You know the morning (or afternoon, or evening) you are sitting there thinking:

I really should work out. But there’s always tomorrow. I’m tired, sleep is more important than working out. I have a cramp because of my late night clam dip binge. I ate too much fiber yesterday. I won’t be able to run anyway. I gained a pound yesterday, it’s not worth it. My legs hurt. My head hurts. _________________________ (fill in excuses there).

I hope you do know these mornings, because I have them basically every day. If you wake up ready to exercise with a fervor in your heart for it, I envy you, but to the rest of us: I know you have those moments, too. So I decided to document how I felt after a pretty hardcore run (and hardcore for me means 5 miles).

Dear Me (or you),

You stink. Really, really bad. You’re nasty and you have sweat in places where you know it doesn’t belong. You’re hair is ridiculously greasy and flat, you look all red and blotchy. You stink (that’s repeated for effect). You’re tired, fatigued, and hungry. Your feet hurt, you’re out of breath. But you rock.

You may not have finished in the time you wanted to, but it’s faster than last time. It’s faster than if you hadn’t tried at all. It’s faster than all the people sitting on their couches drinking coffee or sleeping, which is where you had imagined yourself to be about an hour ago. You’ve sorted out all of your thoughts, lost yourself in some pretty killer tunes, and feel oh-so-zen. You have mastered the miles and you have created a sense of pure elation. Euphoria even. You did it without stopping. You kept going when you thought you could not any longer. You moved past the mental barrier you placed. You kicked your own arse.

This feeling, accomplishment, greatness, is one you would not have gotten had you remained on your couch or curled up in your bed. Weight doesn’t matter- your heart and soul matter. Your lungs matter. You matter. Weight is a number that is sometimes as easily controlled as your age. That pound you gained is irrelevant.

You are a better person post run (walk/ squat/ sit up/ bike/ swim/ whatever floats your boat). You have energy you wouldn’t have had you remained stagnant on your couch. You worked off the extra late night snack you were beating yourself up over. You have set the stage for your body to digest what you eat today and fight the fat that has been haunting you. You have created a level playing field for your metabolism that is lagging due to your thyroid (and age) and shown your sugars who’s boss. You have taken the step (actually, multiple) to creating a better you. Congratulations.

Thanks dude,

Me

Please re-read this the mornings you’re feeling lazy and like you don’t want to bother. You’ll hopefully be inspired enough to lace up those sneakers and hit the trail running.