Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Fancy Nancy crew to you!!!

New Workout Wednesday

 As part of the Elf4Health Challenge, today's challenge was to try a new workout.  Thankfully, I was delivered a nifty new yoga workout thanks to GaiamTV as part of #TheBalancedYou 21-day program.  I took the quick quiz, and from there I am emailed different yoga workouts a day. 

Today's was a quick 19 minute "water" video which was similar to belly dancing.  I certainly giggled a lot and when Em joined in we giggled a bit together.  I am liking how these daily videos are certainly pushing me out of my comfort zone and it fit perfect with the Elf 4 Health Challenge of the day! 

Curious to try out GaiamTV yourself?  They are joining in the Black Friday fun and are having a few Black Friday specials including a 99 cent offer which you can find starting on Thanksgiving here until December 1st. 

What kind of workout would you try new?

Monday Motivation

The holidays are a time where time is like gold....never enough of it but worth it's weight and then some.  I guess it goes without saying that with no extra time, stress, and junk food in all corners that the holidays is NOT the time you want to ignore your fitness!  I don't know about you but I would much rather ring in 2015 looking and feeling my best than limping into the New Year with a list of things I needed to work off!!  Do one thing each day to make yourself sweat!  Get the family involved or get it done before they wake up!  Do whatever you need to do to make the time...and sweat!  #HolidaySweat starts today and I can't wait to start tallying up points each day by moving a lot and getting in my veggies!  I am also in my last week of POTM and I have 34 miles left to hit my goal for the month...after one week in I thought there would be no way I would reach that goal but now I'm SO close and there is no way I'm letting it slip away!!!

What about you?  

What are you going to do today to get your body moving?

Fitness Friday...Yoga for Runners

I shared with you yesterday my first week with GaiamTV challenging myself to incorporate yoga into my fitness regime.  I know I'm lacking in the flexibility department, but I'm looking forward to seeing growth along the way!  The whole thing has gotten me researching ways that runners can benefit from incorporating yoga into their weekly training.

I know that many fellow bloggers rock their runs AND their yoga poses.  Christine from Live Love Surf rocks the running scene as well as posts the most amazing photos on her Instagram page as she bends her body into the most unique ways!

Fellow ZOOMA ambassador Angela hits paces I hope to see on my Garmin one day and still finds time to bend and balance in her yoga poses.

Fellow mother runner Laura at Mommy Run Fast has posted many times on the benefits of pairing together yoga and running including....wait for it... increased FLEXIBILITY!

Seeing so many runners using yoga along with their running got me looking even further (clearly I need a lot of convincing that bending and stretching were good for running).  Runner's World boasts about how yoga can help to improve your flexibility, ease pain, and reduce stress.  Reading further I found out that the fabulous Lauren Fleshman began practicing yoga after she broke her foot.  The strength she gains from holding poses can be equated for her to a long run or tempo run.  Runner's World went on to say that the strength and flexibility you gain from holding poses not only strengthens your lower half but can help you to run more efficiently leading to better times!  Yatzee!!  Tell me that I can get faster AND reduce my stress and I'm in!!  Now I know this isn't automatic but it is enough for me to continue to work it into my weekly fitness plans in order to balance off my running!

GaiamTV is a great source of various yoga videos that you can try out in your very own home...or bring with you wherever you go!  I found some really great ones that address yoga for runners.  One even is focused on recovery after a run...maybe one I can get the girls to do with me!!

Balance and Flexibility

flex·i·bil·i·ty

 ˌfleksəˈbilədē/

noun

 the quality of bending easily without breaking.

 

Let's talk about things that I am certainly not!  There was a time in my life...probably when I was far younger, that I considered myself very flexible.  However, after a week of daily yoga with GaiamTV through a campaign with Fitfluential, I am realizing that flexibility is something I really need to work on in all areas of who I am!

 

After taking the quiz to start the program, I was named a Cultivator...

From there GaiamTV has sent me a video a day that includes what yoga workout (is it called a workout) for the day.  They have ranged in difficulty as well as length.  I was most excited to see the one named "Yoga for Athletes"...that girl is in amazing shape...but I found a little lost a lot of the time.  Mid-week I found myself getting to a point where I was a little frustrated with how lost I was during the videos but then the idea of flexibility came back to me.  I have found that I not only need to be more flexible in he physical sense but also in the mental one as well.  It shakes my bones when I have to do something that I am not confident in doing (Thankfully with GaiamTV I can do it in the shelter of my own home) and this has been like that as well.  This is where the flexibility comes in...I need to embrace that feeling and know that a balance of go go go and the calming of yoga is really the challenge for me.

