its been a few..... (Jessica's Gifts winner too!)

Sundays long run? well the first 6 or 7 miles felt awesome, then my knee started killing me. We had to stop & walk several times. So discouraging! I think part of the problem was my calf and hamstring were tight. I reallly need to start stretching more. My longrun parter, S, has decided to run RnR New Orleans as well!! She convinced one of our other girlfriends to fly out with her, so it will be a good group of us running now. so excited!!

Missed monday and todays gym time. Drama with my relationship again is to blame. It seems like the arguing has been nonstop, all on the same topic. He cannot be bothered to make a decision on when to tell our families about our wedding date and start planning. He says it doesn't feel right, right now. Did I mention the wedding date is less than 8 months away, and this is the second one we've had? I've seriously had it with his indecisiveness.

Tonight after work, I decided cleaning & decorating were needed. I did a much needed cleaning of the downstairs, followed by christmas decorations & putting up the tree. Love my 3 piece fakie from Target :)

Jessica's gifts winner? 

that would be Kandyce @ Konfessions from Kandyce! Please email me at sgrigely at hotmail dot com with your address, and I'll get it out to you!

look for a great new giveaway tomorrow! wish me luck getting my ass to the gym in the morning!

Manchester Road Race Report

It was cold! Probably around 22 degrees F, and windy. We had a late race start of 10am, but this is a 15,000 person race. Last year, we ended up way in the back of the pack and spent the first mile dodging baby strollers, and stupid kids that were darting around in your way, or would run run run then stop directly in front of you. This year, we decided to go early & try to get to the front of the pack. We got to the shuttle buses around 8:15, and at the race start about 8:30. Met up with my friend A (who had the blood clot), she & her husband were watching because the race had sold out. We lined up around 8:45am, at the front of the pack behind the seeded gates that you needed a qualifying card to get in to. Stood around freezing, and chatting until 10am, then we were off!

Mile 0-1 - My feet were numb, it actually took the whole first mile to thaw out. I amazingly kept up with my brother & his friend who were starting out slow to warm up. 10:09 


Mile 1-2 - The hills began. The elevation & length of the hills was killer. I had to take a short walk break once on my way up the steepest one. 11:10

Mile 2-3 - The killer hills continued until about mile 2.5, then it was downhill time. I am at my best on downhills. I fly through, pass as many people as I can, and try to make up some time from slugging up the hill so slowly before. I KILLED this mile 9:27

Mile 3-4 - Starting to get tired, HR was high. I had to walk a couple of times for 20 seconds or so. felt pretty good for most of this mile. 9:56

Mile 4-4.77 - pushed it with all that I had left. Some point here, I felt a splash of water around my ankles. At the end of the race, I realized this was the cap to the water bottle on my fuel belt falling off. No one had said anything to me when it fell. Oh well. Finished the race feeling tired & thirsty with a Garmin time on 48:01. 7:17 for the last .77

Official finishing time of 48:00! Perfectly even! I killed my time of 53:12 from last year & made my impossible goal of beating it by 5 minutes. I felt great after the race, and made some plans with a few friends and my brother to add a 10k & a 5k to the schedule for next weekend. My long run partner, S, will be on vacay so instead of running the 12 miles alone, I am going to split up my long run into races next weekend. 10k sat, 5k sun & 3 more miles on my own on sunday. not too bad to deal with.

Wanted to share my excitement on a couple of new things! First is my new Sugoi running jacket Kevin bought me for my birthday! I love it so much! Perfect color, has great reflectability, and the sleeves are even removable to turn it into a vest. They are held on with a super strong magnet. 

The other thing I'm excited about is the pair of Ryders sunglasses that Scott at Outside PR sent me. Full review & giveaway to follow!

The thing I'm not so excited about? I know so many of you rave about Gu & how much you like it. Scott at Outside PR was awesome enough to send me a sampler pack of Gu to try. I'm wondering if I am doing something wrong with taking it, because I just could not handle the consistency. It was way too thick, and I couldn't choke it down. I liked the flavor (pineapple) that I tried on my longrun today, but had to toss it away because the consistency was so gross to me. any suggestions?

Tomorrow is the LAST DAY to enter my giveaway for Jessica's gifts running necklace HERE.

couple of great giveaways in the works so be on the look out! I'm off to the mall for some shopping (for me haha), so I'll recap todays long run later. Happy running!

Manchester Road Race

Just a quick note to say..... 

I DID IT!!!

