Early Morning Running

Okay, I think I have written before about the struggle I have had motivating myself to run ever since my Half Marathon last Thanksgiving. Here is the accountability:

December: 3.1 miles, 198 lbs
January: 10.7 miles, 200 lbs
February: 25.8 miles, 204 lbs
March Weekly Mileage: 4, 18.2 (France and Race week), 6.9, 0, 9.5 (38.6 for month), 202 lbs
April Weekly Mileage: 12.7 (so far – tomorrow’s run to add), currently 200.5 lbs

Even with the slowly increasing miles, it is inconsistent at best. I don’t know if it was the letdown after the peak (as I previously attributed this too in my earlier post), the cold weather, or just me choosing to be lazy, but I did know I wasn’t happy with what I was doing and I craved to be out there running again. I missed the high that my 15-25 mile weeks had given me last fall leading up to my Half. I got a taste of it that week in France but failed to follow through even the very next week. So what have I done about it?

I told myself that any morning over 40° F I would run before getting ready for work. At 5 AM! It was the start of last week when I made that commitment and I even bought some additional running clothing and a head-lamp to accommodate this running pattern change. The first part of last week didn’t meet the temperature cut-off and then I was getting over a cold so my first day of actually running was last Friday, the 28th. That run and a Saturday long run account for all of last week’s mileage. This week I have run 4 out of 5 mornings.

My problem has always been squeezing in a run around being a father, husband, and other distractions of life. In the past I actually felt guilt about abandoning my wife with the kids while I was out there enjoying my solitude. (Whether she felt abandoned or not) I justified it as I needed to loose the weight "for them". That may have been partly true but not the whole story. I also didn't derive much joy from a 9 or 10 PM treadmill run. At 5 AM they are all fast asleep, no guilt, even more solitude. On the 5 mornings I have run so far I have seen more deer than humans (including a nice buck). What a great time to be out there.

Yes I know 1 week does not a long-term commitment make and I may weary of this routine, but for now, I love it. I used Google Earth and measured the distances of various routes around my neighborhood. With that variety in hand I have only once ran the same course more than once. Each of my runs range from 3 to 4 miles in length and take me anywhere from 25 to 35 minutes to complete. I am home by 5:45 each morning, the time my alarm used to be set for. I have found more spring in my step at work and even more focus on my morning drive to work.

I have also gone ahead and signed up for my Marathon (Chickamagua Battlefield Marathon) that won’t be until November 8th but now I’m financially committed as well. Other races on my schedule include a 10k on Memorial Day close to my house and the 55,000 runner strong 10k Peachtree Road Race on the 4th of July in downtown Atlanta. It is the largest 10k in the World and you have to apply within days of the application being published if you have any hope of getting in. Not only have I been accepted, my qualifying 10k time was fast enough to earn a Group 1B slot and a timing chip. There are 9 Groups and only those in Group 1 (Invitees-Elites-1A-1B) (1B=50-55 minutes) get a timing chip.

As you can guess, all of this has me excited about running again for the first time since November really. So, who’s going to join me?