Wake up in the morning feeling like P Diddy,
Put my glasses on, Im out the door – I’m gonna run this city,
Before I leave, brush my teeth, fill my Camelbak,
Cause when I leave for this run, I’ll be sprinting back.
I put some moleskin on my toes, toes,
I laid out all my workout clothes,
Got my pepper spray and my cell phone,
My shuffle playing my favorite cds
Trying not to get too stiiiiiiicky.
Don’t stop.
That my friends, is how I woke myself up for the first half mile of the run early this morning! :biggrin: Sometimes I make weird rhymes to music to entertain myself.
All day yesterday I was missing my early morning run. I took a rest day yesterday and I was really missing those morning endorphins. It’s funny how quickly the body starts to crave endorphins at a certain time! I definitely felt more sluggish yesterday morning than when I got in a good workout before work. It’s a Catch-22 really; the body craves endorphins but you know you should rest your body. Sometimes taking a rest day is as difficult as convincing myself to workout on other days. It just depends on the day!
This morning I leaped out of bed and threw on my workout clothes. I put my workout clothes next to my bed so I could get ready quickly before ‘thinking too much’.
“I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures out what I’m doing.” ~Marsha Doble
One of my favourite workout quotes!
For years, I used to workout first thing in the morning, literally within 15 minutes of getting up. I would be half asleep during the first 20 minutes of the workout, but then the endorphins would wake me up and it was all downhill from there.
I filled up my Camelbak and popped a couple medjool dates in my mouth for some energy.

We overslept until 6:45am so by the time I got out there it was 7am and HOT!!! It was already 25C when I left.
The run:
- Distance: 5.01 miles
- Time: 42:29 mins
- Avg pace: 8:28
Mile Splits:
- Mile 1: 8:50
- Mile 2: 8:25
- Mile 3: 8:35
- Mile 4: 8:21
- Mile 5: 8:11
It was a great run and I had sweat pouring out of me upon my return. I came home and had an icy shower and then sprinted to make breakfast. A Green Monster was on the menu today.

Post-Run Green Monster
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of purple kale
- 1.25 cups almond milk
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 scoop Amazing Grass Chocolate Amazing Meal Powder
- 1 large frozen banana
Yum!
On the side I had a trial of a new GF + Raw Glo Bar with some peanut butter on top.

Perfect post-run breakfast!
I will have to water these guys later…!

