Sometime Motivation Is Only a Cubicle Away

Did everyone have a nice Memorial Day weekend? Bo and I loved having an extra day to spend together enjoying some of our favorite things such as running, cooking and planning a few upcoming trips together. In case you’re catching up, here’s what went down this weekend.

• A Quick Trip down to Georgia
• Sunday & Monday Funday

Last night’s dinner ended up being even more amazing than I expected! While we used to get bored with grilled chicken since we made it so often last night it hit the spot. Our menu was inspired by the fresh ingredients we found at the Union Square Farmer’s Market yesterday including peas, Jersey Tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil plants, and zucchini!

It was hand’s down delicious and the perfect summer meal!

Now that we’ve talked about the weekend, let’s talk about a different topic that is near and dear to my heart, motivation.

People often ask me how I find time or energy to workout 5-6 days per week in addition to blogging and a 55-60 hour work week. The easy answer, partially joking, is often that my metabolism requires it of me. But, in all honesty, I love the energy and high that I feel after a strong workout. Until last week, I considered myself a morning workout person. I rarely worked out in the evening and often found enough energy in my morning workout to forego a coffee. It helps wake me up and prepare me for the day. But then, a co-worker named Marcial came along. We’ve known each other a little over a year and during that time have often enjoyed “water cooler conversations” during which point we’d talk about our weekends. But, once Marcial found out that I was also a runner, the discussions turned primarily running focused. After a month of ignoring his Outlook Calendar invites for my office’s 5:30 run club, he finally asked me point blank last week.

“When are you going to join us? You run all the time but never with us?

Little did Marcial know that making someone change their habits is tough. The idea of working out, especially running, after a long day of work when I’m not “ready” to leave my desk yet is challenging and frankly not very exciting. I normally don’t leave until around 7 so the thought of leaving early started to stress me out more than excite me. But, finally, I gave in and ran with three of my co-workers last Wednesday on what was a longer than expected run. Due to my office’s location we ran to the park talking and laughing for six miles. Today I joined them again, this time for four miles in Central Park through the hazy, thick 87 degree summer air.

I promise there is a point to this long winded story. The point is that sometimes you can find motivation in the places you never expect it. If I’m going to make the New York City Marathon a charm this year (3rd time!), then I’m going to need to push my training in ways I haven’t previously while also being smarter. I already know that Gia wants to challenge me to fill DailyMile with longer mid-week runs. While I find daily inspiration from runners like Christine, it’s this small office group that has finally made me try and stick with evening runs that are farther and faster than I expected. The conversation comes easily since we work together, the miles fly by since I have company, the park’s hills challenge my legs, and the heat is great conditioning.

Next time you find yourself looking for motivation, step back and look to the people closest to you because sometime motivation is just a cubicle away.