I totally killed my time from last year. Not only did I kill it, but I met my goal I thought was impossible. To beat my time by 5 minutes & clock in less than 48:12. My Garmin said 48:01 when I crossed, I'm still awaiting official time.

warming up at home after!
enjoying my new jacket ill brag about later!

I'll post a more official report tomorrow (or this weekend), but just wanted to share my exciting news! Especially since I had some of my fastest miles EVER! Who cares if they were downhill ones!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I hope you all kicked race butt too!

Turkey Day Plans

Not a real post since Saturday, lots to catch up on!

Sunday was long run day & the first day out with the Garmin 405! S & I headed out for 11 miles, pretty chilly out. I had my tights & even gloves on, my Bondi Band pulled over my ears. First of all having the Garmin was AWESOME. I loved knowing how far into the run I was, and what my pace was at. The only thing I didn't like, was the bezel was so sensitive! Every time it touched my sleeve, it changed from the time/pace/distance screen to totally random screens. I think there is a way to make the Bezel less sensitive, so I need to figure it out. I thought about locking the screen, but I wanted to be able to switch & check out my heart rate every now & then. Even better? All the stats on my computer after the run! I was amazed at how awesome it was to see each mile split, heart rates, maps, elevation, sooo cool. It will totally be a great way to track progress & motivate me to work harder. I can't wait to use it at the road race tomorrow!

After the run & church, I wanted to make Finnish pancakes for lunch. I have been craving these forever. If your not familiar with them, they are basically eggs, butter, sugar, flour, baked in the oven. Unfortunately the first batch, my fake pyrex baking pan exploded in my stove coating the inside with glass & pancakes. Ughhh! Spent over an hour cleaning, then finally made a new batch with a pyrex dish from my mom's house. They were worth it!

Monday I was sore, but managed a cross train & MAJOR stretching day. Tuesday, I got in all of my speedwork run, and today I slept in & skipped the gym. My legs are feeling good, and I can't wait for my race tomorrow!

Tomorrow I am aiming to beat my last years time. I would really like to blow it out of the water. For this run last year, 5 miles was the longest I had run in months, and I was "training" for the Disney Half Marathon in January! It's amazing how things have changed this year. My Halfs are a month further in the distance and I am kicking ass with the distances with my longest being 11 miles this past weekend. The race is officially 4.75 miles, and last year I did it in 53:12. My Ultimate goal is to beat that by 5 min, not sure if this is possible though. Realistic goal? I think definitely under 51. I just will go out & PUSH IT!

After the race is thanksgiving! We are doing dinner at my mom's house with mine & Kevin's family. I'm in charge of sweet potatoes & cranberry sauce, I'll try to post recipes later. Unfortunately hospitals don't close, so I am working on friday. oh well, at least I have a long weekend next weekend!

Don't forget to enter my Jessica's Gifts giveaway HERE! It ends 11/29

Good luck to everyone in their turkey trots & Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Birthday Love

Today I turn 28, and it seems like no big deal. I haven't really felt anything eventful since 25 when I could rent a car, so I'm not thinking I'll feel any type of different until I hit 30 or so.

I Love all of my family, friends, bloggers, and facebookers that have wished me a happy birthday and care enough to send me a thoughtful message.

I Love that I am running longer & more often than ever. I have been consistent with my long runs for the first time ever & it feels amazing.

I Love knowing that I will kick ass & kill my time from last years Manchester Road Race on thanksgiving

I Love coming home to a nice glass of red wine

I Love that my mom is making dinner tonight

I Love that the stuff from Sephora I ordered, came in today

I Love my new Garmin. Thanks a million to Mike @ 26.2 is my cooldown. I used it on my long run yesterday & absolutely LOVED seeing all the results uploaded on my computer. I'll talk more about it later.

showing off my new favorite toy!

I'm busy making cupcakes (weird I'm making birthday cupcakes on my birthday, right?), for one of my patient's at work. His birthday is tomorrow, so I'm baking cupcakes for him and his roomates to throw a little party. Then I'm off to mom's house for dinner (I specifically requested no cake), and presents. Have a good night!

Pearl Izumi toe cover winner!

Chosen at random.org the winner of the Pearl Izumi toe covers is.....

Allison @ Tri & Finish!

she said: "It's getting cold here in Texas and to be honest I'm totally unprepared"

Please email me your address at sgrigely at hotmail dot com

and I will ship them out!

Laying low...

