Anyone else run hard workouts in the very-early morning?

wow, there's got to be another way? At one point in my life I did morning easy runs 5 days a week at 5AM. But not speed work. and that was in the summer so I didn't need a headlamp for the most part the sun would be close to up as I finished my run.

Do you find that you run much slower than if you ran at 9am?

I'm a big fan of the 7am workouts though. or even 6:30am - something nice about getting out at dawn.

I have tried it before but it's really hard for me. I've heard that Felix Sanchez works out at 5:00 AM every day.

Yep. Usually do mine at 5:15AM. Not ideal, but that's when my speedwork group trains. I could do it in the afternoon, but it would be alone or with people slower than me. I figure the advantages outweight the disadvantages.

For the guy that asked, I find the first interval is usually significantly slower, but after that I'm able to run pretty decent pace for the early AM workouts. And, I am NOT a morning person in general.

Life happened. I've got to be at my desk at 8AM, and I've got a long commute.

After work (5PM) means kid's soccer, homework, help wife with dinner/chores, bedtime. I run early AM or I don't run.

Yes, I run slower than those rare days when I can run in the afternoon. The tough part is yet to come, when it's below freezing, icy, and dark. Can't wait.

I did all my miles and speed workouts between 3:30 and 5am for several years. It took time to get used to, maybe a couple of months, but once I got past that, times and quality were the same as when I was running at 3:30 in the afternoon in college.

The real crazy is running 16x400 at 2:30am so you can get the workout done before leaving for work at 4:30am. I know a woman who did that.

ACK! I hated easy runs in the morning. I loathed Saturday morning workouts in college. I can't imagine trying that crap with a headlamp...alone!

Welcome to the early morning dark & cold running club. I'm in the same boat- job, family, etc. Early morning is the only time I can guarantee I'm able to get out there. Hang tough and know there are others like you out there suffering for no damn good reason too.

I do all of my running starting anywhere from 4:20am to 5:00am. I've done many pre-dawn track workouts in total darkness and never needed to wear a headlamp. Sometimes it is hard to get out of bed that early but once you get in that routine its doable. The key is getting to bed early enough and getting quality sleep. Oh and I run on an empty stomach--even long runs.

huah. I am doing mile repeats tomorrow at 6:00 AM.

I'm just doing 5 x 5k at MP tomorrow at 5:30.

I've alternated 20 mile progression runs and 20 mile steady runs starting at 5:30 the last few Wednesdays.

I still have time to shower and breakfast with my wife before work. Jersey City rules.

I couldn't see myself doing intervals on a track at 5 though. For me the only reason to be on the track is if your running track and that's something I retired from a few years back in part because of the hassle to find a good track.

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.

I'm lucky -- I do my intervals on an old cinder/dirt track at a school. No lanes or exact marking, but I don't care. It's 5AM and dark, after all.

i run between 5:15 and 5:30 a.m. and have come to enjoy it quite a bit - it takes a little longer to get warmed up, but after that it feels great to me. The silence is what is so great, and the ability to listen to my breathing and focus inwardly on movement. There is a purity to it which i am addicted to now. Once i get dialed in to a pace or workout, it is easier to sustain, and be centered. It's really good if the moon is out as well.

i have run alot in my life, but i don't think ive ever enjoyed it as much as i do now.

And you can't climb a fence?

Like others above, my work and family means running in early AM or not at all.

I thank the good lord that I have a short commute, which means I can start at 6 instead of 5. I run until 7, at work by 9.

It is hard to get out of bed, and there have been many days I have rolled back over. I absolutely need a goal race to shoot for, or the running just doesn't happen. I assume you guys are all training to race?

The thing for me is that I really love the early morning once I get out there, but it is so damn hard to get my butt out of bed--my natural rhythm is to stay up late, and even when I go to bed earlier, I always feel terrible.

I marvel at people who say they pop right up at 5 or 6 feeling great.

There are four tracks. One is at a private facility, and I don't care to deal with the police. Another two are at high schools. Both have double fences, 8 feet high with wire around the top (like a prison, but without barbed wire). The last track is an old brick stadium that has several large iron bar gates that allow access inside the grandstands and the 14 foot high brick wall that surrounds the track.

Short answer is, it's not worth the trouble.

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.

been doing this for many, many years and never eat or drink anything before. i just get out of bed and 5-10 minutes later i'm out the door.

i've found that it is harder to judge pace for the first interval in a pre-dawn workout than one done in the light of day and the effort is excruciating. the times are also a bit slower. but after being out there for a while, the times normalize. i will add an interval to account for the first one. so if i were doing 10x400, i will do 11x400 knowing that the first one will be necessary garbage to make the rest of the workout go well.

A guy in my neighborhood used to do that. I'd see him sprinting out on the streets at 5 AM even in the coldest of Philadelphia winters. He went on to become the world heavyweight boxing champion. Don't remember his real name. We just used to call him Rocky.

[quote]Supposed to be working wrote:

It's very tough to get out of bed and do this. quote]

Run the Army Tem Miler in DC and pass the wounded soldiers section and see they guys who lost their legs or pass Arlington and see those who died so you can be free to get up and run at 5 AM.

It's a freaking privledge not a "hard to make myself do" type of thing. You've been given a gift, be grateful and a good steward of it.