six to eight inches apart, your booty in the air and your hands on the ground (pants on the ground?) out in front of you. Your weight should be evenly distributed in your hands and feet. Make sure that all five fingers are pressing into the ground, and really try to extend your shoulders so that your back is long. Your tailbone should be pressing back towards the wall behind you. I'm working on being able to get my feet flat on the ground. Almost.

Then, shift your weight forward so that your shoulders are in line with your hands. This brings you into plank position. Your core should be tight (and feelin' the burn!) and your booty should be flat. If it is in the air it makes the pose easier and you're not really getting the full benefits of the pose.

Now comes the really fun part. Slowly lower yourself towards the ground, with your elbows IN next to your rib cage. Your back should be as flat as possible. It's essentially a sloooow burning close grip pushup.


Then, continue towards the ground and sort of push through and up into upward facing dog or cobra pose. I always go with upward facing dog.

Hands directly below shoulders, slight arch in back, legs slightly lifted, tops of feet flat on the ground.

Optional- take a picture with your yoga assistant afterwards. Bailey does a mean downward dog but I can never catch him in action!

So there you have my interpretation of the staff pose. Thanks for coordinating this, Tina and Kate!

And now for the winner of my Yoga Journal Subscription/Luna Bar Giveaway: Comment number 5, Danielle of Coffee Run! Danielle, email me your mailing info (fittowed@gmail.com) and I'll get the package sent your way! Also, are Luna Bars vegan? If not, I will grab some other type of fun bar for you. Thank you to everyone for participating in the giveaway and thanks for reading!


**Disclaimer- I'm not a yoga instructor nor am I a certified personal instructor. This post is merely a demonstration of how I interpret the staff pose. :)

Photo Friday- For My Pup

Hi everyone! Happy Friday. First and foremost, thank you to everyone for all of your comments regarding the relay. It worked out for the best for the team, so I am very happy about it. Team BAD is currently out running their hearts out; wish them luck!



I've had a quiet couple of days, which I wasn't anticipating as I thought I'd be getting ready for Ragnar. Given the huge conference I have from Sunday to Tuesday, it's likely a good thing. On the exercise front, I completed a hill workout on Monday (on a college campus, where it was finals time. Oh the good ol' days), hot yoga on Tuesday and a 3.5 mile run/pushups yesterday. Yoga on Tuesday was interesting. It is Bikram style but not exactly since I think we only do the positions once and incorporate some other moves. Man, it was effing HOT. It was my fifth class and by far the hottest. During the last 10-15 minutes I kind of laid there in child's pose because I couldn't move- my limbs were literally numb, particularly my hands. I think it's because I ate too close to class; the blood was going to my digestive system as opposed to where it should have been.



I intended on completing four miles yesterday but I started experiencing the familiar IT band twinge around 3 miles (wtf!). So I stopped to stretch and continued on for a half mile, then came home and foam rolled the bejesus out of my legs.



This weekend should be great. I'll be running through my presentations (eh), meeting up with a bestie that's in town tonight for drinks and discussion (yay!) and hot yoga and a run tomorrow. I have to work on Sunday but it's all good :)



So today's photo Friday is dedicated to my pup, Bailey. Bailey is a 4 pound yorkshire terrier and the sweetest boy ever. He turned four this past Christmas and we celebrated our four year "anniversary" on May 1 (I got him on May 1, 2006). At certain times in my life I can be quite spontaneous and getting Bailey was one of them. He's camera shy.



I had wanted a yorkie for a LONG time (my mom used to breed them) but my dad always advised me to wait until I was done with law school. At the end of my second year of school, I was at my friends house when she mentioned that she thought her neighbor had yorkie pups. Sure enough, they did. I came home with Bailey that night :) It was literally right before all of my finals; I remember waking up to go to my Commercial Paper final to find out that Bailey had peed all over himself inside of his crate. I still got an A on the final :)

I am so glad to have my little guy. He is so sweet and brings so much joy to my life. I love to sing him songs, substituting his name for the actual lyrics ("if you like it then you should have put a Bails on it"). He is the pup of many names- Bailey, Bails, BB, Bailey Blu, Beedle, Buckets, Bucks, Mr. Bs, Bailface...

How about you? Do you have a pet? If so, are they like a member of your family?

Have a great weekend and don't forget to enter my yoga/luna bar giveaway!

Feelin' Good

Hey y'all! Happy Wednesday... almost the weekend! Since I last posted I've had a great couple of days and workouts. Friday evening I hit up a new Italian restaurant with my bro, his gf and the 'rents. Bri was sorely missed but when he gets leave this December I plan on taking him :) I tried an amazing eggplant rolotini (?) appetizer. I definitely have a new favorite go to dish!

