Morning run... motivation?!

I want to add a 30 minute morning run twice a week. I have tried setting my alarm for 7:30 am about 3 times and I just think: I am going to the gym tonight, I'd rather sleep for 30 more minutes. I really want to jog/run in the morning. Any advice on what gets you out of bed?

so funny...i was seriously justgoing to add a post with the exact same question.  i'm more of a night runner but really want to get in the habit of running in the morning.

well, i have no advice haha but i'll wait to hear other peoples!

I know how you feel! Before I started running in the morning I did the exact same thing.  I live in Arizona so it is warm in the morning which makes it easier for me to WANT to do it.  Mainly though, you just feel better and it is a great way to start your day.  I feel like i stand up taller at work and I am in a better mood when I get cardio in the morning.  The first couple days your body will be shocked and you may feel tired but after a few days you feel GREAT!  Try it!

i try to run in the morning and in high school, i would have dreaded morning track practices sometimes. it is hard to get out of bed in the morning, but i find that once i'm out running, i'm fine. and after my run, i feel relieved that i got my run in for the day already done and i feel more refreshed and not as tired during the day!

well this is my motivation, not exactly the best but hey what ever gets me out of bed at 5:00am can't be that bad.  I don't allow myself to have coffee until I return from my run :)  If you are a coffee drinker this will work. Plus man I think my time improves just thinking about hurrying up to get my coffee :)

I don't like running.  I don't have the greatest joints in the world and they complain when I run.  Gas prices have given me enough motivation to ride my bike to the gym/work though!

I know I will feel so much better and energized if I get the run in. I tell myself that @ night when I set my alarm. However, the alarm goes off and I say no! Haha, well I am going to give it a try Weds morning and tell myself no ifs, ands, or buts.

I put my running clothes and shoes right next to the bed so it is the first thing I see when my alarm goes off.  It works...somehow the shoes mock me if I don't get out of bed!!!

Original Post by leslee24:

well this is my motivation, not exactly the best but hey what ever gets me out of bed at 5:00am can't be that bad.  I don't allow myself to have coffee until I return from my run :)  If you are a coffee drinker this will work. Plus man I think my time improves just thinking about hurrying up to get my coffee :)

I'm going to try this! I don't run but I've been trying to motivate myself to go for a morning bike ride, and so far nothing has worked ...not even my shoes mocking me 3 ft away mmdsc..lol...I seemed to have learned how to ignore them! But the threat of no coffee that morning just may do it! thanks leslee and thanks taylor for posting this :)

Hi there, I too have started running in the morning. I do find it harder to do in the morning since my body is still in sleep mode. Some mornings I am up as soon as the alarm goes off other times I stay in bed for an extra half hour, but I do get up and put my clothes on, drink a glass of water I always start my run off with atleast a 2-3min walk to get my body in the mode. Right now I am fighting some bad shin splints, but I am still getting out there and going even if it takes me longer. My motivation for doing this is that I have the rest of the time when I get home after work to do whatever I want. Also I feel that much better afterwards and the shower feels that much more refreshing. If you have anymore running questions feel free to ask, I have books on running.

I'm soooo not a morning person, so I have a two-pronged attack:

1. I set my cell phone alarm on the MOST annoying ring tone on the phone, and set it for 10 minutes after my regular alarm... on top of my pile of work-out clothes... in the hallway.  I then have one snooze + one minute to get out of bed before the world's worst ring tone is stuck in my head all day.

2. Much like leslee, I use coffee as a motivator.  I set the coffee maker to start brewing 20 mintues AFTER the world's worst ring tone would have gone off - so now I'm up and have 20 minutes to kill before the coffee brews - might as well work out!

What works for me to run in the morning:

I usually listen to the radio while I run, so I tune into a really funny, energetic morning show while I run.

Work out a routine that you'd do everyday, so you don't really have to think about it, just do it!

If you are running in the morning instead of going to the gym at night, use that as a motivation!

