Chocolate? No, I just love that....there's no hate involved : )
Kiddies? No, they are too cute to hate!
Mosquitos? Nope, I just plain hate them!
I'm talking about early morning runs. I have really mixed feelings about them.
I only run at the crack of dawn when my schedule necessitates it. Or, when I have a really busy morning. I hate running in the afternoons.
When I have the whole day to myself, I choose to run mid morning. I get up fairly early....around 7ish. Enjoy a wonderful breakfast, drink a cup o' joe, digest a bit, use the bathroom (sorry if that's too much info), and head out the door around 9.
Because I am at work, though, 5 days a week, from 6:45AM to about 5PM, my morning routine gets cut drastically short, and I have to adjust my running schedule. I can take my lunch early in the morning and go for a run, but a lot of days I don't feel like doing this for two reasons:
1) I have a bad habit of obsessing and worrying thinking too much about my workout until I get it done. When I put off my workout until later in the morning, I spend the morning thinking about my run instead of enjoying time with my counselors and campers. Bad habit....I know I need to break it.
2) My work is located on top of a hill. No matter which way I run, I run downhill. If I go on a four mile run, I spend the first two miles coasting down hill and then the last two miles trudging back up. Not fun....not fun at all.
Because of this, I often wake up at 5AM, put on my running shoes, and get my behind out the door within 5 minutes of waking up. As the title of the post implies, I kind of love this and kind of hate it.
What's to love?
Running with the sunrise!
Being half asleep through the first couple miles of the run. When I finally feel awake, my run is half way over.
Finishing my run before 5:45 AM...before a majority people are out bed.
Not having to deal with thinking about my run for the rest of the day.
And, here's what I hate!
Dreading the sound of my alarm in the morning because I know I have to get straight out of bed and on to the pavement.
Umm...not using the bathroom ahead of time makes for a little stomach discomfort towards the end of my run. Have to have a cup of joe or some breakfast in me to use the bathroom. Sorry for the TMI once again : /
Having my legs feel like jello by the end of my run because I haven't fueled up yet. I need to experiment more with having something small to eat before I head out.
Having this for breakfast because I don't have time for anything else and because I eat at work to save time.
Recycled pic, but it's what I had for breakfast this morning...except
the clif bar was of the chocolate peanut butter variety!
As you can see, I have mixed emotions about running at the crack ass of dawn. Luckily, camp is coming to an end (I'm sad about it for other reasons). I'm working at another camp after the end of this one for a couple weeks, but I don't believe it starts so early.
And on a completely random note, here's what I had for dinner!
Sorry for the crappy Iphone pic. I was trying to be discrete
at the dinner table. Fake meat taco with a side salad. Wednesday
is taco night once again in this house. Fine by me : )
I was going to do a WIAW post, but I packed my lunchbox before remembering to take pics. Also, when I thought about it, my eats were pretty similar to last week, so I didn't have anything really too exciting to share. Sorry guys.
About the barbecue mentioned in yesterday's post. I decided not to go. Two of the coworkers I am closest with weren't going, and after working 10 hours, I'm tired and honestly would rather be in bed by the hour of 8:00pm. I know I may regret not going, but that's okay. The staff dinner is next Thursday, and I'm definitely going unless some dire circumstance presents itself. Hold me to it!
Night chicas! (And chicos if there are any)
Questions:
What are your thoughts on early morning runs?
When is your favorite time of day to run?
Girlfraaann I have been in the SAME boat as you. Given, I am not an avid runner, but I struggled immensely with the guilty feelings of skipping a workout. I would have the same obsessive thoughts until the workout was complete, yet I DREADED the workout entirely. I learned that I needed to take a HUGE step back and discovered that if I kept going at the rate I was, I may quit workout out all together and never go back (OK that might be an exaggeration). Long story short, I run now when I have the time and the energy. I get a great workout in from my job, so the extra cardio here and there is added bonus.
ReplyDeleteIf running that early makes you cringe, take a break and see how you feel! Or maybe incorporate some other kinds of workouts like bike riding, and a workout class. Keep it fun, and enjoyable! Otherwise you will cause unnecessary and unwanted stress that is just not worth it..good luck!
Thanks for the advice. I love running, but the stress of forcing myself to run to avoid guilty feelings definitely takes the fun out of it. Lately, I've been trying to throw in some cross training...weight lifting, cycling, and elliptical-izing. I think I'm going to start training for a half marathon in mid august. I think I want to take a week off from running before serious training starts though to give my body a break and break out of my running rut.
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