Tuesday, July 20, 2004

the early bird gets.....less sleep

Getting up early just isn't my thing; never has been.  However, when I started my current job almost 5 years ago, I started coming into work by 7:00 every morning.  For 13 years, I had worked "normal" 8-5 hours like most people.  When we moved to Franklin, 15 miles further from my job, it meant I had to get up even earlier.  And over time, I've begun coming to work even earlier to avoid traffic, so I usually leave home around 6:15 and get into the office by 6:40.  I've been doing this for almost 5 years, and I still haven't gotten use to it.  The upside to this is that I usually leave work around 4, so it's not all bad.
 
Most of you know that a little over 2 years ago I lost 28 pounds.  Well, I've picked up 12 of those pounds and they've got to come off.  The ol' pants are getting much too tight.  So I decided that in order for me to run every day on a consistent basis, I need to do it first thing in the morning.  The problem?  Getting up about 25 minutes earlier. 

I went out the front door at a little after 5, and walked the first 2/10 of a mile.  When I started running, my feet felt like lead.  I'm thinking, "I must be an idiot getting up this early!  This is ridiculous!"  So between running and walking, I did the mile in about 13 minutes.  No land speed record, that's for sure.  But I've got to start somewhere, and hopefully this time will get better.  At least I had time to fix bacon and eggs, so that was good.

I've heard people say that exercising first thing in the morning helps start their day off right and gives them energy.  Maybe that will eventually be the case for me.  But it's not even 7 yet, and I'm ready for a nap. 


1 comment:

Clarissa said...

More power to you, friend. Rob and I are trying to do Atkins with all our might. He's been working out some with Phil Fite at night, too. Maybe after I get over my tonsillectomy (tomorrow) I'll exercise -- maybe not. Want to, but want to sleep, too! So hard.