I’m starting to notice a Monday morning trend. I nearly always feel sluggish when I start out on Monday mornings and it takes me a while to get my energy going while on the run. Today was one of those days. It was Halloween also but no costume or dressing up for me on my run. However, it’s fun to check out all of the decorations that are still lit from overnight.
Monday’s are now hills and kettlebells. I started with a three mile run with a single, one half mile hill starting at mile two. At about the one mile mark, and as I approached the top of the hill to start down it, I finally started to feel alert. The best word I can use to describe my run up the hill is “awkward”. It didn’t feel like my legs and arms and breath were coordinated. It made the hill feel especially long.
I compared the stats between today’s run and last Monday’s identical workout and they were pretty similar. As a matter of fact, today’s run was slightly faster overall and the hill mile was nearly 30 seconds faster over the full down and up hill distance. I guess some days your perceived effort is just different. The temperature was about the same as last week. It was 51 degrees, 100% humidity and cloudy but also still dark at 5:45 A.M.
Kettlebells
After about 45 minutes for my run with a good warm up and cool down, I returned home for my kettlebell strength workout. It was an abbreviated workout again today. I made it through 11 exercises in less than 20 minutes. I would have liked to have done more but time pressure meant I needed to stop and start getting ready for work.
Nutrition
As my mileage and intensity increases so does my affinity for snacks and larger meals. I try to stay on a calculated eating plan. However, lately I’ve eaten quite a lot of off-plan meals and not just after my long runs. I’d estimate I’m about 75% compliant these days. This may be partly why my energy has been inconsistent. I’ve also wanted chocolate after meals which I have not wanted for a long time.
It may be time for a reset and then come back to my eating plan with a fresh sense of motivation. However, first, I will finish the pumpkin lasagna soup with tofu ricotta that I made recently as a test recipe for an upcoming potluck. Spoiler alert: I’m brining this and I think it’s really yummy. I don’t care if I’m the only one that eats it. When you are plant-based at a potluck, you learn to bring a dish that you know you’ll enjoy becasue it’s probably the only thing you’ll be eating. I’m used to this by now and it doesn’t bother me. It’s simply fact and I plan accordingly.
Workout
- 3 mile run with 1x’s hill