Beach Day and First Long Run

Good Evening Friends!

Hope your weekend is wrapping up nicely 🙂 Mine was a little all over the place between work and friends but overall a good one!

On Thursday I convinced my mom to play hooky from work and spend a day with me at our favorite beach in the world:
We love love love this beach up in Gloucester, MA. It’s our little piece of heaven and well worth the $20 weekday parking! We get to the beach between 9-10 and stay until about 3…perfect day! We read, lounge, and take walks up and down the beach

Love my mom so much, she’s the best to hang out with 🙂 It turned out to be an even better day when my best friend Meg came with her mom, older brother and friend. Meg and I would go with our families to this beach all the time as kids so it definitely brought back such fun memories. We laughed so hard, which is really the best medicine!

Friday and Saturday were work days, both the 7am shift at work and I was definitely dragging. After working the overnight a few days ago and having been on vacation for a week and a half, 5:15 alarm was a bit painful! Since I planned to stay in Friday night and go to bed early, I decided to make the most of my workout Friday night by hitting the gym for my training plan run and then going to my fav class, Group Power! It felt sooo good to overcome my Friday afternoon slump and get in a great workout; they previewed the new release a day early for us and it was definitely a challenge!

Speaking of my training plan and challenges, today was my first “long run” day! I was actually a little bit apprehensive; even though the distance wasn’t a challenge (40-50 minute run) the idea that it was my big workout day of the week added some pressure. I was out last night, spending some quality time with my best friends Jill and Jenna before Jill moves away next weekend. We had lots of food, snack and wine and I was a little concerned I wouldn’t wake up ready and rearing to go! I also went to bed after 1 a.m. which wasn’t too smart. Fortunately I let my body sleep and allowed myself to wake up naturally around 9:30. I took my time and just waited until I was ready and then hit the pavement:

I was surpised that it actually ended up being a great run! I took two walking breaks on my 4 mile route and ended in about 42 minutes. I know my speed and endurance are still a work in progress so I was pretty excited for this time. I felt much more excited for the rest of this training plan after this run! I know that I can handle the runs if I take them a day at a time.

After the run it was stretch and water

Then I immediately took my sweaty self to the shower before having a little brunch:

Eggs and oatmeal with blueberries and almond milk…I think I ate almost the whole pint of blueberries today 🙂

After breakfast I put my feet up and spent the day relaxing and finishing my new favorite book

I seriously loved this book so much. It is obviously everywhere right now because of the movie but I am so glad I read it first. It is hard to believe that this is what life was like in this country only a few decades ago and yet it is just an echo of the current struggles we still see. I am really grateful for my undergrad and graduate schools for opening my eyes to so many of the social issues going on in this country. I don’t plan on getting on a soapbox here but I think that this is a book that everyone should read 🙂

When my mom, dad and I finally came around from our sleepy afternoon of reading and lounging we decided it was time for a garden-inspired dinner. My mom and I went outside to see what we could find:

Not a bad little crop! My dad started up the grill and I prepared the sides. Some guac made with a garden tomato:

And a sliced cucumber with salt and pepper, simple and yet so so good!

The whole meal for me included grilled chicken, a sweet potato, and the sides

I am one full and happy girl…I think I am refueled from my run! Tomorrow is my “rest day” and although I want to make those days yoga or strength days, my schedule is a little busy so I think I’m taking the day off 🙂

Tell me: what workouts intimidate you? Do you ever get psyched out by a training plan? And what’s your favorite place to relax and spend your summer days?

That’s all for tonight, heading off to bed! Sleep well everyone!

xoxox

Em