What has my fitness been like lately?

When 2014 rolled around, I set myself some fitness goals for the year.  I was very happy with everything I achieved in 2013, and was looking forward to what 2014 had in store.  I also had some personal (non fitness related goals), and if you follow be on Instagram or Twitter, you might already know that my husband and I are expecting our first child in October of this year! While I planned to be (and to this day still am) very active throughout my whole pregnancy, I quickly decided that maybe this year was not the year for these goals.  After talking to my doctor, I got the go ahead to continue exercising (and teaching fitness classes), but as far as pushing myself beyond my current fitness level - I just didn't feel comfortable doing that.  I did manage to hit one of those goals about a week before I got pregnant, so I can check off "run a 5k in under 25 minutes".

Once I found out I was pregnant, I was a little scared to keep up with my workouts, specifically running.  My running workouts were typically completed in the early hours of the morning, and while I was very lucky in the "morning sickness" department, I still didn't feel great in the mornings.  At first I did try to keep up with my "1000 miles in 2014" goal, running 91 miles in January, 84 miles in February and 74 miles in March, but tracking the miles was putting a lot of pressure on me, so I decided to save this goal for 2015.  As it turns out, at around 14 weeks, I developed some pelvic pain that has pretty much stopped all running for the time being.  I was able to run the Philly Love Run in March, and although I didn't train to hit my "under 1 hour and 50 minutes" goal, I finished the race (came in at about 2 hours and 10 minutes) and felt AMAZING!

Not running has given me more time to try out other workouts, or spend more time doing the workouts I was already doing. I'm spending more time with Insanity (about 2 times/week) and Melissa Bender workouts (about once/week).  I've also been able to continue teaching 3 classes/week (boot camp, Bodypump and step aerobics).  Sometimes it takes a little extra creativity to motivate the class when my own energy is dragging, but I'm up for the challenge.  I'm also BEYOND excited to start Chalene Johnson's BRAND NEW AT HOME PiYo workout program.  I just ordered mine yesterday, and I think it's going to be a great way to add some variety to my fitness.  PiYo is an amazing workout that previously was only available in select gyms, but now you can order your own at a HUGE discount (while supplies last).  This program is a mix between Pilates and Yoga and helps build lean muscle!  Think - fast hot yoga but with the air conditioning on and awesome music playing!

So for now, I'm still working out about 6 times/week and loving this whole pregnancy journey.  I'm taking it day by day without any expectations.  I'm trying my best not to worry about every workout or every pound gained, and I look forward to revisiting my 2014 goals next year!

What have I been blogging about?

Over the past year, my blog posts have covered topics from recipes to healthy habits to workouts and more!  Below are my top 5 blog posts: Confessions of a group exercise instructor Everything you need to know about P90x3 Friends of FitYaf - How I Became a Fitness Blogger: Melissa Bender Fitness Working out with friends & 7 other habits of highly fit people FitYaf's Fitness Friday Low Impact HIIT Workout

My readers come from all over the world, but here are the top 5 cities where people love FitYaf: Philadelphia New York Chicago Minneapolis Los Angeles

What is coming in the future?

Happy New Year everyone!  I took a break from blogging over the holidays, but I'm back and ready for a great year!  I wasn't really planning on setting any goals for the year (I tend to think more in the shorter term when it comes to goals), but last week I attended a New Year's run at Philadelphia Runner (which wound up being a 5k in the snow), and as part of the after party, we declared our 2014 running goals.  I had some running goals that I've been thinking about for a while now, so I decided to declare them loud and proud (and throw in some extras for good measure).  After all - sharing goals with the world is one of the best ways hold yourself accountable, right?  I bring to you both my running AND fitness goals for 2014!

1. Run a 5k in under 25 minutes I'll be doing a modified version of this workout 2-3 times/week: How far can you run in 30 minutes? (doing the workout three times before going to the next level).  I'll also throw in some speed workouts for good measure.  This goal is a little bit of a "cheat" goal, since I'm already pretty close!

2. Run a half marathon in under 1 hour and 50 minutes

I'm hoping that my weekday training (goal #1), will help me meet this goal.  I haven't had many long runs since the Philly Half Marathon, but starting this week, I'm going to change that.  I'm signed up for the Philly LOVE Run on March 30, so this will be my first chance to tackle this goal.  It'll be 3:25 off my last half marathon, so it's a little bit of a stretch for me, but dream big, right?

3. Run 1000 miles in a year

4. Do 5 pullups in a row

5. Consistently use 10kg total for the biceps track in Bodypump Every time I run a challenge group, I make it a goal to do a bodypump bicep track with 5kg weights on each side.  Each time I meet this goal, my arms feel like they might fall off, and I drop my weight when the challenge is over.  I'd really like to strengthen my biceps to the point where this weight selection in the "norm" for me.  It's going to involve some strength training outside of Bodypump, so I'll start with my favorite P90x workout - shoulders, biceps and triceps.

What are DiscIts?  It's okay, I didn't know what they were either, but a few weeks ago, I received two free pairs of DiscIts to try out.  I'll admit, they sat on my kitchen table for a while because I had to find the time to "install" these no-tie laces into my running shoes.  It took a snowed-in Saturday evening and a little reminder from Tom (a DiscIts employee) for me to finally figure it out. The next few days, I took my running shoes, now sporting DiscIts, to the test - and they were great!  While I only got to test these on the treadmill, I look forward to taking these out in the rain and snow, which is always when my running sneakers tend to come untied!

Who would benefit from DiscIts?

As I mentioned in my Philadelphia Half Marathon race recap, I never really felt like I could get to my max pace. Luckily, this allowed me to take in some of the scenes that I normally would have missed.  Wow, do you see some weird things while running a marathon?!  I'll spare you the details of some of those things, but below I share with you some observations I've made while running in marathons.  I'm sure you have some of your own, so be sure to comment below!

People love running in costume

Philadelphia Marathon

London Marathon

My friend Emily & her brother

Tokyo Marathon

There is no gold standard for a "funny" marathon sign

Marathon spectating can be almost as exhausting as running the race

Downhill can be more painful that uphill Running hills is challenging, there's no denying that.  But once you've reached double digits in the miles, downhill can actually be more painful than uphill.  Your quads might even feel like they're on fire!!  Also, a "hill" is a relative term - it also depends on how you train!

Men run faster marathons because they don't have to stop at the port-a-potties

Every runner running in sandals has a friend running in sandals

You see all kinds of footwear in races, from full support shoes to barefoot running, but those who choose to run in sandals always have friends with them.  I've yet to see a sandal-runner running solo!

Everyone is fighting their own battle

There is a new level of acceptance when it comes to social habits

Running makes people happy

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