Feature Friday: Why I Took A Social Media Break

Happy Friday! Look at me blogging THREE TIMES THIS WEEK. It’s a new record for the year I believe. I’m setting my standards high this year apparently. At least I have these two cute faces to snuggle with for one more day today before I’m back at work (4 shifts in a row before I’m home again).

I took a break from social media from Thanksgiving through the New Year and it was one of the best things I’ve done for myself in a while. I started feeling a lot of pressure from others on social media to ‘run x amount of miles’ or just constantly comparing my situation to others. I also found that I wanted more things when I was on social media ( thanks influencers). I also just generally felt tired of it- wasting time scrolling meaninglessly through photos or posts from people or devices that I may or may not know personally.

I wanted to get back to feeling free on the run and wanting to do things on my own terms- something that I felt like I lost when I would feel ‘influenced’ to go run big miles or big adventures, when that just wasn’t within my schedule or needs at the time. I also felt like I really struggled with missing Stella (our pup that we lost in August) and social media time hops reminded me of her often. So, I decided to take a week off social media in November after Thanksgiving and then, when December 1st rolled around- I really enjoyed the break so I decided to stay off until January.

It was honestly the best time away. I ran when I wanted to, didn’t compare my miles to my ‘past self miles’, took a break from fitness when I wanted to, and just enjoyed the time at home. I felt myself engaging more with others IRL and spending less ‘wasted time’ on social media. I did really miss connecting with some people/accounts on Instagram, but for the most part- I didn’t miss it. I honestly still struggle with the balance of not wanting to be on social media at all and wanting that feeling of connection that I get from it.

I’ve thought about only logging in on certain days of the week (currently I limit my time on it to an hour a day), but I’m still not sure where I stand with social media. I’d love to find a balance between it all and still enjoy not feeling like I ‘need it’ (which I definitely don’t). It was also super helpful to be off of it when I was still on orientation and starting a new career. Talk about a lot of stress- especially steeping into a healthcare role as a ‘newbie’.

I’m curious to know if you’ve taken a break from social media and what your thoughts were? How have you been able to find a happy-medium balance on it? Are there things you miss when off of it? I love the connections that I make on it, but also love the feeling of reminding myself to make more IRL connections! I also love the idea that I’m not mindlessly scrolling and ‘getting sucked in’ like I can when on social media.

-What are your thoughts? Have you taken (or want to take) a social media break? What do you love/hate about social media?

Self Love: Favorite Ways To Give Back To ME

One of my favorite ways to show myself some self love to do SOMETHING THAT I LOVE. Sometimes that means relaxing in Epsom Salt Bath with some hot tea/cocoa/ coffee and Gilmore Girls.

You probably also know how much I love to explore the outdoors. Whether it’s on gravel

Or on snowshoes in the winter! Side note: can’t wait to explore trails here in New England this winter.

Reading really good books is also one of my favorite ways to de-stress and make time for myself.

Kitty cuddles and enjoying a cup of hot cocoa is also pretty grand. adds hot cocoa mix and mini marshmallows to my grocery shopping list

Sometimes a really good pint of Ben & Jerrys also works.

Signing up for really scary running goals and then accomplishing them is one of the most powerful feelings ever. Also knowing when you have had too much or can no longer finish something then honoring yourself and backing away is important too.

And the thing that I’m loving the most right now? 5 minutes of meditation and journaling in the morning before the day begins. I love to get my thoughts out there, set intentions for the day, and just have a few moments to collect myself. Sometimes it doesn’t happen and that’s OK, but when it does- I consider this one of my most powerful ways to give back to ME.

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What are your favorite ways to show yourself some self-care and self-love?

Checking In On Monthly Goals!

HOW is it already April on Monday?!? Also- WHY does March always go by so fast? I have so many questions and so little answers. I guess it’s time to check back on my goals for March and look ahead to my goals for April. This last month has been STRESSFUL. I barely hit any of my goals and honestly some days, just felt like I was trying to stay afloat. I hope April will be better, but honestly I think the next few months will FLY by and I may not hit most of my goals (which is OK! I’m human!). Also it’s all good because we have the cutest kitties around.

March Goals:

• Yoga 1x /week - YES! I hit ONE of my goals! I’ve been LOVING yoga. Yay.

• Meditate 1x/ week- I think I got 3 of the 4 weeks. Not bad, but not great.

• Ski @ 1 new-to-me Mtn- nope…

• Do 3 pulls up- HA. no. I’m SO SCARED to try them at the gym! I need your tips to get over my very irrational fear.

• Daily gratitude of 5 things- Yes. I love to do this and look back on my day and find 5 things I’m grateful for (even if it was an unbelievably crappy day)!

• Visualize Race- I did this more-so the beginning of the month, but have been struggling a bit more with it the past week or so. Hoping to get back on track next month.

• Save $$$- Did OK with this. Always room for improvement!

SOURCE

April Goals:

• Yoga 1 x / week

• Meditate 1x /week

• Read 2 books

• Do 3 pull-ups

• Visualize Race Course

• PR THE MARATHON!

• Save $$$$$$$

SOURCE

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What are some of your goals for April???

Any tips to get past my fear of trying to do a pull-up at the gym? Should I just get one of those pull-up bars to have at home instead??!?

Stressed About Everything And My Top FIVE Favorite Pump-Up Songs!

