Mondays Just Are Not My Thing

I have officially given up on Monday mornings. Every Monday morning I kid myself into believing that I will actually get up with my alarm (which is set for before 6:00am) for a training walk. Every Monday morning the same thing happens… I hit snooze at least 4 times before finally resetting my alarm (decide to walk after work), hit snooze a few more times and then shockingly end up late for work. Not this Monday. Nope, no early alarm, no snooze (okay maybe once) and well I was still late to work… but come on it is Monday!

On a side note, according to the Komen training guide, Monday is supposed to be a “rest” day. While I’m sure those who actually walked their 21 total miles this past weekend appreciated it, I felt the need to play a little catch up this Monday (like most Mondays, okay fine every Monday so far).

So this Monday I decide an evening walk is a great idea. I love the evening walks because it gives me an opportunity to make some personal calls and catch up with people who I haven’t spoken with in a while. Better yet, this Monday my husband Chad throws out the idea of walking with me! While I love my phone walking buddies, a buddy in person is even better. Like Shana this past Saturday (thank you)! It’s a great way to catch up and talk about life/your day while also getting a good walk done in what feels like half the time. Unfortunately the downside of walking after work is that we live in Washington, DC. While it’s not technically in “the south” is was built on a swamp. Aka- a humid, hot mess in the summer.

This past Monday evening was no exception to the DC summer. It was a normal hot commute home from work and a mental prep to walk. What I didn’t expect was Chad’s reaction when I got home… “You know that it IS a code RED ozone day, right?”

Okay, back story:

Chad and I lived in Houston, TX during the summer of 2003. At one point a good friend once compared the Houston Summer to the Michigan Winter. “You know how people rarely venture out during the middle of the worst of winter in Michigan? They do that here, only at the worst of summer.” They have level Purple days in Houston. Something I knew nothing about until I didn’t have a job and didn’t have cable, so all I did was read the local paper. We had two in a row when I first moved to Houston. I remember calling Chad (from the darkest corner of our apartment, shades drawn) to warn him of the side effects (BAD). So for Chad to bring up a code Red day… yikes. AKA a good excuse not walk. Only problem, I actually WANTED to walk.

So I took Monday off and made sure I walked a good walk Tuesday (6 miles). Not bad, haze and all (See photo above- only a 2 mile view away).