This week, the fine folks at CSX reached out to me about a really cool campaign they’ve started to support our troops in honor of Memorial Day! I’ve mentioned this before, but I work with the military and have a lot of friends/loved ones who have or are currently serving. I don’t think anyone at CSX even knows that, so this was a neat surprise.

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From May 20-29, whenever you do 10 push-ups and tweet or Instragram about it using the hashtag #GiveThem10, CSX will donate $1 to Wounded Warrior Project! CSX will donate an additional $1, with the goal of reaching $50,000 total – how cool is that?!

Last night, I went to a Body Pump class and ending up pounding out about 20 push-ups. Some were with some REALLY jelly-like arms that could barely push anything, but I still tried to get ‘em done!

By the way, for those of you who are diehard ‘Pump fans, I finally get what the hype was about!  I looooooooooooove it!

Anyways, you can learn more about CSX’s Drop and Give Them 10 movement by browsing their push-up gallery (there are lots of different ways to push-up for a good cause!) and visiting dropandgivethem10.com.

I’m headed to California today (woohoooooooooooo).. um, in a few hours actually……….. so I should probably consider packing.

Happy Thursday!

Are push-ups a regular part of your fitness routine? They’re such a great way to tone your arms and an easy exercise when you don’t have access to a gym!

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Loved all your comments on yesterday’s post about salt! I’ll keep ya’ll posted on what else I learn….

Anyways, last week I saw this fun little survey in a blog post of one of my fav bloggers, Julie, and thought I’d play along, too. You all know I adore lists (I’m so cool), so obviously I couldn’t turn down something like this! It’s called “Currently.” Ready?

Current books: I recently started “The American Heiress” by Daisy Goodwin (pretty good, but I haven’t had time to dive too far in yet!)

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Current music: Icona Pop’s “I Love It” (<–great for running… or silent dance parties). Not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but I also adore the “Heart of Gold” station on Pandora, because I’m like 60 years old.

Current guilty pleasure: Does avocado toast count? Because that love affair hasn’t died down yet…

Current nail color: A baby pink shade.

Current drink: OMG – 21st Amendment Brewery’s “Hell or High Watermelon” beer – seasonal and perfect.

Current food: I suppose this is where I should have talked about avocado toast? Right, well… I’ve also been on a peanut butter waffle kick.

Current favorite show: “Veep” - I crack up, especially living/working in D.C.

And don’t laugh at me, but I’ve been watching reruns of “The Ghost Whisperer.” I know, I know.

Current wish list: A new  {or any?} car! Anyone want to buy me one? Okay, thanks… good talk.

Current needs: See above.  And new running shoes were a need since I start half marathon training this weekend (!!!), but I just bought a brand new pair of my fav Nikes on Sunday.

Current indulgence: Dairy. I need to quit it again real soon before the lactose intolerance fairy comes to clobber me over the head.

Current blessing: The most amazing friends and family a girl could ask for. Cheesey, but everyone needs a solid support system, you know? Especially when {more} change is coming down the pike (hint, hint).

Here’s one of them.

Oh hi, Val!

Current outfit: Uh.. this is a weird one. I almost always have on yoga pants if I’m not in the office, and right now? Pajamas.

I feel like we just got closer, guys. Between this “What are you wearing?” question and the awesome talk about tasting your sweat yesterday….

Current excitement: I’m headed to southern California later this week for an extra long weekend and the wedding of two of my favorite people from college. I CAN’T WAIT.

Okay, YOUR TURN! Pick a couple of the above and answer them in the comments!

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But hey! When’s that stopped me before?

Anyways- let’s talk about salt! Salt is an essential mineral our bodies need to:

• maintain the right balance of fluids
• help transmit nerve impulses
• influence muscle movement

If you’re a runner, you’re probably already familiar with the important balance of salt and fluids in your body. Anyways, last week when I was on a run, some sweat was dripping on my face. Now, as petite and lady-like as I may be, when I run? I sweat like I just walked into a waterfall. Needless to say, some sweat on the particular day in question happened to drip toward my mouth, and… welp, I noticed it was kind of salty.

Like really salty.

And I usually feel sticky or gritty on my face and other parts of my body that have had sweat drip on them.

