Happy Tuesday! How are we all dealing with Daylight Savings Time? Personally I hate it. Although I enjoy having more daylight after work, it’s harder to get up in the mornings. I tend to do a bulk of my runs after work, but my weekend runs are always early in the morning. If possible, I prefer to get my run out of the way earlier in the day.
This week’s Tuesday Topic: What are your tips for morning runs? You can write about this topic, or feel free to post any running related blog post. Remember to Link-up with Kim and Zenaida and the bottom of this post!
Lay Out Your Running Clothes
That alarm is going to come fast and furious in the morning! Make your transition from bed to pavement easier but laying out all your clothing and gear the night before. There’s nothing worse than fumbling around trying to find socks and a sports bra while you’re still half asleep! I actually do this for my work clothing too. It just makes the morning easier to navigate.
Wear Reflective Gear
I can’t even count how many times I have seen people running in dark clothing on my drive to work. Luckily our streets are very well lit so I can always see runners, but they should definitely wear brighter clothing! In addition to wearing bright colors or reflective gear, wearing a head light is also great, especially if it’s pitch black when you start you run.
Grab a Running Buddy
Grabbing a running buddy is great for two reasons – accountability and safety. It’s not easy to get up before the sun to run, but knowing that someone is waiting for you will help you get your butt out the door 🙂 Also, it’s always better to be safe and run with a friend. It’s a shame that we have to think about safety so much while doing our runs but unfortunately that’s the world we live in now.
LOL – So much truth in this.
Tell me: What are your tips for morning running?
Join the Link-Up!
Topic for next week – What items do you bring on your run? Make sure you tell us your tips! We hope you’ll link up with us!
I’m also linking up with Marc from Train With Marc and Debbie from Coach Debbie Runs for Coaches’ Corner!
I’m the same. I run after work and in the mornings on the weekend.
Commit to it and do it. Much easier if a friend is waiting.
No doubt! Knowing that I have a friend, or friends, waiting gives me extra incentive to get out the door.
I’ve been a poor morning runner all winter because I fell into the trap of waiting for it to warm up…and then I ran out of time. In summer though I LOVE getting up and out first thing. It gets easier the more you do it.
Totally agree about the summer. Also I can’t deal with the heat and humidity too long so i have to get out the door super early if possible.
Since I don’t have to run first thing in the morning, I don’t! But when I do (meeting a group, a busy day), I lay out my clothes & fuel (if I need it) & make sure breakfast is grab & go.
I run early in the summer sometimes if it’s hot & humid. Same things!
I also run early in the summer, especially for long runs. I like to be out the door by 6am if possible. I just can’t deal with the heat!
I am so not an early morning runner! I have such respect for those that are. We have a 5:30 am group in our MRTT and those ladies are my heroes for sure.
While I am a morning person, I will admit that the thought of actually running so early in the morning sometimes makes me want to roll over and hit the snooze on my alarm, lol
Yes to laying out the clothes or at least grabbing the harder to sort out things. And yes to reflective clothing, that makes me really cross when people don’t!
Me too! I just want everyone to be safe out there and reflective gear or bright colors is a big part of that.
I am also a morning runner – I have to also lay clothes out in the morning. sometimes I even wear them to bed!
That’s a smart idea to wear your clothes to bed!
I am definitely a morning runner, but I am so glad that I don’t have to get up and run in the dark anymore since I retired! 🙂
That’s a huge bonus!
I’m loving the brighter evenings but since I get up at 5 for work, it has been REALLY rough for me with DST! Hopefully I adjust quickly!
Laying my clothes out is a huge help for the morning runs, it gives me less of an excuse to bail!
Me too! Today is was still kind of light outside around 6:30/7pm and I was so happy LOL
With my work schedule, I have to be an early morning runner. I’m an early-riser, so it’s not a huge deal, though. What has made it challenging, though, is the insanely cold AND icy AND windy winter we’ve had. And, my friend, Barb has been out of commission with her knee surgery…so I’ve had to hang with Milly. I much prefer Barb’s company LOL I always lay out all my clothes before bed, even when I’m just doing the treadmill.
I’m an early riser too but I don’t have anyone to run with in the wee early hours before work. It’s dark so I won’t run solo.
Getting everything the night before is key. I also need to have a PLAN of what I’m doing, otherwise I will keep hitting snooze while I “decide.”
Same! Having a plan and a route is key.
That’s pretty much my routine. Set the alarm, lay out my clothes, grab my friend and go. I’m bad about light and reflective gear. We try to lay low and stick to the sidewalks. We have plenty of lights in my neighborhood so I’m less worried about visibility. There’s a Public Safety Officer who runs at the same time as us, and he’s constantly scolding us for not being more easily seen. It’s cause he cares.
That’s so great that there’s a public safety officer that runs around the same time as you. It must feel good to know he’s out there!
Morning runs are the best!
I need to organize my stuff and have it ready for the morning. If not then I am scrambling and rushing out the door, but that rarely happens. 😯
Laying out my clothes before and having a running buddy to keep me accountable always motivates me to get my morning runs done!
So glad you have a system that work for you!
Laying out my running things the night before made the biggest difference for me when I started trying to run before work. I had to make it so I could basically roll out of bed, get dressed and go without thinking about it too much 🙂
Totally agree! The less I have to think that early in the morning, the better lol
For many years I was an “early bird” going to run in the morning before the work. I took this decision because I didn’t know when I could leave my office and, often, I was too tired to run following a scheduled plan. No tips only …. get up and run!
Now I am a retired man so I can do my workouts in the morning when the weather is warm and comfortable!
I agree that getting it done in the morning is best – that way you have no excuses!
Laying out your running gear is definitely a smart idea. I always like to be prepped so I can get ready to roll. Also, reflective gear is definitely a must!
Definitely! Being prepared is half the battle when it comes to morning runs!
I used to be an evening runner and switched to morning running just a couple of years ago… I love it now. It wasn’t easy at first, but setting a routine and sticking with it was key!
Also: I bribe myself with my first cup of morning coffee 😉 such a good motivator.
Good for you for sticking with it. I know that couldn’t have been an easy switch to make.
I linked up too because my running safety post definitely includes tips for morning running! Thanks for the linkup!
I am not happy about the time change because I always run early in the morning and I don’t like running in the dark. I try to light up the world when I do, though (and carry my pepper spray just in case).
Thanks so much for linking up with us!
I really have a hard time to run (or do anything) in the morning. When I worked far from home, early (very early) morning runs were almost the only time I could get my run in. Now that I don’t “have to” I struggle. These are good tips though – especially laying your stuff out the night before; that will really set you up for success. But there is absolutely no one who will want to run with me in the early morning. Even with marathon training it’s hard to find someone who 1) doesn’t run too fast, 2) has the same sort of mileage to do and 3) wants to go early. and YES! reflective gear!! OMG I see this all the time!! running in all black clothes and no reflection vest or light! Death wish anyone???
I don’t have a run buddy that’s available early in the morning so that’s the main reason I don’t run much before work. While I’d love to get the run done and out of the way, safety is the most important thing!