As I’ve gotten older, I find myself relishing in early mornings and even, dare I say it, early bedtimes! It hasn’t always been like this, not by a long shot, and my family still expects me to sleep til noon when visit. I used to revel in the quiet of 3am, usually because I’d get my second wind around 11pm. The creative juices would flow, and quite usually, the adult beverages. With earlyish morning wake-ups for work, I’d function on little sleep, which I likened to being an artist, a natural night owl, but the reality was that I was moody and puffy. It’s still fun staying up late, but I find myself drawn to a 9:30pm bedtime with a 5:30am wakeup (ideally), especially in these winter months when it starts to get dark at 4:30pm. Running on a regular basis has helped quell my insomniac tendencies; I get better sleep, and I want more of it for recovery!

Early bedtimes and very early mornings were made very recently, when I asked for a M – F schedule at my last job. It would be possible, with a start time of 6:30am (a 5am wake-up if I cycled to work). I felt instant fear, as I’d seen that time of the morning mostly from staying up all night, or getting up a few times a month for group runs and races. But regularly? Oh noooooo. 

It turned out to be pretty enjoyable, and I loved getting off work at 2:30pm. That was a perfect time to get off and have the afternoon free to exercise, which is my favorite! I’m a second-half-of-the-day runner. Mornings are for coffee and scrambling to grab everything to leave on time!! Even on my days off I like to spend the morning cleaning up, cooking, watching TV, and writing, saving my workouts and runs for the afternoons and early evenings. Sunset runs > Sunrise runs. However, in the morning, to get the blood flowing and the body energized, sometimes I do crave a swift yet gentle workout (cup of coffee next to me)! So I’ve compiled a few of my fave videos to wake up the muscles and get revved up! 

What is your favorite time to get your workouts in? Are you a morning person or a night owl?