After listening to the message, I heard the voice of my friend Leah all elevated and excited saying that she and her boyfriend Matt had some “big news” to share! They’re in Europe so I had no way of calling her back (though I did leave a voicemail on her cell phone just in case 😉 ), but I felt 100 percent positive that the news was going to be that Matt proposed! I checked my email just in case and I was right!!! He proposed in a castle. Romantic, huh!?
I’m SO excited. Leah and Matt are such a fantastic couple. I can’t wait to talk to her and hear all about the proposal. I’m pretty much dying right now since I can’t call her! Ah!!!
Congratulations!!!!
YAYYYYY! 🙂
Morning Run
Another reason I flew out the door this morning was because I was anxious to try out my new running shoes.
“Ready, Ready, Ready, Ready to Ruuun”
Clearly Sadie was pretty excited about our run as well.
We tackled five (blister free!!!) miles.
Stats
(In case you are wondering, I don’t map out a perfect 5-mile route every time. I just stop my watch exactly at five miles and walk for about five minutes to cool down and get back to my apartment.)
I took the guy from Track Shack’s advice and laced up my shoes a little tighter before running. I think this really helped keep my feet secure in the shoes and prevented the formation of any blisters. Sch-weet!
Blister Free, Baby!
I followed up our run with 10 minutes of stretching on my fancy pink yoga mat. 🙂
Breakfast
Twenty minutes after a run my body goes into “give me food NOW” mode. Of course I always obey. 😀
I ate an apple with a bit of peanut butter while preparing today’s breakfast that included an egg white, cheese and veggie bacon bagelwich.
I used MorningStar Farms vegggie bacon strips, which smelled exactly like bacon as they were cooking and turned out surprisingly crisp in the microwave.
MorningStar Farms Veggie Bacon Strips
I topped a toasted sweet wheat Alternative Bagel with a Laughing Cow light original Swiss cheese wedge, two egg whites and the veggie bacon and scarfed the bagelwich down in no time!
Egg, Cheese, Bacon, Bagel
Protein Packed
Breakfast Bagelwich
Perfect post-run fuel!
Recharging Your Workout Routine
As I was conquering the weekly long run of my half marathon training plan last Saturday I started breaking up the run into “sets” in my mind.
When strength training, we often do several sets of an exercise, and each time we finish a set it feels like a mini-accomplishment. By breaking up my eight-mile run into four sets of two miles in my mind, I felt like I was able to check a “set” off my running list every 18 minutes or so. That was a lot better than waiting more than an hour to feel like I accomplished something!
It was a totally mental thing, but for some reason this new way of thinking really recharged my run. It also got me thinking about other ways to rejuvenate my exercise routine. Since we all get into an exercise rut sometimes, I figured you might be interested in some of my tips for recharging your workout routine:
- Break up your workout: Rather than doing a lot of cardio one day and strength training on its own the next, combine the two workouts and make them last for two days.
- Change your location: Get out of the gym and go running, rollerblading or biking or take your dog on a hike. If the gym is your thing, visit a different gym for a week (most gyms offer free weekly passes to “potential members”) or visit one of your gym’s sister locations.
- Take a new group exercise class: Take a strength training class to learn new weightlifting exercises, or take a cardio class to get your heart rate up while the time flies by!
- Sign up for a race: Sometimes having a goal in mind can really recharge your workout. Sign up for a 5k or a triathlon and focus your workouts to ensure a strong finish on race day.
- Take a break: If the thought of exercising makes you feel exhausted and you can’t remember the last time you took more than a day off in a week, you may need a few days off to relax and let your body recuperate from your intense training and active lifestyle.
- Do a cardio hodgepodge workout: I’m a huge fan of breaking up my cardio workouts into 10 minute spurts on various cardio machines. Spend 10 minutes on the bike, 10 minutes on the elliptical, 10 minutes on the step machine and 10 minutes on the treadmill and watch time fly by!
- Search for new workouts: Browse blogs or flip through fitness magazines for new workout recommendations. Some of my favorite workouts have come from other bloggers!
- Update your music: Change up the music on your iPod for instant motivation. A new playlist with upbeat music can really rejuvenate a workout!
Question of the Day
How do you recharge your workouts?
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In a castle?! How cool is that! I always find that changing my routine – usually with plyos or some functional work – keeps it exciting for me!
Finding somewhere new to run and explore always makes things more fun! Too bad my city doesn’t always have sidewalks. You look amazing, pretty lady!
Congratulations to your friends on their engagement!
