Donut Detox

I dub last week as “the week of the donut”.  Every day, donuts made their way into our office for a myriad of reasons:  Microsoft Teams demo/info sessions in the lobby, beginning of a system go-live week, the actual day of the system go-live, because it was a workday, because donuts are awesome.  Because, because, because.  It’s funny how quickly one can acclimate to something new (might be a surprise to some that donuts are not usually an everyday thing for me).  Acclimating to Florida heat and humidity has been a bit more of a process, but today showed great progress!

As I’ve written previously, I’ve been slowly working myself into becoming an early morning runner to beat the height of the heat and humidity.  This morning, I chose to forego the 4:30 am wake up call and opted for more sleep and some Saturday morning lounging.  Heading out around 9am, I figured it would be somewhat of a sufferfest, but the additional sleep and lounging was worth the later morning heat.

What happened next was a pleasant surprise and proof that I truly am acclimating to my new climate.  If you’ve been following along, you know I’m not a routine “running split sharer”, but today felt so good I had to share!  After 5 weeks of concerted effort to run consistently during the work week, to obey the early wake up calls, to adjust to the sensation of breathing through a straw, to tolerating the waterfalls of sweat, to trust the lead legs unaccustomed to the consistency, and even to pick myself up immediately after falling hard off the donut wagon….THIS>>>

My long run tomorrow should complete my donut detox.  Come Monday, let’s see if I can acclimate to a week with no donuts, shall we?

In the habit of changing a habit

They say just change one thing and that thing will help change a habit.  So, if one thing works, how about three?

Wakey wakey!

Since moving to the sunshine state, I've quickly realized that I must become a morning runner.  Unless I want to spend every running moment on the treadmill, this is becoming my norm.

And that’s just the weekdays before work.  When I go longer on the weekend, the wake up call is closer to 4:30 am to allow for some food, a drive to join other runners, and some wake up time.   It’s just too hot during the day to get a good, quality run in.  Then, add the humidity and afternoon thunderstorms.  The risk of not getting out increases by the minute.  I know that this is normal for many, but I’m not a morning person.  The struggle is real.

Extra bonus:  I get to see both sunsets AND sunrises!

Chicken Humid Soup for the Soul

And speaking of humidity, that shit is real here.  At 6 am this morning, my trusty weather app reported humidity at 95%.  Talk about soupy.

We’re well on our way to acclimating to it, though it takes awhile to cool down post run.  I gotta believe this will make me stronger when the temperature/humidity lowers.

Extra bonus:  my skin has never looked/felt better!

Running on empty 

Coke and peanut butter toast – the breakfast of champions!  This is my breakfast go-to and one that is fairly predictable when it comes to preparing for my run.  This hasn’t been as difficult to acclimate as I would’ve thought.  Maybe it’s because I’m only running 3-4 miles during the week or maybe it’s because I’m still half asleep while syncing up my Garmin.   I still crack open a Coke (that’s my coffee) so I do get a little jolt to jump start my still-asleep brain.

Extra bonus:  no digestive emergencies and a little more sleep!

Changing any habit can be difficult, but the rewards are mounting:  I feel better physically and mentally (maybe notsomuch at 4:30 am, but definitely after running), enjoy the morning running time with Scott, revel in the gorgeous sunrises, feel like I’ve got a leg up on the day by 6:45 am, and have the whole evening after work to chase the sunsets!