My 'perfect' morning routine

Phew! What a hectic week!
Of course I highly anticipated this and also of course, I didn't get into my usual prepping ahead and organising that I usually, meticulously, do when school is back on the cards. But we'll go into more on that in some later posts- for now, I'm just happy it's SATURDAY!

Snoopy happy dance totally happening over here!

Without a doubt, the best way to ensure that my day kicks off on an upbeat, positive and energetic foot, is to include my 'perfect' morning routine! I say 'perfect' because it is perfect! For meee! Someone else might find this to be the cruelest form of torture on the planet. Each to their own!

Firstly? Waking up! Specifically, waking up nice and early (unless I'm ssuupppeeeerrr tired, then sleep is higher on the priority list!) and now that it's Winter, that means waking up when the stars are still shining :)

Next? Water :) I drink lots of water because my body tells me it needs it- and then thanks me with feeling good :)
Then I researched why and discovered there was some actual science behind it:

After some water and a touch of blog reading (waking me up fully) I change into my running gear, stretch up the sleepy limbs, do some active stretches:

(really good for running!) and head out (or in- to the treadmill- as was the case this morning) for a quick run.
You may remember from this post that I've decided to take a break from my long (around 2 hours, 20km.. yep still can't believe I did those) runs and focus more on shorter and quicker runs.

The verdict?
Good decision! Apart from not stressing over getting to bed early enough to get enough sleep to wake up at 4:30am to run 20km (which, now that I look back on it, caused way too much stress for my liking) I've actually noticed some changes physically as well as mentally! I have more energy, I feel better, I don't have the runner's bloat that comes with super long distances, I don't get over-exercising head aches, or fatigue and I just feel... better!

So, today I ran it out nice and fast for 30 mins on the treadmill and felt great!
Something I had no idea about- how different shorter faster runs are compared to extremely long distances. I am out of breath about 10 minutes in to a quick run and quite worn out after only 30 mins- but in a really good way. Whereas I could run for 2 hours at a very slow pace and not collapse afterwards- but didn't feel the happy buzz of exercising.

Don't believe I get worn out after a quick run? I have picture proof:

Yep, sweat, puffing and frizz galore! We don't all look like models when we workout!

My final stage of a perfect morning?

BREAKFAST!!

(And maybe a shower first :)

This morning there were some overly-ripe plums in our fruit bowl, a small spotty banana, an almost-empty-jar of peanut butter and a girl with a slightly large obsession for oats ready for breakfast...

Can you guess what I did? ;)
Into a saucepan went 1/2-3/4 cup steel cut oats + 1 small banana + 1 juicy, chopped plum (I froze the other one for some plum fro-yo) + 1 cup almond milk + 1 cup water- cooked on medium heat for 20 mins, until liquid absorbed and the let to sit for another 5 to cool before adding in a few scoops of greek yoghurt for added protein and cheesecake-ness :)

Poured into an almost empty jar of peanut butter (with a little extra peanut butter in the middle and on top)

Mmmmmmm, this was so good!

May have gone a little over board with the peanut butter... but can you ever really go overboard with peanut butter? (I guess if you grab a spoon and the entire thing...)

Anywho, it was delicious, filled me up and is a great option for recovery fuel after working out

It also looks really pretty too- another fundamental element of my breakfasts (unless it's a chocolate green monster smoothie- no one can make that look pretty!)

That's what a perfect morning looks like for me! (Of course finishing it off with writing up a blog post ;)

What about you?
What does a perfect morning include for you?
Do you prefer running in the morning or at the end of the day? I've switched from after school to early morning- who knows maybe I'll switch back!
Favourite recovery breakfast? Oats, and lots of em'!

Well, I seem to have rambled on for far long than anticipated, so I'll leave you now to your weekend!Relax, have fun, take a breather (that's what I'll be doing!) and eat something delicious! Bye friends! :D