Ain't No Rest for the Wicked

What's cookin' good lookin'?  Happy Tuesday to ya!  I'm feeling pretty good today and I hope you are too! It is another typical Tuesday around these parts, but I did a little something different to start my day.  I went for a run!  Until the end of training, I basically did all my runs (except long runs) in the afternoons.  I typically refuse to get up before the sun comes up unless absolutely necessary, but these days the sun is up around 6 or 6:30am and that gives me plenty of time to get a run in during daylight hours prior to work. 

I didn't really randomly just decide to go run in the morning... a few things pushed me toward the decision and I am glad they did.  I needed the nudge.  The first thing was the heat.  I ran in the afternoon last week and nearly keeled over after two miles.  My second motivator was Sadie.  She has been training with me and accompanied me on nearly all of my training runs.  Last week, Jesse and I both kind of took it easy on the running front and Sadie really took the brunt of our laziness.  She didn't get much exercise last week aside from our regular walks in the mornings and the time she plays with Jesse or me after work. 

Last night while we were watching a movie, Jesse took her out to potty.  I guess all her energy was just pent up and he told me she almost ran out into the street barking at some folks across the way.  I live on a fairly busy street, so Sadie bolting out into the street would almost surely result in disaster.  She has never acted like that before and we quickly realized it was because she hasn't been getting regular exercise this past week.

So, not only for my own health, but for the little stinker's health and safety too, I dragged my bum out of bed this morning and laced up my shoes.  Can't have anything happen to my puppy just because I am too lazy to run!  We had a good run- about three miles through the neighborhoods and the park.  We ran the whole time and though we were a little on the slow side, it felt good to get out there and run again.  I missed it.

The park was quiet so we were able to run with few distractions and it only took us about thirty minutes (plus a small amount of warm up/cool down walking time).  I know Sadie was glad to get out of the house and put some miles on her paws, and I was glad to get back into my running routine.  I previously mentioned my plan to do 10-15 miles a week, and now that I had last week to rest it is time to get back into it.  I'm ready, willing and excited to get my runs out of the way in the morning so that I have plenty of time for other things in the evenings and also don't die from heat exhaustion.  Running or exercising in the morning also makes it feel like a rest day to me when I get my exercise out of the way before I start my day.  All that spare time in the afternoons is great!  I'm hoping I'll be able to keep it up and make exercising in the morning a habit for good this time.

Yesterday evening wasn't too eventful aside from Sadie's little outburst.  I headed over to the gym after work for Body Works and as I was getting out of the car I realized I had left my gym bag at home.  It was a small blessing in disguise though, because I came up with a doozie at-home workout that I now get to share with you!  I named it after one of my favorite Cage the Elephant songs.  "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked."

This workout has you power through with little to no rest for an entire thirty minutes.  During the workout, you'll alternate cardio blasts with strength training moves for a full body workout that will leave you a hot, sweaty mess.  If you're feeling ambitious, do it two times through circuit-style for a full hour of accelerated heart rate and muscle burn.  I only did it once and am definitely feeling it today!  Without further adieu, let me introduce you to the "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" Full Body Blast Workout:

In case you're not sure what they are, here is a video for Renegade Rows (one of my favorite strength training moves ever.)

I hope you'll enjoy this workout!  I had a lot of fun doing the sprints around my house and Sadie even joined in on the fun a few times.  I definitely got hot and sweaty and was totally feeling the burn.  It was a great full-body workout that was interesting, entertaining and challenging.  I'll be doing this one again soon, especially if I have to miss my Body Works class again.  It made for a pretty great substitute.

For dinner, Jesse and I made a sausage, potato, carrot and pepper hash that cooked while I did my wicked workout.  It was absolutely delicious.  I, of course, smothered mine in ketchup.  After dinner, we watched the Tom Hanks film "Larry Crowne."  I really, really enjoyed the movie.  It was emotional, funny and entertaining.  Definitely one I would watch again.  Overall, it was a quiet evening.

Tonight, I'm meeting one of my besties for sushi (oh yes!) and probably some fro-yo.  I can't wait to catch up with her.  We're in book club together and I haven't gotten to talk to her about the last two books in the Fifty Shades trilogy since I finished them.  I'm hoping while we're together, we can set up a time & place to have our next book club meeting!

Alrighty, that is all for me today.  I hope you have a lovely Tuesday and let me know if you try and tackle my wicked workout!


Tell me...
What are three things that made you happy in the past 24 hours?  My top three are: seeing the sweet old man who works next door yesterday and the compliments he bestowed upon me, the new maxi skirts & dress I ordered that arrived this morning, and the fact that I finally did it and got up to exercise in the morning today! :]

"Just think about how happy you'd be if you lost everything and everyone you have right now, and then somehow got everything back again." -Kobi Yamada