Blog Archives
Monday Motivation
A little motivation for marathon training, staying focused, and just getting through Monday in general. (We are just FOUR days away from spring break!)
A couple times a month, I like to take a break from writing my own original post to share amazing finds from around the interwebs that I found especially entertaining/inspirational.
1.) Motivation to push yourself in workouts:
Probably the only reason I was able to power through my 13-mile long run on Saturday was with Kelly Clarkson’s brand new album Piece by Piece (Deluxe Edition). She is the true MVP here. The beats and the lyrics made the miles fly by (except when I ran so far out that my phone lost internet connection and I ran two miles in complete silence. Awkward.) Can’t pick a favorite but Second Wind and Invincible are probably the best workout tracks.
2.) Motivation for Self-Improvement:
The Thought Catalog Article ‘25 Things Every Woman Should Have by the Time She Turns 25′
This article popped up on Pinterest and piqued my interest. As a 22 year old millenial, a lot of the things on this list are considered more traditional than modern. Especially #3, which says we should only have the phone numbers, Facebook contacts and friends that we actually want in our life. So many of the items on this list resonated with me and I think it is a personal goal to accomplish each one in the next three years. (Should probably print it out then, to remind myself!)
3.) Motivation for running:
*Obviously since I am 3 weeks in and 12 weeks out from my next marathon, I had to add something running-related. Blogs from other marathoners are my main source of running inspiration lately (Carrots n’ Cake and The Hungry Runner Girl motivated me to do my first Yasso 800 workout! Both are training for Boston.) I’m not going to lie, food is a huge motivator for running. As ridiculous as it sounds, I’m running to become faster for a marathon, not to lose weight. So I look forward to replacing the calories I burn off… I joked on Instagram about my intense margarita craving during this weekends long run. I’ll blame it on all the salt I lost from sweat! ;)
4.) Motivation to Eat Healthy:
On the complete flip side of that beautiful diagram above, not every meal can be cupcakes and cosmos unfortunately. Nutrition is still extremely important for our everyday energy, brain activity, self-confidence and overall health. I’m definitely guilty of getting in a rut and giving into hormones and cravings. Sometimes we need a little motivation to remind ourselves why its so much better to choose healthy whole ingredients, and this video and post from The Skinny Confidential was pretty helpful –> TSC Grocery Store Haul.
5.) Motivation for blogging:
On Friday night, I was stopped at a cross walk with a friend just chatting. A girl came up behind me and said, “Excuse me? I read your blog…” I’d never met her before. She was a student at my school who Google searched ‘healthy college girl blog’ or something. Her boyfriend recognized our school in the pictures after she clicked on Strong Like My Coffee and so she began following. The very first time someone who randomly found me on the internet found me in person! (If you’re reading, hi!)
Turns out my digital marketing course and work with search engine optimization has made Strong Like My Coffee the #1 search result on Google for “Healthy College Blog”!
6.) Motivation for senioritis:
On Thursday morning, my marketing professor so kindly reminded us that we should start actively seeking out jobs for after graduation. Thanks dude, I’ve been working on that since January! Do you know how many rejection e-mails I’ve now received? I don’t even know. I delete them immediately, so I’m not keeping track. The majority state that they are seeking candidates with 5+ years experience.
I’m motivated to keep looking because of my intense passion for starting a brand new life of my own in the Carolina’s.
I’m motivated because I know my marketing skills and my experience are right for some position out there. I’m motivated to keep applying because every day, a few thousand people visit this site to see what I have to say.
I’m motivated because all of my peers are going through the exact same thing. I’m motivated because I’ve had my heart set on moving to the south and anything less than what I set out to do is not an option.
May your Monday be short and your coffee be strong!
XOXOXO
Surviving 11 Miles on the Treadmill
Not unlike the majority of the country, our little town was hit with massive amounts of snow and freezing temperatures last week. And if you know me, you know my sun-loving-self was not too excited about the winter weather. Aside from moving my marathon-training-long-run indoors, I won’t complain about the blizzard too much because I know so many other people had it much much worse. I will admit, the thick fluffy snow photographs beautifully.
Last week I committed to a marathon and the weekly long runs that come with training. Sunday morning I woke up to at least 8 inches of snow and dark grey skies. I’d like to say I’m hardcore enough to run through the blizzard…..but I’m a snowbird at heart and take full advantage of the gym when temperatures drop below 50. The treadmill awaited my eleven-miler. First of all, I haven’t run in the double-digits since September, so I had a little bit of pre-run nerves. But the first step to surviving 85 minutes on a stationary machine:
I have repeated this to myself for years; it is a helpful mantra for any mental undertaking! When I hit “Start” I knew I would not be stepping off that machine until the screen said 11.0.
How to survive treadmill long runs:
- First of all, set the incline to at least 1.0% grade. This helps mimic running on land rather than a moving belt.
- Play with the speed! I always start out at a comfortable speed, but bump it up depending on what song is playing. Alternating your speed also mimics running outside when a machine is not regulating pace for you. For some reason when Masterpiece by Jessie J comes on, I hit up, up, up to 8.5 mph because that is my jam.
