Friday Links: Wake Up Early: How You Can Do It

This has been A WEEK.

I have not gotten a full night's sleep all week.  For Real.  Last night before going to bed, I prayed to the gods and heavens above that neither of my children would wake up in the middle of the night as seems to be our current routine.  Turns out none of the gods or heavens like me - at 2:30 my son was awake.

Despite the fact that my eye is twitching (does that happen to anyone else when you are tired?!), I haven't missed a run yet!  I ran 4 of the 5 days so far this week.

I missed 2 of the 4 early morning alarms because I was so tired.  Luckily my afternoons this week have been dedicated to a SAS training, and two of the afternoons we were done early so I could sneak my run in during that suddenly free time. PHEW.  I took Thursday as a day off this week, which was much needed. Which left this morning, when I forced myself to get out of bed.

I still struggle with the early morning run, but it has been getting easier.  I agree with many of the tips in this week's Friday Link:  Wake Up Early: How You Can Do It.

I started trying to ease into morning runs by wearing my running clothes to bed.  While this proved useful to getting out of bed and going, it wasn't very comfortable, mainly due to the compressive sports bra.  As long as I set out EVERYTHING I will need for a run the night before, in convenient spaces, I have been doing ok.

The routine that has been working for me is:

5:00 Wake Up Alarm/stretch in bed and say mantras like nobody's business to motivate myself to not go back to bed

5:05 Get out of bed.  Stumble into bathroom and turn on shower light so as not to wake husband.  Put contacts in, change in running clothes that I have laid out night before, go downstairs.

5:10 Turn on porch light.  Go into kitchen and turn on a bunch of lights.  Get water bottle out and fill with water + 1 Nuun for after run.  Check phone to scroll through Instagram for more motivation.  Grab knucklights and watch which I also put out the night before.  Go back to front door and put on shoes which I set by door the night before.

5:15 Get out of the house and run loops around my neighborhood.  1 loop ~ 1.15 miles

5:50-6 (Depending on how far I had to go) Return back to house, grab water bottle of Nuun and RxBar, sit out on front porch admiring the quiet for a bit (unless I hear that the kids are awake, which then I usually go up and greet them).

6-6:45 Shower, dress, makeup, hair for myself.  Help kids get dressed, hair, teeth.  Breakfast for kids, make lunches for myself + kids and breakfast for myself which I take to work and eat.

6:45-7:00 Commute to work (Hubs finishes up with breakfast with kids and transports them to school & daycare)

One of the ways that I have been able to motivate myself to do morning runs is that I feel more calm during our night routine if I don't have to run after kids are in bed.  I am not nearly as annoyed with them for DRAAAAAGING out bed time if I am not itching to get out the door at 7 PM stat.  Also, I get to enjoy some time with my husband (usually watching tv) every night when I run in the morning. I think these more relaxed evenings are the biggest motivator for me embracing the morning routine.

I try to get to bed between 9/9:30 to accommodate waking up an hour before I was used to, but that doesn't always happen.  Usually I figure, if I get to sleep through the night, I am getting 7 - 7.5 hours a sleep on a week night.  I do not get up at 5 on weekends which grabs me an extra hour or so of sleep on Saturdays and Sundays.

So that's my trying-to-be-habitual-morning routine!  Anyone else an early bird?