Getting up in the morning. (Read 928 times)

For all of you out there who are pretty serious and like to get out and run early in the morning to help get more base. How the heck do you inspire yourself to get up? I get really pumped most of the time after my afternoon runs and workouts and watch race videos before i go to bed and i get excited and want to do a morning running. When i wake up however....in my head i think "Screw this...running is for (insert very bad word here)" and don't get out the door to run till 3-5 in the afternoon which really hurts my mileage bad. What inspires you all to get up in the morning for a nice wake up run?

I am up at 4:45 M-F for an hour run. I was in the military though so I guess maybe it's easier on me than other folks. For me personally, I love starting off the day with some sweat. I think it makes me feel like I accomplish more in a day than most folks, but I run in the evenings again too. Maybe it's a pride thing. When I am riding the train into the city at 7:45 and I see people that are sleeping, I think "I have already been up for 3 hours, ran for an hour, had a good breakfast, and now I am ready to rock my work day, while your out of shape ass is snoring!" That may make me sound elitist, but so what? That's how I roll and I don't make excuses for being fitter than most people. There is my inspiration. Being a cut above normalcy and mediocrity. Have the dedication and discipline to do what most cannot or will not. Focus on that. Be an overachiever and be proud of it. And when you lay your head on your pillow at night to finally close your eyes and sleep, you will know you got the most out of your day that you could. We don't get time back so use all you can to the fullest. Time=opportunity [steps down off of soap box]

Another question though. What percent of race pace would you do tempo's in? I am generally beginning the base phase of 8k-10k training for xc next season. I'm not fast at all...i think i am generally average. I have ran 16:40's for 5k, but i would like that to be my pace for 8k. So 5:25 race pace. Tempo pace would be just under 6 pace or so?

I could give a long drawn out answer, but plug your numbers into either one of these and you will get some ideas... http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm http://www.runworks.com/calculator.html

I don't run mornings except Sat and Sunday. I get up at my normal time (6AM) and hit the ground running. I love the feeling of getting back from a 20miler and it's only 9 or 10AM! You still have your whole day ahead of you and bygawd you just ran 20 miles! If I waited till 3pm to do a 20 miler it would NEVER happen. Running long distances is kinda anti-social so I try to be selfish when my wife (and when the kids were still in the house) is still sleeping.

For all of you out there who are pretty serious and like to get out and run early in the morning to help get more base. How the heck do you inspire yourself to get up? I get really pumped most of the time after my afternoon runs and workouts and watch race videos before i go to bed and i get excited and want to do a morning running. When i wake up however....in my head i think "Screw this...running is for (insert very bad word here)" and don't get out the door to run till 3-5 in the afternoon which really hurts my mileage bad. What inspires you all to get up in the morning for a nice wake up run?

I get to bed early. Period. If I stay up late, more often than not my wife and I do not get up.

Oh..yeah i have never been too swift on getting to bed too early...as you can see it's 10:25 and i am not very tired. I guess i just have to try and start a new sleep pattern of getting up at 6:30 and going to bed before 10 and even if it hurts just keep doing it till it feels natural.

21 days... thats what they say it takes to form a routine. So you just need to force yourself out each day. When the alarm goes off, I find it helps to get up and pee - then at least you are already standing and then just head to the door instead of back to the bedroom.

It's like anything else - you either discipline yourself to do it or you don't. There aren't any magic incantations that will make this happen for you; it's all about the decisions you make. That being said, here are a few things that make the journey out the door at 4:45 easier for me: 1. Have everything laid out the night before. You'd be amazed how easy it is to say "I can't find a sock, I'm going back to bed". 2. Early to bed - easier said than done. 3. Forget the snooze button. Instead of setting the alarm for 4:10 and snoozing till 4:30, just set it for 4:30 - you get a bit more sleep that way. 4. A training partner is helpful 5. repeat, repeat, repeat. The more you do it, the easier it gets. 6. Get out the door as soon as you can. The less time there is between the time your feet hit the floor and the you being outside running, the less opportunity you have to talk yourself back in to bed.