Why am I so much slower (35+ sec) in morning workouts?

I’ve always had this issue. But what I found is that my half marathon race pace was always 10 to 15 seconds faster per mile then my morning tempo run pace. But what I found is that my half marathon race pace was always 10 to 15 seconds faster per mile then my tempo run pace it’s not great for confidence. It’s not great for confidence, but I was getting the same effect.

I only run in the mornings unless I'm doubling, and I can run workouts pretty fast (fast enough to where they should be for goal race times). But now, after reading this thread, I'm wondering if I could hit better workouts in the evenings...I don't really have time for that, but interesting thought.

When I competed in college and had an early morning competition, the rule from the coaching staff was you have to be awake 4 hours before you compete. I imagine the same would be true if you're doing an early morning workout, if you want to perform optimally, you need to be awake sufficiently long beforehand. If that's not possible, then don't worry about being slower in the morning as long as you get your workout in.

How much so you sleep?

Sounds to me like you're tired. Too tired, specifically. Your body is able to get back up to speed by the end of the day but isn't ready in the mornings because you're not getting enough sleep and recovery consistently.

It's because you call them striders. Try strides, they work perfectly.

Kipchoge and many other elite runners in Kenya repeatedly reported that they do the tough workouts early in the morning after a cup of tea. For how long have you been working out in the morning? It might just be that you need to get used to it or tweak something to make it work, but in general I would say that working out early in the morning should be just fine

Completely agree, entire body just feels horrible. Shaking out at 8min pace in the morning will feel brisk and then I will tempo at 5:20 easily in the afternoon. Despite having a routine of waking up early I still can’t seem to get it down. I always struggle with the morning workouts regardless of sleep or nutrition.

Hs coaches said wake up at least 3 hours before and that worked.

Its night and day for me, no pun intended. I always feel like death in the Morning and am amazed how good I feel running later that day. For me, it just simply giving the body a chance to get going, get the blood pumping.

I was always an evening runner. On double days or morning team workout days I would absolutely drag during morning workouts. However, after settling down with a job and family I started to really suffer from exhaustion and fatigue during evening runs, or miss them altogether because of things that would come up.

I was effectively forced into doing morning runs. It felt like torture at first. However, after about two weeks I settled into a routine and I actually look forward to waking up and getting the miles in now. The main thing I've found to help was getting proper nutrition before heading out the door.

Best I can do is lunchtime runs and the occasional Sunday long run if I am meeting people, as long as it doesn't start earlier than 8 (and that's pushing it). Otherwise, I'm definitely an afternoon/evening runner. No amount of morning running have I ever adapted to. It takes my body a while to wake up and get the blood flowing. In high school and college when I lived in Texas, our practices started around 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning. I never got used to it and suffered from the lack of sleep. No matter what time I go to bed, I don't fall asleep before midnight or so. Luckily as an adult now living in the PNW and owning a treadmill, I can run whenever I want. Of course races are the exception, but I definitely prefer evening races.

Like many here I am hopeless in the AM. However I have found a method that works to get me feeling exactly like I do in the evening.

1. get up 3 hrs before workout/race.

2. Do 15 min shakeout jog (you will feel like death).

3. Shower and 15 min yoga or dynamic stretching.

4. Eat a good breakfast.

5. Now you have ~2 hours till your workout/race. Just chill out.

6. Do normal warmup routine ~30mins before workout /race.

This works for me - every time. However its a process that is a total pain in the arse, so I avoid AM workouts like the plague and employ it for AM races.

Good luck

Slow mornings are totally normal. I think the effect question is dependent on the purpose of the specific workout. If you’re going for just aerobic conditioning then yes the effect is likely similar. The same as HR variation due to heat. If you’re the focus of the workout is efficiency at a certain pace or economy, etc. I’d be inclined to think the effect is different.

I’m curious whether anybody knows of any studies on whether you can condition and adapt to morning workouts and races?