I am beginning to love the idea of long runs mixed in with some short runs but not having to do it every single day. So here is my latest update on running- another beautiful sunny day in the park made it a lot easier for me to keep going!

Thursday morning I once again had to be in to work for a meeting at 8am so I knew my butt was not getting up earlier than that 5:30 alarm so I once again snuggled with Tim in bed until 6:15. I got up and bolted out the door (I am sooo much slower getting ready in the morning when I don’t run!) and made it to work on time! Before I left a grabbed some eggins to take me to eat after the meeting.

The beginning of beautiful eggins!

Eggins are delicious. Our friend Mary showed us the way with these little treats. I simply just mix up some eggs in a bowl and I added the following… onions, jalapenos, green peppers, and spinach. You mix them all up and put them in the oven in a muffin pan to bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes. Then TADA they are done and you can take 1 or 2 with you to work!

So fluffy and tasty!

Pretty tasty!

portable too!

So the workday went one and I enjoyed my packed lunch around noon. I had made up some tuna fish, which I ate with a few Stacey’s Pita Chips. I also enjoyed a bag of left over fruit from dinner the night before and then gave my special a special treat of fruit snacks! YAY for those Target fruit snacks. Seriously, the best one I have ever had.

After work I headed to my parents house for workout class. Class was great and we did a circuit of 8 different workout for 20 seconds on 10 seconds off. It was fast moving and kept my brain stimulated just as much as my muscles because I had to remember what station I went to next! The stations looked like this…

• Burpees into pull-ups
• Squat, sit, rows on the cable machine
• Plank v-ups on the Reformer Machine
• Push-ups
• Farmers walk with 30-40lb
• Sit ups
• Squats
• Rowing

Heck of a workout! So great in fact that I was feeling really powerful when I left and decided to make a pit stop at the park on my way home. I was so glad I did because I had another successful day at there!

So keep in mind that tonight the sun was still shining at 7pm (which I do love) and it was still 87 degrees according to my faithful Murano. This is a major catch 22 for me because I love sun and I love warm weather but I would have enjoyed my run a lot more had it been about 15 degrees cooler with a nice partly to mostly cloudy evening. But I put that out of my head and just thought about the next 30 min or so where I was going to enjoy this day and do something for me.

I realized during this run that for me to really go into a run with the right attitude I sort of started my own little traditional. So I did do a mini-walk to warm up which took me to the beginning of the main path I run and I stopped there at the path.  I did a few quad stretches and hamstring stretches and then I just stood there and took a couple of deep breaths. Yes- I probably looked silly but I took a few minutes just for me- to prepare myself for what was coming and to reflect back on what today was. Then I smiled. Yep- I think that is where the true magic happens during a run. I stretched and then just smiled. A big sort of goofy smile but a smile that said “I’m proud of myself today. I am proud of who I am and what I accomplished already today and now I get to enjoy my accomplishments for me”. Honestly as trivial and silly as that sounds I think the smile is what really puts me in the mind set I need to be in to have a great run.

So not that anyone of you are looking to me for advice but in case you want any here I go…. If you are trying to run for any reason… a race, your health, or just because you want to love it like me take a minute to smile. If you are doing anything really that you have committed yourself to regardless of who knows about your commitment just smile. It sounds so silly but heck even giggle a little before you start. It really is mind over matter and I am the poster child for that! I spent so much time worrying about my tired legs and my off the wall breathing that I forgot to enjoy the ride! This little smile I do right before I start that reminds me that life is a journey and that part of my journey is this side running journey that I voluntarily signed up for. I don’t want to just ride it once and get off- I am hoping it last me a lifetime. Who knew you could do all of that in a smile? I didn’t! But now I do.

So I didn’t make it the 45 minutes I did on Tuesday but I did make it about 35 before I got so hungry I needed to go home and eat! The good news is that I think my body could have taken me further. My legs were feeling great even though they were sore from my last few days of working out. My breathing that I usually stress out about was right on target and my head was right where it needed to be! I had even remembered to charge my I-POD at my parents house in hopes of having some motivation to run so I got to listen to some awesome tunes while I ran. Stayed tuned for a post about a play-list that will keep you going for miles.

I think I love running at the park for a few reasons… 1. There is always a soccer practice going on and it just takes me back to the days of my soccer life! All of those little kids running around and laughing just really makes me think about all of the good times I had with my friends playing soccer 2. There are other people there… people I don’t know that I don’t want to let down. So yes, I have some competitive blood in me. I run for me but I certainly don’t want people to notice that I just quit- I want them to be impressed that I can keep going. 3. It is just beautiful out. I like that I can run the whole park without back tracking at all and go for miles. The wet lands are awesome to run through (except for the bugs and toads) and then you see playgrounds and families, then soccer fields, then a few hills to keep you motivated, and a pond where people are fishing.  SO much to look at and I think that helps to keep me going!

Another night where I just felt amazing. I was so gross and sweaty when I got home and Tim made sure to remind me of that but I felt GREAT about me. I was proud of myself which I think is more of an accomplishment than having anyone else be proud of you ya know? At the end of the day what matters most is that you know you put yourself 100% into everything you did that day and that you are proud of the person starring back at you in that mirror.

I ate left overs for dinner as Tim finished up his P90X then showered before bed! I slept like a rock that night and smiled the entire time

Shout out to Tim who does a great job at doing the dishes!

What a great "soon to be hubby"