It was 80 degrees here in Philadelphia yesterday. 80 DEGREES!!!! Last year when I visited at the beginning of March it was snowing and about 20, yuck. It felt SO good to walk outside with a short sleeve shirt - especially after a weekend spent in the perfect Florida weather! Before I headed to work around 12:30, I wanted to spend some time outside. I initially went out for a run and attempted a little trail running. After I ate dirt and almost sprained my ankle tripping on a rock, I thought it would be best that I head back out to the road. #WorldsNumberOneClutz I ran for about a mile to a little park with tennis courts near my apartment. I decided to get my heart rate up with a quick Tabata workout. Just a quick 20 minutes of sunshine and fresh air can make such a big difference in your day. If you're a nine to fiver, check out my 5 reasons you should get outside during the work day!

1. Burpees - remember that you always have the option to walk your feet out or add a push-up! 
2. Squat Jacks - When you jump your feet out into the squat, try to reach your opposite hand to your opposite foot to get in some extra torso rotation. 
3. 4-Way Shuffle - I love this drill! It's great for agility. Pick four points and shuffle sideways, forward and backward as fast as you can in the 20 seconds. 
4. Mountain Climbers - always make sure to keep your shoulders right over your wrists and core tight! 

Here's a little demo of the exercises: 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRPbMz87D7E[/embed]

CHEERS to it almost being the weekend! Have a great Thursday :) Also here's what I'm jamming out to lately if you're needing some new music...

XO - Rach

Do you enjoy working out outside?

Any fun weekend plans?

Love or hate the hot weather?

Happy Monday, friends! And welcome, November (how did that happen?)  This past weekend was one to remember - I ran my first half marathon! And it wasn't that bad. My mom and her boyfriend also came to visit to cheer me and Chelsey on while we slogged ran. 

Chelsey and I headed to the expo after work on Friday to pick up our packets and a plethora of free stuff including a ton of mini Lara Bars. SCORE! After the expo we headed to Mercato, a fabulous Italian restaurant with homemade pasta. We both had amazing pasta dishes to carb up. No pics because we were too busy savoring :)

Race Day

Saturday morning rolled around and it was time to wake up at 5:30 a.m.! I made myself a bowl of oats with peanut butter, some coffee, and my mom and I made our way down to the race around 7:30 in the freezing cold. Chelsey and I were in coral 31, so we didn't actually start running until about 8:30. However, the sun came up once we started running and it felt great!

The first 8 miles are actually kind of a blur. They went by SO fast, there was a lot of adrenaline and we both felt really great. The first 5 miles were through the city and the remainder was a flat road along the river. Such a great course! 

Around the half way mark, my cousin Sara was working at the medical tent so she ran along with us for about a half mile and snapped some pics:  After mile 9 it became all mental. Everything felt great except my ankles - they were screaming! We just did everything we could to keep our minds off of the suck and finish strong. We finished in 2:26 and our goal was 2:30! And then the next day at the New York City Marathon (26.2 people!) the woman winner finished in 2:24! We may not be the fastest but we were happy to be running and having a blast. 

After chugging a chocolate milk at the finish line, we headed back to the hotel we were staying at for the weekend to shower and get some food. We ended up heading to Reading Terminal Market and stopping by The Original Turkey  for some fresh carved turkey club sandwiches. I inhaled mine in .000345 seconds. After refueling, we headed to the Field House Bar (home of the Philly Gator Club) to watch the Gators dominate the Bulldogs. 

We ended the night with dinner in Chinatown and I was passed out by 9:30. It was an awesome day and weekend. So glad that I could spend time with my family.

After SEVERAL jam-packed weekends, I'm totally looking forward to doing a lot of nothing next weekend :)

P.S. I didn't even end up listening to it, but I will share my half marathon playlist soon. I was really excited for it, but we had more fun chatting during the whole race.

XO -Rach

How was your weekend?

Have you run a half before? If not, would you ever want to?

What day is it? HUMP DAY. I found this fun Pinterest-y quote and I really love it to go along with today's post: 

Despite the last week being cuckoo crazy with traveling and indulging in LOTS of food, mostly not healthy, I was able to move my body almost every day. 

Monday - I teach a 45 minute spin class every Monday morning at 6 a.m. I was very beat up from my 11 miler on Sunday, but spinning actually felt great for my knees and ankles. 

Tuesday - Upper body push/pull workout

4 Rounds - Superset 1

10 kettlebell overhead press; 10 hammer curls

4 Rounds - Superset 2

10 KB chest press; 10 KB bent over rows

4 Rounds - Superset 3

10 TRX tricep extensions; 10 lat pull downs

4 Rounds - Superset 4

10 push-ups; 10 KB sumo deadlift-high pull

Ended with some sprints (literally like two, I was tired) and some core work!

Wednesday - Lower body push/pull workout - was traveling for work, able to get in a workout before work in the morning.

4 Rounds - Superset 1

10 kettlebell goblet squats; 10 cable low rows

4 Rounds - Superset 2

10 lateral step-ups; 10 trap bar deadlifts

4 Rounds - Superset 3

10 split squat; 10 KB swings

4 Rounds - Superset 4

10 forward lunge with halo (did this with a KB, can be done with Dumbbell); 10 KB snatches

This was great too - I was really into the push/pull thing last week - gets the muscles feelin' happy.

Thursday - in Ohio for work with a client and we ate all of this in addition to an incredible meal & wine (Those are ice cream cookie sandwiches, not pictured is another plate full of them):

So Thursday morning we were itching to move our bodies before a full day. Along with my co-workers Jaime and Laura, we completed this fun little doozy - no equipment needed! Just a step, ledge, bench, anything!

Friday - rest day, sat on my bum in a plane, at work and in the car. I traveled back to Philly from Ohio and then up to the Finger Lakes in New York after work. 

Saturday - short hike in the Finger Lakes plus hiking in and out of the car to the many wineries we visited - that counts, right?

Sunday - traveled back to Philly, no workout. I was pooped - it's tough drinking all that wine! 

Before I go I want to share one more no equipment workout with you! I did this one after work one day on the Schuylkill River Trail. I couldn't bring myself to go inside of the gym when the weather & view were just perfect (photo used in this graphic was my workout view!)  I broke it up into 10 rounds of 10. 

XO - Rach

Do you prefer to workout inside or outside?