A few weeks ago I was running almost every day, and thoroughly enjoying it. Then I stopped. I stopped for a fairly good reason – I came down with a summer cold and really didn’t feel like running so I thought I’d pick it up again in a few days.
This was 19 days ago!
I kept saying to myself that I’m going running today, or I’ll start again tomorrow but it just didn’t happen. I don’t know why – it wasn’t a conscious decision, something just kept getting in the way and when I did get time I had no motivation (“tomorrow” is so easy).
Even yesterday which was an absolutely glorious day (although probably too hot) I couldn’t overcome the inertia. As with all procrastination, I knew I was putting it off and was frustrated with myself for doing so but didn’t actually do anything about it. I decided enough was enough, and this morning I was going to get up a 6AM and go for a run.
Of course this didn’t happen. I got up, reset the alarm for 7AM and went back to sleep.
However once my wife took the Schwuklets to school I grabbed my trainers and headed out. Now I feel great, and I’m really looking forward to running again.
The nice thing about inertia is that applies to rest and movement.
Inertia is the tendency of a body to maintain its state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force. (source: Wikipedia)
So now I’m running again I’ll keep going until something ‘trips me up’.
The other thing I re-discovered is that I really enjoying running. Even though I’m listening to something (was podcasts, then music, now I’m back to podcasts) my mind is free to wander. I don’t need to think (too much) about the actual act of running, so I’m free to think about anything else and I’ve had quite a few ‘lightbulb’ moments this way.
Physical and mental exercise – what more could you want?
Tags: fitness, health, inertia, procrastination, running