Thursday morning I woke up to this.

It was hands down the most beautiful snow I had seen in quite some time. However, it really put a damper in my running plans.

I had laid out my clothes on Wednesday night knowing that no matter what happened with the weather I was going to be on the treadmill. My alarm went off at 4:15 am and I peeked outside to see what was going on.

Based on the snow I figured for sure that my work would have a 2 hour delay. We rarely close but since the last small snow we got resulted in one, I just assumed it would happen again. I figured an email would come through around 5-6 so I re-set my alarm and went back to sleep.

I’ve seriously been lacking in the sleep department this week.

When my alarm went off the second time, I checked my email and realized that I didn’t have anything. I sent a quick text to double check and sure enough we had no delay. Seriously!? I knew immediately I had no time to get my run in.

Normally I’m okay with skipping a running day. It’s not going to kill you every now and again, but Thursday meant it was time for a workout. It is a bit harder for me mentally to come to terms with skipping a workout.

Thankfully work was crazy as we are approaching month end so it took my mind off of it for most of the day. I know in the long run it won’t make much of a difference but it was still a bit hard for me to come to terms with.

I originally thought I’d get in my workout after work on the treadmill. Two problems arose with this: I did not have the energy to get in an actual workout and our treadmill died on my husband this morning (grrr!)

After I got home my husband and I went on a short 2.5 mile easy run around the neighborhood. It was short and sweet but it kept my legs moving which was important!

I decided to spend the night hanging out with the husband and fur friends and that turned my entire day around!

One thing I am thankful of even when I don’t run, is that I can still get some other great workouts with the Lorna Jane Fit Challenge!

The first part of the challenge talks about setting goals.

This was tough for me starting out because honestly it has been a long time since I have had anything but running goals. I decided to focus on small things.

My main goals of the Phase 1:

• Figure out a routine to be able to fit both running and the challenge
• Improve core strength
• Improve overall strength
• Improve flexibility

They are all pretty general, but they are all things vitally important to running. These were also things that I had begun focusing on since my last marathon which meant I had a decent base to start from.

The first couple weeks were a bit hard figuring everything out. I always woke up first thing to get my run done in the morning, and then after I get home in the evening try to fit in the workouts.

The great thing I love about them so far, is that you can customize them as you need. One example of this is sometimes the workouts call for burpees. While these are great things I try to avoid lots of heavy impact jumps. I usually substitute these with something else or add in some extra squats and lunges.

The workouts are tough, but not impossible and not so over the top that I can’t do them because I’m so extremely sore for my runs. The fact that I can do all of the workouts at home is also a BIG plus! I’ve been trying to make it to the gym more often each week, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen. Being able to go home and still get my workout in is wonderful.

So far I am really LOVING this challenge and am so glad that I’ve chosen to take a part in it! Don’t forget to join the LJ Fit Challenge Facebook group!

Did you get snow where you were?

What is your biggest focus outside of running?.