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!
Hahaha, looks like you may have another future career on your hand! Baker/Blogger/Runner/Rapper – sounds like a good combo to me! ;)
Love your motivation! I play the “I can do anything for xx mins/hours” game. If I I’m on a long run, targeting 2 hrs or so, I make a mental list of the things I can do in 2 hours. Keeps my brain occupied and suddenly time has elapsed and I have only an hour left. And then I start thinking of all the things I can do in an hour. And so on ;)
Three years ago (partly at the behest of my beautiful mother) I weaned myself off my iPod and went naked (insert gasp here)! But it’s actually not been a bad ride so far. I live in a city so there’s plenty to keep me occupied visually (gotta love those early Sat/Sun AM runs and seeing people doing the ‘walk of shame’ from someone else’s apartment dressed in the previous evenings clothes :)) and I definitely pay more attention to my time. One of the downsides is making myself more approachable to people look for directions – must be something about a runner. Maybe we know where everything is? :)
That breakfast looks SO good!
Do you seriously run with pepper spray?
Yup its actually called ‘Dog spray’ in Canada since Pepper spray is illegal. I bought some after a scary run a while back.
Nothin’ like some revamped Ke$ha to start your day…you need an S in your name to turn into a dollar sign ;)
I make my to-do lists in my head, but if they get too long, I start getting antsy and feeling like I need to cut the workout short!
How about Oh $he Glow$ ?? heh
Totally laughed out loud ;)
And when you feature you hubby, you can figure out how to make the ‘c’ a cents sign!
Bahahahaha!!!!! Not going to lie I had to read that 3 times but I finally got it. Long day. Very funny!
Oh no! Not that song! Kesha makes me die a little inside :(
Music is huge when I’m running. I can’t make it through a run without it. I try to just zone out and listen to some great tunes on my ipod so I don’t concentrate on the running/sweating/negative thoughts of talking myself out of the run. :)
At my gym there is a huge window looking out into the parking lot, which happens to be right by a Taco Bell! When I’m on the treadmill I stare at the cars going through the drive through and it motivates me to work out longer and harder :]
Your flowers look beautiful. :)
I stopped running with music, but it does make it hard to distract myself. I try to plan out what I’m gonna pack for lunch or have for breakfast.
P.S. I’m so jealous of your mile times!! My last mile is usually my slowest and I don’t know how to fix this!
This was me all last summer…I couldnt fix it. I dont know what really changed this year except I told myself that I DECIDED to make my last mile the fastest and then once I commit to it, I feel really motivated to run hard at the end. I think starting off slower than you normally would is key too. goodluck!
Music is a big motivator for me during my runs so I love to have my ipod shuffle with me. Recently though, Ive been able to get lost with my thoughts and kind of make of stories in my head of my lifes future. It’s fun :)
Love the little song! Very cute and creative.
I try to zone out (which I can do easily on a treadmill without slowing down) and think about being someplace I really love (the beach) or I do some wedding planning in my head. Sometimes just a few minutes of zoning out helps me get over the rut and then I take off and focus on my run.
Haha, I love your version of the song! Definitely more catchy than the original. ;)
If I’m running with music then I’ll usually distract myself by pretending I’m on awesome adventures, partying it up in a club, or that I’m accomplishing some daring mission. My music just gets me all pumped up and my mind goes wild! When I’m jogging without music, I’ll just let my thoughts wander to more peaceful places.
I’m pretty sure that rap is the funniest thing I’ve heard all morning – and I’m pretty funny so that’s saying a lot :) – jk
I think I have a side stich from laughing.
haha this made me laugh! We are even now ;p
I LOVE your anthem!
I’m still so new to running that I’m only up to about a mile and a half so I don’t have to distract myself too much. About the last quarter mile I do have to start reminding myself that running is so mental! I feel like the little engine that could telling myself “You are strong” “You are capable” and I have to keep myself from making deals with myself (that sounds nutso!) but I always want to say “ok you can stop now, but you have to unload the dishwasher when you get home” or something like that. I never take the deal…but I always seem to offer them up!
Dry mouth is one of the hardest things for me about running – does your camel back weigh much or bounce around? I wear one snowboarding, but I’ve always thought running would be too bouncy?
I have the small 1.5 litre and I think it is perfect. It doesnt bounce although I do occasionally hear the water swishing around. I would suggest it to ANYONE…I wear it even for 2 milers! I didnt realize how much water my body ‘needed’ until it was readily accessible.
To get rid of the swishing sound turn your camelbak upside down and suck the air bubble out through the hose. Once there’s no air in the camelbak it won’t slosh!
ill have to remember to try this….although it really doesnt bother me too much!
Your rhyme totally had me laughing – I love it! I always make up random songs, it’s a great way to pass time :D You’re so cute ;)
Wei-Wei
Hehe love your anthem! I totally know what you mean about missing the morning endorphins – if I miss my early morning workout (with the exception of my rest day), I actually feel even more tired later on during the day.
Do distract myself when I work out, I load up my ipod with new songs and create spin workouts in my head for my classes. The problem is remembering them later on when I have a pen and paper to write them down!
Haha that totally cracked me up – totally applicable to my AM run this morning too, and I think I played that song on my Shuffle at some point! I find I crave endorphins as well lately and find it hard to take a rest day, too. I’ve compromised by doing light exercise days instead to still get a boost.
Those flowers brighten my day! I love…….reading magazines on the elliptical for an easy workout but if I push up the intensity I’m usually in a class so it’s just me and the instructor!
Angela! You rock. Because of your post about missing your morning workouts, I made a point of getting out for a run this morning (Like you my pre-work workouts have become less and less frequent) and I feel AWESOME! Thanks so much!
I sometimes do times tables in my head, I also jump over every 5th square on the side walk. Oh, and I’ll play silly games like Thinking of a girls name for every letter of the alphabet, then a boys name, then a city etc, takes ages! :o)
whoho!! Good job!