In the Groove

It’s 9pm, and I just got home from work.

Which makes me SO GLAD I finally succumbed to the fact that if I wanted to work out, it was going to have to be in the morning. Some days, I can leave work at 6 or 6:30, but some days I will be at work until 8 or 9. Luckily, I’ve never had a 6am meeting, so I finally realized I had to take advantage of time before work.

I was really nervous about getting through these peak weeks, but at least for this week, I’ve refused to make excuses.

9 miles yesterday.

7 miles the day before that.

6 miles this morning with Ashley

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Oh, hello Empire State Building.

Looking at my training plan earlier this week, it looked DAUNTING. 7 and 9 miles? How the hell was I going to do that before work?

It’s such a fine line between routine and burnout, but it’s those repeated actions and that momentum that make it easier to do it again. I don’t have to think; I just set my alarm and remind myself how crappy I felt all day when I was getting used to my job and making too many excuses about not working out, or these past few weeks that I was struggling some with my training. (If you have a fitness blog and ever want to really cringe at your own posts, just search the word “excuses.”)

My buddy Valerie tweeted at me this morning that she’d snoozed through a run this morning; I reminded her how many freaking times I did that before I got sick of it and finally got into that groove.

Hit snooze 17 times. Read Twitter for a few minutes. Get dressed, grab Garmin, go.

How do you get into a workout/healthy groove–and what do you do to get back into the groove?

12 comments on “In the Groove

  1. Valerie

    In my defense, I sent a second tweet that pointed out that I’d been out at a concert until 12:30 a.m. πŸ˜‰ But I’m setting the alarm early again tomorrow, because the idea of running after work on a Friday is depressing. Which means I should probably go to bed…

    Reply
  2. Nicole

    Way to keep up with the training plan!
    My work/travel schedule makes it tough to keep a routine. I’d much rather work out in the AM but morning meetings or travel makes it tough. My goal is to workout everyday – then it’s a matter of fitting it in.

    Reply
  3. Meghan

    To get back in the groove, whether it’s after some time off or a bad winter, I often start with a few long walks. It’s a nice way to hit reset and ease your body back into movement without expecting too much of it right off the bat. Once I am in a groove I am pretty good at staying in it; I love routine!

    Reply
  4. Ash Bear

    Great job! I can’t agree with you more. I only “know” that I can workout after work on Monday with my run club. Anything after that is icing on the cake. I’m really lucky to have a husband who also wakes up at the same time and that helps a ton. I also think it helps to think about hwo great I’ll feel the rest of the day!

    Reply
  5. Deborah

    I know how easy it is to make excuses. That’s why I decided I HAD to get my run done in the morning. My boyfriend, who is not a morning person at all, jumped on the morning run bandwagon with me and has been getting up at 5:30am to run before work too. Even though we don’t run the same pace, it’s been really helpful having someone out there with me.

    Reply
  6. Katie @ Talk Less, Say More

    I definitely just have to make sure I commit to what I’m going to do and remind myself why I’m doing it (which is usually because of how it makes me feel). Generally that does the trick. And if not, and I really need that extra day, I take it but when I feel crappy later on it’s a “I told ya so!” and I jump back on the train.

    Reply
  7. Alison

    Make it fun and plan to meet a friend… this makes it easier for the first few weeks…. once that’s done it’s easier to continue…

    and get out of bed as soon as your alarm goes off and have everything ready for the next day, running clothes, work clothes, lunch. This means you can hit autopilot…
    happy running

    Reply
  8. Melissa

    Having been a ballet dancer my whole life, exercise has always been a routine. I’m actually in a healthier place now than I used to be, but I still have a hard time missing a workout. I have the opposite problem of most people. :-/

    Reply
  9. Cathryn Ramsden

    I’m sadly coming round to the knowledge that it has to be a morning run. I’m a stay at home mum so I have the luxury of flexibility (and I’m grateful) but even so my days get busy and mornings are just the best time. I find that the getting up is by FAR the hardest part…once I’m up, I’m good to go!

    Yawn…

    Reply
  10. Jessica@SweatIsMySanity

    I finally had to just put my foot down (with myself) and tell myself NO. No to walking, no to drinking water every two minutes, no to sleeping in…you get the picture. πŸ™‚ It worked and hopefully it will work tomorrow at 5:00 a.m. for my long run. I have to get out early before it gets freaking hot here.

    Reply

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