Breakfast Running Club and No Excuses.

This morning I was up around 6 am for a quick 5 mile jaunt with my breakfast running club ladies. We have formed a little running club in my neighborhood so a couple of the ladies met up to watch the beautiful sunrise and sweat it out a bit.

Although I love my solo runs I do like to switch it up during the week from time to time and run with friends. I am so lucky that the girls in my neighborhood love getting up early and busting it out just like I do. I think running with friends definitely helps to give you a boost and sometimes will push you to work a little harder when you don’t want to.

My friend Elyse is super fast and also runs marathons like myself so I love trying to keeping up with her for most of the way.

After the run I came home and did a mini strength set in my living room. I keep the weights by the tv so there’s no excuses not to get my lift on. This set takes about 15-20 minutes…great if you are strapped for time. Or do a few more rounds if you want to go a little bit longer.

Do you have a workout you like to do in your living room or if you’re strapped for time? How do you encourage yourself to work harder while you’re running?

Chasing the Sunrise and Living Room Workouts.

This morning’s run – 6 miles including some hill repeats while chasing the sunrise. Temps have dipped back down to the 30s and 40s today…hoping it stays that way for a little while. I love me some winter running in Texas.

I taught my classes yesterday and did a 5 mile tempo run on the treadmill so the legs were a little tired this morning but I kept thinking about what Beth mentioned in the comments a couple of days ago about not putting to much thought into your morning run…to just GO and get ‘er done.

Love it.

Now I am sipping on my dark roast coffee and knocking out work. Thanks to God and the man who invented my magic juice.

I did this strength circuit on Monday and kind of made it up in my head but I wanted to share it with you. Love living room workouts. Takes about 20 minutes all the way through and I used my set of 8 lb weights for the squats, presses, and ab work.

Do you prefer warm or colder temps for running? Ever do strength/circuit workouts in your living room? I need more ideas!

BP & Kabocha Love.

Good day to you! I am enjoying some warm tea on this chilly Texas morning.

Woke up to temps in the 30s. A couple of days ago the highs were in the 70s. Texas weather can’t make up its mind. Stop playing with my emotions, weather.

This morning I taught a spin class…new playlist on deck.

Last night I didn’t have to teach class so I took advantage of some free time and got my Bodypump on. Warmed up a bit on the treadmill first. Felt good to pick it up a bit at the end of that mile.

Onto Bodypump…not sure if I knew what I was getting myself into here…since I haven’t been to BP in, oh 6 months or so.

Bodypump is a 60 minute strength training class that works your entire body. Each song works a different muscle group. The squat track especially was a killer last night…hurts so good. Much needed for these weak sauce runner’s muscles.

After the gym I went to the store to stock up on some goodies. I have been exploring some new foods…my new fave as of late – the kabocha squash.

The easiest way to cook it is to wash it, wrap it in foil and pop that bad boy in the oven on 375 for an hour. Cut it in half, scoop the seeds out, slice and serve. The skin is also edible and tasty. I put some in my lunch this morning and topped it with some drizzles of honey and cinnamon. It’s mostly sweet all on its own though!

Off to work.

What is the temp like in your neck of the woods? How often do you strength train? What new foods have you tried that you’ve enjoyed? 

Turkey Day Tips.

This morning’s workout – did this awesome strength circuit in my living room w/ weights. Those wall sits are no joke!

 

Finished it off doing some yoga stretches…the pigeon pose is a great hip opening stretch if you do lots of cardio like spin classes and running.

Tonight I will be teaching a cycle class at the 24 Hour Fitness in Carrollton at 6:30. Come by if you are in the area!

Breakfast was a grade dark roast from the ‘bucks and a multigrain bagel. I ditched the cream cheese and went for the nutella.

Today is my Friday here at work and then I will be off for the rest of the week to enjoy my Thanksgiving holiday! I plan on spending it with my lovely family and the boyfriend too.

