Whatever gets you out the door

Today's run (street) 2.5 miles

Every morning I wake up and look at my alarm clock that's usually about a minute away from going off. Occasionally I'll need that alarm, but in either case, it's only a matter of seconds before I realize that I have to get dressed and go outside for my run. EVERY morning I consider not doing my workout. And EVERY morning I manage to talk myself into getting ready.

One of the things that helps me get out the door is a self agreement that I'll take it easy, just this time. No pressure, just get out and float through my route. By the time I'm standing in front of my house trying to acquire a signal on my Garmin, I'm usually more open minded about putting some effort into the run. About halfway through the run is when I start playing with speed in an effort keep my time below a certain target.

That's exactly the way it happened for me this morning. The air was chilly enough to warrant long sleeves and the cold provoked me into speeding up my stride from the start. Even though I could see vapors from my breathing, I noticed that many of my neighbors were still dutifully watering their lawns. I worked hard to avoid running through spray but got hit from the side a couple of times. Brrrr!

There's a quote that goes, "No one ever says 'I regretted that workout'" and, when I complete my run, I'm always pleased that I did it. The tricky part is getting out the door in the first place.