Effort

What the h-bomb? I went to bed at 10pm last night to be rested and ready for a nice jog this morning. I read for a while and probably fell asleep around 11pm with my alarm set for 6:30am. I woke up at 12:30, 2:30, 3:45, and finally just got up at 4am. FOUR O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING. WHO DOES THAT?!?! Well, if you know me, I don't stay awake long :-) I got up, moved around, checked good old facebook, ate a banana and drank some water, and hoped to be out the door by 5-5:30 for the run. Would be nice to get it done BEFORE the sun comes up and melts me into a puddle again today.

Today was all about putting in the effort. I went to bed early (check). Woke up early (check). Went out and started jogging (check). Increased first run by 1 minute (check) - so, 13 minutes. However, after a 3 minute break, I could BARELY pull myself through 3 minutes before walking . . . and walking and and that was all my body would do! I started trying to figure out what in the world was going on: was I just plain not rested? Too much refined sugar yesterday? Humidity/heat getting to me? I haven't donated plasma since last Monday (although it looks like they punched me in the arm yesterday). I didn't know what was going on - so, I started thinking about the physical "feelings" that were happening: chest kinda heavy but more like lungs-area, and my pec-minor area under the clavicle was pulling tight on both sides, but no really noticeable symptoms. I decided that I had better just focus on breathing well, stretching my shoulders and chest, and repeat a positive mantra - that my mentality focusing on "what's wrong?" wouldn't get me home any faster!

Not that I encourage those who are in pain or having a hard time breathing to push through and ignore symptoms. I just knew that I was either fatigued, poorly nourished, dehydrated, or a combination of all of these. Instead of feeling defeated, I reminded myself that I was still out and moving, it was a gorgeous morning, and my dog and I were having a good time :-) So, what started off to be about a 30-40 minute jog/walk ended up being a 13-minute jog to start with followed by a 40-minute walk. No worries. Nice to be out and doing something this morning while it was still relatively cool and quiet out!

Morale of the post: put an effort forth. You will be glad you did :-)

P.S. I came home and ate an apple with almond butter. Finished my cup of coffee+milk+creamer and am now drinking tea. Ready for a DELISH salad in a little while (with Satchel's dressing...YUM!)