A Glorious Tuesday Morning?

This morning, I had the most glorious run.

It’s already starting to stay darker later in the morning (sad face!!), and it was drizzling when I woke up, but the weather ended up being perfect for a morning jog outside. The humidity still won’t let up, but it rained all night, which cooled things off just a bit. It was about 69* when I left for my run at 5:30 this morning, and the damp, slightly cooler air felt so refreshing. The trees and ground were wet and the fog was still hanging low, making everything look so green and beautiful. I wanted to stop and take a picture, but my phone (camera) was attached to my arm band underneath my long-sleeved shirt and wriggling it out mid-run seemed like too much work at the time.

This was the first time I’ve actually been able to get in a morning run around my new neighborhood, and now I see that it definitely won’t be the last. I’m sad that I have to be traveling for the next three weeks in a row and won’t get to make it a habit, but I’m sure there will be plenty of time to get outside in the future. It’s too bad that summer goes by so fast, but I’ll just have to learn to bundle up and take advantage of it during the winter too!

Before my run, I completed part one of my workout – shoulders. I upped my weight this time, and it had me seriouslyworking hard. Doing strength before cardio is still new to me, but I actually think I like it. It serves as a great warmup, making cardio seem a little less daunting, and it also kind of feels good to get it out of the way in the beginning.

Here’s what today’s strength workout looked like:

Superset:

• 4×12 Barbell shoulder presses (40 lbs)
• 4×12 Upright rows (40 lbs)

Monster set:

• 4×10 Front raises (2-10 lb dumbbells)
• 4×10 Side lateral raises (2-10 lb dumbbells)
• 4×10 Bent over rear lateral raises (2-10 lb dumbbells)

After that, it was running (jogging) time. I mapped out three routes last night – 2, 2.5, and 3 miles – and decided on the 2-miler for today. I wanted to get to work early since I have to leave early on Thursday, and I also knew my legs were going to be a little bit sore from yesterday’s workout. That said, I figured I could keep it shorter and push myself a little harder for the full two miles instead of dragging it out to a slower (and longer) three. It worked, and I was back inside within 20 minutes! Glorious, I tell ya, glorious.

For breakfast, I went the easy route and heated up some toaster pancakes using yesterday’s leftovers. I topped them with strawberries, and they too were glorious. (Are you sick of that word yet?)

But seriously, there’s nothing like an awesome workout and a quick, nutritious, and delicious breakfast to brighten up a dreary Tuesday morning. Honestly, what could be better?