Rain Rain Go Away!

I woke up at 4:30am to a thunderstorm.  Ugh...not again!

When my alarm went off at 5:30, it didn't sound like it was raining anymore.  Yay!

And when I actually got my hiney out of bed at 6:00am, it was almost clearing.  Even better!

So I put my running shoes on and hit the pavement.

I hoped to run 6+ miles.

Until I rounded a corner and saw this:

At this point, I look at my GPS and I was only at 3.4 miles.

So, my not-so-normal brain thought

"Hmmmm....well, I've never ran in the rain before.  It could be fun"

Then it began lightening.  Big lightening.  Lots of big lightening.

I decided I'd go ahead and head home.

I ended at 4.06 miles and about 5 minutes before the rain.

Guess I'll have to run in the rain another day!



No More Excuses

Mother Nature ruined my planned outdoor run this morning.

When my alarm went off, I could see the lightening thru my windows and knew my plans were shot.  So I was immediately like "well, there's that idea.  Guess I get to sleep". 

Then I remembered that I pay for a gym membership.  A gym that has plenty of indoor equipment that works come rain or shine... and I knew I had to get my rear out of the bed and go to Plan B.

People will always be able to come up with excuses for not working out, when in reality, they just don't want it bad enough.  Even if you don't have a gym membership, you have legs....legs capable of jumping jacks, squats and lunges.  Arms capable of pushups and tricep dips.  There are plenty of things we can do inside the privacy of our own home....for free!

I want it.  I'm determined to get it.  So I sucked it up and did it.

And you know what?  I am SO GLAD I DID.  I had a great workout.  Probably a better one that I would have had if I'd gotten to do my original plan.  I killed the incline on the treadmill.  I must have climbed Mt. Everest. 60 minutes, 5.4 miles of hills....hills that I tend to avoid when I run outside!

So it just all goes back to that saying.....I've never once regretted a workout I've completed, but I sure regret the ones I haven't done.

Before you decide to skip your workout, is your excuse really a valid one?  Search deep....cause usually, you'll find it's not.

Long Weekend = Little Exercise

Hope everyone was more dedicated to working out than I was this weekend!

I skipped Saturday (spent 8 hours in the car instead, so a semi-valid excuse, right?!).

I ran a little over 5 miles Sunday morning before church (yay).

I skipped Monday.  This was an unplanned skip.  I thought I might make it to the gym at some point, but between trying to score $4 tank tops at Old Navy and napping....I just didn't make it!

The good part is I wasn't absolutely terrible in the food category.  I wasn't great either.  I'm sure the scale will stay exactly the same this week.....as it has for the past 2 months. 

I can't complain.

I am the only one to blame!

13 in 2013

Yes, that's right.

I'm putting it in writing now.

I'm going to run a half marathon (13.1 miles) on February 24, 2013.

I'm SO excited.

And nervous already!

13 miles is just really far!

I have 3 others lined up to run with me.  We're hoping to form a team (which requires at least 5 people), so we need to recruit at least one more.  Any takers???

I've been toying with the idea, and yesterday I just decided to suck it up and commit. We can do anything we set our minds to.  Well, almost anything.  I never could grasp Chemistry.

There's something special about running 13 miles in 2013.

The race will be 2 days before my 33rd birthday (ok, not 13th, but still a lot of 3's)

The race will also be on the 13th anniversary of my first date with Jason.

I mean, basically, the universe it telling begging me to do it!

Ice Ice Baby....

I bet the title of this post definitely got my mom to read! Thanks by the way...for all those years of picking me up from school and trying to humiliate me while you jammed to something like Vanilla Ice.  Appreciate it.  :)

I used to get shin splints nearly every time I ran, whether it was a treadmill run or an outside run. I haven't had them in a long time.  Either they became less and less as I lost weight or just because I got used to running.  I assume it's probably a combination of the two.

I ran 6 miles this morning and stretched pretty good afterwards, but within minutes of being home, my shins were already crying.

So I decided to ice.

I'm pretty certain most people don't ice for a mere 6 miles and would call me an amateur.

So be it!

I sat at my desk, feet propped on a dining room chair, with my wireless keyboard in my lap and worked with ice on my legs.  It felt SO good!  I'm really really hopeful it will mean they won't be as sore tomorrow!

And if you haven't noticed, I have a 3 year old; therefore, I have age-appropriate ice packs.  Once these were no longer doing the job, I did get baggies of actual ice.

Good thing I didn't plan on running tomorrow.  It's BodyAttack day!  I've only been once, but it was really good.  It's a sports-influenced cardio class.  It was really high impact...move, move move...which is right up my ally.  Hopefully by Friday, when I plan to run again, my shins will be healed.

If anyone has any tried and true tips for either preventing shin splints or curing them, feel free to share!  I'd love to hear!



Motivational Pins

I *heart* Pinterest.

I've gotten so many great ideas...decorating, recipes, kid crafts...you name it, it's on Pinterest. And I actually really DO make the recipes and do some of the things I pin. Amazing concept! Lol I do have a Fitness/Motivational board. And I do go back and read them sometimes. There are a couple of these that I repeat to myself on a regular basis, so I thought I'd share. Maybe they'll inspire you (or at least make you laugh) as well.

This is a good one...

I actually did this once.   I did 1,000 jumping jacks in a day (and planned to continue for the week).  I stopped after Day 1.  I do not reccommend this!  My calves were so sore I couldn't walk for days! Lesson learned!

LOVE this one too.  So true...and we've ALL been guilty of saying it.

I know ONE person that would like this....but that's it!  :)

And we'll end on a little humor mixed with a little truth!

Dining Out

This one is going to be short & sweet.  Promise!

The absolute best advise I can give for eating out...look up the nutritional information before you go (if available).  Have a plan in place!  Know what you are going to order before you get there and are too hungry to make healthy choices!

I am always SHOCKED by the calorie/fat content when I look up a restaurant's nutritional information.  It will definitely make you think twice about what you order....or whether you eat the entire dish or just 1/2 of it.  Most chain restaurants have this information readily available to you on their websites.

So just a little tip.  I don't always practice this approach, but I know when I do, I eat FAR fewer calories!