I’ve been mulling over what I wanted to highlight in today’s 3 things Thursday and then I read Nicole’s post and knew that it was a time to be thankful. I could sit here and complain (again) about not being able to run, but really what good is it? Being thankful is so much more fun!

1. I’m thankful I’m not completely sidelined

Yes, not running is a bummer, but I’m so thankful I can still work out. If I had been sidelined from working out entirely I would be in a much worse place then I am right now – and I’m grateful that I can still break a sweat, burn some calories, and ride waves of endorphins. I still have days where it’s a little rough logging into DailyMile and seeing all the awesome runs that people are having, but then I remind myself that laying off running now will help me have a longer running career later. And every time I finish a work out I rejoice that I was able to do it and wonder how anyone could ever hate working out. While I may still long to lace up my running shoes and hit the pavement, lifting weights and going to hot yoga are a good secondary options.

2. I’m thankful for Jamie Eason’s Live Fit Program

I’m in the process of putting together a post about this, but suffice it to say lifting weights has been a humbling experience that I’m extremely grateful for experiencing and never would have done if I was still running. I’ve realized that I’m not as strong as I thought it was and it’s been fun being sore from lifting. I’ve really enjoyed getting to the gym and trying out new weight lifting exercises that I usually reserve for the boys. I think it’s good to get out of our comfort zones, and running had definitely become a comfort zone and a crutch for me – I was decently good at it and I continued to make it the main focus of my life… not necessarily a bad thing, but I mentioned wanting to get out of my comfort zone at the beginning of the year and lifting weights with the big boys at the gym has done that. Being sidelined from it for the last month has taught me that a little balance is a good thing. And that I have incredibly weak arms.

3. I’m thankful for awesome family members

I never talked about going to see the Rice trainer but I’m so glad my father-in-law was able to get me an appointment there. He didn’t really tell me anything I didn’t already know, but having a second opinion from a respected sports trainer made me feel better that I just need some down time and lots of foam rolling, stretching, and icing. I’ve used my foam roller more in the past week then I have, well, ever. Also on a high note, I am apparently really flexible for a runner according to both the sports docs I’ve seen, so I’ll count that as a win!

4. BONUS: I’m thankful for early morning workouts

Louie doing a perfect impression of me in the mornings.

I used to be the queen of getting up early and working out but marathon training kind of halted that due to the sheer amount of time running long miles takes up. However now that I’ve joined a gym again and am faced with either waking up early to go to an empty gym or battling mass amounts of people in the gym in the evening I’ve resorted back to 4:45-5am wakeup calls. Completely worth it to go when no one is there. Plus then I’m done for the day and can enjoy coming home with no obligations other than spending time with the boy. Win.

What are you thankful for this week?