Full time student and working out; like water and oil

What an epic fail this week has been in terms of my fitness regimen. School was nuts this week! With so many test in one week I found it detrimental to the time usually dedicated to the gym. I did a few short bike rides just to get out into the fresh air but i did nothing else. Nearly every night i was up until 2 am. I'm not complaining, this is nothing compared to when i will actually start nursing school.

I have always been a night person in terms of working out. I try to get up in the morning but find myself reasoning that I will make it later that night. Well with school now, my studies have to be most important.

But I am not going to be a "college freshman" and gain those 15 pounds. I'm not even a freshman! I'm technically a junior, I think, but this is the first time I have ever gone full time. I just need to find a balance.

Think about this: water and oil don't mix. Try making a homemade vinegarette and you will see that once it sits, the mixture will separate. So then how does olive garden make theirs stay mixed, or any other salad dressing for that matter? Because food producers add an emulsifier that keeps it held together and prevents separation.

You may be asking, "isn't this a blog about running, not food?" You'd be correct in thinking this. But my question is... what is going to be MY emulsifier? I can't let a little pressure from school and a lack of time  cause me to come apart. I'm not sure what is going to help me, but one thing is clear: I HAVE to work out so I HAVE to get up in the morning.

So that being said, this week my goal is to work out twice in the morning before school. Just twice, can I do it??? I think I can, I think I can!! Go figure though that it hasn't stopped raining in days. I just need to channel my days of growing up in Oregon. I loved to run in the rain. Now I'm this California sissy. So no excuses! I will do it.

Any recommendations as to getting up earlier??? It's dark and cold, I need some help here.

Cross training, or was it crashing down the terrain?

As I have ran 7 of the last 8 days, I decided today was a cycling kind of day. During a Skype date with my deployed husband, I told him I thought I would bike to the beach. As he scoffed, probably unknowingly, at the idea, he warned that it would be a rather long ways. I'm not sure he knows, but each time he doubts I can do something, I have to prove him wrong. So I donned my work out gear, laced up my shoes and headed out to face the world. It was a great workout, long and challenging at times. About 95% of the ride was relatively flat. Then, as the beach became visible, I had a decision to make; to go down the hill or not? The photo below really doesn't do the steepness of the hill justice...

My decision was that if I had come all this way (7 miles, I now know) I had to go all the way to the ocean. As I went flying down the hill at what felt like super sonic speeds, all I could envision was crashing down the hillside. As I neared the bottom I started to regret my choice, the beach was closed and that hill was darn steep! Somehow I made it home and to be honest, I feel more accomplished than I have in a LONG time. So nearly 15 miles and a quick 500 ft. elevation gain later, I am going to meet some friends for dinner and I am going to enjoy that well-deserved glass of wine. http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/29551610/

Blogging for motivation

I have never been a blogger. I have also never been a runner. Both are things I hope to accomplish before my 25th birthday this summer. I would consider myself active, but only in spurts. I, like a lot of the world, work out to achieve short-term goals. The months leading up to my wedding this past August, I made it to the gym five days a week. Of course as soon as my wedding passed, so did my unwavering commitment to getting my butt to the gym. My desire to work out has always been centered around an upcoming event or an obsession with attaining a goal weight. No more! I want to WANT to work out, specifically I want to wake up with the urge to go for a run. Some day I want to run a marathon but for now I just want to start and continue to run. So this is my attempt. I hope that my attempts encourage others and maybe make a few people laugh, but mostly I hope putting my desires into words serves to keep me accountable.