Project Early Bird

I was scheduled for Week 7 Day 2 run (25 mins) last night, but because of yet another parent meeting, I would not have been able to do it until after 8pm, and that is just too late. So, I set my alarm for 5am today and decided to experiment with an Early Bird workout. I was up at 5:10, had one cup of coffee, turned on the morning news and hit the treadmill. I have to say, it wasn't too bad.... It was 5:25 before I actually got on, and I didn't get much of a cool down walk but since I would be moving anyway getting ready for work , walking to the bus etc., it was fine. Next time I have to plan for better stretching before/after - I did some, but felt pressured about my time so I skimped a bit there. I was done by 6 and did my normal before work / before school routine and out the door by 7:40!

The first 1/2 of the run, I took pretty slow, and then the last 12 minutes I alternated 1 minute running intervals (4.8-5.2mph) with 2 minute jogs (3.8mph). That was fun actually. I am in the throes of female ailments this week, so I have to give myself kudos for managing to wake up that early and get through the workout! Breathing was MUCH easier this time, but I wasn't feeling very 'fast'. Then, for some reason, about an hour after my run, I got some serious '3-Advil' cramps which surprised me because I thought activity would curb those a bit...It wasn't until I got downtown that those started to subside, but wow, I hate to think how I would have felt had I NOT taken anything, yikes! Just love being female...sorry to whine guys but, it really is impactful to us ladies!

Another observation, my hands were SO swollen after my run that I could barely get my rings off?! I don't know if they were that swollen before the workout when I first got up, but I only noticed because I take them off to put lotion on, and one ring I could not even get over my knuckle. Yesterday the scale was up three pounds, so I did not even bother weighing today. The rings told the story loud and clear ha ha..however, as I type this now, the one ring I could not get off this morning is now spining happily around my finger - strange. Does exercise make you swell like that?

I am a morning person, so getting up early is no biggie really...BUT, I'm more of an 'enjoy-my- coffee-in-treasured-silence -while-reading -the-paper' sort of morning person - not 'Hey, how about let's run two miles and sweat buckets' kind of morning person! I think I could get used to it though. It feels good knowing it's 'done' for the day, and I may do it again over the weekend.
I burned about 260 calories too which is a nice way to start the day! Speaking of calories....

I picked up the latest issue of 'Self' the other day, and there are some great articles centered around 'goal setting' and achieving said goals in say, 30 days. One of the plans/goals is to 'lose 8 pounds' in one month. Well, I have the exercise piece pretty much set so I don't need to change anything there...but there are some great food ideas that fit very well with my 'food personality'. I thought I'd share some of the ideas here - I don't know about any of you but I tend to eat the same things pretty much every day, especially for breakfast and snacks, so this was good timing to kind of change things up a bit! Next post I'll share some of the lunch and dinner ideas.

BREAKFAST (about 400 cals each)

Almond Banana Smoothie - 1 cup vanilla soymilk, 1 banana, 2tbsp ground flaxseed, 1Tbsp almond butter and 1/4 almond extract in a blender (YUM)

Apple Stacks - 2 pieces Wasa Crispbread with 1/2 cup nonfat ricotta, 1 chopped apple, 2 Tbsps each chopped dates and chopped wlwanuts, and cinnamon

Creamy Cranberry hot cereal - Cook 1/2 cup plain oatmeal with 1/2 cup skim milk and 1/2 cup water. Stir in 1 TBSP dried cranberries, 1Tbps ground flaxseed and 2 tsp maple syrup. Top with 1 chopped apple and 1/2 cup skim milk.

SNACKS (130-150 cals)

1 oz melted Brie on a 35-40 calorie cracker (such as Kavli or Wasa)

24 Ghirardelli 60% Cacao bittersweet chocolate chips

3 Tbsp low fat granola mixed with 1 Tbsp dried sweetened coconout and 1 Tbsp slivered almonds

I hope everyone has a great weekend....looks like a wet one just about everywhere though! Our Houston office is closed with all of our 'Business Continuation and Disaster Recovery' procedures in place - so our attorneys there will continue to receive their email and have access to clients and documents while Ike is traveling through....sad to say, but SOMEone will be billing time depsite a natural disaster, I have no doubt!