Tag Archives: winter weather

Winter Blahs

Running, Workouts, , ,

Happy Tuesday to ya! The sun is shining and it is finally above freezing here today! Yay for melting and warmth!

So I set my alarm this morning to get up and go to the gym. I heard it blare at 5 a.m., and I rolled over, turned it off, and went back to sleep. Yup. I just turned it off like it never happened. WHAT?! Me – the queen of waking up before the crack of dawn to get in a good sweat session – completely ignored my alarm and slept until the very last second. And it wasn’t only today. This ‘lazy’ trend started last week when I got sick the Monday before New Year’s. And now that I’m better, I can’t seem to get out of my funk! I’m calling it my ‘Winter blahs’.

WinterBlues_Car__Web1_I’ve come down with a bad case of the blahs, and I’m trying to push past it. Being sick last week + all the snow Springfield has had is turning me into a lazy, hibernator, and I’m not loving it! At first, I was afraid I was experiencing some running burnout. Which, to an extent, wouldn’t shock me. I’m in week 12 of my half-marathon training. But then I realized, I’m not sick of running. I don’t dread going out on my next run. I dread leaving my warm house and heading out into the cold and snow. That’s the main reason I didn’t get out of bed this morning: I was scared my car would get stuck on the side of the road at 5 a.m. with no one around to help.

To set myself back in the right direction, I’m going to teach my normal 2 Jazzercise classes tonight, and then complete a 7+ mile run tomorrow. And I’m going to love every minute of it! I’ve learned some new songs I’ll teach tonight. And as for the run tomorrow, I’ve already told myself that it is going to be challenging with all the snow on the roads. I will be fighting traffic and icy sidewalks, but whatever I don’t get done in the morning, I can finish in the gym tomorrow night with Nick. I just need to sweat and remind myself of why I love exercise, regardless of the crazy weather. 🙂

My first half-marathon is in 2 weeks and I can’t wait! And this also means that I don’t have time to be lazy. I need to push myself this week and then slightly taper my workouts next week to be in tip-top shape for the 25th. I can’t believe I’ve already been training for 3 months for this sucker!

photo(133)It has felt so good to mark off each training run as the weeks have passed. And I can’t wait for the half-marathon to be over so I can make new training plans for the Little Rock Marathon, and then the others halves that I’m signed up for this Spring. It’s going to be a fun and busy race season!

Tonight will be busy with Jazzercise, and I’m thankful for that. Otherwise I would probably go home and eat all the leftover brownies I made on Sunday. And I already had two with my lunch today….I’m just about brownied out!

Have a good evening!!

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Another Snowy Day

Daily Life!, Running, ,

Hey there! How’s your Tuesday going? Mine has been pretty good since we had about 4 more inches of snow overnight! It was that really good kind of snow too: nice and fluffy. The little snowstorm made for a peaceful evening that is perfect for sitting by the fireplace. Which is exactly what I did last night with Nick and Mac. 🙂

Morning Run

Since we only had the snow and no more ice yesterday, I decided that I would wake up early and attempt another snowy run. My running shoes have great traction on the snow, but the ice….not so much. I woke up bright and early to an additional 4 inches of the fluffy stuff. It was so pretty! It was also my coldest morning run yet.

photo(6)Yikes! The wind was calm though, making this temperature at least tolerable. And, thankfully, most of the roads around my house had been plowed at some point during the night. So I headed off down the road at a much slower pace than normal.

My first mile was a 10:15 pace. I finished my 3.6 miles with an overall pace of 9:53. For a girl that has a normal pace of 8:30 or faster, this is a little hard to stomach. But the snow covered roads are a good excuse for slowing down a bit. Better to be safe than sorry!

I also freaked out some of the MoDot crews this morning. They were out in full force at 5 a.m. with the plows before the morning commute happened. And I don’t think they were anticipating seeing many runners this morning! Several slowed wayyyyy down for me even though I moved out of the way. I just smiled and waved them on. I kept thinking…”Keep on driving. I’m okay, just a little crazy.”  🙂

I headed back home by 6 a.m. to get ready and out the door early to beat some morning traffic. Driving in the snow doesn’t freak me out – it’s the other drivers that freak me out. And it was a slow and slick commute mostly.

image(12)But I made it to work safely and even early! I had trouble focusing though for the first half of the day. It was too pretty outside my window.

image(11)The day has passed pretty quickly since lunch though, and I’m excited to head out to Jazzercise shortly. My classes have been cancelled here and there since last Thursday when the snowpocalypse first hit. So I am ready to sweat with my ladies tonight! I’m teaching my regular back-to-back classes tonight, so I’m hoping a few students brave the weather with me.

I’ve felt kinda ‘off’ all day, and I’ve decided it’s because my workout regimen has been on a hiatus for almost a week now! I’ve gotten in a couple short runs, but I’m definitely needing my Jazzercise fix. Two classes tonight will do my body good and set me back on track.

Have a great evening!!

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!