On the wagon still!

Full steam ahead with my workout goals. A hangover can't even stop me now! On Saturday morning I went to the gym right away. I am  realizing that working out first thing in the day is the best choice for me. I have heard that people who work out in the morning are more likely to stick with their workouts. (They're also more likely to fall asleep in the parking lot when they get to work, but that's another issue.) The reason you stick with a.m. exercise is because nothing derails you: not the grocery store, not your dog's sad eyes that scream I've been alone all day, walk me now!, not the hundred other things that enter your brain as soon as you come home and drop your keys down. If you can get up with that alarm, that's 90 percent of the battle.

I'll be truthful here and admit that I hit snooze too long this morning. By the time I dragged my pillow-smushed face from my perfect cocoon, it was after 6:00. I only had time for a 30-minute Jillian Yoga Meltdown DVD but that's OK. I didn't chuck the whole plan since there wasn't time for an hour of exercise. I still got up. I did something. My body and my psyche were better for it.

It's true that morning workouts can energize you but they can also deplete you. I drove to work, parked in the lot, then promptly reclined my seat and took a quick snooze ... before I even went into the office! I really think I'm immune to coffee.  Oh well it was a party hardy weekend with lots of socializing and little sleep. The old me would have done nothing this morning. I would've figured that if I can't go whole hog, why bother? Not so anymore. I'm sticking with my plan!

More Benefits of Yoga

I'm not sure what was wrong with my stomach -- if I had a tiny bug or what. I had a fabulous run outside on Wednesday. Hopefully the cold, damp weather didn't make me sick! On Thursday, I did not feel well and so I skipped yoga in favor of lying horizontal on the couch for most of the evening. On Friday, my stomach still wasn't as settled as I would have liked but I figured I'd still try and make it to Bikram Yoga at 6:30. Jason was headed out of town this weekend and my plans for myself included exercising all three weekend days. I really didn't want an upset stomach to deter me. One positive aspect of this yoga is that it's really all about individual ability and performance. Sometimes you are going to give it your all to go deep in each pose; other times (like me on Friday), the triumph is in the fact that you show up. If anything, I felt that being in a room so hot and humid would help expunge some toxins from my body. After the 90 minutes was up, I felt satisfied that I handled it so well. I came home and immediately flew into the shower, a very hot shower. It was a low key Friday night and I'm hoping it carries over into a productive and healthy Saturday.

Chicago

This post is for the 5 readers who wonder what happened with the sister-sister team for Sunday's 5K. Well, I hate to burst your bubble but we did not run the race. My sister is having trouble with her leg/thigh and was waiting on new orthotics that had not yet arrived for the big day. Without those helpful aids her leg was troubling her just walking around. Could we have opted to walk the race instead of running? Sure, I suppose so. However, I really don't have anything to prove to anyone that I can walk side by side with my sister for 3.2 miles. Plus, it was pouring rain that Sunday morning and, well, sometimes this is what happens. I'm comforted knowing the money still went to a good charity and the race is what got me out to Chicago for a weekend anyways. We still biked around most of the city and did plenty of walking (when it was not raining). We even went to a 90 minute yoga class on Saturday afternoon. So, I was no slouch. I love how in that city if you don't have a car and you do have a bike (or 10 of them if you're so lucky) you can build exercise into your daily transportation. Pretty cool! This actually motivated me to choose the route to work where I park my car at a friend's house and walk from there. It really doesn't save me much gas and it does double my commute time, but it's still a way to get in some exercise and fresh air. It's good to see how others get around and live their lives. New ideas can often be exciting ideas!