Need your help.

I am pretty good at getting the motivation to get up and workout first thing in the morning but…..

I slept in too late today and had a meeting from 10-12 so I missed my workout.

It is now noon and my couch is telling me to sit on it and enjoy blog stalking and forget about the whole ‘I love running more than ice cream’ thing.

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What do you do?

How do you motivate (push) yourself out of the door for a later workout?  Do you prefer later workouts or morning workouts?

What do you tell yourself to get up off of the couch and JUST DO IT?!?!

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72 comments

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I prefer morning workouts, but I have a bit of an insomnia problem so it doesn’t always work out for me.

If I have to work out later in the day, I just FORCE myself to plan it into the day, and then there is no excuse not to go. For example, if I eat lunch around 1, I tell myself that it will be gym time at 3, and then plan the rest of my day around that. It works about 90% of the time, haha.

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You are so right…there is no excuse NOT TO GO!! Thanks girl!!

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I definitely prefer morning workouts. My main motivator is how good I feel after a workout and throughout the day. Regardless of the time of my workout, I try to motivate myself with the runner’s high… and the occasional bowl of ice cream or oreo ;)

Get out there! You will thank yourself later!

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I’m usually really good at motivating myself with active-ness too~but IF I feel like that, I remember how healthy and strong I will be for when I someday have children and give birth! haha. I guess long term goals help me usually.

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My main motivator is my awful marathon 6 months ago. I just tell myself “you’ll never be a better marathon if you don’t get off of the couch”.

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watching motivational running videos or Nike commercials on youtube always gets me motivated too! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPO354_ugF8

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I LOVE these too!

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Sometimes for me it just works to put it in perspective. If I skip my workout, I spend the whole day thinking about how I should workout and I end up feeling lazy and down on myself the more I put it off. Sometimes I just have to say to myself, “Hey–if you want to stop thinking about working out then just DO IT so you can forget about it.”

It also works for me to do something different than planned–if I have a 6 mile run scheduled that I don’t feel like doing, I may tell myself I can cut it down to three. After three I may feel good and want to keep going! If so, great, but if I want to stop I let myself. Some activity is better than none!

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this happens a lot to me in the summer months.

what i do is play my game with myself. just tell yourself that you can go out and do 15 min or something like that and then after that much time if you still dont want to go on, you have the permission to stop.

99% of the time, I end up finishing.

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When I need motivation, I put on my exercise clothes. Once I’m in them, I have to work out before I take them off, otherwise I’d feel like a loser.

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I love a good morning work out! I had a great run this morning at 5am.

It’s hard for me to get motivated for afternoon and evening work outs, but I know I will feel worse if I skip it all together. So I just suck it up and do it.

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girl, IT IS OKAY if you skip a WHOLE workout day! i know you love your endorphins, but you could definitely just enjoy your blogs and your free time! : )

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i prefer morning workouts ~ but reality makes me have later workouts. i just can not happily wake up @ 4:00am to get a morning workout in. my bed is too cozy.
so, “later” workout motivation is normally done through picturing dinner. ha, i imagine the food i want to eat, and then it’s normally enough reason WHY i need to workout.
weekends are another story. if i don’t do morning workouts then ~ all bets are off ~ i can’t squeeze in afternoon workouts. afternoon naps however, are entirely different :)

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I dunno, didnt you do two hours of exercise yesterday? Maybe your body is telling you something:) I’ve struggled with this too, coming back from injury. I feel I should still be able to work out every day, but I think it may take time to build back up to that.
rest, enjoy your blog reading and maybe spend some time cooking or baking, watch a movie, read a book…
Your workout tomorrow will be even more awesome :)

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hahah Everyone else was like, GO DO IT, GIRL! I know you’ll end up working out- just giving you another option if you NEED it. ; )

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I always tell myself: “even if it’s only for 30 minutes,” it’s better than nothing and remind myself that I never regret going, but I often regret not going! That always gets me going somehow. But I agree, morning workouts are the beat way to do it whenever possible! :)

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I think about how good I’ll feel afterward and that usually does the trick.

Good luck getting moving!!!

(or maybe you could think of all of us office drones and how much greater teachers have it because they have summers off to exercise anytime :))

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I WISH I woke up early enough to work out. I’m not a morning person and well I have this pesky thing called day job and 2 pesky things called children. Ok, so my children aren’t pesky, but getting up super early to work out never sounds appealing knowing I have to help the hubby get them ready and myself ready all before 7:15am. So I do the whole night work out thing–put the kids to bed, tell my husband to leave the room and then I kill myself on one of the million Jillian Michael’s DVDs OR I take lots of walks outside (sometimes w/ a friend and sometimes w/ my kiddos in their wagon and if my hubby is feeling it a family walk) that seems to get me in the mood, good weather and the chance to be outside…other than that….I look in the mirror and that’s my motivator (or my husband telling me that he’ll do the dishes so I can work out!)

