How do I get my body feeling ready to go and workout early in the morning? When to wake up, what to eat, etc.?

"Early" 7-8am runs? You a teacher, bro?

A glass of water and I'm out the door.

I'm a student. Yes 7-8 is early for me to do quality runs since I'm not used to it. Just asking for advice. I can slog out a regular 8 miler early by just waking up, but it doesn't feel good really in my legs and I feel groggy. Asking how I can adapt to feel better for workouts at 8am.

How old are you?

19..not sure why that's relevant

cup o' coffee and a banana for breakfast

Get in the habit of going to bed earlier and getting up earlier... as in go to bed at 9:30-10 and get up at 6am. Being up an extra hour will help a lot. Once you get in the habit of going to bed earlier, it's easy to do.

Eat immediately at least one hour before practice starts: One piece of toast with tsp of jelly and a tsp of peanut butter. If you can handle that, go to two pieces of toast.

Do some calisthenics: Pushups, jumping jacks, sit ups, burpees, etc. The high glycemic foods (toast and the jelly) and the exercise will jump start your metabolism and help you wake up.

Get to the workout early and warm up 15 minutes on your own. Just easy running and drills.

Caffeine: Sometimes when I'm rushed, I'll take a caffeine pill instead of a cup of coffee. One 200mg caffeine pill has as much caffeine as a mug (10-12oz) cup of strong coffee. I'd suggest you only take a half a tablet since you're not a coffee drinker. This should be done about an hour before the workout starts.

if i really want to run hard in an a.m. workout:

1) go to bed an hour earlier

2) get up an hour earlier (at least 2 hours before my planned workout)

3) the minute i get up, throw running stuff on & do 10 minute shakeout

4) come back, shower, light stretching, light breakfast + coffee. read some news & get other crap ready for workday (lunch, clothes, etc).

5) do a longer-than-normal warmup. 30 minutes of jogging/drills/strides.

if you do all that before your workout, you will be fully awake by the time you hit the track/trail/road. it's all about routine, getting up early, and getting your body awake with the jogging, light meal, etc. you can't expect to workout at the level you do at say, 3pm, by just rolling out of bed & throwing on your gear.

time to get up wrote:

But now I have to be in workout mode at 8-9am.

Your coach is a moron, then. Sleep is a time of anabolic tissue building. You can't be energetic until that reverses into a catabolic energy state. It takes all day for that to happen. And if you eat breakfast, you have to use energy to digest that breakfast, which again is energy that can't be used for exercise.

What you will have to do is start waking up at 3 a.m.

If I had to guess, I'd say your coach is very skinny and has a long-distance background.

When you get older ... waking up early is easier, staying up late for "old folks" becomes increasingly more difficult, but you wake up early, naturally. I went to a New Year's Eve party with a group that was composed of people between 35 - 45. No one planned to stay up till midnight. ;-)In my teens and early 20s it was a chore to wake up before 6:30AM. Now, as an old guy in my 40s, I wake up around 5:45 - 6:00, without having to set an alarm clock. Some mornings it is earlier ... 5:00ish, and think to myself "have another cup of coffee and might as well head off to work". Also, every hour of sleep before midnight is worth double what you get after midnight. ;-)

time to get up wrote:

19..not sure why that's relevant

Up at 6. Dress. Banana. Coffee. Poop. Out the door by 6:20.

Running clothes chosen and laid out the night before.

Pooping is not optional. No poop, no run: it's the law.

angry willy wrote:

Also, every hour of sleep before midnight is worth double what you get after midnight. ;-)

Source?

Just doing workouts at that hour will get your body used to it. There's nothing intrinsic in your body that makes it run better in the afternoon. Your body will adjust.

'What to eat..'...you're not serious?

You don't feel comfortable, you're tired, and your legs don't feel fresh? Duh!

Stay in bed. Let's face it running isn't for everyone.

Just get up and go to practice until it becomes second nature. You don't need food. You've been lying down for 8 hours saving energy.

Coffee is fine because it helps you mobilize your stored energy but the idea that your tank is empty in the morning is ridiculous.

I grab a banana and put peanut butter all around it. Here is they part. Drink a cup of water and right after you are done stick the banana up your butt. Pull your pants up and go for your run. Not gonna lie, you are never going to feel more ready than that.