Why morning runs suck....

Yes I said it, morning runs just suck.  And I'm not talking about normal morning runs.  I'm talking about those predawn runs when any normal person would still be sound asleep.  I'm talking about waking up before the sun has even given a passing thought to rising and before the fine folks and Bojangles have even started making biscuits.  I get that it's a great way to start the day.  It wakes you up, gets the blood flowing and kick starts your metabolism.  Plus your run is officially over and 'out of the way' before most people are waking up for work and you can go about your day doing the things that need to be done.

Whatever.  As you might have guessed I decided to join some friends for one of those predawn runs at local University for a speed workout, or strength workout, or something along those lines because I wasn't really sure what I was getting into.  Ultimately it ended up being a strength workout because the plan was to run 6 miles in intervals at something between 10K pace and marathon pace or thereabouts.  Because we were somewhat pressed for time we decided on 3 mile intervals to get it over with. 

So why does it suck?  Well I guess it's not really all that bad, just sort of a shock to my system that leaves me lost for the rest of the day.  I am very much a creature of habit - I wake up, shower, get dressed, go eat a bagel, and start working.  And that goes for pretty much every single day and for the most part includes weekends too.  On this particular morning however, I woke up much earlier than usual, got dressed, and decided I needed a little something in my stomach for the morning workout.  I opted for half a bagel with some peanut butter, half a Diet Pepsi, and I was off.  Knowing I would still be eating my regular breakfast as scheduled I decided that if I only ate half a breakfast that it didn't count... 

I was less than 1/4 mile into the 3 mile drive to meet the guys when I started seeing the other early morning runners and they were everywhere.  And these runners where not just out for a morning stroll like I'm used to seeing.  These folks seemed to be serious but considering it was just after 5:00 in the morning so I guess that makes sense.  Generally I think of the morning runners as those early weekenders out at 7:00 - 8:00ish on Saturday morning but this was a whole new breed.  As I get to the college I see more runners, reflective vests darting by and coming from every direction and I'm still half asleep.  I take a peek towards the track and there are more runners doing speedwork.   At this point I'm really starting to second guess getting out of bed because I'm just not feeling it.  I normally don't shy away from some healthy competition but at this hour all bets are off.

I finally see my guys walking towards the track and my reaction was something like, "Whoa guys, I thought you said no track workout today?"  I was relieved to find out they were just looking for our potential third that didn't make it.  After a one mile warm up we jumped right into our first 3 mile interval and talk about a rude awakening.  Thirty minutes ago my heart was on cruise control at about 40 beats per minute.  Now it was about to beat out of my chest and was not too happy about it.  We made it through the first interval at a 6:48 pace probably thanks in large part to my slow start.  After a 200 meter cool down we ran the second interval at 6:35. 

Then it was over.  It was still dark and the relatively normal people were just starting to show up for their morning runs.  Now I had no idea what to do with myself.  I headed home to help get the kids ready for school but not before icing my feet.  That's become a post run ritual and it seems to be helping.  So it's still not even 7:00 am yet, my blood is flowing, I'm a sweaty mess, my feet are in ice water, and I'm starving.  I finally get the kids out the door and head to the shower.  I hate going from the ice bath to the shower but really I had no choice.  I decided to grab half a Clif bar on the way out the door to go along with the half of breakfast I had already eaten as I was headed to eat my 'real' breakfast.  You'd think that I had run 20 miles the way I was eating.  Unfortunately I always manage to consume as many, if not more calories than I burn.  Seriously, if I ran 50 miles one day I would find a way to eat it all back.  That day.

I would go on to spend the rest of the day being hungry and a little tired but I will admit that it was nice to be able work through the remainder of my day without breaking for an hour or more to run and shower.  I was able to get home from work at a decent hour and we spent would would have likely been my running time picking out pumpkins so it all ended well.  To all you morning runners, I genuinely admire your commitment to outrunning the sun every morning but you're more likely to catch a glimpse of a Sasquatch than to see me running at that hour...

Happy Running