Doughnut Dash

This morning I made my way down to Greenlake for the 5th Annual Top Pot Doughnut Dash 5k! The weather had been incredibly temperamental lately so everyone was dressed like a bunch of crazy people who did not look like they were all supposed to be in the same place.

 I, for one, was wearing my all-time favorite workout shorts from Lululemon (yes, I know they say they're for yoga but I love running, rowing, lifting, tumbling and dancing in them, too), partnered with an over-sized rain jacket from The North Face. There were others in long tights and tank tops, and everything in between.

My latest pair of my favorite workout shorts

Standing in the corrals waiting for the starting gun to go off felt like we were in a wind tunnel it was freezing! The runner next to me commented that she had run a race in February in DC in 30 degrees and this still felt colder even though the weathermen were telling us it was in the upper fifties. Turned out, it was only one side of the lake that was freezing this morning because when we rounded to the sunny side it felt closer to 75 than 50. The runners in tights were giving me the jealous looks I had been giving them when we were waiting to start. I guess everyone and no one dressed right today.

The race was a beautiful, cloudless, lap around the lake that also took over a couple sections of the nearby streets. I finished just sigh of a new PR (and yep, I'm totally blaming it on the headwinds I hit on the last mile) but I was still happy as I crossed the finish line and got right into the que for an old-fashioned glazed doughnut. Totally worth it.

Strong Shoulders

Thursdays are my cross training days and always super important when it comes to preventing injuries! But I don't just swim or bike on Thursdays, I work on those shoulder sculpting lifts, too! Here's what I did today as an example of what you can do to stay active even on days when you're not expected to be out running.

Whenever you do a 2000m Row always do it for time! That way you can watch yourself improve as you keep at it, my record is just under ten minutes.I love doing it at the end of a workout because it feels harder than when I'm full of energy when I first get to the gym. I definitely feel all my muscles working together the last 500 meters. If you're not sure about form please ask someone at your local gym or find an instructional video online, using improper form can really mess up your back!

How to Make Mondays Enjoyable

How do I make my Mondays enjoyable? Simple, I head to the gym. I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by incredible people who make even the hardest workout a good time. But that comes from constantly being at the gym and getting to meet new people all the time. While I'm usually more of an introvert my extroverted side comes out when I'm working out. Something to do with all the extra endorphins I guess. But something about having an encouraging group around you definitely makes a colossal difference.

My gymnastics group is like a second family and the guys I lift with are like a pack of the coolest older brothers a girl could find. So, naturally, when I'm looking to make my Mondays a little more bearable I know working out is gonna be the fix I need.

Today I did a workout I had made up last week that I'm really starting to love. I'm able to tweak it each time I do it so that I'm always challenged. Some days I'll try to set a new record for my 2000m on the rowing machine, or I'll increase weight on my calf raises, or add additional reps for my abs circuit. No matter what I choose to focus on I know this is a great one to target my core and abs without taking up an entire afternoon. I can usually finish in a little under an hour depending on how many breaks I take or how long I choose to stretch out after.