Saturday was my second ever hot vinyasa yoga class. SO awesome and challenging. I can easily see how the heat becomes addicting. I feel so much more limber and can sink deeper into the poses. Speaking of yoga, I'm participating in Tina's Yoga Pose May yoga challenge so I'm excited about that! Be on the lookout for a pose come May 18th ;)

Monday brought an amazing six mile run. I headed to a local park after work and just ran. The weather was SO beautiful- low seventies/upper sixties with just the right touch of wind. Six miles is the farthest I've gone since the 14k back in February! It was markedly different from the 5 miler I did the week before in VB. I'm telling ya, I'm not a hot weather runner! Give me the cold any day. What temp would you rather run in- hot or cold?

Last night I attended hot yoga again. It was different than vinyasa in that there was a lot of Bikram elements, which I've never done. The room was also heated to 105 instead of 95. I was sweating SO much before we even began. I don't mind though, because my skin has seriously NEVER looked better.

My poor pup has something going on behind his ear so I made an appointment to take him to the vet. Poor lil' guy. Here he is (on the right) with his best friend Molly:

Hopefully it's nothing but I'm still worried!

On Sunday I met with my Ragnar team and got the overview of the legs I am running:

• Leg 4- 2.7 miles. Extremely hilly. Awesome.
• Leg 16- 5.8 miles. Fairly flat.
• Leg 28- 3.1 miles. Easy day.

The only one I'm concerned about is the first leg. I'm glad it's the first leg though, since I'll likely have the most energy for that one. I'm starting to get really nervous!

I have been thinking a lot lately about blogging. I have a lot of ideas for future posts, including:

• My bucket list (via Wendy)
• A ten year review (again, via Wendy :) )
• Eating well while on the road/driving looooong distances
• Bri's guest post on fitness
• A fun topic inspired by Runner's World
• My ten basic essentials for a professional wardrobe

I have some other ideas floating around too. As you can see, they're all random. I don't consider myself to be "fitness" blogger, I'm definitely not a food blogger (although I love reading those blogs!)... I don't really know what I am. I'm just trying to live healthfully and interact with like-minded persons! What kind of blogger do you consider yourself to be? What steered you in that direction?

In any event, it's time to get back to bidness. I hope you're having a great week! See you tomorrow with a new thumbs up thursday post!

Merry Christmas, a Three Mile Run and Delectable French Toast

Merry Christmas! I love the holidays. The weather is actually pretty mild around here (about 33 degrees). Yesterday Bri came (yay!) and we had an awesome three mile run. It was about 32 degrees- I wore my under armour cold gear top, Reebok running tights, under armour gloves and my ear cover and I was good to go. The cold air is seriously so refreshing! 32 degrees is the perfect winter running temperature- I'm convinced of it! Today is a rest day and I am super excited about it. My legs are sore and it means I get to drink mimosas with Christmas breakfast :)



So today is a very special day. In addition to Christmas, my little guy turns four today. Happy birthday Bailey! Bailey's birthday and Christmas goodies

He approves!

It's become somewhat of a tradition for me to make my "special" french toast on holidays. The recipe is from our Williams Sonoma Bride Groom cookbook that we got at our engagement party (thanks mom!)

The recipe calls for:

-a day old loaf of French bread

-4 large eggs

-1 egg yolk

-2 cups milk

-1 tsp vanilla extract

-1 tsp orange zest

-2 T fresh orange juice

-4 1/2 tsp sugar

-3/4 tsp kosher salt

-butter for the pan

The goods:

Slice the loaf into approximately 20 pieces. Beat together the eggs, yolk, milk, vanilla, orange juice and zest, sugar and salt, blending well. Pour the mixture into a large dish.

Prick the tops of the bread with a fork. This allows the bread to better absorb the egg mixture. Then place the bread into the egg mixture.

Submerged bread

The recipe says to let the bread sit for 15 minutes. I, however, am impatient, and the bread usually sits for five or ten minutes when I cook.

Next, melt some butter on either a cast iron skillet or a griddle. I used a griddle this morning and found it much more convenient than the skillet method, namely because it is more efficient!

French toast cooking


Flip the bread occasionally, until each side looks like it's done (generally about 5 or 10 minutes). Then feast!

Finished product.

This french toast may not be the healthiest, but it is super easy to make and is perfect to break out for special occasions. The addition of the orange zest and vanilla really takes it a step above normal french toast.

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I made out like a bandit today! I am so spoiled. Bri got me a ton of running stuff, including a gorgeous lululemon zip up, pink zensah running sleeves and a running log :) My parents also got me my awesome Sigg I love running waterbottle!

Modeling my new goods. And I may or may not be hosting a giveaway involving one of the aforementioned items in a future post ;) I'm very excited about it!

Christmas eve was a blast yesterday. Bri and I started the day off at Christina and Rob's, then made our way over to my grandmother's house.

My brother modeling one of Matthew's presents.

My brother, grandmother and I

Christina and I with our pups.

Family pic!

Brian and Rob- they love each other.

Sadie wasn't sure if Bailey was a dog or a toy.

Happy holidays!