early morning runs

Fit Five Friday – National Running Safety Month

November 19, 2021 by Michelle 27 Comments

This post was originally published on November 7, 2014, and updated on November 19, 2021, and contains affiliate links.

November is National Running Safety Month. While I’ve previously shared some running safety tips in the past, with the recent end of Daylight Saving Time, I thought some of these tips were worth re-visiting.

Fit Five Friday – Five Tips for Runner Safety

Light It Up — It may seem so obvious and yet I continue to see runners pre-dawn (and well after dusk) running with absolutely no lights or reflective gear on. The little reflective strip on your running shoes is not enough – lighted or reflective vests, armbands, and the like are a must. I’m a big fan of my Noxgear vest. Carrying lights or wearing a headlamp also makes you visible, with the added bonus of lighting your path as you run.

Find a Buddy — There’s always safety in numbers. Find a running buddy or try running with your dog.

Tune In — As much as I enjoy running with music, I think it’s so much more important to be completely tuned in to your surroundings, especially when it’s dark. If “running naked” is not an option for you, then run with just one earbud in and keep the volume low, or wear try open-ear headphones, like AfterShokz.

Carry your Phone & ID — If you run alone, bring your phone. Hopefully, you won’t need it, but it’s always better to have it. Also, be sure to have identification on hand. I never head out without my Road ID! In the event of an emergency, an ID could be your most important piece of gear.

Share Your Route — Always make sure someone knows your route, when you’re leaving and when you expect to be back. I have a handful of favorite routes and my husband knows them as well as I do. Also, consider using a tracking app like Garmin’s LiveTrack or Life 360.

**Bonus tip: Try to vary your route and time — I know this one can be hard, especially if you’ve got to get your run in before work or the kids get up, but be careful not to follow such a pattern of behavior that someone can pick up on your schedule.

How do you stay safe on a run? What’s your best safety tip?

Welcome to Fit Five Friday!

Join My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Please be sure to link back to your hosts, and share the link love by visiting and commenting on your hosts and at least two other Fit Five Friday bloggers!

Filed Under: #FitFiveFriday, early morning runs, Friday Five, National Running Safety Month

Reasons to Run in the Morning

April 9, 2021 by Michelle 13 Comments

One of my April goals is to return to early morning runs. So as I make the shift back to my early morning workouts, I thought I’d share some of the benefits of getting an early start.

Five Reasons to Run in the Morning

Fewer schedule conflicts — We all know that as the day wears on there’s a high probability that life will get in the way of the best-laid plans. Getting out early for a run reduces the possibility of schedule conflicts and any stress related to worrying about how to fit a run in later in the day.

More time in your day — Being able to check the box on completing your run early in the day, essentially frees up time to take on more – adding more time to your day.

Alert and focused — Running gives you a great boost of both endorphins and adrenaline, which can help you to feel more focused and alert – not to mention the positive mood boost. That sounds like a good way to start the day to me!

A range of health benefits — Did you know that studies have shown a range of health benefits from early morning runs, including lower blood pressure, a more resilient immune system, and better sleep?

A moment of quiet beauty — Quiet roads, fewer people to dodge, no mask needed…and the possibility of a sunrise. Getting out for an early morning run offers a moment of quiet to breathe and prepare for the day.

What's your favorite time to run? Sharing 5 reasons for early morning runs. #FitFiveFriday #bibchat Click To Tweet

Are you an early morning runner? What’s your favorite time of the day to run or work out?

Welcome to Fit Five Friday!
Join My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Who’s ready for some fun?

Filed Under: #FitFiveFriday, early morning runs

Five tips to become an early morning runner

June 11, 2019 by Michelle 54 Comments

For this week’s Tuesday Topics, Kim and Zenaida have invited everyone to share their Summer Running Tips. For me, summer running is synonymous with early morning running!

I recently made the transition back to early runs, so I thought I’d re-share a post I did a couple of years ago offering some tips on how to become an early morning runner.

Becoming an Early Morning Runner

This post was originally published on June 23, 2017, and updated on June 11, 2019.

Now that summer is officially here, and temps are on the rise, I’m back to running early in the morning to hopefully find some of the cooler temps of the day. I’ve shared before some benefits of early morning running, so today I thought I’d share some tips on how to shift your clock to become an early morning runner.

Get some sleep: OK let’s start with the obvious – if you want to get up early, you’ve got to get your zzz’s, so of course, that means you’ve got to get to bed at a reasonable time.

Be prepared: Layout clothing and gear the night before – eliminate the need to stand in a dark closet fumbling around for something to wear or skipping a run because your Garmin is not charged!

