PHOTOGRAPH: LAURA DOHERTY
Two years ago, you’d find me shu?ing out of the chilly darkness after a day at work, dumping my bags and pep-talking myself into lacing up my trainers and going back out into the bleak winter darkness for a run. An evening run on a balmy summer’s evening can be blissful. An evening run as icy raindrops smash into your face is torture. I’d procrastinate, eventually drag myself out, do my thing, come home and spend 45 minutes warming up and showering, only to find I had just enough time to cook and eat dinner before bed. Evening over. No time for lolling on the sofa with a good book or a Netflix show. Worse would be to throw my trainers back in the cupboard with a feeling of sluggish guilt. The catch 22 is, in winter, we naturally want to hibernate, yet exercise increases energy and mood – fighting back SAD symptoms and that dusky afternoon slump.
What I was doing was great; healthy meals, daily movement. It was when I was doing it that was making it unenjoyable. I had to make a change. I was never going to stick to my health goals if it made me miserable. I decided that if I wanted my evenings back, I’d need to find another time to exercise. But when? Jumping jacks in the office? Not ideal. Then I had a crazy idea. What if I just got up a little earlier?