Hi guys! Happy Friday to all of you! Big plans for the weekend anyone? Nothing crazy for me, last weekend was skiing and next weekend is Vegas, so I plan to take it easy. 
Thanks for all of your great comments on yesterday’s post! It looks like the healthy blogging community is pretty divided on whether to refrigerate their nut butters haha! Who would’ve thought?
My Training Plan
So today I want to talk a little bit more about the training plan I’m following. There are a few reasons why I decided to do this.
1. I like planning and having a routine to follow.
2. I want to see what I’m capable of pace-wise in a 5k.
3. I want to be a better runner.
Through some very sophisticated Google searches, here is the rough plan I decided to follow:
In terms of strength workouts, I plan to stick with my favorite Jillian Michaels workouts and will try to do them 3-4 times a week. They’re pretty long workouts though, about 35-40 minutes so when my runs get longer I’ll probably only do half of a video. Working out for an hour and a half on a work day just seems excessive to me.
I didn’t get around to a strength workout today because Matt’s coming over and we have dinner plans, but I checked off my “tempo run”. This was my first attempt at one of these. I’m supposed to warm up for 5-10 minutes, run at a “comfortably hard” pace for 15-20 minutes, then cool down for 5 minutes. Here’s what I ended up doing.
I basically did random things for 10 minutes to warm up, then ran at an overall pace of 8:59 for 15 minutes. It felt great!
HA. Just kidding. This was hard for me. I’m not a natural runner, especially on the treadmill. I felt okay for the first 10 minutes running at the faster pace, but after that I had to talk myself into finishing. Exhibit A:
“Do your legs hurt?”
“Well, no…”
“THEN KEEP RUNNING.”
That pretty much sums up my workout.
First Thing Survey
I saw this survey over at Blueberry Smiles a couple weeks ago, and I thought it’d be a fun Friday thing to share with all of you!
1. First thing you do when you wake up in the morning.
Hit snooze and go back to sleep. Repeat. Finally convince myself to get up. Make my bed, go to the bathroom, wash my face.
2. First thing you reach for when you open the fridge.
In the morning? Eggs, cheese, and almond milk.
3. First thing you do when you get to the gym.
Head to the locker room and change out of my work clothes. If it’s a weekend, I still go to the locker room to drop off my purse and hang up my coat.
4. First thing you do when you get home from work.
If I worked out after work, I usually go upstairs to finish my workout with a Jillian Michaels video. If I’m not working out, I’ll grab a snack or make dinner, then see what the DVR has to offer.
5. First car.
A 1996 Nissan Maxima. Otherwise known as Max the Maxima. I loved-hated this car.
(not my actual car, mine didn’t have a super cool spoiler)
6. First car accident / traffic violation.
My first car accident wasn’t until I was 23, I got rear ended on the highway when I was driving home from work one day. My first traffic violation was a speeding ticket I got when I had just turned 20. I was going 88 in a 65, woops!
I don’t drive that fast anymore, promise
7. First thing you wanted to be when you grew up.
I always wanted to be a vet when I was growing up because I loved animals and wanted to work with them. As I grew older, the reality of having to put animals to sleep and being unable to help some made me change my mind.
8. First beverage of choice.
Coffee. Good coffee.
9. First choice breakfast.
Egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, can’t go too long without those. Then pancakes.
10. First choice dessert.
Cookies. I’m a cookie monster.
11. First song that comes to mind.
I hate myself for this, but Gangnam style. Wish I knew why…
12. First major purchase.
Does an education count? Haha, paying off $35,000+ in loans was definitely my first major purchase. Or maybe my car, I bought a new Toyota Corolla when I graduated (after Max died on me).
13. First job.
A Subway sandwich artist. Eat fresh!
14. First time you flew on a plane.
I was 14 and traveled with my grandparents to Minneapolis. I had a blast during the flight, but my grandpa later told me it was one of the worst he’d ever been on (lots of turbulence). I wasn’t scared though, I love flying!
Ok guys, have a great weekend!!
Questions: Pick a survey question and answer! First thing you do when you get to the gym? First major purchase? First job?
I love how your first job was working at Subway – mine was a cashier in a fry truck.
As for first major purchase, I remember buying a ($300+) stereo when I was about 13. I was so freakin’ proud of myself for that at the time!
Haha, yep, keepin’ it real with my first job in a fast food joint! That’s an awesome first major purchase, I don’t think I ever could’ve saved that much when I was that age!
Tempo runs. Eewwwwwww. I’m a cookie monster too, so it’s fine. I guess my first major purchase would be my camry. My brother got my old car this year so my parents made me buy my own. Rude if you ask me!
Totally rude! Annoying little brothers, haha. That’s super impressive though! There’s no way I could’ve afforded to buy a car when I was still in college. Awesome job!
interval runs are what keep me alive and kicking on the treadmill, way to go
So true, I’m gonna have to get creative on Saturday with 5 miles. I see lots of changing speeds in my future!
Great interval run!! When I get to the gym I pee and change, I can’t have needed to go potty stop my work outs! Major purchase would be my first car that I bought in HS. I put up 4k for it and my parents did like 3.5k or something. Buying a mac book pro last year was also a hefty investment!!
