There was a four month stretch that I was running monday-friday everday by 4:30. At some points I would wear a head lamp but gut accustomed to the dark it eventually was not needed. Some mornings I was able to convince another local runner to run at 5 which made it nice before we both had to go to work
I did it for quite awhile but no headlamp. If running is the most important thing you do in a day, then why not do it first?
earlybird wrote:
There was a four month stretch that I was running monday-friday everday by 4:30. At some points I would wear a head lamp but gut accustomed to the dark it eventually was not needed. Some mornings I was able to convince another local runner to run at 5 which made it nice before we both had to go to work
I would agree not to wear a headlamp. Your eyes get used to the dark. I do a lot of my runs on an unlit paved trail (Rails to Trail in a suburban area) b/w 4 and 6 a.m.
It's still a good idea to carry a light of some kind. I don't use one to light my path, but it is handy for scaring off animals and any sketchy people you come across.
I usually do mine at midnight on a snow covered track and alternated between 20X2 miles and 30X8 miles. Oh, and I am NOT a night or morning person.
Never in the very very early morning
Sometimes in the middle of very early morning
One time in the late part of the middle of the very early morning
Several times in the early part of the middle of the early morning
Often times in late very early morning
Definitely in the last part very early morning
And never at night!
I've done hills and tempo first thing in the morning. Just have a half bottle of sports drink then go. Main problem is anything over 40 minutes and I need a dump so have to go somewhere with toilets.
Sometimes it makes me feel lethargic until lunch, or even all day - especially after a hard workout.
orlando84 wrote:
Sometimes it makes me feel lethargic until lunch, or even all day - especially after a hard workout.
I couldn't agree more. If I run easy, I'm okay, but even 6 miles hard will leave me a little lethargic. The runner's high people speak of seems a myth to me.
In the mornings I have found that I need to walk 5 minutes before my warm up or else I tend to get injured.
I do a pretty large percentage of my running beginning between 4:30 and 5:00AM. Usually I just run on the treadmill because I find it easier to deal with the hour when I can have a light and the TV on. In any case, if I am doing a hard workout I eat a packet of caffeinated jelly belly sport beans during my warmup, otherwise I just get up and go.
I always use a headlamp when running in the dark. Reason being all of the iJoggers around here love to run in all-black clothing during the wee hours of the morning. Fashion thing? Oh, and of course they're wearing headphones.
Due to the headlights on the cars I can't always see these idiots in time, but at least I know they can see me.
I used to find well lit areas (soccer fields or roads) and do intervals. It was the only way I could do early morning workouts. Also, a decent GPS watch will have the ability to click off timed intervals and light up the display. Towards the end of my running years, my Garmin did all that for me. Lastly, lots of high school tracks have lighted areas at night. Even if only one section of the track is lit up you can still hit the 400 splits on that side of the track. I honestly never had that hard of a time doing this, but, I've always lived in cities. If you're really way out in the sticks, you might be out of luck. Better get a wheel and become familiar with geography and landmarks.
Supposed to be working wrote:
I have to run my intervals on an unlit track starting at 5AM, requiring me to wear a head lamp. It's very tough to get out of bed and do this. Just wondering if anyone else does this insanity.
I must lack the get-up-early-in-the-morning-and-run-a-hard-workout gene. Even while competing in college in XC doing two a day workouts, I could only do medium tempo runs of 4-5 miles before class.
Despite what some runners say on here about feeling great in the morning, I know for a fact I run my best in the late evening. My high school mile PR of 4:31.72 was run at around 10pm on a Saturday evening. I also believe people's bodies, in general, are more attuned to running later in the day. This is likely one reason Olympic and World Championship track finals are held later in the day.
I don't doubt you believe what you're saying is true, but if you could manage to get yourself to do workouts in the very early mornings, you would find out that your body adapts to the time of day within a matter of several weeks, and you would soon be running equally as quick and feeling as good at 3am as you do at 3pm.
I had all my best times in races in college between 7 and 10pm. Now that I've changed by schedule to training at 3 or 4am and racing at 7 or 8am (road racing), I have run times faster than I ever ran on the track.
It's all a matter of what you prepare for and adapt to.
XCrunnerMD wrote:
Supposed to be working wrote:I have to run my intervals on an unlit track starting at 5AM, requiring me to wear a head lamp. It's very tough to get out of bed and do this. Just wondering if anyone else does this insanity.
I must lack the get-up-early-in-the-morning-and-run-a-hard-workout gene. Even while competing in college in XC doing two a day workouts, I could only do medium tempo runs of 4-5 miles before class.
Despite what some runners say on here about feeling great in the morning, I know for a fact I run my best in the late evening. My high school mile PR of 4:31.72 was run at around 10pm on a Saturday evening. I also believe people's bodies, in general, are more attuned to running later in the day. This is likely one reason Olympic and World Championship track finals are held later in the day.
Mid afternoon (2-4pm) is when most people's bodies are both hormonally (sp?) and physiologically primed for maximal exertion. Not everyone, but, most. This is tied, however, to one's regular circadian rhythms. I recall reading some studies before the 2000 games discussing how far before the events athletes would need to move to maximize training and adaptation when coming from Kenya. I think it was like 2 weeks, i.e., half a lunar cycle.
I am in a similar situation to the OP. Work, family, etc dictate that I run in the early AM or not at all. On weekdays this means 4:30, I "sleep in" on the weekends until about 6 usually. I have gotten use to it at this point and actually enjoy it. I always feel off when I miss a workout. I usually eat 1-2 gels with water before heading out and have a proper breakfast post run. I live in the Midwest so winter can be problematic due to ice / poor footing. I don't use a head lamp or any other light source for that matter. I've never had a problem but the paths I run on are pretty well lit. If I know that it's really icey out I'll stick to the treadmill.... Which, in my opinion, is WAY more painful then a pre-5 am run when it's 10 below out. I'll take outdoor running any day over the 'mill.
Winter running - Grass is safer when it's cold enough to ice. Just review the route regularly during the day to learn the grass lumps, dips, etc. Strongly advise a gradual warmup in the morning and soft surfaces. Stiff muscles and tendons can creep up on you. Wool socks that cover the achilles tendon are a smart idea.
No, just the easy relaxing kind...I am assuming that is what you're talking about, right? Otherwise, I don't know how long it's been since I did a hard tempo in the evening....just saying.
Yeah I workout every morning at 5AM
Dreamofrunning.com/weebly.com
"It's a lot harder to find an open track than it is to run a workout at 5am, I'll tell you that much. No less than four tracks in my city, all fenced in and locked 99% of the time."
If you pay school taxes, I think they must give you a key to those fenced in tracks. At least my local school does.
I run 3-4 miles of big hills in my neighborhood at 4:15am every Wednesday before my 12hour nursing shift. My neighborhood is well-lit, so I'm fortunate. It's a little hard getting out there in January, but never regretted running those hills!