Did you workout today? Good for you! That’s awesome, especially in these dark days filled with holiday anticipation (and maybe stress!)!
It took me a loooonnngg time to get geared up for my 5 mile run today. It was cold out there! Until today I had never run outside in under 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Today it was 26*. Thus the “gearing up” was both mental and physical. It was a double glove kinda day…
And as I ran I sang like nobody was listening (no, really, I did)! Oh wait, nobody was listening because it was just me and the mailman on the streets. Today was perhaps the first day in three months of running in Charlottesville where I didn’t see another single runner. I must say, it made me a little proud. I’ve never been exactly “hardcore”, more of a fair weather sports girl if you will. I was a whitewater raft guide for a few years after high school but I definitely preferred to work on sunny days with perfect water levels:).
I know I’ve said this already, but it’s coming as a surprise to myself so I keep repeating it; I don’t mind running in the cold. Even 26 degrees was manageable since the sun was shining. I don’t, however, like running in the wind. At times the wind literally choked me. Yuck.
After a slow first 30 minutes I finished off with 17 minutes of sprints. My pattern was 90 seconds run, 30 seconds sprint, 30 seconds walk. Lately my fitness philosophy has been “work out harder, not longer” and sprints fit in with this perfectly.
Sprinting bursts burn a ton of calories, increase your overall speed, speed up your metabolism, increase production of human growth hormone, and make you feel tough and strong. Sometimes I jog instead of walk for recovery after a sprint but walking is really better. When I recover at a jog pace I don’t reach that true anaerobic full-out sprint. If you are doing a real “sprint” you should want to walk afterward (or stop all together, although I wouldn’t recommend it).
“The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph!” – Marvin Phillips
The sprints definitely added some “umph” to my run!
Lunch was quick and simple. I picked this big boy up at the farmers market on Saturday and have been eating off it since then!
It must have weighed 5 pounds! (I was tempted to take it upstairs to my bathroom scale but I resisted…)
So I made sauerkraut. And soup. Lots of Cabbage and Butternut Soup.
This soup is super simple, shredded cabbage, diced butternut squash, onions, salt, and cayenne pepper and full of vitamins and minerals. Both cabbage and butternut are high in calcium, manganese, magnesium, potassium, B6, and C.
We have a fun and random outing tonight. Yesterday Tate got a call about one of the offices we have for listed on Craigslist for rent. He mentioned the name of the caller to me and I said, “oh, I know her, we were childhood friends!” Small world, small town! So we are going to meet her for a drink tonight, catch up and see if maybe she wants to rent from us.
Can’t wait to read about how your workouts went!
P.S Oh yeah! And I did about 10 minutes of power Pilates, my favorite 7 exercises without rest between exercises.
I thought about you running outside when I DROVE to the gym today!!
I seriously thought about stopping by to warm up as I ran past Highland!
YEAH for me; I went to the park after work (took the 2 youngest kids); they played basketball while I walked/jogged a little over a mile. More walking than jogging, but for a chick that hasn’t exercised in AGES; I DID IT!!!
Thanks for making the challenge open/free and non-threatening. 😀
First, you’re welcome and thanks so much for participating!
Second, congrats on getting moving again, that’s awesome!
So the walk at lunch didn’t happen – I forgot and got excited about eating! So, because I had already committed, when I got home from work I put in a 1 mile walking video and did that. Then, while my hubby read to the kids I did a quick pilates workout and some squats.
I love that you felt committed! Congrats on getting moving!
I did a little Jillian Michaels shred today…level 3.
The one thing that motivates me the most is the cold, weird eh?
But working out is the only way I can really warm up…and
I hate being cold!
I know what you mean about warming up. It feels so good to work up a sweat in gym clothes when you are used to layers and cold feet.
I have Jillian’s Shred, I like level 2 best. Level 3 is awesome but sometimes it’s too hard on my shoulders.
I totally giggled out loud when you described 26 degrees as cold. Sorry – that wasn’t very nice of me. 🙂 26 degrees is a warm day around here at this time of year. But good for you for getting out there! For me, wind is always a bigger factor than the cold. And I live on the Canadian Prairies, so we occasionally get wind and cold. LOL. BTW, I’ve been reading but haven’t had time to comment as of late – writing finals. Love the comment commit idea!
I did feel like it might be insulting to some to call 26 cold! You have to understand, I haven’t had a real winter since 2004-2005! Portland was 40’s through the winter except for the occasional cold spells and Lima was 50’s through the winter (and people were totally bundled up in puffy jackets while I ran around in sandals!). I haven’t owned a real jacket in over 5 years!
I cannot image the cold and wind you experience on the Canadian Prairies! I’ve always handled heat better than cold.
Best of luck with finals!
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the cabbage/squash soup recipe looks amazing. not to be dense but could you please post a more-detailed recipe, i.e., what you used for stock, etc.
It was really tasty, plus it was low-calorie and super nutritious. You should totally give it a try.
Shred 4 cups of cabbage and an onion in a food processor (or slice very thin).
In a stockpot sauté onions and 2 stalks of chopped celery in 1 T butter, coconut oil, or olive oil (all have their benefits, go with your preference or what you have on hand).
Add cabbage and 4 cups of water.
Peel, seed, and cube a small butternut squash and add to stockpot.
Bring everything to a boil and add salt liberally (start with a teaspoon and start tasting) and cayenne to taste. Once the butternut is soft give it a few vigorous stirs to incorporate the flavors and break up some of the squash (thickening the broth just a little).
This soup is sweet from the high natural sugars found in the butternut and cabbage so the salt, onions, and cayenne help compliment and cut the sweetness.
Enjoy! Like most soups, this one is better on the second day so save some for leftovers. 🙂
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