Happiest of Happiest Friday friends! We may actually get snow here this coming weekend, which is really exciting (although I truthfully have really loved being able to run outside with dry roads and not having to worry about driving in the snow...) because our ski mountain desperately needs some fresh new powder! While I no longer figure skate for myself (very much anyways..), I still LOVE to watch all of the International Competitions and tonight is the Ladies Freeskate (which will help determine who will be representing the US at the Winter Olympics this year). I look forward to this night every year and stock-pile with somewhat unhealthy dinner (think: nachos or mac 'n cheese or something equally cheesy and almost 0% veggie-related) and candy for the 2-hour event. I CANT WAIT. Normally I can convince Alex to watch it with me (he's such a great sport) and I think with the unhealthy food, he'll be ready to hunker down ; )

Because it is SO chilly and cold on the East Coast (sorry friends...) these past few weeks (and even snowy), I wanted to share with you 5 tips that I use to help get me out of bed early to run when it's cold and dark out. I'll be using a few of these tips this morning as I've got 10 miles to get in before 7:30! Hellooo.... 5AM wake-up call. 

1. Have a reward if you get your work-out in. It's normally a hot latte from Starbucks for me (I love their Hazelnut latte with Almond Milk) and this is also something that keeps me moving outside when it's cold and all I want to do is go back to the warmth of a treadmill.

2. Set a few alarms. Yeah, this works and it's annoying. I normally set 3 to go off every 5 minutes. By the third one, I'm so annoyed that I get out of bed just to make it stop. 

3. Set your workout clothes out the night before. If I do end up skipping my run in the morning, walking by those clothes later in the day really guilt-shames me. 

4. Set your coffee to go off in the morning. There is really nothing better than waking up and knowing that there is fresh pot of coffee downstairs waiting for you....

5. Get a kitten that likes to wake you up very early by biting your face off. This seems to work pretty well for me....

What are your weekend plans?

How do you get yourself out of bed for an early morning run in the morning? Any tips?