All this past winter, I did my weekday running in the evening. I simply do not have the inner strength to get up before the crack of dawn, pull on cold running clothes, and get out the door in time for a run. But now that the days are getting longer, I've been reacquainting myself with the joys of morning running.
For some people, morning runs are about the peace and quiet of hitting the road before everyone else. Not in Washington, DC! Here, where most people have an early-to-work, early-to-leave mentality, the streets are already busy at 6:30 in the morning. If you want a peaceful run in DC, go out at 7:00 in the evening, when most of the city is dead.
However, running in the morning gives me time to think about the upcoming day. It gets my blood moving far more effectively than a morning coffee, and it gives me a feeling of accomplishment that lasts throughout the day. And, as a bonus, I run much faster in the morning! For the same amount of effort, my pace is generally 15 to 20 seconds per mile faster, and I don't need the first mile to loosen up.
My only complaint is the lack of flexibility. In the evening, if I'm feeling good, I'll often tack an extra mile or two to the end of my run. That's not possible when work is calling.
What do you enjoy about morning runs?
For some people, morning runs are about the peace and quiet of hitting the road before everyone else. Not in Washington, DC! Here, where most people have an early-to-work, early-to-leave mentality, the streets are already busy at 6:30 in the morning. If you want a peaceful run in DC, go out at 7:00 in the evening, when most of the city is dead.
However, running in the morning gives me time to think about the upcoming day. It gets my blood moving far more effectively than a morning coffee, and it gives me a feeling of accomplishment that lasts throughout the day. And, as a bonus, I run much faster in the morning! For the same amount of effort, my pace is generally 15 to 20 seconds per mile faster, and I don't need the first mile to loosen up.
My only complaint is the lack of flexibility. In the evening, if I'm feeling good, I'll often tack an extra mile or two to the end of my run. That's not possible when work is calling.
What do you enjoy about morning runs?
running in the morning is like breaking a new trail through fresh snow. it's very invigorating. the mental boost i get from that feeling, coupled with the fact that i don't yet have my wits about me, which in turn forces my body to fall into it's natural rhythm, lead to much better runs than i would expect. to follow it up, i usually have more productive and positive days that follow a morning run.
ReplyDeletethe only issue is, the only morning runs i seem to be able to nail down are when i'm 3 hours behind my normal time zone, away on a trip.
i'll get there one day.
i managed to get out on a morning run this morning (it was either run in the morning or don't run at all). such a strange feeling to be one minute sleeping and 10 minutes later pushing yourself into motion, literally running. i found it wasn't until a couple miles into the run that i even became aware at how little energy i had. a mile later, i remembered i hadn't eaten or taken a drink of water before heading out the door. a couple of miles after that, i realized i really would rather be sleeping. and a couple miles after that, right when i realized i didn't want to be running anymore, i was done.
ReplyDeleteit's strange, the delayed onset of feelings while the mind starts to warm up. i found myself in a very good mood once i got back from the run. and, despite chasing my hunger today and feeling a bit weary, i feel quite good for having run in the AM. i was slower than my average run for that distance, but faster than i THOUGHT i was running.
another thing about morning runs for me is that i am not really ready for the music i would normally listen to during a run. so, similar to my "out of time zone aided morning run" the other morning, i listened to podcasts today. i got through paul theroux reading borges and david means reading raymond carver. i got a bit annoyed with theroux's reading.... knowing he grew up in massachussetts, i can't for the life of me forgive his accent, regardless of how valid it's origin may be. too, as discussed after the reading, he is READING a TRANSLATION of an original... which by my estimation puts it 1.5-2 shades away from it's original format. things may have been lost. i liked the story, but wasn't entirely engaged. the idea itself was good and somewhat dark, but the details didn't add the flavor i think they should have. the carver story was read by david means, who i don't know. he read well though. and i liked the story, much better than the borges story. as with any carver i've read though, i felt like the story lacked a little luster. that's kind of carver's thing though, so it's fine... and i just appreciated it for what it was, a nice little snapshot, unremarkable but worth a glance.