"Ooh, it feels good to be free!"

Today I put on my booty shorts and running shoes, braved the 100 degree weather, and ran the 2 miles down to the Farmers' Market. It was kind of embarrassing being there all sweaty and disgusting, but I ignored the weird looks and bought some raspberries, avocados, raw vegan sushi, and flowers. Then I hauled all my purchases the 2 miles back up the hill, Rilo Kiley blasting on my headphones, and I swear to god I had the biggest smile on my face the whole time. Seriously, how does life get this good? It doesn't even seem fair that I should be allowed such an amazing existence (knock on wood).

This week:
Monday: yoga
Tuesday: working late
Wednesday: run
Thursday: working late
Friday: yoga

Exercise.

Okay, here is the training plan:

-Run: twice per week (Sunday & Wednesday). Runs will start at 4 miles and increase up to 6 miles (or more?) over the next two months.

-Yoga: twice per week (Tuesday & Thursday -or- Friday). 1 1/2 hour yoga sessions with Ally at Santa Monica Power Yoga. To build strength and hopefully more flexibility over time.

-15 minute abdominal work out: every day. That core strength is so vitally important. Plus I totally have a "store manager tummy" - this is what you get from a mixture of stress, bad diet, and often sitting behind a desk (as well as, for most managers, drinking beer nightly. At least I have that one working for me!)

So, that is the PLAN. As of right now, I am generally doing yoga twice per week, running only once per week, and doing the ab workout about three times per week. It's time to step it up!!

The best part about the run training is that my apartment is almost exactly 2 miles from the beach, so a perfect run takes me to the beach and back for a solid 4 miles. As my endurance builds I will start to run 2 miles to the beach, all the way to Santa Monica pier, then back up to my place which is probably about 6 miles total. I know I can do this, I just need to keep it up!!

Here's the view coming down the hill from my apartment to the beach - amazing:



I love Santa Monica.

stop eating crap!

nataliedee.com


No more junk food for me! "Vegan by default" crap (i.e. bbq Pringles, oreos, those chewy chocolate chip granola bars, etc etc) have officially been banned.

Uncooking

My BFF Sara Beth XVX was in town from Seattle last night & today - she is an avid food lover like myself, & not only vegan and straight edge, but also currently on a raw food diet. I love how restriction & discipline teaches you to try new things. Abstaining from certain activities somehow forces you to be more creative. Kind of like Christian teenagers saving their V cards for marriage that involve themselves in wild "everything but" debauchery, right??


This is Sara, the amazing Raw Vegan Straight Edge Warrior:

In this photograph she is completely overwhelmed by the amount of delicious raw food we found today.


We went to Juliano's Raw in Santa Monica. It was absolutely incredible. Here's the full menu of what we enjoyed:


Raw cocoa / nut / etc. shakes:


Delicious avocado soup mixed with their signature tortilla soup:


The Juliano's Raw version of a double bacon cheeseburger:
(raw flax bun, dehydrated nuts formed into a patty, veggies, etc, complete with zucchini "fries")


Lasagna:
(zucchini "noodles," tomato, cashew ricotta-esque cheeze, veggies)



Overall an extremely delicious afternoon.

Tonight's exercise: shouting at my laptop screen on espn.com while watching Lakers / Celtics Game 4. Intense.

Oh, Starbucks

If I am truly going to abstain from all my vices, I really need to stay far, far away from Starbucks. Venti soy no water chais and tall soy mochas will be my downfall. This weekend has been a bit hard - lots of late nights and early mornings in Tahoe. My daily caffeine intake got completely out of hand. New rule: No more daily Starbucks. Maybe an occasional special occasion chai, but that's IT !! Mornings should be for fresh fruit or whole grains, not sugar and caffeine. I feel like a zombie right now... 

The Discipline

The key to self-liberation is abstinence from the destructive escapism of intoxication.

I separate from the poison, a mindlessness I've always abhored.

-Earth Crisis

Hi. I'm Stacey Spencer. 

(This is me in my awesome Squaw Creek Resort bathrobe. Very luxurious!)

This blog will be dedicated to healthy, clean living, fitness, veganism, feeling good, and anything else I feel is relevant. A lot of posts will basically be journals for myself to keep track of my personal health, but I will also post information, recipes, workout ideas, as well as invite stories and testimonials from friends who live similar lifestyles.

My overall personal goals: eat healthy vegan food, work out every day and stay fit, share ideas with friends.

Specific goals: stop eating so much junk food and caffeine, run a 10k race, be able to touch my toes, stop eating out for every meal. 

SO, here's today:

I am currently in Lake Tahoe with all of the Guitar Center managers at our annual retreat. It is beautiful, the air is clean, and I am surrounded by middle-aged men with beer guts. The food is questionable, but I was able to track down some vegan cereal & soy milk this morning as well as some cantaloupe and honeydew melon. Delicious. Yesterday I had a decent Swedish massage and lounged by the pool all day, so today I figured I better do something active. I hit the gym in the morning for about a 15 minute ab workout, some stretching, a mile run on the treadmill, and some free-weights. Feeling good so far. Maybe an afternoon swim or hike? Tonight we are bowling, does that count as exercise? Probably not!

I return home tomorrow and can't wait to get back to my yoga class. I think I will wander the Farmer's Market for a bit and get some fresh vegetables and fruit as well. mmm. 

That's all for now, stay tuned!

With love,

Stacey