I just saw that one of our local grocery stores sells the alternative bagels you mention here, and I’m going to give them a shot! I’m going to try those bacon strips too — I’m more of a “maple flavored sausage” kinda fan. I heart those Morningstar products! I have recently added trips to the gym to change my routine as I’ve been working out in my bedroom with videos for the last 2 years. I have found that I LOVE all the options that the gym offers, so much so that I’m there 2-3 hours a day. I really should make a better effort at taking more than a day off, though. Enjoyed your post, thanks!
maple flavored sausage is the jammmm.
Congrats to your friends! That is so exciting!!!
I try not to do the same exercise two days in a row. Also, my gym offers great group fitness classes, so it’s easy to change up my routine and not get bored! Congrats to your friend!
Congrats to your friend. How exciting!
I change my workouts frequently to keep it interesting, different cardio, changing my lifting every 3-6 weeks and listening to new podcasts and music.
haha i love the dixie chicks referenece 🙂
i try to change up what i do that’s non-cardio…yoga one day, weights the next, and then i try to change up my cardio between walking, running, and biking! so fun 🙂
i was wondering if any one would catch that. 😉
I love engagements – how romantic!! 😀
I like to keep the routine varied, so I don’t get to bored with things. OR, like yesterday, I took the day off to recharge and re-energize. That totally seemed to do the trick for me! 🙂
P.S. – I re-posted your fab blog savvy comments from yesterday in my morning post – thanks again! They rocked 😉
a castle?! holy crap that’s like you’d have in a dream. lucky girl! 🙂
In order to stay excited about exercise, I try to never do the same workout two days in a row. I often do a strength training dvd/a little cardio one day, then I’ll call a friend to go to spin class with the next. Good music/magazines (if on a machine) are key, plus I believe in rest days. I dragged myself to work out Tuesday, but promised myself a day off yesterday, which was SO wonderful and I felt zero guilt, which was pretty big!
Engagement, exciting! Congratulations to them. =)
Those are some really great tips for recharging a workout!
Congrats to your beautiful friend 😀 That’s amazing, and in a CASTLE!?!?! A dream!
I always love trying new classes – and spinning NEVER gets old! 🙂
I really need to work on changing up my workouts! I’m such a slave to the elliptical. I think I love it because I can study on it! Quick question for you… what kind of watch do you wear? What watch do you recommend for someone trying to start up a running program?
i run w/ a garmin forerunner & love it b/c it hooks up to satellites to tell you how far you’ve gone, as well as your average pace, calories burned, etc. you can program it for biking as well! i would definitely recommend it! here’s a link (but you can probably find it cheaper elsewhere on the internet): https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=349&ra=true
Thanks so much!
Those Nike sports bras are my favorites, I love them. Great work out tips also!
Goodness girl, I want your legs! I wish I was a runner… but I’ve tried a few times and just can’t get into it…
I do love new walking shoes though! 🙂
YAAAY for love! YAAAY for your friends, wow, a castle! 🙂
YAAAY for new running shoes, I LOVE new shoes (of all kinds, AHEM…)
I am quite boring with my workouts… I love to run around a track or treadmill or up my favorite steep hill… all I have to do to change it up is get kickin’ new music… TOTALLY energizes me! 🙂
Great post! I love it when I get new shoes:) And I want your abs…gah! I run, lift weights, and have been doing more core, but my abs never look defined. I do like desserts. Could it also be diet coke?
haha! i found myself doing this as well (what if i’m doing something wrong, why doesn’t my body look like hers) but i think it’s just genes..
Great tips!
I also had a recent run charged by exciting news! I found out right before walking out the door that I am getting to go to Africa next month. I was so excited I nearly killed myself doing sprints! I had to stop and be like ok, breathe, scale back the energy! I want exciting news before every workout now though. It’s the best boost!
that’s amazing!!!!
Gosh, you’re tiny! You’ve got quite the bod : ) Glad your shoes were good to you!
YAYYYYY CONGRATS to your friend 😀 That is SUPER exciting!! I love hearing things like this..even if I don’t know them. I just LOVE LOVE!
As for workouts- I usually browse over blogs or look online for some new ideas.
how exciting, a proposal in a castle!!! that already sounds like a great engagement story. can’t wait to hear the rest! 🙂
doesn’t new workout gear get you excited to work out? i bought a bunch of new stuff and i was so excited to get to the gym…as oppposed to hating being there because i felt like i looked like i was wearing pajamas! hahaha.
I like the breakfast! I definitely want to try those bagels and the veggie bacon. The 5 mile run is definitely an awesome way to kick off the day!
New music on my iPod really helps an old workout feel new. But I also like to change up what I do to keep things interesting. That’s why I like my homemade obstacle course, even an extra step to go over makes a difference or a challenge.
Jenn
Thanks so much for the blog shout-out! Your blog friends are so kind, I feel so loved 🙂
of course!!! SO excited for you!
Do you have more info on the alternative bagels? I gave up bagels forever ago because I was addicted and sometimes I crave them!!