It might rain today.
Then again, it might not. Like you, the sky hasn’t yet decided what it should be. The sun is still hidden underneath a sheet of ashen clouds. And it’s cold, very cold. Still, you really should go out and run. Waking up is half the work. Forget the fact that you are never sure what to do with your hands and get an early start on the day, get those endorphins released and try not to completely wreck your knees. And so what if it rains? What’s a little bit of rain anyway? Where would civilisation be if it allowed a little bit of rain to get in the way of progress (which really is the whole point of going out)?
On the bad days, progress stays in bed. After all, you could use some more sleep, which recent studies suggest none of us get enough of. Besides, what’s one day? And, particularly one potentially rainy day at that. That drizzle can become a downpour without notice and where does that leave you, especially with a deficient immune system because you don’t get enough sleep? If today is not the first day of the rest of your life, there’s always tomorrow. Or the day after that. Or the day after…you get the picture. There will be time to get it right. Right?
On the good days, you keep moving. The concrete pushes up hard against your feet, which feel like they could give out at any minute. But they don’t and you keep moving. The weather is no better. You move forward and the cold sea breeze hits even harder and it takes all your resolve to keep grounded. As long as it lasts, you keep moving. Soon, people begin to appear: Younger, older; age doesn’t make a difference and they all seem faster, stronger and more enduring. Your feet are cement blocks. Your will is rubber. You should listen to your body. You should listen. You should slow down. You should stop. You should turn back. You should listen. But you don’t, because it’s not your body talking. No. Not after you wasted the first twenty minutes of the morning negotiating the weather. See, it’s always cold at the start, the pain isn’t real and the ground isn’t harder than it was the week before when you did manage to make it out the door on time. It’s all in your head; the searing pain; the harsh cold; even the temporary humiliation. With each step forward, they slowly fade, dissipating like the black clouds that had been threatening all morning. Soon, the sun rises, warming the air. And you keep moving. Even if it rains today.
-Andre Haynes
