Friday, October 26, 2012

Morning Masochist

The alarm is my master.

At 6:10 every morning, my iPhone bleats like a lamb brought to slaughter, reminding me that my morning workout is the only thing keeping me from looking like the fatted calf.

I laze around for a few minutes. Sometimes I hit the snooze button and roll over; other times I fire up my social media feeds to get a pulse on the mood of the entire universe.

Eventually my feet slink out of bed, one by one, and my rickety body lumbers downstairs for another run.

My feelings about exercise are vastly different before and after a workout.

I am the queen of excuses, and every morning my brain rattles off a dozen of them - I'm heading out too late to make it to work on time; My yoga pants need a washing before I run in them; The temperature outside is too cold/hot/humid for me to enjoy my workout; I haven't eaten anything this morning; I drank too much wine last night; The dog ate my homework.

You get the drift.

Despite all the excuses, I begrudgingly lace up my shoes and clip my iPod Shuffle to my sports bra and slowly step outside to the darkness of dawn.

My morning exercise consists of a 2.5 mile run through Downtown Cincinnati or a 30-minute spin through the resistance training equipment at the YMCA on Central Parkway.

It's a slow, steady, sweaty endeavor that allows me to purge my toxins, flex some long neglected muscle, and think about my little place in the universe.

Exercising makes me feel good. While I generally regard it as a relentless chore, I know I get back what I put in to it - the endorphins bring on a little bit of euphoria, my cardiovascular system appreciates the jump start, and my sanity deserves a cleaning of the cobwebs.

The pain feels good. My glutes and legs remind me they're there - under a soft layer of skin that refuses to melt away. My muscles stretch and push harder with each pace, and the repeated use brings on a welcome soreness through the day.

We worked hard, they say.

Yes we did.

Disclosure: The YMCA is a client of mine and provided me with a limited membership to experience all they have to offer. My words and opinions are my own and not a reflection of my client or employer. And if you're still reading this, you deserve to watch a funny video.

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Kate's Random Musings by Kate the Great is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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