Feeling Good is Overrated

well, I'm just kidding about that title of course, but sometimes the work that goes into feeling good can make me wonder if it's all worth it (answer: yes). I'm having these musings because I'm now into the fourth week of my half-marathon training, and I've gotta tell you: I feel amazing. I am energized throughout the day. I've started waking up earlier. I'm even getting on the right sleep schedule. I just feel so alive! But here's what must happen for me to feel this way:
I wake up at 5:50 or 6:00 (or - gasp! - 5:30 on my early work weeks), throw on some clothes, drive over to my sister's neighborhood where she bullies me into running anywhere from 2 to 3 miles. (It will soon be 4. Yikes.) Then I drive my tired butt home and get ready for the day. I do this four times during the week, which means there is 1 day where I get to "sleep in" until 7. Then on Saturdays - those glorious Saturdays for which I used to plan to get up mid morning, make a huge breakfast for myself and sip coffee while I read a book (yeah, never happened, but I had PLANS) - I instead get up at 6:30 AGAIN, and go for a run that grows 1 mile each week. This Saturday, my sis and I are running 5 miles. On Sundays, I really get to sleep in - until 9 or so.
So it's tiresome to me to do all of this, but the benefits are there. I think in another few weeks I'll feel even more amazing (I better! I'll be running, like, 4-10 miles per day!), so it will be even more clear that I'm doing something good for myself. So I'm just complaining a little bit, because it's too good to go back to my lazy past. And my second half marathon is going to go better than my first. And 2 half marathons is a great accomplishment. Looking forward to it!
So - hey, anyone want in? We meet at the crack of dawn at my sister's house! Join us.