It's been a busy couple of days, so I'm glad to be home relaxing tonight, and preparing for my long run tomorrow. 11 miles on the schedule, which will be my longest post surgery run so far. S is meeting me at 8am, with starbucks to follow the run. I have been charging my Garmin, and hoping that I can figure out how to make it work in time for tomorrow's run.

Last night, Kevin took me out for my birthday. Dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, followed by a hot tub & massage, which was sooooo relaxing. So well needed, I almost fell asleep during the session! I worked this morning, then hit the gym because today is the first day of.....

I logged 6 points for the contest today. 6 mile ride (at the gym) = 2, 30 min elliptical = 2, 20 min strength = 1, and 7 servings fruits/veggies = 1.

I also signed up for.....

A Journey to Thin is hosting a sort of online Turkey Trot! I'm doing the Manchester, CT road race, which I think is about 4.5 miles on thanksgiving morning, so I will count that. That is the last scheduled race I have until New Orleans in february, and I'm a little disappointed. Maybe I need to start searching for more?

My mom asked me for a christmas list. So far I know I want giftcards to Road Runner Sports, either a bike attachment for my Garmin or a bike computer (any input on that?), a triathlon bag (in pink of course! looking for recommendations), a new running skirt from RunningSkirts.com, maybe a USAT membership, running clothes, some floating shelves for my living room (or other decorations), not sure what else. She likes a big list to have plenty to choose from. Any other suggestions?

I also just sent a couple emails to learn more about a couple of master's swim groups in my area. I really want to work on improving my swimming over the winter, but I know the snow and cold weather will keep me avoiding the pool. I figure if I have somewhere I'm expected, I'll me more likely to go, not to mention, I'd really like someone to give me some feedback past my swim lessons over 23 years ago.

Back to the DVR lineup & Garmin play!

Jessica's Gifts Review & Giveaway!

I first stumbled upon Jessica's Gifts during a giveaway at Training with a Track Coach & His Adorable Wife. I instantly LOVED these necklaces. I couldn't decide what I wanted, so I bought my sister one for christmas (no details in case she's reading).  Then, lucky me won a $25 credit from Stacie at Impossible is Nothing to Jessica's gifts. I narrowed it down to a few choices.....

 

I finally decided on this:

love it just as much as I thought I would!

Jessica asked if I would be interested in hosting a giveaway, and I knew you would all be as excited as me to win some of this fabulous stuff! I love the quality of the pieces, how sleek and cute they are, and even the packaging Jessica puts them in! They are perfect for gift giving this holiday season. Plus Jessica makes custom pieces, and personalizes them any which way. I can't wait to get a personalized one with a new PR half marathon time or my first full marathon time. Jessica is a runner herself, so she knows what we want and I love it.

Want to win this???

One lucky person with receive a love to run necklace and chain from Jessica's Gifts

How to Win

Please leave a separate comment for each entry

1. mandatory - be or become a follower of my blog

2. Visit Jessica's Gifts Etsy shop HERE and tell me what you love

3. Follow Jessica's Gifts on facebook HERE and let her know Running to Health sent you

4. Follow Running to Health on facebook HERE

5. Spread word about this contest on your blog, facebook, or twitter (1 for each)

6. Make a purchase from Jessica HERE & earn 5 bonus entries!

The giveaway will be close 11/29, good luck!

Shutterfly cards

I love holiday cards. Love addressing the envelopes and sending well wishes to family and friends.

When I was younger, my mom would always drag my brother, sister and I down to JC Penny's to wait for a photographer to snap a shot of us well before thanksgiving, in our stuffy christmas outfits, and wait ages for the photo cards to be delivered to us. My mom would also write out a long, detailed letter, bragging to everyone we knew about all of our accomplishments for the year.

I like to let people know how or what I'm up to, but in a more subtle way. I wanted to design a christmas card that had multiple pictures to show off what Kevin & I have been up to all year. After visiting Shutterfly HERE to check out what they had, I found the perfect card!

Red Sox, Disney & Halloween!

Originally, I liked the idea of a 7 photo spread with individual pictures of us too, but decided I wanted something a little more clean. There were plenty of options to choose from, 1 picture to 7+ pictures, all wicked cute!

Having a holiday party? Shutterfly can even help make invitations easier, by having a ton of fabulous designs to choose from HERE. Its always easier to have one less thing to stress over during the holidays. Making gifts is easy too, by checking out their photo gift page HERE. I made snapbooks for my girlfriends last year of all the fun times we had over the previous year. What a perfect way to capture all the race shots for your favorite runner/ triathlete!

 Bloggers! Get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly at: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Success!

I am excited about a few things right now........

