2015 year in review

As 2015 is coming to an end, I'd say it was a great year fitness wise.

I was pretty diligent about working out 5-6 times a week. (Gotta have that off day. I get hurt when I try to skip my rest day.) I think I was eating healthier and when I started running I actually slimmed down some (for the first time in two years! Nothing else worked.)

2015: The year of the Gym Rat.

1. I tried lots of new classes.
1) Above Barre
2) Rush fitness classes
3) Flying trapeze at Leap and Cirque Fit
4) Sparc fitness classes
5) Body Shred at Chase Street Yoga
6) Beginner Pole
7) Gymnastics at Oconee Gymnastics
8) Handstands at Canopy
9) Pilates—tower and mat
10) Walk Georgia Boot camp
11) Walk Georgia Fitness at noon
12) ice skating. (no class, but counting this as something new).

I did nine months of Pure Barre—for a total of 120+ classes. I made it to the 100 club in about six months. Pure Barre was my obsession for the first half of the year. I even took a class at their Destin studio. I let my membership expire in August—mostly because of cost. At $150 a month, it was just too much and I really like to do more classes and try different things.

2015 was definitely the year of flying trapeze. I did my first class on my birthday and did classes until the rig closed. I learned

Tricks
1) Knee hang
2) Whip
3) Split catch
4) Seat roll from whip
5) Pullover shoot
6) Single Reverse
7) Never caught my cutaway—WANT TO GET THIS
8) Backend split
9) Backend straddle
10) started learning straight jump —COME back to.

Running
I ran 245+ miles in 2015. I started off running once a week—just to vary up my workout and get some cardio in. I tried to increase my mileage too fast and had IT band issues for about 6 weeks, but then kept it up strong, bumping it to twice a week and then three times a week in the fall when I killed my barre membership (and needed to workout without the fees.)

By the numbers
Miles ran: 245+
Best mile: 7:19
Best 2 mile: 15:35
Best 3 mile: 23:02 for 3 miles on an indoor track
Furthest ran: 4.5 miles

In high school I was a runner. I honestly haven't run this much since 2001 when I graduated high school. I was a speedy little thing and I trained so hard. Two-a-days when I could. I'd run a mile or two in the morning, or do weights, and then running and or weights after school. I ran six days a week—most days between 2 and 6 miles. My best times ever were a 62 second 400, a 2:17 800, a 5:58 mile. I don't remember my 2 mile time. 12 and change? And I think I got under 20 minutes for a 5k.

In college, I didn't have time to workout. I went to college full-time and worked 20+ hours a week. I didn't really have the time to workout until I switched jobs three years ago. Once or twice a year, I'd try to get back into running but this is the first year it stuck. I have a $15/moth gym membership and feel like I need to use the indoor track once every week or two so I'm not wasting my money.

I dropped my barre membership to pay for playing trapeze—and started running more as workouts. I'd run trails when the weather is nice and on the indoor track when the weather was cold. In October I really amped up the miles and my times started dropping. I don't feel the need to run every day. I think running every other day suits me just fine.

In 2016, I should run a 5K and I want to join a running group or get a coach to help me drop the times. I think it's something I want to make time for.

Tumbling

I'm working on my front fly spring—hopefully I can double this in 2016. Maybe even work on a front handspring on the floor.
I'd like to work on my front and back walkovers too. I need to go back to my kickovers and work some.

Still working on my handstand but it's getting better.

I got my pull-up!

I started missing trampolines so I need to go once a week if I can. I just love bouncing.

Top 10 active wear purchases this year

I bought way too much active wear this year. I did focus more on good pieces that I would actually wear—and tried to buy less that I'd never wear. Here are some of my favorite purchases of 2015—based on how much I like them and how much I wear them.

1. Lululemon Run Stuff Your Bra.
This sports bra is cute, comfy and it has pockets for your phone and keys. I like to keep my iPhone with me when I run so this is perfect. I'd get three more if I could—but Lulu isn't selling them in the U.S. Every other country, but not the U.S.

Think I'm wearing Stash It crop, the Run
Stuff Your Bra and the UA tank in this photo.

