Friday, July 16, 2010

Importance of the Early AM Run

I hate the mornings.  Let me say that again.  I HATE the mornings.  Sometimes I'd like to compare it to castration with a dull spoon.  And I define morning as 9am.  10 years as a professional musician will do that to you.

So how do I feel about 6am?  5.30am?  bleh

Yeah, anyway.  I am exagerating, but you get the point.

Well, I run 2-4 miles around that time.  Even if I have a 'real' run scheduled for later in the day.  The morning run gets me up and moving.   

Do you procrastinate in the morning?  I do.  Suddenly I need to watch stock futures or organize my boxes of pop tarts.  Anything to keep from getting going.  I spend an hour 'fueling up' for a workout that gets moved farther and farther into the day.

But for the AM run, there is no fueling.  There is no nothing.  Just have a pair of shorts and my shoes at my bed side.  Wake and run out the door.  No thought.  It's half over before I wake up.  It's not so much about fitness, but attitude.  Also, if I can't get to my 'real' run for the day,  I don't feel guilty.  During high volume weeks this really keeps your miles up where they need to be.  Breaking up your miles into twice a day, morning and night, works really well for me.  I still keep my 'long runs' continuous.

Obviously, if my scheduled run is an A-priority track, I don't do this.  But otherwise, a quick 20-40minutes in the morning goes a long way to motivate for training on any given day.  Somehow I'm out on the bike or at the pool earlier than if I planned on starting my day on the bike or at the pool.  Go figure.  A quick run before breakfast sometimes leads to a great run after breakfast, too.  Experiment.  Have fun.  Make the morning a little less crappy, if you hate the morning.  Don't rush the run.  Don't push it.  Just enjoy the sunrise as best you can.

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