Is this post getting too weird yet? Bueller?

For the next few days after that salt-tastic run, I consciously took notice of how salty my sweat still tasted. Gross, I know, but more importantly, it got me thinking that perhaps I had a bit too much salt in my body to begin with. According to the American Heart Association, the recommended limit of salt is 1,500 milligrams per day, and too much can have a lot of gnarly effects including high blood pressure (mine is fine, luckily).  Apparently people can also consume too little salt  in their daily diet, to their detriment. Anyone else confused?

I’ve never tracked my intake, but I’d be willing to bet I consume more than the recommended amount. As you guys know, I’m not a registered dietician or anything even remotely close to something official in the wellness/health world, so I did a little bit of research to see if I could figure out what the heck this salty sweat business meant for my life.

According to this article, sweat tasting salty means a person has been consuming a lot of carbohydrates. Granted I’m not sure I see the correlation, but that’s pretty accurate for me lately (minus the fried food the article mentions). Then after reading this Runner’s World article about salty sweatastic runners, I became sort of confused. I match all of the characteristics laid out of someone who consumes too little salt. What?

I add salt to everything, and have since i was a kid (much to my father’s dismay). Even when I buy low sodium stuff with in the intent of having less salt.

Even back in college when I was all about RAMEN, which has about a kajillion milligrams of salt.

Right.

So I think I may need to cut back and drink even more water, and see if I begin to notice a difference in my sweat (and bloat). Good thing I buy the unsalted kind of almond butter, eh?

Anyone else a “salty” sweater (or runner)? Better yet: anyone know what it means?

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That should be enough to make for an amazing day, but in case you need something ELSE to get to 5pm, welp, here ya go:

(source, courtesy of my best friend, Meg)

You’re welcome.

Oh, and don’t forget to share your fitness and health boards!

This definitely contributes to my fitness motivation.

(source)

…Annnnnnd here’s the rest of my own board, which I put together on Pinterest. Sneak peek:

In case you need more inspiration, check out this one by reader Lillian, who tweeted me yesterday!

Now where’s your margarita?

What are your weekend plans? One of my favorite former DC-ers (and bloggers) is in town, so it should be a fun {brunch filled} weekend!

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It’s FINALLY sunny and warm here in D.C., so I think everyone is in a happy mood around town. Sunshine will do that.

Last night, I tried out a new yoga/Pilates studio: Mind Your Body Oasis! Any of my D.C. readers been yet?

Mind Your Body is a new studio in the Crystal City area of Arlington, VA. The studio owner was sweet enough to reach out to me about trying a [free] class, which I gladly agreed to! I love trying out new yoga/pilates classes, especially when they’re easy to navigate to after work.

This studio’s schedule is pretty fantastic in terms of the times/classes offered, which was a huge plus in my eyes. I tend to have a tough time finding classes that are compatible with my work schedule at the studios nearest to me.

I decided to pop in on the Pilates class they offer, seeing as how I hadn’t been to a real Pilates class since, oh I don’t know….2009, when I lived in NYC?

Right. You can imagine how awesome I was at doing all the poses, combined with my {still} sore muscles from Body Pump two days ago. I’m sure the studio owner, who also taught the class, thought I was a fake fitness blogger, squirming at how tight my hip flexors were.

Anyways, I loved the class, and was actually disappointed when the hour was up. I always forget how much I enjoy Pilates, and Amanda, the instructor, was great. The whole studio is also really tranquil, almost oddly so considering this studio is tucked into the underground shops at the Crystal City metro.

And how cute is the decor in the ladies’ locker room?

Love me some Audrey.

I’d definitely recommend this studio (or at least the Pilates class, since that’s all I’ve tried so far) to you guys, and I’m looking forward to heading back for another class soon! Apparently they also do corporate wellness, which is interesting.

When I was heading home, I stopped by Roti to pick up some dinner. I’m not huge on getting take-out (unless it’s from Zoe’s Kitchen - obsessed), but I had received a coupon for a free entree in the mail a couple of weeks ago and figured I’d make use of it! 

