Not According To Plan

Well my schedule was really thrown for a loop this morning when my spinning instructor was a no-show! Grrrr! The class was full and we all cycled for a little bit on our own but there’s only so much you can do without music, you know?! The music is what really makes me love spinning so much and after about 10 minutes of trying to go at my own pace, I jumped off the bike and onto the next best thing: the treadmill. I usually do my short runs on Tuesday and Thursday but on the spur of the moment I decided Monday/Wednesday would be best this week so I cranked out a nice slow 2 miles.

Before “spin” I warmed up with some weights. I did—

After my run I stretched and used the foam roller while I talked to a personal trainer there about my shin splints. I have been getting a ton of emails regarding them so I wanted to address that now! For the record, I STILL HAVE SHIN SPLINTS. It definitely still hurts. I thought taking three weeks off would “cure” me but I now know that my shin splints are unfortunately chronic and its just going to be something I’m going to have to deal with. Annoying, yes, but will it stop me from running? Heck no. I just have to be extra careful, that’s all. When I talked to this trainer at the gym today, who also is a marathon runner, he suggested that I not make my short runs over 2 miles AT ALL. Stick to 2 miles twice a week and then on Saturdays have a long run. Also, go slow and continue strength training…. especially legs, shoulders and core!  I need to really work on that because if I let myself, I can be pretty fast. Good for races but not good for my body and in this situation, my body wins because I have got to make it til October 18th! Today on the treadmill I ran about a 9:45 mile and it felt a lot better than an 8:30 mile, that’s for sure. I just need to suck up my pride and slowwwwww down.

So after all this I took a nice long hot steam, showered at the gym and got some coffee. Steams were my brother’s favorite thing. I swear, he used this gym membership JUST for the steam room! Now I can see why though—it felt absolutely amazing. I love feeling all warm

When I got home I snacked on a serving of raw milk cheese to refuel—

I LOVE this stuff!

My mommy came over on her way to Bikram to say hi and to bring me a lemon so I could make the lunch I had my heart set on—Heidi Swanson’s Lemon Scented Quinoa. I love this recipe! I cut it down to serve one and it was the perfect lunch.

All mixed up

Protein rich quinoa + chickpeas make this lunch a powerhouse to fuel you all afternoon. Its light enough that you don’t feel heavy after eating it but very tasty with the creamy lemon tahini dressing. I love extra cilantro in mine!

It is POURING outside and I love it. I have an obsession with rainy days. It always makes things more cozy. I’m very happy that we have entered the rainy season now because, if you can even believe, we’ve been in the middle of a horrible drought for the past month that actually made watering your lawn (with sprinkler systems) illegal! Can you believe it?! I think its like the worst drought Tampa has had in years and years.

I’m off to work a little bit and then go get my hair done! All I want to do when the weather is like this is curl up in my jammies in bed and read all day but I have to force myself to be a little productive

I have a delicious dinner planned. Can’t wait!