75 Hard Day 6: High Energy, Hot Walks & Tiny Rituals That Matter
Saturday — Day 6.
Day 6 technically started at 1:30 in the morning.
I had gone to bed around 10, but apparently my partner forgot to put the dogs in their kennels before bed.
And one of them—our oldest girl, who’s almost 10 and fully believes she runs this house—was pacing up and down the hallway basically asking someone to tuck her in and close her kennel door.
So I got up and put her to bed.
Came back to bed.
Laid there for a while.
Then shortly after, I heard my 22-year-old daughter come in.
Usually, if I wake up early, I’ll just get up and start the day.
But only if it’s after 4 AM.
1:30?
Absolutely not.
So I stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling until about 4.
Slow Start + Reading First
Once I finally got up, I started with my reading.
No 5:15 workout today—Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are off from the Zoom classes.
So the morning felt slower.
Less rushed.
Breakfast was:
2 eggs
sourdough toast
avocado
Simple and filling.
Then I spent most of the morning working on podcast episodes for the Mother Wound series I’m releasing this month.
Usually, I try to stay a full month ahead with content.
Right now, I’m only about two weeks ahead.
But that’s okay.
I’m still ahead.
And I’m learning there’s a difference between structure and pressure.
Lunch + Surprisingly High Energy
Lunch was leftovers:
green papaya salad
1 shrimp and tofu fresh spring roll
And strangely enough…
even with waking up at 1:30 in the morning, my energy stayed really high today.
Like an 8.5 out of 10 all day.
That surprised me.
First Walk + Heat Wave Reality
I took my first walk around 1 PM.
And it was hot.
The hills were brutal.
My calves were screaming, and by the end of it, I had a headache starting.
By the time I got home, my daughter looked at me and immediately asked:
“Why is your face SO red?!”
So I drank my next 32 ounces of water, laid down, and watched a little TV for about 30 minutes while my body cooled back down.
Which felt like exactly what I needed.
Snack Cravings + Salt
Later in the afternoon, I realized I was craving salt more than anything sweet.
So snack ended up being:
10 tortilla chips
5 strawberries
And it hit the spot.
Dinner (Not Every Meal Is a Winner)
Dinner was…
fine.
Definitely not my favorite meal of the week.
I made sautéed shrimp, mushrooms, and asparagus over spaghetti squash.
The original recipe actually called for spinach.
But apparently someone ate all the spinach while I was at work the day before and forgot to mention it.
So we improvised.
The recipe itself was super simple:
olive oil
salt
pepper
Italian seasoning
My partner added pesto to his.
My daughter used the cilantro lime sauce I made earlier in the week.
And I added cilantro lime sauce plus sriracha to mine.
Still not my favorite.
It probably would’ve been much better with some kind of creamy butter sauce.
But… c’est la vie.
Not every healthy dinner has to become your personality.
Second Walk + Wanting Cute Workout Clothes
After dinner, I headed out for my second walk.
And somewhere around Day 6 of walking hills every day, my brain suddenly decided:
“I need walking outfits.”
Cute matching two-piece sets.
Long sleeves.
Cute shoes.
Something to help my legs get some sun and catch up to my arms.
So now I’m officially on the hunt for cute walking clothes.
Which feels very on-brand for me.
Night Routine + Why Rituals Matter
By nighttime, my energy was somehow still sitting around an 8.5.
We just kind of puttered around the house until around 9 PM.
We were supposed to have an early Saturday morning, so bed by 10 it was.
But my brain still wasn’t slowing down.
So I made sleepy time tea and had my square of dark chocolate.
And this is one of those little rituals that genuinely helps cue my brain that it’s time to sleep.
I actually started doing this years ago when I was bartending.
I would leave work exhausted at 2 in the morning—
but the second I got home, I’d suddenly be wide awake.
So I started creating a nighttime ritual:
shower
sleepy time tea
lower lighting
quiet
And within weeks, my brain started associating that process with sleep.
Ten years later, it still works.
Half the time, I don’t even finish the tea.
Sometimes just making it is enough.
What I’m Noticing on Day 6
The biggest surprise right now is my energy.
Even with interrupted sleep…
my body still feels more awake than it did a couple of weeks ago.
My muscles are still tight from the hills, but overall I feel:
less swollen
less stiff
more mobile
And I really think consistent hydration is a huge part of that.
I also started taking SpoiledChild collagen recently, so I’m curious to see how that supports things over the next few weeks too.
Because between the extra water, the daily movement, and the added protein and collagen support…
my body feels like it’s finally starting to come out of winter mode.
Day 6 Complete
Not perfect.
Not aesthetic.
Just real life, routines, movement, and figuring it out as I go.
And somehow…
that feels more aligned than perfection ever did.
