That First 10 Minutes

This morning I took off from the gym to run through the Tiny Kingdom just before 6 am. The plan was to do a slow(ish) run just to shake out the legs and log some miles. The gym sits midway up a small hill, so the first quarter mile is down hill. At the base of the hill you run along side the city Zoo for a bit before getting into the village and a residential area. Running in the dark allows your mind to create monsters in the shadows and every weird sound is an escaped baboon or spider monkey coming out to jump on you.
But it also allows you to focus more on how you're feeling and what your body is telling you. It's odd how the first 10 minutes of any exercise is usually the toughest for me. My body is waking up and sending out protests and propaganda to my brain trying to get me to stop. It's during this time that I am constantly fighting off thoughts of "you don't really want to do this, you don't need to do this, why don't you just turn around now, this is gonna suck!" I've found that if I can just get past these first 10 minutes my body will settle into a rhythm and my mind will start telling me how good this feels and how this is going to be a good day. Endorphins maybe?
True to form, around mile 2 this morning I found myself cruising along and enjoying the morning. Seeing the sun slowing rise through the trees is absolutely amazing. I finished the run wanting more, but needing to stop because of time. Everyone has to face work eventually.

Tailwinds....