Five tips to become an early morning runner

June 11, 2019 by 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.

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

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

June Goals and Global Running Day

June 4, 2019 by 24 Comments

If you’ve been around here for a while then you know that I like to set monthly goals. But before we dive into June plans, let’s do a quick rewind on the month that was.

May Rewind

For May I had 4 goals:

  • Keep building my base and run 75 miles
  • Prioritize rest & sleep
  • Return to early morning runs
  • Reach the starting line of the Run to Remember healthy

And, with the exception of getting more sleep, I nailed all my goals! I hit 79 miles for the month, was out the door before 6 a.m. most mornings, and happily toed the line for my half marathon. The chaos that has come to be the norm around here for the month May did nothing to help my rest and recovery, so I’m not surprised I missed the mark here, but overall I’m really happy with the way the month played out.

June Goals

Prioritize rest & sleep — OK, so let’s try this one again! With school out and more white space on the calendar, I can hopefully do much better here.

Strength Training & Daily Core — While the mileage was up last month, my strength training suffered. Marathon training starts soon so it will be more important than ever to get at least one weekly strength workout. I’m also back to daily planking for a stronger core.

Improve my cadence — Coach Marc mentioned on our last run that with my form improving, he’d like to see me now pay more attention to my cadence. I’ll be doing some runs with a metronome, which should be interesting.

Run a strong 10K — I have the BAA 10K at the end of the month. I’m not sure what the time goal will be but I’d like to feel ready to push the pace a little.

Global Running Day!

I’m linking up with Kim and Zenaida for Tuesday Topics, and this week they’re asking everyone to share their plans for Global  Running Day. While Wednesdays are not typically a run day for me, as luck would have it I had to juggle my schedule this week so I’ll be hitting the pavement in the morning! I also plan to check out all of the race discounts that will be happening in hopes of finding a good deal on a September half marathon.

How will you celebrate Global Running Day? Have you set any June goals?

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Filed Under: Global Running Day, goals, month in review, Tuesday Topics