On Tuesday afternoon I met up with my dear friend, Marla.
We met at our usual hangout.
A place where we can gab and get wired up on caffeine.
Sounds perfect, right? And it was.
It’s always a joy seeing Marla and I had not seen her since before the holidays.
Since then, we had both traveled to warm sunny places.
And we’ve both lived lots of life the past few months and had plenty of stories to swap from life to blogging to husbands and kids.
After that I came home and learned that my Microwave Blueberry Banana Oat Cakes…
…were featured by Fitness Magazine in their 11 Ways to Wake Up Oatmeal feature.
I haven’t made a microwave oat cake in ages but this reminded me to make my own recipe.
Naturally gluten free, vegan, microwave-able and ready in less than five minutes. They’re also portable so you can make them ahead of time and wrap them up in plastic wrap and toss them in your lunch or into your purse for a snack.
In the fitness front, I had a lovely early-ish morning run.
Now that Skylar is in a new school that starts earlier than her former school, I can get my workout done earlier because we’re up and at ’em, bright and early. Whether I want to be or not.
But it does feel great starting the day with a run. Four miles, sunshine, 66F, no wind, beautiful flowers.
Followed with 10 to 15 minutes of light yoga stretching at home and that’s that.
All in under and hour and done by 9:30 am with the whole day ahead of me. Gotta love that.
Have you done anything friend or fitness-related lately?
Are you a morning, evening, or anytime you can get it in workout person?
I’m the later and as a busy mom with no two days ever being the same, being flexible and adapting my workouts to fit into my life is the only way I can be.
I naturally have the most energy about 5pm but it’s too dark in the winter to start outdoor runs at that time.
I don’t naturally have as much energy in the mornings and it’s a chore to get out of the house (and not get sucked into a cup of coffee. Or three. And my Google Reader…) but the feeling of having my workout accomplished and done for the day is a great feeling. I wrote a post almost exactly one year ago with a few of my Morning Workout Tips. I should read my own advice.
Congrats on getting featured in Fitness Magazine!! Thats awesome! :) I feel great when I exercise in the morning but I am the same in that I can get sucked into studying/blogging and before I know it the morning is gone!
Mmm, I love me some banana oat cake with peanut butter on top. I put peanut butter on anything!
I haven’t done much friend stuff lately, but I’m definitely a mid-morning exercise girl, earlier in the summer when it’s lighter. My energy plummets in the evening, especially when it’s dark, but I love to go for evening walks in the late spring, summer, and early fall. Activity spaced throughout the day is my best bet.
Congrats, how exciting! I am adding your oatmeal cakes to my menu as well! Looks yummy. I agree, as a mom the morning is the only time to squeeze in a workout! Wish I was running in San Diego with ya!!
so easy to make for the kiddos, too!
Glad you got a good workout in– morning workouts are my favorite, although I have a feeling I’m about to fall into the “any time I can” category in a few months :-)
Congrats on the recipe feature!!
Congrats on being featured in Fitness Mag! That is so exciting and those oat cakes look amazing. I am going to have to make those soon.
You live in such a beautiful place :) I used to do jazzercise with my friend but we stopped :( congrats on the feature!! go you!
I love the tone a morning workout gives to the rest of the day. then I can just shower and move on. Lately my workouts have been around 5pm and it sort of throws off my day because I never feel like “getting ready” for the day until my workout is over.
I am the same and also if I let it drag out all day, I don’t feel like Im really “living” those hours mid-day; I am simply scrambling with life tasks and trying to get my workout knocked out asap.
I saw that feature – congrats. Guess it’s a sign I really really need to make them huh ;-) Glad you were able to get out with your friend for a bit. I really wish I was a morning person for workouts. But I am sooooo not. If I didn’t go to work so early, it might be different. If I could workout at 10am every day, that would be ideal.
You saw it? Well, thank you for seeing it! I probably wouldn’t have seen it unless I was in it :)
Sounds like a lovely day! Congrats!! I’m training for a marathon right now. It’s a bit hard to get started with winter in full swing, but I’m keeping motivated :)
Congrats on the feature, that’s awesome!!
I love your yoga mat! And how fun getting to see Marla! I PLANNED on doing yoga, but doing my nails got in the way. Go figure.
Manduka Black Pro. I’ve had it TEN YEARS and it’s been around the world with me, literally. Best mats ever. You get what you pay for and I recommend it 1 million percent! Marla and I said we both need to meet you :)
I had to chuckly when you said “not get sucked into coffee, google reader.” I hear ya! My last kid isn’t out the door until a little after 9, so that’s when I get moving around here. Although, if it’s decent enough to get outside and exercise, I may wait a little later for it to warm up. Those little oat cakes are lovely too!
And the fact that you have multiple kids to get out the door…after all that you just want to take a nap probably :)
Hooray for your oat cake feature …that’s a great recipe!
As for working out, I’d love to get mine done mid-morning (you’re right about getting the workout done and still having the whole day ahead), but my desk job forces me to muster up the energy to workout from 7-8 p.m.
I know how it is with work schedules and working around them.
Your blue skies look amazing! So lucky to live in such a vibrant part of the world :) I too am a 5pm awake/work out person. I tend to do my yoga then, and then go for a run with my boyfriend when I get home. I love running at night, the air feels easier to breathe and there are less people to dodge (I live in London).
You are one early bird workout person! I am not a 5am’er by nature, but 9am has become a reality :)
i feel like i know marla now. I like that! we should all meet at starbucks some day, after a 4 mile run in sunshine. Oh ya, i’m all about that!
Yeah, you’d smoke me in a 4 mile run :)
I realized that it’s hard to motivate myself if I workout past noon, so I have my 10:30 AM pilates, and then some cardio time. I’m still trying to train the yorkies not to lick my face off when I do home workouts. Downward dog is not downward dog kisses!