What a runner reads while traveling…

January 28, 2014

This Saturday, I start my travels to Thailand.

I am looking forward to escaping this cold brutal winter. I am looking forward to spending my February basking under the hot sun, in 90 degrees Thailand. I am excited to endure the chaos of Bangkok, shopping at the night markets, seeing the skyline view at Sky Bar. I am ready to breath in the beauty and zen energy of the Buddhist temples. Oh and I can’t hardly wait to visit the elephant sanctuaries of Chang Mai or to island hop the Thailand coast.

Although, all of the above, sounds lovely…

there is one thing I am dreading…

The 24 hour flight I will have to endure to get to my destination – tropical paradise.

It definitely will be interesting…

The longest flight I have ever been on was a 13 hour direct flight from Brazil to the USA. This time I will be flying for 12 hours, switching planes, and flying for another 12 hours. Ugh, sounds dreadful… but well worth it.

I guess I will have to keep my eye on the prize, and remember that in the end, I will get the chance to see some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. And who would pass up playing with their own personal elephant in Chiang Mai?

So my game plan to keep myself busy while traveling for 24 hours is to read and knit.

Yep, read and knit.

Because I have been so busy: running, working, holidays, planning this trip, and others for the year, I haven’t had much time to sit, relax, and get my knit on. Sadly, I have only completed one project this winter, fingerless mittens.

So I have a really fun knitting project to work on while traveling. It is called the Laura Loops: Salt and Pepper Cowl.

This is found on the Purl Bee website. I chose this project because everything about this piece is small, so it will be easy to throw in my carry on bag.

When it comes to reading, I have tons of books stored on my iPad. However, the books I have planned to read on this trip are all on running.

The Big Book on Endurance Training and Racing, by Dr. Philip Maffetone.

Run Fast: How to Beat Your Best Time Every Time, by Hal Higdon

What running books are your favorite? What do you do while traveling?

Breakthrough NOT Breakdown.

December 28, 2012

OMG I am so terribly sorry… I hope you can understand…

I HAD to push my writing to the back burner, because of the crazy busy holiday season. But things are starting to slow down a bit so I am going to, as my yoga instructor would put it, breath deeply… slow down, cherish this time… because life will get crazy busy again, before you even have the chance to blink your eye.

And now that I have started to write, I have realized I have so much good knowledge to share with you, but I will break that knowledge up in to a couple different posts, and keep this one short and sweet.

For the last three days I have been, sweating, breathing, detoxifying, stretching, and strengthening my body in Bikram’s torture chamber. That means I have been going to Bikram yoga.

It has been really interesting though, because I have had a different instructor each day. Although, the 26 postures and the 2 breathing techniques are the same, the classes have been so very different.

Wednesday, 12/26/12, Cameron taught my bikram class. The room was the hottest. The yoga was continuous, holding the poses, resting briefly, and then moving on to the next pose. This made the yoga more cardiovascular. I had to take a knee for a minute or two, half way through class, but I got up and continued on finishing strong.

Thursday, 12/27/12, Jamie was my instructor. There were tons of newbies in the room. Because of this the class was much more slower moving. It actually ended 15 minutes late. However, Jamie really focussed on form, and corrected several people in the class, including me. He pushed me on Standing Head to Knee/
Dandayamana-Janushirasana. And got me to understand how to do Toe Stand/ Padangustasana. Also on Locus/ Salabhassana my feet were always pointing out, which he corrected. I though this class was great, because it was a smaller class and the instructor really got to work one on one with us. I have been practicing for five years, and although, I know I am no where near perfect on these poses, when class sizes are two large it is hard for the instructor to catch ever small little incorrect thing. But these small changes make a HUGE difference. I am proof… because today…

I had a breakthrough….

Friday, 12/28/12, I woke up this morning thinking I may skip class, and go running instead. But I received a text from my friend K, and she was excited to go. So I got dressed, grabbed my mat/towel/ice water… and headed over. Shelly was teaching class. The room was pretty packed today, but I felt good and strong, and more flexible than I have been in a very long time. All the running makes my body so stiff. The warm up poses went well, and then it was time for Standing Head to Knee/Dandayamana-Janushirasana. Breakthrough! Finally after 5 years of practice, I can completely straighten my left leg, and as for my right leg, it is almost there. I know it has taken a very long time but I am not very flexible, so this is big for me. I just continued to kick my leg out. I breathed into the pain and tension and boom I was there. I finished the rest of the class strong. I left totally drenched with sweat. It felt good pushing my body to its ultimate limit.
Plus I was in great company. Thanks for coming with me, K!

I don’t have any pictures of yoga class today, but I do want to share with you a yoga bag I hand knitted.

You can find more photos and details on how I made this yoga bag, on Cashmere&Silk.

