Well today is officially my last day of summer vacation. I head back to work tomorrow to prepare for the arrival of students on August 26th. While my hours are awesome, they make it challenging to fit in my workouts. At the beginning of last school year I would head out after work (3:30PM) and get my run in while my kids were still at their after care programs. It was often very hot but I managed to run through it as I was training to run a PR 1/2 Marathon in Columbus, Ohio. Fast forward to this year and the crazy weather we have had lately and are predicted to have this week and I have a dilemma. I'm not a morning person and I certainly am not a night owl either! In a perfect world I would get up before work to get my run in however my body is used to sleeping later from being on summer break. In order to get my run in and get to work on time I would have to be ready and out the door on my run no later than 5:00AM. Now, there is always the option of running in the evening however two nights a week my husband works until 9:00PM. Obviously at this point I have done bath and bedtime with the kids and have settled in to relax before heading to bed myself. I have no idea how to do a poll on here but leave a comment and tell me what you would do!!
1. Get up and run before work
2. Run after work in the heat of the day (while kids are at after care)
3. Run in the evening (outside when the husband is home, inside on treadmill when he's not)
4. Other--please share your suggestions if you choose this option!!
Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!
I am a big fan of the early morning run (thus, my blog http://predawnrunner.com). This way nothing comes up that will interfere with your schedule, you avoid the heat, get the day off to a good start, yadda yadda yadda.
ReplyDeleteGreg- I knew you would vote for the early morning! :) I read your blog. I need to put it on my sidebar!!
ReplyDeleteHi Jodi! Such a great topic - it seems that very few of us do not have a strong opinion on this. I am 100% an early morning runner for many of the reasons Greg said.
ReplyDeleteOn the few occasions (less than one dozen in 5 years) that I have had to run late in the day due to a trip or conflict, I find myself obsessing about it all day.
I also enjoy having my environment "to myself". Even dark mornings are so peaceful for me and I find I have the right "state of mind" all day long.
I've raced a lot this summer in the evenings and have enjoyed them, but all things considered, I would take a 5:00 a.m. run over a 5:00 p.m. run 7 days a week and twice on Sunday.
Best to you Jodi!
i am with greg and joe. morning. not greg early, but 5:00 am is about normal during the school year. "early to bed, early to rise ..."
ReplyDeletei have altered it a little because i'm training with a group and they have runs in the evening on tues and thurs. so while i prefer mornings, i can be flexible in order to get the workouts done.
I actually do not have a super strong opinion on this! I like to get up and get my run over with, but when I'm working, I tend to get anxiety about getting up on time and getting my run in that keeps me up all night. I have terrible insomnia and it takes next to nothing to trigger it. Also, like you, I would have to be out the door by 5 AM to get a 30 minute run in to leave enough time to get out the door for my commute in LA traffic...limiting how much training I could do. Since my partner works late some evenings (and my at home responsibilities are limited to children of the furry 4-legged variety), I prefer to run in the evenings. I snack on my commute home and spend the time in traffic reminding myself why I've committed to running. I do a lot of training on our treadmill to make training in the evening as convenient as possible. Hills workouts and speed work are excellent on the treadmill. Long runs I reserve for outside on the weekends. Wow this is long winded! I have a lot to say because this is a topic I have thought a lot about and talked with my partner a lot about since I also want to protect our time together (both running and not) as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteWell, Jodi, I'm sure you know my vote :) Any time of the day is better than early morning for me. I just can't get my body moving that early. I've tried on more than one occasion, and literally felt nauseous, dizzy, NO energy, no enjoyment except that I "got it done". I'm just NOT an early morning person. My day is much better if I don't have to get up before 8:00. I also don't have kids at home, so even though I work a ton of hours, my schedule is a bit more flexible. I love evening runs. I look forward to it all day. I've even been known to run in the dark, around my neighborhood. I found running by moonlight amazing! Give me a choice between 5am and 90 degrees and I'll take the heat. What works great for one, just won't work for others, but it's interesting to discuss our thoughts. Good Luck! I'm sure you and your family will make it work. Darlene
ReplyDeleteI AM a morning person, so of course my vote is to run in the morning :) It's always so nice to be able to get the workout out of the way. I would also think it would be a bit safer than running at night, but obviously I don't know your neighborhood. Hopefully getting up early will get easier.
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