Don't Be Still, My Heart!

Okay, so last night after gorging myself on a HUGE baked potato with broccoli and cottage cheese, followed by 6 Hershey peanut butter kisses, I vowed to make today a high-burn, low-intake day. What better Valentine could I give myself than to be good to my own heart, right?! Plus, I need to break this carb-binging streak I've been on and get back to my more balanced, lower cal program.

So last night I went to bed by 9am, and set the alarm for 5am so I could get up and go swim (starting this week the pool's open in the mornings, as the high school swim team just finished their season and won't be practicing every morning like they have been). I really enjoy working out in the mornings, at least running, but when I have to be at work at 7am, it makes it tough to get in a workout. Besides which, I have a hard time motivating to go run on a treadmill or around a track first thing in the morning. If I can go for a nice sunrise jog, that's a different story. But the sun's still not coming up until 7:30-ish. So I thought a swim would be more tolerable in the morning, especially because I always find the envelopment of water and the non-pounding of the swimming to be quite soothing, even if I'm working hard.

Still, when the alarm starting buzzing, I had to give myself a pretty big pep-talk to get up and dressed. It's amazing the kind of excuses I can conjure up while half-asleep! But luckily I was able to shoot down the excuses, and was walking in the door of the gym by 5:35.

A sign reading "Pool Closed Due to Mechanical Problems" greeted me at the front desk. Bummer! I was so disappointed. Now what was I going to do?! I could go home and go back to bed for an hour. No, that's lame. I could go in to work early. Nah. I could go have a muffin and coffee at the bakery. Ahem, what was this about needing to break the carb-streak?! Okay, fine, I'll work out.

So I grabbed my still-sweaty-from-yesterday's-workout sports bra out of my bag, threw on some shorts and shoes, and hit the track. I walked 1/2 a mile and jogged 1/2 a mile, at an easy-peasy pace, just warming up but also thinking about my form. Then I did some ab work and pushups and stretches. A total of about 25 minutes of work. Not much, but more than any of the other alternatives would've done. Then I showered, grabbed a coffee, and still made it to work 15 minutes early.

So my Valentine to myself didn't turn out exactly as I'd planned. But I'll have another chance to treat myself this afternoon. Hopefully by 4:45 the pool will be fixed and I can get in a 25 minute swim before my Triathlon class begins. We'll do a short bike, then some plyometrics and run a few miles. Then I'll go home and have soup and salad for dinner, with a mug of warm mint tea for dessert (NOT a box of heart-shaped candies!). I'll try a morning swim again next week.

I hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day. Do something good for YOUR heart!!!