Getting Out The Door

This morning I am having a hard time getting out the door. It is cold and dreary and the piles of snow just outside of my office window are just another reminder of why running is hard. I know I have to push past this but boy of geez, if I am completely honest, all I really want right now is to curl up under my warmest blanket and hibernate for the day.

So, how will I force myself out that door?

It is all about fooling my brain, tricking myself into believing that running is the only thing I really want to do. After years and years of finding myself in this exact same position I have developed an almost foolproof plan.

I have already taken the first step this morning. I have put on my running clothes. Having prepared myself for the run definitely makes it easier to get out of this chair and head towards the door. Except, I am still sitting here. Which means I have to move to step two.

I will put on my favorite running playlist and get out of this chair, empty the dishwasher or transfer the laundry, anything to get myself moving.

But that is not a guarantee either. I could get distracted and use housework as an excuse for not getting out there. After all, there is always something to keep a work at home mom busy.

So I will call my husband and tell him I am heading out for my run. I will tell him the route I am running and what time I will get back. This is a good practice for safety anyway but it motivates me. It gives me that final push out the door. I do not want to make the call again later and I hate admitting to him when we speak later in the afternoon that the run did not get done.

But it does not end there. I will continue to trick myself even as I move to the front porch and feel the cold breeze eating at my very soul. I will tell myself that all I have to do is run a mile, that will warm me up, right? Throughout the 6 mile run I will play these games. I will race to a tree, a light post or a shadow on the road. I will trick myself into moving forward until my only choice is to head home the final half of the run. Then there are no more tricks. It is simply about going a little bit faster to make those last miles fly by so that I can head in the door, pull out that warm blanket and thaw out.

How do you get yourself out the door? What tricks do you play to make sure the workout gets done?