Race Recap: Oakley Mini 10K

June 15, 2015June 15, 2015 / Jess / 15 Comments

It’s official: the 10K is my new favorite distance! The Oakley Mini 10K was probably one of the strongest races I’ve ever run, and my running/training confidence is through the roof right now. Let’s see how it went down:

On Saturday morning I met my cousin at the train station for the 5:37am train but my usual pre-race jitters were nowhere to be found: this was “just” a 10K (I’m super comfortable with that distance) and we had already tested out our travel plans a few days before so we knew exactly where to go to get to the starting line on time. It was pure fun!

We got off the subway at Columbus Circle and practically walked right into our corral, so to kill the next hour before the start we wandered around and took pictures pretty much everywhere we could. When the volunteers warned us about the impending start time, I kissed Mike goodbye and we smushed into our corral with the rest of the “brown bibs” (copyright 2015, Jess Runs Happy).

By 8am, the temps were already in the high 70’s and the humidity was around 60%. I was comfortable in the shade, but when the sun poked through the trees, it was hot. But once the horn went off, everything fell into place and I took off on my very first timed 10K!

As we fought our way up the street, I got caught up in the excitement and went out too fast at around 10:40/mile. Once I noticed and slowed down, the first mile clocked by easily in 11:15. I was feeling great: my Bioskin patella strap gave my knee the support it needed and the shade of the trees and tall buildings kept me nice and comfortable. I lost my cousin at the first water stop – I was carrying a full disposable water bottle with me and hadn’t even touched it – so I kept on running for the second mile and into the park, where the fun really started.

The spectators and volunteers lining the course made a huge difference – it’s hard not to feel energized when there’s a bunch of shirtless November Project dudes in tutus hanging off the streetlight poles banging cowbells for you! As the miles ticked by through 4.5, I was pleased with my effort. I took walk breaks halfway up each hill to keep from burning out – I knew these would affect my time but I was more interested in having fun at this race than setting an unbelievable PR, especially with the heat and hills.

Mile 5 selfie!

This is where I passed one or two women laid out on the grass with medics elevating their feet and icing them down – the heat was really no joke! But when I glanced down to see that I’d been running for just over an hour, I was shocked at how good I still felt. To stay on track I took some gummy bears on a walk break, filled up my water bottle at the mile 5 water stop, and decided to push for the final 1.2 miles to see what I was capable of.

I knew I wasn’t going to PR – my best 10K time on a treadmill is around 1:12, and I was already at around 1:07 with an average pace hovering around 12:45 with the walk breaks. But I told myself to make the effort to finish with an average pace under 12:30, and it turned out to be a real challenge! Once I spotted the 800 meters sign, I resisted the urge to take off so that I could finish strong: I bolted at the 800 meters sign in the NYC Half, only to fizzle briefly at 400 meters, so I learned my lesson.

Soon the 400 meters sign was in sight and that’s when I gunned it past about a dozen or so women, smiling the whole way. The crowds lining the course were unbelievably happy and loud, so I gave it everything I had for a super strong finish – and crossed the line with an average pace of 12:29!

I smiled the whole way through the finisher’s chute, got my medal and my flower, downed a cup of Gatorade and a cup of water, then snapped a victory selfie to remember that moment.

Happy runner!

Once I found Mike and my cousin about 10 minutes later, we traded stories (Mike missed my finish because one runner got sick and collapsed as soon as she crossed the finish line about 15 seconds ahead of me!) and posed for some finisher pics.

Then we made our way to the after party, where there were lines pretty much everywhere.

But with a view like that, do lines really matter?!

Soon after that we tired of the crowds and made our way back through the park to Columbus Circle once more, where we snapped a few more pics and made our way home!

My #1 everything 🙂

Like I said before, this race has officially kicked off my love affair with the 10K distance, and I’m already searching for more to do in the next few months! It’s just long enough to be challenging but not so intense that the training cuts into my life and drains me. Plus you get medals at a lot of them, what’s not to love about that?!

Overall this race gets a solid A and I can’t wait for next year!