First of all, guess what arrived in the mail yesterday

I'm anxiously awaiting the moment that I have time to tear it open properly & spend some time figuring out how it works!

Second, today is my weigh in day, and I jumped on the scale to a happy 178! Down 3 from last week and into the 170s. I am jump up & down kind of happy, but now I just need to keep things in check over this weekend.

My birthday is Monday, which means it's time to celebrate with everyone. Tonight I'm going out to dinner with work friends, friday night with Kevin, and luckily I was able to push back a trip to the casino to next weekend with my girlfriends, instead of this one.

My knee is feeling better, I haven'y done any sort of work out since my long run sunday. I've been icing and friction massaging. Tomorrow I think I will try a little cross training and see how it holds up.

Wish me luck!

Pearl Izumi toe cover giveaway

A little while ago, Tech-Tri gave away a set of toe covers that he had bought & were too small. I was so lucky to win them, when he had a giveaway! They had been sitting in my drawer waiting for a chilly ride to wear them, and that day was saturday. I tried to pull them on over my cycling shoes..... too small. DAMN!

so sad, I really hoped they would fit!

They are size S/M should fit up to size 42. I wear a 42, and they were a little to snug to fit over my shoes. They have never been used, and I would like to pass them along to one of you!

How to Win

leave a separate comment for each

1. be or become a follower of my blog

2. Tell me why you need a pair of toe covers

3. share this on your blog, facebook or twitter (1 for each)

I will close the drawing Sunday 11/21, good luck!

Weekend recap

Eating did not go as planned. Someone, aka Kevin convinced to split cannoli & tiramisu at a fabulous bakery saturday night. Probably not the best night before a long run fuel. Oh well, it was gooood, and I figured I burned it off during my run saturday. How many calories are in a canoli anyways?

Saturday after work, we went for a ride. A little chilly, but manageable. We got home just as the sun was starting to set. phew! Saturday morning, S and I went for our long run. 9 miles turned into 9.12 when S got confused about our turning point. My right knee has been achy all week. It hurts more in sitting, when my knee is flexed, and was killer at points during our run. I am self-diagnosing myself with runners knee aka movie goers knee, aka patellafemoral pain syndrome. When you have a doctorate vaguely remember things from physical therapy school you are allowed to do that haha. Now I need to dig out my ortho books from college, since as a neuro PT, I don't deal with this type of thing too often.

I am lucky to say I won a Gu sampler pack from Dorothy @ Mile posts. I have never tried Gu before, so this will be an interesting trial run for me. Not sure how I will feel about the consistency of it, but I will definitely give it a go.

Iced my knee a lot today, and have been doing some transverse friction massage to my quadriceps tendon. I'm hoping I'll be okay to get some speedwork in tomorrow morning. Wish me luck!

you may have noticed....

I just took down an Allied Steel giveaway from my blog. This is because they have just redesigned their hangars, and Joel is sending me the new versions to compare and contrast on the blog. So sorry for the confusion, and look forward to an upcoming giveawy!

High School You

Last night, my dad was inducted into the athletic hall of fame at his high school. Our high school, I guess you could say. My dad was a killer golfer and hockey player in high school and is currently a golf pro playing in lot of tournaments & working hard at his golf course, and working his way toward the senior PGA tour. I was so proud to see him up there, and hear about all his high school accomplishments. It made me start to think of my athletic abilities (or lack of) in high school.

I was never into sports. In kindergarden, I was the girl that stood on the field braiding hair and watching the ball go by. When I was 4 I started dance classes, and when I was 7 I discovered cheerleading. I continued with cheerleading from age 7 to age 19, cheering at middle school, high school, and a year of college. I loved it, but cheerleading at my high school was not an intense sport, requiring extreme fitness. I was the girl that said "cheerleaders don't run," when my coach tried to get us to run laps. I was a "base" for all the stunts, throwing the smaller girls up in the air. I was good, and I loved it, but I was heavy. I never weighed myself (probably would have died from the shock), but I'm thinking I must have topped off around 220 or 230. yikes.

My high school cheer outfit

I was overweight, and had really bad self confidence. Luckily in college I worked myself out of that funk, and discovered that I actually enjoyed running after graduating from grad school. If only I had taken it up earlier. I wonder what my life may have been like if I knew I liked to run back then. Would I have looked different? Had different friends? loved myself more?

Team mates at cheer camp (I'm far right)

What were you like in high school? Do you look back wishing things were different, or look back happily at the time you spent there?

