Let’s see here – I meant to write a post at the beginning of the month to recap what I wanted to achieve this month but that never happened, oops.
We are almost at 1 year since entering this stay at home period and having our lives turned upside down. The stress has not gone away and I have found that my mental health has significantly gone downhill as 2021 progressed. With the vaccine on the horizon that gives hope but without a solid idea of when Sean & I will receive it and no definitive date as to when this will all be mostly over, it just all starts to feel really overwhelming.
So back to the things that I can control, like what I’m physically doing, here’s a short synopsis of my month.
Running – was pretty much non existent this month. I really struggled with no idea on when races are coming back and honestly I don’t love just training to train. Running is fun, but I need a goal to shoot towards and these virtual races & time trials are just not cutting it for me anymore. I want to go after a BQ or a PR or something at all but I don’t have the desire to do it virtually. I did a decent amount of hiking this month but only ran maybe 2 times a week, if that. I think I hit around 55 miles for February.
Bike – Being as this was a slightly shorter month, my mileage was a bit down from the last 2 months and I finished up with 191 miles. I struggled a bit to find my groove as I feel like I’m pushing really hard but my numbers aren’t reflecting that push. I watched a video today on how to adjust my bike and I think that with a few more tweaks, I should be at a spot where I can actually start to feel like I’m making more progress.
Strength Training – I started the month doing Matty’s #EnCORE28 core challenge. I made it 3 weeks before I was side-lined with a major upper back injury . This was my focus this month and I didn’t do as much glute/upper body.
Stretching/Yoga – I still was stretching every day this month, I didn’t get in as many yoga classes but I will try to do more in March.
Hydration – I really slipped up on that this month. I know I wasn’t drinking nearly enough water for what I was doing.
Outings – We hit up the trails every weekend this month. Running in the snow near Mount Laguna on Feb 6, out on Coronado Island the next morning, our first road run outside in months and months. We went to Death Valley for a camping trip for Valentine’s Day/President’s Day. Then out to Cuyamaca Peak & finished the month up with a really nice hike/run on the PCT.
I know technically we aren’t supposed to be traveling & I do feel a little guilty about our camping trip, but guys, my mental health has been so bad these last 2 months, and I needed to get away from my house before I went crazy. We did what we could to minimize our time around other people and I feel comfortable with what we ended up doing. I think a camping trip from time to time is just what we will need to stay sane and give us something to look forward to.
Campaigns – I have some really fun new collaborations coming up for 2021. More about some of them down the road.
I’m excited to share that I’m an ambassador for Sunbeam this year – I worked with them back in 2019 and love their products and a they have an awesome new rechargeable heating pad that I can take anywhere. I was also selected to be a part of the RunGoodr Flamboyance Team which is so cool – I love their sunglasses!
I worked with Raw Sugar Living to share their new deodorant, which works really well, it might actually be my new favorite natural deodorant. The Raw Coconut Lime smells amazing.
I gave away 2 pairs of Aussie Soles sandals – these sandals are soooo comfortable and good for your feet too. My favorite are the Indy Orthotic Sport Slides. They are the navy pair at the bottom right of the photo.
I worked with Vertiball, which is a cool massage ball tool that you can attach to your wall, fridge, car, shower and use to get into those hard to reach areas on your back.
I got some new packs from Camelbak to test out. I already had the Circuit vest from the Trail Sisters Retreat & really liked it. I got the Ultra Pro, which is an actual vest that requires you pick a size & the slightly larger Zephyr vest that is one size fits all like my Circuit vest. I have worn the Ultra Pro a few times and I really like it. I still have to try the Zephyr vest but I haven’t had a chance to test it out yet. I’ll review once I have the opportunity to use it a few times.
Tomorrow starts a new month and I’ll do my best to make it a great one.