Speaking of Turkey Day here are some great tips from Brit to keep those pounds at bay!!

My take on the whole thing is just to enjoy what you will…in moderation…this holiday only comes once a year so enjoy the good stuff and don’t slack on the workouts!!

How are you getting active on Thanksgiving Day? Are you running a Turkey Trot race? I will be running the 8 miler!

Any Turkey Day tips you’d like to share?

Itching to Lift and Rock the Vote.

Last night I was itching to get a strength training workout in. It has seriously been weeks since I have lifted anything other than suitcases or groceries. So I blew the dust off of these babies and got to work.

Wall sits, shoulder presses, sumo squats, tricep dips, bicep curls OH MY. Washed it down with some ab work and a 2 minute plank. You would be surprised at how quickly you can work up a sweat in 2 minutes.

This morning I was up at the crack of dawn to vote at the polls. It was nice to get it done early before the lines get too crazy. Really I did it just for the sticker…

A little bit of Tuesday funny for your day…Random Olio posted this video yesterday and of course I have to share it with you…no matter who you are voting for…go out and let your voice be heard!

Tonight I am back at it teaching a spin class for a friend in need…lots of hot songs on the playlist! If you can come out I’ll be at 24 Hour Fitness Valley Ranch at 6:30 pm. Get there early for your pass to class!

Pump it.

This morning’s workout – 15 minute warm up…8 hill repeats 100 yds each…30(ish) minutes of cooling down. 6.7 miles done. I wore my CEP compression sleeves this morning during my run. They felt amazing!

 

I also enjoyed the beautiful sunrise by the lake. Lots of runners and people out this morning. Wasn’t too hot and I tried to catch some nice shady spots as much as possible.

Last night I got a little bit of strength training in after dance. I bought these shiny little beauties from Dick’s Sporting Goods so I tested them out.

I generally don’t do a set strength training plan during my marathon training, just try to throw the weights in whenever possible. I like to aim for at least 2 to 3 times per week.  I do think strength is an important factor though.

From active.com

Most of all I listen to my body during marathon training season so as to prevent injuries.

This is the little strength set that I did. I used weights with all of these with the exception of the scissor kicks & planks.

Alternating lunges  – 3 sets of 12

Sumo squats  – 3 sets of 15

Russian twists  – 2 sets of 20

Shoulder presses – 3 sets of 12

Planks / side planks

Scissor kicks – 3 sets of 15

Stretch & cool down

Takes me anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes to finish. Great little workout that you can do in your living room!

Do you strength train during marathon training season? If so how often? What is your favorite strength training move?

My Long Lost Love & a GIVEAWAY.

5 miles this morning. Hot and humid, 80 something degrees again. My training plan called for 45 miles easy, and so that’s what I did. Finished in 46 minutes. Good run though. Even though it is so humid out I always feel so amazing when its over. I’m starting to love this whole sweaty and sticky feeling after a hot summer run. I’m sure the boyfriend is not too fond of it…he loves me anyway, sweat and all.

Sweaty McSweat face.

So last night I was reunited with my long lost love…Nike Training Club! I went to dance class for an hour and then had totally forgotten one of my favorite classes was up next. The instructor, Melissa has tons of crazy fun *energy* which I love. We did what felt like a million sets of mountain climbers, sumo squats with weights, pushups, plyo lunges, and took NO breaks. The “breaks” were actually more of an active recovery and she made us do butt kicks in between. Intense! I decided to stay for 30 minutes since I had run earlier that morning plus dance class made for over 2 hours of working out. It was definitely a marathon workout type of day! I was glad I was able to get some strength training in though.

Sooo I am so excited because this is my very first GIVEAWAY post! I know you guys are going to like this one. Those of my friends that love running skirts, you are in luck! I am giving away the LULULEMON pace setter running skirt, in size 6! It has hardly been worn and washed a couple of times, so it’s practically new! I know the winner is going to have A LOT of fun in this spunky skirt!

