Calling all early morning runners(6am or earlier)

What types of lamps/lights are you folks using? Headlamp, belt, etc.?

Any recommendations?

With a new home in a more rural area (no streetlights) and baby, I'm finding that I need to be out when it's still dark...something I haven't had to do in a few years.

Been doing this for years, and have had success rolling right out of bed to a pre-laid out kit and getting out the door in 3ish minutes and have likewise had success waking up an hour early just to drink coffee in a quiet peace.

Currently, getting up somewhere between 30 to 45 minutes early for coffee and BMing has proven to be a good balance of sleep and time. Waking up minutes before running usually means I'm running substantially slower than after a half hour of coffee. On the flip side, drinking coffee for an hour straight pre-run, while enjoyable, meant I was needlessly cutting into sleep.

Looks like most of the routines mentioned here have somewhere around that same time ballpark, and probably for good reason.

TheBanaman wrote:

What works do me is getting out the door very soon after getting up, often still half asleep, so as to not give myself time or a reason to not go out the door.

I get up at 6:21, go to the toilet, get changed and am usually out the door at ~6:30. I found that I used to be hungry when I woke up, but over time it went away. I cap my runs at an 60 mins.

I sometimes get a stiff Achilles, so I always start off slowly for the first mile or two while I get into things (and wake up properly). If you’re doing something faster make sure to warm up properly (probably a little longer than you’re used to just in case.

agree-works well for me for the past 15 years since I had kids which made evening runs/workouts tough coming home from work...irony is that they are teens now, and no pressing need to run early but the routine stuck; a glass of water works well prior to running-I seldom have coffee prior and I wait until after running now. As you mentioned-I do the 1st mile or 2 really slow before getting into it; Maybe, being 15 years older, by the evening after work I am pretty beat, and late running is way harder than it was in HS/college/early professional life.

runnerDadnewtoit wrote:

What types of lamps/lights are you folks using? Headlamp, belt, etc.?

Any recommendations?

With a new home in a more rural area (no streetlights) and baby, I'm finding that I need to be out when it's still dark...something I haven't had to do in a few years.

Can't help you there bud. I live in orange county. Even at 3 or 4 am its never that dark.

runnerDadnewtoit wrote:

What types of lamps/lights are you folks using? Headlamp, belt, etc.?

Any recommendations?

With a new home in a more rural area (no streetlights) and baby, I'm finding that I need to be out when it's still dark...something I haven't had to do in a few years.

I can't help you either. I live on the outskirts of a small city (85,000) in the middle of nowhere, but most of the local streets have lights and also little traffic early in the morning. Occasionally I use separate bike/jogging paths that are unlit, but even then there's usually enough ambient light to at least see where the path goes. Even though it's dark for most of all of my run much of the year, I've never seen the need for a light.

It depends a bit on what you like... i use a light, small headlamp, petzl tika. But i turn it off many times, its more to be seen than to see. If i know the road and the eyes are adapted, i like it more if its dark. And... its not very often "very dark", some moonlight already is quite helpful

runnerDadnewtoit wrote:

What types of lamps/lights are you folks using? Headlamp, belt, etc.?

Any recommendations?

With a new home in a more rural area (no streetlights) and baby, I'm finding that I need to be out when it's still dark...something I haven't had to do in a few years.

By the way... there is a virtual race today, the first "official" race since 2 months of "everything stopped due to covid". They open the time window to run at 6am (im in austria, its 525 now). lets see how a marathon feels run alone after 2 months of not training a lot...

I just can't

Never been able to do an actual session in the mornings.

Mornings runs at a slow pace 7:00-7:30 pace fine easy.

Any type of real running, fast tempos, track workouts, long reps..... significantly slower than what can be achieved in the afternoon.

Never been able to replicate afternoon times to morning times.

I wish because I am a morning person, but I am terribly stiff in the morning.

"Woke up fell out of bed,

Dragged my foam across my leg.

Found my way downstairs and grabbed a cup

And then I made sure that my shoes were laced.

Dropped my load and grabbed my hat

Ran the first mile in 9 minutes flat"

rucker wrote:

I have a commute most of the time of ~60min, so the way I do it is 430 wakeup, 445 in the car headed to work location, 545 arrive/start running, usually done running by 645

Straight into running? No warmup drills or stretching? My pre-run stretching and warmup routine is about 45 minutes.

I wake up, drink a cup of black coffee I made the night before and eat a breakfast bar in the 200 calorie range and head out, normally within 10 minutes of waking up. Warm up is normally 2-2:30 slower than MP for 20-30 minutes before it starts to feel good but that’s how I get my miles in. I finish all my runs by 7am.

How much sleep are the super early risers getting?

I normally get 7.5 hours. Bed by 10 up at 5:30ish

BuyTheDip wrote:

How much sleep are the super early risers getting?

About 7h, maybe also worth mentioning that i do this since my now 4 year old son used to wake me up every day at around 4am after a few more times during the night. I turned from hating the everyday bad sleep into loving the morning run ;-) the morning run was the best way i found to "survive" a day in the office while being constantly tired

Utah12 wrote:

Am i the only one that dosnt drink coffee?

No you don't. Nothing worse than kissing a coffee drinker - well, maybe a smoker.