2. Lululemon Stash It Crop.
I bought these in Lululemon's online warehouse sale this summer. I wear them once or twice a week because—THEY HAVE POCKETS high on the hips. I've gotten others with lower pockets and then your phone just knocks against your leg.  And when I run trails I need to keep my phone and keys on me.
I need 2 more pairs of these.

3. Werkshop dragon crops
These are my badass crops. I usually wear them to flying trapeze. They're just awesome.
(I need more Werkshop in my life in 2016. They have the best designs.) Still available. Werkshop panther is next on my list.

4. Lululemon Wunder Unders
I got a pair of plain black Wunder Unders for my birthday and I just love wearing them. They're so soft and I look forward to wearing them and always feel like a million bucks when I wear them. I have a black and regal plum print that I love and a grey jacquard pair that I wear weekly. I love these. Especially the ones that feel like cotton.

5. Lululemon neck warmers
I'm asthmatic and keeping my airways warm and happy is a big part of my life. Cold constricts my airways so I need to keep my throat warm—and my nose and mouth covered when it's especially cold. These neck warmers are amazing. They're soft and lightweight and exactly what this cold sensitive girl needs. They're like a fashionable version of a neck gaiter. They have a drawstring where you could keep it above your nose if you wanted.

Think I'm wearing it this photo. 

6. Victoria's Secret Seamless Long Sleeve Tee in green space dye.
I have a soft spot for green and I love this long sleeve T. I bought it New Year's 2015 so it barely makes the cut. I wear it all the time and would get more but I bought it on clearance and they don't make it anymore.

7. Lululemon tracker shorts
I don't like shorts. I didn't wear shorts for years because I'm WEIRD about my thighs. I have huge quads (running, barre, trampolining you name it) and most shorts make my thighs look like tree trunks. These are the shortest shorts I've found that work. And they're super soft and comfy. Even better than the Nike tempo short.

8. Lululemon Jet Crop Slim
I saw these pants in the Lululemon show room and thought I could dress these up for work. They're super soft and passable for work with heels and a flowy top. Love. I wear them on the weekend after working out. They're a dressier version of a sweatpant.
I'm not crazy about the baggy crotch, but I still tend to wear these pants ALL THE TIME. Every weekend.

9. Lululemon Cool Racer Back in Raspberry Glo Light
I wasn't originally a fan of Lulu's CRB. They just made me look like I had a muffin top. I dropped three pounds from running and the size 6 looks much better on me. This neon tank is amazing. I want to wear it all of the time. I can't wash it often enough. I know I'm super late to the neon party—but this made me like neon—for runs when the sun is setting or to just feel like an athlete. I since went out and bought more neon.

10. Under Armour Fly-By Stretch Mesh
I have a few of these because they are so awesome. The back is mesh—they're light and perfect for sweaty workouts. I like that they're long too. I wear my purple and black ones the most, but also have hot pink and probably a few more colors.

Yes, there's a lot of lululemon on here. I promised I tried other brands. These are just what I LOVE most.

Honorable mentions from other brands
• Athleta Ponte pant. Dress pants made of yoga pants material. I bought these in December and think I'll wear them a lot in the coming year.
• Glyder Cardio Freek Crop. I LOVED these for about two months and now that they're broken in, I'm not crazy about them. They showed some crotch sweat at tumbling one night and I haven't like them the same since.
Brands I tried: Rese, Beyond Yoga, Alo Yoga, Splits 59, Onzie, Trina Turk
I continue to loathe Fabletics.

Lulu honorable mentions
1) My reversible black and white stripe bikini. Someone invite me to a pool party so I can wear it.
2) Runderful half zip. I need colder weather so I can wear this again ASAP. (Love my think fast pullovers from 2014.)
3) Running socks. I've been all about fancy running socks lately.
4) 105 singlet. This top is so soft. But they stopped making it :(
5) Align pant. Super soft. Love wearing these.

2015 goals: How did I do?

Here are the goals I set for 2015 last year—how did I do?

1) Get my left split—Done

2) Front tuck on the floor (with a spring board is acceptable)—DNF
       I never really worked on this. I started flipping over my shoulder so I had to go back to basics.