The videos from this week have been a combination of calming and hard work, but if I'm being honest I haven't been able to complete them all the way to finish since some of them are almost an hour.  The shorter ones, like on day 4, I finished all the way through.  What I have enjoyed is the challenge of them and the variety since I am new to yoga and really don't have an idea of what type I like best.  

 

I am looking forward as the days continue to getting more and more comfortable and flexible!  I know I need it more in my life and this is obviously a challenge I need!

 

Have you taken the quiz and started a GaiamTV program?

Have you done yoga before?  What was challenging for you at first? 

Tiny House with Tweens

We live in a time where we are always connected...phones, computers, tablets, etc. yet sometimes it feels like we are always disconnected.  Perhaps it is just me getting older or seeing my children and nieces get older and more grown up by the day, but yesterday I found myself searching for a fun way to vacation for this summer(It started off as a search for a winter vacation but my sister hates snow).  Our nieces will be 11 (which blows my mind) and our girls will be 6 and almost 3...which means the chances for my sister and I to do crazy things and drag our children along for the ride are starting to dwindle....even though I really hope not!  This led me to my most exciting find of the day and I honestly have not been able to stop thinking about it since....a tiny house!! 

Not the actual house I found

A log cabin nestled in the woods of Stowe, VT that is not only completely off the grid (no electricity, no running water, etc), but is awesome!  The house is small but it sits on 2 acres of land including a pond, huge fire pit, and trails for walking.  Plus there is the most quaint porch on the front that overlooks the pond and trees that just screams come and sit and read here!!! 

Let me explain that I have been mildly obsessed with the show Tiny House Nation and have been unable to convince the hubs that we should live in one! 

I mean come on!  Two kids...and us...in less than 700 square feet...beds that fold up and well a house on wheels....what's not to love?!  I jest clearly but the whole idea of not having so much stuff...clutter...things taking up so much space is a calming concept to me!  Probably means I need to clean the house but it also means that when I got home yesterday and told the hubs about the fabulous tiny house I found, he said that it would be a great idea for me to do with my sister! 

The plans are still in the works but the idea to me is so exciting....Family is so important to us and giving our daughters that time to bond with their cousins...bond with nature...and have time to just be and do whatever...it just sounds pretty much perfect!  My head is not firmly in the clouds and I know that the challenge of vacationing 4 hours away from home with no electricity, fans, internet, TV, and bugs will pose a number of challenges but I think the benefits will far outweigh them! 

Cousins

How about you....Would you ever live/vacation in a tiny house?

Monday Motivation

Today's #HolidaySweat Instagram Challenge posted the question...What motivates you to get moving on Monday.  My answer is simple...

YOU

All of you out there pushing yourselves and doing amazing things motivates me to test limits and continue to challenge myself!!  Your stories motivate me...you kind words motivate me...the fact that I motivate YOU motivates me to keep pushing...to never take a day for granted!

What motivates you to get moving on a Monday?

Fitness Friday...The Balanced You

I'm so excited this month to be joining GaiamTV in a campaign with Fitfluential to find a more balanced me!

My yoga on GaiamTV is the ultimate resource for you to find your own personal balance with a vast library of yoga classes, articles, guides and more!  In a month that tends to be filled with a lot of activity and stress, I am looking forward to finding a little balance and incorporating more time into my schedule to become more balanced...and so can you!

Your first step is to head to GaiamTV and take the quiz to find out what your element is.

From there you can find what your own balance can look like including a 21 day plan filled with handpicked videos and inspirational films.   The first 10 days of the trial is free!

I headed on over and took the quick quiz to discover that my element is Earth...I'm a Cultivator.

One word: grounded.  Relaxed, organized and connected to the earth, you love to sit back and marinate in the present moment.  Whether your lying in the grass or curled up on the couch, you establish roots and allow time to pass with ease.  Life throwing a curve ball or two?  You remain steady on your feet and take things as they come.

I can see myself in this description...all except the relaxed and allowing time to pass parts of it!  This month I will see what balance looks like for me.  Join in...take the quiz and tell me your results!  Any more Cultivators here?