Running Stairs & Summer in the City

June 12, 2015 / Jess / 5 Comments

Happy Friday everyone! I don’t know how it is by you, but here in NJ we are a few days into a heatwave, but I am NOT complaining after the brutally cold, snowy winter we had!

On Wednesday night I took my last run before the Oakley Mini 10K this weekend, and while it was about 80+ degrees in the shade even at 8PM, I still had a great time. I decided to take my run over to my old neighborhood and elementary school, where I haven’t run in years.

Running up and down the streets I used to ride my bike on as a middle-schooler made for a nice little nostalgic trip. I managed 4 slow miles before the sunset and I had to go back home for dinner – which was pretty much how my evenings would end when I lived there too!

I also added some stair running into my workout too. I discovered a whole new housing development in my old hood that I found by taking this series of 3-4 steep staircases they built into the woods behind the school:

Like I said: steep.

After a few flights and a whole bottle of G2, I called it quits – my legs were starting to go rubbery and I didn’t want to risk twisting my already achy knees (thanks, humidity!). But afterwards I felt those hills in places I forgot I had, so that’s got to be a good thing!

Then yesterday my cousin and I went into NYC to pick up our bibs at the New York Road Runners Headquarters, and let me tell you: it was a scorcher! At 97 degrees and full sun, what was supposed to be a fun stroll through the city turned into a race to beat the heat.

We hopped on the local train to get into Penn Station and spared ourselves the heat by jumping on the C train to W86th.

It wouldn’t be an adventure without me making an ass of myself on a subway platform.

The subway spit us out right at the entrance to the Reservoir Running Track, which ran straight across to the East side of the park (where we needed to go). We were blown away at its beauty – after walking/running through the park so many times, neither of us had ever seen this path and vowed to come back when we weren’t, you know, melting. There was even a fun prancerciser galloping along the track to keep us entertained!

After we made it through the park we just had to walk 3 blocks north, which is much easier said than done when it’s almost 100 degrees out. Once we hit the sidewalk we promptly burst into flames. OK not really, but you know what I mean.

One saving grace of these three blocks were the countless sidewalk chalk drawings done by the local kids – one piece really spoke to me, I’m not sure why…

At 89th we crossed the street and I snapped this pic of the iconic Fred Lebow street sign:

And then we finally arrived at the NYRR Headquarters, which was blissfully air conditioned and full of smiling runner-friendly faces.

and inspirational wall art, too!

Seriously, if you live in the tri-state area and you haven’t experienced a NYRR race, register for one right now. They are the most well-organized, friendly, inclusive, and enthusiastic running club I’ve ever seen, and everything about their races is second to none. The aid stations are perfectly organized and always stocked well, the people that both work for and volunteer with them are always kind and helpful, and you will simply not experience anything like it at a race in your life. OK, love letter to NYRR over.

Brown Corral runners unite!

Once we picked up our bibs and tanks and chatted with some Oakley ladies (I am obsessed with their Feedback aviators and my birthday is coming up and I prefer them in rose gold, kthnxbai), we made our way back to the train station in the ridiculous heat. Thank god my cousin brought grapes for us to snack on or they would have found us in the park sometime next week, all shriveled and delirious from dehydration, babbling about sunglasses and prancercisers.

At Penn Station, we picked up some Auntie Anne’s cinnamon pretzels and peach lemonade (not pictured because I devoured them both almost instantly), and our Manhattan adventure was over! Honestly I’m looking forward to a fun race tomorrow – even though I know it’s going to be warm so I’m hydrating like crazy today and hope to get lots of sleep before my 4AM wake up call.

Who else is racing this weekend? How do you deal with the heat? Whatever your plans, have a great weekend!

Don’t Forget to Have Fun

June 10, 2015June 9, 2015 / Jess / 1 Comment

Lately I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how hard it is to balance things out without feeling like I’m stuck in an endlessly repeating loop.

Kind of like my friend the gray rat there..