Today’s question: Do you do anything to entertain yourself during workouts? Anything odd/strange/funny or tricks of distraction?
Shipping out my orders now and then market prep begins today. I am officially half way through the work week…just gotta make it til Saturday night. Stay cool!
I wish I could fit in some exercise in the morning. It’d be great to get a run in before work! Unfortunately, I already have to wake up at 5am to get to work on time, so I’d have to get up at 4am or so, which isn’t happening. It’s hard enough to get up at 5! :)
I typically just listen to music or watch the TV, but if I think about it, and if I’m doing something less upper-body involved, I might read a magazine.
new favorite song! when will you be releasing your album ??? lol! that new glow bar looks terrific! please tell the flavor :) im dieing to know!!!
Haha love your running anthem. =P Music is key for me during any workout. For morning runs I love to get my dog excited early on so that even if I’m not motivated enough to go she won’t stop bothering me until we do. She also helps keep me going at a faster pace. She can easily do 8 miles with just one or two water breaks and still want to run more. Sometimes I’m so focused on her I forget I’m running. Gotta love that! lol
Wow, great run! It’s hard for me to take rest days sometimes, too.
I have been caught singing out loud and dancing. When I am on a twenty mile run sometimes the only thing to do is dance!
On a long run, I pretend that I am at the tail end of my marathon and I’m neck-n-neck for first place with Kara Goucher. I always win.
I read your anthem to my husband this morning, but I was laughing so hard I could hardly read it, I LOVE your posts, they are so motivating and make me realize I’m not the only crazy person when it comes to motivating myself to get going!!
Love the lyrics! I think I’ll try that when I am up running at 4:30 am and can’t quite seem to get motivated! Check out my brand new health & beauty blog http://www.runningwithmascara.com! Definitely going to keep reading this blog!
I read your blog and love it. I’ll be visiting it quite often as well because we have something in common, Running!!!
That is a great question! I actually love to skip, jump, run sideways and backwards, and run crazy like a kid would do! Kind of like the Friends episode where Rachel was imbarrassed to run with Feebee! lol Yep that’s me and I don’t care how crazy I look because I have so much energy and that is what my body craves and ultimately it burns a heck of a lot more calories and body fat than just simply running!
I should have someone tape me and put it on Youtube! Ahhhh the joys of running! :)
I love your song… so cute and fun! I sometimes try to lose myself in a deep thought… and that is usually a good way to make the time pass. If I’m having a tough session on the treadmill, I picture myself running the last mile (or half mile) of a race. I speed up, concentrate, and present that I’m actually running a race. All of a sudden, I focus on finishing strong, rather than just slogging through the last few minutes of my run. Sounds silly, but it works!
Hey Angela! You are soooo inspirational!!
On 7miler last weekend, i just repeated to myself “you are stronger than you think you are!”
And it totally worked! i ran a lot stronger than normal and finished without feeling weak.
Thanks so much!
Hey angela! My name is Ashley and you eats are so good! I’ve tried so many of your recipes and I can’t complain about one! Keep up your healthy balance of excersise and delicious food and I read your blog everyday! You inspire me so much to try new fantastic foods <3 check me out at chewingoncherries.wordpress.com
Ahhhh love your version of that song!
Great post. I’ve been waking up at 5:20 to run before the kids wake up and my husband goes to work. I always feel slightly melancholy leaving the house at that time but when I come back I feel AWESOME. I do have to go to bed a bit earlier to compensate but it’s totally worth it.
I also struggle with rest days too; they make me feel sluggish and cranky all day but I find that the day after a rest day I always have a fantastic workout and can go longer and faster. I guess they really are necessary.
Funny song! I’ve been using the Biggest Loser Wii game, which is entertainment all by itself. It kicks my butt, and gets me to do exercises I never would otherwise.
Awesome job on the morning run! I am always signing along to tunes when I head out for runs…..hehe quite embarassing really ;)
I listen to the Dirty Nasty song “My Dick” (it’s offensive and hilarious, youtube it!) on pretty much constant repeat while running. Although lately I’ve been running with the husband and he likes to chat.
I used to jog to music all the time but then my runner friend told me a scary story that a utility van pulled up right next to her and opened the door …she didn’t even hear them and took off running! I then decided i would stop using my ipod while running …and find that i really enjoy having quiet time with my thoughts :) Oh! And I wanted to tell you that I baked your coconut cherry banana bread, and it turned out pretty much amazing. We scarfed it down..so moist too! Look for it on my blog soon if you get a chance!
I love the Keisha remix! I’m such a dork that I’m often doing math in my head during my runs, math that has to do with running. Like, when I need to finish by to average a certain time per mile, etc.
I like listening to podcasts while I work out. Learning distracts me. I have absolutely no ability to zone.
I saw your post the other day when you said you hate chard. Have you ever tried putting it in a green monster? I’ve done that before and it works out well, just in case you get some more in your CSA. :)
I find myself singing…. out loud. Without even realizing it, I’ll see people glancing at me and realize that I’m singing along with whatever song I’m listening to. If I had a great voice… that would be one thing… however, I don’t. Ohhh well… whatever keeps me going!
Loved the Remix! I teach a hip hop class and that is my classes absolute favorite song to dance too! Whenever I am running, I think about a goal or something that is exciting coming up in my life and pretend like I am running to it. I got married about a month ago so all leading up to the big day I would pretend I was running right to my wedding! It would always make me smile!
I love your running song! I listen to music when I run, so that helps. I also try to focus on steady breathing, but sometime I wind up doing something lame…like counting as I run.
i love how you changed the lyrics to the song, its perfect! MUCH better than the original!
i sing to myself (usually in my head, so people don’t think i’m totally bonkers) but i change lyrics too, or just sing something else to the same tune. i do it all the time ha
Amazing song!
i just wanted to say i love you little song variation!!
AHHH
I love your remix of the song more than the original :)
I love reading your blog, every day it helps give me the perseverance to stay motivated and do fitness for fun and to stay fit, not to stay skinny
Gaaaaah! I love it! I hate Ke$ha but I LOVE your adaptation! I had a friend during high school field hockey who would run with me (we were both goalies, so we were both in our gear) and she would do funny arms throughout the entire run, mostly different swimming arms, but there were a few funky chickens if I remember correctly. Just found your blog and I’m loving it! I just linked your evolutionary psychology posts in an e-mail to my mom and aunties.
Rock on,
Caitlin
Your peanut butter looks so tasty. I’m always interested in trying new brands. What brand do you buy?
I often think about what I’m going to wear when I’m running, especially if I have an event that is going to require that I dress up. It makes things easier when I actually have to pack or get ready for the event and somehow really distracts me when I’m running up hills. Running with friends is always fun too because the conversation distracts me, and before I know, we’re done!
YES . . . totally love your transformed anthem!
This might show how much of a nerd I am, but when I run, I often listen to musicals and its like watching a movie in my head. Turn on rent from the beginning and I’m so absorbed in the story the time flys by! Also, Les Mis is awesome during some of the inspirational songs!
Found this blog and love it!
Love your anthem, too funny, way to rap girlfriend! I had always been a loner when it came to running and trained myself in all the races I ever ran, from 5k, 10k, 15k, half marathon to marathon, so listening to music was always my anthem and made me feel at ease so I could zone out. Once I dealved into the triathlonworld, most races don’t allow music, so I had to train without so I didn’t get spoiled with it. Well, now that I am back to training for marathon, I train once a week with a group and it’s kind of cool not to have music because the run goes by so quickly, especially those long ones coming up 10-24 milers….eeek! I run alone during the week and since I run at 5am in the dark, I’ve veered away from music for safety reasons and I also run with pepper spray. I miss it though and am thinking I may get back to it, just keep it low enough that I hear around me.
Endorphins rule!!!!