Friday Favorites #3

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Happy Friday! I’m glad the week is over and that I have a relaxing weekend planned with a whole lot of nothing except a 20-miler and a massage.

Club Monaco – My current new favorite non-running/athletic attire store. Well, not store, online shopping venue, because I think I shop for clothes in stores less than 3 times a year now. My two recent favorite pieces are a hoody and a wrap. I sometimes wish it would stay colder out so I can wear the hoody around all the time (guess, I got my wish with the snow today, okay, sorry for ruining spring in the Northeast for everyone).

IMG_2656Popcorners – I have an addiction problem. If I like something, I feel the need to finish it immediately. Instant gratification right? Why deny myself? I opened a bag of White Cheddar Popcorners and finished the bag by myself in 3 sittings (at least it was over 3 days but serving size is 5). This is why I can’t go to the supermarket hungry or be allowed to go into a supermarket in general.

Dove Dark Chocolate – To keep with the theme of food, I don’t have an addiction to dark chocolates though it’s one of my favorite foods. I usually have enough self-control to eat one or two at a time. I always have a bag of the Dove PROMISES Silky Smooth Dark Chocolates in my drawer at work and/or at home. It’s a nice treat every so often and I love the PROMISES message in the wrapper. It’s like a fortune cookie except I don’t get to learn Chinese.

Prime Cycle – I’m finally back on the saddle after a hiatus due to scheduling. While I will not finish the class with the highest RPMs (I always schedule spin classes the day before a long run), it’s just fun to sweat like crazy with good music for 45 minutes straight.

IMG_2665New kitchen gadgets – I love Amazon especially Amazon Prime. I heard about zoodles this week and decided I wanted to make it this weekend. Thank you to free two-day shipping, I got my new spiralizer today. Also, since avocados are one of my favorite foods and I was already ordering a new kitchen gadget, I decided to finally invest in a 3-in-1 avocado slicer. Can’t wait to do some cooking on Sunday!

Favorite reads – Reasons why I should get a puppy (right now), How to read elevation maps (I’ve made this mistake many times before – see Chicago Marathon example), Christy Turlington Burns’s latest blog post about London Marathon training, and a career article about When doing what you love doesn’t pay (I’m a big of fan of professional development pieces).

Happy First Day of Spring! Here’s to hoping for warmer and sunnier weather for running (but maybe not too warm so I can continue wearing my hoody)! What are your weekend plans?

 

A hump day recap

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Happy Hump Day! And boy am I glad it is almost over.

IMG_2658The day started with me not waking up for my run this morning. I was exhausted when my alarm went off (likely from waking up early the day before for an AM barre class) and instead of getting out of bed, I just turned off the alarm. I even had my running clothes laid out from the night before.

When I finally woke up, I felt exhausted. That’s what interrupted sleep does to you. My work day was like a hump literally, one with a short incline but a big decline. I left later (frustrated and angry) than I wanted to if I was to fit in the run I missed from the morning before the barre class I was already signed up for.

run-release-stressI finally made it on the treadmill (man, has it been windy here, and man, I’ve been too wimpy to go outside) for a 35-minute run before heading to barre. I was mad that on tap was a 60-minute easy run and I was mad that I didn’t allow for that to happen. I felt so free during the run though. Even though I wasn’t going super fast, I felt like I was moving and I was enjoying the freedom (and endorphins).

Throughout the entire barre class, I kept reminding myself that it is okay to have bad weeks (in work, life, and training, whatever it may be), though it seems like I’ve had too many of them lately. I also need a friendly reminder that I need to make things I want to do after work a priority. I fell into the trap of letting my life be dictated by work many years ago and I need to not let that happen again. I know things are cyclical but they also become habit if you don’t break out of it.

And with that, I tried really hard to not let this post be a rant but I am also hoping to post more and with that, sometimes you’ll have to go on the roller coaster ride with me! So thank you in advance.

Hope you all had a good Wednesday / Hump Day! Tell me about your week so far.