Thank you again to everyone that has been linking up with us each week. I am enjoying reading everyone’s post whether it is on the topic of the week or a totally different topic . I have updated the Tuesdays Topics Linkup page (as well as listed them below) to include our topics till June. Kim and I hope that you’ll continue to link up with us!
March
19-What do you bring along on a run?
26-What are your favorite non-running or non-fitness hobbies?
April
2-What’s the best and worst race swag you ever received?
9-What’s your favorite cross training activity?
16-What are your favorite recovery tools?
23-What are some new fitness gadgets you’d like to try?
30-Free topic
May
7- What’s your favorite cheat meal?
14- How has running made you a better person?
21- Are you a solo or group runner?
28- What are your tips for surviving your first {pick a distance}?
June
4-How will you celebrate Global Running Day?
11-What are your Summer running tips?
18-What are your Summer running plans and/or race schedule?
25-Free topic
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In previous years I remember doing my runs after work. However, since about a year and a half, almost all of my runs have been in the morning before work. I am a morning person. Even on days when I don’t have to go to work, I am up between 5:30-6:00 am. But there are days that I do like to sleep in. Who doesn’t? I also prefer running in the morning because then I am done with it and don’t have to worry about getting it done later. Sometimes I have plans after work with no time for a run or sometimes I am too tired after work and just want to get home and rest.
I am not training for a marathon so my runs on the weekdays are no more than 5 miles. My long run is on the weekends. On the days I do run, I wake up at 4:30 am. I hate rushing and waking up that early gives me enough time to make coffee, use the bathroom, and get ready. Sometimes I sleep a bit longer for about 5-10 minutes. I like to be back by 6am so I can shower, get ready, and leave for work. I get to work by 7am even though my official start time isn’t till 8:30.
There are days in which I have absolutely NO desire to run in the morning. It is either too cold or I am tired. In that case I run after work either outside or at the gym. And if that doesn’t happen, then I don’t fret about it and see if I can run the next day. My coach tells me to “Move on”.
Below is what I do to prepare for my morning run. You may think “Well, duh”. 🙂 I know, I know.
• I have my clothes ready for the next day. I check the weather for the next day so I’ll know how many layers I will need (during the winter). Warmer weather is the best because all I need are shorts and a top!
• I have a mug and pod ready to make my coffee in my Keurig. All I do is turn it on. Sometimes I drink my coffee while getting ready.
• Along with clothes, I need my watch, belt, headlamp, lightening layer, pepper spray, and headphones. I have a crate in the living room where I keep those items and put them on before walking out the door. That crate is also Lola’s condo. 🙂
• I keep my shoes in the hallway. Actually, I take them off before coming inside my apartment. No sense in walking inside with them since I will use them again the next day or sometime that week.
• Go to bed early! To me that means in bed by 9pm.
This week’s Tuesday Topic: Are you a day or night runner? You can write about this topic, or feel free to post any running related blog post. Remember to Link-up with Kim and Zenaida! Visit at least two of the other linked posts – the more the merrier! Remember to come back for later linkers!
We are basically the same, except the go to bed early part. I’m so bad at that!
I understand. They have been times in which I go to bed late and then I struggle the next morning. Sleep is so important to me and I function so much better when I sleep well.
I am a morning runner as well, although this winter has been tough because I found myself waiting for it to warm up and then running out of time. I love getting up and out early in summer though.
I’ve had many days in which I’ve also struggled in the morning. Today is definitely one of those days. 🙂
I’m generally not a morning runner, but I am a morning person, so I’m typically in bed around 9 too. I like my sleep (when I get it).
It does always feel good to get it done in the morning & have the rest of the day ahead of you!
I do try to make sure to charge up what I need the night before. It goes on my to do list — which is very important (the list)!
Oh yes, charge up the watch and the headphones. I am OK with running without music and never without my watch.
I don’t run with music — I can get plenty distracted just by my own thoughts, LOL — but the watch, yes, I’m never without it. Mostly because it’s also my fitness tracker so I wear it 24/7.
Looks like you have your morning run routine down! I think being as organized as you are really helps to ensure that you get your run done.
Thanks! Took me a while to figure it out. There might be a better way to do this, but for now it seems to be working for me.
I am a morning exerciser too, but not as organized as you! I also need to get to be earlier. I get to work before I need to start working, so I hang at Starbucks and catch up on my favorite blogs. 😉
Haha! Hanging around at Starbucks is definitely fun too.
I am so not an early morning runner. I need coffee and breakfast first. I have such respect for those of you that get up at o dark thirty to get it done
I agree on coffee! For sure I need to have a cup before heading out.
I like to run in the morning, but now that I am retired, I don’t have to run in the dark any more. Yay!!!
So true! That is how it is in the summer but then sometimes it gets too hot so I have to go really early.
Hooray for morning runners! I’m also a morning runner and can relate to most of these tips. I run pretty early so i need to do as much as I can the night before, otherwise my brain won’t remember it in the morning. I try to be done working out and showered by the time my kids get up around 615-630.
Being organized is crucial to getting out the door and being back on time!
Although my body doesn’t running any time of the day (if my schedule allows), I prefer the early morning (out the door or on the treadmill by 5:00) to be done by 6:00, like you. There’s a lot of satisfaction getting it done while most of the world is still asleep LOL I usually set all of my clothing before bedtime, so it’s ready when the 4:30 alarm goes off (though I sometimes wake up before it). Too bad we don’t live closer!
I know, right? You and I would be PERFECT running buddies!!
I’m totally a morning runner. It’s just easier to get up, get out and get it done. I can’t see a time when that will change. If I time everything well, I roll in right when it’s time for me to get little man ready for school and then the rest of my day can begin.
Definitely agree with you! I am hoping that for as long as I can, I will continue to be a morning runner.
Hi Z! Like you, I am by nature a morning person. I generally wake up early even without an alarm. I always set one just for fear of oversleeping, but more times than not I turn it off before it sounds. There was a coach I worked with a few years ago who told me that while he understands we are all different and some people prefer to run in the evenings, he always recommends people try to run in the morning. First, because of the positivity and sense of accomplishment it brings to each day before we do anything else. And second, because even with our best plans in mind, life “happens during the day”, and that generally, a number of things “magically” appear to derail our evening running plans and make it tough to keep up with them; traffic, having to work late, being tired, having to stop at the store to pick up things, taking kids to their activities, etc.
Wise coach! That is exactly why I prefer running in the morning too.
Based on my schedule, I could probably get in about 3 miles before work, but I’d have to be out before 5 am and I don’t feel comfortable doing that, especially on my own. So I am team run after work, especially now! I actually find it to be a great release after a stressful day of work!
I understand about not wanting to be out so early. A group run is always fun as well. I rarely run with a group well because I run alone in the morning. 😬