Where's the Beach?

Do you ever have those days when it just all hits you - you're tired. Completely done in. You've been logging miles upon miles, increasing your weights during lifting workouts, cross-training, stretching, rolling out those muscle not to mention going to work, cooking, cleaning, etc. Um, that's a lot of hours being busy and active. After yesterday's tough morning run - it was a good run, but a hard one. It was definitely not a long slow day. The speed plus the humidity wiped me out. I knew right after that run that a rest day was in order. I mean not even a single thought of working out has crept into my mind. I don't even want to look at my yoga mat for stretching. Sometimes I forget to embrace my rest days. I forget to look forward to them and enjoy them. Then my body will quickly remind me to take time and relax, enjoy, rest and reap the benefits. So today, I'm enjoying and looking forward to fun, looking forward to rest, enjoying extra sleep. It'...

Happy Friday Eve! I feel like my days have been mixed up all week. Don't you just hate it when that happens? It's been a good week so far, but I am definitely ready for the weekend. I've gotten in some good runs (even managed to knock out my 10-miler this morning), done with my weight workouts for the week, now to focus on some extra stretching and enjoy a rest day tomorrow. Time to celebrate right? To celebrate Thursday, I thought I'd share 3 things that have made me smile this week. 1. ProCakes Protein Pancakes As a FitFluential Ambassador , I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to receive a sample of ProCakes to review. I will have a full review next week, but had to share as one of my 3 Things. These are gluten-free, high protein, and insanely easy to throw together. Even better - they actually taste good! 2. ThinkThin Bars I won this awesome stash of goodness from Amanda at  ThereAreTwoSides . I love ThinkThin Bars and am excited to try some of ...

I want to say Happy Tuesday! But Tuesday always feels like a weird day of the week. It's better than Monday, but not quite Hump Day. It's almost the middle child of the week isn't it? Yes, technically Wednesday should be, but people get oddly happy about Wednesday. I've not been feeling uber creative in the kitchen, so I don't have any recipes. My weekend was low-key so not tons to share unless I tell you that I ran (again), that I hate humidity (again), that I enjoyed pool time and reading (always a bonus though). I'd love to share some awesome training tips or words of motivation, or something inspiring. But I'm not feeling terribly inspiring. I am feeling honest, however. I thought it might be a Tell it Like it Is kind of day. Sometimes getting things out of my head is helpful - maybe it'll open up some space for better creativity. So here we (I) go. Sometimes I ... Don't feel like lifting weights. I typically enjoy lifting. I love how l...

Happy Friday friends! My first inclination, today, is to be a bit whiny and complainy (that's a word), especially about our weather change. We went from unseasonably cool weather to full on summer pretty much over night. Don't get me wrong, I love summer. It's really my favorite time of the year. However, as a runner, summer really isn't exactly my BFF. No more sleeping in on Saturdays. I know I have to get out early to attempt to beat the heat. Which is kind of funny because now all the sudden, beating the heat means running when it's 75 degrees. Now, I wouldn't complain too much about that, except for the 100% humidity and the high dew points. Just makes the air feel thick and soupy. But, I said I wasn't going to be complainy right? Let's move onto something positive then ... upsides of summer running (I may be digging deep here folks): 1. Getting to jump into the swimming pool right after a run. That's kind of a fun treat. 2. Running t...

Well, it happened. It's been a while, so I feel like it was overdue: The Bad Run. Yes, I was getting into that pool ASAP and it was heavenly I headed out the door just after 5:30 and could tell the sunrise was going to be gorgeous. I smiled and that might have been the last time I smiled. The air was so thick it smacked me in the face. It was already 77 degrees with high humidity and dew point. Hello Summer in the South! Because the sunrise was looking promising, I headed towards the river. I noticed right away that my Garmin miles were way off - what should have been 1 mile wasn't even .9 yet. My pace was also crazy. I felt like I was working too hard so I checked and my handy dandy fancy old Garmin was showing 13+ minute mile then it jumped to almost 17 minute mile. I walk faster than that. I was annoyed because I wanted to see the pace to figure out if I was really working as hard as if felt or if it was the heat and humidity taking ahold of me. It finally decide...

It's 5:15 am, still dark, bed is comfy, but you know you should be getting up to get in your workout. If you don't do it now, there's a chance it won't happen. But the pull of the bed is just too much to resist. Sound familiar? I know that there are some lucky people who just bound out of bed before the alarm. Eager beavers happy and chipper. Then, there's the rest of us. Now, most of you probably realize that I get up early to run, so you're thinking that I must be a morning person right? Nope, not so much. I'll do it. It's become a habit. Once I'm up and out the door, I'm happy that I did get up. That I did get my run done. Running or cycling on the trainer I can handle in the wee hours. Weights? No way. Not going to happen (safely). So, how does a non-morning person become a morning exerciser ? And should you bother trying? I think there are some great reasons for getting up and getting it done. For one thing, it's done for the...

I know that I mention running here and there, but I've not really talked much about my workouts in a while. I used to post my weight workouts, my running miles, even cycling miles. So, for Fun for Friday , I thought I'd do a little run down on my workout life .  1. Running   I've been consistently hitting 40-43 miles per week and feeling good. However, I know it's time to take a nice back-off week and let my body recovery. I also know that summer is here and as the heat and humidity continue to go up, my running will become more difficult. The summer plan is to maintain a solid baseline and just try to enjoy running.  2. Cycling   I've yet to take my bike off the trainer. Jason put on the clip on pedals and I'm absolutely terrified of riding it now. However, with all the rain we've had, it's been great having the trainer option and for easy access for riding in the early mornings when I'm not running.  3. Weight Lifting   I fi...