I’m allergic to mornings

I’m fairly certain I’m allergic to Mondays.  To be fair, it’s mornings in general.  I’ve NEVER been a morning person.  My eyes are typically at half-mast and I struggle with getting out of bed and jumping right into getting ready for the day.  I like some time to sit around and adjust to the concept of being up for the day.  If I were wise, I would get up earlier in order to appease this slow wake up, but I laugh in the face of this concept.

Anyway, I had a decent work out week last week considering my irritated stomach.  I managed 25 miles.  While it fell short of my 37.5 mile goal, I’m taking the win.  Saturday, I ventured out for my first set of miles in the wilderness (a.k.a. my urban-esque neighborhood).  I was a bit nervous, I felt it was going to be UGLY.

this is exactly what I was worried about… look – I’m running! five minutes later, I’d be flat on the ground hoping to be picked up by a good samaritan.

It was the first nice weekend we’ve seen all winter.  The students who live in the neighborhoods around me were enjoying it and I should have gone earlier to avoid the masses.  It did make me run faster though.  I did 5.5 miles.  There was some walking, especially up “fitness hill”.  For the uninitiated, “fitness hill” is right at the start of my route and I know I’m gaining fitness/endurance when I can run up the whole thing.  I’ll get there.

I was pleased with the outcome and was able to run a lot more than I anticipated.  With the extra walking I did that day, I scored 8 miles for the day – yay!  These are the most miles I’ve covered in a while, outside of the many miles in New Orleans.  It helped to brighten my overall outlook on this whole running deal.  While the treadmill is very handy and I am grateful to have one, I perform much better outside.  I forget about this though and set out with the mindset that it will be just as difficult as it is inside.  So, it’s always pleasant to experience some better-than-expected-miles.

Yesterday I was sore!  I set out do some walking (on the treadmill as I was very short on time) and my legs were questioning my logic.  Definitely some DOMS happening!  Nevertheless, I wanted that 25!

In other non-related news, some co-workers headed down to the Vera Bradley outlet sale and I put my order in for the “Weekender”.  It’s an airline-legal carry on and I’ve been looking for something for my upcoming travels.  Check out my new (and half off!) treasure:

the outside

the inside

P.S. these hastily taken pictures don’t do it justice – even my chubby-bunny of cat could fit in this puppy with room to spare.

I also high tailed it to Amazon with my schmancy birthday gift card (thanks sister!) and purchased a memory foam mattress topper.  I didn’t go overboard with regards to price, and I read enough reviews to turn my eyes blurry.  I also chose a plant-based one as they are reported to keep you cooler and smell less chemically.  It’s also 2 inches thick in case anyone was wondering.  When I was in New Orleans, the bed had a memory foam topper and it was one of the best nights of sleep I’ve had in

Since then, I realize just how hard it is for me to get/stay comfortable while (sort of) sleeping.  Who knows, maybe this won’t help at all but maybe I will feel so well-rested that I will turn into a morning person after all!

ha! yeah… not really