Backing Up to Last Week and February Goals

Well, after documenting the first Monday in February yesterday, it's only fair that we look back to the last week of January before continuing with the month.

My parents came into town for just about two days last week, a short visit between two longer trips for them. We got to catch up on their two-week cruise and side trips in South America (amazing!), and of course they got to hang out with Marshall.

My mom and I also went shopping! We rarely do that nowadays, so it was nice to get an hour or two in while PopPop watched Marshall. I bought a new coat! And yes, I look super moody. So fashionable.

We ordered pizza and made salad for their first night here and went out for the second night. My parents suggested that Terry and I go to happy hour and then catch up with them afterward, which was a fun mini-date for us. Marshall was pretty tuckered out and didn't want to stay up so late, though, so that made for a bit of fussing. We also got to check out all my dad's photos from their vacation, and I loved hearing about their trip, especially since I don't know many people who have traveled to South America.

Then on Friday morning they were off again, back home, and Terry, Marshall, and I headed out for a run before the rain came. We had two more to go as of Friday, and I'm happy to say that we managed to complete our January goal of 20 miles in 25 days! Honestly, I wasn't sure we'd make it, and we had to squeeze in five miles those last two days, but we did it!

A little recap: Most of our runs were two or three miles at a time (usually two). We took it very easy, around 5.5 mph (my pre-pregnancy pace was 6-6.5 mph), and Terry had the stroller, so that added an extra challenge for him. We ended up running about three times per week, which was way more than we would have done without a little goal to get us going. I really enjoyed getting out there to run again, and I'm glad I had a buddy to keep me motivated, because I definitely would have skipped a few days without Terry's push!

As soon as we got into the groove of our January goal, I asked Terry what he wanted to do for February. We chose different goals this time around, but I think they work well together: for me, three days of yoga per week, and for Terry, three days of strength training per week. I'm designing Terry's workouts (fun for me!), and I'm using online (free!) yoga videos or DVDs I already own for my yoga. I'm shooting for thirty minutes each time, but my favorite video is 45 minutes, so maybe I'll throw some 20-minute ones in, too.

Also, I'm not a purist by any means, and I'm excited to have found a running groove again, so hopefully we can keep running once a week or so; it's just not our focus this month. With the baby and Terry's work/commute and other commitments, we just want to set a goal to keep fitness as a priority and to push ourselves a little more than we did last year. Naturally, I'll join Terry for some strength training, and I'm sure he'll do a little yoga with me here and there. We'll see how it goes!

I did my first yoga video tonight, a 30-minute video I found on YouTube. It wasn't amazing, but it focused on stretching, which was what I wanted. And here's Terry's workout:

I had him do the whole thing twice. The first time he did 8-10 reps, and the second time 6-8 reps, with a medium-heavy weight. 

And now some photos from today:

Marshall's My Gym class, where he crawled through a tunnel.

And pizza lunch with Daddy!

How's your February starting? Any fun plans this month?