Tag: adventure

Ariana’s travel tips

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, training, travel

 

  1. plan, plan, plan- I know some people like to fly by the seat of their pants and that is great but in some cases you need to plan. If you are not on a budget then you might have a little more room to play with this but if you are on a budget, as I always am, planning is your best friend. Also if you only have a limited amount of time planning ahead can save you hours of wasted time standing in line.
  2. research- Groupon is international if you didn’t know. For most places if you do a little research you can find inexpensive skip the line passes, semi-guided tours, activities and so much more at reduced costs and it definitely saves you on those hours in line.
    1. planning and research also help you squeeze in as much as possible in a short time period. For example we are packing Venice into a day and a half then on our last day in Venice which would have been a 3/4 day anyways we are instead taking the train and spending a few hours each in Verona, Florence and Pisa before laying our heads down in our AirBnB accommodations in Rome.
  3. Think outside the box when it comes to lodging- you don’t have to stay in a nice hotel to feel luxurious when traveling. If you once again research you can find nice places for a lot less expensive. I have stayed in some seriously nice hostels and and used AirBnB several times when I have travelled. If you are traveling with friends AirBnB is a great choice. We have accommodations in the heart of Venice, Rome and Barcelona through AirBnB that are less than $150/night,  whole apartment in each place, split the cost between everyone and you are looking at $20-30/night for each person in a nice place. and having and entire apartment means you have a kitchen so you can hit the market and make a few meals to save some money. You are still eating locally!!!
  4. Do a few things that aren’t overrun by tourists- on my first morning in Venice after some coffee and a pastry I plan on walking the opposite direction of the crowds and will continue to do this. That is how I will explore Venice, going the opposite direction of the crowds (obviously do a little research on places you should avoid and use common sense, if you turn down a street and it feels sketchy, backtrack quickly).
  5. Safety!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!- Be safe, research the places you are going, know the areas to avoid, know the laws and customs. Pay attention to the dress code. If something or someone doesn’t feel right get out of that situation and place ASAP. Think before you act. If you are alone, don’t get so drunk that you are impaired. That movie TAKEN with Liam Neeson is a fun thriller but it is also real, people are kidnapped and murdered every day, enjoy your vacation but be smart and be aware.
  6. common sense should see you through-if you wouldn’t do it at home don’t do it abroad. Again take 10 minutes and learn about the place that your are going, I would sunbath topless in Ibiza, I would cover all tattoos and most skin in the middle east, different place different experience.
  7. Check in. Give someone at least a vague itinerary of where you will be and when you will be there and when you will be home so someone will know if you don’t arrive. Try and check in at least ever 72 hours (I tend to check in at least once every 24 hours) you can find a free or very cheap internet café almost anywhere. And most cell phones have international coverage if you check. It will cost me $.55 every day to send 1 text message to my mom and get one back from her both acknowledging we know I am alive. $.55/day is not much to ensure piece of mind.
  8. Be a dork. Take selfies and make stupid faces and journal and take videos. Who cares what the people around you think, in 5, 10, 15 years you are going to be so glad you can look back on those memories.
  9. Be respectful. It may not be your culture, religion or favorite food but it is theirs. You wouldn’t want someone to bad mouth your way of life so don’t do that to anyone else. You don’t have to believe in it or even accept it but don’t be mean about it. Step to the side, quietly leave the church, discreetly bow out of the ceremony, say thank you and try the tiniest bite you can manage.
  10. lastly HAVE FUN!!!!! You may never be back, you may never experience something like this again so drink it all in. Take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way and truly live this experience.

Huckleberry half**Race Review

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle, training

This last Saturday my boyfriend and I ran our first race together. We didn’t have high hopes going in since neither of us had trained enough and there were going to be some hills.

We are not fans of getting up early.

What can I say about this race except that it was small which was nice and off the main road so we didn’t worry too much about cars. Their fuel stations were just ok in my opinion but I am used to bigger races with bigger sponsors so in the future I would just need to plan better.

The race was on sort of back mountain roads so trail running shoes would have been better because the roads were all chewed up from snow. I got blisters on my blisters.

The course was beautiful and shaded which made all the difference.

Our pace was ok, not great but not horrible for a hilly run for me.

As you can see I started off strong and really faded toward the end hahaha

Oh the hills!!!!!!! The entire race was a series of ups and downs. There was no flat, this race just wiped me out.

Fun wood carved medals, though Brandon is disappointed we didn’t get t-shirts, he likes those more than the medals.

Overall it was fun and I am glad we did it but I wanted to cry the last 3 miles because I was so tired and my body hurt so bad.

We know to train better for the next one!

Oh and if you are a slow runner and don’t like being at the back of the pack don’t run this race, We crossed the finish line with only 4 people behind us….yes only 4. This was a small race of fast runners hahaha.

Day 13-15 of 28 day cleanse

by Ariana Peters, posted in Uncategorized

Day 13 was pretty normal and chill

Day 14 i woke up to the worst muscle cramp in my right leg. Cramps usually come from an imbalance of sodium, potassium and water so i added some stuff into my diet for the 14th and 15th

I got free leftover pizza from the pizza place next to work and i wasn’t turning down free food. 

I immediately regreted the pizza, i felt horrible. The maple bar on day 14 pretty much totally fine, the pizza, nope. So excited for a yummy, healthy smoothie in the AM. 

I’ve increased my sodium intake and my fluids and so far the cramps have gone away. 

Its been 2 weeks and i am down about 5lbs. I am feeling better overall I’m craving better food. I am loving smoothies/juice in the AM and a big salad as part of a late lunch then eating a real dinner. And as you’ve seen i can have off day or throw in extra good food if i am going to workout. 

I think this may go from a cleanse to a lifestyle change. 

Though now I’m reconsidering my cheap pizza after the half marathon…….hmmm what else would i want???? 

I’ll keep you updated!

Europe prep

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, training, travel

Holy Guacamole!!!! I leave for Europe in about 7 weeks! That snuck up quickly. Europe prep is in full swing over here, we have one day were we take the train 4 different times (we are cramming in everything we can) so we just bought our train tickets for that day so that we don’t need to worry about navigating ticket counters or worrying about currency when we are on a strict time table, a gondola ride has been booked and paid for for Venice, a coliseum tour has been booked and paid for for Rome. We are prepaying what we can so we don’t have to worry as much about spending money when we are over there.

That is my quick Europe update now lets talk about normal things.

July is over!! I got some good mileage in (good for me at least hahaha) my goal for next month is 46 miles!

Got my juicing in though I switched it up, morning juice was green

and afternoon was orange-ish

 

Artemis enjoyed another bone I bought her at the beach

I made 2 new running calendar things for me to keep track of my running as I want to start really building up my miles.

 

the first one is super simple to see me month mileage progress and keep me honest, a quick something to look at, like an at-a-glance thing

the 2nd one is a bit more in depth to really dive into each run and analyze the week. I want to get used to doing this so next year I can buy a running training journal thing and know I will actually keep up with it so I don’t waste the money.

And i found this to put on my wall to remind me to stretch

A new Adventure 

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle

Well another life adventure is underway, yesterday afternoon i got fired from my job. First time in my life I have ever been fired, it was not pleasant. 

I feel very betrayed by several people in how it happened but that is life. That is all I am going to say about the job. I will focus on the positives this is a new opportunity for me! I haven’t been happy at my job in a long time, friendships I thought would hold true fell apart when I left to hike the trail and were never mended, so c’est la vie. 

I can now focus on setting myself up with a job or jobs that I like. The 9-5 grind is not my dream so I am working on making my dreams come true. I’ll keep you posted as things advance.