There Has To Be Something Better To Do At 5:30 am

I am not a morning person. Frankly, I feel that if one needs to be up that early, one should stay up all night. So I find it odd that people seem to like this time of the morning.

My first teaching assignment was at a school that started at 7 am, which meant that I had to get up at 5 to get dressed, get stuff ready for the family, and get to work. I acclimated to this early schedule, but I can't say that I changed to a morning person because of it.

Every morning when I get up at 5 in order to leave the house at 5:30 in order to get to Boot Camp on time, I question the intelligence of my decision. I also question whether or not I will be able to perform any type of exercise, whether I will throw up on the gym floor, or whether I will injure myself by falling down. Most days none of this stuff happens, but I am still not converted to this horrible hour of the morning.

So you can imagine my distress this morning when Steve and I had to get up at 5 in order to leave the hotel at 5:30 to walk to the start of the Miami Half-Marathon. There were many things that distressed me. First, it was early in the morning. Second, I had a half marathon to do. Third, I did a half-marathon three weeks ago. Fourth, I twisted my left ankle in my previous half-marathon. Fifth, I twisted my right ankle last Monday in Boot Camp. Sixth, it was still stinkin' early in the morning.

But I got up and headed for the start line. I kept laying a fleece out for God to answer me - "Um, God, will you please send me a sign that I'm not supposed to be doing this today?" His answer was, "I don't remember you consulting me when you signed up for this thing."

So, off I went, fortified with two Tylenol, an ankle support on each ankle, and hopes for a finish before they carted me off via the sweep bus or ambulance. Eventually I finished, even though Mile 13 took me twenty minutes to finish (the ankles had awakened from their Tylenol-induced slumber and had been screaming at me since Mile 10). I received my finisher's medal and limped back to the hotel where Steve had a bag of ice waiting.

I still think there's better things to do at 5:30 am in the morning. Just remind me of what in three weeks when I'm in Jacksonville for the Breast Cancer Half Marathon!!

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Things that make today great: Finishing the half-marathon; fish sandwich at Houston's; finding Steve's chocolate stars; no boot camp tomorrow; flight an hour late, then not; friendly people walking the half marathon like me; dudes out on South Beach cheering the runners; giving Gu to the lady at the start