Morning Run Masochism

“This is me at my most masochistic.”
Kill Bill (2003)

That’s the thought that kept running through my head as I embarked on the first mile of my run this morning.

As I suspected, waking up at 6:40am was no problem.  All my running gear was neatly laid out, including a bottled water, a vitamin, 2 ibuprofen, and a caffeinated Powerbar gel.  Per somebody’s recommendation, I hopped in the shower quickly to wake up/warm up, and then proceeded to dress and ingest.

All in all the routine took about 12 minutes.  I did some quick stretching on my way downstairs in the elevator and once I made it down to the street I walked for about 2 blocks, periodically stopping to stretch a little more.  Then I started running at about 6:56am, only 16 minutes after waking up.

I had high hopes, but really I just felt like shit.

Today was scheduled to be an interval day.  I continued to feel shitty as I ran up the east river towards the E. 6th St Track.  I just felt really stiff, like my running form looked arthritic.  Mentally I enjoyed watching the Brooklyn skyline at sunrise, and I was proud of myself for being out there though.

As I approached the track I decided to pull into the “fitness park” where I earned some extra tough guy points with a quick circuit of pull-ups, dips and pushups.  Then it was off to the track for some 400’s.

As I turned on the stopwatch, initiating the first of 6 intervals, I felt like I was really dragging as I rounded the corner of my first loop.  Split #1 was actually pretty quick at 1:23 (5:32 mile pace)… but I was worried about keeping it up.  Then split #2 came in at 1:23 and I began to gain some confidence.  #’s 3 and 4 were 1:21 and 1:20 respectively.  I noticed I was running short on time so I opted to finish on a strong note and skip #’s 5 and 6.

I hit the fitness park on the way back for another quick circuit (double tough guy points), then proceeded to head home.  Whatever endorphin rush I generated at the track quickly subsided, since I felt like crap again on the way back.  However, I ran the way back a full minute minute faster than the way out, and finished proud and strong.  And it felt great to walk in the door having earned the praises of my lovely fiancee, for going out there and taking care of business so early in the morning.

Then I frantically ate and got dressed.  Next time, I’d like to build in another 10 minutes of cushion.  It seems like no matter how much time you give yourself, your always running late when you work out in the morning.  For my first serious morning run in a while, I score today a C+/B-.

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J

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