I'm happy for the person I've become, what I've changed into with running along the way. In high school I never in a million years would think that one day I would run half marathons & complete triathlons. I would have died laughing if someone told me that. I'm proud of the person that I am today, and I look forward to what the future holds for my new athletic sense of adventure!

Three Things Thursday

I haven't been around bloggy world long enough to know who came up with this, where or why it originated. I'm having trouble thinking of a blog post tonight, so this will be short & sweet. Although, I do like the idea of throwback thursdays as well! haha I know I have plenty of ridiculous pictures of me from the past!

Kevin & I at Disney. The day I decided I wanted to learn to run. Look How chubby I am! Over 205 there!

1. Katye @ Long Legs on The Loose is fundraising for the Boston Marathon for Down Syndrome Awareness HERE. Kevin's brother has down syndrome, he is great and we love him! Please visit her page & help support her cause! (she has some AMAZING prizes to win too!)

2. After 4 months of trying, I was finally able to transfer videos of my stroke patients from my video camera onto a computer! So excited to have it taken care of, and it was great to re-watch all the progress they made with me tonight.

3. I skipped my tempo run this morning. I'm aiming for tomorrow instead.

Night!

Garmin Win!

Not to gloat, but I am over the moon excited about my big win from 26.2 is my cooldown!

Please make sure to check out his amazing site, which details the amazing transition to a fabulously accomplished & inspiring triathlete, along with product reviews, and extremely helpful advice!

I never knew what a Garmin was until I had long past started my blog, and got wind that there were other bloggers out there like me. Training, and detailing their successes & struggles, sharing advice, and fabulous products. I always wondered how people knew the pace they were running at mid- run. The only way I ever knew was either mapping it after I finished, or using my horribly inaccurate Nike+ sensor that I sewed into the tongue of my Gt-2140s. When I heard about the Garmin a few months ago, I wanted one, BAD.

I recently had been putting together my christmas wish list, and the Garmin was top of the list! Now  I guess my indoor bike trainer gets to take the top spot.

Thanks again sooooo much (Mike?) I really appreciate your generosity as I gain new knowledge & skills to better myself at running & triathlons!

I have a couple of giveaways in the works for you all, and in honor of my win, I am going to put together a prize pack of some of my favorite things for a giveaway straight from me! Be on the look out!

Better than nothing

I haven't been getting enough sleep for me lately. I like to go to bed at 9:30ish, but sunday & monday night was more like 11:30ish, YUCK! Definitely skipped my tuesday morning speedwork, but after work felt I could still get it in. Went to the gym & started to crank it out, but my body was saying "No way!" I had planned for 4 sets of intervals, but only made it barely through 2. I think the lack of sleeping, and stress were contributing factors. I figured at least I got myself to the gym for a little bit. Typically I sit on my couch and just veg out after work.

Luckily last night, I made it to bed by 9:30, and was able to make a morning cross training/strength workout. Problem is, I am so unmotivated to strength train sometimes. I know it is necessary, but I just don't want to most some days. What do you do to stay motivated with strength training? Are there any moves that you swear by?

I'm so excited, because Stacie at Impossible is Nothing picked me as a winner for a $25 giftcard for Jessica's Gifts! I am so excited since I have been lusting after a necklace from her for a while. I already bought my sister one for christmas, so I'm super excited to splurge on me and get my own!

Off to work, hopefully a less stress kind of day for all of us!

Give and Get is Here!

Give and Get is Here!: "Enjoy 30% off from November 11-14 at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy plus we'll make a 5% donation to a non-profit."

I chose Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! The more you shop, the more they'll donate!

As an old Gap girl (worked there for ~5 years), I love that they now combine this sale to help others. enjoy the coupon code :)

It is too early for this snow crap!

I woke up this morning (purposely skipping my AM gym time since I had a late bed time), to the sound of rain. I didn't even know it was supposed to rain, looked out the window..... SLEET? SNOW?! GROSS!!! It wasn't much, in fact it reminded me of the accumulation in Florida during my Half Marathon at Disney World last year. But I couldn't help but think how miserable I'm going to be once winter arrives.

I've never been much of a winter person. Well, I guess as a kid I liked making snow mans & sledding, but I usually didn't make it for more than a couple hours. Combine that with my snowbird winters to Fort Myers, Florida from toddler age, until 5th grade and you have a 27 (almost 28) year old who absolutely cannot wait until retirement to become a snowbird. I long for the sun, and (mostly) pleasant weather year round.

