Where's the Beach?

I know it's winter, and winter is cold. I get that logic. However, I live in the south where winters are typically mild. We have only a handful of days that dip below freezing. We rarely see any good snow, you know, the kind that actually sticks. Usually we get ice, gray, dangerous ice. We worry more about power outages from ice storms and being stranded because the roads are too slick far more than we worry about any need to shovel our driveways. Our weather is notorious for crazy temperature swings. As an example, I ran on Sunday in shorts and a tank. Yesterday and today it was 2 layers on top and bottom with ear warmer (headband thing), hat, gloves with mittens over the top and my neck warmer. This morning was 14 degrees. I realize that for some, that's a mild heat wave. For us, it's almost unheard of. In fact, it's so rare to have these temps (and so many days of them) that I only have 1 pair of fairly thick running tights. I did purchase a new pair this year ...

This post is courtesy of Mr. Pavement Runner who had the great idea to do a blog post about our "fitness closets." Sometimes it's nice to have an inspired post idea I must say. Mine is more fitness drawers and baskets, but that totally counts right? We do have a closet that houses our bikes and a few fitness items, but mostly everything is crammed into drawers or spilling out of baskets around here. This drawer houses mostly warmer weather running gear and anything I'd wear to workout in at the house or the gym. If it were properly folded and organized, you'd find: 4 pairs of Saucony running shorts - Ignite split short 1 Saucony tank 2 Brooks tanks (one sheer mesh and one black and white) 1 short-sleeved Saucony, 1 short-sleeved Asics and 1 short-sleeved Brooks An assortment of sports bras that include Champion brand, Saucony, Brooks And a host of Nike shorts and tops that I will only wear at home - old, booty shorts ;-) I usually try to cram i...

Trying Out Mesh This morning I went ahead and got myself up and out of bed when Jason got up to go to his morning master's swim class. My plan was to get in 3-4 miles. At 5:30 it's still completely dark out, so I did hedge around until about 5:35 so that it would at least start getting light earlier into my run rather than right at the end (if that made any sense). I tried out my new Brooks Running D'Lite Micro Mesh Racerback . Normally I just wear a sports bra and shorts, but I wanted to try to find something I could wear when running solo that wasn't hot and was vibrant so I could be seen. This shirt fits the bill. It's mesh, as in mesh mesh, totally see through. However, you get the feeling of some coverage rather than just bare skin. Since it is mesh, the air flows right through it almost as if you were running without the top (almost, because it was sticking to me by the end). And, I think it's a good safety measure for being more visible in the dark...

Morning Run This morning started off incredibly early. The alarm was set for 5 am, but it's really 10 minutes fast. Gotta be sneaky like that sometimes ;-) Jason and I got up and got going, he was going much slower than me. I swear it's like pulling teeth to get him moving. Somehow, even though he has everything gathered up and ready (including his bike), and I make him start getting ready before me, I'm still waiting on him. Men.... We hit the Big Dam Bridge right at 5:30 and got started with the run at about 5:35. This meant that I'd be more likely to have time for 10 miles, which was my goal. It was already a very humid 75 degrees with almost no breeze to speak of. Start of my run at 5:30 am Jason was pacing a little slower, I think he didn't want to run beside me for fear I'd be too chatty. He thinks I talk too much sometimes. Me? Never.... LOL I kept my eyes out for bunny rabbits or deer, while enjoying every minute of wearing my new Brooks Ghos...

New Running Gear Today I had extra incentive to get out and run - new running gear! I ordered a couple of things for myself and Jason from Brooks Running on Friday and it already arrived today. Love fast shipping like that! Needless to say, I "had" to take my new hat and shirt for a test run. HVAC Infiniti Mesh Cap HVAC Synergy Sleeveless I loved the hat. It is super light and kept the sweat out of my face - huge plus for me. It was a little big so I kind of had to rig it a little, but I have to do that with almost every hat I buy. The shirt is the ideal shirt for warm-weather running. Normally I just wear a sports bra when it gets hot. But I have wanted to try singlets but never found any that didn't stick to me, make me feel claustrophobic. They all seem to make me even hotter, the last thing I need when it's it's 80+ degrees out. It was about 73, so not terribly hot mind you, but definitely sweat-inducing after you got moving. And this shirt? I wish I ...

I thought I might do something fun today and show you my Street to Sweat clothes. And as you can tell, I take terrible self portraits. Dress - Banana Republic Cardigan - Ann Taylor Loft Shoes - Madden Girl via DSW Cap - Nike Top - C9 Champion from Target Shorts - C9 Champion from Target Shoes - Brooks Ghost 3 (dead running shoes) As you can see, I hit the gym for my workout today. I started with 20 minutes on the elliptical then got in back and shoulders and a very short tabata workout. I went with 3 sets of 8 reps unless noted. SS#1 Underhand barbell row Standing shoulder press SS#2 Pullovers Lateral raise SS#3 Double-arm rows Front raises SS#4 Low back extensions - 10 reps Incline rear delt flyes For the tabata, I just chose 4 exercises that I repeated as a circuit twice through to give me 1 round. I repeated twice for a total of 10 minutes. You do each exercise 20 seconds followed by 10 second rest then move direction to the next exercise. Ket...

My #PROOF I haven't really mentioned my affiliation with FitFluential recently. And I really should because it's an amazing group of highly motivated individuals. Recently, they introduced a fantastic new idea based on "Proof," on showing what you did to kick some workout booty, to live healthier, or to motivate others. They ask the question:   What's your #PROOF ? My proof is usually a puddle of sweat, shaky muscles, or an ear-to-ear grin after a wonderful run. It's not the calories burned displaying on my Garmin, though sometimes it's the mileage (I won't lie, that's pride). My proof is usually logged in my blog daily, but I often just take that for granted since it's just what I do (if that makes sense). But today, I wanted to draw more attention to it. Feel my proof and see my proof. Today was another nice day, though warm for sure. When Jason and I set out for our 3-mile neighborhood run at 11:30, it was already 80 degrees. Thankfull...

Prosperity Dinner Bowl Last night I ended up relinguishing kitchen control to Jason. I was so tired after not getting much sleep, and that was setting in big time by 6 pm. I really could have just gone to bed by 7. I had been thinking about black-eyed peas, Apricot Glazed Brussels Sprouts , wild rice, and roasted sweet potatoes combined in a bowl with some sort of vinaigrette to tie them all together. So that you could just mix it all together. Jason had other ideas that included using fingerling potatoes. I did tell him my ideas and also told him to just do whatever because I so didn't care at that point. He actually ended up putting together my dish idea for the most part. He cooked the wild rice with the peas. He did use fingerling potatoes plus sweet potatoes (upon request). I made the glaze for the sprouts and used that as a base for a dressing for the peas. It was simple, but very hearty and satisfying.   Now, let's hope this brings us the luck and prosperity it...