Spitting in the Eye of Sleep

     My alarm clock goes off at 6 (or earlier) on the weekends.  I work weekends but I don't have to be in until well after noon.  But I get up.  Sometimes eagerly, sometimes grudgingly.  I do it to beat the heat, I do it to spend more time with my family and I do it to run.  I subscribe to Runner's World's "Daily Kick in the Butt", a daily quote that's usually inspirational and oftentimes very blunt.  One a few days ago was from Tom Fleming, a 2-time winner of the NYC marathon: 

"If you want to be a better runner, you've got to run more.  It's as simple as that."

Not very inspirational but blunt.  A hard fact for many to swallow.  It reminds me of a more general quote that I'm paraphrasing a bit:

  "If you want something you've never had, you must do something you've never done."

I WANT to run a marathon.  But I don't want to just finish it.  I have a goal time, that's already had to be altered because of an injury that knocked out about 10 days of training.  I logged my first ever 40-mile week last week and intend to get close to 50 or 60 by the time race day comes.  

     So I get up every weekend before the sun. I find the time to get in the extra stretching, foam rolling, weights and core.  If it means I watch a little less TV, drink fewer drinks, or none at all, that's what I will do.  Hell yeah there are days when I wake up and want to go right back to bed.  But as much as that bed calls me, quotes like the two above pull me to the road or treadmill even stronger.  

     What pulls you out of bed every morning?  Maybe your work starts at 6 a.m.  If so, what pulls you off the couch at night?  How or where do you find your motivation?

Keep on runnin'!