In the past when a big race loomed on the horizon, I would get so focused on The Plan (with a capital P) that by week 10 I felt like a zombie. I’d spend most of the last few weeks wishing the monotony was over, plodding through each workout while repeating the faithful mantra “trust your training”.

Fat lot of good that did me through endless treadmill miles.

I went from being excited to dreading those workouts, and if we’re being honest here, that kind of defeats the purpose of running, right?

So once my big spring races were done back in April, I scaled back my weekly mileage and looked for other ways to get my fitness kicks. And wouldn’t you know it, my running endurance has improved overall a result!

I maintained a lower base mileage per week, kept my long runs to 5-6 miles on the weekend, and found that I looked forward to weekends because I could fit even more fitness-y type fun things in my day! On days when my knees and my heart just didn’t feel like running, I started doing stuff like yoga and walking (who knew?!). I biked more, both down the park on my trusty two wheeler and on my DeskCycle at the office.

Seriously, 18 miles while working? A few times a week? Hello, leg muscles!

As a result, the past few runs and smaller races I’ve done in May and June have been immensely better than my training runs and races in March and April. I go out strong and don’t waver after 10 minutes like I used to. My pace is consistently improving, even if by a few seconds. I feel stronger, more confident, and less anxious about race day in general. I’m also a few lbs lighter, which never hurts! Hell – yesterday I caught myself jogging up the spiral staircase at my office – I’ve never done that in the 2+ years I’ve been here!

Apologies to my coworkers for my new found energy.

I’ve got a 10K race coming up this Saturday and while I haven’t actually used a Plan with a capital P to prep for this race, I’m 100% fine with that. I’m trusting my training, even though it doesn’t fit into a rigid schedule and add up to a certain amount of miles per week. Sure, I’ll probably feel like dying halfway up those Central Park hills, but I look forward to it! Instead of “trusting my training”, this go-round I’m “embracing the journey” and look forward to smiling through all 6.2 miles.

How about you – have you ever just thrown “The Plan” out the window and gone for it? How did your race turn out? Want to race up the spiral staircase with me? 🙂

Everything’s Better at the Beach

June 8, 2015June 7, 2015 / Jess / 5 Comments

This weekend the hubby and I made our 9th annual trip down to Long Beach Island, NJ, for a few nights of relaxation, seafood, claw games, and fun – and even though it rained for most of the time, we still had one of our best trips yet!

We arrived in the early afternoon on Friday to a brisk 59 degrees and a light on-and-off drizzle, but we made the best of things by hanging out at Ron Jon’s Surf Shop and heading out to one of our favorite low-key restaurants before taking over the arcade for shoot-em-up video games, skee-ball, Donkey Kong, and claw machines!

I won little Grumpy Cat on the first try!

The next day I woke up and decided to go for a run. I tried something different and took a gel (peanut butter flavored, my new fave!) about 20 minutes before I hit the pavement instead of during the run, and I think I’ve finally cracked the fueling code! It made a huge positive difference in my run and I look forward to trying it out at the Oakley Mini 10K this weekend.

It was a perfect 55-ish and still drizzly but not enough to stop me – I took off down one of the super-long, super-straight roads that go the entire length of the island and fell into a rhythm almost immediately. See the runner in the dark blue shirt and shorts in the distance on the left up there? I kept her about that far away from me for the first mile and found that her 11:15/mile pace was almost effortless for me! That was a huge shock, especially after all the wine (and ice cream!) I had the night before – hey, it’s vacation, I don’t deny myself the yummy stuff!

I set out with the goal of doing 5 miles, so I planned on going out 2.5 then heading back. LBI is my favorite “destination running” spots because the roads are as flat as you can possibly get and the area is so runner/biker/fitness-friendly that you can’t help but want to get out there with your people as often as possible. Even in the miserable weather, the 2-3 other runners and bikers that passed by gave me big waves and hearty “Good morning!”‘s – I swear if it weren’t for our jobs, we’d move down there in a heartbeat!

