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The alarm goes off. I blink my eyes a couple of times.
4AM already?
I blindly reach in the dark for my phone to turn off the snoring sound (yes, my alarm is a snoring sound). I move my stiff legs and body off of the bed and to the bathroom where I find my shorts and socks waiting for me. I stare at them.
Do I really want to run this morning? 8 miles? Really?
I ignore my brain and change. I head downstairs for some oatmeal, a banana and some coffee – my legs are still sore and tight from Sunday’s hard, fast 18-miler.
This is gonna hurt.
I slowly down the pre-workout meal, delaying the inevitable. Part of me wants to go back to bed; part of me knows Boston is less than 5 weeks away. The schedule calls for 8 miles with 5 intervals of 600 meters at 5K race pace. I don’t have it in me to run outside this morning so I trudge down to the treadmill, trying to get my brain to convert the numbers into something I can use.
600 meters…400 meters is about a quarter mile…0.25…add half of that…0.375…how the hell am I supposed to use that?
I settle on running 0.40 mile intervals at the treadmill’s top speed (10mph) with a 0.20 mile recovery in between.
This is gonna hurt.
I pop the TV on and stretch a little, not really wanting to do this. At that moment, all I want to do is crawl back into bed and sleep for another 3 hours. I look at the clock – 4:35 – it’s time to go.
Pain. Not the sharp, oh crap I’ve injured myself kind of pain. Just pain.
Just under 57 minutes later I am done. Sweat is dripping off my body like I’m a hose with holes in it. I am spent.
But the endorphins kick in and I can’t remember that feeling I had before the run. I don’t remember NOT wanting to run.
All I know is DAMN! This feels good!!!
This definitely feels good.
Hope you got your feel good on today.
Run Luau Run 
You are one of the first people I think of when I have that “I don’t want to run” feeling – how you get up so early every time and get it done.
When I was saying “I don’t feel like running” last night at 8:30, my daughter said, “then why do it?” I think I had the beginning of the “why I run” comment that I still owe you.
Because I have a goal … because I want to lose weight … because I want the endorphins … just because.
For some reason this has been the case for ALL of my runs for the past month or so. Minus the part about forgetting about NOT wanting to run, and feeling good. I’m pretty sure it’s all just mental at this point and I keep telling myself that if I keep pushing through it, it will get better.
I love this one. I consider sleeping in this morning and doing it tonight since it s only 3 miles for me today but I said just go. I felt great when I was done.
And you kicked some butt!
You speak for the I don’t wanna run part of everyone who is feeling sore or tired or hurting emotionally and then you express the triumph of just doing it and how wonderful it feels afterwards. Thanks Luau.
😉
Great post! Completely summed up how I felt this morning when I got up at 5 to go running (I don’t eat before I go so I can get up a little later). But I always LOVE how awesome I feel after. It’s completely worth the argument with myself for that amazing rush.
I didn’t want to run today. So I didn’t.
Sometimes that is the wiser decision. You gotta know when to hold ’em…
I’ve been trying to get myself up on mondays to go running with a local running group at 5:30 am. I consider myself a morning person, but seriously, 5:30?! I’m going to have to remember this post next monday……
Henry – you will thank yourself all day. Every time you see someone taking a smoke break, you’ll remember your morning run and say to yourself, “I know I did good this morning!” and every time throughout the day you see someone else out for a run, you’ll smile, knowing you got yours in probably before they woke up. Don’t be afraid to Push!