Day 14: Switch up Happy Hour for a Physical Activity #30DaysofGOOD

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Welcome to The GOOD 30-Day Challenge (#30DaysofGOOD). Each month, we challenge our community members to do something that will improve the world around us—and our own lives. The challenge for October? To get healthy. In an effort to help us all rise to the occasion, we're going to assign one small task every day. Each morning, we will post the challenge on GOOD.is and Twitter, along with a testimonial from someone on the GOOD team who's already completed it. We invite you to complete all 30 mini-challenges with us! Today, we challenge you to:

Switch up happy hour for a physical activity.

Here at GOOD, we’re pretty enthusiastic about our after-work extracurriculars, generally centered on the margaritas at El Chavo. But the other night, in the name of health and longevity, I declined to join my colleagues at the bar and instead repaired to the Silver Lake Reservoir for a brisk run. Twice around the lake is almost four and a half miles, a pretty ambitious midweek run for someone in my second-rate physical shape, so by the time its done I feel accomplished as well as sweaty. Let the stretching begin!

Running after work was definitely a positive move. It was a stress reducer and gave me a great energy boost, but by the time I took a shower and ate dinner it was 9 p.m., not exactly my ideal time to get amped up on a Wednesday. I also missed hanging out with margaritas, and of course, my friends.

The lesson here seems to be that pursuing a both/and strategy might be the best way to balance my desire for iniquity with responsible behavior: Running in the morning before work would deliver me the benefits of exercise, an energy boost during the productive part of my day, and time for socializing and sweet tequila at the end of the day.

-Tim Fernholz

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Ready, set, go! Good luck completing today's challenge. Share your experience on Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook by using the hashtag #30DaysofGOOD, or let us know how it went in the comments section below.

Tomorrow's challenge: Take a siesta.