self-discipline

At 6:07am this morning I was abruptly awoken by The Allman Brothers' The Whipping Post blaring in my ear, urging me to wake up and greet the morning with my 5 mile run. ugh. "Leave me alone," I think. "It's Friday. Just 10 more minutes..." And down came my hand on the snooze button.

It's mornings like today when I have absolutely no motivation to remove myself from my comfy, cozy, warm bed lying next to my comfy, cozy, warm husband. With the Philadelphia Distance Run only one week away, I have no choice but to ignore those lazy voices in my head and muster up the energy to get through this last, yet important, week of training.

The Philadelphia Distance Run is a race I always look forward to. The training it entails acts as a bridge from the end of summer 'I don't have to wear a swim suit anymore this season, so I'm allowed to slack off, eat like crap, and take time off from working out for a little while...' attitude and takes me into the fall with the much-needed motivation to stay in shape until I start hitting the gym again. It forces me to remain focused on my running and reminds me of how fun it is to be able to run 8 miles on a random Saturday morning without thinking twice about it.

On the other hand, slacking off, eating like crap, and taking time off from my workouts for a little while are a few of my all-time favorite pastimes. OK, only one more week to go...I can do it.