Early morning running

Unexpectedly, I’ve returned this month to a habit from college summers: early morning running. And it’s been wonderful.

There are so many advantages to running right after waking, but other habits had evolved over the past several years, and I’d drifted away from that kind of schedule.

For a long time now, even during the past two years and eleven months while I’ve been committed to running every day, my running schedule has varied from month to month. For the two summers I was running with my son, we usually went at the end of the day; he just wasn’t interested in getting up early for the sake of exercising. In other phases, I’ve gone in the late afternoon or just before dinner. During the school year, I usually run midmorning, right around the time the dog starts to get restless, and toward the end of last spring I fell into the habit of setting off on my run right from the bus stop after Holly boarded her bus to school.

So early mornings haven’t been my time for running since college days. But there are so many reasons it’s a great time to run, and in the past month I’ve been reminded of what they all are, now that once again – with Rick off to work by eight, the sun so hot for much of the day this summer, and Tim’s baseball games most evenings – I’m in the habit of rolling out of bed, pulling on my running clothes and hitting the road.

The fact is, as much as I tell myself that running is something to look forward to and not to get over with, it’s so satisfying to know as the day gets under way that you’ve already accomplished that one simple goal of running two miles, or whatever the goal may be. Back when I ran in the late afternoon, I’d tell myself it was something to look forward to all day, an interlude of solitude as the day ended. But really, more often than not, I looked ahead with a sense of wariness, especially during hot weather. Haven’t I done enough today? I’d catch myself wondering. I’ve biked with the kids, gone swimming, walked all over the supermarket; do I really still have to go running?

Heading out first thing in the morning is different. I love the cool air that lasts only an hour or two after sunrise; it’s like I’m getting in on the early bird special by taking advantage of the shaded roadways early enough that the July sun hasn’t yet heated them. My kids are still asleep as I head out; they won’t even realize that they’re missing out on time with me. I like seeing the early morning commuters, the bicyclists, the neighbors out retrieving their newspapers. The school campus lies still as it waits for the onslaught of day-campers, the library parking lot empty, the post office just opening for business. The day is just beginning, and I’m out greeting it. Somehow it makes me feel ahead of the game.

The satisfaction lasts throughout the rest of the day. I ran my two miles; what about you? I think, but the thought is directed toward no one in particular. It’s not like most of the people I see throughout a typical day couldn’t run two miles if they wanted to, or haven’t done something even more physically challenging themselves at some point during the day. It’s just the sense that by getting out early, I’m resting on my laurels for all the hours that remain. Yes, writing deadlines need to be met, loads of laundry started, sandwiches made, trips to the vet or the pharmacy undertaken. But I do it all knowing I already went running. It’s a small and trivial achievement, but somehow it still makes me feel I’ve accomplished something worthwhile, regardless of what other challenges the day brings.