Thanks! And I agree, stopping to use the bathroom mid-workout is basically the most annoying thing ever. Mac books are def a major purchase! I really need to upgrade my personal laptop too, but I use my work one so often that I haven’t really felt the need yet. Soon though!
Don’t beat yourself up, I think Gangnam style is the first song that pops into a lot of people’s heads these days. And was that your actual job title at Subway? Sandwich Artist? That sounds way cooler than “Deli employee” or something
Haha seriously it was so random! I let my mind go blank and the first song to creep in….really Meghan? Really? Oh well! And yes they gave us a certificate and everything to become a “Certified Sandwich Artist.”
Your reasons for wanting to become a vet and then changing your mind are pretty much exactly the same as mine were… I’m pretty sure that almost every kid wanted to be a vet at some point, and I wonder if the people who actually went on to become vets knew that’s what they wanted to do since they were little, or if it’s something they decided later on in life. Deep thoughts on a Friday
And this is a completely horrible habit, but the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is check my phone to catch up on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Horrible!
Oh yay, I love that we have that in common. I definitely think a lot of kids start out wanting to be vets too until the realization hits them. Social media is such a temptation! I try not to look at it first thing, but I definitely am guilty of it on weekends. It helps me wake up and eventually decide to get out of bed.
Ah – I’m with Amanda above! I totally check my email and Facebook first thing in the morning! I’m not sure what that says about me as a person
GREAT run! On a treadmill, I find slow distance runs sooo much easier than tempo runs, which is weird because I think I’m in the minority there?
Have a great weekend!!
Haha, I don’t think it says anything bad at all! I think half the world is in the same boat to be honest. And thanks! I’m trying to run and push myself, we’ll see where it takes me. I’ll get back to you on which I like better, but I have a feeling 5 miles on the treadmill will not win for me haha. I’m dreading it!
So fun reading these!! The first thing I do when I get to the gym is open my magazine and turn on the TV
That’ll be the first thing I do Saturday! Thank goodness I have a fresh magazine to read during my run
My first job was at a Burger King! Three of the longest years of my life
Haha! Fast food first jobs unite…we all start somewhere!
Aw my boyfriend’s first (and current) car is a maxima. That thing has over 300 miles and knock on wood, is still running! My first job was a lifeguard for 2 summers. Probably not as cool as Subway though! I love their cookies
Have a great weekend!
Oh wow, his lasted much longer than mine! Unfortunately mine had an alternator that liked to crap the bed every year. I always wanted to be a lifeguard, it looked like so much fun! And the cookies were def the best part. P.S. the dough was delicious too!
Nice workout plan! I’m hugely impressed by you running on the treadmill, I just can’t bear it. I literally want to get off as soon as I’m on there. I prefer to just go outside and take my mind of the run. Hope it goes well
Haha thanks! I completely agree though, running on the treadmill is no fun at all. It’s just been WAY too cold for me here. I’m fine with weather in the 20′s-30′s, but once it hits the single digits, there’s just no way I’m running outside!
i say the sameee stuff on the treadmill it really is so hard for me! i can do 20 min tops and thats bribing myself the whole time lol my first job was a assistant at a salon, loved it! my first major purchase would def be my car or school! then vacations id say.. so jealous your going to vegas! id def relax this wknd if i was you too lol
Haha seriously, the treadmill is not easy to run on at all, I try to zone out and just not think about it but pretty much the entire time I’m thinking about how I can’t wait to be done. And I can’t wait for Vegas! I’ve always wanted to go, it should be a blast but I’m also a little scared I won’t be able to keep up! haha
Cute blog!
I eat an egg sandwich almost every morning.
Thanks!! Me too, I literally have one every work day. I mix it up on weekends a little though
Keep up the great work! I’ve never followed a training plan, but would like to for my next race! A friend of mine lives by them!
My first time on a plane was when I went on a immersion trip to Ecuador in college. Definitely was not as bad as I thought!
Thanks! I’m doing my best to follow the training plan, it’s great motivation when I have a run scheduled and know I need to cross it off my list!
A sandwich artist, how fun! My first job was being a lifeguard.
I always wanted to be a lifeguard!
My first job was at Panera. It was so clean that I’ll still eat there!
Phew, what a relief! I love Panera and I would’ve been very sad to hear otherwise! haha
I love reading these surveys…even more than I do filling them out
! My first paid job was in a recruitment agency- it was a really small office, the pay was great, and the work was really interesting- hmm why on earth did I ever leave ha!
Seriously! Sounds like an awesome first job…much better than my sophisticated Subway experience haha
When & if we ever meet.. I am expecting you to put those sandwich skills to work & make me a perfect subway inspired sub
Haha, no problem! I’d love to whip up a great sandwich for you!
I wanted to be a vet when I was little, too — but changed my mind for the very same reason. Plus, I absolutely SUCK at science and math.
That’s so cool! I think lots of kids start out wanting to be vets. I couldn’t done the science and math part (I’m an engineer now) but I still don’t think I could handle putting those poor animals to sleep. I’d be too sad!
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