Every weekday morning, without fail, I get up at exactly the same time, pull on the same walking gear (always in the same place), give Wilfy a quick cuddle, and head straight out the door. Rain or shine, cold or mild, I do not think about it. I just go.
It is almost robotic – I do not negotiate with myself, I do not question the weather, and I do not wonder whether I feel like it. By the time I am down the road, I am already doing the thing. Momentum has taken over.
What has surprised me over the years is how this tiny daily ritual has taught me something much bigger: most hard things become easier the moment you start.
If I allowed myself to think too much about early dog walks, tough runs, long rides, strength sessions, or anything slightly uncomfortable, I would find excuses. Anyone would. But by building one automatic habit into my mornings – a simple walk with the dog – I have strengthened the muscle that says, “Just begin.”
That small act has helped me tackle the things that seem hard, boring or inconvenient. Not because I am more disciplined, but because I have removed the decision.
You start, and the motivation follows.
And Tomorrow… the South Downs Half Marathon
All of this talk about doing hard things is timely, because tomorrow I am lining up for a half-marathon trail run on the South Downs, starting from Plumpton Racecourse. The weather forecast is dreadful. It has rained solidly for a week. The course is going to be a complete mud-fest.
And my specific training? Let us just say that a handful of 30-minute HIIT treadmill sessions are unlikely to be the magic formula I was hoping for. Not ideal. Not clever. But it is where I am.
So tomorrow will be hard. It will be sloppy underfoot, exposed to the wind, and probably uncomfortable from very early on. But that is OK. It is part of the point.
Just like the dog walks, once I start moving, the momentum will take over. The challenge becomes the teacher. The day becomes the story.
I will report back afterwards – whatever the outcome – and log another entry in this long, slightly chaotic training journey that started way back in 2007.
