So this weekend was a busy but relaxing weekend and just what I needed!

Kicked off the weekend with a little boating with work…

I kept up with the challenge I’m on and it felt good to make it a priority this weekend! I didn’t want to always work out but after working out I felt awesome and it was a great way to start off my day. My shins have been acting up just a tad so on Friday night I went for a short run/walk and got in my three miles. I made sure to ice, ice, ice my shins because I knew I would be in a world of hurt on Monday for the half marathon if they continued to feel this way all weekend. Saturday morning it was so nice to sleep in! I hit the gym up and really worked hard, I was there for two hours, capping it off with a 6 mile ride on the bike. I was feeling good and made sure to take time to stretch my calves, ice and do some exercises to hopefully strengthen the shins before the half.

Sunday morning I slept in, went for a 3 mile walk and felt good. It was a GREAT day out!

I took these two with me too, and it was great to have someone to travel with on my lovely walk. They were nice to walk with and worn out for the rest of the day too!

Later that day we went to the Patchwork Craft Festival which was fun and there is always tons of ideas and stuff to buy there. I restrained for the most part but did get some awesome new FEATHERS to add to my hair!

Sunday was also my brother’s graduation party and it was lovely to see everyone again and celebrate his graduation.

The next morning, bright and early I had the Laguna Hills Half! I will post the race recap tomorrow!

So the 40 day Challenge is chugging away and though I haven’t seen any physical difference I am feeling much better about myself. This morning when my alarm went off at 5:45 to go to the gym, I ALMOST hit snooze but I knew the awesome feeling that would greet me after my gym time so I struggled out of bed and splashed the cold water on my face and I was off. Of course, after working out I was feeling like I was ready to kick butt and take names.

Friday – 1 Hour Pilates class, 3 mile run/walk. Felt really challenged throughout the class but learned some great new tricks to work a ton of new things and tone, tone, tone!

Saturday – Biked 6 miles, worked out abs, arms and back. Felt AWESOME and like I could take over the world after the gym!

Sunday – Ran 13.1 miles at the Laguna Hills Half

Monday – Biked 6 miles, worked out arms and calves at the gym. Feeling great and looking forward to my next yoga class at Purple Yoga tonight!

xoxo

The other day I went in for my first official Yoga Studio Yoga class. I have done some yoga before at the Y and also some videos and I liked it. I haven’t ‘practiced’ yoga in a while though. Recently purchasing a Living Social deal for Purple Yoga with some friends and co-workers, I thought it’d be much more fun to go with them and would motivate me to go. The classes are good until November so I knew I would be able to use them all. (Since then I’ve now also bought a pilates class pass for Studio H, which is AMAZING, went there this morning and my body is twitching and burning)

So I get to yoga, change over into lululemon capris and a tank. I had to ask if I needed to wear socks or what even to wear to an official class. We set out our mats in a good location close to the wall and close to the front so I could at least see what was going on. There were about 12-15 people in the class, including Kristy! I was whispering with my co-worker for a while and there was a lot of noise/music from the upstairs class so I was a little shocked when another yogi told the class to ‘please take the talking outside.’ We weren’t even being loud and class hadn’t started yet! Sheesh! But leave it to me to get in trouble by another classmate. HA!

The teacher came in and we jumped right into the burning poses. I took a blue 2.0 class which is a middle of the road class and I could do most of the poses but it just took me a little longer to get into it. I am a clock-watcher during class and the first half was SO slow and I was really struggling. I was slipping all over my mat and I forgot how hard yoga is! I was also more sweaty in this class than I EVER am when I run! What a workout! Though there were quite a few poses that I struggled with but I know that consistency is key when it comes to yoga and I just have to keep going, which is why I am going to go on Tuesday night again!

