A runner describes the physical and mental struggle of starting early morning workouts. The first mile feels hardest, the second stays difficult, but by the fourth mile his body loosens up. He says pushing through the resistance pays off with a sunrise and a sense of accomplishment that shapes the whole day.
If you're like most people, those New Year's resolutions include fitness and exercise, and you're going to do something different this year. I hear you, friends, but I'm going to tell you a secret. Doesn't matter if you're in no shape, medium shape, great shape— it's going to be hard every single day. So prepare yourself for hard things. And the hard part for me, well, it's getting up because I want to lay into bed, and I tell myself, but I went yesterday, I didn't eat that bad, I can do it later, I can do it tomorrow. And then I have to shut all of that down because those are getting in my way of doing what I know is best for me. So I finish to get those feet on the floor. And then the second hardest thing is getting started. It's 24 degrees. I don't want to be out here in this cold. It's very cold and I'm grumpy and it was dark and— and the first mile's hard because I'm not young. Well, the first mile is always hard. Second mile, still hard. I'd still rather quit. I've still done the math in my head and said maybe I should quit. Then mile 3 comes and that's not so bad. But mile 4 is where I start to loosen up. So my reminder to you is this: it's going to be hard to get started no matter what shape you're in. But if you started, it will get easier. And then the bonus, you get to see sunrise, and your whole rest of your day you can check something off.
