As an active distance runner and triathlete, I work out five or six days a week, usually in the morning. People who know this often say something like “You’re amazing. It’s great that you can do that.” Please allow me to set the record straight – I’m NOT amazing. In fact I hate leaving my bed. And crawling out from under the covers is not great … It’s horrible almost every time.

After more than a decade of consistent early sessions on the run, on the bike, or in the pool, those first few moments of consciousness are not any easier than they were the first time. I’m not singing the Hallelujah Chorus when the alarm goes off. I’m hearing dirges in my head about then.

So why do it? Because of a saying I picked up many years back: “You never regret the workouts you do. You always regret the workouts you skip.” Deciding whether to go from idle to active will set the tone for the whole day. I can either be energized or feel like a slug for the next 24 hours.

So to anyone who sees that runner / triathlete / yoga practitioner / spin class enthusiast / etc. as some sort of superhuman, I’ll bet money on the contrary. Most likely he or she faces the same struggles, but has learned that although waking up is difficult, breaking up with this lifestyle is even more hard to do.