Everything’s alright down the shore – even a run in the rain 🙂

Suddenly around mile 1.5, the skies opened up and unleashed a full-on monsoon! My unwitting pacer slowed down slightly but I kept pace – I hate passing people then seeing them pass me when I inevitably slow down later! So for about 10 minutes we ran through the rain, me about 15 feet behind her and both of us wiping buckets of water away from our eyes every few feet. I was drenched in seconds, but I can’t lie – I felt pretty badass 😉

I briefly considered turning around at mile 2 and calling it at 4 miles, but persisted. After 10 minutes, the soaking rain started to taper and my pacer slowed to a walk. That’s when I decided to keep going for my 2.5 miles and passed her, thanking her for pacing me as I did, to which she smiled widely and said “No problem!” I love that island.

From there I stayed steady for the next half mile and finally turned around at around mile 2.5, seeing that my pacer had vanished. I briefly worried that I would slow down without her, but I did just fine! At mile 3.5 I stopped briefly to adjust my BioSkin (both the brace and my capris were completely soaked through so a little slippage was expected!), and the wet weather did cause my ACL to ache in general. But other than that I felt great all the way through mile 5 as I stopped right at our hotel and discovered what an absolutely stunning time I had posted!

Seriously, I haven’t seen consistent, effortless numbers like that since before my ACL surgery, so this was a serious breakthrough. I haven’t been logging as many pavement miles as I feel like I should be, but my knees need a break and the DeskCycle is evidently keeping my endurance up quite nicely! The only negative part about this run though? The completely solid, knotty rat’s nest that was my ponytail after an hour in the wind and rain:

Ouch!

After 20 minutes of conditioner and painful combing, I managed to tame my mane and we headed out to the local Wine Festival, conveniently being held right down the road! I swear I didn’t plan it like that, it was just a happy coincidence!
The next day (yesterday), I woke up early and took off for a quick, watchless 2-miler to wake up and stretch out – the hotel bed was absolute murder on my back. I also wanted to keep up the momentum from Saturday’s run, and had a great time! While I don’t think I was as fast (I can’t be sure), the beautiful sunny weather and gorgeous scenery made it perfect. After we packed up the car, we ended our vacay with a walk on the beach and the most perfect ice bath ever:

As I stood there letting the water freeze up my toes, I looked out at the waves and breathed in deeply a few times. Things have been a little hectic lately; and without getting into too much detail, I got a bit of a wake up call a few weeks ago and realized that I had to refocus and re-prioritize what’s really important to me.

It’s a hard lesson to learn (especially when you’re a stubborn Polack like me) but this weekend was just what I needed, and those few moments of peace were the cherry on top. And as if I needed any more proof that was the case, a little waterlogged ladybug landed on my toe in the water as I stood there!

Don’t worry – I saved him and left him on a wooden dune fence to finish drying out 🙂

So that was my weekend – how was yours? Did you have any running adventures, or do you have any planned in the future? How do you find a proper balance between life, work, and family? Have you ever experienced the ponytail from hell after a messy run like that? Tell me everything!

Happy National Running Day!

June 3, 2015June 3, 2015 / Jess / 7 Comments

It’s June 3rd – that means it’s the biggest holiday in the running world (besides Marathon Monday): National Running Day!

I kicked off my day with a 2.5 mile run around town this morning before work, and while I know I’ve said that morning workouts are the worst (for me), I actually had a good time. I’ve decided to use the limited time I have during my morning runs to focus on speed bursts and hills because I have a hard time working them into my longer runs and never feel like doing them at the end of the day.

So I took off from home at around 6:30AM and set off right up the big hill around the corner, powering up without stopping. My newest playlist was bumping and I feeling fantastic thanks to these folks – have you ever heard of Matt & Kim? Highly motivating running tunes right here!

I coasted down into the main part of town and loved all the smiles I got from people waiting for the bus, walking their dogs, getting their morning coffee – while it was overcast and humid, this was the first morning that hasn’t been filled with torrential rain and miserable chilliness, so I think everyone was just in a better mood in general, which I don’t mind!

I’m always smiling anyway.

