Hello! Its FRIDAY! or as I like to call it FriYAY! This past week I ran my half way mark for training…thirteen miles on Halloween! (good reason indulge obviously) and felt good. Tired having been out Halloween night, but overall a good run. Now, I’m past the point of half way. This means that even during the week my runs are longer…especially this week being a six and seven miler. This is where I’m getting a little bit mentally fatigued. I’m recruiting my running and biking friends to come with me on my longer runs specifically my LONG long runs, up to 14+ miles.

Since the weather here in Tampa is getting oddly warm for November, it was hard for me tackle these distances especially before a jam-packed day. I just make sure that I eat well, drink coffee in moderation (half serious and joking here ha), and get enough rest! Since doing a six miler Wednesday morning, I felt drained. It might have had to do with the fact I ran a little later when it was warmer and more humid. Thursday morning I beat the heat and humidity…kind of, not really…because even at 6am it was still gross! GAH! That’s when I decided to break up my seven miler. I like to incorporate speed into my runs as well so I did four miles Thursday morning instead and did the other three on the treadmill after I taught my lunchtime class. Mentally I felt MUCH better! Tackling the distance into two different runs made it much easier to accomplish. I felt good with my speed work too so splitting them up worked out! Yes, I was tired, and was in bed my 10pm exactly last night, but I felt better knowing that splitting them up and doing two-a-days actually can work. Moral of the story: breaking up the distance into manageable pieces helps with the mental side of training!

Another thing I learned this week was how great HIIT workouts are! I kinda forgot about them, but realized how handy they can be. I didn’t get to my workout late Monday night, so I did 30 min of an upper body + core + cardio HIIT workout. I said exactly: “no more or less than 30 min and then you can leave” DONE! HIIT is a great type workout because it’s designed to get your heart rate up combined with strength exercises done efficiently and fast. I know people how ONLY do HIIT because its effective and fast so its perfect for people who have a busy schedule and can’t find time to workout or get to a gym. I work in fitness, and can spend hours honestly trying out exercises for fun, but Monday was not that night so HIIT came in handy!

Benefits & Reasons of HIIT include:

-FAST & EFFICIENT!

-Can be done ANYWHERE! (gym, home, outside)

-No need for equipment

-Versatile–create combinations of cardio, abs, UB, LB; weight vs. no weights; intervals of seconds vs minutes; rounds or circuits

-Go at your own pace

TA-DA! All of these reasons to me say no excuses so adding HIIT to your workout routine among other things is a great way to include cardio and strength components as well. Check out my Upper body HIIT workout I did Monday! It a sweat fest!!

Upper Body HIIT Workout (Note: if you don’t have equipment feel free to modify)

Complete each round twice through no breaks. After each round, get water and rest of 1 min

Equipment: jump rope, mat, bosu ball, medium weights

Round One, 1 minute each exercise, twice through no breaks:

• Forward shoulder raises
• Jump rope
• Rocking plank

~BREAK 1 MIN~

Round Two, 1 minute each exercise, twice through no breaks:

• Plank Push-Ups (30 sec each side)
• Jump rope
• Plank knee-taps

~BREAK 1 MIN~

Round Three, 1 min each exercise, twice through no breaks:

• Push-ups on bosu
• Jump rope
• bicycle crunches

~BREAK 1 MIN~

Round Four, 1 min each exercise, twice through no breaks:

• Inchworms (challenge: add a push-up!)
• Jump rope
• Reverse crunches on bosu

~BREAK 1 MIN~

Round Five, 1 min each exercise, twice through no breaks:

• Bicep curl + overhead press
• Jump rope
• Plank

Couldn’t resist posting about my amazing shakes this week either!! I needed a new way to get in my greens so I whipped up a filling and nutritious smoothie!! YUMO!

Kale & Mango Protein Shake:

• 1 c. vanilla unsweetened almond milk
• Half of banana
• 1/2 c frozen mango
• 1 c frozen or fresh spinach
• 1 c. fresh kale
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder-Blend together for 1 min and enjoy!