This morning I woke up one hour earlier than I typically do throughout the week. I set my alarm for 6 am sharp and went to sleep peacefully and easily last night. Apparently I was ready to get up and run because my body’s internal clock woke up 10 minutes before the alarm was to go off. Usually I would dread this moment. You wake up, roll over, check the time, and think, “but why couldn’t I just let myself sleep that extra 10 minutes”. And then either one of two things happens: A) You close your eyes just to find that you fall asleep for what feels like a measly 2.2 seconds or B) You lay there thinking that you wish you weren’t stuck in limbo somewhere between being asleep and being awake. Luckily, neither of those things happened to me today.

Preparing clothes and gear for the day ahead has seemed to help me get motivated. Even when I plan to go to the gym after work the next day, packing my bag and making sure I have no excuses for avoiding the gym helps to keep me on schedule with my training plan. Last night was the first time I laid out clothes to wear the following morning, rather than the evening at the gym. It’s getting to be that time of year when it’s no longer unbearable to wake up before work and hit the pavement for a morning run. In high school and middle school, I spent my summers waking up before 5 am in order to make it to team practices. And while back then I may have really hated it at the time, I always enjoyed how I felt after accomplishing something 4-5+ hours earlier than any other ‘typical’ student would during the summer. I don’t think that feeling goes away. For example, today I feel particularly accomplished after running a solid 3 miler, the last run before the Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon this weekend.

The sun was shining. It was a cool and comfortable 41 degrees, which called for running tights and a light long-sleeve top. I was focused on accomplishing a 1 mile warm up, 1 mile at race pace, and 1 mile cool down. Short and sweet, as they say. I think it’s easy to think that running takes a lot of time and dedication–because it surely does. But for those that use that as an excuse not to run (or exercise in general!), let’s think about exactly what time of time and dedication is involved. This morning I spent 25 minutes running. 2 minutes to brush my teeth. 30 seconds to brush my hair. 3 minutes to get dressed. 2 minutes to put shoes on and tie the laces. 1 minute to drink a small cup of water. And 1 minute to get my tunes ready.

A grand total of 34 minutes and 30 seconds was invested in preparing to run and actually running. 34 Minutes invested in getting the day started in a refreshing, meditative way. After my run I had 20 minutes to actually enjoy that cup of coffee, catch up on some news tidbits by watching the Today show, and eat some cinnamon swirl toast. I accomplished more before 7:15 am this morning, than I have in a long time and it feels great. I warped time by running through it.

So, to my pseudo-self that will find excuses not to run in the future—what’s your deal?

-J