3) Climb once a month—FAIL
      I haven't climbed since February :( I want to climb more, but need to find the time.

4) Keep trying new classes (once a month if I can find something new)- DONE
    Did good on this one. Tried flying trapeze, pilates, Body Shred, Walk Georgia Boot camp classes, pole, SPARC training center. 

5) Take a class at Leap Flying Trapeze school- DONE. Obsessed.

6) Try the 6 a.m. Pure Barre class. FAIL
      Never got around to this one. Oh well.

7) The the vertical pole class at Canopy. DONE

8) Hold a handstand for at least 5 or 10 second

I can definitely hold for five seconds. Not 10 yet. Going to take a handstand class in January. I really need to start practicing at home!

9) Buy something from Lululemon. (Maybe a cute top for my birthday). Done.
     For 2016, I probably need to buy less Lululemon :( Bought too much.  Pinterest says I have almost 80 pieces including socks and a lot of mark downs.) 

10) Keep working on 6-pack abs. (One day!)
   I'm pretty happy with my abs.

I added some mid year goals in this summer. How'd I do on those?

1) Bump up running to twice a week. ---DONE. I now run 3x a week.  
2) Run a 5k. Before next summer. Still to do. 
3) Run a 5k in under 25 minutes. Can do this on flat surfaces. Not hills yet. 
4) Get a fitness tracker. Apple watch :) 
5) Touch my feet to my head. (Handstand scorpion).
Still working on this. 

6) Do body composition testing. Still to do. 
7) Make a fitness plan for the fall. This changed every week. I'm not sure what I'm doing in January yet. 
8) In 2016, find some relay races to run in like the Chick Fil-A Half or the All Comers Track meet.
9) Take a class at Blast. Still to do. 
10) Try a pilates class.  Done. 

All in all I'd say I made good progress in 2015.

I completely 6 of my original 10 goals. And 5 of my mid year goals with progress towards the rest. I have a 
good baseline for 2016 goals. I'll go work on those now. How did you do? 

Nerdy Girl's Guide to Ice Skating

I have never been ice skating before. I grew up in the rural South. We didn't ice skate.

I went roller-skating once in my life at a rink an hour away from my house. Skating isn't something I'm familiar with.

When a friend wanted to get a group together, I decided it was time to try ice skating.

I was pretty hesitant given how accident prone I am. Skating is dangerous.

But Athens had a skating rink for a few years now and it was time.

I bundled up—I wore wool socks, my warmest leggings, a full half zip from Lululemon, a neck warmer and a cute hat from the Gap. (I hate being cold.) And I think I dressed right. I wasn't too hot or too cold.

My husband bought tickets and we headed down to the rink. They give you orange skates in your size and you go to nearby chairs and put them on. They had a plastic adjustable buckle—one on the foot one of the ankle. And it wasn't easy to adjust and put the skates on. And you want them to be snug.

Standing on the ice skates wasn't hard. I felt taller.

Then I walked out on the ice.

Well, first there was a traffic jam to get on the ice—with people not wanting to get on the ice and people taking pictures and just being in the way.

I got on the ice—and sure enough it was cold and slick. I decided to walk slowly around the rink—hand on the wall while I got used to it. About 1/4 of the way around, I got over confident and thought I could skate. I took my hand off the wall—and fell hard. I bruised my hand and thought for about two seconds that I broke my wrist. I got up. Shook it off and kept skating. I knew I was going to fall so that much was over with. The problem was I fell on my butt—but tried to catch myself with my hands and ended up bruising my palm pretty bad. That was my worst fall of the night.

If you look closely, my palm is bruised under my thumb. Not a shadow.
The lower left of my hand was bruised. Better in a week. 

I did a few more laps, still sticking to the wall but trying to not use it as much.

I felt like I'd gotten the hang of it—when my friend (was he an Olympic skater? he's awesome) came and told me to push out (the side not forward backward) and to keep my nose, toes and knees in a line. I tried it and promptly fell a second time. Not as badly. I laughed.

I was getting the hang of skating—the problem was the rink was very crowded. And crowded full of people who couldn't skate, so everyone was hugging the walls. And it was hard to pass people hanging on the wall and going to slow—or people too terrified to move.

