you sound like a typical serial killer who was very motivated and busy all night to wake up early.

Fair question.

To me, the run is what kickstarts my motivation to do anything with my day. Days/weeks where I can't run, like this past week for me (minor back/hip related pain from overdoing it in my first ever curling games last weekend) make it really hard for me to do almost anything. I'll want to do something, like play guitar or video games but the moment I sit down to do them I'm just completely meh about it, putting me at risk of doom scrolling or some other waste of time.

When I run, I feel more alive than at any other time and that feeling carries through the day and affects everything I do. Its one of the biggest positive forces in my life.

You don't have to go hard either. A 10 minute easy wake up run is unfathomably more effective than a coffee for me. That said, I drink a lot of coffee too. Haha.

I never thought I'd be a runner. Ever. I laughed when my wife asked me to go for a run the first time. I've been running for three years now. I was averaging 45km/week last year and aim to run my first marathon this summer. It had a snowballing positive effect on almost every aspect of my life so I'm 100% dedicated to keeping that ball rolling.

When you get into it, running feels amazing and you genuinely look forward to getting up in the morning to go outside. It probably won't click immediately though.

I love the "my sport is your punishment" analogy for other athletes lol

No don't! You're becoming one of them!