An early morning run is sadly a necessary evil at least now and then.  I am by no means an early person by nature.   I am a night owl.   I can stay up till 2:00 AM for the most part no problem, but ask me to get up for an early run and I’m in pain just thinking about it.   Waking up at 5:30 to put on my running shoes just seems crazy to me.   But as a Mom with a life that needs to be lived (even if it’s just going to Costco) , the morning run might happen more than I would like.

Don’t get me wrong, the morning run has its perks like going out, stopping for coffee, and being back home before anyone even stirs at home.   As a Mom that’s a great thing, but now I’m getting lattes with an extra turbo shot to keep me awake.   Although who am I kidding, I would be getting them anyway.   At least on days with an early run I have an excuse.

To get me motivated and out the door at such an unholy hour though, I need motivation.   Not just the motivation of getting a run in either.   It helps to have a partner in crime.   Someone willing to drive by and pick you up is even better.   Knowing that someone is depending on you to get out of bed or it will mess their run up too is very motivating.   It’s one thing to mess up your training, but another to mess with someone else.  I’m sure not everyone needs this, but I usually do.  

I think another key to the earl morning run that I am not ready to commit to is to be on a schedule.  Maybe when summer is over, I can do that.   For now, I am not willing to go to bed earlier than my teenage sons just to get up early to train.  I usually somehow manage to fit it in to my normal day.   When school starts and everyone is going to bed earlier I hope to develop a better routine.   As with everything else is life and training, consistency is key.   When you do it often enough, it becomes second nature.   Not so bad.   Maybe one day, I will even learn to embrace mornings but I wouldn’t bet on it!

And as much as I complained about getting up so early (5:15), once I was up, laced up, and out the door; I had a great morning.   I had a great run.   I had some great conversations.   And best of all when it was all said and done, I had coffee with a friend.