Blogger Award… this may get personal.

November 11, 2012

I was nominated for the Liebster Blog, by Katie from the blog, fitness, food and photography. I want to apologize for responding to this post so late, but better late than never. I also want to thank Katie for being so sweet to nominate me.

So here it goes… 11 facts about myself.

1) I try to eat everything organic. I don’t label myself as vegan or vegetarian but I eat meat in moderation.

2) The last two years I have become passionate in growing my own food. Although, I live in the city, the older I get the more I develop a longing to have some sort of farm.

3) I am a knitter. As a child, my mom taught me how to knit, but it wasn’t until last September that I really began to think of knitting as a form of art. Now I have become a “yarn snob,” guilty of having an obsession with high quality yarn. I love natural fibers such as merino wool, alpaca, cashmere, mohair, angora, silk, cotton, and linen. I also have a knitting blog on tumblr. If you are interested in checking out any of my projects you can find them at my tumblr blog, Cashmere and Silk.

My latest Chunky Knit! Hand knit by me.

4) I am a hairstylist. In many ways, I find knitting and hairstyling similar. Both, satisfies my passion, for texture and color, it allows me to build a shape.

Me doing hair for photo shoots.

5) I was born with copper hair, as I aged it turned blonde. I started coloring my hair when I was 18 and have been every shade of blonde. Two years ago, I changed my platinum pixie hair, to red. And I love it!

6) I am an artist. Charcoal is my favorite medium. I like to draw people.

7) I love to travel. Barcelona is one of my favorite places in the world.

8) I am a marathon runner. I much rather run far, than run fast.

9) I have been practicing Bikram yoga for 5 years.

10) I drink a Chai Latte almost everyday.

11) I have two dogs. Sometimes I think puppies are cuter than babies.

Here are the Questions My Nominee wanted me to Answer:

1) How much time do you spend Blogging every day?

Oh I don’t know… It is not consistent.

2) What is the one song that get stuck in your head all day after you hear it?

I dunno, it changes all the time! I am always trying to discover new music.

3) What TV shows are on your DVR right now?

Homeland and Dexter

4) What is your favorite season and why?

I love Fall. The crisp cool clean air makes running so refreshing and enjoyable. Oh and nothing is better than being wrapped up in a chunky knit. I also love fall flavors, such as Chai and Pumpkin.

5) What is your favorite brand of jeans?

I would have to say AG, but to be totally honest I live in my black Lululemon leggings.

6) Last movie you watched?

I actually watch a ton of movies. Last night I was at a friend’s house, and we watched The Fighter. It is amazing how much weight Christian Bale lost in order to play the role of Dicky- the older brother crack addict. The movie, based on a true story, takes place in Lowell, Massachusetts. This really touches my heart because I have ton of family in Mass and the accents in the movie are amazing. I mean Christian Bale is from Wales, but you would never know. The costumes are really good too. Immediately you know this movie is set in the late 80s, early 90s, just because of the costumes. But in the end, my favorite part is the relationship the two brothers have, Dicky and Micky. I have two sisters, and I am really close with my family. I could totally relate to this brotherhood bond Dicky and Micky sure. In life, your sister, is the one person, you can be totally honest with, and who will push you to your fullest potential (especially in sports.)

I also love documentaries. The other night, I watched one called The Elephant in the Living Room. This is based on Exotic Animals kept as pets. It makes me sick that people are so selfish to keep Lions or any other exotic animal in a cage when they belong in the wild.

7) If you could be any cartoon character, who would you be and why?

Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I love red hair. I love the water. I love the beach. I was actually her for halloween.

8) Name one talent that you wish you had.

I love to Dance, but I wish I could dance at a professional level.

9) What is your best feature/ favorite body part?

My booty!

10) What did you eat for dinner last night?

Indian Food.

11) Favorite childhood game?

Truth or Dare

These are the blogs I nominate are…

1) Running in Mommyland

2) Sweat Every Day

3) Super Foodie Adventure

4) The Dancing Runner

5) Midlife Makeover blog

6) super generic girl

7) The Barefoot Monologues

8) Knitting Is Awesome

9) Katie at Fox Flat

10) I heart Vegtables

11) Vedgedout

For those who I nominated you don’t have to answer any questions from me. Just write 11 interesting facts about yourself and then nominate 11 other blogs. Thank you!

Why do you love Fall?

September 11, 2012

Why do you love fall?

Fall is my favorite season. Why? Because it provides days that are filled with the perfect running weather. Oh and I get the opportunity to lounge around in sweaters I hand knitted myself and drink my favorite drink Chai tea.

Did I ever tell you I am a knitter?

for more info, check out my knitting site: http://cashmeresilk.tumblr.com/