National French Toast Day!

Did you know such a thing exists? It does! Well, according to CNN.com it does. Today is National French Toast Day, and who are we to deny such a holiday? Tonight I fixed us a little treat to celebrate!

But before I cooked dinner, I enjoyed a terrific "back to the grind" workout. (Cards on the table, before the workout, I made a cake for a friend's birthday and ate approximately one-third of the batter.)

Upper Body Series
I wanted tough upper body strength training prior to my cardio, so I created a random mash up of several arms, chest, and back exercises.

• 50 tricep dips
• 2 x 25 bicep curls (15 lbs)
• 2 x 100 crunches (I did increments of 25 or 50, including regular crunches, scissor kicks, bicycle abs, etc.)
• 30 Baby Swans
• 2 x 30 Straddle Side Leans (sit in a straddle with your hands behind your head; lean side to side, trying to touch your elbows to your knee)
• 20 push ups

After my upper body series, I headed to our complex's mini gym for a three-mile run, which turned into a fun little workout.

Increasing Speed Treadmill Workout

• Miles 1 and 2: Start at 6.0; increase speed by 0.1 mph every 0.2 miles
• Mile 3: Start at 7.0; increase speed by 0.1 every 0.1 miles
• For the last 0.1 mile, increase to 8.0 mph

So, at 1.5 miles, you should be going 6.7 mph. At 2.3 miles, you should be going 7.3 mph. It was an awesome challenge! And I definitely hit my fastest 3-mile time, 26:30. 

Oh, about that French toast: I whipped up Almond French Toast, omitting the seasonings and using almond extract. The almond extract reminds me of almond croissants, one of my absolute favorite foods. We enjoyed some champagne, apples, and bananas with our toast to round out the meal and properly celebrate the holiday. Hope you celebrated in style, too!