Shake it Off

After a few days off courtesy of a rolled ankle, I'm back at it!

I typically do my weekend runs on Saturday mornings, but yesterday I was busy helping Crystal with stuff for her wedding most of the day (we made some pretty awesome centerpieces!). So, this morning, after being lazy and thoroughly enjoying my morning coffee and an episode of Covert Affairs on the living room sofa, I decided to run the Golden Gate Bridge again.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky, which isn't all that common here in San Francisco! While I can't say the running part was as great as my last bridge run (I had to stop for walking breaks pretty frequently and wasn't winning any awards on speed), I did end up getting to 10 miles total! Taylor Swift's super catchy new single popped up on shuffle right at mile six when I was thinking about taking a shortcut home...but it reenergized me and I got four more miles in.

Tank: Forever 21 [similar]

Sports bra: C9 [similar]

Shorts: Lululemon [exact]

Shoes: Newton Running [exact]

Sunglasses: Oakley [exact]

San Francisco runners are spoiled because it's pretty much always cloudy and cool, which makes the weather absolutely perfect for running. Today, though, it was HOT!! I took my tank top off for most of my run and just wore my sports bra (which I'm sure thrilled all of the tourists on the bridge who bumped into sweaty me when they weren't paying attention). I was pleasantly surprised by how little sweat was visible on these shorts!

I've been pretty good food-wise this weekend. I did reward myself with ice cream post-run, though! They say chocolate milk is a great recovery food, so that means chocolate ice cream is, too, right?!

Taking Out the Head Trash

My dad is an awesome runner. He's in his 50s but runs half marathons at least every other month (including at least one in every state I've lived in!). Anytime I have an excellent run, I call him during my cooldown walk to tell him about it.

His dad was also a really great runner. One of the things I remember my dad always telling me that his dad said is that a run is when you take out your head trash. I didn't really understand what that meant when I was trying to run when I was younger. But with each foray I make into running, I understand it more and more.

It's been a busy week at work. One of my clients had a corporate launch, which meant 10+ hour days and early mornings. I hadn't been eating properly because I tend to reach for the potato chips when I'm not consciously thinking about nutrition. Even though I wanted to exercise, it was the last thing on my mind when I was getting home at 9pm and hadn't eaten dinner yet. So, over a couple of days, my "head trash" had started to pile up.

This afternoon, I was just mentally exhausted. For the first time in a long time, I just had this feeling that I had to run. I knew in the back of my mind that running was what it was going to take to get rid of any leftover stress. So, I threw on my running shoes as soon as I got home from work and I ran.

My goodness, did it feel great!

I ended up running 3.5 miles and was smiling by the end. I love it when that happens!

Top: Nike [similar]

Shorts: Lululemon [exact]

Socks: C9 [exact]

I can't say my outfit today was nearly as impressive as my run! I love these shorts (the colors are some of my favorites and the fabric is very light while still opaque) and shirt (it's from my Olympic days!), but together, they just don't look amazing! But, hey - they got the job done today!

An Exercise in Hills and Dodging Tourists

The weather in San Francisco is amazing today!! In honor of that, I decided to run the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time. I started my run in the Presidio, which meant lots of hills before actually getting to the bridge itself. I'm NOT a fan of hills at all! I very, very rarely actually run them! But, I managed to force myself to do it today, repeated over and over again in my head that I'd get to run down them later.

Once I was actually on the bridge, the challenge became dodging tourists! Despite the fact that the bridge has very clear signs directing pedestrians to one side of the bridge and cyclists to another, lots of cyclists seem to ignore that. People also tend to walk 5-6 people wide, meaning that they're taking up the entire path. As I got towards the middle of the bridge, though, it all thinned out.

On the way back, I had a few really great songs come on and give me the energy to power through to the end. I ended up running 4.5 miles without stopping and did a mile walking for both a warmup and a cooldown...so a grand total of 6.5 miles!

Tank: Old Navy [exact]

Pants: Yogasmoga [exact]

Shoes: Newton Running [exact]

Sunglasses: Oakley [exact]

These pictures quite clearly illustrate just how much I need to work on running form!

Now, onto clothes...words cannot express how wonderful these Yogasmoga pants are! I hadn't ever worn them for a longer run, but they seriously did not budge. There was no readjusting whatsoever. They fit perfectly. I supposed my only maybe complaint would be that they're a bit on the warmer side (which is generally a plus in this climate), so if you're in a super hot climate, they may be a bit too much. It's taking a lot of self control to not run out and buy like 10 pairs of these things! 

I may or may not have splurged on some Ben & Jerry's post run...soooo maybe not nailing it on nutrition today like I did on exercising!

Wine and Cheese and Running

I swear...anytime I don't feel like running at all, I end up having my best runs! When I got home tonight, my legs hurt and I was hungry. So, I gave myself a half hour to down some cereal and water and then forced myself outside. I ended up running for 35 minutes without stopping, which is way more than I was supposed to on this particular day of Couch to 5k. The weather was perfect tonight, so I'm guessing that helped!

Shirt: Columbia Sportswear [similar]

Pants: Lululemon [similar]

Shoes: Newton Running [exact]

These pants are actually five years old! They were given to me by a friend ages ago and still look and feel just as good as the day I first received them. I wish Lululemon still made things as high quality as these! Don't get me wrong...I clearly like Lululemon (almost every one of my #WOOTDs seems to include it), but it just isn't what I used to be. 

MyFitnessPal was great today! I ended up eating well enough throughout the day that I had a few calories leftover to enjoy a glass of wine and a little bit of cheese before bed. It's definitely been my best nutrition day in awhile. I also got inspired while grocery shopping tonight and made four days worth of yogurt parfaits to take to work so I can avoid my morning stop at Starbucks for breakfast. 

Good days are the best!