Fun Facts Friday (Fitness and Sports Edition)

Happpppyyyyyyy Fridayyyyyyyyy! Who else is excited for the weekend (and the return of HOCKEY tomorrow??!!)?? Does anyone have fun plans? I would love to come home and crash tonight (Peanut wore me out, friends...but in the best possible way), but of couse I'm babysitting instead. Crashing when I get home tonight for sure. For this week's edition of fun facts Friday, I thought I would change things up and share seven of my favorite fitness routines and/or sports memories. Sounds good? Excellent.

1.) My favorite skating year was 2000. It was particularly successful in that I did very well in all of my competitions, but the last one of the season (Middle Atlantic Figure Skating Championships) was the best by far. Let's just say that the year before (1999), things didn't go so well (read: I may have come in last in my field...). In 2000, however, I came back, skated the best performance of my career up till that point, and won. Victory was sweet, friends.

Blast from the past or what?

2.) My favorite core routine right now is this, which was inspired/modified from this one found on Pinterest. I like to do it after runs. 

10 sit-ups

20 v-sits

20 Russian twists

20 crunches

20 bicycle crunches

20 reverse crunches

1:00 plank

Repeat 3X (or more if you're feeling crazy) and on last round hold plank for as long as possible.

Doesn't take too long and leaves my abs burning by the end of round one, whiny by two, and severely cranky and in need of food by three.

3.) I went to my first Pens game on March 27, 2010 with my dad. We saw the Pens play the Flyers, and I couldn't have asked for a better game. Good company (my dad is awesome at Pens games for the record), hockey, and the utter annihilation of our biggest rival (seriously, we CREAMED those jerkfaces, which was sooooo much fun to witness) led to one of my favorite memories (and probably best Pens game) to date. The fact that we went to Church Brew Works for a beer and burgers after was icing on the cake.

Not from March 27, but it's from a Pens game, so it works!

4.) During my skating years, singles wasn't the only part of the sport in which I competed. I was also a member of a synchronized skating team, which gave me some of my favorite skating memories. I LOVED competing with my team (I actually wasn't that big of a fan of singles competition because I got so incredibly nervous). I was the youngest (story of my life), but the older girls never made me feel like it. We had a lot of fun together and traveled throughout New England to compete, which was an amazing experience at my age. Plus, said competitions got me out of school a lot for long travel weekends, which was awesome.

5.) Running is one of my favorite things to do these days. I typically run 5 miles on Monday and Friday mornings, 6 on Wednesdays, and somewhere between 7-12 on Saturdays. I've only run two races to date; both were 10Ks and were absolutely amazing for completely different reasons. I'll never forget crossing the finish line of my first (The Great Race on September 30), and simultaneously seeing my time and hearing my mum calling my name (my parents had made it to the finish line and were right across from the line when I crossed); I couldn't believe I had done it in that time (incredibly fast for me) and that I got to share it with my family. 

Cold, wet, and super excited!

The second was about a month later with Joe (Terrifying 10K....for good reason...first 3.5 miles uphill...awesome). It was his first race and also the first time we had run that far together. Getting to share something I love with the man I love was pretty damn special.

We went as Pens fans. We believed even then!

Running is one of the few things that keeps me sane. It also gives me a chance to listen to music, sing while doing so, and wear super comfy clothes whenever I'm not working since I'm either "on my way to go for a run" or "just got back from a run." Win.

So true.

6.) Yoga has quickly become my favorite form of cross training (which is funny since I thoroughly disliked it when it was first suggested/forced upon me in WPIC...I had issues quieting my mind....go figure). I especially like videos, since it's easier for me to follow something that I can see, rather than trying to listen to a podcast. My favorites include Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown Level 1, 10 lb. Slimdown Yoga, Tara Stiles (who does have some videos on youtube but who also has a set of DVDs I am hoping to purchase today from amazon...thanks Megan for introducing us!), and Yoga Download (specifically this one, this one, this one, and this one. I can't believe the strength and flexibility yoga has given me....anddddddd I'm sooooooo close to getting my heels all the way down on my downward dog.....it will happen before the end of the month!

Hahahahahaha.

7.) My mum and I have gone to watch two major figure skating competitions together: the 2008 Skate America in Reading, PA and the 2009 National Figure Skating Championships in Cleveland, OH. Both were the best girls weekends possible with lots of girl talk and hanging out in some awesome hotels, and it was seriously cool to see international competitors and some old friends who were slightly [read: wayyyyyyyyy] better than me and made it to the international level. Here's hoping Nationals, Skate America, or the World Championships come somewhere near here soon. It's been way too long since we've had a weekend away in a nice cold ice rink!

My mum and I at Nationals.

Have a fabulous Friday!

What are some of your favorite sports or fitness memories? Fun plans for the weekend? Favorite way to fuel and refuel before and after workouts?