What a whirlwind weekend.  My alma mater was having a huge alumni event, so Friday afternoon, I jet set off to lovely Houston, TX to meet up with some of my college friends.  I knew that jet setting halfway across the country would put a little bit of a damper on my workouts, but I packed my jump rope anyway and set off.

I always like to challenge myself to try and get a workout in where ever I go.  I actually had a conversation with my mom about this once when I was headed off to a conference.  I was more excited about checking out the new gym than I was about the conference itself.  I like to try running and working out in new spaces because it adds a little bit of spice to whatever you are doing.  Some of my best runs have been in the oddest places; a cruise ship pulling in to a port as the treadmill I was on was facing the open sea, Central Park in the middle of a rain storm when I ran the wrong way and ended up running 5 miles to get home in a tsunami, etc.  There’s something just cool about trying to find a way to fit it in and make it work no matter what.

I have a personal philosophy that I will never go more than two days without working out.  Even if my workout is just a long walk around somewhere, that will suffice, but I just don’t feel like myself if I haven’t sweat in two days.  So, when I was planning this trip, I got one of my friends to promise to workout with me on Sunday morning since we didn’t have brunch plans until 12:30 and had the morning all too ourselves.

We had a pretty exhausting Saturday full of running and round and over indulging in both food and drink, so come Sunday morning I realized I no longer had a workout buddy and I was on my own.  I unpacked my trusty jump rope and borrowed a couple of her weights and head out to a park a block away from her house and got down to BBG Week 7 Legs and Cardio.

 

I’m not going to lie to you, I did not want to do this workout and I probably looked like a darn fool  in the middle of the park jumping around, but I ended up loving every minute of it.  The weather was so beautiful and it was just nice to be out in the green.  Although, pro tip: don’t do Burpees on cement.  your hands will not be very happy with you.  After my last timer went off for my final circuit, I was jazzed.  I just didn’t want to stop which is the greatest feeling in the world.  I gathered up my assorted accessories and headed back to my friends to drop them off before taking the most enjoyable, leisurely run I think I’ve had in awhile.

I didn’t track it.  Didn’t go for speed.  Just went.  I just ran.  And I ran and I ran.  Luckily, I was pretty familiar with the area since I had just lived there not even a year ago, so I had the freedom to go exploring.  I found a community garden that they had just started building, a cute little dive restaurant with brunch goers, and a dog park full of playful pups.  I would definitely tack this on to the list of just great workouts.

I knew I needed to refuel following my workout, so I chowed down on a Cookies and Cream Quest Bar.

 

These little protein bombs are all over the fitness world right now.  I see them constantly on blogs and instagram accounts.  They offer 21 grams of protein, 1 gram of sugar and 68% of your daily dietary fiber all for 180 calories.  Oh, and they’re delicious.  This flavor, the smores and the chocolate chip cookie dough are my favorite.  They’re a little expensive and they don’t sell them at the grocery store that I frequent in New Jersey, so when I saw them in Houston I picked up a couple to treat myself.

It is extremely nice to be back home though.  I can’t wait to get back in to my regular groove and start hitting the BBG and my runs hard this week to keep with it.  But for now, here’s a little picture of my crazy friends and I from this weekend.

-sj