I recently read two blogs about the fun of getting up early in the morning and taking bike rides or runs, or just being alive first thing in the morning when all is quiet. It made me wonder what happened to me. I used to be an early riser. This was many many years ago when I was a child, but I would easily wake up at 6:30 even on weekends just to be outside and listen to the birds. Sometimes I would take walks early in the morning with my dad. Fast forward to four years of a combination early morning seminary and newspaper route, and I don't think I have voluntarily been out of bed before 8 am since. Sure I have had early morning jobs where I had to be at work by 5:30 am or some other unholy hour, and in those cases I got up and made it to work on time. But other than that nothing.
Mostly this is fine, because I discovered that just as your parents say nothing good ever happens after midnight, nothing good ever happens before 10 am. No stores are open, no one is awake to talk to, and I sure as hell am not getting up early just to clean the house. However lately I am finding out that mornings before work may be about the only real time I have to go running.
So for the past week or so I have been attempting to get out of bed at 6:30 to go for a quick jog. Here is what happens: I wake up, (sort of) I realize what time it is and think I could get out of bed and go running, OR I could lay here where it is warm and cozy and sleep for a little longer. At 6:30 am sleep always wins. I am not the most rational person when I am half-asleep (Jay and anyone who has shared a room with me can attest to this) and I just can't think why I should get out of bed. My body is very cranky first thing in the morning and even the thought of physical exertion makes it feel ill. But the truth is if I just got up, dressed and had a small bite to eat I would feel fine, but try convincing me of that when I am cozy under my covers.
I REALLY do want to get a schedule of running/biking in- I still want to run a 5k in September, and mostly I just want to lose some weight. Evenings just don't work on a regular basis. I have also heard that getting exercise first thing in the morning boosts your metabolism for the rest of the day.
So how does everyone else manage to get up first thing in the morning just to get exercise? I think I have a real mental block about getting up early, I have a feeling that if I could just do it for a couple of weeks I would see that I do enjoy it and would continue. Any suggestions from all you early birds out there would be appreciated.