Y is for Yoga Rocks the Park

May 12, 2015.Reading time 2 minutes.

I’ve seen pop-up yoga all over Instagram lately. I had serious FOMO when I saw my friends practicing at Nelson-Atkins on the lawn so you can imagine my excitement when I discovered Yoga Rocks the Park. These local events feature 75-minute outdoor yoga classes (beginners welcome) featuring Kansas City’s most inspiring local and national yoga teachers. All sessions are accompanied by a DJ or live music. Each event provides a unique opportunity to support local businesses within the KC community.

D is for Dharma Yoga Wheel

May 6, 2015.Reading time 1 minute.

Yogis all over Instagram are using these little wheels so I immediately did some investigating. This original yoga wheel is a hand crafted back roller used to open the entire back + shoulders, align the spine, relax muscles, expand the chest and stretch hip flexors + quads. As a runner, I am super tight in all these areas (I don’t have a flexible back either) so I decided to order one of these bad boys. When they say hand crafted, they mean it. It took Dharma 5 weeks to create my wheel before it even shipped.

B is for Beach Party Half Marathon

April 23, 2015.Reading time 5 minutes.

So the bae is recovering from a super serial injury. Last season (spring 2014) he ruptured his Achilles during a match and has been working his a$$ off ever since to get back to his passion of playing soccer. I’m over ambitious and figured he’d be back on the pitch by now so I booked a flight to L.A. for the Galaxy game and figured I’d check off my first destination race in sunny CA while I was there. Long story short, he’s not 100% (but don’t worry, he’s oh-so-close). He wasn’t able to travel but that didn’t stop me from running 13.1.

B is for Brew to Brew

April 15, 2015.Reading time 5 minutes.

I’ve never done a relay before so I was really excited for this one. Brew to Brew is a point-to-point 45.3 mile relay from Boulevard Brewery in KC, MO to basically Johnny’s Tavern in Lawrence, KS. The relay consists of 10 legs, each being approximately four miles distance. Relay teams are allowed 2-10 peeps per team. We had 7 (4 girls, 3 boys), which means a few peeps had to run two legs.

H is for Hitch Fit

April 7, 2015.Reading time 3 minutes.

Sweat Summary
Website: http://www.hitchfitgym.com
Address: W. 91st St. Overland Park, KS 66212
Avg. length of session: 1hr
Drop in rate: $60 per session
ClassPass: No
Wtfartlek Sweat Scale: 7 out of 10
Best for: personal training + diet and nutrition

Don’t judge me, but the free weight area intimidates me. I 100% understand the importance of strength training but for whatever reason I am super weird about lifting in a crowded gym.

Running: Hydration & Fuel

March 31, 2015.Reading time 5 minutes.

More than anything, people have been asking me about hydration and fueling, which is always a hard question for me to answer. Although there are plenty of scientific examinations of fueling and hydration strategies, there is no universal practice or formula. What works for one person might not work best for you. Every runner is unique.

C is for City Gym

March 23, 2015.Reading time 3 minutes.

City Gym is on ClassPass so I really wanted to check it out. It is one of the only traditional gyms on CP and is located near me in Waldo. City Gym is 11,000 square feet with 1,900 square feet of indoor turf. Hailee the owner used to be a professional soccer player so I think that is where she got the inspo. The inside is sleek with rad interior finishes + all the latest fitness equipment. Green is definitely the theme at City Gym. Green is the color of nature and represents growth, harmony and freshness. It encourages stability and endurance and has great healing power! (Makes perfect sense to me.)

I’m ❤ing ClassPass

March 20, 2015.Reading time 3 minutes.

I’ve been pushing ClassPass hard to all my followers + friends and with good reason. CP arrived in KC last month and personally, I thought the moment would never come. I feel like Kansas City is usually the last place to get kewl things but times are changing. CP is in 28 different American cities and in February, the company booked 600,000 reservations through its services – wowza!

Race Recap: Big 12 Run

March 16, 2015.Reading time 2 minutes.

It had been a long time since my last race. Over 3 months. I was pretty nervous because I didn’t follow a strict training plan. Usually I run 3+ times a week and mix in cross training but this winter it was hard to pull it off. Instead, I relied heavily on high intensity workouts and my long runs. Both my running buddies accompanied me for the 12k – snaps to Mevans & Abies.

B is for Big 12 Run

March 13, 2015.Reading time 1 minute.

Oh snap. Two months of training have come and gone and race week is finally here! I haven’t experienced race week jitters since last November when I ran the Gobbler Grind Half Marathon. I’ve been training hard but not in the traditional sense. Weekends this winter were rough. I am a wimp when it comes to cold weather so I swapped out my normal running routine and added more cross training and HIIT training.