Tag Archives: morning run

Calf Compression Sleeves

Food for Thought, Running, , ,

So I know I keep saying over and over….running is a learning experience for me. And training for my first half marathon has really kept me on my toes. I’m not even halfway through my training plan, and I feel like I’ve already learned SO much!

About 4 weeks into my life as a ‘real’ runner, I found some calf compression sleeves on Groupon goods. I thought I should give them a try! Well they finally arrived over the weekend, and I’m in LOVE!

image(7)I spent $20 on these babies, and they are worth every penny. It feels amazing to wear these things post-long run. Mac is still unsure about them though.

photo(129)I swear Nick thinks I’m turning into some crazy, psycho runner. But I’m really not. I just know what feels good after I’ve run 10 miles on a Saturday morning!

But I must confess, I bought something else. It was kinda premature, but it was on sale and I couldn’t resist.

photo(2)Isn’t it cute?! I’m hoping it doesn’t ship super fast. I don’t want to be tempted to wear it before my race in January. At this point in my training, I know I’m going to kill my first half, but I want to wait until I’ve officially crossed that finish line to start gloating by wearing things like this. 🙂

Lunch

So my lunch yesterday and today has been the same thing: a salad the size of my head.

photo(32)I put some romaine + spinach + carrots + broccoli + cauliflower + radishes into this large tupperware container. Then I poured in some balsamic dressing, put the lid on, and shook it all up. It was easiest and yummiest tossed salad I’ve had in a while. Plus, it was so much food that I wasn’t craving anything else. Win!

I usually eat more than this for my midday meal (more protein, etc), but I feel like I just haven’t been eating very clean/healthy lately. So I’m trying to stuff my belly full of fresh fruit and veggies this week before my 2 weekends of Thanksgiving meals begins! Plus, I know I just feel better if I don’t overeat. Eating too much before sitting at my desk all afternoon puts me in a food coma for the rest of the day. So just a little note while we are on this subject of healthy eating…

eat-like-crapI need to print this and put it up all over my kitchen!

Well this evening will consist of 2 Jazzercise classes right after work. Then tomorrow morning I will squeeze in my mid-week run of 6+ miles before work. I’ve already told myself that I will just run for an hour and see how far that gets me! If I can run at the pace I’ve been hitting lately, around 8:20-8:40/mile, I’ll be close to 7 miles by the time I hit the 1 hour mark. Fingers crossed for good weather. 🙂  Have a great night!

Thanksgiving Plans

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, , ,

Happy Tuesday! It’s been a COLDDDDD day here in Springfield. The forecasted high is 37, but I’m not sure if we’re even going to hit that! And speaking of the weather, we did not get any of the forecasted snowfall overnight that I was anticipating yesterday. 😦 Sad day. But it was definitely cold enough to snow this morning!

photo(2)It was pretty nippy when I headed out on a short run around 5:15 am. I don’t usually run on Tuesday mornings, but with the cold cold weather, I knew I needed to take advantage of it! My lungs need to get used to the freezing temps if I’m going to run 13 miles in January.

I bundled up in some thermal tights, a thermal top, a vest, an ear warmer and gloves. I was cozy after about 1/2 a mile! The only cold part of my body was the front of my legs/quads. Weird, right? If the temps get much colder, I’ll have to start doubling up my layers on my bottom half. I think I need to dedicate a post or two to my best winter running outfits. Dressing appropriately for winter running is quite an ordeal. It’s been a major learning process for me, so hopefully my ‘expertise’ will be able to help out some newbie along the line.

Breakfast & Lunch

After my 3-mile run, I was pretty chilly and ready for some hot coffee and food. I had enough time to make some oatmeal at home before I hopped in the shower. I cooked some in the microwave while I made my coffee. And then I had this genius idea:

photo(31)Put a splash of my pumpkin spice coffee creamer on top of my hots oats! It was amazing!!! It took my oatmeal to a whole new level. I gobbled this up quick with some coffee before I got ready for the rest of my day.

