I have a confession to make. Yesterday, I had brought my gym bag with me with all intention to go to the gym after work. I ended up working late, still had enough time to go to the gym, but I skipped it to grab some wings and a beer with my friend. I was exhausted and thought the after-work workout would just burn me out some more. But I justified it to myself saying that I'd be more well rested to go running in the morning.
For the last 3 months, I've had my alarm set at 5:45 am. For the last 3 months, I've turned that one off and gone back to sleep. Today was the first time that I've made it to a morning workout in a very long time. I heard the early alarm, and just made myself get out of bed. If I'm conscious enough to check my Facebook news feed when i wake up, I can definitely change into running clothes and haul my butt outside.
My plan was to run the Central Park Loop, which is just over 6 miles, but I hadn't really run outside in the past 2 weeks except for my 15K and 10K, so I decided to just take it easy this morning. I ran from my apartment to the park, along the Loop for a while, and ran around the Reservoir. I used to LOVE running around the Reservoir, but it gets very crowded on the weekends with walking tourists, so I've been sticking to the Loop for the last few months for my Park runs. Early in the morning, it was a lot better and had mostly runners.
I could have pushed myself to run faster, but my left ankle has been bothering me a bit so I didn't want to hurt myself. The time above also incorporates me pausing along the Reservoir to snap some photos, and stop to get some water at the fountain. Even though it was kind of a half-assed attempt at running this morning, I'm really glad that I forced myself to get out of bed and squeeze this workout in. I made it to work earlier to work than normal (I got home after the run before the time I usually wake up to get ready for work!) which was awesome. Now that it's warmer, and it gets lighter out early (impossible for me to run in the dark during winter mornings), I have no excuse to not go for these lovely morning runs.
Running in the morning is the best! I love not having to worry so much about traffic and pedestrians. Congrats on getting up and out the door (the hardest part of every run).
ReplyDeleteDo you carry mace or pepper spray? When I was waiting at a light the other morning while running, there was a cop who asked me if I had mace with me. I didn't, and he recommended I get some. I had mistakenly thought it was illegal or hard to find, but it's not!
Kate, I've never been concerned about my safely in the morning in the park, probably because there are usually a decent amount of runners around me. But I will definitely keep it in mind!
ReplyDeleteRosa - I've been following your fashion blog for a while on my Google Reader & just wanted to pop out to say I'm so excited to see that you have a new running blog! I'm a new runner myself & also obsessed with Lululemon. :) I started out with the Couch to 5k two years ago, but I pretty much stopped running after I graduated ... until I started training again in January -- this time for my first half marathon, which I just ran this past weekend! I thought that would be it for me, but I just signed up for the Nike Women's Half Marathon!
ReplyDeleteI'll definitely be cheering you on for your upcoming half marathon & wishing you the best of luck for qualifying for the NYC Marathon. Oh, & a tip about energy foods/gels -- I really like Clif Shot Bloks! They're square gummies & come 6 in a pack. If you cut the pack in half with scissors, they'll fit into the waistband pockets of your pants. When you take it out to eat, you can just squish the gummy out of the wrapper into your mouth -- no mess or spills!