Stuck in a rut, but I don't want out!

Howdy Friends!

How is everyone today? I hope everyone had a fabulous and lucky 1/11/11!

A few days ago, I went to the grocery store and came across this little gem!

Heather over at HEAB always raves about Justin's Almond Butter, so when I saw this sample pack, I had to give it a try! Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. It was a little sweeter than regular almond butter, but didn't have a ton of added sugar. I spread it on a piece of toast and was in Heaven. I would highly suggest it!

I've always been a fan of running, but lately, it has been my cardio of choice. I look forward to my morning runs immensely, and love the way I feel after I'm done. Since I'm not teaching as many classes right now, due to the Christmas break, it has been hard to make myself do anything else but run. On some days, I'm tempted to go for a second run in the afternoon, but I'm afraid to injure myself by over training. Been there, done that! I just feel so much less stressed and so rejuvenated after a good run. Oh well, there are definitely worse things to crave than running! :)

Yesterday morning, it was literally freezing, so I headed to the gym in my apartment complex to hit the treadmill. I'm always worried that my training will suffer if the majority of my runs are done on the treadmill. I decided to try and simulate running outside by changing up my pace and adding in hills. Here's what my plan looked liked:

My training plan called for a 5 mile run, so I repeated this series 5 times. Changing the pace and elevation made this run fly by! You can definitely adjust the speed to fit your own individual pace. For the 2 recovery segments (6.2mph) use a comfortable jogging pace, and then pick it up a bit where it has 7.0 mph (you can use your 5K race pace or just a pace that is challenging but doesn't leave you completely breathless). If you are doing a shorter workout and want even more bang for your buck, simply pick up your speed and bump up your elevation to 3.5% +. Let me know if you try it out!

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In the January issue of Women's Health Magazine, there was a really neat quiz that calculated your bodies real age based on various aspects such as your waist to hip ration, resting heart rate, eating habits etc. I took the pencil and paper test in the magazine, but now the have an online version! We all know that regular exercise and healthy eating habits can help us live longer, and now we can see how all of our hard work is paying off! Check it out: What's Your Body's Real Age.

Questions of the day:
Do you ever get fixed on one form of exercise, and that is all you really want to do?
If you took the Body Age quiz, how did you do?
What are some things you do to spice up your treadmill workouts?

In health,