Category Archives: Workouts

Lovin’ Oatmeal & Chilly Run

Food for Thought, Workouts, , ,

I don’t know what it is about my tummy this week, but I have been cravin’ and lovin’ oatmeal everyday! I’ve always liked oatmeal (and make it often), but this week it’s been my breakfast everyday. Something about how the warm oats fill up my hungry belly makes me feel so cozy and ready to take on my day! So this morning’s food obviously followed suit.

Breakfast

Blueberries and oatmeal and Greek yogurt, oh my! It was delicious and filling as always. Plus I was excited to find a plain vanilla Greek yogurt in my fridge this morning so I could mix in my remaining blueberries. I love to eat blueberries plain, but when I’m having coffee with my breakfast, this is never okay to do. Plain blueberries + hot coffee = YUCK! If you’ve never tried it, just don’t. It’s terrible. So I had yet another blueberry-filled breakfast but mixing them into my oats and then into my yogurt as well. All yummy!

photo(33)Workout

I woke up a little later than usual when I’m wanting to complete a morning workout because I knew I only wanted to run outside this morning as practice for my 5K coming up in less than 2 weeks! I woke up at 5:40 and rolled out of bed and into my running gear. Mac was wide awake but had to stay home since he can’t run farther than 1.2 miles without me dragging him. We’ll just blame it on his extra short legs. 🙂

It was still dark when I headed out, but my RunKeeper app kept me company and provided a little light on the dark streets. My extra motivation this morning?? It was COLD when I set out! I had on a tank knowing that I would be hot by the time I got to mile 2. But I was wishing I had on a little more clothing! It was pretty glorious to run in the cool morning. It felt like Fall might actually be upon us very soon. If only the whole day would stay that cool…haha. Forecasted high of 86 degrees today here in Springfield-land. Oh well…

I completed 3.5 miles in 31m 15s which is an average pace of 8:55 per mile. Yay me! For a girl that has NEVER been a runner and struggles through just about every run I complete, this is a great time. Especially when I’m running alone in the dark at 6 AM. After this, I think it’s safe to say I’ll hopefully breeze through the Glow Run on the 14th. Let’s hope my girlfriend that I’m running with is ready too! We’re gonna rock it! In our best neon running attire, that is. 🙂

Hope your Thursday is off to a great start. We’re almost to the weekend already!

Grocery Ad Day!

Daily Life!, Workouts

It’s Wednesday! And guess what that means?? It’s Grocery Ad Day!!

I Love it!!
I Love it!!

I’m insane, I know this. But every Wednesday I get oddly excited to run out to my driveway and grab the morning’s paper. Tucked inside are the grocery sale ads for the week for all my favorite local grocery stores. Dillon’s is my favorite (they carry the Kroger brand for those of you not from SW MO!), and they always have a fabulous ad that often includes coupons!

photo(30)I have to admit that I’ve developed quite a little addiction to couponing ever since moving into my house Mid-May of this year. This is when I started receiving a daily local newspaper. Every Sunday morning I rush out to get the paper and start digging through the ads to find the best sales and coupons. But this whole process has to begin on Wednesday when I find out what’s going to be on sale during my weekend grocery shopping! I can start compiling my grocery list needs and wants based on what’s on sale. Then, when my Sunday coupons come, I often get lucky and receive coupons for the things that are already on sale. Yay for saving! I’m not a pro, but I’ve gotten pretty good at saving around $35 a week with coupons and in-store savings with my shopper’s card.

HyVee also has one of the prettiest ads. They have amazing designers for their simple weekly ads! I rarely go there (it’s across town), but I love to look through their ad anyways for design inspiration 🙂

Oh you fancy, huh?
Oh you fancy, huh?

Breakfast

Breakfast today was not exciting, and it was basically exactly like yesterday with oatmeal and blueberries, so I’ll spare you the boring pictures 🙂 I was extremely happy to see my cup of Greek yogurt for my snack around 11 AM though. I was starved! And yes, the blueberry frenzy continues!

photo(28)Lotsa protein for a grumbly tummy!

Workout

I think my grumbly tummy was due in large part to my morning workout. I was slightly all over the place, but got in some good cardio and strength training time. That’s all I ask! I woke up at 5 AM and headed off to my gym to complete the following workout.

  • Interval on the treadmill, til I hit 2 miles
  • 3 sets of 15 reps Lat Pulldown
  • 3 sets of 15 reps Bicep Curls
  • 3 sets of 15 reps Chest Press
  • 30 reps on each leg Glute Extensions (at 65 lbs.)
  • Inner thigh & Outer Thigh presses at 70 lbs. for 2 minutes straight a piece
  • 20 minutes on the Elliptical

I was sweaty and oddly refreshed leaving the gym! This is a pretty standard little circuit for me in my gym when I’m by myself. Plus at 5 AM I’m not too creative, so the strength training machines are great for me.

I hope your Hump Day is going great! The rest of my day will consist of work, walking a whiny Mac, and subbing for a Jazzercise instructor who is on her honeymoon! I’m teaching a Body sculpting class format which is way out of my element, but I’m excited to try something new! I’ll see you guys later!

Hot Mess Friday!

Food for Thought, Workouts

Happy Friday!!!

I’m beyond excited to start this fun-filled Labor Day weekend. I made it to work on time to find a rather empty parking lot. Everyone is on an extra-extended weekend I guess! Oh well, it’ll make for a nice, quiet day for me 🙂

Workout

I woke up at 5 AM this morning and headed to the gym to attempt to get in a good work out before my workday. I hopped on the treadmill with no goals in mind as far as distance. Yes, I’m training for a 5K that’s happening in a few weeks, but I had a double workout yesterday and my legs were shot! I completed the intervals that I did yesterday morning til around the 1.6 mile mark. I was getting really bored and really fatigued. This is when the Hot Mess workout began!

Hot Mess Workout!

  • ~15 minutes on the treadmill doing intervals!
  • 5 minutes of rowing vigorously
  • 2 minutes of spinning (1 min. standing/1 min. sitting)
  • 1 mile on the Elliptical
  • Arm Circuit with 3 sets of 10 reps each, including a chest press, shoulder press, & bicep curls
  • Glute Extensions until you die (or around 50 on each leg at 65 lbs.)
  • Back to the treadmill for .5 miles, speed at 7
  • Finish up on the Elliptical because you have time to spare! (I got in 10 min.)

Yup, this was me this morning. I was sweatin’ like a fool. I had my hair piled on top of my head (it was my best creation at 5 AM). And I can guarantee everyone else in there probably thought I was on crack the way I was running all over the place. I obviously could not make up my mind about what to do.

Breakfast

Another rushed breakfast this morning, but it was surprisingly delicious and satisfying!

Oatmeal & Raspberries!
Oatmeal & Raspberries!

I whipped up some oats in the breakroom at work as soon as I arrived. It was classy since I prepared them in a styrofoam cup! I then tossed in some fresh raspberries, added a splash more of soymilk, and stirred it all up. The super hot oats warmed the berries through and it was the perfect consistency. I was very pleased with my breakroom breakfast!

IMG_5311I had the remainder of the raspberries and a cup of Greek yogurt on the side. Btw, if you are a Greek yogurt fan, this flavor from Kroger was amazing! Plus, I’m pretty much obsessed with the Kroger Greek Lite yogurt because it’s only 90 calories, 0 g fat, and 16 g of protein! It’s some powerful stuff and holds over my hungry tummy on most days.

I hope your Friday is off to a good start! If you’re one of those lucky people who took an extra day off and are reading this from the comfort of your couch, I hate you! Ok, not really. I wish I were right there with ya though.

See you after lunch!