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I am a morning workout person, but if I am meeting someone, I will show up for an afternoon session. That or I put on my swimsuit – that’s plenty of motivation to get me out the door!

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Think about all the times you wanted to run when you were injured! (that usually works for me)

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Get out the door girly! Remember all those weeks of wishing you could run? RUN!!

Unless you’re just plain tired, then listen to your body and rest.

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I teach aerobics every am at 4 and then have to go back in the pm and teach more aerobics…..so that basically forces me to go!! However, when I do need to do my own runs before the pm class I say these 2 mantras to myself…….”you never regret a good workout” and “you can either be sorry (that you didn’t work out) or sore”. PLUS think of all the injured, disabled, etc people who would love to have a healthy body and perform a workout!

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I actually just wrote a post about my lack of motivation yesterday!
http://runningonsmores.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/today-im-thankful-for/

Get out and workout and for all of the people who can’t! Do it for yourself and think about how great you’ll feel afterward! It’s the one thing you never regret!

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I start to think about other things while I mindlessly get dressed and walk to the gym, annnnnnnnnd all of a sudden I’m there! haha

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I like afternoon/evening workouts better anyway. Usually just changing into workout clothes when I’m not feeling it gives me the boost I need. Or I bargain with myself and say “just 20 minutes” you can quit after that if you want. Sometimes I’m feeling good after 20 and continue on, other times I quit. At least it was something!

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I know your pain! There are a few things I do. First, I always say to myself “you NEVER regret working out once you’ve finished.” Sometimes I ask a friend if they want to go, then you’re committed because you can’t strand them. Otherwise (seriously) this ALWAYS does the trick: It’s the Matt Scott “No Excuses” Commercial. Its seriously moving!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obdd31Q9PqA

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I’ve never seen this before, totally motivating!

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Alright lady – you unfortunately only have a few days a week you’re allowed to workout, so I would say go and make the most of your days you have. I guarantee you’ll be so much happier having gone than having relaxed on the couch with ice cream. It’s so hard to go but knowing you, you’ll regret having skipped it!

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Oh, I have to workout in the morning. If I don’t, there’s a good chance I won’t exercise at ALL. I know- terrible. My motivation decreases significantly with every passing hour past 7 am!
So yeah- no answers here :)

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I prefer later workouts but the ONLY time I can work out is from 5:30 – 7:00 in the morning!! :( / :( / :( / sad face conga line

Start listening to music and lace those sneakers…. you have so many pairs you have to get your money’s worth out of them!! haha

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Time to bribe yourself with some fro-yo. Or *gasp* take a day off.

Personally, I prefer afternoon and evening workouts, but I know what it feels like to be unmotivated.

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I feel like a brown-noser by saying this but I actually do this: I read running/fitness blogs before my workout, including yours! It’s motivating to read what other bloggers have done exercise-wise lately, plus I get good ideas on how to change up my routine and make it more exciting. Sometimes that’s what does the trick – trying a different cardio machine or a different running trail or taking a class you’ve never tried before. :)

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I would love to be one of those people who could crawl out of bed while it’s still dark outside and get a good workout in. However, I’m also a night owl and my kids wake me up as early as 6:30am. I need my coffee before I can even function. The best time for my workouts is while my 2 yr old daughter is sleeping. I don’t get to the gym, but I can get on my elliptical and pop in Jillian Michaels for a good butt kicking. This provides great entertainment for my 3 yr old son, and shows him that you can have fun while working out. Occassionally, he tries to do some of the exercises on the video. When I was in college, I prefered to workout at the end of the day. It took my stress away and I loved a good night run.

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I come up with a “treat” for myself post-workout!!!!

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I am off of work for the summer too – so it is strange to have to reschedule your day. I enjoy morning workouts, mostly so I can beat the heat if it is a run day. During the school year, I workout IMMEDIATELY after getting home. I don’t even sit down before I change. I would like to switch to one AM workout and one afternoon workout next school year and see if I can get into a new routine.

