Ravaging Wolves at the Gym

So this morning I was working out at the local YMCA and encountered the savagery that takes place before 7:00 am at the gym. I set my dumbells down, walked to get a drink, and some guy swoops in and snatches them up like a hungry crow diving on fresh road kill. I was shocked. Did he not see that I was using them? A similar type of incident happened last week when I was at the same Y at nearly the same time. A man with a shaved head and a scowl that would frighten young children dove onto a machine right in front of me as if he was going to miss out on his bread alotment for the month. Do people really need to act like this at the gym? I thought that those who worked out before the rest of the world was awake was supposed to be bound together by mutual deference. If you are getting out of bed hours before the sun cracks the horizon, you should acknowledge and respect the rest of the morning goons. So the next time that you are thinking about rolling out of bed early and heading to the gym for an early workout, watch out for those ravaging wolves who are scoping out your equipment from across the gym.

What gets you out of bed?

So the question I have been pondering over the last week is...what gets you out of bed in the morning? As I was home over the 4th of July I could not wait to roll out of bed at 5:30 am to hit the lake for some skiing, but others were not nearly as excited. Some think I am nuts that I roll out of bed before the sun is up to log a 15-20+ mile run on my day off. So what is it that gets you up in the morning? Is it the smell of pancakes and bacon? A early morning hike in the woods? Glassy water on the lake? Your running shoes? Quiet time with the Lord? Your workout partner? Maybe it is, "Mommy/Daddy can we get up?" For some of you it is probably needing to use the facilities! Is it fresh powder on the mountain? WORK? Every morning that my alarm goes off and I attempt to shake the fog out of my head I think about why it is that I am not simply staying cozy under my covers in dreamland. I am certain that getting up before our bodies are physically ready to be done sleeping is not the best thing from a health standpoint, but lets face it, it is necessary. So what gets you out of bed in the morning? Maybe it is the biting walleye on the lake? Or the thirty point buck awaiting you in the woods? The next time you pull yourself out of bed before it is even remotely wise, cherish what it is that causes you to leave the friendly confines of your warm soft bed and know that I am right there with you!