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January - Cupping, Half Marathons, and Whole30

It's almost February! Which means its time for the first installment of "What Crazy Things did Claire Try This Month?"

My goal for this year was start the practice of a healthier lifestyle - mind, body, soul, and spirit. January was definitely heavy on the body aspect, simply because almost everyone seems to get into the "let's get in shape" spirit in January and I found a bunch of discounts and friend groups to go along with me on some of these endeavors. February should be a bit more balanced.

AWESOME THINGS

  1. Houston Half-Marathon: above anything else I did this month for health, running the Houston Half is at the top of the list. I ran 10 of the 13.1 miles, so I hope to significantly improve my time next year by running the full race. If you ever get the chance, go out to the race track with signs or water bottles (or both) and cheer the runners on, I was surprised at how much of a difference it made. I'm already signed up for next year, and I'm running to raise money for Texas Children's Hospital. I've been seeing a psychiatrist at the Center for Women at TCH since June, so the hospital has a special place in my heart. If you'd like to help me reach my $500 goal, you can do so here.
  2. Nivea In-Shower Moisturizer: My skin suffers because I'm terrible at remembering to use moisturizer. I've seen the commercials for the in-shower moisturizer and was pretty skeptical about it. But it actually works! My skin is so much softer now. 100% would endorse this product to everyone.
  3. Lara Bars: I thought I hated Lara Bars, but I was getting them confused with Luna Bars. Lara Bars are magical.

THINGS I'M ON THE FENCE STILL
  1. Cupping: I tried it for the first time yesterday. And by tried, I mean it was an unexpected part of my acupuncture session. The acupuncturist told me the cupping was to help focus my attention on releasing my past trauma back into the earth. Suffice to say, my acupuncturist is a bit more New Age than I've had before, but the cupping is supposed to work like a deep tissue massage, so there's some benefit there. As our trainer described, my back looks like I stood in a batting cage and let balls hit me. I need a few more sessions to decide if it's actually helpful in relieving the muscle tension in my back and shoulders.
  2. Cycling: Running involves cross training and I know several people who run that also do cycle. Today was my first class at the YMCA. The 55 minutes went by quickly and I know I got a good work-out. Bonus: the YMCA is near my parents' house so baby Jack gets to go there for an hour.

DISAPPOINTMENTS
  1. Whole30: I actually regret doing this one and for recruiting several friends to do it with me. At least one had a really good experience and I'm thrilled for her. I'm not sure what happened, but I never felt any of the benefits. My energy level actually plummeted in the second half of the program and I kept getting sick. By the end, the whole thing was just inducing a ton of stress about what the next meal would entail. And it cost so much money. The one good thing (other than the Lara Bars) that came out of it was that I know look more carefully at the labels of what I buy. 
  2. Vegan Jerky: I don't spit food out, but this was the exception. Coconut flavored like beef jerky. It was horrendous and possibly in violation of the Geneva Convention.

Forward to February - some new vitamin supplements, a lot of travel, and Lent!

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