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Weekend Highlights: A Quick Glimpse of Spring!

**I started this post several weeks ago on my phone, but still thought these memories were worth recording:)

Well, we were finally reminded of what 60 degrees feels like here in Wisconsin this past week after what has felt like a cold desolate winter. Is that dramatic? Well, that’s how it feels. The sidewalks are literally swarming with dogs on leashes, bicycles, strollers and roller blades. You fellow Wisconsinites know exactly how the first heat wave of the year phenomenon works! People. Everywhere.

Titus and I took advantage of the temps and went out for a morning sunrise run. My first outdoor run of the season!!! We’ve also been picking up Kayne from school on-foot, with the baby in the stroller. And we even happened upon one of these neat lending libraries we’ve seen finally popping up in our city.

Our family spent an entire weekend letting our cheeks tilt toward the sun. After enjoying a lunch out on the town this past weekend, we headed over to the dog park, but the mud up to the armpits of every dog out there made us reevaluate our plans. After trying another dog park that didn’t look any better, we finally made our way to a local park with pet-friendly trails. Earlier, we had stopped at a cheese factory and picked up some fresh cheese (the freshest WI cheese possible), sausage, crackers and jam to picnic on.

I dabble in babywearing every now and then. Trail walking necessitates it. Rayna isn’t usually very content facing me, so we’re still adjusting and trying to figure out what works for us.

The trees out on this trail were exceptional for climbing!

And someone had built this super amazing fort thing among some of the trees. This is the kind of hideout my kid dreams were made of! We’ll be back here, for a picnic or spring break or something.

Another little lean-to someone built. Makes me wonder who’s been hanging out here.

After church the next day, the kiddos and I headed out to another favorite trail along the river to get a good leg stretch in again. We know that we are not out of the woods yet with snow being only March, so we get our leg stretchin’ and sun soakin’ in while we can. These little reprieves in the weather are always just enough to make the last few weeks of winter/early spring seem tolerable.

See what I mean? Wednesday we woke up to white stuff, but by the afternoon it had all melted. Spring, you little tease.

I can’t wait for summer! To say the very least…

Weekend Family Fitness

Our state park system recently offered a free weekend open house where we could partake in their many amenities at will. We chose High Cliff since it was the closest to home. We started with a long trail hike at a pretty slow walking/waddling pace. We actually chose the horse-riding trail for something different, since we’ve frequented the other trails many times before. Plus, we got to meet a few special visitors of the equine variety that way. Horsey kisses? Yes, please. The day was beautiful, bright and bug-less and the trail a healthy 3 miles long. The handsome fellow below was one happy camper, can you tell?

We counted butterflies, listened for cricket chirps and scoped out the wildflowers.

After our long hike, we recouped with some water and snacks and headed to the very tall viewing tower the park provides. Someone had to stay behind with the dog, and I allowed that person to be me. I left those ten flights of stairs to my guys and their non-squished lungs. 
Behind the viewing tower is a long railing bordering some steep drop-offs. There’s a secret spot though that a handful of people found behind one of the fence posts. There’s a stone staircase and a series of pathways through neat rock outcroppings and caves. We climbed those fence posts and took the little side trip that happened to also be pretty picturesque.

Find the steps behind the secret railing. Secret hideouts are my favorite!

What you are witnessing are my only prenatal photos so far.
One lone autumn leaf that survived the deep freeze.

Happy boys!
Our day was so perfect. We finished with dinner and more play time. You’d think Peanut would be exhausted, but he never wears out. All day of playing and hiking followed by more heavy play and he probably could’ve kept going. No naps, no time outs. I, on the other hand, feel like napping after simply thinking about this hike again. Haha. I’m still trying to stay as active as my body will allow me to. Sometimes that’s a 6 mile bike ride, a 3 mile hike or a 2 minute stretch session. I’m just letting my body guide me and enjoying my capabilities even in my pregnant state, and I’m enjoying the relaxed nature of it all. No counting reps, no tallying up miles, no tracking calories. I’m hoping to carry some of this relaxed, carefree, exercising-but-not-trying-to, bring-the-whole-family energy into my post-natal fitness approach. I enjoy being hardcore when I’m not pregnant, but there should always be space for serendipity.

