Friday, September 30, 2011

Rewarding Yourself

This week has been rough.  As if coming back to work after two weeks off wasn't bad enough, I decided to throw in three early morning runs along with it. Monday was my first 5am run at our house and it was DARK outside.  It was a bit scary at first because I wasn't completely comfortable with my route but once I got going everything was alright.

Then I faced a dilemma - our weekend is too packed for me to guarantee that I would be able to fit in a long run on Saturday or Sunday.  So I decided to try for a long run on a weekday morning.

Thursday morning I was up at 5am and out the door for 9.3 miles at an easy pace.  It was a long and dark run and I only scared myself once with my own shadow but I got it done.  I decided that because I had accomplished my goal of getting up and out for a long run I should treat myself, so I packed a little snack pack in my lunch.

Leftover peach rings and swedish fish from our Wedding Candy Buffet!

Friday morning I decided to fit in a tempo workout because my schedule was so mixed up and I didn't know if there would be another time this weekend to do this workout.  Waking up Friday morning was even harder than Thursday and I honestly considered going back to sleep.  I was up and out the door by 5:10am and ran 2x2 miles at approximately tempo pace to complete 6.2 miles. 

This run was tough - I had picked a loop with a giant hill which really killed my legs.  But I made it and finished the workout.  So as I was packing my lunch once again, I included a slightly larger snack pack as a reward for compelteing two great workouts on weekday mornings and running 15.5 miles in two days!

Leftover peach rings and Peanut M&M's from our Wedding Candy Buffet!

My legs are definitely dead now and will enjoy a full rest day tomorrow - AND sleeping in! For me, rewarding myself is definitely the best motivator!  Do you reward yourself??

Have a great weekend!

5 comments:

Marlene said...

You DEFINITELY earned those treats. I can't believe how easily you seem to have gone right back into training mode after your wedding & honeymoon!!

Anonymous said...

Your dedication is amazing! and yes...treats are a great motivator. Now...need to find the car keys. I need some Peach Rings!

Kim said...

Yum! Those are awesome rewards! I LOVE Swedish Fish. LOVE EM!!!

Good for you for getting out early. I try to reward myself too :)

Anonymous said...

I love the candy reward! Since my aunt did the candy bar for me, I didn't keep the extra candies, but I love that you are using sort of as a motivator!! :) And great job on two early morning runs!! :)

Anonymous said...

I totally reward myself!!!!!

I am in the same dilema with an upcoming long run (14 miles!) because of a weekend wedding. I have been thinking of how to get around it (mornings with work are out) and I am so frustrated! Worst case, I might even call out of work!