One of the biggest excuses people have to not exercise is that they don’t have the time.  And, it is certainly true that there are times in life when you really don’t have the time.  For me, it was when my twin boys were young.  Then, I didn’t have time to sleep, much less go for a run.  But more typically, I could come up with good excuses for not having time, when I really did.  I just had things I would rather do, like kick back in a comfy chair, turn on the tv and enjoy a glass of wine.

My wonderful fiancé, Rick, is an extraordinarily busy man.  He has a very demanding job that causes him to work long and stressful hours.  After work, it’s a real mental battle for him to put on his running shoes instead of coming home to perhaps, yes, a glass of wine.   A little drink does help to relieve stress, but going for a run works better.  He knows that, loves how he feels when he runs regularly and it adds stress when he can’t.  So, what to do?

We now have a date two workdays per week.  We get up an hour and a half earlier than usual and go for a run together.  When the alarm goes off, it is usually met with a groan by one or both of us, but we get up anyway.  We get out of the house pretty quickly and drive down the hill to a starting point that’s pretty close to the house (and close to restrooms).  Starting off slowly to let our bodies warm up, we’re soon enjoying the morning.  We hear birds waking up, see the occasional runner, watch the sky turn from black to blue and begin to be able to see our Garmins in between street lights.  One morning we do a nice steady run. The other morning is for intervals (which are a little harder to wake up for).  Back home and into the shower and off to work for Rick, ready to tackle theday without worrying about how he’ll get in some exercise.  A little less sleep twice a week for a lot less stress every day is a good tradeoff,  we think.

Sunday mornings we meet a group of friends in Hawaii Kai for a run out towards or past Makapu’u. On those days, we get to sleep in until 5:30.