I’d only had Roti once a couple years ago and it didn’t leave a memorable impression. I have to admit – it was a lot better than I remembered this time around! I had a salad with chicken kabob chunks, Spanish eggplant, roasted veggies, and kalamata olives, plus some hummus and pita on the side.

Happy tummy. And now happy Thursday!

Pssst – don’t forget to tweet or email your health/fitness inspiration boards.

Are you a Pilates fan? I think I almost like it more than yoga, but it’s usually so expensive at private studios.

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This is something I always love to do every six months or so! Even though I loathe shopping, I get really jazzed about sorting through my closet/drawers and chucking the stuff I don’t want/don’t fit in anymore.

I know it may not sound like an obviously related topic to Women’s Health Week, but I think it is! Cleaning out your closet helps eliminate all that extra stuff you don’t need. Let’s you, in a small way, clear out the past that you may have been clinging on to, and leaves room for the future. To me, it’s sort of emotionally freeing.

That dress you wore to a wedding with your ex right before you broke up? Toss.

That tube top you’ve been hanging on to since college ended (5 years ago)? Toss.

You know, for example.

In case anyone is wondering, I always use these Planet Aid boxes to donate my clothes. They’re super convenient and tend be all over the place, so I can easily walk over with my bags of clothing.

Planet Aid is a nonprofit that collects and recycles used clothes/shoes to support international development projects. To find a drop-off box near you, click here.

Other places like Goodwill and churches (when they’re having clothing drives) are also other great spots to drop off gently used clothes. I know a lot of people love bringing their clothes to consignment shops to make some extra cash, and I did briefly consider that. I just prefer to donate mine, and always end up back at my local Planet Aid box since it’s the easiest to get to for me (note: I have no affiliation with Planet Aid; these are just my personal opinions).

Now my closet has plenty of space for new threads (including some running tops!). I see another StitchFix delivery in my future….  ;-)

Happy Wednesday!

Do you guys like to clean out your closet every now and then, or do you tend to hang on to clothes forever?

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How is everyone doing this fine Tuesday?

First things first: last night, I tried Body Pump for the very first time!

Oh my gosh, you guys! Now I see what all the hype is about!

I loved it. I am really interested in gaining more strength and upper body muscle tone, but (admittedly) have zero idea what I’m doing on my own. This makes a group exercise class like Body Pump {strengthening moves with weights choreographed to sweet music} basically invaluable. It’s actually the reason I tried CrossFit last summer, but that was just a wee bit too intense (and expensive!) for me to keep up with.

I can see myself really getting into Body Pump, though!

Since it is Women’s Health Week and all, I also wanted to share something I’ve started doing this week. I’m now writing down all of my workouts each day in a little notebook, so that I can keep notes of when/how I worked out. Not exactly rocket science, right? 

I’m particularly interested in doing this in order to pay attention to my runs and weekly mileage, especially with half marathon training starting right around the corner. This is actually something I used to do when I was running a lot. I really only stopped in the last year or so, when I my mileage started to dwindle and running lost its place as high priority (due to life/surgery/etc.).

In the effort of full disclosure, I am also interested in keeping a record because, well, I’m trying to get myself back into shape.
Not that I’m really all that out of shape now, but I’m in no way feeling as fit as I was a year ago today. Life and emotions had sidetracked me a bit, and all those extra bites of chocolate chip cookies combined with less exercising took a toll on my body in the form of depleted muscle tone and a couple extra pounds.

My Type A personality finds it helpful to write down my workouts – makes me feel like I’m making progress and staying on track with my fitness goals. Although I suppose I could start using this blog for that purpose, huh?

Since I get injured so easily when running, too, it’s extra important to me to start being more mindful of the miles I’m logging. Must. Stay. Uninjured. 

Now it’s time to get my booty to work!

Fitness notebooks – do you guys keep one? Do you find it helpful?

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A reader, Michelle, recently contacted me about National Women’s Health Week, which is THIS week! Thank goodness she mentioned it, or else it would have completely slipped my mind.Michelle works at a spa in upstate New York, and shares my passion for making health a priority in our lives. In recent years I’ve become really interested in health promotion, and when Michelle suggested creating a fun inspiration board to celebrate Women’s Health Week, I knew she was on to something many of my other readers might be excited about participating in too!

