This is my journey of creating a daily writing habit. I write minimum 500 words per day. If I am not blogging, then I am doing a homework assignment, work deliverable or submitting a proposal. Come hell or high water, I make sure to write 500 words per day! I am working on writing one specific topic. Today I will write 500 words about my workout this morning.

I woke up at 0430, like usual. I was tired and considered hitting snooze, but I am on a 5-day streak, so I got up right away. I put on my workout clothes and then sat down in my dark closet for my 10-minute meditation. I set my timer and closed my eyes. Breathing deeply, I concentrated on clearing my mind and setting my intention for my day. I have a very busy day planned, with many appointments and commitments, so I tried not think about all of that, but rather to think about my attitude. I intent to be a happy mom, businesswoman, patient and friend today. I intend to present myself in a cheerful demeanor and not complain about anything. I am thankful to be in this position and I am blessed beyond belief. This was my mantra this morning and when the alarm went off, I went out into the garage. The meditation is the first part of my workout, the part where I get out of my own head and allow my mind to quiet down and reflect on the positive.

Going out into the cold dark garage is the hardest part of my workout. It’s freezing, quiet and not motivating in there. I look around and I see two cars, two dirt bikes, a bunch of tools and some exercise equipment. It’s not flashy, or fancy. I have just enough room for my bike and some floor space for my stretches. I switch on the light, put on my cycling shoes and clip in. Turning on my Peloton, I am tempted to put on a 15-minute low impact ride and call it good because I’ve been working out hard all week. Then I remember my intentions from my meditation, and I go back to the plan. 30-minute Power Zone Endurance ride, here I come! I select Olivia Amato’s latest 30-minute option and get to pedaling. I receive a couple of high fives during the warm-up and I forget all my hesitation from the morning. I am in the zone now, ready to hit the 18-minute set. During the 18 minutes, I am watching my zones, my heart rate, working on higher cadence/lower resistance because I don’t like pedaling fast. I do it anyway. When the 18 minutes is over, I am so ready for the cool down.

Sweat drips down my shoulders, down my forearms and into a small puddle below the bike. I feel energized.

After the cool down, I select 10-minute Arms Toning with Robin Arzon. We get going with biceps, triceps and shoulders, finishing with some punches. The arm classes are difficult for me, even with 3-pound weights as I work on keeping tempo.

I finish my workout session with 5-minute full body stretch. During this time, my heart rates comes back down to normal and I am ready to begin my day!

I spent 45 minutes in the cold, dark, cramped garage and I came back into the house feeling like superwoman! The children are still asleep, so I quietly jump in the shower and then make breakfast for myself. I sit in my dark office, ready to begin my work day, already having accomplished so much for the day.

I am reminded of my days in the Marine Corps, when we would show up at 0400 for a mission brief, spend an hour prepping our helicopters, go out for a quick test flight and warm up the .50 caliber machine guns. We would return from the test flight around 0630 and that’s when our 12-hour crew day would begin. Everything leading up to starting the crew day is crucial for success. If you fall behind in the pre-work, your day is bound to get out of whack. It’s the same concept today. If I set my morning up just right, and I am in the right mindset, I take control of my attitude and can conquer my day.