Since Marine Corps, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about racing, and I’ve toyed with signing up for about 15 different marathons next year and twice as many halfs…

But as for actually running? Yeah…you could say my motivation has waned a bit.

Yesterday, I sat around for much of the day doing nothing (hello, all or nothing: I either am doing ALL THE THINGS or I am a bump on a log on my couch) and attempting to get motivated to run. I had no planned run with a buddy and no goal race that I’m working towards, and so the run didn’t happen.

But I did go lift.

Who am I? I chose lifting over running?

I’m glad I have this new strength thing (and Jess!) to keep me motivated because this is definitely A Thing for me post-marathon. Despite not being a super Type-A person (trust me, come look at my desk and then let’s also talk about my hatred for spreadsheets), I really like the structure a training plan gives my life, and especially my weekends.

(I loved the painting on the side of this deli.)

Anyway, I needed a good run with my running buddy Rebecca, so I texted her last night to ask if we could run together. She had brunch plans so she asked if I could come to Brooklyn to run with her. I’m usually too lazy to get on the subway to run, but I knew running with her was the only way I’d make myself run today. The train was having issues (ON THE WEEKEND, SHOCKER) and I ended up being late to meet up with her so we only had a bit of time to run together.

That little bit of running time with someone else was all I needed to motivate myself again. She left me sort of near Prospect Park, and I was going to run back to a subway stop closer to Manhattan to maximize run time and minimize train time. She gave me directions, and I didn’t even look at my phone once to get back to Borough Hall. (I have a serious lack of navigational skills.) I started my watch without waiting for it to find satellites, so I don’t know how far I ran, but I ran for an even 60 minutes, so I’m guessing about 6 miles.

Hello, Borough Hall. Happy holidays to you, too! The city getting decked out for the holidays is making me so happy. I got my tree last night, and I love how it makes my apartment smell. Also, pro tip to New Yorkers? Whole Foods (or at least the Chelsea one) has trees for cheaper than the street vendors do.

Do you do better with or without a training plan? I generally do better with, but I usually need just a little time between races without a formal one to prevent burnout.

I remember when I was losing weight and getting really into health and fitness, it was so much fun to me! It was so novel.

A coworker at the time said to me, “You’re only so into this because it’s fun to you right now. It won’t always be fun.”

I don’t know about that, buddy. I think I’ve kept it fun. There’s a whole lot in this life that isn’t fun, so it’s my personal philosophy to have as much freaking fun as I can where I can, and that includes making my workouts fun to me, too. I’m choosing to work out, so I’m going to enjoy my workouts.

It took me a long time to get into strength training because I didn’t think it was fun, but working with Jess is keeping it interesting and fun. She sends me workouts, and then I do them on my own. When I was lifting on Wednesday, I realized that maybe this lifting thing could be fun as I’d get better and stuff. Just like running.

Speaking of fun, I had a lot of it last night.

Last night, I went to our Junior League Golden Tree shopping event. Cocktails and shopping? Okay, twist my arm. Last night, they honored those celebrating milestone anniversaries. I’ve been a member for five years, so I got this lovely white rose, which I miraculously did not lose despite carrying it all night. I behaved and didn’t buy much other than some AMAZING nuts my friend Mary makes and a Christmas ornament.

I hung out with my buddy Shannon, who I hadn’t seen since I spent a week on her couch during the hurricane.

And this awesome lady.

She was going to the Lilly Pulitzer warehouse sale yesterday, and I asked if I could give her money and sizes, if she could pick out a few things for me.

SHE CAME BACK WITH 12 DRESSES FOR LESS THAN $200. I am a very happy camper right now.

How do you keep working out fun? More importantly, how do you keep life fun?