Another downside: teenage girls. They were stopping to chat. They were skating in Red Rover chains five wide and impossible to pass. They were the ones generally causing the problems as they jammed traffic for a selfie or skated snail speed because they didn't want to be there in the first place.

I ended up falling three times and felt like I mostly got it by the time we left. I was still scared of going to fast and falling. And I haven't figured out how to stop. I'll do that next time.

For now my method of stopping is grabbing on to the wall. I went to say hi to a friend and then realized I could stop—so I almost ran into her. But the catcher from flying trapeze stopped me. Twice that night. This is why you skate with flying trapeze friends.

All in all—I had fun skating. I'd go back. (When my hand bruise heals. Though next time I might wear my climbing gloves to protect my hands.)

Matt was a pro. He saw the camera of course and got thrown off ;) 

My husband was awesome at it. He used to rollerblade. He could skate backwards. But I know this would happen. He's good at everything :)

If you go

• Go with friends. Maybe someone who show you how to skate or help you take your skates on or off.

Wear warm clothes. Maybe a hat and gloves. Don't wear jeans.

Be prepared to fall. And you want to skate with your nose, knees and toes in line. Almost a squat with your butt slightly out, because if you fall, you want to fall on your butt. And not your hands and definitely not your head.

Take breaks when you need them. I got off the ice several times to catch my breath, because I was tired etc.

Fitness Christmas list for Santa

Santa Baby,

I've been an awfully good girl this year. I've run hundreds of mile, tucked at Pure Barre, leapt at Flying Trapeze, flipped at the trampoline park and finally got my pull-up.

This year, I'd like the following fitness items:

1. Padded run socks, $14-$18
I love a pair of good dark colored run socks. I have a few pair of Lulu run socks. I could use 2 more pair so I'm not constantly washing them.
I prefer dark colors so they don't show Georgia red mud that gets on everything. Also, no no-show socks. I hate when socks fall down when I'm running. No fun.

Bonus: Hickies for my running shoes so I don't have to worry about tying laces. (They replace the laces.) $15

2.Sports bra with pockets, $42-$52
Canada has the Lululemon Run Stuff Your Bra, which I need two more of. The U.S. doesn't have it.
So I'm looking at the North Face Women's Stow-N-Go II-SS Sports Bra in a medium.

There's also a Swoob pocket bra, but I'm not sure I like that design as much. I want to be able to fit my iPhone 6 in my bra for tunes when I run (and to connect with my Apple Watch.)

3. S'Well water bottle, $45
Why does this water bottle cost so much? Is it the best thing ever? I feel like I need to try to find out.
(Bonus, celebrities swear by it. I've seen it on a lot of Favorite Things list.)

I'm also curious about the Hydro Flask bottles that the sorority girls all carry.  ($18-$42)

4. Jaxx Fitpack, $40
This is pretty much what it looks like when I bring my food for the day to work: breakfast, snack, lunch, snacks—so many containers. I need this spiffy lunchbox. Because food—I eat a lot of it.

5. Wireless headphones. Maybe cool neon ones. Something for listening to tunes when I run. I ordered some cute pink ones from Amazon, but the jack didn't fit in my iPhone 6 with case, and I need this Lifeproof case and am not taking it off my phone.

6. Pretty much any crops (or swimsuits) from Werkshop
• Werkshop Panther (on left)
• Werkshop Owl
• Tiger, Monkey or Elephant. Haven't decided which is my favorite.
Because I'm pretty sure they are the most awesome crops ever. I love wearing them.

7. Vegan Protein powder. For smoothies after gymnastics. (I need protein but don't feel like eating.)
I should just order this but don't want to spend $40 on something I might not like the taste of. (No whey protein for me. Milk allergy.)

8. Class Pass to come to Athens so I can take unlimited classes for $100 a month instead of my current situation of paying multiple memberships and fees.
(Will also accept gift certificates to the trampoline park or to try new local fitness classes.)

9. Trapeze rig for my yard ($30,000)
 OR a trapeze rig to open up driving distance from my house.
(Will also accept gift certificate for a Club Med vacation to a location with flying trapeze.)

