Slow out of the Gate

Greetings! When I know I have a long and fully-packed day, I make every effort to get up early and exercise first thing in the morning. This practice has had me up as early as 1:00 am on International travel days to ensure that I meet my self-imposed exercise requirements for the day. Today, I needed only to get up slightly before 5:00am, my normal wake-up time, in order to exercise before work. I did not get up with my alarm, however, and as it turns out nothing about the morning has been normal.

I’ll spare you the bizarre set of circumstances that led me astray, stretching from the pre-dawn hours until just before now. Suffice it to say the day moved like a whirlwind. Then my lunch break arrived and I found myself staring at a blank word processing screen. For more than twenty minutes I nibbled at my meal and was completely unable to think of a single word to write. I hadn't exercised, had been off kilter all morning long, and I just wanted to tap out. I was empty. I had nothing in the tank.

Then it hit me. Nothing--that’s it! I decided to blog about the reality that there are MANY days when I don’t feel like exercising. On those days, the thought of running in the rain or cold seems deplorable, hearing the repetitive noises of exercise equipment works my nerves and the time and pain of resistance training hold absolutely no appeal.

Fifteen minutes ago I didn’t want to write, but now the words are flowing. Here in my neck of the woods it’s a fairly chilly day. That notwithstanding, I am inspired and invigorated to go for at least a 5K jog after work. This epiphany was just what I needed on all fronts. I find that invariably, once I get started running, it’s never as cold, the machines are not as loud, or the workout is not as hard as I imagined. Truthfully, it’s the first step that’s the hardest. Today, I hope that step is an easy one for you.

Let’s get out there and let’s keep moving.
~Tom