Saturday Mournings

So, I’ve realized that no matter what, I’m going to have crazy dreams, and wake up exhausted every day.  It doesn’t matter how many times I hit snooze, or if I get 6 hours of sleep or 9.  I’m going to wake up feeling like death and murderous rage and vomit all at the same time.

Last January I joined a running club and started getting up around 6.15 on Saturday mornings to have time to eat some toast, drink some coffee and wake up before heading out for a trot in the cold.  I never thought I could do this, because of the whole I HATE MORNINGS thing, but yet,  found I didn’t feel any MORE tired, than I already did, and in fact once I got the blood pumping, I generally felt a lot better after a jog.  My daily headaches diminished, and my little endorphin friends hung out for awhile, so I was less grouchy (still grouchy, just LESS).  Yes, I was tired later in the day, .but I was ALWAYS tired later in the day, but now I had a reason, and more toned thighs.  Having the long runs on Saturdays meant I had to be sure to train the rest of the week.  It was hard, but I did it for that Saturday morning feeling.

The cold weather is upon us again and back in October I started getting back into running (I absolutely cannot run during the 6 months out of the year that it is over 60 degrees – I overheat and can run a mere 0.003 miles without dying) and even though I still hate the mornings, running helps make them a little more manageable.  I’ve been really looking forward to running in 20-30 degree weather, with snowflakes catching on my eyelashes.  For me, there’s not a more energizing feeling.

The sad news is that I have been consistently getting ovarian cysts, and each time I get them, I am informed by my doctor that running is out of the question (as the bouncing could result in the heavy ovary flipping, causing the fallopian tube to crimp, and could result in a loss of ovary!  No bueno).  Since they take a few weeks to diminish, this makes it impossible to crank up the mileage.

So, the question arises.  How on Earth am I going to get myself to get my ass out of bed, reduce those headaches, be in a better mood,  and (most importantly), maintain those toned thighs?