All of the feedback on my last post was so nice and super motivating to share some of the random things I do to find some balance with eating and working and running and mom'ing, so I thought I would share how I try and tackle the mornings.
Running
This is the cornerstone of my exercise routine and the only thing that I do in the mornings. I have tried to be one of those people that can get up and do yoga or strength training, but it just doesn't happen. As soon as I start moving the kids barge in, someone needs something from me, or the kids want to join and start rolling around on my foam roller like a drunken circus seal. Luckily, I have my lunch hour at the gym every day (more on that another day). I am also not an afternoon or evening runner - there is always so much to do in those hours after work and before bedtime and, really, I just love starting my day with a run to clear my head and feel accomplished before the rest of the world is awake.
With morning running, I can sneak out (50/50 undetected) and get miles in, which is what started me on running in the first place. Two days a week I meet my running buddy/group of buddies at 5:15 and do 5 miles. To do this, I get up at 4:30, drink a cup of coffee in sweet silence in the living room and get out there. Usually I am home before Maddie is up (Annie does not sleep later than 5:28 on the dot, sadly) and I am ready to start the day, and theirs.
Saturday mornings are all about the Dorchester Running Club, which is the best way to kick off the weekend - a couple of hours with friends, no phones or distractions, just the pavement and uninterrupted conversations with the best people ever.
Having someone to meet is the BEST way to make sure you show up and has kept me on track for a long time, even through the winter, because knowing someone is waiting for me is sometimes an even better motivation than pizza and beer. This view doesn't hurt either....
Once training season kicks in (as it will for my Chicago Marathon training in just a few weeks) I add one more day of running, usually a hill repeat, at the same crack of dawn time.
I haven't trained for a fall marathon in a lot of years and was thinking this morning how I can actually sleep in during the summers and run a little later, but I plan on sticking to this early morning routine because there is something so perfect about that morning air and empty sidewalk combination (before stifling heat and humidity). The mornings that I don't run I get up at 5:30, give or take an early rising toddler/husband that moves as quietly as the San Andreas fault on his running mornings.
This is an easy, filling and delicious smoothie that I make most every morning to drink on my walk to the train. Sometimes I mix it up by throwing in fruit that is about to go bad (rare in a house of fruit devouring kids) or with these TJ acai berry packs (so good).
Running
This is the cornerstone of my exercise routine and the only thing that I do in the mornings. I have tried to be one of those people that can get up and do yoga or strength training, but it just doesn't happen. As soon as I start moving the kids barge in, someone needs something from me, or the kids want to join and start rolling around on my foam roller like a drunken circus seal. Luckily, I have my lunch hour at the gym every day (more on that another day). I am also not an afternoon or evening runner - there is always so much to do in those hours after work and before bedtime and, really, I just love starting my day with a run to clear my head and feel accomplished before the rest of the world is awake.
With morning running, I can sneak out (50/50 undetected) and get miles in, which is what started me on running in the first place. Two days a week I meet my running buddy/group of buddies at 5:15 and do 5 miles. To do this, I get up at 4:30, drink a cup of coffee in sweet silence in the living room and get out there. Usually I am home before Maddie is up (Annie does not sleep later than 5:28 on the dot, sadly) and I am ready to start the day, and theirs.
Saturday mornings are all about the Dorchester Running Club, which is the best way to kick off the weekend - a couple of hours with friends, no phones or distractions, just the pavement and uninterrupted conversations with the best people ever.
Having someone to meet is the BEST way to make sure you show up and has kept me on track for a long time, even through the winter, because knowing someone is waiting for me is sometimes an even better motivation than pizza and beer. This view doesn't hurt either....
Once training season kicks in (as it will for my Chicago Marathon training in just a few weeks) I add one more day of running, usually a hill repeat, at the same crack of dawn time.
I haven't trained for a fall marathon in a lot of years and was thinking this morning how I can actually sleep in during the summers and run a little later, but I plan on sticking to this early morning routine because there is something so perfect about that morning air and empty sidewalk combination (before stifling heat and humidity). The mornings that I don't run I get up at 5:30, give or take an early rising toddler/husband that moves as quietly as the San Andreas fault on his running mornings.
My morning smoothie
This is an easy, filling and delicious smoothie that I make most every morning to drink on my walk to the train. Sometimes I mix it up by throwing in fruit that is about to go bad (rare in a house of fruit devouring kids) or with these TJ acai berry packs (so good).
Ingredients:
- 1 frozen banana (I peel and freeze them individually in parchment paper, then place them into a large freezer bag)
- 2 cups of almond milk (or soy milk)
- 1 tbsp flax seeds
- 2 tbsp oats
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 scoop protein powder
- Into the Ninja it all goes and boom, breakfast!
I hope this little peek can help to motivate a good run or a yummy smoothie! Anyone who is reading who thinks that they could never have this sort of motivation to miss out on sleep and run in the mornings, I challenge you to try it out! Join me on a weekday or the whole DRC gang on a Saturday and I promise you will be a changed person and make some awesome friends in the process (even if we are slightly smelly and wear a lot of bright colors).
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