Happy Friday-eve! How’s the week going for you? I’ve honestly had better, but know that on Sunday it will all (mostly) subside. I’ve honestly just been on the struggle stress bus for a while now. I’ve tried to keep my stress at bay (meditating, sleeping, good nutrition, yoga, reading a good book - which these all definitely HELP for sure), but it is still so present and weighing on me. By now I would normally pull-back from something to ease it, but I’m almost done teaching skiing and my skating calendar is lighter for the month of March so I’m staying optimistic that these things will decrease my stress. Work is extremely stressful right now and honestly I just wish there was something I could do about it. You know that something needs to change when you physically dread going somewhere every morning and unfortunately that is where I’m at at the moment. Looking at this face helps.

Journaling has also really been helping me lately just write down all my thoughts and purge everything on my mind at the moment. My right eye has been twitching for what only seems like a million years and when I get too stressed out, I tend to isolate myself (which I KNOW isn’t good for me, but I do it anyways). I get real crabby and hate to be even around myself. I’m a work in progress and I think it’s a big step for me to just acknowledge how I’m feeling (even if I’m not at the point of acting on it yet).

It’s so funny to me to hear so many reports these days on how ‘millennials are the most stressed generation’, ‘most anxious generation’, ‘we spend 20 percent of our year stressed’ and yet, these reports are making me even MORE stressed out! I would be lying if I said that all of my stress stems from my work, but that’s really the only one that I’m able to talk openly about at the moment (life stress & financial stress are two others). Until I figure things out, I guess I’ll continue to find those moments of peace while journaling, meditating, and doing yoga (oh, and running helps too!). I’m really loving my goal marathon paced runs and long runs because they give me either 1. more time to work through my stressors or 2. run faster and leave it all in the dust (or well…I feel like I am!).

PLUS running to music is my ‘guilty pleasure’ and these are my favorite songs right now to just really run it all out.

SOURCE

1. Glorious By Macklemore ft. Skylar Grey

2. Wild Horses By Bishop Briggs

3. Wings By Mac Miller

4. Litost by X Ambassadors (it’s a slow song, but I just love it for my cool down!)

5. 7 Rings By Ariana Grande

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Favorite way to de-stress?

We need a new movie to watch this weekend- any recommendations?! We LOVED Bohemian Rhapsody!

How many cups of coffee is considered ‘too much’? Asking for a friend….

Tips For Incorporating & Sticking With Your New Years Resolutions!

Happy Friday-eve! I am still slightly in denial that the Holidays are over. It just goes by so fast! But I’m also equally excited to get back on a regular schedule (hello type-A personality ; ) …). I’ve been feeling a bit run-down lately, so I’m trying to listen to my body more and slow down/sleep in (or skip a run) before it becomes a full-fledged cold. I’m unfortunately not one of those people that can just slow down on a run and NOT get sick. It’s funny how it’s taken me this long to realize that, but I’m also excited to finally come to that realization and hope that maybe this means I won’t get another sinus infection this year?!? I’ve also come to the conclusion that this is one of the best desserts- greek yogurt & homemade granola (SO much less sugar when you make your own too- and it’s super easy!).

When it’s too cold for a morning run (it was -14* yesterday!)- I love streaming this yoga video (AND it’s only 10 minutes and free on youtube!).

Also- read this book on my New Years Day (I rented it at the library, but loved it so much that I ordered my own copy) and incorporated her 50 miler training plan into my current Hanson’s Marathon Method. The plans were honestly pretty similar in weekly mileage (until April and then it’s all about those longer distance runs), so I stuck with similar mileage and kept the Hanson’s speedworkouts/ temp runs (cut down the warm-up/ cool-down miles) and then increased my runs on the weekend. I’m also going to be adding in some negative-split runs in my longer runs, along with alternating every-other week speedwork with hill repeat work instead. I think it will be a nice blend of the two and I can still keep my speed steady (not exactly increasing it since I’ve already trained for this marathon time goal within the past year) while increasing mileage. I’m also going to be really present on slowing way down on my easy days (I’m thinking 11:xx pace) to keep my heartrate low and maximize my speed. I love this story and will not just be thinking about my race as ‘spreading the peanut butter’, but also my training that I need to spread the PB evenly.

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Tips For Incorporating & Sticking With Your News Years Resolutions!

In 2018, I actually wrote down my new years goals (I don’t really like the word ‘resolution’ because we’re all growing and improving rather than a full-on ‘cut something bad out’) and then incorporated what my ‘long term goals’ were into monthly goals. While I didn’t accomplish all the goals I set out for myself in 2018, I felt like I accomplished so much more since I kept track of them (writing them out in a planner/ on a piece of paper that I often look at). I also believe that this is one of the main reasons why I hit my MS Run The US fundraising goal.

• Write them down somewhere you can see them EVERY DAY.

• Make a few larger goals for the year and then make monthly goals to help you reach your larger one. Make sure that they’re something that’s in your control and that’s honestly achieveable. I.E. When I wanted to raise $10,000, I had an A, B, and C fundraising $ goals. My A goal was really achieveable, but my C goal was my ‘dream fundraising $’ for that month. This can also be helpful if you want to run ‘x’ amount of miles, incorporate new fitness goals into your routine, cut down on ‘x’ in your diet, or lose ‘x’ amount of weight. Nothing will happen overnight or in a week, so be patient and work on it in small increments.

• Re-assess after a month if you’re still unable reach your goal. Is it not attainable? Do you need more support for your family? Are you able to move things around in your schedule to help you reach your goal?

• Cross them off your monthly goals when you achieve something! Nothing brings my more satisfaction to cross something off my monthly (OR yearly!) goals. It makes me feel like I’m really getting somewhere with my goals and gives me that extra boost to achieve something else on my list.

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Favorite way to incorporate Yoga into your schedule?

50 miler finishers out there- any tips for a beginner?!?

How do you stay accountable with your goals?