Friday, May 4, 2018

Ultimate Coffee Date: May 2018

Happy May!

It's time for our monthly coffee date, co-hosted by my friends Coco and Deborah. Stop by their blogs to visit the rest of the linkup. In the meantime, pull up a chair and let's catch up. It's been a busy month!

If we were having coffee, I would tell you...

I'm running races again! Last Sunday I ran the National Women's 8k (downgraded from the half marathon - good call!), today I'm running a 5k at my son's school, and next weekend I'm running the Mother's Day 4-Miler in Reston. And in case you are wondering, I did not realize I was registered for three races in three weekends until the day after the first race. Oops!

Crossing the 8k finish line

If we were having coffee, I would tell you...

The Women's Training Program started this week.  I am so happy to be coaching this year. I find it so fulfilling and rewarding! One of the things I am working on with my life coach is finding areas of "purpose" in my life. One area that has always resonated with me is helping people be more healthy, especially women, so coaching this program is a really great fit for me.

Coaches for the Women's Training Program
photo credit Brian Kent


If we were having coffee, I would tell you...

I'm starting a detox on Monday. One thing that gets in the way of me helping other people be healthier is that I'm not really proud of my current health state. I'd like to be eating healthier, exercising more, and less stressed. I'm committing to Lifetime Fitness's D.TOX program, which is a two-week detox, followed by a gradual reintroduction of foods that you didn't eat during the detox phase.

I'm really curious to see how I feel without things like sugar, dairy, and gluten in my diet. Will I have more energy? Sleep better? Will my rosacea calm down? I'm sure that I have some food sensitivities and I know that I eat way too much sugar. It will be interesting to see how this goes.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you...

I'm doing yoga every day again. I got so much out of the TRUE 30-day yoga challenge that I did in January, and realized that continuing to practice yoga daily would be a great way to bring more health back into my life. I really like doing yoga "with" Adriene Mishler. I also admire her commitment to making yoga accessible and providing so many resources for free.

Adriene has a monthly yoga playlist that can be accessed on YouTube or on her website. Many days, I do the playlist workout. Some days, I pick a different one - maybe I need something shorter, or something targeted to a specific need. I'm finding it really helpful and grounding.
Yoga with Adriene's May Calendar (source)

If we were having coffee, I would tell you...

We should catch up more often! Let's plan to have coffee again on June 2.

The Ultimate Coffee Date

18 comments:

  1. I haven't done a detox, but I have eliminated a lot of foods from my diet. I'm trying to avoid foods that cause inflammation. It's been an interesting journey but I do think that it helps.

    Good luck on your races! Spring is all about racing, right?

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    1. I'm glad to hear that avoiding foods that cause inflammation has been an interesting journey for you. That's basically what I'm doing - eliminating the categories of food that are most likely to cause inflammation. I think they call it a detox to sound trendy. I'm really curious to see what impact it has on me.

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  2. I know I eat too much sugar and I've really cut down the last few years. But darn, why does it taste so good? I'm off to check out the yoga challenge! Thanks for joining us for the coffee date!

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    1. It does taste so good! I think giving up sugar will be the hardest part for me, and it's the reason I've avoided trying something like this in the past.

      I hope you like the yoga challenge!

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  3. I don't do detox's, when I want to clean up my diet I just try to eat foods in there most basic natural state.
    good luck in your race.

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    1. That's good advice, and ultimately my goal is to eat natural, unprocessed food. And maybe some carrot cake egg crepes ;)

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  4. I'm so glad you are able to enjoy racing again! I need to clean up my diet but Detoxes are not my thing. The moment I think about a drastic plan I want to eat ALL THE JUNK FOOD. I need a more moderate approach. ;-)

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    1. I can understand that! I've never done a detox before, so I don't know how it will be. And certainly this weekend I want to eat all the junk since I know it's my last chance for now :)

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  5. ha! I can relate to signing up for races without realizing they are in such close proximity. Recently, I realized I had a hilly 13.1 the morning after our high school's prom (and I worked at the after prom party until 4:00 a.m.). Fun!!

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    1. That's amazing that you conquered that half after being up almost all night with the prom and after party. I don't think I would have been able to do it!

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  6. That detox sounds like a good idea. I've been thinking of cutting out foods that cause inflammation...chips...it always comes back to the darn chips!
    I think it's funny you signed up for 3 races in a row. We runners due tend to get caught up in the moment. ;-)

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    1. Chips are yummy! Giving them up is going to be quite a challenge.

      We do indeed get caught up in the moment, don't we?

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  7. I'll be curious to hear how the detox goes. I've done just a 3-day reset but feel like I could use something big right now - too much sugar for me! I think it's great that you're coaching the Women's Training Program!

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    1. I definitely need something big right now. But big is scary! I’ll report on it next month for sure...maybe earlier if some of that extra energy materializes or if I get brave enough to start miracle mornings like you :)

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  8. Oh wow, three races in three weeks is a lot! I usually don't get a lot done the rest of the day after a race because I'm going through pics and still on my high from the race. :-) Hope you have a great coaching season!

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    1. Ha - me too...I don’t get much done the rest of race day. The first two races weren’t PR races, though, so there were no pics to look at the same day of the race. They spoil us!

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  9. In the fall I tend to race a lot. Not so much spring/summer. I've actually raced more than normal this spring, most likely due to the fact that my first half of the year isn't until the end of July (last year I'd already run 3 by that time!). Good luck with them!

    I'm with you on helping others to life healthier lives. It is a passion of my, and I toy in my mind with making it more than that, but I'm not sure. Good luck with the detox. That ain't easy, but sometimes it's really helpful!

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    1. I think you would be a good life coach. Those ideas that roll around in our brains are there for a reason :)

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