• go to bed earlier - may have to skip night before trip to gym. IMHO you should give your body at least 12 hours rest between workouts.  Plus, the more you work out, the more sleep you need at night to get well rested.  Dancers & athletes tend to need 9 - 10 hours.
  

• if you have pretty nature things nearby take a camera with you to document wildlife and scenery. It may reduce the number of calories you burn but it gets you out the door (if you like that sort of thing).

 

• all those things other people said

 

• get siamese cats that like to be fed at the crack of dawn and meow incessantly until you get up.

This might sound a little funny, but if my workout cloths are clean, I  jsut sleep in them. Then I put my running shoes by the bed, set my 20 minute-long gradiated alarm. (starts soft and beautiful but after ten minutes gets more and more annoying until the last two minutes are sheer torture)
that works pretty well. and then I tell myself I get an orange! I LOVE oranges, so I always eat one before my run.

Sometimes I just can't get out of bed. (like today)

question- if my joints are hurting a lot, what can I do about it? I'm only 18.

I just try not to think about it too much. I too sleep in my running clothes and put my shoes by my bed, and in the morning I just role out of bed and put my hair up and my shoes on and I'm off...no getting ready/putting makeup on for me. I just go like I am hehe. When I run in the mornings I usually have one of my favorite breakfasts...a yogurt which I pop in the freezer before I leave, a luna bar, and coffee with a little extra milk/sweetener. I just tell myself in 30-45 minutes I get a shower and some yummy food, and then I truly feel great for the rest of the day. Once you get going it's a lot easier.

I challenged myself to run every morning for 30 days and took it really seriously (this was a couple of months ago now). If you know it is only for 30 days it is easier to face each day and of course at the end of the 30 days the hope is that it'll have become a habit and you'll just carry on anyway (tho reducing it to 2-3 times a week or whatever suits you - but you must do it everyday for the first 30 days else it doesn't tend to work).

At first I was rolling out of bed, into my shoes and out the door with my eyes still closed - this didn't work that well! Then I tried to get myself into a nice little routine - alarm goes off at 6am, straight up and into the kitchen for a drink, then allow myself half an hour listening to the news and basically waking up, then i'd do just 4 or 5 minutes of yoga stretches. this i think was the key. it helped me to warm up and become really alert. i'd start sitting cross legged and just rolling my head, then on to my knees and working the shoulders, then standing up and stretching up and down, then a couple of rounds of sun salutation. As you can see you're gradually waking up your body and warming up the muscles. After that i'd be warm enough to change out of my pjs and into my joggers and alert enough to appreciate the beautiful morning air! Breakfast was my treat when I got back (I found it much easier to run before breakfast).

Wow, the clean work out clothes thing could really work for me because another thing I think of is got to get dressed, put my hair up, socks on, shoes on, blah. Haha, I know it's not that much, but it seems like it in the morning when I could be sleeping. The thing is, this is in addition to the gym or biking so it's hard to force myself b/c I just think, "oh I will bike or go to the gym this evening!"

Okay, tonight I am sleeping in my gym clothes, shoes by bed, annoying alarms, good breakfast planned for AFTER my run. The coffee would entice me, but I don't have a coffee maker!! Grggh.

Hmmmm Taylor - I'm with you. I'm going to try to do the same thing tomorrow am. Lets see who actually does it! ha ha

Maybe we can make a point of checking in with eachother to say 'I did it!' and for how long! :)

Well my alarm is set! Only thing is my shoes are soaking wet b/c I got caught in a massive rain storm here outside of Wash D.C. today on a trail! I was about 20-25 mins from my car. Oh well, it was fun. And if my running shoes are too wet tomorrow, I have new balances I will wear.

I will post here @ work tomorrow morning to hopefully say I did it!

I didn't do it :(

Going to run tonight, and try for tomorrow morning :(

If you guys have music you like to listen to, leave that by your bed too!  And when the alarm goes off stick the tunes in your ears... you can't tell me you'd sleep through your favorite rocking song!  And put a note on your shoes that says something mocking.  For example  "I dare you to put me on"  or  "What's your excuse today for not wearing me?"   These two things should haul you out of bed!!  :)  Good luck!