I nailed my first mile in about 10:40, which I was stoked about, but I think I may have pushed too hard because once I got to mile 1.5 I started to develop a throbbing headache. Does this happen to you guys? I think it might have something to do with the effort I’m putting in, or maybe I’m not warmed up properly? It mostly happens when it’s cold outside or after I’ve pushed hard in a run, and feels almost like an ice cream headache. I’ve tried taking off my headband, taking my earbuds out, and massaging my temples when it hits, thinking that maybe something is too tight, but that never helps. It’s weird and quite annoying, especially when I’m in a groove like I was this morning!

I spent the next half mile walking and jogging without music to calm the headache, and it mildly subsided enough for me to push through the last half mile to get home, with a respectable time of 2.5 miles in 28:17! Even with the walk breaks and hills, the speedwork evened out my pace to 11:18 per mile, which I’m pretty psyched about! While I haven’t been logging as many running miles as I used to during half marathon training, the 45-60 minutes per day I spend on the DeskCycle seem to have really made an impact on my endurance (plus my knees feel great)!

Thanks, feet!

When I got home and sat down and rehydrated, it took about 10-15 minutes for the headache to totally subside, but once it was gone it was like nothing had ever happened! Now I’m really looking forward to logging a few more miles in the coming days, and running long this weekend in prep for next week’s 10K in Central Park.

How about you? How are you celebrating National Running Day? No matter how you celebrate, make it a good one!

Chin Up Apparel Review & Giveaway!

June 1, 2015June 2, 2015 / Jess / 34 Comments

I’ve been a big fan of Chin Up Apparel for a while now – my obsession first began with the tanks I found in Kohls and Target:

They also have a bunch of wine-related running gear, like the “Will Run for Wine” tank I ran my last race in (even if it was covered by a race bib):

I even discovered that with a little ingenuity, you can get some more “outside the gym” mileage out their gear like I did with the Zen Elephant racerback tank I got direct from their site:

While it’s slightly different from the other pieces I own (the straps are thinner & it’s a Woman’s fit as opposed to Juniors), the quality is still super high like I’ve come to expect from Chin Up. The slouchy fabric was perfect for working out outside: not too thick and loose enough to give me room to breathe, but not so thin that it’s see-through or feels cheap. Just the opposite – the softness and richness of the fabric really stands out. And because the print doesn’t scream “I’m working out!” it was able to turn it into a fun little date-night outfit too:

IMG_5880 (2)

But enough of all that – why not get one of your own? Enter now for your chance to win a tank top of your choice courtesy of Chin Up Apparel! Contest ends on Tuesday, 6/9, and you can earn entries in a number of different ways – and the best part about this giveaway is that there will be TWO winners! – so go ahead and enter now, today could be your lucky day!

Happy Friday!

May 29, 2015May 29, 2015 / Jess / 1 Comment

Hey guys – Things have been relatively quiet the past few days (and will hopefully stay that way for the next few!) so here’s a quick little update.

My father is a Feature Writer for our local newspaper and from time to time he’ll have the opportunity to put snippets of his own good news in the paper (it’s a really local paper). So when he discovered my blog a while back and read up on my adventures, he encouraged me to submit a story to the paper in my own words. I thought it’d be a cute idea, but never really followed up on it, until one Saturday a few weeks ago when he called me and said “You’ve got a column in May’s paper, get the final story submitted by midnight tomorrow.” Talk about making me an offer I couldn’t refuse!

After bouncing some ideas around with him, he suggested I write up a story about the lead up to the NYC Half Marathon, specifically about the media coverage I got through working with the New York Road Runners. So I got to work at 9pm that Sunday (how last-minute can you get) and came up with a fun little recap – you can check it out via PDF here. It appears on Page 23, and continues on 25. I know this is stuff that you all have probably seen before on here, but I thought it was still kind of fun to see my picture in the paper and wanted to share it!

On an unrelated note, I’m hitting the beach this weekend for a little girls-only time with my mom in Atlantic City, and let me just say: I. Cannot. Wait. It’s been a long winter, and the beach is calling my name! Of course I’ll pack my running shoes and my camera – maybe I’ll recreate the last picture I had taken when I last ran on the boardwalk 🙂

That’s about it for me – how about you guys? What are your weekend plans? When was the last time you partied it up in AC? What are your favorite slot machines? Mine are the Goldfish penny slots 🙂 Have a great weekend!