Lose the snooze: Put your alarm clock out of reach! If you have to get up and out of bed to turn off your alarm, then you’re less likely to hit snooze.

Ease into it: And speaking of that alarm, I’d recommend starting slowly. Don’t set your alarm that first morning for o’dark thirty right off the bat. Ease your way into the early morning hours by shifting your wake-up time back over the course of several days.

Find a buddy: Knowing that someone is waiting for you will get you out of bed. You never want to leave a friend hanging.

Tips to become an early morning runner #TuesdayTopics #Runchat #SummerRunning Click To Tweet

What’s your best tip for becoming an early morning runner?

Filed Under: early morning runs, Friday Five, Summer running, Tuesday Topics

Five Benefits of Morning Running

April 15, 2016 by Michelle 23 Comments

Happy Friday!

If you’ve been hanging out around here then you know that one of my goals this month is to get back to early morning runs. I’m happy to say that so far I’m crushing this goal, and while I admit some mornings are harder than others, I’m loving these runs. Today’s Friday Five theme is “favorites” so I thought I’d share some benefits of why it’s worth it to get up and out early.

No schedule conflicts — This one is huge for me! I love being able to “check the box” off my to do list and not stress about how I’m going to fit in a run later in the day.

More time in your day — Taking care of my workout early also leaves me feeling much more in control of my day, and with more time to get things done.

Better breathing — Getting out and done before too many commuters hit the road means breathing in less car exhaust.

Metabolism jump start — With an early morning workout you kick your metabolism into high gear, burning more calories at a faster rate throughout the day.

Better sleep — Inevitably getting up earlier means going to bed earlier. As a result, I’m finding that I’ve been sleeping better and overall feel more rested.

**Bonus** — A chance to catch a beautiful sunrise!

When’s your favorite time to run?

Linking up with Courtney, Mar and Cynthia – stop by and see what favorites everyoe’s sharing this week!

Filed Under: early morning runs, Friday Five

April Runfessions

April 24, 2015 by Michelle 21 Comments

I feel like I say this at the end of every month, but seriously, where did April go!? Well, it’s the last Friday of the month so I’m linking up with Marcia again for another edition of Runfessions. Join us!

Runfession #1 –– While I appreciate having the flexibility of running midday (thanks to working from home), I am clearly an early morning runner. As I returned to early morning runs this month, I really find I’m just much more settled during the rest of my day.

Runfession #2 — I cut both of my runs short this week thanks to some discomfort in my left knee. Truthfully, something didn’t feel good about half way through the BAA 5K and the knee hasn’t felt great ever since.

Runfession #3 — There are 44 days until the Newport 10 miler and I am not where I want to be…sigh.

Runfession #4 — On the good side, I’m still rocking the plank challenge and my strength days at the gym are my favorite days of the week!

So tell me, what’s your Runfession? What’s your preferred time of day to run?

Filed Under: early morning runs, left knee, Runfessions

November’s Ultimate Coffee Date

November 1, 2014 by Michelle 12 Comments

It’s the first Saturday of the month so that means it’s time to join in on the Ultimate Coffee Date! This month I’m linking up with Coco at Running with Perseverance. This is always a great time to catch up, so grab a mug and pull up a chair!

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I started a new job last month! It’s a long-term consulting gig with a nonprofit – first time for me working in the nonprofit arena. It’s part-time hours and I can work from my home office – huge win!

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that with the new job I’ve needed to shift my running time to o’dark thirty and boy am I struggling to get my face out of the pillow! Except for summer months, when I head out uber-early to beat the heat, I usually don’t run until post-school bus/mid-morning. But now I need to be out and back before my kids (and the sun!) are up.

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that since I’ve made my decision about Philly, running has become a lot less stressful for me – definitely a sign that it was the right decision.

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that our family is doing “30 Days of Thankful” where each day everyone will share at least one thing they’re thankful for. I’ve been thinking a lot about gratitude lately, especially where my kids are concerned. As we head into the season of consumerism on overdrive (aka the holidays), I’m hoping to help them strike a balance.

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I haven’t been able to comment on other blogs for almost a week. So frustrating! I’ve been working with Akismet so my posts are flagged as spam. They keep telling me that they’ve fixed it but it’s still not working. So please know that I’m not being rude – hopefully I’ll be back to commenting soon 🙂 .

If we were having coffee together what would you tell me?

Filed Under: early morning runs, gratitude, Ultimate coffee date

Thursday Thoughts

June 27, 2013 by Michelle 7 Comments

It’s not the Heat it’s the Humidity….we’ve been in the midst of a heat wave since the weekend so that means the return to early morning runs! Making the shift is always a little tough the first few days, but I do love the feeling of being home and done long before the kids have to be out the door for school.

