Tag Archives: running

Feels Like Winter

Food for Thought, Workouts, , ,

Happy Hump day evening! It was a long and busy day, so I’m just now checking in. Thankfully I’m home tonight and have time to catch up! Plus I even had time to put together a pot of homemade soup that’s simmering on the stove right now. Recipe to come!

Workout, Part I

This morning I woke up early to get on my workout clothes and head out for my typical Wednesday morning run. On the schedule for today was 5+ miles. The forecast was looking gloomy, so before I even left my bed, I checked out the weather radar. It didn’t look so good! The temps were in the 50’s, but our entire area was covered in green blobs of rain. So I opted to go to the gym to run as far as I could tolerate on the treadmill.

I got through 3 grueling miles before I absolutely had to get off that thing! I did some abs and got in a good stretch before I finished my workout with one mile on the Elliptical. When I headed out of the gym, it was raining and I could tell the temps had dropped. A lot. It felt like Winter had arrived while I was working out! And from the weather forecasts I watched while I was on the treadmill, the cooler temps were going to keep pushing into Springfield throughout the day. Definitely feels like Winter today!

Breakfast

I quickly showered and got ready for my work day when I made it home from my less-than-exciting treadmill run. It was better than nothin’ though! And once I made it to my office, I was hungry for breakfast. I had prepared a batch of overnight oats to bring to work with me. They weren’t my best ever, but they filled me up!

photo(101)I also had some yogurt on the side for extra protein.

image(5)This new flavor is Blended Orange Creme. If you like orangey stuff, you would love it! I gobbled it up in about 30 seconds flat I’m sure. 🙂

Lunch

Lunch started right when I walked in the door because I was starving! I grabbed the first thing that I could find in my fridge. Hummus!

photo(132)While I had lots of this stuff with baby carrots, I made a quick wrap with chicken, spinach, and spicy mustard.

photo(102) image(6)I put in extra spinach. I was feeling guilty for not having a big salad like normal. It did the trick!

Workout, Part II

The rain cleared up as the day progressed, and the temps kept dropping. This presented the perfect opportunity for me to run outside and try out some of my cold weather running gear. I headed out right when I got home for a quick 4 mile run in the dropping temps. 38 degrees feels a lot different from the 50 degree temps that were here this morning! But the run went by fast, especially since I knew I had a hot shower waiting for me at home. 🙂 This brought my mileage for the day to 7 miles which is all I wanted to accomplish with this second workout. Woot for staying on track with my half marathon training!

Now tonight we’re just relaxing as I whip up a new recipe. American Horror Story has a new episode tonight, too! I probably won’t stay awake through the whole thing, but my DVR will make sure I don’t miss it. Have a great night, everyone!

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!

STL Weekend, Part II

Daily Life!, Workouts, , , , ,

Sunday morning in STL was wonderful for several reasons.

  1. Mac let me sleep in until 7:30.
  2. I got to sneak away for another nice run.
  3. The Cardinals won the ballgame the night before!

Everyone was kinda sleeping in and moving slow on Sunday morning, so I had one large mug of coffee before heading out on another run on the Maramec Bottom Trail.

photo(108)It was way too pretty for me not to stop quickly and snap a few pics. Plus breathing breaks are always good. 🙂 Especially when your struggling to breathe in the cold air.

photo(5)It was pretty darn cold outside yesterday morning, but I stayed fairly warm in my long sleeves and ear warmer. Next item to purchase for my winter running: thermal gloves that I can use with my iPhone. My fingers were about frozen on the shady parts of the path. But it was almost too pretty for me to care.

photo(94)

No filter needed!
No filter needed!

The path runs along the Maramec river, and the views were extra beautiful during the quiet morning. I made it to 8 miles in a little over an hour with a slightly slower pace than my Saturday run.

I headed back to Nick’s parents house sweaty, tired, and almost frozen. I didn’t realize how cold I was until I had a hot cup of coffee in my hands. I had a quick cup of Chobani Greek yogurt before I took a long, hot shower to warm up.

The rest of the morning was spent shopping with Karen, Nick’s momma. She is an awesome bargain hunter, so I love going on shopping trips with her. We went to Ulta to spend the gift card she gave me for my birthday, and then went into Target where I spent wayyyy to much money. What is it about Target that makes women spend 3x the money they intended on spending?! Anyways, I was excited to find a few Christmas presents, some running gear, and some seasonal coffee!

photo(104)I already tried this Caramel Apple coffee this morning, and it is absolutely amazing. Not too appley, and it was even good with my pumpkin spice creamer. I think I’ll have it again in the morning!

I also found Mac’s Halloween costume for Thursday night…

photo(101)He’s a ferocious T-Rex!!

Rawrrrrrr
Rawrrrrrr

He is so scary. The large hat and tiny arms on this costume sold me. I couldn’t stop laughing at it in the store, so I knew I had to bring it home.

photo(102)Doesn’t he look happy?? Well maybe it’ll make him happier to wear it Thursday night while the trick-or-treaters come around. It will at least get him some good attention!

After we made it home from shopping (and Mac tried on his costumer), we had a quick lunch and packed up the car to head home. I drove so Nick would hold Mac and relax on the drive back, so most of the trip went like this.

photo(103)Mac is a cool dude. Or at least he thinks so.

All-in-all it was an awesome weekend, and I can’t wait for Thanksgiving so we can go back to visit again!

Have a great Monday night, everyone. I’ll see you all tomorrow! I’m debating getting up early for a little run. We’ll see what my body decides to do in the morning. :)Nighty night!