When I am not feeling it, I turn on my workout DVD and start warming up and by the end I forgot I didn’t even want to start. If it is a run day, I negotiate with myself – “If you can run for 5 min, take a 2 walk, and see how many times you can do it.” I always get through it, even if I wanna cry and make a stop by the ice cream bar on my way home. I also think about all those other people who got in a great workout and my green envy kicks in and I head out the door. Get moving!!!! haha

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I’m usually a morning workout kind of person too- – -or I go immediately after school. To motivate myself, I always remind myself I never regret a workout I did/do, only the ones I missed.

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I prefer morning workouts, but I’ve been having a serious case of the lazys lately!! I try to tell myself that I won’t regret getting that workout in, but I will regret skipping it. Sometimes that does the trick!

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Fine! I will get off my ass and get that work out in! Been up since 3:30am, thanks to a nasty storm that blew through, sending the little boogers into my bed, and killing the electricity. So tired, just want a nap, but I bet a quick workout would get me through the day!

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Welcome to my life. It’s SO hard sometimes! I usually just have to set a time. If I say “I’ll go in 10 minutes” it just turns into 10 more minutes. Then 10 more. Then I’m asleep. If I say “Get there by 4:00” it usually works. And I NEVER lay down because that is a nap waitin’ to happen.
Oh and one more! My favorite quote: “Begin, and the rest is easy.”

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OMG go to Carrots N’ Cake ASAP and download this “workout flow chart. It will change your life and help you get up and just do it.

http://carrotsncake.com/2011/06/i-dont-want-to-workout-today.html

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YOU ARE MY HERO!! This is perfect! Thank you so much gorgeous girl!

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I enjoy working out first thing in the morning too. I like to get on with my day knowing that I’ve already got my run out of the way. If things come up and I have to schedule it for later on, it’s hard to get out the door, but I just think about the people who inspire me…like YOU! Once I get started, I feel so dang good and can go on forever. But there are those days when your body just says NO. All you have to do is make sure you can distinguish between REST and LAZINESS ;)

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Sometimes I imagine how sweet and lovely my butt will look in my short running shorts and jeans if I get myself out the door. :) ha ha!

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Woman, I will just think of how hot your bod is and that if I keep running I can look like YOU….PERFECT MOTIVATION!!!

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Look at the pros and cons of both. In reality, although our brains like to think different, it won’t effect you if you skip. I mean, your Janae. You WILL workout tomorrow and it’s not like you are “inconsistent” in the first place. Either way you go will be great! You love doing both!

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I adore you!! Thank you so much for your advice. Pro’s and Con’s always works!!

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Two ways I get up early in the morning to workout. 1.) I sleep in my workout clothes, totally sexy I know. 2.) And I give the credit to Chic Runner for this one. Leave the Ipod next to your bed, as soon as your alarm goes off, turn on your ipod and put your headphones on. You won’t go back to sleep that way and the music motivates you to get up and start moving.

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I am a morning gal BUT
if I cannot run in the morning for some reason and I CAN do it later and there is no excuse not to go, I go. I tell myself that I will feel better after. the tricky part is getting in the running clothes..once that is done…I am good…so go put your shorts on missy!

I see you changed your blog..I did not notice before…yes guilty of no commenting for a little while…I was in Canada visiting my family!!!
ok now go…go go!!!!
are you out the door ?
no?

what are you waiting for?
GO!

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I’m definitely a morning workout girl by preference, but lately I’ve been getting in some good doubles and/or evening workouts by joining some group workouts. It helps motivate me out the door when I know someone will notice if I skip. I also motivate myself by reminding myself how much better I’ll feel after I just get moving. The first mile is usually hard, but it gets easier and even when it doesn’t I’m still glad I got out there and tried. Let’s see if i take my own advice and make it to my brick workout tonight…

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I am fighting that RIGHT NOW!!! I got up early and ran errands this morning and just woke up from a 2 hour nap. I’m supposed to go to spin class at 5:30 and I have a headache and I’m so tired!!!!!!!!

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I definitely prefer evening workouts. I’m not used to running in direct sunlight anymore. I usually get out the door somewhere between 7pm and 9pm and it is the best time. The low light is relaxing, and I can just get completely absorbed in my podcast and run forever. (Don’t worry, I wear reflective clothing and a red blinky light and stick to the sidewalks for safety). Then I come home, eat, take a hot shower, and sleep like a baby.

If I run in the morning, I just spend the whole time thinking how terrible running is and how much better bed is. I think my body needs some wake-up time.

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I can totally relate. When I am working my normal schedule it is so easy for me to wake up at the crack of dawn and get the workout in. But Saturdays when I have something at like 11am I can’t get it in before then? umm hello rachelle?

