wiaw: refreshed

Some days you just need to try to switch things up a bit, to refresh your routine.  Yesterday was just the refresher I needed after several stressful weeks in a row.

My alarm went off at 4 AM.  I am still waking up early to go to the gym in the morning in order to spend some extra time at home in the afternoon/evening.  After sacrificing family time for volleyball, I want to make sure that I am getting in as much quality time at home with Matt and MacKenna as I can.  I feel like it’s a fair trade since I am not having to stay up late to get work done, so I can make up the sleep by going to bed a bit earlier.

My gym session yesterday morning was a quick CrossFit workout.

4 x 3-Position Snatch + 3 Overhead Squats

6 rounds, rest after each set until the next minute:
60 meter shuttle sprint
Burpees 10x
Overhead Squats 10x, 30#

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I suck at overhead squats so this was definitely not my favorite, but I won’t get better unless I practice.  I’m trying to push myself more on my CrossFit workouts – I’ve been slacking a little bit lately and need to step it up a bit more.

After going home to shower and get ready for work, I drank a smoothie and some coffee in my car on the way to work.  My smoothie consisted of a frozen banana, pumpkin puree, chia seeds, spinach, protein powder, and my daily dose of flavonols via a CocoaVia chocolate supplement packet.  Definitely a nice change with the pumpkin from my normal fruit-only smoothies!

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Work was nothing special:  a new rotation of students in my health classes, which should make for a fun end of the semester, and a quick phone call with the local paper for a “season wrap-up”.  I’m not exactly the best with speaking (you’d think I would be as a teacher) so I always get nervous when I have to give quotes for the paper.  Thankfully, I think that might be my last phone call with them for the year!  I’m in the process of cutting out all the articles in the paper (it’s a small town, so we’ve basically had something written about the team every week since August) to create a keepsake book for my girls.  I’m hoping to be able to do this every year as sort of their end of the season gift.  Plus, it’ll be fun for me to look back on through the years.

I actually took a half day yesterday to take MacKenna in for her 2 year check-up at the doctor.  My half day ends at 11:15 and her appointment was at 2, so I had some time before I really needed to go pick her up.  I ate a Luna bar in the car on my way home, and then threw on some warm running gear for a “runch” (running lunch).  A cold front moved through Monday night, sending the temperatures down into the 30s for the day.  Brrrrrrr.  I’m ready for cold, but it was almost too cold for me.  But, I’m determined to run outside as much as possible.

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My run absolutely could not have gone better.  Well, except for maybe the wind chill.  7x400 repeats with an average 7:09/mile pace!  My fastest training run in a loooooong time.  And I actually hit my pace-goal times on all but one of my repeats!  Pretty proud of that!

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I had a quick salad and some peanut butter crackers for lunch before going to pick up MacKenna to take her to the doctor.  I absolutely LOVE our pediatrician!  MacKenna is still tiny, not even cracking 20 pounds (19 pounds 12.5 ounces) at 2 years old.  But, our pediatrician assured me that this is normal for her specific curve, and that if we lived somewhere besides the U.S., she would actually be on a chart.  She is developing just as she should for 2 years old and the pediatrician continued to tell me how cute and smart Kenna is!  If only Kenna handled the doctor’s office better – she knows where we are now and freaks out a bit.  But, the cookie she got at the grocery store afterward cheered her up after her 2 shots.

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MacKenna and I had a wonderful afternoon playing together!  I have missed spending time with her and it was so nice to get some quality time to just sit in the living room and play.  Even with her typical 2 year old tantrums, she is at such a fun age!  I love our little conversations, especially now that she is saying, “I love you” without me prompting her!  It gets me every time!

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Since I had a half day, I was in charge of dinner for the first time in I don’t know how long!  So, it was a burger night!  How Sweet Eats buffalo quinoa burger is by far our favorite veggie burger.  With crispy sweet potato fries on the side.

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After bath time and some cuddling, I put MacKenna down for the night (Matt had a meeting in the evening) and finished up some chores around the house before putting my feet up for some Grey’s Anatomy (ugh, I am still trying to catch up!) and ice cream.

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I am feeling so refreshed and ready to conquer the rest of the week!  Not going to lie, though:  I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas break!  Can’t wait to get to spend a lot more quality time with my 2 favorite people!