Day One

The first day is always an exciting one; after lots of preparing, planning and anticipating it finally arrives and a new challenge begins.
Every challenge day is important, but the first one can set the tone.  If you really enjoy the first training session of a new programme then, chances are, the rest will go well too.
If your eating is spot on for the first day, then it’s likely it will be for the rest of your challenge as well.
Why? Because success sets you up for success!
If you can succeed today, then you can succeed tomorrow and the day after that.

I woke up early this morning with a real spring in my step – I couldn’t WAIT to get started! I planned to train at 10am but I had to write first and get some admin’ out of the way.
Mondays are fairly quiet but TODAY, the world and his wife decided it would be a good day to talk to me, and ask all sorts of important questions like,
“What’s the weather like where you are this morning?”
“Erm (glancing out the window) it’s cold and windy with that fine misty ‘raining-but-can’t-really-be-bothered-to-really-throw-it-down-properly’ sort of rain. Why? Are you coming to visit?”
“No, I was just wondering…”
“Oh great…well, I’m glad I could be of weather service this morning!” Time – 9am
Then my mum popped up on Google chat to discuss various things and catch up (she lives in Italy). Time – 9.20am.
Next, there was an inpromtu writers review meeting to arrange the schedule right through until the end of December. Time – 10.10am.
Ok -I’m only ten minutes behind, that’s pretty good for me.
I leave my desk and head for the kitchen to get water to drink through training (I know I’m going to need it, having seen what’s in store), then one final check of email and I’m good to go.
I know better than this. I should have just stayed AWAY FROM THE OFFICE because, at that very moment, I was pounced on by the most efficient PR in the whole world, who wanted to arrange for a tech’ gadget to be couriered to me for delivery within three hours.
This is nothing short of miraculous and earned said PR the auspicious title of ‘nice James’ (well his name IS James)! Time – 10.20am.
Only 20 minutes behind now; it could have been worse, this is not a disaster.
So, FINALLY, armed with a glass of water and my iPhone (for stopwatch purposes), I was ready to commence battle with workout Day One…
Ding dong!  Woof…woof…WOOF-WOOF-WOOF!!! Oh for goodness sake, what is this? Some sort of conspiracy?!
I spend the next two minutes frantically searching for the door keys (the Teenagers, they like to set me a little ‘treasure hunt’ challenge every day by NOT putting them back in their proper place) whilst calling out to the delivery man that, “I won’t be a minute!” and muttering to myself that it would be more like three and what IS it with teenagers?!
“Hello love – delivery for you!”
“Thanks, sorry I kept you waiting – it’s a bit like living in Fort Knox here!” I explain, dutifully signing the electronic gizmo that always makes my signature look as if it belongs to a five-year-old.
“Ahh that’s alright…” I’m not sure what else he went on to say, although I’m sure it was very interesting, because all I could hear was the clock ticking further away from my planned training time of 10am.
I eventually did my first rep’ at 10.45am and finished an hour and five minutes later, feeling great.
Lesson of the day? I MUST keep in mind that the time I set aside for training is for ME, and that it’s just as valid and important as all the other things I need to do every day.
There was no conspiracy, my mum wouldn’t have minded if I’d said I had to go; the review meeting would have carried on without me. ‘Nice James’ could have waited for an hour and the delivery man would have left a card to say he tried to deliver a parcel.
The world would NOT have stopped turning if I’d done those things so I could start training at 10am.
Day One ticked of the list…69 to go!
See you tomorrow.