Feel it in my Bones

Actually, I'm feeling it in my hip. My left hip to be exact. Tight would be a good word to describe the way it feels. Tight like my budget which is why I haven't gotten new sneakers yet even though I should have gotten them two weeks ago. If you are freaking out right now, you can relax, because my weekly mileage has been topping out at about 8, and I am not too worried that I can stretch it another week. I know that what I am doing is not the smartest decision in the world. There is a slight off chance that what I am doing could cause me injury and set back and blah blah blah. And with my trip to China coming up next week, and zero chance of being able to run at all while there, I feel like the delay won't be so bad. But I can definitely feel my body telling me "hey if you're going to keep waking me up at 6am every day and throw me around in the gym can you at least get me some comfy new kicks?" touche body. You will have your wish in a few more days.

Despite last weeks morning running failure, I was so drawn to the idea of changing up my routine I have been giving it another go this week. Here are some things that rock about morning runs/workouts.

- I am so energized after my workout I don't need coffee

- I am awake early enough to run up to my desk and converse via email with vendors before they go to sleep

- I have evenings free

- 6am is such a peaceful time to start your day. Everything feels quiet calm

- I don't have to stop eating at 3pm in prep for a run which means treats at all the office parties!

And here are some things that suck

- 3pm caffeine withdraw headaches.

- Going to sleep early

I can't say right now if this will work for me in the long term. I like changing things up a bit, even if it is hard to wake up in the morning. It's completely thrown me for a loop as far as what to do before my run, what to eat, drink etc. Where before I was used to eating all day and then stopping to digest everything before running, now I grab an English muffin and peanut butter and eat half on the drive to the gym (which is also at work). I am really enjoying the fact that once I am at work, there is no stress of rushing to get ready. The second I am done putting on my makeup I can run to the kitchen, grab breakfast and head to my desk. Magical.

My other concern is time when the runs get longer. Right now I wake up at 6am and have everything perfectly timed to fit in anywhere from a 3-5 mile run. Once my mileage gets higher than that, and I predict that will happen quite soon, I may have to revert back to night running so I will not feel such a time constraint in the morning. I can only imagine what time I would have to go to bed to wake up at 5am or 5:30.

There is also the factor of, my eating schedule and the amount I eat. While previously I was stopping eating at 3pm and then not having dinner until 8pm or 9pm, there was a huge chunk of time I was not eating. Now that time is open to graze as I please, so I have to take care not to eat too much or cave to the sweet call of junk food. And let me just say that yesterday I was H-U-N-G-R-Y! I ate almost everything in my lunch before 3pm!

After much contemplation during my morning workout today I have decided to take a trip to the Bryn Mawr Running Co. at lunch and see if I can get myself some new kicks. I am interested to see if I should be sticking with the same brand/model/size etc as I have been doing for the past few years, or if I would be better off with something different. Either way with new shoes on my feet my hips, and the rest of my body, is sure to thank me soon!

xx Sara