Good morning! I usually post my updates in the evenings but last night I worked on Bakin’ and Eggs and then crashed. Before turning in I made the decision to skip ashtanga this morning so I thought I’d get up early and work on this blog instead! My lower back is still feeling a little sore and the soreness really came out after last night’s hot vinyasa class even though I skipped the backbends. I just don’t want to risk a back injury so I’m trying to play it safe…even though I’d love to be on my mat right now.

Thank you all so much for your great comments on yesterday’s early morning exercise post. I loved reading how you motivate yourself to get out of bed and that the post was encouraging for those who wish they could! It sounds like most people agree that preparation is key!

So backing up to yesterday…I started the day by sleeping until 7:15 a.m. (PM workouts planned) which was awesome. Breakfast was oatmeal – same combination I’ve been loving lately with blueberries and bananas.

I had a lunch date with my friend Whitney at Vivace.

I ordered the Caprese Panini with fresh mozz, tomatoes and basil pesto. It came warm (yum) with mixed greens on the side. The food, service and prices were great and we were in and out in a little under an hour. Nice! One of the things I like most was that they brought a carafe of water to the table so I could refill whenever I wanted. Also, the water was chilled with no ice. Love that – it definitely encouraged me to drink more water. (Sometimes it’s hard for me to drink really cold ice water. Is that weird?)

After a busy afternoon at work I was ready to hit the road. I had a quick tempo run planned and then hot vinyasa yoga after. Probably not the best idea considering it was 96 degrees outside and both activities would involve tons of sweating but you do what you’ve got to do. Yay for marathon training. 😉

I ran three miles averaging an 8:05 pace.

And then felt like this after. Oh my god is all I have to say about that. I hydrated/replenished electrolytes with some G2 (yay Gatorade – so glad they stopped putting HFCS in their products), showered off and got ready for yoga.

Yoga was fun – the class was packed and friends Sarah and Emily were there.I didn’t know Sarah was coming and someone came in a few minutes late and rolled out their mat next to me. I looked over in a down dog and saw it was Sarah! I sweated even more than on my tempo run but it felt great.

It was 9 p.m. by the time I got home and showered so I wanted to keep dinner simple.

Nothing too exciting for you…two eggs, a cinnamon raisin English muffin and some fruit. I also had a fresh fig bar and some chamomile tea before bed. My mother in law made these great fig bars – I’ll be posting the recipe soon.

And now I must be off to get ready for work. Hope everyone has an awesome day! It’s almost Friday! 😀

What are “hard” workouts for you? I swear, tempo runs and speedwork are going to be the end of me!