Just 5 More Minutes... please!

Ran/Walked: 3 miles

I don't know what it is with me - but I always have the WORST time waking up in the morning. I am the snooze queen and will literally hit snooze until the very last second. Case in point - today. I was meeting up with Danielle for a 6 am run at her house which is a little less than 20 minutes away. I WANTED to wake up at 5 so that I could eat something and let it digest a little. I went to bed last night with my alarm set for 5 am determined to not hit snooze.. EPIC.FAIL! I woke up at 5 -- even climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom -- then immediately crawled right back under the covers. I'm not sure why I do this? I know that that extra 5, 10 or even 15 minutes is NOT going to have any real benefits to me. It's especially hard when my husband is still in bed.. Typically he's up that early and I'm the one sleeping in until 9 am. So when I wake up and he's still in bed, it's even worse -- I want to be in bed under the covers with him next to me and our dog at the foot of the bed. This morning I slept in until 5:30, which meant that I had exactly 10 minutes to get myself dressed and take Sully to the bathroom.. Needless to say, I was a few minutes late this morning. A blogger that I have been following for a few years says that she sleeps in her workout clothes - I think I may need to try that for my next early morning workout. 

I wish that I could say that this was my only "5 more minutes" fail of the day. When I got home from running, I stretched and immediately went back to bed. I was back in bed by 7:30 and slept until 9:30. Considering I have to be at my desk for 9:35, I was thankful that I work from home and that I had already taken care of Sully's bathroom needs. 

Our run this morning was good. I'm still recovering from being sick, so it's back to being inconsistent with running.. Though I guess I'm always pretty inconsistent with my running - healthy or not. I really need to lose this excess weight. I cannot believe that I gained back so much of what I had lost. Especially considering that I still had weight to lose. Ugh. If only it wasn't so easy to gain... and SO hard to lose. I really need to start going back to the gym. I know that it will only help me improve my running by A) losing weight and B) strengthening my core. I literally.just.hate.it though :( It's so easy for me to get out and go for a run - especially now that I am running with others, but I cannot for the life of me get to the gym lately. I have been seeing a dietician and I know that I have been losing muscle mass, but for some reason - I just can't make it to the gym.. there's always an excuse. 

I've been thinking about cancelling my gym membership and joining the YMCA. I'm really torn about what I want to do. Here are the options:

1) Keep my current gym membership. Pros: It costs $20 per month with a $40 per year annual fee for both myself AND my husband (though he doesn't use it.) They are less than a mile from my house - in the past I have even run to the gym, worked out and then walked or ran home. They are open 24/7. Cons: They do not have any exercise programs. They also do not have an indoor running track or pool.

2) Leave my current gym and join the YMCA. Pros: They have exercise classes included in their fee (I've been DYING to try spinning). They also have an indoor pool and indoor track. They have childcare for when you are there (obviously doesn't matter now, but may come into play within the next couple of years.. *I hope*). Cons: It is more expensive. It would be a $75 one time joining fee and $42 per month just for myself. They are a 10-15 minute ride away, depending on how you hit the lights. Obviously this is not super far, but when you are used to less than a mile away -- it makes a difference. They are not 24/7.. Now I don't think that I'd be wanting to use the gym before 5 am or after 10 pm, but it is nice having the flexibility of a 24 hour facility. Also, my friend Sarah has informed me that they do close on a lot of the holidays and when it snows.

3) Have both. The best of both worlds. I know that this sounds ridiculous - but the way that I am looking at it is that Gym A covers myself and my husband. If he were to get a membership to the gym on his own, it would cost $20 per month easily. However, he has also been to the gym less times than I can count on both of my hands.. in 8 years - so I think I'm just reaching here. I'M.SO.TORN!

Other than this decision, which isn't a huge one - but is taking up a lot of my time lately - things are good.. I had mixed emotions on my run today. I had to walk a couple of times because of side stitches.. WTH. I've NEVER had side stitches.. I have had - a stress fracture, shin splints, a knee problem that I don't even know what it is, tight calves.. but never side stitches.. I don't even know what they are.. Sean used to be a cross country runner and says that it has to do with how you are breathing. He said that it's common when you are chatting with another runner.. and yes, I was with Danielle today. However, we weren't even really talking any more than I've talked on other runs.. I did notice that my breathing was hard to regulate today... which could be because we were going faster than I normally run, or because I'm still getting over my cough. I was excited, though, because my pace seems to be naturally increasing. When we were running today, we were running at an 11:40 minute/mile pace. Now if only I could keep that up for an extended period in time. I'm excited to run with Courtney, a mom from the Mom's running group, tomorrow. I am going to try and run with the cough drops again and see if that makes a difference with my breathing.. We shall hope!