How to catch the “Running Bug”

Good afternoon, everyone!

It’s already Thursday and another gorgeous day here. I hope you have the opportunity to be outside and enjoy the weather wherever you live! First off, I must say, I AM NOW OFFICIALLY DONE WITH MY FIRST YEAR OF GRAD SCHOOL! My friend, Brianne (left) and myself (right) took a photo on campus after our last final. Horray! 🙂

My morning began with work (only a few weeks until my summer job begins!). For breakfast, I made a smoothie packed with berries and spinach.

Triple Berry Threat Smoothie

1/3 c. organic frozen blueberries

1/3 c. fresh raspberries (another reason I love summer!)

1/3 c. frozen sliced strawberries

1 handful of organic spinach

½ c of Chobani vanilla yogurt

½ c. of vanilla Organic Valley Soy Milk (you may substitute any milk you would like)

1 tsp of chia seeds

A splash of natural vanilla extract for flavoring

I drank my smoothie “on the go” so it had to be put in this my fancy glass. 🙂

I took my lunch break as an opportunity to sneak in a quick workout. I decided to do a circuit I found on pinterest followed by a brisk walk. During my walk, I ended up calling my mom. She is a fabulous lady and has a way of turning any day into a positive one. We were able to laugh and joke about our current life happenings. I came back to work feeling refreshed. Below is a photo of my mom and myself. She’s so cute and trendy!

Upon returning from my lunch break, I randomly thought of my next idea for this blog post.

Running: It seems like everybody’s doing it…

It seems like everyone is taking up running as a hobby these days. Do you ever feel like you are the only one who isn’t participating in weekly runs or local races?

Running or jogging is a sport that practically anyone with a healthy body can participate in, regardless of age. If you ever look at race results, you will see many men and women in their 70’s are running marathons. With that being said, running is a sport that you must ease your body into. Here are some quick tips to get yourself on the road. Disclaimer: I am not naturally a great runner. Thankfully with some persistence and effort, I have been able to run multiple races (including half marathons–see picture below taken a few weeks ago). I swear if I can do it, so can you!

Here are some resources to get you started. Let me know if you have any questions.

• How To Start Running  (RealSimple.com)
• The Couch to 5K Plan (NHS Live Well) *a 5K is 3.1 miles
• Best Phone Apps for Runners (Shape.com) *my favorite is Mapmyrun

Me and my sweet boy, Evan. He’s my favorite running partner.

Daily Question (anyone can answer, regardless of having a “word press” account):

What are your thoughts on running? If you run, how did you start? If you don’t, what are other ways you like to exercise?

-Chelsey