Yoga is hard, hard work, and doing that many poses does require a lot of arm and leg strength but you should never be afraid of doing yoga or scared to try it. I looked like quite a freak and it really was a struggle for me, but I felt awesome afterwords and it’s great for strengthening so many muscles and I barely ever use. I was really enjoying it and though I was stretching in directions that are not normal for my body. The music was relaxing and the studio was great! Really clean and a great changing area and a great teacher taught our class. She adjusted me a little bit and was very encouraging. Check out your local yoga studio for more information and possibly see if they have any lower-priced community classes if it’s really expensive.

Grab your mat and head over to the studio and stretch it out! You won’t regret it and it’s a great sore the next day! :)

Tonight after work I’m going to run my 3 miles since I took the pilates class this morning.

xoxo

So I’m finally back on a schedule. I must admit, I am not happy with my body. I have put on a few pounds recently and I can’t tell if it’s a switch of medication, me not being diligent in working out, or my bad eating habits. We’ll I’m currently going on week 4 of eating much better and though I haven’t drank soda for the past four weeks and haven’t had any fast food (SOB) I have yet to see anything change. That means it’s time to kick it up a notch. I am in charge of what I put into my body and what I do with my workouts and I just have to make it a priority to see results. If you aren’t happy with yourself, guess who is to blame. WHALA! Danica needs to get her sh!t together! So therefore the 40 day challenge was dreamed up.

Tara and I have started the 40 day challenge together, where we both run at least 3 miles for forty days straight. Currently, I’m on day 3 of the challenge and though it hasn’t been too much of a challenge yet, I know that just getting in the miles with a no excuses attitude is going to help me tremendously long term. I always have a tendency to get bored and give up easily. I don’t know why I do this but I know having someone to keep me accountable and a challenge to take on will help me push towards the end.  I also recently got a deal for a local yoga studio, which I went to my first class last night and it was hard in a great way! A few girls I know got the same deal and we are all excited to take classes together. It’s ALL about accountability for me. I can easily let myself down but I know better than to not show up when I know friends will be there.

Lately my bathroom has been looking like this:

Running shoes and dirty clothes littering the floor and I’m feeling good about it! Tomorrow I’ll recap my first yoga experience which was wonderful yet scary and started off with my friend and I being reprimanded for talking by another classmate.

So here’s my stats, and yes I don’t care much about my weight being online. Right now I am currently at about 156 pounds and I know my happy weight is about 140-145. I know it’s just a number but I also know that right now I’m not happy with the way I look and I am the only one who can change that. If i get to 150 and feel great, that doesn’t mean that the challenge ends and I stop working out. It means I’m at a good weight and I feel great.  I hope this challenge leads to a much more active lifestyle and through different classes and fitness techniques I hope I learn more about being healthy. I have already learned so much about cooking and eating and I’m always on the hunt to find better snacks and implement them into my diet.

So forty day challenge progress thus far:

Day 1 – Ran 3 miles. PAINFUL because of the pulled hamstring. Gym for 45 minutes doing abs and arms.

Day 2-  70 minute blue 2.0 yoga class at Purple Yoga. Ran 3 miles, hamstring starting to feel better.

Day 3- Ran 1 mile to gym. Ran 1 mile on treadmill. Gym work for 30 minutes doing abs and arms. Ran 1 mile home. Hamstrings are feeling better and I’m shockingly not DYINGLY sore from yoga yesterday.

This challenge paired with my much better eating habits should have awesome results… fingers crossed!

xoxo

I am SO proud to say that my little brother is graduating from College today! I can’t believe that he is old enough to graduate and he’s graduating with honors and Cum Laude. Shocking but in a good way! :)

Congrats little Koo! I love you so much and am so proud of you and all your hard work you’ve put into your school work. Sadly, you are much smarter than me now. :( You have grown up into such a loving and caring person and I’m so lucky to have you as my brother and my friend! I can’t believe you are all grown up. I’m sorry for putting gum in your hair growing up, and I’m sorry for biting you. Growing up with you, I never imagined our relationship to be the friendship that it is today! You make me laugh, you have given me the worst hangovers trying to keep up with your partying ways and you are always there for me. I couldn’t ask for anything more in a brother! I know Mom would be SO incredibly proud of you and loves you so much, just like me!

