You guys – I finally made it back to the track again this morning! As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve been having a hard time getting motivated for weekday morning runs lately – the cold and dark have just not been appealing at all. And since we’ve been gone on the weekends I’ve been missing my long(er) weekend run dates, too, which I don’t normally have trouble motivating for since they are later in the morning and super fun. :) So, between missing those and not feeling the weekday runs, I haven’t been doing a whole lot of running lately, and I miss it!
I texted my track buddies earlier this week that I’d be there today so I had some accountability. Turns out it was a beautiful morning to get out for a run – a balmy (balmy being a relative term here) 40 degrees with no wind. Capris, t-shirt, and glove weather – my favorite!
I’ve been doing some short easy runs lately but nothing fast, so this definitely felt tough, but I was excited to be back out there with my buddies. On the agenda this morning was 1200’s (3 laps around the track), with the first 2 laps at a steady push and then the last lap faster. So hard, but a good one – not too long and the pace switch up kept me engaged.
The coach stopped me after 3 of the 1200’s – he didn’t want me to overdo it since I haven’t been doing speedwork much lately. Works for me! I ended up doing another easy 2 mile cool down jog with a bunch of the others, so I did just over 4 miles total (the watch below just shows the speedwork). Feeling good!
I want to commit to going to the track once a week again, barring insane ice/snow, so that I’m feeling stronger running-wise by the time the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler on April 2 rolls around. Only 2 months until race day now – that came up fast! My usual track buddy has gotten too fast for me in my absence from speed workouts since the Marine Corps Marathon – proud of her for crushing it and being dedicated with the workouts! But a bummer for me that I can’t keep up with her anymore. Just goes to show putting in the time and hard work does make a difference. :)
As for yesterday’s workout, I went to an awesome CorePower yoga sculpt class (hot yoga + a boot camp combined – so hard but fun) with Chelsea! My favorite instructor from the Georgetown studio, Mandy, I discovered recently also teaches at the Dupont CorePower on Wednesdays at 6:30 a.m. so Chelsea and I thought it would be fun to mix it up and go. Such a good class! I definitely haven’t had a hard time motivating for fun boot camps lately. :)
The Dupont location is close to my coworking space so I showered there after class and was out of there by 7:55 – whoa, so early to be ready to start the workday! I decided to treat myself to breakfast at nearby Pret a Manger – I was SO hungry after that hard workout! Rather than bringing it to the office and working through it I took some time to enjoy it there sans technology instead. Nice way to start the day. :) It’s not always realistic to eat without distractions, but I try to when I can – it’s hard to feel satisfied by what you’re eating if you’re not even paying attention, right?
I had their quinoa + egg + avocado + tomato cup and their overnight oatmeal cup. Plus a whole milk latte. Yum, yum! Also, hi to the sweet blog reader who came up and said hello while I was there! :)
I worked for an hour at my coworking space and then walked up to north Dupont to teach English! Mid-morning we took a break and I dug into my snack – a cranberry crunch perfect bar and a banana.
Lunch ended up being Sweetgreen on my way back to the office after teaching. I figured you didn’t need yet another picture of my favorite salad. ;)
My afternoon snack was a larabar and some hummus and crackers and then dinner last night was a yummy Sun Basket (<- affiliate link for 3 free meals) meal: steak and fried eggs with a tomato cauliflower rice. Delicious!
I really liked the preparation method of the cauliflower rice – you started by sauteeing some shallots in a little oil with paprika and tomato paste, then add the cauliflower rice and some diced tomatoes to the mix. Yum! Try it!
I’m working from home today – better get back to it! Lots of meetings on the agenda. Have a fabulous day and I’ll see you guys back here tomorrow for some Friday faves/things I’m loving lately. :)