Race Recap: Run the Vineyards 5K

May 28, 2015May 27, 2015 / Jess / 9 Comments

I love running. And I love wine. So an event that combines these two things? Yeah, that’s pretty much a guaranteed must do. So when I spotted the Run the Vineyards 5K Series, I laced up my sneakers and dusted off my wine-drinking shorts (full disclosure: every pair of shorts can be wine-drinking shorts when you’re me).

The races take place at vineyards in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and this one was at the Hopewell Valley Vineyards in Pennington, NJ. I’ll admit: I was so excited for a wine-related race that I blindly signed up for this one after a quick glance at where it fell on the map. I saw Princeton and Trenton around the area and thought “Meh, can’t be that far!” Well, I was kinda wrong. It was more than an hour away! But it didn’t matter – on the morning of the race, traffic was light and we arrived 15 minutes earlier than planned.

We were so early in fact that we got to chill on a nice shady little bench after using the vineyard’s gorgeous restrooms (instead of the quickly-getting-more-crowded port-a-johns)!

Overall it was super easy to find the place, and the parking lot was set up just steps away from the starting line in a big open lot, which was great. We popped the trunk of our SUV, had a seat, and relaxed while the crowd got thicker and the sun got warmer. After about a half hour or so I met up with a few co-worker friends, pinned on my number, and we made our way to the starting area.

What up, Alex?

It looked like it was going to be a small race – the results say there were less than 350 runners!

Thanks, race photographer hubby!

Once the gun went off we cleared out of there and took off up a slight gravel hill onto the main road outside the vineyard. It was a gorgeous place: hills and mountains, lots of trees lining perfectly paved roads, big farm houses dotting the landscape – if they were to ever hold a longer race in that area I’d jump right on it!

We started off down the main road under nice bright sunshine and a cloudless sky, and I was feeling good – no tightness anywhere, knees were fresh, life was good! As we made the first and second turn through the first mile I realized that we were going almost explicitly downhill. Not by a huge amount, but still enough to know that I didn’t look forward to going back up them at the end of the race!

By mile 1.2, the speedier folks at the front of the pack had already turned and were making their way past us, and I realized the turnaround was only a quarter mile away. That was it?! It felt like nothing! For the past 6 months my shortest training runs were 4 miles, so I guess now 3.1 miles is like a warm up. Good to know.

I was feeling the heat by the turnaround though, so I grabbed a big cup of water (thank god for that!), sipped and walked, tossed the cup in the trash, and took off again up the rolling hills I’d just run down.

The hills weren’t as hard as I thought they’d be though – or maybe it’s all the hill training I’ve been doing lately? – but either way, I alternated between walking and running when the sun was too hot. By this point it was already in the 80’s and the shade was far behind in the first half of mile 2, and I was pretty happy with my 11:45-ish pace. I wasn’t looking to break any records, I just wanted to have a good time at a no-pressure race again!

So by mile 2.5 I saw the entrance to the vineyard again and started to crank it a little harder. My music was bumping, my legs were still feeling strong, and I actually picked a few people off here and there! It was fun. We turned the corner and ran back down the hill we scaled at the start, past the finish line, around the vineyard building, and back up through the vineyard for the final .25 mile or so.

That’s when I hit a wall – literally, the ladies in front of me stopped to walk. I don’t know if you can see it up there, but there’s wire holding up the vines on either side of us – so I couldn’t pass them without being a huge jerk and literally nudging them away! I walked for a little bit behind them but soon heard the footsteps of other runners surging behind me, and that’s when I finally said screw it and dropped the hammer to pass them.

It was fun pushing that hard; I felt my ankles rolling on the uneven dirt, and spotted the clock at the finish line: 36:54. Under 37 would be awesome! I gave it all I had, but evidently that bottleneck in the vineyard was too much – I crossed in 37:02.

