Part II - Wendy, Wendy, Wendy

I was so sure Wendy would be there, as promised, this morning. But at 5:01 (true to Morning Running Group code) Mike and I took off with no Wendy. He was trying to hold me back and wait, but the code was calling. I even reminisced with Mike about the time (way back when we had to walk 5 miles through snow just to meet to run) when Wendy would ask all of us to start at 4:45! Just goes to show you that times change!

Last night when I was surfing the web, I came up this motivational advice. I didn't think I would have to pull it out this morning, but here it is. Just for you Wendy....

(5.5 Miles with Ethanol Man this morning)

Favorite Excuse for Not Working Out: I'm Too Tired
Wed, 10/24/2007 - 11:30am by FitSugar

We all have a favorite excuse for not working out. If yours is "I am just too tired," I have something to tell you. Exercise will give you energy. For reals!

When you are tired, it is difficult to remember how great you felt at the end of your last workout. Chances are really high you felt better post exercise than you did before, and you probably felt more relaxed too. Exercise promotes oxygen exchange, out with the stale air and in with the fresh. Motivate yourself with the carrot of the post exercise euphoria!

Exercise can help you sleep better, and a night of restful sleep will help you stay more energized the next day.

When I am feeling weary and therefore wary of exercise, I have to work through the mind games I play to talk myself out of exercising. Once I finally get moving, I find my energy is there and I am for a full workout. So fight the "too tired" excuse with the mantra "exercise to energize." It may be a little cheesy, but sometimes all it takes is two words to get me off the couch.

Wendy, Wendy, Wendy

Last night when we were running Wendy said she would DEFINITELY join the morning running group. She told me that if she didn't too feel free to send out a ridiculing e-mail about her. I however, decided to take the high road. In my ever constant effort to aide my fellow runners, I did an EXTENSIVE on-line search for motivational tips to send out to Wendy. The tips were originally for weight loss, but is just substituted 'running in the morning' for "weight loss'. What the heck - it is all the same... right? After all how much time do you think I have in the morning!

Here they are:

• Post a picture of yourself running in the morning if you are trying to run in the morning.
• Post a picture of yourself running at the time of morning you and would like to run at.
• Post a picture of a running celebrity you would like to emulate. Jessica Biel perhaps? Here's a pic of her in a bikini. Maybe Jackie Warner is your motivation, here she is.
• Post a picture of something that you would like to do while you are running in the morning, and thus extend your life, for example chatting with Mike about how good it feels not to have to run through the sprinklers for once.
• Post a picture of an outfit you would like to feel comfortable in while running in the morning, maybe some cute jeans or a hot string bikini?
• Post a picture of a reward you'll give yourself after you've stuck to it for a while. Maybe a brochure to a resort, a new necklace or it could even be something as small as a new CD... as long as it motivates you.
  
• Fit's Tip: I would post the picture (or pictures) someplace that will really motivate you such as on the fridge, in the pantry, where you keep your gym clothes, in your home gym, on your mirror, etc.

Here are a couple more:

• Buy a packet of small, smiley-face stickers from Office Depot. Choose six different colors-one for each fitness achievement. Put them on my office calendar after your workouts. A red face stands for a morning you had to run with Mike. A yellow for days below 30 degrees, Green for days Mike isn't there, and so on. This way, you can really entertain your office mates with your colorful wall decorations! I am sure that the stickers will fit with in the CU's decoration rules.
• The absolute best motivator is the astonished look you often get from your fellow morning runners when I’m show up to run in the morning or on really cold days much less on a regular day!

On a side note... my foot is doing good! I ran 5 miles two days in a row and it feels pretty good!