Good morning!

Happy almost-the-weekend! I hope those who celebrated the 4th of July yesterday had a wonderful day off full of all things red, white and blue! This week seems to be flying by for me since our holiday was on Monday, and the weather is looking toasty for the weekend so I’m planning to spend as much time outside as I can. Since I recapped my progress on June goals earlier this week, it’s time to set another 5 for July. Here’s what I’m aiming for this month:

1. Go on at least 2 more hikes

I’ve been bitten HARD by the hiking bug this summer, and I really want to get a few more in over the coming months. Our weekend weather has been perfect, and it’s just so so nice to totally unplug for the day and get away from my usual day-to-day routines. As an added bonus, hiking is a workout that doesn’t even feel like exercise – it’s just fun! Well actually, I suppose it feels like you’ve worked out when you collapse into bed at the end of the day, but it’s all good! Hiking has also been challenging my muscles in a different way compared to what I’d normally be doing in the gym, and I love to constantly mix things up.

2. Work up to a 10 mile run

This is one that I’m not very confident about, but I’m really really hoping it will happen. It’s hard for me to mentally accept the fact that my body which is capable of running half marathons and marathons is currently struggling to do more than 2 miles at a time, but I know that injuries take time to recover from and I’m trying to keep reminding myself of that. In Tuesday’s post I mentioned that things were feeling better and that I’d been doing some treadmill runs, which is true, but things are still far from normal with my ankle. I haven’t been running for longer than 15-30 minutes at a time due to the ache in my Achilles, and because I’m not running as fast as I normally would, the effect on my heart rate isn’t the same. Instead, I keep doing balls-to-the-wall hard intervals on the bike to really get a good endorphin rush, and usually top my workouts off with some time on the Step Mill.

I know that there is a very real possibility that I won’t be able to run my half marathon in August, but I’m going to stay optimistic about it and aim to build up mileage slowly. While it would be very nice and reassuring to run a pain-free 10 miles by the end of the month, I won’t be disappointed if this one doesn’t happen. At this point, there’s not a whole lot I feel I can do about it aside from rest.

3. Eat the rainbow!

Not literally of course. By this, I mean that I’m going to make an extra effort to eat as many different colours of fruits and veggies this month as I can. As you’re already well aware, there aren’t many that I don’t like. However, there are some that are staples in my shopping cart (carrots, apples, spinach, kale, celery, and watermelon are a few) and some that I love but don’t buy that often (apricots, kiwis, nectarines, asparagus, collard greens etc.) I could start going on about why it’s important to eat fruits and veggies of different colours (many reds provide lycopene, purples and blues provide anthocyanins, oranges contain beta carotene etc….) but the fact of the matter is that all of these foods are really delicious, so their nutritional value is just a bonus. This month I’ll be getting my fill of as many seasonal fruits and veggies as possible while they’re at their prime, and you’ll see recipes as evidence. Anyone with me? ;)

4. Learn to do a waterfall braid.

A what, you ask? One of these:

(Click for tutorial)

Ok, this one is 100% random and isn’t related to any of my 2012 goals at all, but I’m ok with that because it looks gorgeous! I used to be really adventurous with my hair and played with different styles a lot, but my routine now typically involves either the straightener, or a handful of mousse and the blowdryer diffuser for a very messy curly look (also known as the I-can’t-be-bothered-to-straighten-my-hair-today look).  So for June, I’m on a quest to be able to do a waterfall braid, which you may have seen tutorials for all over Pinterest. (I’ve pinned this one, and you can find a video for it here.) I’ll post photos when I master it!

5. Complete my No-Crunch Core Challenge

… and I’m so committed to this one, that I even made a snazzy button!

I made some noise about this in last week’s Fit Bit Friday No-Crunch Core Workout, and many of you expressed interest for more so here are the full details! This month, I’ve got 4 different core workouts and my plan is as follows:

  1. Do Workout 1 on three different days during week one.
  2. On the first day, do Workout 1 twice through
  3. On the second day, do Workout 1 three times through
  4. On the third day, do Workout 1 four times through.
  5. Do the same for Workouts 2, 3, and 4 for the week after each is posted.

Want to join in? It’s not too late! Even though I announced the first workout last Friday, you could still squeeze it in this week by doing it today, Friday, and Saturday. I’ll post Workout 2 tomorrow so that you can begin it on Monday. To keep everything in one place, I’ve created a page which you’ll find in the top navigation under Workouts, or just click here to get to it. Feel free to post your thoughts on the routines because I love your feedback! I’d love to hear how you’re doing!

Alright, time to get moving! Before you go, tell me…

  • What goals are you setting this month?
  • Ever tried the waterfall braid? Any success?
  • Are you up for the challenge? You know you wannnnnna! ;)

Have a great day!

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