5AM or 8PM Runs?

Both

Doubles FTW wrote:

Both

“assuming you can only do one because you have a family and running more then that is a little selfish”

Working Stiff wrote:

Doubles FTW wrote:

Both

“assuming you can only do one because you have a family and running more then that is a little selfish”

If there's a will, there's a way.

My two cents: If it hasto be one or the other, do the evening run. You'll be more awake and alert and your body will be loosened up and more efficient from an entire day of moving around, thus less prone to injury...as you might be from rolling out of bed in the pre-dawn darkness and getting out the door minutes later, with your muscles and tendons still shortened up and "cold" from a night's sleep. This is especially crucial if you're doing a speed workout.

Earlier in my life when I was logging 100-plus mile weeks running doubles around a 40-hour-workweek, the evening run nearly always felt better than the morning run, for the reasons described above. Plus, it just seemed a lot less foreboding to run in the evening, as opposed to in the pre-dawn darkness with most of the world still asleep.

One downside of doing singles and leaving them for the evening is that family exigencies might pop up unexpectedly and prevent you from getting a run in; that's less likely to happen if you're out running while your family's still in bed.

Best of luck to you.

5 am should be pleasant this time of year. It will be light during much of the run. I guess for the 8 pm runs it will be light when you start, but you'll finish in the dark. All things being equal, there will be less traffic at 5 am, so I'd go for that option.

5AM. I do it all the time.

This will let you the rest of the day free for your family and won't make you freak out in the case you have some evening commitment.

Also the pure grit required to run those 5AM runs in the middle of the winter is priceless.

Between the two, 5am is my preference, although I like the occasional evening track session I the summer.

I run way slower at night if it’s dark. The psychology is really bizarre I can easily run 90 sec per mile slower than I would in daylight and the effort feels the same. For that reason, I prefer morning. And it’s nice to just have it done for the day.

Working Stiff wrote:

I have to leave for work by 7AM every morning. I have always opted to get my daily runs out of the way early usually getting started by 5AM and sometimes earlier for workouts.

The other option has always been 8/8:30PM after my kid goes to bed but I’d never really considered it for whatever reason.

What does letsrun think? Given the choice (assuming you can only do one because you have a family and running more then that is a little selfish) which one do you go with and why?

Is one more beneficial from a physiological standpoint maybe?

Why not switch it up based on how you feel that day? Sometimes changing a variable even as small as what time your run is can shift your mental outlook on things when you find yourself lacking motivation.

Night runs during my student teaching semester were a game changer. I'd log a few miles between 8-9pm, come back shower and eat a light snack before winding down for bed. Summertime night runs were quite introspective, and I had some more wiggle room if I got out even later.

Life was different back then, my schedule was more accepting of night runs, especially if I caught a good stride and picked up some adrenaline along the way. Going to bed wasn't always the easiest on those nights, but damn did I feel good.

5am runs are good and all, but any thought of speed work on those early mornings is a no go. Usually only have enough energy for some strides afterwards, as my effort is almost always easy.

I have kids too and need to leave by 6:45. I do the morning. I get up at 4-4:30, drink coffee and make family lunches. Running by 4:45, back at 6-6:15 to make sure everyone is up. If I do evening something always seems to come up, much easier to get out the door when everyone is asleep.

Ive done a few long or hard runs right before bed and need a few extra seconds to get out of bed in the morning the next day because I am so stiff. I feel like the morning runs give you the rest of the day to move around and help with recovery.

OP, if you can, incorporate running to and from work. Stash some clothes, shower supplies, shoes, etc. at work. You can get a small running pack to carry anything else you need. Plot out a route from home to work or from home to public transportation that will get you to work. Run there, run back. voila, no more sitting in traffic commuting, time remaining for family, lots of miles run.

We usually eat around 6PM, and I would struggle to run an hour or two after dinner, so it would have to be morning for me.

Working Stiff wrote:

Doubles FTW wrote:

Both

“assuming you can only do one because you have a family and running more then that is a little selfish”

I have kids. Both is the right answer. Before they wake up and after they go to bed. Person up.

I'm not really a morning person, but I do find that I run much better in the morning than after a long day of work. So workouts really should be done first thing IMO, if you can swing it.

I do most of my easy runs in the evening, generally right after the kids go to sleep -- just as you're mentioning. It's a nice way to unwind after said long day of work, and of course I don't need to go hard so it's okay if I'm a bit tired. One caveat, at least for me: I don't particularly like running in the dark. I'm constantly worried about tripping or hitting a pothole, since the streets and sidewalks near me are in awful condition. That really ruins my enjoyment; so for me if I miss the light window it's a treadmill session.

I’ve done both. Am runs are great because you can get it out of the way. When I wake up I need a bit of time to get going. So I would wake up at 4 am have a cup of coffee and wake up. In the winter I would even take a bath before I ran. It warmed up my muscles and having a quick shower or bath woke me up. I would like to get my longer 60-90 minutes in the am to get it out of the way and avoid traffic.

But if I was doing speed work I would do it in the pm or afternoon. Muscles are warmed up. No issues with traffic ect because you would normally run it on the track. Plus I just moved better at those times. In the am I’m definitely slower. But you can do both. Why not. Sometimes I would do say 12 slowish miles Tuesday in the am then do 6 Wednesday evening. That way you get just a bit more recovery time between your runs without skipping them. Or say Tuesday evening track then run Thursday am long. Running am and pm keeps you versatile for racing. You never get too used to running the same time and makes it easier if your race is at 6 pm or 7 am. In the end you will find out what works best for you. Good luck!

Working Stiff wrote:

Doubles FTW wrote:

Both

“assuming you can only do one because you have a family and running more then that is a little selfish”

Do you want to run fast or not?

Tell your kids that daddy had goals before they came along and ruined everything. They’ll understand.

The Obvious Answer wrote:

We usually eat around 6PM, and I would struggle to run an hour or two after dinner, so it would have to be morning for me.

+1