5 a.m.
I’m standing on the 45-yard line on Madison Central’s football field. It’s 45 degrees with a 13 mph wind that makes the 45 degrees on the thermometer a lie. I’m wearing shorts.
No one ever said I was smart. Or warm.
My bed was warm, though. I almost needed an oyster shucker to get out of it this morning. But I did. It takes 21 days to creates new habit. We’re six days into this one. My feet overrode my brain and hit the floor at 3:58.
Improvement requires action.
We start our warm-ups. High knees, inch worms, over and under the fence. With it being cold, my muscles need to be warm. I look at my Line 1 teammates. They’re great athletes. My goal is to be as great as they are.
I focus on each exercise. Coach Trahan has us running game through the cones. Coach Clark fries our shoulder muscles with hand weights. I feel the burn. That burn means I’m getting stronger.
After an hour, I wasn’t cold anymore. My heart rate was up and so were my spirits.
It was 6 a.m. My day was on the right track.