Breaking Dawn, Breaking Habit: 2,000 Mornings

Two years ago I wrote about reaching 1,250 movement goals in five years. Today the counter shows 2,000.
 
Read the first part of the story:
Breaking Dawn: 5 Years, 1250+ Fitness Milestones
 
Passo gemma Silana - Sardinia - Italy
That's 750 more mornings since June 2024, at the same pace as before. Roughly seven years since my daughter started first grade and I decided my weekdays would begin before sunrise, with at least 30 minutes of training and 760 movement calories. Running, rowing, cycling. Sun, rain, snow, storm, and the roller trainer when the Austrian winter wins the argument.
 
What has changed? Honestly? Not much. And I think that's the point. The gear is exactly the same: the same Asics GT-2000s (well, newer pairs of them), the same Concept2, the same bikes, the same Tacx, the same Apple Watch Ultra. The routine is the same. The mantra is the same: "Let's do this." Only the alarm has moved. Over the years, 4:30 quietly became 4:00. Don't ask me how that happened.

The body has changed a little too. My back has taken a few more hits over the years. And a new companion joined me along the way: a heel spur. It comes and goes. Some weeks I barely notice it, some mornings the first steps are no fun at all. Regular fascia training keeps it manageable, and I've learned to work with it rather than against it. I won't pretend seven years of daily endurance work leave no marks. They do. But on balance I'm fit, and I feel it.
 
Proof of life

Dümmler hut hike Windischgarsten - Upper Austria




The weekday goals were never the whole story. They're what makes the weekends possible.

Over the past two years there were some more great trips with the guys, above all the now legendary three passes in two days: Wurzenpass and Vršič on day one, Predel on day two. Talking about that tour is half the fun, and we haven't stopped yet. And there were the beautiful hikes with my wife, the kind where the VIIIEEEEW matter more than the pace.


 
Grossglockner - descent Fuschertörl to Bruck
The latest chapter was last weekend: the Großglockner north ramp, from Bruck up to Fuscher Törl, 1,700 metres of climbing in 3:41 hours of riding time. Not on a carbon dream machine, but on my old KTM Ultra 1964 LTD hardtail: 27.5", 12.7 kg, a Deore/XT mix and completely ordinary wheels. A proper "Goam", as we'd say back home in Upper Austria. The mornings add up, and they still carry me up a mountain. And when they don't, they at least help me push the old "Goam" up the last and steepest metres. Faster than most people ride them. 
 
And now? A pause? 

Here's the new part. After goal number 2,000, I want to take a break.
 
Soča Valley - our hosts prepared a wonderful meal after a long day on the road
Not quitting. Pausing. Giving the back and the heel some rest, and finding out what my mornings look like when they don't start with a goal. I'll be honest … I'm not sure I can do it. After seven years, getting up and training isn't something I decide anymore, it's simply what happens. Not training will probably need more discipline than training ever did. Back in 2024 I wrote that I get up for myself, not for an app. Now I'll find out whether I can also not get up for myself.
 



What the 2,000 goals taught me

Consistency beats intensity. Small daily efforts compound into something you could never plan in one go. And maybe there is one more lesson I'm only learning now: knowing when to stop is part of the discipline too.
 
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." After 2,000 of them, the next step might be the hardest one: the one I don't take.
 
Thanks for following along. Let's see how long I last. 😉
 
Part one of the story: 
Breaking Dawn: 5 Years, 1250+ Fitness Milestones

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