I gave myself a very chill agenda today. Yesterday we ended up having massive flooding in the area and I had flashbacks to the scariest drive I ever took (April 2023). I did end up making it home (everyone at work stayed in touch about which roads were drivable) but there was a minute there when I considered how bad sleeping on the hard floor of my office would really be.
(Answer: probably pretty bad, but survivable.)
ANYWAY. I did make it home but the cortisol rush was followed immediately by this feeling of OMG I AM SO TIRED. I put G to bed and ended up sleeping over 9 hours. This morning, I dropped off the girls (they have camp at the dance studio; C’s camp was cancelled but also he is a bit sick, so that worked out!), and did my workout in a leisurely fashion.
It is NOON right now and I have accomplished very little (honestly a nice reminder of why I generally aim to be DONE with all exercise by 7ish) but I feel lucky that I was able to grant myself this chill morning.
Thank you to those that shared your own golden hour victories + struggles. I still don’t feel entirely set on how this time ‘should’ be used but I think it is worth thinking about (and again – I’m very excited that there will be a whole book on it soon, plus I have easy access to the author for consultations, haha!).
Oh! And I started the strength program (The Stronger You with Ben Alldis -here’s a review I read). I was totally sore after just the TEST WORKOUT so wow. Today I did #2 (upper body). I have had to reduce weights significantly from what I was used to selecting – choosing like 8-10 lb for shoulder raises instead of 12-15 lb. And it did not feel easy plus I expect to be sore tomorrow.
One reader thought I might hate it because there is not much rest and I complained about cardio mixed in with my strength, but so far it’s okay. It’s true that a I do prefer longer rest periods but my real pet peeve is mixing in things like jump squats, mountain climbers. Maybe those are coming in workout #3 – hope not! I do like that the first workout was designed to completely fatigue one muscle group and then move onto the next.
I’m about to head out to take A to her ‘new student’ meeting at the new school – she’ll get her placements electives etc. (Maybe this is partly why I just allowed myself to call this day a wash, lol). Hopefully I can figure out where to park! Then comes the orthodontist. Please flooding rains, stay away until at least later tonight . . .
(At least I am pretty certain my golden hour activity will involve more of Still Life. I’m getting closer to the end and I want to know what happens!)
4 Comments
Oh gosh, the flooding sounds terrifying! We’ve had more flooding here, but tends to be rivers bursting their banks. It’s nice to have the occasional chill day. Hope A’s new student meeting goes well, is she excited about starting school?
I rationed the Louise Penny books, one a month, and was so sad when I finished the last one. The characters are so kindly rendered.
I really need to do some strength training. My spin class uses baby weights, and even those wear me out, although I was way less sore this week so I must be making some progress.
Yes, I was thinking about you! Luckily we’re not prone to flooding in our area, but driving has not been fun. Glad you survived and did NOT have to sleep on the floor of your office! I think the worst of it is over- I’m looking out the window at sunshine right now.
Your strength program sounds good. It’s nice to have an actual program- I’m just piecing together different workouts, which is fine, except that I tend to neglect upper body.
I hope you got to finish Still Life!
I had just finished the Arms with Tunde Program and really enjoyed having a program for strength training. I was debating doing this one or one of the splits and you’ve sold me! I’m on day two today! Thanks for the inspiration. 🙂
https://www.amazon.com/Fringe-Hours-Making-Time-You/dp/0800723481?dplnkId=f52e6629-71ce-4a50-987f-3626222a5f48&nodl=1
I liked this book about the fringe hours