- Speaking of music…Fresh new playlist made the time flyyyyyyy:
- Basically the entire new Florida Georgia Line album Anything Goes
- Invincible and Someone by Kelly Clarkson
- Goodbye from Who is Fancy (<— love that name)
- Centuries from Fall Out Boy (not a huge FOB fan but this is a power song!)
- I’m Gonna Show You Crazy by Bebe Rexha
- Let Go For Tonight by Foxes
- Mid-run fuel in the form of Tangerine Sport Beans from Jelly Belly for caffeine (studies say you should have mid-run fuel for any outting longer than 60 minutes)
- Two nights before I had watched an inspirational running movie, which I pictured the race scenes from (runner-nerd alert).
- A bit of an odd one…I like to do math during my runs! Since the speed on a treadmill is set to “miles per hour” and I like to think in terms of “minutes per mile,” I spend a lot of time converting different paces in my head and estimating what my marathon time would be. Buuuut if mathematics tends to exhaust you, I don’t recommend this one. ;)
- Thinking about breakfast and/or dessert.
- Looking out the window at this view and appreciating my warm little fitness room!
And that is how I got through 85 lonely minutes on a treadmill in a blizzard. Forecasts show 50s for this weekend, hallelujah!
What is the longest you’ve run on a treadmill & what songs do I need to add for this weekend’s playlist?!
The Adventure Backpack & 6 Other Weekend Highlights
My weekend was a mixture of everything….chores, work, interning, basketball, running, hiking, picnicking, chick flicks, cooking, homework, shopping, coffee shops. Here are 7 highlights:
1.) The Adventure Backpack: I bought this backpack to use as a purse, but I only ever seem to use it when I go on a hike and pack a picnic. It’s become a picnic basket :) I also put it in my closet and forget about it as soon as I get home, so I pull it out for the next hike to find it already stocked with sunscreen/hand sanitizer/chapstick/deodorant (essential for any outdoor activity right? haha) hence: The Adventure Backpack.
2.) Day Trip to Sedona with my best friend: For us, it was just a quick day trip for lunch and a hike. But some of the license plates in the parking lot showed our fellow hikers had come from Minnesota, Illinois, Maine, Kentucky and Missouri. Our 70-degree February weather is probably making more than half the country pretttty jealous right about now.
Kerri and I have been best friends ever since we became cross country teammates freshman year of college and bonded over Sunday night ‘Desperate Housewives’ episodes and gossiping about boys. Four years later, Desperate Housewives is cancelled and boys have come and gone but we are closer than ever. After we graduate in May, we’ll be living in different states. So we are fitting in a few last girls’ days!
3.) Church Hunting and Traffic Jams: There is a church, The Church of the Red Rocks in Sedona, that is built in to the side of the mountain. I’m not even sure what denomination this church is affiliated with, just that it is absolutely beautiful and we wanted a picture. We asked Siri on Kerri’s iPhone for directions….first mistake. We saw the church in the distance, and watched it get farther and farther away as we followed Siri’s directions in the complete opposite direction.
Instead, we came upon one of the round-abouts at the perfect timing. Two cars were obviously confused by the counter-clockwise stop-sign alternative and a car crash caused the single-lane round-about to completely block traffic in both directions. We sat still for almost thirty minutes waiting for traffic to begin flowing again. Kerri had plenty of time to walk out of the car and take a picture of this sign.
We had good music (Eli Young Band!) and even better views to keep us from growing impatient.
We kept making sarcastic comments like, “Gosh nature is just so ugly.”
“I’d much rather be looking at my cell phone right now.”
“These poor homeowners who have to look at that view every day. Must be rough.”
And no, we never made it to the church.
4.) This creepy photobomb:
Looks like a normal picture, right…..
……?
No, we do not know this person, and we thought we were alone until we were flipping through pictures at home….
5.) S’mores Quest Bar: Kerri and I both love learning about nutrition and trying out new healthy snacks and products. (The first thing out of Kerri’s mouth when we found a flat-ish spot at the top of Bell Rock: WHERE ARE THE SNACKS?!)
Quest bars became popular last year for their high protein/low sugar formula and just introduced a new S’mores flavor. Currently they are only available in GNC in our town, so we made a special little stop on the way home for a protein-packed snack. Delicious :)
6.) Jenna Marbles Videos: In high school, I saw the viral Youtube video “How to trick people into thinking you’re good looking” video from Jenna Marbles that launched her into Internet-stardom. I used to watch her weekly videos after that until I started college. Kerri and I decided to see if Jenna Marbles was still making videos (she is!) and watch some of the newer ones. We loved the “What a girl’s eyebrows mean” :D
7.) A big W for our basketball team today! I was working at the game for my sports marketing internship, and it was one of the most energetic crowds we’ve had this season. The pom-pom giveaway was a huge success and made the cheering spectators that much more spirited. Our boys played the leading team in the conference. The score was 70-69 in the last 30 seconds and they pulled away with a victory!
Aaaaand there’s still a full day of the weekend to enjoy. I hope where ever you are, you’re staying warm!
Xoxo
