Five miles run and done before 6:25 a.m. Sounds great, but it started out quite miserable.
When the alarm went off this morning, I was so tempted to tell Ryan to head to the gym without me. I wanted to sleep in and blow off the run I had scheduled on my half marathon training plan.
As I took my time peeling myself out from underneath the covers (okay, the sheet – it’s 80 degrees in our house), I called upon one of my exercise mantras to get my butt moving.
Rule your mind or it will rule you.
My body wasn’t tired. I felt well-rested and knew I could churn out a run, but staying in bed sounded so much more appealing. Still, I knew I’d feel awesome after knocking out five miles, so I sucked it up and went to the gym with Ryan and got it done.
I upped my pace a bit and then walked 0.1 miles every time I reached a mile, leading up to five. It kept me more engaged in the run and made each mile feel like a mini accomplishment.
I spent a good 10 minutes after my run stretching and foam rolling. I did lots of stretches for my hips, including my favorite yoga stretch. It felt fantastic. I need to spend more time stretching after runs!
Breakfast
Today’s breakfast was another oatmeal banana combination winner.
I made the oats by boiling milk on the stovetop and then adding old fashioned oats, a sliced banana, cinnamon and a tablespoon of honey to the mix. I let everything bubble on a medium heat until the oats thickened (about six minutes).
Such a good breakfast!
Quotes of Interest
Since we’re on the topic of exercise mantras and motivational or inspiring quotes in general, I thought I’d share a few of my current favorites with you. (All pictures found via Pinterest.)
Question of the Morning
- What quote are you loving lately?
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My favorite quote ever is one that can be applied to any hardship you face in life:
“It will all be okay in the end. And if it’s not okay, then it’s not the end” -unknown
I like some of yours a lot. I am trying to wrap my brain around the idea that I can chose my thoughts the same way I chose my clothes.
The Kidless Kronicles
Wag More, Bark….
Right now the quote I am loving is:
“Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger then you seem, and smarter then you think.”
I found it on Pinterest 🙂
I think that’s from Winnie the Pooh 😀 What awesome wisdom from a kids series
Love all the quotes!!! 😀
My favorite quote that’s keeping me motivated with my running training, even though my time is poopy? “No matter how slow you go, you’re still lapping everybody on the couch!”
I love that one about wasted time. I’m totally using that when my husband tells me I’m wasting time on the computer 🙂
I love all those quotes!
Quick question, though – I just got onto Pinterest, but have NO CLUE how to search for things on it. Could you do a mini tutorial on how to use Pinterest, whether searching for something specific or just browsing around?
Thanks!
“Things fall apart so that other things can fall together” — So true! I try very hard to remind myself of that every day, especially when I start ruminating on the past. If some of the sad and bad times I experienced hadn’t happened, I don’t know that I would have found and married the love of my life. Life always happens for a reason – we may not know that reason at the time, but we just need to trust in fate.
That breakfast looks AWESOME!
I’m a big fan of “what’s meant to be will be” – helps me not worry over little silly things that I can’t control!
I love all of these and all the ones in the comments. I’m going to write them all down in my planner for quick motivation when I need it 🙂
That bowl of oatmeal looks delish! I love the addtion of honey. I might give this a try this weekend!
I totally get the lack of motivation to get out an running. As I further into my marathon training, the harder it gets sometimes to get my legs moving. Especially when there’s a 20 miler on Saturday! Sheesh!
oh my goodness that oatmeal looks so delicious! I’ll have to try that method of cooking! and my current favorite quote came from a Yogi tea bag: “Life is a gift. If you do not value your gift, nobody else will.”
Success without happiness is the worst kind of failure.
-Short and sweet and SOO true!
What a great post! One of my favorite quotes is
“People who matter don’t mind and people who mind don’t matter”. It’s a good one to tuck away when you get down on yourself and find yourself constantly thinking about what others think of you 🙂
i love that one. dr. seuss is so wise.
Oh my gosh, I love those!
One of my recent favs: “You can’t cross the sea by merely standing and staring at the waves.” -Rabindranath Tagore
Yesterday I was feeling the same way about my run! But I thought about your mantra “ive never regretted a workout” and its so true – I cranked out 5 miles and felt great!
i have that “happiest people/best of everything” quote in my dayplanner. i put it there in college when i was getting sucked into the vortex of materialism and thinking that i needed stuff to be happy.
Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.
ah! love it!
If it’s important, do it every day.
I posted this to my blog the other day:
“The reason people give up so fast is because they tend to look at how far they still have to go instead of how far they have gotten.”
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, you just have to take the first step”- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I love these quotes! Another that I love is, “Be yourself. No one can ever tell you that you’re doing it wrong.”
Things do not change. We change.
“She turned her cants into cans and her dreams into plans”
so cute!
Awesome quotes, Julie! I love them all, especially the one about happiest people one. 🙂 The following has always been my favorite and we used it in our wedding ceremony as well. 🙂
“If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
Awesome quotes Marie! The Bible has the best quotes- and some of these are my memo verses for this week’s sunday school!
i love that verse.
i love quotes! there are some great canvas quotes on etsy that are adorable for decorating a home bedroom or office.
Great quotes, and good job with the run. I was going to take a day off last week, but since my legs felt just fine, I went for it. It felt gooood to get it done! (Today, on the other hand, is another story 😉 )
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”
Gotta love Dr. Seuss 🙂 have a great day Julie!