I was given a free subcription to GaiamTV and paid as a part of my involvement with this campaign but all opinions are my own.

One word: grounded. Relaxed, organized and connected to the earth, you love to sit back and marinate in the present moment. Whether you’re lying in the grass or curled up on the couch, you establish roots and allow time to pass with ease. Life throwing a curveball or two? You remain steady on your feet and take things as - See more at: http://www.thebalancedyou.com/tby/results.cultivator#sthash.45othnTn.dpuf

One word: grounded. Relaxed, organized and connected to the earth, you love to sit back and marinate in the present moment. Whether you’re lying in the grass or curled up on the couch, you establish roots and allow time to pass with ease. Life throwing a curveball or two? You remain steady on your feet and take things as - See more at: http://www.thebalancedyou.com/tby/results.cultivator#sthash.45othnTn.dpuf

One word: grounded. Relaxed, organized and connected to the earth, you love to sit back and marinate in the present moment. Whether you’re lying in the grass or curled up on the couch, you establish roots and allow time to pass with ease. Life throwing a curveball or two? You remain steady on your feet and take things as - See more at: http://www.thebalancedyou.com/tby/results.cultivator#sthash.45othnTn.dpuf

Mama Needs a Run

There are days when I wake up and can feel it in my bones that Mama needs a run.  Today is one of those days!  Hubby is recovering from ACL surgery(translation...no gym trips for Mama for now) and my Dad is on his 4th stay in the hospital in about 2 months(a post all its own)...grad students' work is piling up to be graded...and my way to deal with the wave of stress is to run it out!

The morning started out great.  I woke up at my usual 4am and scrolled through some emails before getting dressed and heading down to the basement for a run.  Sitting in my living room, a lingering smell reminded me that I needed to bag up the trash and put it outside....By the time I came back in the house after putting it out, my oldest was staring at me....at 4:40am....Mama needs a run!

I informed her that there was no way in the history of ever I was going to let her get out of bed even though she insisted that she was not even a little bit tired, and gathered every coloring book on my way from our kitchen to her bedroom and shut the door giving her the only direction of the morning...DO NOT wake up your sister because Mama needs a run!

I went directly into my bathroom, got dressed, grabbed my Yurbuds, the monitor, and my phone, and tiptoed at a rapid pace down to the basement to get on the treadmill.  Before I even get started I hear a sweet voice calling me from the top of the stairs (why she didn't come down I don't know) asking if she can go to the bathroom!  In my most patient voice (which was probably not very patient by this time) I tell her yes but then she is to go back to bed and please DO NOT wake up your sister because Mama needs a run!

I get back down and settled on the treadmill...exhale and press start only to hear a tweeting over my shoulder...our youngest is up and letting the world know!  I decide that I am going to start my run hoping that she will just go back to sleep...until she starts calling out "Mama?  Mama?"  I know what's following...if left in her crib too long she will take her clothes off...including her diaper creating more of a mess than I am ready for!  Determined to get a bead of sweat on my brow I jack up the speed and decide for the next 10 minutes I am sprinting....all out sprinting because Mama needs a run!

The rest of the morning included sisters bickering...a feisty  2 year-old throwing a cup of strawberry milk in the kitchen (I know I'm going to be finding remnants of that for weeks!!)...Mama on her hands and knees cleaning it up...and your usual circus-like moments coupled with an early morning observation at work! 

On days like this Mama needs a run...a sweaty, cleansing, lung-burning run...at least long enough for me not to want to run away!!  A run where I step into my Sauconys and feel the world fade away!  Tonight I have a date with my basement treadmill because Mama needs a run!!!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

9 years ago today we stood in front of our friends and family and promised forever no matter what....and I have never regretted the best decision of my life!!

Monday Motivation

New week...new day...new motivations to own this!!  I will admit that lately I have been in a funky place with my motivation.  No training plan and no race in sight has me floundering a bit about what to do.  Today I am putting my foot down.  This past weekend I spent 10 miles giving myself a "Put on your big girl panties and just move" speech and today I am waking up motivated.  I don't have to be constantly training to own today...this week...this month!  I have the freedom to do it all....and I will!!  We all get into funks from time to time.  Don't let it drag you down...keep you from living as the best version of yourself!  Let's do this!!