That’s one ticked off runner.

My Garmin said otherwise, though, and the race results are actually better than my Garmin: 36:39. Not my best, not my worst, and an overall fun race!

Afterwards we went back to the car where I changed into flip flops (ah the benefits of having the car right there!), then we all met up for some post-race chatting, delicious wine in our commemorative race glasses, and live music in the courtyard. We even went inside to explore the winery where I hit the mother lode:

Pop the trunk, I’ve got my wine.

We even found a place where the walls were made of wine…

… and a whole slew of little wine bottles that look like they ran marathons of their own! Look at all their medals!

After that we took a stroll back up the hill to the entrance where a giant cow statue was calling my name..

Well, not literally, but how could I pass up a photo op with a giant copper cow?

And with that, we called it a day! I would definitely consider doing this again next year. It was very well organized, on a beautiful course, and the post-race festivities were awesome.

Jess Runs Happy is now on Facebook!

May 22, 2015June 11, 2015 / Jess / 4 Comments

Dust off those dancing shoes and put on your party pants: it’s time to celebrate!

Why?

Because Jess Runs Happy is finally on Facebook!

That’s right: to spare my non-running friends and family from my endless running posts, I bit the bullet and created a Facebook Page for the blog! It’ll be a fun place to connect with me as well – I’m working on making it an all-in-one resource for everything I’ve got going on as far as blog posts, IG posts, and Twitter are concerned.

So head on over and give it a Like if you’re so inclined – and spread the love, too! I can’t wait to see you there.

The First 10 Minutes of Every Workout

May 19, 2015 / Jess / 13 Comments

Confession time: the first 10 minutes of every workout I do – running, strength training, cross training, you name it – are sheer hell. I spend the whole time just going through the motions while one long “UUGGGHH” drones on silently in my head. It takes a good 10-15 minutes before I’m feeling the burn, sweating it out, and reaping the benefits of the whole fitness thing.

This is especially the case when I work out in the mornings. I simply cannot drag myself out of bed, get warmed up and get an efficient workout in less than like 2 hours, and I’m not losing 2+ hours of sleep if I don’t have to, dammit. By the time I get in a groove, I need to start cooling down, showering, and getting ready for my day. First world problems, I know.

Having said that, I keep trying to fight the system by waking up early for a morning run every now and then. And while these runs are always technical successes in that they are runs that take place in the morning, I can still safely say that I hate morning workouts.

Every time I try to run before work, I only manage to get about a half hour (or 2.5 miles) in before the morning routine has to start, and then I’m exhausted for the rest of the day. Sure, it feels good knowing my workout is done, but the pros don’t really outweigh the cons there.

But of course that sunrise was really something to see, and I would have missed that if I slept in.

I know what my problem is: I need to build it into my schedule just like everything else to make it a habit. Once my body realizes this is the norm with more frequent sessions, it won’t be so bad. But until then, I’ll tough it out and try to enjoy myself.

I also battled the “first 10 minute scourge” this weekend when I did my favorite HIIT workout in the living room Saturday morning.

Back when I first started working out in 2004, I relied heavily on group fitness classes to stay motivated. Looking back, I’m like 90% sure the strict start times and “follow me exactly” routines were the sole reason that I was so successful back then. Working out on your own time, by your own rules, and doing your own made up routine? It’s really hard to stay focused. Especially when you’ve got a nosy cat and a husband watching Bob’s Burgers and laughing in the next room.

I would do one set and get distracted by the mailman or the cat or my own short attention span, but I finally managed to struggle through the full 40-or so minutes (burpees included)! The humidity outside was a real killer, but I felt nice and accomplished afterwards – even if my legs and glutes were screaming for mercy.

And that’s the happy, sweaty truth I have to keep reminding myself of: even though the first 10 minutes of every workout suck a pretty big windbag, the last 10 minutes are probably the most rewarding and blissful moments of my day. And SO worth fighting through that wall to get to 🙂

How about you? Do you suffer from the same affliction? How do you conquer the first 10 minutes?

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