paulradcliffe.me

Early Morning Workouts: An Ode to #5amRunClub

I’ve been running at least once a week in the VERY early morning this season for at least 6 weeks now. I’ve done it before, but I think is the first time I’ve consistently kept renewing my membership in the #5amRunClub. I love these early morning runs and there are a lot of benefits, but there are also a ton of challenges and tricks I need to do to get going.

That’s 4:52AM, not PM. it’s a mythical number few see on a regular basis…

EARLY MORNING BENEFITS

Why in the world would you want to get out of bed that early? Isn’t it crazy?

Well, it feels like it sometimes, but it’d definitely worth it.

For me, the early morning workouts this season were originally out of pure utility. I have so many workouts planned in my crazy schedule that it would be absolutely impossible to do them all then evenings. After all, there are only 5 weeknights a week!

Being summertime, it’s also much cooler in the morning than mid-afternoon. Since my goal race is in November, I don’t really need to get used to the 40ºC  + humidity days. And, running mid-day in the summer exposes you to significant UV damage. You don’t need to worry much about sunburns when you run before sunrise.

I also find that it’s quite a pick-me-up for the day. Getting the workout done before work gets the energy flowing and keeps me in a pretty good mood for the whole day. I’ve read that it helps kickstart the body’s metabolism to help burn more calories throughout the day. Bonus!

It’s also almost peacefully quiet in the morning. There is little traffic and other pedestrians. It’s almost as if you have the whole city to yourself!

Runrise over Mississauga as seen during a #5amRunClub run

GET OUT OF BED!

Now that I’ve obviously convinced you that #5amRunClub is the best thing ever, you probably want to know how to join! Well, the hardest part is really just getting out of bed. And that’s pretty hard.

But, perhaps not surprisingly, getting out of bed early is easier of you go to sleep earlier!

For a full 8 hours of sleep that means going to bed slightly before 9pm. To a young person this sounds crazy. But after a while, I noticed that most of what I do at night is just waste time like watching TV or checking facebook or generally being unproductive. I don’t feel I’ve missed much by cutting out the crap to hit the hay early.

OTHER TIPS

I’ll take this opportunity to share some other random wisdom I’ve discovered.

I used to do my early morning runs on an empty stomach. However, I found that I kind of gagged from hunger during longer runs. It’s tricky finding some food that’s nutritious but your stomach can handle. My current pre-run breakfast is 7 crackers smeared with about a serving (1 tbsp) of peanut butter.

My pre-morning-run snack: 7 crackers with smears of peanut butter

Another useful trick is to have your alarm, or a second one if possible, far from your bed so you have to get up. I put my cell phone in its charger at the other side of my bedroom. When it goes off I have to physically get out of bed to silence it. The alarm on my phone is set for 2 minutes after my bedside alarm, which leads to a sort of 2-stage wakeup.

I keep a bottle of water in my room for wakeup purposes. I don’t splash myself with the water, but that would be pretty fun. Rather, I gulp down about a cup (250mL) almost immediately after waking. It’s supposed to help me wake up and get the digestive system going.

Music really helps for these morning runs. A lot of the time I’m practically sleepwalking out the door. Some upbeat tunes from my iPod seem out of place for a few minutes, but it helps wake me up shortly after and keep my tempo up throughout the run.

I do need to have a shower after finishing a morning run. That’s something that I need to make sure I budget in the schedule for the morning.

And, I am increasingly careful about drying my feet after the post-run but pre-work shower. I would put on socks shortly after the shower which started giving me a case of athletes foot. So, in addition to the careful foot-drying, I also don’t put socks on until after I finish breakfast.

And I suppose another downside is that I have limited time. In the evenings, it’s not a big problem if the workout drags an extra 30 minutes longer. But in the mornings, I feel some pressure to finish on time so that I can get ready for work and arrive on time. I never want to rush a workout, particularly a recovery run or quality workout with intervals. I know I could just get up earlier, but that eats into sleep, which I’m struggling to try to keep to an average of 8 hours a night.

(source)
I do miss running with a a group. Running alone lacks the group motivation I was used to. But sometimes I do convince another crazy to join me. And, I’ve apparently inspired a few others to join #5amRunClub in their own neighborhoods.

Anyone else near Square One wanna join me for #5amRunClub?