You know how they say that making plans to work out with someone is a great way to make you sure you go? That was definitely the case for me this morning. I had my alarm set for 5:15 to meet my running buddy Shawn at the gym and run on the indoor track at 6:00. I turned my alarm off and laid back down for just a second and the next thing I know my cell phone is ringing downstairs, it’s 5:45 and I’m stumbling around in the dark rubbing sleep out of my eyes and jamming my toe on the suitcase that I’ve yet to put away.

Ah, Tuesday.

But I made it! Thank God he called (Shawn, not God) to make sure I was up and still planning to go. I rode my bike despite the fact that was cold and dark. It’s only a mile and the waning moon lit the road until I got out of our neighborhood and the street lights lead the rest of the way.

We warmed up on the 150 m track for a few laps and then did intervals, sprinting once around and then two recovery laps. Five sets of intervals with a couple cool down laps at the end and before we knew it a half hour had passed. I normally hate running on the indoor track but it was bearable with a friend.

After our run we hit the weight room and I heard the Jillian Michaels on my shoulder whispering (screaming) “no resting between sets!” so after working the chest for one set of 10 I moved on to the lower body for a set of 10. This gives my chest muscles a chance to recover while I work my legs but my heart rate stays elevated. 3 sets each and then I moved on to arms and abs with the same approach and ended up spending about 15 minutes on resistance training all together.

By the time I left the sun was up and I was treated to a beautiful (but still chilly!) ride home.

I love riding my bike to and from the gym because of course it’s environmentally friendly but really I just love that it adds another 10 minutes to my work out without really feeling like it. Let’s be honest, that’s really the best part.

I came home to whip up a bowl of fruit cereal for breakfast.

Two small diced bananas and two chopped medjool dates, all tossed in ground flax seed and unsweetened cocoa powder, topped with sliced almonds and raw cacao nibs for some crunch. Today’s milk of choice was unsweetened chocolate almond milk.

I think I’ve shaken off my funk like a dog who just emerged from the river and is covering everyone in a 10 foot radius with cold water. You’re welcome! I guess a nice morning work out and a fruit centered breakfast pushes my reset button. Now I’ve got to find the put-your-suitcase-away button. When I find I should probably push it twice, just to be safe.