Getting back into running has been a real struggle for me. I struggle every late fall to early spring, but it's been especially rough this year. I just haven't felt like running. In fact, I've felt like doing everything except  for running! I just haven't had the desire, you guys. I have been doing so many fun workouts and getting into great shape without running. Frankly, I haven't even missed it. And that's what makes me a little sad. I was really loving running for a while there. I was running a race every month -- sometimes twice a month -- I was designing my own medal rack, I was beating my PR and reading running books, but then I just stopped. It's hard for me to think back to when exactly I stopped running, but I think it must've been around this time last year. ...

I am so pumped to check out the Discover Arlington Fitness + Wellness Festival next month! I am going with a group of friends, and am planning to get my sweat on all afternoon! I love a good fitness/wellness festival. Lots of smiling faces, plenty of people who are into trying out new workouts and food, and of course, all the endorphins! This festival is hosted by Discover the District , and features 4 hours of awesome workouts from great studios. I have done some Sweat Pink DMV workouts at a number of the places, and have never left disappointed! It's so funny to me that Arlington, VA has become a go-to spot for workouts. I grew up in the DC Metro Area, and it's always funny for me to see how much the area has changed over the time. Arlington is definitely way  cooler now than it was when I was growing up, and even when I was fresh out of college.  ...

As you guys know, I have been working on my fitness and weight loss goals extra hard this year. I'm down nearly 20 pounds, I'm stronger and leaner, and my energy level has been much higher. Overall, I'm feeling great! We're almost a quarter of the way through 2018 (can you believe that?!), and now is the time when I really have to stay focused because this is where I hit a slump. Things get wicked busy at work, there are no 3-days weekends until Memorial Day, and the weather is pretty janky. As far as my health and fitness goes, this is crunch time. These are the extra innings! If I'm not focused now, this could determine how my summer will be, which often determines how I will end the year. Translation: If I start getting lazy and making excuses now, I will be sabotaging all of my hard work, and it will be hard to recover! ...

Last week, I took my first beginner's class at [solidcore] . This morning, I took my first real  class. I have one word to summarize both experiences: Sweat. My volleyball friends know that I'm not much of a sweater. I never have been, really. I'm not sure why, but it's never bothered me! I know that I have worked super, duper, DUPER hard in a workout if I have any visible sweat -- even if it's just a couple of beads of sweat. When I tried [solidcore] last week, I was dripping   with sweat. Like, it was really gross. I thought it was going to be easy, but boy was I wrong. I didn't learn my lesson from when I took Pilates reformer at my gym, so maybe I'll never learn to stop underestimating workouts? ...