On getting out of bed

Don't want to get up!

I've been getting up at 5 AM to go the gym for a while now, and it really isn't getting any easier, especially by Friday morning. I do it, but the discussion in my head after the alarm goes off is something like this:

"But I don't want to get out of bed - it is warm, and horizontal, and I could be cuddling."
"You always say that. And you also don't want to be flabby and out of shape."
"But it is dark out."
"So what. There are lights. You always feel better after going to the gym."
"But it is nice in bed."
"Yes, but the dog needs to go out to go potty."
"I could go back to sleep and more rest, so I won't be tired at work."
"You are already awake. You won't really go back to full sleep, so you'll still be tired. Better to get exercise than lie here fretting."
"But, but, but..."
"Just get your sorry, whiny ass out of bed! No more excuses."

At which point I usually manage to drag myself out of bed (where I have usually returned after turning off the alarm so it won't wake Benjamin) and put on my exercise clothes. The dialogue sometimes continues in the dark of the closet, ("But I haven't turned on any lights yet, so I could easily go back to sleep." "In your sports bra? Ha!") and on into the living room, where the couch is a decent stand-in for the bed - being horizontal and all ("I could just curl up on the couch and catch a little nap." "Miikka will just lick your face and bark at you. Get up!"). Once I have made it to the living room though, I am pretty much assured some form of exercise. Leaving the house for the gym helps too - once I am in the car, I feel stupid backing out.  This is one reason that a home gym doesn't seem all that useful to me - I could just ignore it, or make excuses, or procrastinate.  Instead, we have paid a membership fee for the community center gym, and I feel guilty if I don't use it, and if I go, I have to make use of it. Not really great logic as I am describing it in the middle of the day, but it does work on my still-sleepy brain at 5:15.

There have been days that I just could not face the gym, but then I try to substitute a walk, or 20 minutes with an exercise video, or tai chi. And I do always feel better. Getting up and moving makes my blood flow, unlike going back to sleep, which, unless I was up way too late the night before or I am actually ill, just tends to make me groggy and grouchy.