I know I am lucky because I live in Sonoma County. I have a great family. I am very healthy and I have great friends. I also have a great job. I manage a health club in Santa Rosa. I come to work in sweats most mornings. I check emails, make my rounds talking with staff and members and then I go for a run. I clean up and then put my sweats back on, add a staff shirt and name badge and spend most of my day encouraging others to stay/get healthy.

I may slip out mid-day and teach a cycle class or test out a new massage therapist in our spa. I am not telling you this so you try to steal my job or to make you jealous. I tell you this because I have a new found appreciation for each of you that do not have the flexibility that I have. Last week I was forced to live like the majority of the world and work an 8-5 day. I was stuck in a computer training class for 2 days and by the 3^rd hour of day one I was ready to throw my lap top at the instructor I was so antsy.

I can’t stand to sit for more than about 5 minutes. My job allows me to sit, stand, run, and spin throughout the day. This 8-5 computer training forced me to not only sit all day but to find a time to run outside of the 8-5 workday.

Let me break down the available run time options and give you all the reasons they didn’t work for me:
Before the training meant get up at 5am, run in the dark, by myself so I could be home by 7am to get in a shower and breakfast before the training. I don’t do well in the dark. I am confident that every sound is a mountain lion and every crack in the road will trip me and take me down. So forget running in the morning.

Running during our lunch break wasn’t an option as our lunch break was only 1 hour and I need at least an hour run not to mention changing and cooling down time. Plus when would I eat? I was already starving at 10am so to skip a meal at lunch to get the run in was not going to work.

That leaves running after the training as my only option. However, one kid has a Volleyball match at 5pm and the other kid has a soccer game at 6pm. I guess I could skip those to get my run in. But, the season is so short and one daughter is a senior so I don’t have many games left to watch.

Forget it. I just will have to skip a run today. And tomorrow too since the same obstacles will be before me.

This is why I came to the conclusion that you normal people have it really, really hard! You 8-5’ers have to really work to make it happen. I see you in my 5:45 am cycle class every Thursday and admire your ability to get up before the sun, day after day, so you can get your workout in. I see you at my noon cycle class on Mondays racing to get there on time and then cooling down with a cold shower and rushing back to work still sweating and chomping on a banana as you drive away. I see you at the Empire Runner workouts on Tue/Thur evenings after a long day at work, sacrificing dinner time and kids sports so you can get your run.

Working out is hard. Finding a good time to do it can be even harder. Something always has to be sacrificed – sleep, lunch, family time. Sometimes all three! The payoff is huge and I suppose that is what keeps you going. I admire all of you who get out there day after day despite the challenges you face with schedules and life!

Keep up the good work and hope to see you on the roads, tracks and trails!