Do you find yourself in funks  between training cycles?  

How do you get yourself refocused and going?

For BRFs It's More Than Just Miles

When your feet are in rhythm for miles and miles...your eyes focused on the road ahead...you share life...the goods...the bads...the hopes and dreams...the worst fears.  For BRFs (Best Running Friends) it is more than just the miles...it's a connection that you can't find anywhere else!  I met my BRF while I was pregnant with our first daughter 6 years ago...and I can't imagine who I would be now without her!

How do you thank someone who has run side by side with you through the darkest time in your life...showing you your strength...pushing you to be more than you could have ever thought?  We laughed together...swore together...made plans for crazy races...froze...sorted out whatever was ahead of us...and while we were doing that we were running thousands of miles over 5 years!

My BRF is Jill from Lipstick and Plimsolls...she is one of the best runners...most tenacious runners(people) I have ever known!  She lives passionately about the things and the people she loves the most which makes her the most formative 5 foot tall person you will ever come across!!

Yes she is yelling at me...probably telling me to go f-ing rock it!

For me...for BRFs...the miles that pass are just the icing on the cake...it's the connection that counts...the life lived, celebrations had, tears dried during those miles that count.  Tomorrow I will run with Jill for the last time on Massachusetts soil for a while.  Sunday she will board a plane to Boulder and follow her heart.  Even though I am so happy for her, I know I will miss her like crazy cakes!!

Thank you Jill for pulling me up by my Sauconys and showing me that I am strong enough...for listening...for challenging me...for being right there next to me!

Sometimes we clean up!!

TTT

I haven't done a random dishing of TTT in a while and considering my mental capacity this week (hubby is going in for surgery to repair his ACL today), I think randomness perfectly fits how my brain is functioning!

ZOOOOOMA!...I am honored to have been chosen for another year to be a ZOOMA Cape Cod ambassador!

 I have had a great 3 years representing ZOOMA and bonding with fellow ambassadors!  As cheesy as it sounds, it feel like one big family!  I look forward to seeing my fellow ambassadors at events!!  The added bonus is the race itself...amazing views, even better post-party on the beach, and an awesome time celebrating the strength of women!!  I'll be hitting the roads of Falmouth for the 3rd time (the first year I was 9 months pregnant so I was a cheerleader!) gunning for a little redemption this September.  I know September is a ways away...but that only means time is not an excuse!!  Let 2015 be the year you take the challenge!!!  Bonus time for you...enter the code NANCY15 and get 10% off your registration!!!! 

Holiday Sweat Time...An annual tradition in Fancy Nancy land has been for the last 5 years that the holiday season means HBBC time with Amanda at Run to the Finish!  The challenge has kept me moving and eating right through the holiday season...I mean dangle a prize and competition in front of me and I'm like a dog with a bone!!  This year Amanda is teaming up with SweatGuru/SweatPink to form the Holiday Sweat Challenge making the challenge even bigger and the prizes even more awesome...if that was possible! 

The challenge starts November 24th and is just $16....Let's hit 2015 running by challenging ourselves this holiday season!!!  Who's coming with me???  Mention that LilFancyNancy sent you!!

Let me take a selfie....A hilarious thing has been happening each time I open my photos in my camera lately.  I scroll through to find something I'm looking for and I find pictures like this....

Yup!  That's Miss Em taking a selfie with our iPad!  She even got her Bumpa in on the action in the corner!  When we are on longer car rides she plays games or watches a movie on the iPad...but it is becoming clear that she has grown a small obsession with taking selfies.  I have no idea where she gets it from! LOL!  We just have to work on her angles since most of them are up her nose!!

Monday Motivation

source

Watching the highlights of yesterday's NYC Marathon, and Kara's interviews, it is so clear that this girl is passionate about what she does and puts everything out there each race!  She goes out and goes big...putting her legs and heart to the test!  If only we could bottle her passion for greatness and be able to give it out from time to time....she is amazing!  I always get giddy watching marathons...and it never fails to fire me up!  It reminds me that we all have that chance...that chance to believe in something that we can do that is so great...the chance to put in the months of work and see your efforts come to fruition on the course...to know there is something greater in us and put in the work to make it come out!  Kara may not have won yesterday...but it was clear to everyone that she will be back out on that road this week pushing for greatness again and so can you!!