Weekly Workout Rundown

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Monday:
  • 35 min AM run, 2.5 miles
  • 20 min circuit-training at lunch
Tuesday:
  • 30 min casual walk at lunch
  • 18 min, 3 rounds of Island Bikini in PM
Wednesday:
  • 45 min Bikini Cardio in the AM, 3.5 miles
  • 20 min circuit-training at lunch
Thursday:
  • 40 min AM run, 3 miles
  • 30 min Bikini Sculpt on the Beach Babe DVD
Friday:
  • 40 min Insanity Plyo Cardio workout in AM
  • 20 min circuit-training at lunch
Saturday:
  • 60 min walking
Sunday:
  • Rest
 
This was what my workout schedule looked like last week. I took a little fitness break over Memorial Day weekend. That 60 minutes of walking on Saturday was figured in for rummage saling. I was too busy soaking up the glorious long weekend and what all comes along with it: parks, grill-outs, parades, shopping, playing catch-up, etc. Plus, my body just needed a break. I noticed that the break helped my back heal quite a bit. Sometimes it’s good to listen to your body, as long as you get back on the right track after your break.
 
Monday marked the one-year anniversary of my grandpa’s passing, so all the ladies in my family got together for a little luncheon and chat in his honor. It was so nice to be together on a holiday that we would normally have celebrated with a backyard barbecue hosted by the man himself.
 
I got a lot of projects that I’ve been sitting on for awhile done over the weekend along with copious amounts of studying. I took my Peanut to the park and let him ride his Hot Wheel tractor until the batteries ran out, all the while studying the components and functions of the heart.
 
We did well this weekend, I think.

Walking Mantra Meditation

Since I’ve been delving into the land of mantras, I thought it would be fun to talk about walking mantra meditations. Now, I’m not a huge meditator. I know all about how good it is for you, and I always have good intentions of meditating, but the practice of silent meditation often falls to the wayside.

After reading an article about walking meditation by friend Nancy Monson, I decided I really like the idea of walking and meditating at the same time. After all, I walk to work a lot, and what’s better than multitasking while doing it?

One day, on my way home from work, I selected a word to focus on for the entire trip. The results were actually pretty amazing. Focusing on the word “beauty” made so many lovely and heartwarming things stand out to me. I had covered the non-picturesque territory so many times before, I didn’t think anything would really strike me as particularly beautiful, but I was wrong. Turning a simple walk into an opportunity for awareness, wellness, and gratitude is just genius to me. It makes every walk quite a bit more special.

I noticed a squirrel carrying a whole corn cob (funny!)
A sign for “Pleasant Street”

A family decorating their Christmas tree in front of the window (so special!)

Particularly aesthetically-pleasing arrangements of apartment electricity lines (weird, I know!).

 

And interesting architectural details

And I really can’t believe I never noticed this adorable bird treehouse display after living in the same neighborhood for over 7 years!!! It’s amazing what you pick up on while you’re being intentionally mindful.

tree full of bird houses
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This type of walk was so energizing, I plan on doing it much more in the future.

I’ve taken walks before where I focused on how fast I was going to the point that my face got really tight. I’ve taken walks where I focused on a recent fight and used the walk to get away from home, process what happened, and prevent welling rage from erupting. This idea of a walking meditation is much more pleasant and productive, don’t you think? And why would you ever take another walk again without focusing on what’s truly beautiful? Just another simple way to turn an ordinary everyday task into something a little more special…

Try it! And then leave a note to tell me what you think.

Getting a Little Technical

I received a fun new gadget as of late. Makes me so happy. How could a Heart Rate Monitor make someone so happy? I’m not sure. Anyhow, I don’t need to stop running and risk dizziness for 15 seconds to check my pulse. This thing does it for me. And tracks calories and distance too. This is so perfect for running. I’ve often wondered if I’m running fast enough to get any benefits or even if I’m going too fast. Now I’ll know!

So, I found this fabulous website for determining what heart rate zones I should be in for certain benefits and for how long. I already know the whole 220 minus age calculation that gets me to my maximum heart rate. But what are you supposed to do with the numbers from there? This site takes a closer look. There’s nothing like feeling like you’ve actually done something good for your body after a run!

Perhaps this can move me past the plateau I’ve been in for the last, oh, two years. Oh wait, what’s that you say? Yes, I’m walking over to the bakery to get a cupcake at lunch. So? I am walking…