Kevin tried to take me snowboarding once. I spent a few hours on the bunny hill, falling on my ass and watching the 5 year olds zoom by me. I couldn't get the idea of the rope pull to the top, and I was cold and miserable. I gave up on winter sports. Kevin has been trying to get me to at least try skiing, so we could go to the mountain together. I've been contemplating it, and then watching travel channel last night I decided we have to go to Okemo. They have a "ski-up" Waffle Haus that looks absolutely amazing. I think I'd learn to ski just to get to it. YUM!

I know I haven't posted much lately, I've been super busy with work and social events. At dinner with my girlfriends on saturday night, I casually mentioned to my friend S that I was doing a 9 miler in the morning if she wanted to come along for the whole thing or part of it. We ran a 10k together a couple of years together, but she hasn't ever run more than 6 miles. She was in! We met up at 8am, and took off. It was a great run, she was keeping me motivated to keep plugging along, then she took a HUGE digger and skinned her knee & hands. Thankfully she was ok. We still had 3.5 miles to go. We paused for a couple minutes, then walked a little before picking it back up to a run. I had to pause a couple times to walk near the end, but we finished strong. She said that she will do all my long training runs with me, and I told her she should just sign up for the Disney Princess Half Marathon!

Tomorrow is speedwork day, and I'm already wishing I was asleep. That pesky time change! Good night!

Don't forget the Garmin!

Don't forget to visit 26.2 is my cooldown HERE to win a Garmin!

I'm busy making dinner for my girlfriends coming over. Tomorrow is long run day. wish me luck!

Challenges

Made it through my 5 miles this morning, and I suck at tempo runs. The treadmill is so boring to me at a constant speed, that I walked a few times out of boredom, then walked a few times in the last couple miles because I was tired. How can I keep myself entertained on a tempo run?

I joined The Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge (HERE) @ Run to the finish. It looks like a lot of fun, and there are some pretty sweet prizes!

Last night when I got home from work, my new running pants and sport beans had arrived from road runner sports (yes, I caved and hit the "purchase" button). Tonight, my new GT-2160s arrived! I don't need a new set yet, but they'll be good to warm up before race time and wear for the february halfs on my agenda. I'm wanting to figure out my triathlons for next season, but can't find a list on the usual websites yet. Question for all you triathletes...

Do you buy a USAT membership or pay the daily fee on race day?

Look out for some other fabulous giveaways on the horizon!

CEP Winner!

WOW! 241 entries, CEP socks are awesome & everybody wants a piece a guess! 

The winner drawn through random.org was #144

Jen @ Pretend this is Real!

Jen please email me at sgrigely at hotmail dot com with your sock choice, size & address!

(I think Jen may want the fabulous pink ones!)

That time of year...

WOW! I cannot believe I am over the 100 follower mark! Thank you everyone for visiting my blog, welcome new followers. I really appreciate every comment, support, and advice that you give me along the way!

Its the time of year again creeping up that I hate. Winter. I probably shouldn't live in New England, but unfortunately moving will never be is not right now an option. Kevin likes snowboarding, and all things winter, and I don't think I'll ever successfully drag him away. The thing I hate right now? Waking up to darkness, going to the gym in darkness, and returning from the gym in darkness. I hate that it doesn't start to get light until about 7am. It makes it soooo hard to drag my ass out of bed and get moving. I am imagining soon it will be dark when I leave work, and I will want to immediately want to get in pajamas and take a coma on the couch. I need to figure out a way to beat this since my race training will be throughout the winter. I've heard rumors that there is such thing as a clock that wakes you up with sunshine, not sure how I feel about it or if it really exists. What do you do to keep doing through the depressing darkness?

My speedwork run was awesome yesterday. The first speedwork that I didn't die need an unauthorized rest. I was supposed to do a Rev Abs workout when I got home, but I got home from work late and was not motivated at all. This morning I skipped a cross training session (my legs are still feeling sore!), and I'll do the Rev Abs tonight. I did my first video monday, and as far as fitness videos go, I was impressed! First of all, the Rev Abs guy, Brett Hoebel, has an AMAZING & I mean FREAKING AMAZING set of Abs. WOW. and he was energetic and kept me going the whole time. I was pretty impressed, not to mention tired by the end, and I burned a little over 300 calories, sweet! I'll keep at it, sticking to their schedule as best as I can. I'll be the Rev Abs review for the average person who has a life and can't dedicate it to one workout religiously.

Don't Forget!

My CEP giveaway is ending soon, actually today! Make your final entries HERE & I will pick the winner out tomorrow! Good luck!