The running team that I coach meets for our group long run on Saturday mornings and we usually start at 8:30 a.m. This morning we offered the team two start times: 7:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. We've been experiencing some extreme heat and high humidity here in New York City, so it's not difficult to figure out which start time was more popular. Yep, we had almost twice as many runners show up at 7:00 a.m. to try to beat the heat. As the 7:00 a.m. crowd finished their runs, some of them said they didn't think they would have been able to go as far as they did if they had started later.
When it's hot outside, morning -- especially before sunrise -- is the coolest time of the day to run. It will be hotter in the evening because the roads will radiate accumulated heat. Of course, most people don't have an easy time dragging themselves out of bed for those early morning, "beat the heat" runs. So if you need some help to get moving early in the morning, try some of these tips:
Get a morning running buddy. If you usually run by yourself, try to recruit a running friend to meet you in the morning. Or, find a running group that meets in the morning. You'll be less likely to skip your run if you know people are waiting for you.
Put your alarm clock out of reach. If your alarm clock is across the room, you're already out of bed and a lot less likely to say, "Just 10 more minutes..."
Have a training schedule. If you're training for a specific race and following a training schedule, it's much harder to blow off those morning runs. You'll think to yourself, "I have to be ready for that half-marathon," or, "My schedule says 5 miles today. Gotta run."
Think about your plan the night before. Plan out your run the night before -- how far, for how long, what course you'll run. Doing so will help you get more motivated for your run and ensure that you have enough time for your run before you start the rest of your day.
Get more tips for getting motivated to run in the morning. And if you're a regular morning runner, share your advice for successful early runs in the comments section or in the discussion in the Running & Jogging forum.
More:
I’ve almost given up on trying to beat the heat. I find that if its in the 70s, I’ll end up soaking wet anyway. I used to try to want to be out and running at 5:30 but now I’ll let it go till 6 or even 7.
Getting up early and running isn’t a problem. I WANT to run… that’s the part of the day I look forward to
Although it may be tiring to drag myself out of bed in the morning, it is always worth it to beat the heat during a run. I think 6 or 7 am is a pretty good time to run, its light enough so its not dangerous and its as cool as the day is going to get.