richard and i used to run together. usually our runs were prompted by me training for some race or another, richard coming along to get some exercise and to motivate me, and him eventually running the race too because he had done all the training anyway. using this technique, he trained for two half marathons! now that we have a third family member, it's not quite as easy to use this form of motivation so we have worked out a new schedule that allows us both to get more exercise. it has two parts:
richard gets up three days a week at 6am and goes for a run first thing in the morning. these days it's still dark when he leaves the house, and the sun is just rising when he returns home. to help him stay motivated, i get up with him and shower, dress etc before we wake madeline at 7am. this means he knows i'm suffering too, and he isn't the only one waking up at an obscene time for the sake of his health.
the second part of the deal is that on the days that richard works at home--the same three days he is up and running in the morning--he takes over with maddie at 5:30 as soon as he finishes work, and i head out for a run during the hour before 6:30. just having him come in and ask when i'm heading out has been enough to motivate me so far, even though it has rained on me already twice this week.
this whole plan is working out quite well so far, but i wonder how motivated i will be when it's both raining and dark. we may have to come up with a different strategy for december.
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