You got this girl. It is a beautiful day. Go run outside. I promise it will make you happy! :)

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In general, if you do it, you will be happy with the accomplishment. If you don’t, you might get cranky or feel lazy for the rest of the day. Your call… my suggestion: just get up and do it! (And this is coming from a mother of two small kids who works full time). And I already ran and did a weights work out today. ;)

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GIRL!!! You are my hero….2 small kids and a full time job and lots of working out!!! Thank you so much for your advice!

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No problem. Anytime I don’t feel like working out, I think about the people who fight physical disabilities to run and be athletic. It might seem dramatic, but it works for me. :)

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I love morning workouts…. espcially 5:30 am spinning class and 6:00 runs… I love the feeling that while everyone is sleeping I’m out exercising… leaves my whole day open!

Lately I’ve been sleeping through my alarm clock though…. gah! If I workout after work it has to be a spinning class or something – someone who is telling me what to do and yelling at me to go harder.

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Janae, I always think of you and how you talk about those endorphins – much better than couch endorphins are excercise endorphins – go get em girl!!

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YOU ARE SO SO RIGHT!! Those endorphins are WORTH getting off the couch!! Thank you so much Clair!

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I always tell myself to suck it up and just do it! However, I will say that it is definitely okay to skip a workout every now and then, and we both know we shouldn’t beat ourselves up about it. If I skip a planned workout day, I will end up feeling badly about it and getting down on myself. I try to always remind myself that I have a rest day coming up and I can chill then, but if I want my body to change and if I want to be a better athlete, then I better get my butt in gear. I also always think that those top athletes didn’t get where they are today by skipping workouts regularly. :)

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I tell myself that I need to shower. I feel like unless I workout… a shower is unneccesary(which somedays is not true) I use this logic..You don’t want to smell at work tomorrow, you don’t want to shower unless you have worked out, you really need a shower, so you should just get up and work out so you don’t feel like you are taking a pointless shower :)

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I picture this yellow nastiness– http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com/muscle-to-fat.html — attached to my body. Then I’m up and at the gym before I know it. And by gym, what I really mean is, in my living room doing a workout, or outside running.

Monica @ Ask the Duplex

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What’s the question? LOL

And why are you asking it?

That silly sofa will be there allllllll day and allllllll night, and so will all your favorite blogs. But if you don’t get out there, it ain’t gonna happen! So go! Make it happen!

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You are so right….the couch will ALWAYS BE THERE!! Thanks girl for the motivation!

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i tell myself, run for 10 minutes and see how you feel after that. Usually I enjoy it. go for it girl!

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Thanks LINDSAY!!! I adore you and you always have the best advice!

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I prefer to work out later in the evening after the kiddos go to bed. I’m not a morning person, I’ve always naturally been a night owl so it’s just easier on me later in the day. Just get up and get ‘er done. You won’t regret it. Or take a rest day :)

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Heard this quote once and I’ll never forget it. “Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning , noon and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired.” George S. Patton, US Army General, 1912 Olympian.

That is my motivation to get moving no matter what time of day it is. But I do prefer mornings for sure!!

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I workout in the morning too, and if I miss it there is a really good chance I’m not doing it that day. I usually say the same things the other commenters are saying as well, like that I will regret it if I don’t go, or tell myself that I only have to do 30 minutes and go from there. BUT.. if I have been on a good streak of going to the gym and I don’t think I will beat myself up for not going and I REALLY just want to relax? I will just relax and take an impromptu rest day. There is nothing wrong with those :)

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It’s tough to say which I like better.
A.m. is great because I can get up & get it done before the kids are even awake yay!
P.m. is great because I’m already awake lol :) :)
I don’t have the luxery of going whenever I want so I know if I don’t get up in the a.m. (if the evening is a fail) I don’t get my workout. Simple as that! :) :)

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Hi there,

I’m interested in why there’s a difference between morning and evening workouts:?

I’m not questioning that there is a difference, only what that difference is!

It may be that you get to the bottom of that and you will find out ‘how’ to make it easy to do a workout whenever you want.

Let me know,
George Super Boot Camps

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Love running in the mornings! If I wait until later, it’s too difficult to get up the energy.

BUT if it is later, I just get motivation by telling myself that I will hate the next 10 minutes of getting ready, but I have NEVER regretted going for a run!!!!

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If I don’t get up and exercise it doesn’t happen. Like you, the couch and the TV call my name and I usually answer. So morning workouts all the way. And just remember, you will ALWAYS feel great after a workout, even after a bad workout, so just do it! The couch will wait for you… :)

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