Monday Motivation

This past week I was lazy....I gave into the tired feelings...I didn't eat what I knew would make me feel good...I let go.  Today after being tired of feeling tired, I got up and did speed work and legs.  Sweat poured out...and I felt AWESOME!!!  I pushed my body this morning not as a punishment for the laziness of last week but because I know how awesome it would make me feel!  We get one body...one.  Why not push it and feed it the way that is going to make it work its best?  Why not give it your all?  Why do you workout?

TTT

This week has been insane...however I feel like I write that more times than I want.  We've had half days and schedule changes and all that jazz...leaving me a frazzled teacher-mom!  The gym really is my constant...thankfully!  That being said here are some randoms for you!

Make up your mind!...This October has been special weather wise.  We started the month with rain...and lots of it.  Then it was 80 degrees

...and now it's 35. 

Yeah when I said special I was certainly being sarcastic!  I am missing our usual Cape Cod fall where the weather is glorious and we can be outside constantly without a single tourist in sight!  How has your fall been?

Race time!!...The ladies that I run with on Saturday mornings are headed off today to D.C. to run Marine Corps!  They have worked so hard this summer training in all kinds of crazy weather that I am sure no matter what race day brings they are going to be ready....I mean as long as it isn't the wicked dark and foggy morning like we had last week!  Also another bunch of running friends are tackling Cape Cod Half Marathon this weekend....go rock it ladies!!!  And here I am with a major case of FOMO going on!!!

Game time...Since mini-chickie's birthday she has been on a board game streak...anyone who will sit down for more than 2 minutes is susceptible to getting roped into playing another round! 

Don't let the sweet face fool you...she's a fierce competitor who will stop at nothing to get the W!...and yes that does include putting the spinner on the number that she needs!

Stay tuned in for tomorrow as I try to step up my fashion game!!!

Monday Motivation

This could not be truer when it comes to finding running buddies!!  For the past few months I have been running with two friends Lisa and Laney...these ladies are my kind of crazy!  They think nothing of waking up at an ungodly hour to meet up for a long run...even if that means we are running most of our run in the dark!  Case in point was this past weekend...it was DARK at 5:30am...the kind of dark where there is no stars, no moon, no street lights.  Added to the mix was a thick fog rendering our headlamps pretty much unusable.  Needless to say our first 5 was noticeably quiet as we dealt with our own fears of the dark!  I was ready to throw in the towel after those 5 but I was so thankful they were there and finish another 5 to end the day.  The power of someone beside you to carry you through is so motivating!

A special shoutout to Jill who OWNED her ultra this past weekend even in the rain and winds....she's my kind of crazy!!!

Monday Motivation

I feel like as the years have gone on, I have been carefully selecting who I surround myself and my family with.  There is a quote from Hans Hansen that says, "People inspire you or they drain you.  Pick them wisely." There have been people that I have discovered along the way that have drained me but I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many that motivate and inspire me each day...two of which have big things this week and next!!!  My BRF Jill who I talk about often is tackling her very first ultra this weekend.  Jill doesn't know the word quit and at 50-something (I'm not outing you Jill!) she is still doing things that would have ladies half her age shaking in their Sauconys!  She's awesome and I am so proud to have her in my life!!  Another blogger friend turned real life friend is Dani!!  The list could go on and on about how she motivates everyone around her but this week...next week she is hitting her 2-Year runstreak....let me let that set in....2 friggin years this girl has run every single day!!!  Amazing!  These ladies have me motivated...inspired to not stop pushing my own limits!!!  Who do you surround yourself with??

What's Up Wednesday

Days before we were back to school were full but I felt like I was able to enjoy them and do the things I needed to do within reason.  Now that we are back to school...and soccer...and tennis...and gymnastics not so much!  I keep saying I need a day...or a few hours really...to sit down and really plan.  I am craving my to-do list and the ability to check things off as opposed to the runaway train that I am currently on!  Case in point I passed 1000 miles and didn't even know it! 

When life feels like you are being shot out of a cannon every morning, I need even more the ability to start it with my workout.  I just feel like I am able to tackle whatever is headed my way when I have sweated already.  This past week was rainy, cloudy, and cold (a change from what October is normally around here) so it was hard to pull myself out of bed at o'dark thirty but it was worth it every time!!

This week was about getting in the miles but it was also about making sure I got in my weights.  I have been keeping a pretty good schedule of doing weights on Tuesday and Thursday and then kettlebells on Friday.

I know that I need to be more mindful when I am doing weights...what I'm training and really pushing myself...but I also feel good about keeping the strength I have now.  Increased strength will come!

I'm also so thankful that I have a bike path and a few quiet streets near my school so that I can get out a few days a week for runch!

Seriously it makes the day so much easier to handle when I can break it up a bit by getting outside and breathing the air with a run!  Yes there are times when I'm a sweaty mess for the rest of the day but my students thankfully don't judge...much!  This past week even though the weather was dicey I was able to runch 3 days and it made so much of a difference.

So this past week my schedule was as such...
Monday: 3 miles easy run with ab/core work
Tuesday: Weight training circuits
Wednesday: 6 miles with 30/60/90 second pick-ups
Thursday: Weight training circuits
Friday: 3 easy miles + kettlebells
Saturday: torrential rain meant no run for me!
Sunday: More rain...basement sprints!

With no race really on the horizon I am just loving keeping my fitness level up and getting in those long runs with my friends.  I don't know what I'll do when they actually finish their trainings!!!  Are all your running buddies on the same schedule?

Monday Motivation

7 years ago I was a very different runner than I am today...heck I was a different person then too!  I had become a mom a year before (as well as turning 30 yikes) and I was looking for something to get me back to feeling like me again.  I joined a challenge to run 1000 miles in a year.  I didn't know if I could do it...it sounded so crazy at the time.  But if you know me at all you know that once I say I am going to do something, I'm all in!  I hit my goal that year with a total of 1111.9 (yes that .9 kills me!) miles and I have continued to do it every year since then....even when I was pregnant for 10 months of the year!  This weekend as September said her rainy farewell, I went over the 1000 mile mark (1026.6 and counting) for yet another year making my 7 year total 8,929.5!!  How is this my Monday motivation for you?  Because all you need to do it take that first step...take a risk on yourself...push that limit just a little bit farther.  You never know what you are capable of until you try!!