This morning I woke up to a blanket of white snow on the ground. I didn’t even know it was supposed to snow! All I remember is seeing 52 for the high, a picture of the sun, and 40%, which I thought meant 40% chance of rain. Somehow it never got above 31 degrees today and the wind is as bad as it was on Tuesday. It’s currently 27 degrees, but it feels like 17 degrees with the 18 mph winds.

Despite the unfavorable weather, I headed out for a 4 mile recovery run after work. I just ran on the roads around our house and ran a 9:55 average pace. I probably should have run a bit slower, because my legs felt really tired today, but it was so cold and windy and I just wanted to be done.

This is really random, but why not share the random thoughts that go through my head on a daily basis? I had a Golden Delicious apple today (they are delicious!) and I got to thinking about something. How cool would it have been to have been the person that got to name all the varieties of apples?? I am imagining a person sitting at a table with all of these types of apples in front of them, taking a bite out of each one, and writing down a name. What a fun job that would be!

It is now almost 6:15 PM and I am already showered and in my PJ’s for the night. Happy Friday Eve!

What is the weather where you are today?

Do you like apples? What’s your favorite variety?
I love honey crisp apples, but they’re so expensive! Golden delicious is my second favorite.

Guess what I didn’t do this morning? A 30 day shred workout! My first morning in 30 days not getting up and doing that workout. I really liked the three workouts (levels 1, 2, and 3) and I’d recommend them to other runners as a great form of cross training. After completing the program I feel stronger, especially in my core and upper body, and I feel like my running has improved. But honestly after you do something for 30 days in a row, it’s nice to take a break. I’m planning to do another shred workout next Monday.

This evening I went for a run with Barry. We did a 5 mile tempo run on the trail in town. It’s pretty nice outside today: 46 degrees and not nearly as windy as yesterday. The plan for today run was to do a one mile warm up, 3 miles 9:06-9:20 pace, and then one mile cool down. I figured out what my tempo pace should be using McMillan’s Running Calculator by plugging in my recent 10K race time. Here are the splits:

Mile 1 (warm up): 10:35
Mile 2: 9:04
Mile 3: 8:49
Mile 4: 8:51
Mile 5 (cool down): 10:27

Overall average pace was 9:34/mile. All three of my tempo miles were below the pace range established by the McMillan Calculator. The 10K time I used was from the only 10K race I’ve ever run (from this past weekend) and it was a hilly race, so maybe not the best indicator. Either way, a successful tempo run is in the books. It really helped me to have Barry with me tonight. He sets a great pace and I can just stick with him, although I still tend to stalk my Garmin like crazy during those middle miles.

I have one other thing to share with you today. Check out the view I had today at work:

I snapped this picture from an overlook off of a road I was driving on that goes over a mountain between two towns. I made it x-large so you could see it better. Views like that never get old and pictures just don’t do them justice.

What was your workout today?

Have you ever followed an exercise program that had you doing something everyday for a certain number of days in a row? Did you like it? Were you ready to be done with it at the end?
I just finished the 30 day shred and last winter I completed the 90 day p90x program.

This morning I did my Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred level 3 workout. Guess what!? Today was day 30 which means I am all done with the 30 day program! I intend to incorporate this into my cross training, especially until it gets warm enough to ride my bike.

Biking on the state park trail

P.S. The weather man just used the words “snow” “big kahuna” and “Sunday night” in the same sentence…. oh boy.

P.P.S. The news also just reported there is a Lululemon recall on 17% of their yoga pants because they are see-through! CNN Article HERE

Did you know about the Lululemon recall??

The Cream Cheese Chicken Chili turned out really good. Barry and I both enjoyed it, along with the leftover cornbread, which went perfect with the chili. It has just a little bit of a kick. Tonight’s dinner is leftover chili, woohoo!

Once again, it goes perfect with the weather. It’s been rainy all day and I don’t think it’s gotten above 35 degrees. I would much prefer snow when it’s this cold! I really hope it goes away by tomorrow evening before I have to run. They are predicting a high of 52 degrees, but after being off by more than 15 degrees last week, I’m skeptical it’ll get that warm. You’re on, weather man.

We’re currently watching Jeopardy, which is one of my favorite shows. I especially love when it’s kids Jeopardy! I thought it was so weird when I was in St. Louis and it came on at like 3 or 4 in the afternoon. That just wasn’t right.

I forgot to mention, as usual for the past 29 days, I did my 30 Day Shred workout this morning (level 3). Tomorrow is the last day!!! I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself after this, but I do know one thing…. Friday is going to be a complete rest day! My first complete rest day in 34 days or something like that.

Do you have a certain meal you like to eat when it’s cold outside?

Do you watch Jeopardy? What time does it come on where you live?

How often to you take a complete rest day?

Yesterday after the race and awards ceremony we grabbed some lunch at a small diner (Texas Tavern for anyone who’s familiar with Roanoke). Then we hit the road for home, and got home around 1:30 after making a quick stop at the grocery store. Once we got home I did my level 3 Jillian workout and let me tell you it was one of the toughest times I’ve done that workout. I was fatigued from the race, but I had had a few hours rest. What really got me was it was 1:30 in the afternoon and I had yet to have my coffee for the day, which meant I had a pounding caffeine headache. It made getting through the workout really tough, but I did it.



I realize this picture shows you nothing, except that I use crock pot liners. They are the best! Easiest clean up in the world.

I also got these two bags of chips at the store. They were buy 1 get 1 free. Barry and I really like the Dill Pickle ones, and the Sriracha is one of the three new flavors Lays has out. The other two are chicken & waffles and cheesy garlic bread. I really like this one, as it pretty much tastes like a potato chip with mild hot sauce, which is a good mix in my book. The store didn’t have the other two flavors, but I’m not sure how I feel about them anyway. Neither one is really appealing to me as a potato chip flavor.