Sooooooo, here’s the deal, you guys: I’m putting out an open call for health and fitness inspiration boards. You can either make them the old fashioned way (glue, markers, glitter, construction paper) OR digitally via Pinterest.

If you want to see a fab example of what I’m talking about, here’s Michelle’s board:

(sources for images: berry mocktail | New York golf club | Athleta yoga tank | running | lilacs)

Pretty sweet, right?

From Michelle about her board:

“Everyone has his or her own source of inspiration, but to me the color purple makes me really
happy, so I’m using this color as the source of my inspiration…Nutrition is also something I need to work on for sure. Eating poorly is taking an effect on my energy levels during the workday. I’m looking for a long-term improvement, not a temporary fix. I’m looking to experiment with healthy recipes and swapping bad snacks for healthier options. As part of improving what I eat, I plan to cut back on those tempting sugary cocktails, and opt for a fruity-smoothie version instead…As part of my initiative to spend more time doing activities outdoors, I’ve started to learn to golf at a Syracuse golf course near my work. I don’t usually golf all 18 holes but it’s nice to be able to spend most of the time walking. What I like about it is that it’s a leisurely sport, nothing too strenuous. I would like to become a runner. I’ve read from a lot of resources online about a great Couch-to-5k program that would be perfect for me to start with. It involves a mix of walking and running which is great for beginners. Hopefully by end of summer, I’ll be ready to sign up for my first race!”

Send your photos and/or Pinterest links to me at onapinktypewriter@gmail.com or tweet ‘em to me! (Find me on Twitter here.) I’ll try to showcase some boards from participants here on the blog throughout the week, too. Now I’ve got to get working on mine!

Happy Monday!

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Okay. Not so surprising.

I headed to the gym this morning, but my stomach was growling the whole time. Don’t you hate when that happens?

Once I’d finished up some elliptical and strength exercises, I was beyond ready to hit the syrup. I hurried back home, dropped my bag near the door, and basically flung myself into the kitchen to whip up some of my yummy Greek yogurt pancakes.

Thank God these babies take literally minutes to go from batter to plate.

Since I was only serving little ol’ me, I used half the amount of dry ingredients, an egg white instead of whole egg, and completely omitted the sugar since I was using vanilla flavored Greek yogurt. Although, let’s be serious – I could have easily demolished the whole recipe as it’s originally written.

Voila – pancakes served in a flash!

A perfect weekend meal, and pre-Sweetlife Festival fuel. Especially since it’s going to downpour apparently?

Have a great weekend and a very happy Mother’s Day to all the mamas out there (including my own)!

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Last night, I finally met up with Anne from Fannetastic Food. She and I live near each other, but due to both of our insane schedules, it’s taken us months to get together! And we literally live two minutes away from one another – crazy right?

Anne suggested checking out a local yoga studio, Edge Yoga. I’d never been before, so I was excited to try it out – especially after Anne mentioned how tough the classes are with the Thursday night instructor, Mark.

I’ll be honest – I wasn’t really expecting it to be too intense considering it was listed as Yoga 1, but boy was Anne right. There was a whole lot of standing splits and balancing postures. Holy hip openers! Let’s just say I’m not the most flexible person, so this wasn’t the prettiest practice I’ve ever had. It definitely worked up a sweat though, and that’s really all that matters to me in yoga.

Uh, and some zen-ness, I guess? I’m not a big “let’s ohm together” kind of yogi.

The studio is actually REALLY tiny. And by tiny, I mean the studio is nothing more than one small room the size of my bedroom.  But hey- it’s enough to make some magic happen, right? And fun fact- Edge shares its floor of the building with a bartending school.

Classy.

That was my view the second I emerged from class. Neon-colored post-yoga shots, anyone?

Anyways, I really enjoyed the class! Anne and I made a plan to return one upcoming weekend for yoga and bagels. Clearly we’re going to get along well, based on the shared carb love.

This weekend I’m off to the Sweetlife Music and Food Festival! Anyone else going? I’m looking forward to enjoying the warm weather – spring is apparently here for good, now. TGIF!

What are your Friday plans?? 

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