coffee and endorphins to the rescue

You might say that I woke up on the wrong side of the bed yesterday.

It felt like it was a terrible, no good, very bad bad.

But nothing had happened or caused me to be in a funk.  I just was.  The hardest part all day long was knowing I was just grumpy and having no desire to cheer up.  So I tried to slap a smile on my face and cross my fingers that tomorrow would be better.  Choosing joy has become a motto for me this year, but there are days when it is hard.  For some reason I just couldn't find my joy or allow my joy to fulfill me and turn my mood around.  I think that we all have been there.  We all have bad days.  We all struggle to find motivation at one point or another.

So I told a dear friend about my funk.  And I'm so glad I did.  She told me to go for a walk to a nearby delish tea and coffee shop, breathe some fresh air, and get something scrumptious.  Cafe Au Lait to the rescue!

I don't know if it was the walk, the fresh air, hearing my kids playing outside at recess, the creamy coffee, or the fact that I had a friend that didn't judge me for being grumpy and encouraged me with something tangible and real.

Then I had to work out, and I was not in the mood, but knew that it would only make my day better.  Another amazing friend encouraged me to do some sprints on the treadmill, sweat it out, and let the endorphins fill me up.  Boy was she right.  When I run I find that listening to music is a distraction, especially when running outside.  I've learned to unplug and listen to my body instead.  I knew I needed some inspiration running on the treadmill, though, because it is not my favorite thing.  I would much rather run outside that in the gym.

***At this point you may think I'm crazy or love me even more***

I turned to my phone, opened up iTunes, and blared this song to pump me up and push me through my sprints:



At the gym have you ever noticed someone running pretty peppy and wonder what on earth they're listening to?  Well, I was that girl.  I'm pretty sure my pony tail was bopping up and down a little bit more, one hand may even been snapping, my lips were probably lip singing along, and my legs were running as fast as they could.

At that point I realized that we can't control every aspect of our lives.  I so badly want every day to be happy and joyful, but I'm only human and will have those up and downs.  I don't usually listen to music, but yesterday it was my saving grace.  There are things that we say and think we will never do, and then we just up and do them.  Words can't begin to describe how good I felt after my run.  I came home so peppy and cheerful, wishing I could bottle it up and keep it for another grumpy day.

If you're needing to find that motivation to work out and get moving, blast this song, it's almost impossible for me to sit still when it's on.  :)

back in action

"Where'd you go????"

Well friends, I'm so happy to say that I will finally be back in the blogger world again!  Taking a mini-break was harder than I thought but it definitely helped me stay focused and finish out the semester.  The last three weeks have just been splendid, so I thought I'd share what I've been up to:

running a half marathon

loving on my new nephew

visiting a good friend and her precious baby boy

family dinners

trying new recipes (thank you Giada!)

staying up way too late to finish homework

waking up way too early to attempt workouts

pedicure (first one since last July!)

wine tasting

trying a new sushi spot with the Mr. 

cleaning off the back porch and enjoying the warm sunshine during dinners

teaching middle school for a day

loving on my nephew even more

spinning around in circles with my niece

making a scrumptious mother's day dinner for my mom

laughing until my belly hurts at bible study

attending the most beautiful bridal shower

celebrating a big promotion for my brother

relaxing

tying way too many shoe laces

taking my students to see the cutest pirate play

There seems to be so much joy flowing in and out of our lives, and taking the time to focus and relax was beyond amazing.  Sadly, I'm still in online classes while I clear my teaching credential, but I'll take that any day over the full load just a couple weeks ago.  Can't wait to share some more things going on with me this week!  

With Love,

Jamie

la jolla half marathon recap

I did it!!  After so much training, mental preparation, and pushing my legs to the max I completed the La Jolla Half Marathon this past Sunday.  I finished in 2:00:55, which was right at the end of my goal time, so I was pretty excited.  More importantly, I finished feeling strong.  

 A couple weeks leading up to the race I did not feel this way.  My right hip had been hurting and then my left knee started acting up too.  After just a short run, I would feel like the above run.  Before the race I had the biggest stomach ache because of nerves.  I didn't want my knee to hurt to the point that I had to walk and feel like all of my training went down the drain.  

This half marathon is one of the most challenging runs in San Diego.  There are multiple hills, and that hill at mile 6 is up Torrey Pines, one of the hardest hills I've ever run in my life.  The first hill hurt my knee a bit, but I put mind over matter and the pain subsided.  The first five miles flew by so fast, I think I was so focused on the Torrey Pines Hill.  Once I got to the top of that crazy hill at mile 6 I felt amazing, crazy tired, but so elated that I did it and didn't walk.  Then I was met with more gradual incline.  It started to kill my motivation and miles 7-9 were hard for me to wrap my head around.  Once I got to mile 10 I knew that I had this in the bag and I great.  I kept checking my pace throughout on my watch and I was doing okay on time but knew I had to pick up my pace in order to finish by 2 hours.  The last mile was probably where I wanted to cry because the hill was challenging, but I got super motivated and ended up sprinting up the last part of the hill through the finish line.  

Here's some pictures documents the day:

Pre-race smiles :)

 The Mr. got a great shot at the end.

The best part of the race of finishing and feeling amazing afterwards.  The Mr. kept watching for me to make sure I wasn't limping when I finished, which I wasn't, so I was on cloud 9!  The next best thing was mimosas afterwards!  

This experience truly taught me that if you set a goal and pursue it with your whole heart, you will meet it.  Also, anything you put your mind to can be achieved!  

Love,

Jamie