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.
I think I have that issue of Fitness magazine! I will definitely make your oatmeal cake! Congrats for the article. That’s awesome!!
Morning workouts win! I haven’t been able to do them on forever, luckily in a few weeks my schedule will allow it again.
I agree, the ultimate is being done all the ‘essentials’ before 9-10am! I love working out & getting in a run before the kiddies are awake!
I desperatly need to get more friend stuff in….
T
Averie, it was so FUN seeing you yesterday. We could have gone on for hours! Love that you got that work out over with by 9:30am. A freeing way to move on with the rest of your busy day. CONGRATS on the mag feature. Those oat cakes look awesome & that is such a great achievement to be in Fitness! We need to plan our next get-together soon :) xo
Congratulations on the feature!!! You are famous Averie!!!!
Congrats on being featured by fitness magazine!!! Friend catch-ups are the bomb diggity especially after you’ve been away having adventures and are filled with stories to tell!! On the fitness front I am gearing up to put on a little more muscle this year. I’m gonna up the weights and protein factor, but not let it rule my life or anything. And I think I’m more of an anytime workout person. It depends on my schedule and how I feel energy-wise. How often do you tend to workout yourself?
Pretty much every day I do some sort of working out… unless I feel like resting. Then I do. Just go with the flow!
Congrats on your recipe feature! I am going to have to try that, sounds quick and delish. I tend to have more energy in the morning becuase if I come home after work there’s no way I’m getting out that door again lol I am pretty flexible though and play it by ear. What kind of yoga mat do you use? Do you like it? Is it skid-proof and cushy? I’m in the market for a new one and have seen so many mixed reviews for most that I’ve looked at so far. Thanks!
I have a post where I discuss it
https://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2010/01/yoga-faqs.html
And a commenter a few above you I mentioned it to her, too, but it’s the 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!
Thanks!
I’m an afternoon exerciser. Between noon and two is my prime energy time. I am not a fan of blueberries, but I made your other microwavable banana oatcake and it was so delicious. Congrats on getting featured!
Congratulations on your feature – that’s exciting!!!
I am much more motivated to do an early workout. I love getting up and getting it out of the way so the evening is all mine. I don’t always enjoy the getting out of bed part, but once I’m up and at the gym I’m a happy girl :-)
Oh congrats on being featured! That recipe looks yummmayyy and awesome. And yay for Starbucks get-togethers, nothing quite like it!
I’m definitely a get-it-in-where-I-can workout-er but it usually ends up being after work. On days when I’m really organized to put a gym bag together I can sneak in a workout on my lunch but I hate being rushed – the tough part is getting to the gym; once I’m there I get really into it and want to do as much as I can, so rushing out a workout on my lunch break doesn’t’ always feel great!
Congrats on the recipe, that’s awesome! I do a lot of fitness related stuff and wish I could workout in the morning on weekdays, but it’s just too early in the morning. I do like morning runs on weekends.
I been spending time with sisters and family lately, but not much with friends, need to change that.
I always THINK I like working out in the afternoon better than the morning… but every time I do it in the morning, I feel so fantastic for the rest of the day, it makes me want to ONLY work out in the mornings, haha! It’s the motivation factor ~ er, caffeine factor, probably ;-)
I am the SAME way!
You and Marla are CA-RAZY with your before 5 wake up times! What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall during one of your caffeine inhaling meet-ups! Sounds like a pretty great day, by the way! :)
She gets up earlier than me but I go to bed later…but yes, we have a blast together. Hopefully one day we can meet in person, too!
Oh, and congrats on the Shape feature! Did they ask or just take?
They asked but it was months ago and I lost track of it…and then bam, it was up.
I love working out in the morning, but only after I’ve been up for an hour or so, fully caffienated. That only works on weekends, with teaching an 8 am class this semester, but I get it in when I can. I usually go after work now, around 6 pm. It seems to be a nice compromise between the before and after dinner crowds. Its the during dinner lull. Since I eat late, it works perfectly for me.
Congrats on the feature. You deserve it! As for morning workouts, as much as I love extra pajama and coffee time, I really like getting my workout out of the way. I’m all about sweaty mornings and “earning” my shower. :)