Back in the Saddle

Hi guys!

Hope you all are having a great day so far.

This morning, I woke up and knew I needed to get in some sort of a workout.  I haven't been exercising as regularly over these past couple of weeks, and I have been feeling just plain lethargic.

It was another sunny and beautiful morning here in Chicago (although, a chilly 45 degrees, where is May?!), so a run seemed like the perfect pick.

As you all know, we are supposed to be training for a half marathon out in the suburbs this June.

We got off our schedule because Justin hurt his foot, and we haven't really gotten back in the saddle as of yet.  I know, I know, I could have been doing it on my own, but it's just not as fun without my favorite running buddy!

With all that's going on right now, I'm not 100% positive that it's still going to happen, but don't you worry, I'm not ruling it out as of yet.

I'm usually one who likes to stick to a plan and I hate hate hate saying I'm going to do something and then not following through.

I'm pretty confident that if I get in some of the longer runs that are on the schedule, I might still be able to handle the 13.1, even if I didn't exactly follow the plan.  We will see how it goes, and, of course, I'll keep ya posted!

Today I wanted to challenge myself to get in a 5-mile run.  4.5 miles would have been what was scheduled, but hey, I've got some catching up to do.

I fueled up a little with a bananer & peanut butter:

Sad day, I had to scrape the last of the peanut butter out of the jar -- looks like I might have to make a repeat grocery trip this week.

And mapped out a route on the handy-dandy website, mapmyrun.com.  It's kind of a pain in the butt to track mileage this way, but I'm not lucky enough to have one of those fancy Garmin watches, so I'll do what I can until that day comes! ;)

{You'll notice a little tv action in the background.  That's my new favorite silly show "Extreme Couponing" on TLC.  It's kind of incredible to watch, and kind of addicting.  I am now hankering to get one of those couponorama fliers in the mail.}

After procrastinating a little bit by adding to my most recent playlist, I gave my self a little kick in the tush, and headed out the door.

The run was equal parts fun and equal parts hard-to-get-though.

I enjoyed being out in the sunshine and feeling my legs move, but there were about 15 times where I said to myself "just get to the next corner, Jessica, and then you can walk a little."  It's amazing how hard running can be when you fall out of the saddle for a little while.

Thankfully, my playlist kept feeding me power songs at just the right moments, like this new one from Lady Antebellum.  I may or may not have been lip syncing the words to myself a little bit! ;)

Sometimes a good power ballad > heart-pumping party music.

I arrived home after about 45 to 50 minutes, sweaty as a betty.  My face also resembled a bright red tomato (I will spare you of an icky picture this time).

But, of course, I felt great and proud of my mini-accomplishment.  Whenever I am dreading a workout, I always remind myself of how good I will feel afterwards, and that I NEVER regret that I decided to dive into a sweat sesh.

After my long(ish) run, I had a quick date with Tony...

And then I treated myself to a deliciously re-vamped oatmeal bowl:

1 packet of Oat Fit Cinnamon Roll instant oats
1/3 cup of organic skim milk
1/3 cup of water
1 large spoonful of vanilla greek yogurt
1 tbsp. of chia seeds
4 sliced strawberries
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

I mixed 'er all up, popped it in the microwave for about 1 minute & 30 seconds, and chowed down.

This stuff was the bees knees.  Hit the spot.

Now I'm off to keep crackin on this paper, which I guess is not writing itself.  The bright side is, once I finish, I am D.O.N.E. with law school.  Kind of insane, kind of amazing.

Have a happy & healthy day! :)

xoxo

Jessica