1)    My internal alarm clock is clearly set at 6 a.m. Period. No matter what. Even if I don’t have to get up early for anything. (On one hand, that makes morning workouts a tiny bit easier. On the other, blech.)

2)    I’m still a procrastinator. I’ve battled it for years. I’m still losing the war.

3)    Running is hard. Like, really hard. (Makes sense. If it were easy, everyone would do it.) But, seriously, it’s harder than I remember. (Like 5 years ago.) I’m not sure if it’s because I’m closer to the big 4-0, or because of my health changes (the stroke), but every step is a challenge (and usually accompanied by whining and/or complaining). It really makes me wonder if the 5k in October is doable, much less the half-marathon in December. (No. Just no. It’s totally doable. I just have to keep going. I can do this! /pep talk).

4)    Turtle brownies are not as good as regular brownies. Since I have a startling lack of willpower—well, not startling—I abandoned all pretense of sticking to my eating plan when Baby Brother told me he was making them. Along with the ribs, sausage, baked mac-and-cheese, and green beans on the menu. (Actually, I bought cauliflower to sub for the pasta for me, but he totally had me at “brownies.” However, they were sadly not as good as I’d hoped….)

5)    Eating a large meal that’s off-plan is…honestly, it makes me feel overly full, bloated, and sleepy. And I don’t like that. (Note to self: don’t do it! It’s not worth it.) Baby Brother is a fantastic cook, and the meal was great, but the aftermath…? Completely not worth it. I don’t feel guilty, exactly, so that’s a plus (one emotional response initiated by eating gone), but the meal, no matter how tasty, was not worth the ensuing lack of energy, the lethargy, and the let-down (see what I did there?).

Lessons learned.