The Magic of a Monday Morning Run

Slipping on my running shoes, these Asics have seen a fair bit of pavement although not as much as I would like. It’s not often I have the determination to wake up early for a run, but this Monday is different.

Dragging myself out of the driveway my body is already groaning in protest. My body isn’t that out of shape I am not sure why I am putting myself through so much pain. No one else is doing it. Not more than 5 minutes in I am feeling good, there is a rhythm and heart-jumping reward. I feel refreshed and successful and it’s not even 8am.

If you’re like me, you write Monday’s off as just a bit too hard to get into exercise, or much of a routine for that matter. It’s post-weekend and we need to warm up the engine again before we can expect more production to come out of this assembly line. I know I feel super awesome when I am productive, but I don’t consider Monday mornings as a time to expect productivity from myself…well at least that is what I thought, until 2021.

I love this quote I heard recently on a podcast — “time management is pain management” — Nir Eyal. That is so true, we are effectively putting off the pain of managing our time (and self control over our bodies) on Mondays. Well, most Mondays. The consistency part is always key. I am proud to say for the past 6 months or so I have been loving the magic of a Monday morning run. Sometimes this is a fast walk, and some times I delay until the evening, but I make sure to tell my body — I have the reins of my self control centre and Monday is not a day I write off.

Does this resonate with you? By getting up early, running and clearing my mind I am making a self declaration that whilst I cannot change a number of things around me, I can choose to be self disciplined and reap the benefits of exercise. Have you discovered this magic? This has given me more energy and inspiration for the week.

I literally feel more alive every time. My heart rate is healthier, my metabolism is stronger and even more importantly I have a more positive outlook on things. I feel success through just one small run on a Monday morning and when I realize how easy it is to achieve — one commitment to roll out of bed and chuck on my sneakers and hit the pavement, I realize that I can achieve a whole lot more than I dared believe possible.

I wanted to share this in the hopes that maybe it would be the key to unlocking some goodness for someone else.