All you have to do is tell me what is your favorite COLOR to run or workout in! You get an EXTRA ENTRY if you follow me on twitter and/or TWEET about the giveaway! Just let me know in the comments! 

Winner will be selected at RANDOM on Monday, July 2nd!

GOOD LUCK!

Hump Day Hustle.

This morning I ventured outdoors after a couple of days off from running! It felt so good to hit the roads again. I went on a little easy effort 6 mile jaunt, and of course I stopped and took photos of the duckies that were waddling about the neighborhood.

On Monday I took the day completely off, then Tuesday night I hit the gym for a hard 2 hour session. The first hour was Bodypump, round 2 was Turbokick. I was itching to get back to kickboxing and I’m so glad that I went! The instructor, Emily is a total BEAST. She always pushes me out of my comfort zone. She makes us do several rounds of push ups, mountain climbers and burpees in between kickboxing sets. It is definitely intense, but I always feel amazing when it’s over!

I was so glad I took a day off this week after Sunday’s half marathon. Not gonna lie, racing in the heat always wears my body out. I was super stiff after the race on Monday and my body was really feeling out of whack.  I had plans to go to a friend’s birthday dinner after work but my body was giving me some off signals and I was tired. So I went home and RESTED. Put my compression sleeves on, laid down and went to bed early. I was so glad I took Monday to rest and get back into balance.

I read this great article on the importance of recovery and basically each point made I totally agreed with. It really all comes down to listening to your body. I make sure after a race that I don’t rush back into running hard miles. When I do hit the pavement again I make sure to ease back in and I ALWAYS take the time to stretch my tired muscles afterwards. I think it’s easy sometimes to get caught up with what your peers are doing (especially when you are in a running group), and want to ‘Keep up with the Joneses’ so to speak and rush back into training when you see everyone is running. But always take inventory and make sure you are doing what is best for you. Your body will thank you for it later and you will reap the rewards.

Tonight I am teaching dance class for a friend at 24 Hour Fitness. I am looking forward to some much needed booty shaking this evening. Today is a hustle HARD kind of day! If you are in the area and a member of 24 Hour Fitness, feel free to join me at the Central & Royal location at 7pm.

What is your favorite form of cross training? How often do you strength train? 

Get Your Flex On.

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you have someone to hug or smooch on. I will be spending the evening with this fella a little later today…

Those two should really get a room...

Last night I decided to go to my friend Sharanda’s Danceaton class & then followed that up with Turbokick with Barbara. It was back to back heart pumping fun. It felt good to be back in the gym…I hadn’t done some of those moves in a minute since I’ve been so engrossed in marathon training. At the end of Turbo we did about 15 minutes of abs…lots of crunches, planks and side planks. Core work, just what I needed.

This morning I decided I was up for more torture. I was on a roll for sure. I went to check out an early bird Muscle Blast class at 24 Hour Fitness. I have said it a hundred times, but I really love working out in the morning.

The Muscle Blast class was intense. It was the first time I had gone to a weight lifting class since before my marathon, so it was much needed. We did non stop movements and touched on every major muscle group. After class I had a yummy recovery drink – one of my faves, Dark Chocolate Almond Milk. Decadence.

There are numerous reasons why runners should get their flex on. Here are just a few that I think are important.

If you are new or just getting back into the groove of lifting, here is what has worked for me:

-Start out with lighter weights and work your way up as you get stronger.

-Focus on your FORM…this is way more important than piling the weight on. What is the point of doing it if you’re not going to do it right?

-If you’re taking a class, do not compare yourself to others that have heavier weights…some of them have been taking the class longer, therefore they may have bumped up the amount or bulk of weight they use. Go at your own pace. This is your workout!

-Slow and controlled movements…make sure you are not rushing through reps.

-Don’t forget to smile! It helps me get through the torture.

-Aim to get some strength training workouts in at least 2 times a week.

Here are some great strength moves you can incorporate into your next workout.

What are some of your favorite strength training moves?