Hi, it’s me. It’s Wednesday. Workout Wednesday to be exact. And I don’t mean to start out this post complaining but I have to say it: I AM ALREADY OVER THE COLD WEATHER. Running in the cold SUCKS. Will I still go out in it? Well yes. But I will bitch about it as often as possible. Legit I would take running in 90% + 90% humidity over anything below 30*. Quite possibly in the minority there, but I like to be different! 😉

Top 3 Questions of the Week

How do you keep your skin/lips moisturized when running outside in the cold weather? How do you avoid super dry skin?

I go through A LOT of lip balms and tins of salve. But to be fair, I do year round. This Rosebud Lip Salve has been my go-to for 5+ years and before super cold runs, I obsessively put on this Rescue Lip Balm from Burt’s Bees. I actually leave it in my middle console in my car so I never forget it. Another thing that has helped my lips is religiously putting this sleeping mask on them every night before bed. As for my skin…that’s tougher. I have naturally medium-to-oily skin so I can maybe count on one hand how many times I’ve had ‘dry skin’ issues, even in the Winter. Recently I have added a few Farmacy Beauty products into my nightly routine (this lightweight moisturizer & this hydration mask) and have noticed a big difference in how hydrated and dewy my skin looks when I wake up. One thing I will scream from the rooftops in terms of skincare though…SUNSCREEN. It’s especially important on those frigid days. My go-to sunscreens are Tula, this one from Supergoop and this one from Biossance.

Why are you cutting back your running?

Long story short: to give my body a little bit of a break. My fertility doctor recommended I keep my weekly mileage under 20, ideally more than 15-18 miles/week max. She’s the expert, so that makes the cut-back a no brainer. I’m also not a huge fan of treadmill running so it makes sense to scale back my miles during the colder months and it’s not like we have any in-person races I need to be ready for. I’m very grateful to not have experienced any burnout from running in 2020 and I’d like to keep it that way! December’s mileage goal isn’t so much of a ‘I’d like to run X miles’ but instead is ‘I need to keep my monthly miles under 75.’ I hit 1,000 miles in mid-October so I’ve already blown that goal out of the water, meaning I feel like I can coast now. Workout Wednesday will still stand as a double day for me, but I’m thinking I may swap to biking being my double the rest of this month.

Where or who do you gain workout inspiration from?

Real people. Real women, and a few men too, that have other things going on. Ones who fitness is a passion and priority but it comes after their other life responsibilities. Professional athletes, Peloton trainers, fitness ‘models,’ they’re all great but that’s not attainable for 99% of the population. Don’t get me wrong, I sometimes envy those who get PAID to workout full time, but then I wonder if burnout comes quicker. People who have overcome injuries, adversities, lost a significant amount of weight, persevered in tough times yet are still achieving their fitness goals…those are who I gain workout inspiration from. I’ve tagged a few girls on Instagram under today’s (12/2) post that I love following. They each motivate me in their own ways. Seeing their workouts on their stories, or in their feeds, pushes me. **Side note: TELL those who inspire you that they do. It’s one of the biggest compliments you can give. You never know what that kind word can do for someone’s confidence.

Workout Wednesday Workout of the Week

LEG-FOCUSED

What you’ll *ideally* need – light band, heavy band, set of heavy dumbbell, set of medium dumbbells. To make this harder, UP YOUR WEIGHTS FRIEND! Need it a bit less intense? Knock the rounds down to 3 and ease up on the weights you grab. Enjoy! xox

· xox, Kristin ·