I Love Saturdays!

I love Saturdays and waking up to a day stretched out ahead of me with endless possibilities. This morning I woke to a house full of young adults recounting their Friday night antics and preparing for a Birthday bash at our cousin's cabin in the mountains.  There was frenzied activity as breakfast was served, bags were packed for the night and last minute arrangements were completed. After a hectic hour, they hit the road with Chuck in tow, so he could insure everything was working for their big night. Suddenly the house was quiet and the morning stretched ahead of me. What to do?

I was feeling a little sleepy as we all had played late into the night. The thought of laying back down seemed very enticing.  Since Chelsey had come home for the summer, I rarely found myself alone in the house, and a peaceful nap sounded a little luxurious. I knew if I laid down, however, I would never make it to my work-out. While I had definitely danced for a large part of the evening before, I had not made it to the gym for my fourth work-out of the week. A part of me thought it might be OK to count the dancing in my weekly tally, but the little angel on my shoulder told me I was only cheating myself.

So instead of laying down, I threw on my work-out clothes and headed to the gym. It was definitely an indoor day and my cardio of choice today was the elliptical. I expected to struggle after the late night, but oddly enough I found myself picking up the pace. After ten minutes, I found myself working at the fastest pace I had ever hit before and feeling great. I kept waiting for my body to give out, but it kept surprising me and didn't. Twenty minutes into the routine and I was still working hard and strong. The rest of my work-out continued with the same success. I was able to keep up the increased pace for over two miles. I was able to increase my weights, and I was able to double my Ab routine sets. I finished feeling very pleased with myself, but frankly surprised.

Not only had I started my work-out tired from the night before, but my last work-out on Thursday (post Chuck's pace setting four miles walks) had been anything but successful. I had to cut the walk short, wasn't able to push myself through the weight routine and had to decrease the repetitions in my sets of Sit-ups. Here it was only two days later, and I managed to have the best work-out I had to date. I'm not sure I'll ever understand the change in my abilities from day to day, but I was thankful that today I felt the endorphins surging and the feeling of accomplishment. It was a great way to start my Saturday, and set the tone for the remainder of my day!