The other benefits

Fact: Running is really, really good for you.  In the year since I started running, I have felt better physically and mentally than in a very long time.  I had been pretty sure of the improvements, but they weren't totally confirmed until I was in my post-marathon slump.  I was barely running 20 miles per week and as a result was tired, eating a lot of junk, and even a little bit on-edge.  I even felt guilty and resentful because I wasn't running enough.  Now that I've got a goal (the Columbus Marathon), I'm disciplined and feeling great again.

The obvious benefits are pretty objective.  Compared to non-runners, runners have:

• Higher levels of good cholesterol
• Increased lung function
• Boosted immune system
• Lower risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and osteoporosis
• Less stress
• Improved mood

Source

That list could probably go on a lot longer, but you get the gist I think.  How about the title of this blog post, though?  What do I mean by "the other benefits"?

After I woke up this morning, I pet the cats and watched the news for a few minutes, made the bed, put on my running gear, took the Browns to the Super Bowl, drank some water, then ran four miles (cut me some slack--at 5:30 it was already 77 degrees with 78% humidity).  I came home and cleaned the garage, watered our flowers, did my best Paul Bunyan impression on some tree roots, and staked some landscape border into the ground.  Inside, I changed the AC filter, did a little laundry, and washed the dishes.  I went upstairs and showered.  When I got out of the shower, the bathroom clock (which runs something like 5 minutes fast--I sync it with the bedroom clock, but somehow it always ends up way ahead) read 7:53.

It wasn't even 8:00AM and I had already completed what I know most people won't get done in an entire day.  What the heck does running have to do with it?  I'd insert a flow chart, but we haven't yet got Microsoft Office installed onto our new lappy, so you've just got to read:

I woke up at 4:45 to run at 5:30, which means that I probably got a solid one to two-hour head start on your average, non-running/exercising Joe-Shmoe.  Aerobic activity gets lots of energy going inside of you AND it makes your endorphins crazy-happy.  Right at the end of a work-out, even if you work the crap out of yourself (perhaps literally), you are likely going to want to be super productive.  On the daily, I take advantage of all of that energy and as a result, I always get tons of stuff done before the neighbors are even awake.  In the summertime, that means that I have the entire day to listen to Covino & Rich and NPR, take naps, loiter at the running shop, read about roller coasters online, and shop for cat toys.  During the school year, it means that I get to work and bounce off of the walls all day long.  Ahem, with a little help from a nonfat latte once I start to crash.  The point is that it's because I get up and run that I get as much stuff done every day as I do.

How does exercising affect your productivity?  And to backtrack, how do you feel when you don't get in that workout as compared to when you do?