(read that aloud to the tune of REO Speedwagon's "Riding the Storm Out")
I HATE the sound of an alarm clock. It doesn't matter what noise setting it's on, it could be soothing beach sounds or the radio. It doesn't even matter if it's my alarm clock or if I'm asleep. I just hate the sound of it and I immediately get irritated when I hear one.
That said, I love running in the morning. When I say morning, I mean typically starting before dawn. Maybe it's because I've been in Texas the whole time I've been running, but I do it even in the winter when it dips into the 30s here. I think that really there are a few different reasons. The main one is the Texas heat. As evidenced by today. Yesterday morning, at 0530, I ran with some Team RWB/San Angelo Road Lizards and finally broke the 10 minute barrier with a HR mile (9:54!). This afternoon, I ran at 6 pm and had to start walking after 2.8 miles because my HR would soar to over 160 every time I "jogged" even at a 13:30 mile pace. Obviously, the temperature at 5:30 in the morning is much better for running than 12 hours later. That's the main reason I run in the mornings. Most of the year, it's crazy hot and it just makes sense to start early.
It's more than just a practicality though. One thing is I wake up regularly before dawn for work. It's become normal for me to wake up naturally by 730 on the weekends.
Additionally, look at the sunrise! It's a sight that I rarely saw before running. Even though I work early in the mornings, I'm usually either getting ready for work or already in the building when the sun comes up. Like most teenagers and 20 somethings, I rarely was ever up that early if I didn't have to be. That was all prior to running. Now, it's not that strange for me to get up earlier on Saturday and Sunday than I do Monday through Friday. In doing that, I get to appreciate the natural beauty of a sunrise either during my run or, at least, on the drive to where I'm going to run.
There's also the mental edge of running early in the morning. Mike Tyson was once asked why he runs at 4:30 in the morning. His response was "Because I know that while I train, my opponent is sleeping." It gave him a mental edge because he went into his fight at least feeling that he had already outworked his opponent. Granted, I'm not as much trying to be another person as I am myself. However, even if Tyson's opponent was up at 4:25 running, in his mind he was doing better. In my mind, if I'm up early working hard and sweating, it gives me a mental boost when I toe the starting line on race day. I come into the race confident because I know that I did the hard work. I sacrificed my time and sleep like I feel that I should to come in at my peak.
Not only is it nice to see the sunrise and feel like I'm doing the best that I can by simply being up
early grinding, but I like to watch the world wake up. I am surprised at how many roosters inhabit urban areas! Two early morning runs stick out in my mind as two of my favorites. We ran along the southern part of the San Antonio Riverwalk, getting to see the fog rise off the river and seeing the herons hunting. It was an odd scene to go from there to downtown seeing the Alamodome. The other morning run that sticks out is one of the 2014 Carrera long runs. It was a two loop run mostly along the San Antonio Rock N Roll course through downtown with Rose waiting for us with water. What I liked about it was seeing the city wake up. The first loop, there wasn't much movement. We had the roads mostly to ourselves. However, the second loop was busy as people started their Sunday morning. Finally, my favorite morning run has to be the central (touristy) part of the San Antonio Riverwalk early Sunday mornings. The views are beautiful, the normally packed out tourist spot is nearly barren except for a few restaurants starting to open up, and you can hear the church bells calling parishioners to Sunday church services. If you're NOT throwing early morning runs into your routine, I highly suggest it. You never know what you're missing until you see your normal running route in that early morning light with much less traffic on it.
I HATE the sound of an alarm clock. It doesn't matter what noise setting it's on, it could be soothing beach sounds or the radio. It doesn't even matter if it's my alarm clock or if I'm asleep. I just hate the sound of it and I immediately get irritated when I hear one.
That said, I love running in the morning. When I say morning, I mean typically starting before dawn. Maybe it's because I've been in Texas the whole time I've been running, but I do it even in the winter when it dips into the 30s here. I think that really there are a few different reasons. The main one is the Texas heat. As evidenced by today. Yesterday morning, at 0530, I ran with some Team RWB/San Angelo Road Lizards and finally broke the 10 minute barrier with a HR mile (9:54!). This afternoon, I ran at 6 pm and had to start walking after 2.8 miles because my HR would soar to over 160 every time I "jogged" even at a 13:30 mile pace. Obviously, the temperature at 5:30 in the morning is much better for running than 12 hours later. That's the main reason I run in the mornings. Most of the year, it's crazy hot and it just makes sense to start early.
Additionally, look at the sunrise! It's a sight that I rarely saw before running. Even though I work early in the mornings, I'm usually either getting ready for work or already in the building when the sun comes up. Like most teenagers and 20 somethings, I rarely was ever up that early if I didn't have to be. That was all prior to running. Now, it's not that strange for me to get up earlier on Saturday and Sunday than I do Monday through Friday. In doing that, I get to appreciate the natural beauty of a sunrise either during my run or, at least, on the drive to where I'm going to run.There's also the mental edge of running early in the morning. Mike Tyson was once asked why he runs at 4:30 in the morning. His response was "Because I know that while I train, my opponent is sleeping." It gave him a mental edge because he went into his fight at least feeling that he had already outworked his opponent. Granted, I'm not as much trying to be another person as I am myself. However, even if Tyson's opponent was up at 4:25 running, in his mind he was doing better. In my mind, if I'm up early working hard and sweating, it gives me a mental boost when I toe the starting line on race day. I come into the race confident because I know that I did the hard work. I sacrificed my time and sleep like I feel that I should to come in at my peak.
Not only is it nice to see the sunrise and feel like I'm doing the best that I can by simply being up
early grinding, but I like to watch the world wake up. I am surprised at how many roosters inhabit urban areas! Two early morning runs stick out in my mind as two of my favorites. We ran along the southern part of the San Antonio Riverwalk, getting to see the fog rise off the river and seeing the herons hunting. It was an odd scene to go from there to downtown seeing the Alamodome. The other morning run that sticks out is one of the 2014 Carrera long runs. It was a two loop run mostly along the San Antonio Rock N Roll course through downtown with Rose waiting for us with water. What I liked about it was seeing the city wake up. The first loop, there wasn't much movement. We had the roads mostly to ourselves. However, the second loop was busy as people started their Sunday morning. Finally, my favorite morning run has to be the central (touristy) part of the San Antonio Riverwalk early Sunday mornings. The views are beautiful, the normally packed out tourist spot is nearly barren except for a few restaurants starting to open up, and you can hear the church bells calling parishioners to Sunday church services. If you're NOT throwing early morning runs into your routine, I highly suggest it. You never know what you're missing until you see your normal running route in that early morning light with much less traffic on it. |
| Kalamazoo pre-wedding run |
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