A Case of the Mondays... and Tuesdays

5:00am rolled in Monday morning, and I had a ruff time getting out of bed. But I still managed to get to the gym. My hamstrings were actually pretty sore from riding the bike on Sunday. I guess that's what I get for not hopping on a saddle for 3 months. I still hammered out three miles, though, sticking to the program. I also got a second wind and hit the weights hard. I went through Lori's strength program, including working my legs, and I was dog tired afterwards.

The workout made pushing through the work day Monday tough. Not that Mondays don't normally suck. Yes, I had a total "case of the Mondays" - all day long, and even into Tuesday.

5:00am rolled in this morning (Tuesday), and if I thought Monday was tough, today was a whole 'nother story. Call it a case of the Tuesdays. The storms overnight felt like a ginormous thunderhead just hovered over our house pelting it with rain, wind, hail, and lightning bolts all night long (queue up the Lionel Richie song). It was as if I were Charlie Brown or something. Turns out I wasn't the only one that felt like this last night. The whole metro area got pelted. Both my alarm clocks went off, and I quickly turned them off (no snooze button today). And, yes, I actually laid back down in bed. Normally, this is a terrible idea. But somehow I averted drifting off for a couple hours and got my butt up after about 10 more minutes of rest.

So, off to the gym albeit a bit late. My legs were really sore from Sunday and from the strength training yesterday. Still, I got my 5 miles in and a good stretch to boot. I even tried out a PowerGel pack. Strawberry Banana this time with a caffeine. I'll no doubt need to write more another time about gel packs and fueling for races. Right now I'm experimenting, and the PowerGel was definitely more tart and a bit rougher consistency for me than the Gu gel packs I tried last week.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is a rest day for me. Normally I would be running three miles and doing more strength training, but with a vacation coming which calls for some serious driving time, I need to adjust the program a bit. That means that I need to skip this Wednesday's workout and move everything up a day for the next two weeks. That starts with Thursday's "thou shall not train" day moving up to Wednesday this week so that I can get my long run in Friday.

As for fundraising, well, all I can say is WOW! Barely more than a week into this effort and I'm at $740. Thank you, everyone!!! I continue to be amazed every day and humbled by your support and generosity. I sometimes am apprehensive of asking people I know to make a donation. Too often I feel that awkwardness that goes with it all. Then people end up donating, sometimes people I least expected for whatever reason, and had I given in to that apprehension and not asked, then St. Jude would just be short that additional money. So with the knowledge that it's going to a phenomenal cause, and helping save the lives of children and providing families with hope, I think, "If it's for charity, how can I not, at the very least, ask for support?" This was the approach employed by Celebrity Apprentice winner Piers Morgan, and it makes perfect sense.