And speaking of school….we have finally hit the home stretch! Tomorrow is the last day 🙂 Hard to believe that I will soon be mom to a 2nd grader and a middle-schooler! As we’ve been inching closer to the last day of school, the boys have been steadily adding to our Summer Bucket List – they’ve got big plans for the next 9 1/2 weeks. Let the fun begin!

In the “What is she thinking category?“…I’ve been debating between the 5K and 10K for next week’s Finish at the 50 and then I got an email with this picture. Those are ramps inside Gillette Stadium – they’re also the final 2.2 miles of the 10K course! We all know how much I ~~hate~~ don’t love hills, especially at the end of a run, but believe it or not I’ve decided I’m going to do the 10K. If this crazy heat continues I may be cursing this decision…stay tuned 😉

Don’t forget….my Designer Whey Sustained Energy giveaway ends tonight at 11:00 p.m. EST

Filed Under: #DesignerWhey, 3 things, early morning runs, Finish at the 50, giveaways, hills

Monday Monday

August 27, 2012 by Michelle 14 Comments

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I love getting in an early morning run on a Monday – love the feeling of accomplishment and it’s not even 8:30 yet! Sets a good tone for the week ahead.

After a rough night of sleep (I have bouts of insomnia), that 5:15 alarm sounded like nails on a blackboard so I asked J to hit the Snooze twice for 20 more minutes — yes the alarm clock is on his side of the bed…I’m not a morning person and despite my preference for morning runs, if the clock were on my side the Snooze button and I would be BFFs. 20 minutes later I was greeted with some rap/pop number (note to self – check the radio station on the alarm clock) and while I wasn’t feeling any peppier I did get up this time, stumbled over the dog and made my way down to the kitchen. As I mentioned before, I’m searching for the right pre-run meal so there was a moment of indecision as I debated whether I would even bother eating. But since I was hoping to get 7 in, I leaned towards eating something and settled on a Honey Stringer, and planned to carry a GU with me just in case.

I got my act together and got out the door and was a half mile into the run when I realized I’d left my handheld and GU sitting on the kitchen counter….oh well, just keep going. I swear every morning should be like this morning….temps in the high 50s, a slight breeze, sun just breaking through and no humidity – perfect! After 28 miles last week (most I’ve ever done), I wasn’t sure how my legs would do – but they felt surprisingly good. Soon I was back home, 7.5 miles done and a negative split on the back half – a good start to the day and week 9 of the training plan!

Now I’m off to rally the kids – we’re taking off for a few days on Wednesday (sqeezing in a mini vacation before school starts next week) and of course there a bunch of errands to do before we leave.

Happy Monday!

Filed Under: early morning runs, Monday Motivation

A Good Morning

July 15, 2011 by Michelle 3 Comments

Ran 10.25 miles this morning.

It was a perfect summer morning – still cool, a slight breeze, the sun bright but not intense yet. There were lots of runners out taking advantage of the break in the humidity — everyone I passed seemed to be enjoying the morning, enjoying being a runner…there were a lot more “Morning” ‘s today and the runner’s wave…even some smiles…better than the grunts and pained looks I’ve seen on recent runs. Saw a couple of friends out running too and chatted briefly – always a pick me up to see friendly faces!

I love that I still get a little giddy when I see that double-digit on my Garmin. I remember where I was last summer, when getting to 6 was a huge deal. I love that sense of accomplishment (both then and now)…hope that feeling never goes away!

Hubs took on getting the kids ready and off to camp – I actually had the luxury of stretching and foam rolling post-run instead of the usual mad dash! So now it’s me, the dog, a cup of coffee and a quiet house – perfect way to start a Friday 🙂

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Don’t forget my McDavid compression sleeve giveaway ends Sunday!

Have a Great Weekend!

Filed Under: early morning runs, giveaways, long runs, McDavid USA

Thursday Thoughts (aka 3 Things)

June 30, 2011 by Michelle 6 Comments

Crazy schedule wrapping up the school year, plus taking a a few days off after the race turned June into one of my lowest mileage months this year.

With school finally done, we’re settling into a summer routine around here and I’ve been pushing the alarm clock back to get those early morning runs in – must be working cause I woke up at 5:30 this morning without the alarm…only problem was today’s a rest day.

I loved reading everyone’s comments about how fast to do a long run. I have 10 miles on the plan for tomorrow. This will be the first time going back up to double digits since the race so I’ve decided to just run by feel and see where I come out pace-wise — should serve as a good benchmark. I’ll also be testing out my Nathan hydration belt.

Can you believe tomorrow is July 1 already?!?!

Filed Under: 3 things, early morning runs, long runs, Nathan hydration belt, Schedule vs Training