(Post republished from previous blog www.ironzoom.com)
I personally find that it is best for my personal life and training schedule to do my long runs during the week and a medium length run during the weekend sometime. This helps to get in a few more miles, as well as makes some extra time for some biking/swimming (or drinking) on the weekends; whichever the case may be. However, it does mean that I find myself going to bed about 9pm on Wednesday nights, and waking around 4am on Thursday mornings to get in my roughly 2-3 hour run of about 16-24 miles before I go to work. I try my best to get dressed while still mostly asleep and trying not to forget anything: socks, shoes, shorts, shirt, (check) water bottle, keys, (either of which are easily forgettable), reflective/flashing vest, headlamp, (don’t leave home without them both) and my Garmin with 1bandID (a MUST own for any athlete, especially those that love being out early/late, and who go at it alone)!
I also absolutely LOVE the AMAZING feeling of the entire city waking up around me, definitely one of the top moments of my week! As I begin my run, I am the only person on the streets, often I run for a mile or two at a time without even seeing a single vehicle. Then slowly as the sun starts to creep up, a few more vehicles are on the road, people are coming out of their apartments to go to work, the buses are going, businesses are opening…then before I know it I am in the middle of the early hours of morning rush hour traffic with horns beeping, sleepy drivers not paying attention to the roads, and the rush of other morning runners on the streets. Few things are better than this feeling…and the best part is that it lasts the entire length of the run, from start to finish!
The following is just a little something I wrote a few weeks ago on a very early morning long run, I hope you enjoy it. (I think many of you can relate to how the mind wanders during such times):
A Runners Anthem
By: Greg Soutiea
We run in the morning, we run at night.
We run when there are no others in sight.
We run when we’re tired, we run when we’re sore.
When other runners can’t get out the door.
We run when it’s hot, we run when it’s cold.
Most others…not so bold.
Sometimes we run fast, other times we run slow.
It doesn’t matter, as long as we go.
We run in the sun, we run in the rain.
You probably think we are insane.
We run through the city, we run on the trails.
Either way, it cures any ail.
We say hello when we pass, and good morning to you.
Something more people should do.
Sometimes we feel like we want to quit, then we dig down and say:
“NO, not today!”
We run the marathon, or be it a 5k.
I finished! Is what we will say.