Here are some pictures from the past few  years of us. :) Crazy how much we look alike when we are both adopted!

Us at my graduation from college… THREE YEARS AGO!

At Baby Koo’s 21st Birthday Celebration! When I still thought side ponytails looked great on me….

At our old Apartment… he came over and drank out of what we keep our wine corks in. :)

If you couldn’t tell he HATES taking pictures, especially with me! The other night when we went out for dinner he was flipping out about how many pictures we were taking! Remember, it only happens once! :)

Easter Sunday at my aunt and uncles

4th of July at our new place for our little shindig!

At my 25th Birthday party at the race track.

At B and I’s engagement party last month!

The whole family at his Graduation Dinner party this past Wednesday! Though he hasn’t officially walked yet, that’s tonight(!!) we had to snap some good pictures of him in his cap and gown.

Baby Koo, myself and B at his graduation dinner at the tasty Wood Ranch!

So, so proud of you Kooie! Can’t wait to blow the airhorn as you walk across stage! You did it! :)

xoxo

So we all know that I have seriously love for Zensah Sports Bras, but I was recently contacted by Moving Comfort to test drive on of their sports bras and a cool new feature that they’ve added to their website, The Virtual Fitting room.

WARNING: You will never see any pictures of me in my sports bra without a shirt on. EVER. So don’t get so excited.

So I agreed and was excited to try out their bra, the bra I received was soft and seamless, and when it comes to sports bra love, those are two of the key words in the description that make me melt! I love the fabric is it made of and it fits so well. The only thing that I noticed for me was when I got the lower impact bra is that it doesn’t go up at high on the sides. I have come to realize that the sports bras I usually wear are very “full coverage” and this wasn’t as much but I loved the fit and thought it was great for both the gym and running. So I realized I don’t need such a ‘full coverage’ bra.

Here’s the front of the bra, and I love the cups. I really like the material and wish you could feel how soft it is! The straps are great and not to thick.

The back of the bra, turned inside out. My favorite thing about up and coming running clothes is the fact that they PRINT the tag information on the bra/article of clothing instead of making an actual tag. Makes for way less chafing and way more comfort.

The top bra is the Zensah bra that I usually run with and the bottom one is the Moving Comfort Bra. If you notice, you can tell that the moving comfort bra is a little lower cut in the armpit area. I notice that the Zensah bra is a little more FULL coverage (higher in the neck and armpit areas) comparatively, but then again, Moving Comfort has a ton of different options for more full coverage if that is what you are looking for.

Moving Comfort was nice enough to offer a bra up to one of my readers as well! It’s really easy to enter, just travel over to their virtual fitting room and check out what bra would fit you best! I actually went through the process a few times to see what different bras they suggested. I have heard great things about all their bras and that they really help make women of all shapes and sizes stay in place if you get my drift!

Here’s a view of the ‘Fitting Room’. Put in your bra size and just keep clicking next at the bottom of the page.

This was where I switched up my answers a few times to see what they would offer me! Besides the ridiculously in shape models they have, it’s easy to use, and you can ‘pick’ exactly what you like in a bra. I hate all types of closures and stuff like that so seamless was a pick I did.

Then, like magic, it gives you the bras that work for what you inputted throughout the process. It’s easy and simple and there are so many options!

So check out their Virtual Fitting room… and leave what bra you’d pick on their facebook page under the discussion tab named Chic Runner, which is also this link! Let them know I sent you over there and you’re entered to win! Super easy, good luck!

Unfortunately to my non-US residing amigos, The contest is open to US residents only and will be open until next Monday, May 23rd at midnight PST.  A winner will be picked by Moving Comfort and announced on my blog next Tuesday! Here’s to being non bouncy!

xoxo