Get Up; Dress Up; Show Up!
How Do You Get Your Day Going?
Your first moves in the morning can set the pace for the entire day. I discovered many years ago that no matter how short rested I am, that if I can just make it to the shower, I will come out of there wide awake and ready to go.
Honolulu Marathon Finish Line - 12-9-1984
When preparing for the Honolulu Marathon many years ago, my training regimen was a 10 mile run before breakfast. To do that required a 5:30 AM alarm. There were many mornings that when the alarm sounded I was tempted to shut it off and go back to sleep. But that wouldn’t prepare me for the 26.2 miles ahead. I found that if I were to just sit on the side of the bed and rub my shoe lubricant into my toes that I didn’t want to get back in bed. I also noticed that after less than 20 minutes of runniing that I was glad to be out there. By the time an hour of running had elapsed I was as “high as a kite” and loving every step. Crossing the finish line was the ultimate thrill.
No, This Is NOT Me!
Today it’s a trip to the coffee pot and then to the computer. This is followed by either a 3 mile power walk around the park or a one hour session in the gym. In any case, when the day gets off to a good start it’s easy to sail through the rest of it.
How Do You Kick Start Your Day?
February 14th, 2009 at 2:46 am
Early to bed, Early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise! Its true Ron, as you start the day so it ends … waste the precious hours early in the morning generally, and the rest of the day fritters away in should have’s and could have’s. Besides which, there are the glorious sunrises to greet you and even when there is rainy or an overcast one, the early morning air is the treat that can’t be beat. Having a pet helps too, especially an active dog just ready to go for his run and morning territory sniff to see who visited the yard overnight… they are better than anything when they accept and love you no matter what. Whats next? I am gonna get me a dog and a clock especially for the dark Winter months when self discipline slips.
SALUTATION TO THE DAWN.
Look to this day!
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence:
The bliss of growth
The glory of action
The splendour of beauty
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow only a vision
But today, well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore to this day!
Such is the salutation to the dawn.
- Kalidasa, Indian Poet
A favourite - cheers
Lestie
johannesburg S A
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February 14th, 2009 at 7:45 am
I go to the coffee pot, then to the john, then to the coffee pot, then read the newspaper, then to the coffee pot, then to Ron’s Blog, then back to the john, then to the coffee pot and the back to bed.
February 14th, 2009 at 9:11 am
I get up early, drink a big glass of prune juice, and then go all day long.
February 14th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Coffee, TV and free weights, then a half of an apple and yoghurt with a homemade protein bar for breakfast. Then some really loud classical music or jazz to work to. Working the weights really gets me to wake up any time a little pick me up is needed throughout the day, especially after a meal. The coffee is a delicious way to start the day. Tea mixed in with leftover coffee later, tea at night.
February 15th, 2009 at 7:01 am
For me it’s grab the computer and head to Starbucks to gulp coffee and do the homework I was supposed to do the night before. I’m not alone in there either.
February 15th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
This is a reply to Lestie. Now, that was a nice post! Well done. Oh, by the way, that dog will give you the desired demand for activity, but it will drive you nuts :). The price of health I suppose.
February 17th, 2009 at 5:12 am
One more thing, before I get out of bed I stay there and do deep breathing exercises, just about ten deep breaths. If you do those all day long when you think about it, even while driving, you will help oxegenate all the cells in your body and oxygen burns fat. That wakes you up, shortly after you hyperventilate and get a little dizzy. Just kidding. Into the stomach, then up to the chest, take a deep breath, let it out and then take the next. That wakes me up anytime, yet it also relaxes me if there is stress.
March 5th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Ron - great job - nice inspiration!
March 8th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Hi Richard,
Just picked up your comments, thanks muchly. Need the activity not the nuts, got plenty of those already!
Dog is on the way, small, energetic, ‘charming’ Shih Tzu/Maltese, friend left me hers in her will (!) He is trained and needs lots of time, attention and settling down. But I am up for it right now and anyway, guess many of us could do with the dollops of unconditional love from dogs I am told about. Last dog I had was as a kid. Hoo Boy.
Cheers
Lestie