10. Mini Cooper Countryman to get me to and from the gym, $23k+
Because I drive a nine-year-old Subaru and don't want a car payment, but I do LOVE mini coopers. (Blue please!)

If that doesn't work I will also accept gift certificates to Lululemon.

Not on my list: Apple watch. My present to myself for all of this miles logged!

Also looked at Polar M400 as a fancy running watch.

Review: Splits59

How I wore it: Black and white crops + neon

Splits59 is a brand I first heard about in barre class. It's one of the brands the teachers wear and the studio sells.

I've been drooling over these black and white crops in a numbers print since the summer. (1. Love black and white. 2. Love mesh cutouts.  3. Love numbers. I obsessively count things.) I didn't want to pay $116 for them so I waited for a sale. And waited, and waited. I think I waited four months for these crops.

Finally, I gave in and ordered them with 10% off and free shipping from Splits59. (Not a deal. I did find them 15% off with shipping elsewhere and I don't like to pay shipping so I went with the Splits59 retail store.) And the crops took 10 days to get here. My plan was to get them before the Black Friday sales so I would know what size to order when there were sales. Unfortunately for me, the crops arrived the Tuesday after cyber Monday. (Seriously, clothes I bought Saturday from California with free shipping got to me faster.)

When the crops finally got here—I didn't really want them any more because it took so long. And they were too small.

Splits59 Sizing

I'm 5'5, 130 pounds with an athletic build. I don't have a narrow waist. I'm kind of boy shaped—straight up and down, but have narrow hips for my build.

I'm pretty solidly a size small (Victoria's Secret, Under Armour, Fabletics.) I wear a 6 in Lululemon bottoms. (Have fit into a 4 before.)

I had no idea how Splits59 sizing ran. I went by their size guide that said 27" waist and 37" hips is a small. (My hips fall in the XS range.)

But overall, they run WAY SMALL. In fact, I wear a medium in Werkshop, but their website does explicitly state to order a size up. Splits doesn't do this. Their website even says true to size. I say their sizing is a full size small. (Lululemon size 6 = Splits59 medium.)

Size small shown over a Lululemon size 6.
The small is much smaller than a 6 through the whole leg. 

Small above, medium below. 

An inch smaller in the waist.

Splits59 medium has the exact same waist
as a 6 in Lululemon. 

I did email customer service about sizing and got a response 3 days later with a link to their sizing guide (that I'd already looked at.) By then, I'd already ordered. In this instant world, that's too long.

Pros
Splits59 does ship in a pretty box.

The print is cool and has a sexy mesh insert.

Cons
Their return policy is you have 7 days to make a return and you can't return sale items of 30% off or more. I ordered with 10% off so I could return.

And you have to email from an RMA, which didn’t take that long. It was relatively painless, but not as easy as an Athleta return.

Meh
Also, I do like the look of the crops, but they're very cottony. For that much money I was expecting super technical racing fabric, not something that felt slightly more like sweat pants than cotton Wunder Unders. Seriously, they look like they have a sheen online.

Verdict:
I do actually love these crops. The print is amazing. They're fun to wear :)

I ended up buying a Medium from ShopBop during their Black Friday sale for $30 cheaper than what I paid from Splits. And Shopbop has a better return policy.

I'm not sure I'm in love with this brand. I bought an overpriced Splits 59 tank this summer and wore it once and hated it. I didn't like how low it draped in the front. I know I would wear a sports bra under it, but the back was so narrow, it looks tacky to wear even a racer back. I think on sale the tank ended up being $64, which was too much money, but I think I just handed my card blindly over thinking the tank couldn't have been more than $40 on sale and didn't realize the price until I was out of state.

If I order a Splits59 product again, it will be from another online retailer. They're sold at ShopBop, Revolve, Bandier, Nordstrom, Carbon38 and more.

(Note: They clearanced this style on black Friday and I think it's sold out. Bandier still has a few pairs of the full length legging with just a numbers print at the bottom.)

Really loved this outfit. Black and white + neon. I thought white would have been too obvious a choice and my hot pink tank was dirty. Loved the neon green. I paired it with a pink Athleta half zip. I think any super saturated color would go with these crops. I can't wait to match them with something else.