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
The Unpopular Sport
Last night, three of my friends rallied to watch the 10:30pm showing of McFarland USA, the cross country Disney movie about the true story of McFarland High School’s 1987 cross country team.
As a high school cross country runner myself, how could I not see this movie. There aren’t very many movies themed around long-distance running! (For good reason, I suppose…) We had the whole theater to ourselves!
Even I’ll admit, running is not an entertaining sport for mass audiences. You have to be a runner to really appreciate a movie dedicated to the sport. It’s not glamorous or commercial or suspenseful. Once, I raced a 10k at Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, CA, and my parents came to watch. There were EIGHT heats of the 10k and I was in heat #7. A 10k race = 25 laps around the quarter-mile track. About 40 minutes til the last person finishes. My parents sat through over four hours of laps so that they could watch me run for 37+ minutes. That is love! :)
McFarland was inspirational as any Disney flick, though I have to say my favorite Disney sports-themed movie is The Rookie. We did all definitely leave the theater feeling motivated to go for a run. But it was after midnight so we went to sleep instead ;)
*Side Note: the best trailer we saw was for the newest Nicholas Sparks movie, The Longest Ride. Yes, it looks exactly like all his previous stories. Yes, it looks predictable and cheesy. Yes, I will be going to see it. Trailer –> here.*
Training for marathon #2 is underway. I have a weekly schedule of workouts with ideal mileage, pace, hill repeats, speed intervals and strength training.Yesterday was some hill repeats, 60 second bursts up a steep grade with 2 minutes jogging in between.
Nutrition is especially important to fuel my workouts so I stocked up on some more protein and planned out weekly “mostly-clean” dinners. However I am completely exploiting the fact that more mileage = more ice cream.
We are in the middle of a couple winter storms. Snow = compromising on the treadmill. This weekend’s long run will test my mental abilities as I have 11 miles on the treadmill! Only some new music will get me through.
This song came on the other days as I pulled into my parking space. I’d never heard it before so I parked and sat in my car for 3 minutes, shazam’d it, and have been overplaying it ever since. :)
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