Love the “rule your mind” quote. I think that’s perfect for working out AND everyday life. I’m just starting law school so that’s pretty applicable there, too.
My most fav recent quote is “Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option” – Ben Franklin. Doesn’t work so well for working out but a good like reminder!
My favorite quote at the moment is by Ghandi- “Hate the sin, love the sinner”
I love that too! So funny- i just got on here from reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis for school, and that was the last line i read!
oh yes! i need to remember that one!
I have to say, immediately after reading your blog post title, my brain sang “Free your miiiiiiiiiiiiiiind, and the rest will follow!!!!”
i love the saying ” Life is more than just how many breaths you take, but moments that take your breath away” – i have it on my wall 🙂
The great Phil Jackson of your beloved Bulls once said
“Don’t let success, got to your head, and failure go to your heart”
phiiiiiil! i always thought he looked like my best friend’s dad. i wish the old bulls would reunite. 🙂
Ha…somehow we need to manage to tie into a post with the bulls or phi Jackson so a picture of your friends dad gets on the blog 😉
But figured you being a Midwestern and Bulls fan would appreciate that quote…And yes, myself like you, Ryan, and the rest of us who grew up watching that team play, wish for one more glimpse of something like they had. Fun times to watch for sure. I was/am a huge Reggie Miller fan, thus the Bulls were always a throne in our side, but it was still a blast to watch those boys have fun
I generally use the plain instant oatmeal, out of convenience, and add to it. Is the stove top version better? Sounded yummy!
“Keep Clam and Carry On” is one of my favs. By the way, I could totally relate to your morning. I am not a morning person at all, when it comes to exercise, but I will admit that it feels the best to complete a run before most people are even out of bed! Great JOB!!
i always feel like the stovetop version has more texture!
As an avid traveler (whether I’m dreaming about going somewhere or actually there) I instantly fell in love with this quote:
“A man of ordinary talent will always be ordinary, whether he travels or not; but a man of superior talent (which I cannot deny myself to be without being impious) will go to pieces if he remains forever in the same place.”
-Mozart
Still gives me goosebumps.
I was in such a bad mood yesterday after a horrible day at work, and was planning on skipping my date with the gym, but then I thought about something you said a while back…”You’re only one workout away from a good mood.” So I ran it out 🙂 Thanks Julie!
“Men marry because they are tired; women because they are curious. Both are disappointed.”
“All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy”
“To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable” (ok not exactly excercise motivation)
“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
These are more humorous sayings, but that’s what i love! These are all from Oscar Wilde. Though i disagree with some of his other quotes, these definitely make me smile!
Ugh, yesterday I could not and did not get myself out of bed. I learned my lesson when I had to run after school!!
I was feeling the same way this morning but once I got moving it got better. 🙂
Those were great quotes, thanks for sharing. I have one that I love especially since I am a hugger. “Don’t wait until tomorrow, the hug you can give today!”
“an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”
whoa that’s an interesting one! i like it!
“You never regret a workout”. That mantra has NEVER proven to be false! I was cussing the world while doing sprint intervals on the t-milly this am, but now I am SO GLAD they are done and I don’t have to do them after work today!
I love the quote, “Happiness doesn’t meant that everything is perfect, it means you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.”
Tonight is the start of rush at my college, I’m actually a second year and deciding to do it. Got any tips? 🙂 I’m not a typical rush sorority girl, but thought it would be fun to meet more people and have that friendship aspect of it. I like clothes, but don’t like spending money on it, so I don’t have a closet full of things…but I’m hoping my laid back easy to get along with attitude helps makes up for my lack of girliness. 😛 NOt that I”m saying all sorority girls are like this though..
good luck, lorin! i would say just be yourself – honestly! whether or not you’re really “girly” shouldn’t matter at all. if you’re true to yourself you’ll find a house full of girls who are accepting of you and likely share similar interests! also, rememeber that sometimes rush isn’t for everyone and if you don’t like it, you don’t have to pledge. definitely ask the girls rushing you questions about things that are important to you – whether it be fun socials, intramurals, etc.
My “inspiration” board on Pinterest is easily my biggest! Current fav on there “she look a leap and built her wings on the way down” — sometimes you gotta just go for it!
Hi Julie,
I’ve been following your blog for a little while now, honestly it’s the first time I’ve ever subscribed to a blog, and I enjoy getting the email every afternoon!
Favorite quote right now would be from Garth Stein’s ‘The Art of Racing in the Rain’ and it’s “That which you manifest is before you.”
Also, from my dad: “Life is a marathon, not a sprint.” Reminds me to slow down and savor all the great things.
as a serious dog lover, i liked that book a lot!
and thanks so much for subscribing and commenting!
Love all those quotes.
When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability… To be alive is to be vulnerable. – Madeleine L’Engle
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. – Eleanor Roosevelt
Whatever limits us we call Fate.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Wherever you are, be all there.”
“Don’t count the days: make the days count.”
Both are my mottos of the moment. I’m a senior in college, so they both feel particularly applicable to my place in life right now.
oOooO! I definitely like that “things fall apart so other things can fall together”!
Ok, so what time do you go to bed at night in order to get up at 5:00am?? Yikes , even 6:00am sounds scary to me.
I’m way too lazy in the morning, but I would like to start getting up and getting my run done and over with.
Omigosh, I love these quotes!! I used to collect quotes in a book and so I always have some that I’m loving! I really like the things fall apart one and the Maya one!