Work went by pretty slowly, and I was ready for more food by the time noon rolled around. I had a simple soup-n-salad lunch today with some more leftover vegetable soup.

photo(32)I was a little heavy-handed with my Catalina dressing today. Oops! It was delicious though, and the hot soup hit the spot. I’m almost through all the leftover soup. Luckily, since there’s no dairy or meat in it, it’s keeping pretty well in my fridge. More tonight for dinner? Probably. I’m not sick of it….yet. 🙂

Thanksgiving Plans

On a different note, does everyone have their Thanksgiving plans in place yet? Nick and I have everything lined out. Now I just have to decide what food I’m going to make for each family’s celebrations! Apple pie (Nick’s favorite) and/or sweet potatoes may be on my to-do list in the near future.

We will be celebrating with my family the weekend before Thanksgiving, and then going to be with Nick’s family on Thanksgiving and stay through the weekend. It should make for a busy and fun 2 weekends in a row! My house will definitely look like a disaster zone by the time we are back home and settled. But all the delicious food and family time will make it all worth it.

I am most excited for my mom’s homemade stuffing, the Turkey Trot Nick and I are running on Thanksgiving morning, and Black Friday shopping with Nick’s momma. It’s gonna be so much fun! I’m planning out a fantastic outfit for the Turkey Trot. But more on that later…

Have a great night!

Muggy 10K Morning

Daily Life!, Jazzercise, Workouts, , , ,

Happy Hump day everyone! Did you and all your coworkers watch the Geico camel commercial this morning in celebration of it being Wednesday?!

what-day-is-dtuhu0I sure hope so. It’s kinda a ritual around my office. 🙂

Morning Run

I woke up at 5 AM today hoping to hear the rain had stopped. The radar was clear! Woohooo! I was so thankful for a clearing in the radar so I could get my usual Wednesday morning run in. On the training plan for today was 5+ miles. Meaning I needed to reach 5 miles but keep on going depending on how I feel and if time allows.

I made it out the door around 5:15, and it felt like I had just hit a brick wall. It was HUMID and much hotter than my morning runs have been lately. 64 degrees is not my style anymore! Luckily I dressed very lightly to help keep me cool, but I was sweating like a pig regardless due to the high humidity.

The whole run was a struggle. I wouldn’t call it my most difficult run, but it was not fun to keep pushing myself today. I think this was a mix of the temperature and my tired body from teaching two Jazzercise classes last night.

photo(113)This is the slowest pace I’ve had in a while, so I’m chalking this up to the weather I guess. Oh well, today wasn’t meant to be a crazy tempo run, so I’ll take a slower 10K before my workday starts over no run at all!

Jazzercise Evaluation

I’m still feeling a little off after my run this morning. I think my body was more fatigued than I realized before I headed out today. My 5:40 pm class last night was extra intense. I videotaped myself to send into corporate for evaluation! I have until November 15th to get a good class recorded and sent in, so I wasn’t too nervous when I set up the camera last night. I have lots of other classes that can be recorded between now and then! But once class started, I went into super instructor mode and worked really hard since the camera was on me.

About once or twice a year we get evaluated by Jazzercise, Inc. Sometimes they send out Quality Coordinators to visit our classes and do the evaluation on the spot. And other times they will just request a video. Lucky me only has to send in a video this time! I think the video from last night’s class should be more than sufficient to send in. The students and I were tired and disgustingly sweaty after the class, so that has to count for something!

Birthday Pants

Soooo, you all know my birthday is this Friday! I’ve so excited! And Nick has been stewing over what to get me for a gift. I keep telling him I’m not sure because I really don’t need or want much right now! But we finally came to the conclusion that I need some good, thermal running tights for my half-marathon in January. I found a pair on Lululemon that I fell in love with, and Nick obliged to get them for me for my birthday!

Screen Shot 2013-10-30 at 11.35.05 AMI picked out these Speed Tights, and I cannot wait to get them and try them out!

The solid black color was sold out in my size, so I opted for the black with a pink waistband. I love their running pants because of all the pockets! There’s even a nice big pocket on the side of the leg that will be perfect for storing my phone or my gloves if I start getting too warm. They should be here by Saturday or early next week, so let’s hope the temps are cool enough for me to try these babies out!

The rest of my day will be busy with work and cleaning my house! With my family coming into town for my birthday on Friday and Saturday, I have some major cleaning to do. Mostly vacuuming and putting things away, so I’m hoping I’m feeling extra productive when I get home at 5 this evening. I also need to pull out an old Halloween costume for Jazzercise tomorrow…. Should make for a fun evening!

Enjoy the rest of your day, and I’ll see you later!