Oh, boy. I did not look forward to my long run this morning. Normally I enjoy the thought of heading out to be alone with my thoughts and to see just what my body can handle. I just wanted to crawl back in bed this morning and whine “Do I haaaaavvvvveeee to?????”.

I loathe the treadmill for any run longer than 4 miles…and I had to crank out TEN on it this morning! That thought killed my long run mood faster than a baby cry can kill other certain moods. I. dreaded. It!

I considered taking my recovery run a week early so I would only have to do 5 or 6 miles on the dreadmill, but then I realized I needed to suck it up cupcake, put on my big girl panties, and just do it. Then, get my revenge letting Peter know allll about my misery having to run on the treadmill because he just has to have a life too.

I brought in the heavy artillery to make me not hate every second of my life for the next 1.5+ hours.

• three magazines - Just in case today happened to be the day I could handle reading and running at the same time. A lofty goal.
• a treadmill with a TV and prayers for a good movie playing on the gym’s “Cardio Cinema” circuit
• some musical friends - Adele, Katy Perry, Glee, Kelly Clarkson, Aerosmith and Toby Mac specifically
• Twitter encouragement
• my game face

It was on like Donkey Kong.

The first four miles went by incredibly quickly. I almost couldn’t believe it and fooled myself into thinking that maybe this whole ten miles on the treadmill thing wouldn’t be so bad. I got a little more antsy between miles 4 and 6 but kept myself distracted with flipping through my magazines. No article reading, but I could look at workouts/recipes or some of the short highlights.

Then the dang treadmill stopped on me!

I kind of expected it to happen since it happened to Heather when she tackled ten treadmill miles last week. It still didn’t change me wanting to drop kick the machine. You know – not only because I was annoyed but also because it would probably break at least one toe and give me a reason not to continue.

I paused to refill my water, down a Gu, and take a fast potty break in the hopes that it would help me fool myself into believing it was a new workout and I was only running four mile. Or more acurately only 3.8 because you know I wasn’t doing more than necessary on the treadmill. Yeaaahhhh. Didn’t work so much. I don’t think four slower miles have ever passed in my life.

But sometimes training isn’t all about the physical challenge. Sometimes you have to overcome the mental challenges too. Today was definitely a “push past your self-doubts” training day. I made it through, but I didn’t like it. I think I deserve a break after all of that. Too bad I know that isn’t going to happen. Ahhhh….life.

• What workouts tend to challenge you mentally?
• What is one of your favorite silly motivational catch phrases? I obviously had a thing for them in this post – “suck it up cupcake”, “put on my your girl panties”, “it’s on like Donkey Kong”…I know I’m special.

Seems you all are just as amped as I am to see FFF hit 1000 posts. Or you want to get your grubby little hands on some NuNaturals Stevia. Have you entered the giveaway yet?

Besides getting pumped for such a fabulous giveaway for all of you, today has been a pretty good one. I’ve been quick and effective today. Just how I like it.

I started my day off at the gym because it always gets my day going on a positive note. Lately, I have been splitting up my Thursday run and full body weights workout by doing a Group Power class in the morning and heading out for a run in the afternoon. But that had to change for today. Peter wouldn’t be able to watch the kids for me to run outdoors this afternoon, so that meant some quality time with the dreadmill treadmill.

I couldn’t swing having Braedon and Makenzie in the gym childcare for long enough to do my 3 miles on the treadmill and hit up Group Power class. I had to make a game time decision on which workout to do at the gym. With half marathon training, the run won out. I reasoned that I would do a Physique 57 DVD during their naps this afternoon to get in some weights instead.

In my gut, though, I knew the DVD wouldn’t happen. It’s hard for me to stay motivated for afternoon workouts enough as it is. But to have to stay motivated for a workout and give up quality productivity time during their naps? That was a recipe for workout skippage no doubt!

Good thing I stumbled across this gem in the September issue of Fitness magazine I flipped through during my cool down on the treadmill.

Sweat drops on the page = sign of a GREAT workout!

It must have been fate! An express workout with “kettlebell blasters” for the lower body and abs sounded like the perfect fix to get in my strength training for the day.

It did just as promised. In 15 minutes I felt like I had worked every inch of my body for twice as long. Kettlebells really are so awesome for a quick and effective total body workout. And now I have a few more moves to tuck away for future workouts.

Thanks, Fitness Magazine for keeping me from skipping out on my weights today!

You can check out the full Kettlebell Express Workout on Fitness’ website too!

The quick and effective trend of the day kept on going with lunch. I had no desire to put much thought into making anything, so I turned to the trusty snack plate again.

Thank goodness I think to pre-chop some raw veggies for easy grab and go options during the week. It really does get me to eat so many more vegetables.

Today’s snack plate featured carrot sticks, “cucumber moons” (as M calls them), apple slices, a slice of nutty whole wheat bread with peanut butter, and a container of pineapple Chobani.

You know what just hit me. I cut up veggies for the week but I never pre-chop my fruit. Which is odd because I hate taking the time to slice things but a lot of my fruit I much prefer sliced over whole (apples and strawberries for example). I guess I just love fruit enough to give it that extra tender loving care chopping. Plus, fruit gets a blah texture really fast in my opinion if you don’t chop it just before eating. No room for mushy brown apples here!

And in the name of being quick and effective, I will leave you all here. See you in the morning! When it’s FRIIIDAAAAYYYY!!!

• What things add up to a recipe for skipping out on your workouts?
• Do you pre-chop your veggies? Any fruits?