Dem Sunrise Runs, Tho

I have somehow found myself back in the swing of running early in the morning. It sets the tone for a great day, and I feel 100x more positive when I start my day with a run.

This morning I struggled to wake up, but I am so happy I got out there. I admit, I have been favouring my treadmill lately. For one, it is SO convenient! I can literally wake up, go downstairs, and run, no matter the weather. During the summer months it's especially nice because when it's boiling hot outside, I can head inside, flick on the fan and still get a run in without worrying about wearing too many layers, not hydrating enough, and other sun safety things runners should take into consideration. Treadmill running is very, don't think, just go, and I am trying extra hard to apply that to my outdoor early runs. On that note, however, the biggest thing is waking up early to fit these runs in. Some days I don't want to run after work, and if it's a million degrees outside, then I definitely don't want to. This is where I am so thankful I have a treadmill! The biggest difference I find is that, yeah, the treadmill can get kind of dull (they DO call it the dreadmill for a reason), whereas outside there is usually something going on. There's more to see, more to hear, and more elements to feel like the wind on your face or the rain on your back. With that, I can say that I will be happy once fall rolls around and the temps will be cooler, but until then, I will enjoy my early morning runs with the sun rising.

Quick snap of the sun rise before I was on my way home again. Too bad my broken iPhone (broken in the sense that it has water damage and I am too cheap to upgrade it) doesn't take better pictures, because this honestly doesn't do the scenery any justice. The best thing about running early in the morning is that you are pretty much the only one out there. I saw two people on an early morning walk, and maybe the same amount of cars. It is so peaceful being up at the ass-crack of dawn, no matter how painful it is to get out of bed! :P

I got in a quick 5K before heading home to get ready for the work day.

Mile 1: 8:49
Mile 2: 8:52 (uh, what)

Mile 3: 8:18 (ah, much better)

Mile 4 (.110): 7:52 (hey that would be nice)

I notice it's a lot easier to push it outside than it is on the treadmill. Sure, on the treadmill it's just a button, but I find myself mindlessly speeding up from time to time when I'm outside. Maybe it's the whole sprint-the-telephone-poles mentality I started off with when I first began running, but whatever it is, eventually all that "mindless" speed work will result in faster miles. Right, RIGHT? Right.

After showering and getting cleaned up, I made myself some breakfast and sat down to read. I have been on a huge book kick lately, and right now I am reading the Divergent series by Veronica Roth (did you know she is only 25!? Amazing). So far, so good! It reminds me of The Hunger Games in a way, although I have only seen the movie - just lots of action to keep the story moving. So, I got my read on while eating a bowl of scrambled eggs with zucchini (fresh from le garden), tomatoes, and a quarter of an avocado. For a while there I fell into the habit of bringing breakfast to work, but that kind of throws my whole eating schedule of kilter and leaves my body feeling either too tired or too full. Needless to say it's been a matter of getting back into routine for me these days!

Once the work day was over, I stopped at the health food store in town and got some baking ingredients. I made a raw chocolate "cake" which in my world is a chocolate BAR because I couldn't find a round cake pan. Anyway, it was super easy to make and would've been even faster if I had a food processor, but the blender worked just fine. I will be sure to share the recipe once I have some photos!

Time to call it a day and relax! Hope you all had a Happy Wednesday. We are halfway through the week, woohoo!

Links of Possible Interest:
30 Convincing Reasons to Start Running
The Ultimate Guide to Running Lingo
5 Running Blogs YOU Should Follow