Finish Line 70.3

Finish Line 70.3
Finish Line 70.3

70.3 Finisher!

70.3 Finisher!
70.3 Finisher

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Larks and owls

I read a lot about larks and owls in regard to training. This is not the National Audubon Society's Guide to Birds, but those of us that have to/like to train in the mornings versus those of us who have to/like to train later in the day.

If you are a professional triathlete, you get to train whenever you want to, so this doesn't apply to you, not that you would be reading this blog anyway.

For the rest of us mere mortals, with jobs and kids and soccer games and grocery store runs, we have to find time in our days when working out for longer than three minutes at a time is viable.

I'm a owl through and throughout. Although my mother swore I was born at 7:25 in the morning, I can tell you that was the last time I got up that early voluntarily. I love to stay up late, especially to read, and love to sleep in until about 8 or so, (as if I have ever gotten the chance to do that in the last 20 years, but still, the desire remains).

I like working out after my workday is done and pre dinner. Unfortunately, as a lawyer, sometimes my workdays can go on and on (and sometimes end up as work nights or even work early mornings, but not as much as they used to, thanks to our economy). I don't mind heading out for a run or a swim at 8:30 p.m. so long as I have a little snackie beforehand, but it doesn't work well with family dinnertime or spousal sharing time. If the Patient Spouse is out of town, I will often find myself at the gym swimming until 8:30 or so, which in my mind is great, because no one else is there. Then I'll have a quick dinner around 9:30 and hit the sack by 11 p.m. and start the next day at 7 for a perfect schedule (I noticed since I started working out so hard that my "owl" tends to shut completely down by 11 p.m.).

When Patient Spouse is in town, I try to schedule workouts earlier so I am at least home for dinner by 8 p.m. (doesn't always work, but I do try). In extreme circumstances, I will drag my lazy backside out of bed early and go for a run or swim in the pre dawn darkness (I do not like biking in the mornings since rush hour traffic is too horrific to consider, and our local bike trails are about a 45 minute drive away on a good day). This morning I grudgingly stumbled out of a warm bed and onto the dark streets at 6:20 a.m. for a 3 mile run since I was planning to do a 2 a day and swim tonight because I could not swim yesterday as I had client dinner (however, I totally forgot that Tuesday nights are Ladies Who Do Water Aerobics at my gym, so my 2 day has to turn into tomorrow's 2 a day).

I have read, time and again, that workouts are less efficient in the mornings. Your body has apparently not had time to get to its optimum temperature for optimum performance until afternoon or evening, plus the most beneficial time to fuel up for a hard workout is about 4 hours prior to pulling the exercise trigger. This is a great excuse to slam down the alarm button. We work out most efficiently later in the day. Go back to sleep.

However, with some exceptions for crazy races in hot weather in the middle of deserts, most events start early in the mornings. If you train all the time later in the day, your body is gonna be in for one heckuva wake up call on race day. It's important to train, at least sometimes, in conditions that will mimic race day conditions.

Everyone's different, and you will have to experiment with nutrition, hydration and time to get mentally alert for a workout no matter what time of day you choose. Early in the mornings, I eat a very small breakfast before my run or swim--usually a protein bar--since I am borderline low blood sugar and simply can't go to town on an empty tank. After the workout I have something a bit more substantial, but I will tell you this: no matter the length or the duration of the workout, if I work out in the mornings, I am literally starving to death. I will eat a snack before lunch and then be ravenous for lunch. I feel good, but I'm acutely hungry.

If I am working out later in the evening, I will eat a short snack like a protein bar or a half bagel about an hour pre workout, and then afterwards will have dinner. If dinner is too far away from the workout (more than 30 minutes) I will have a banana. You really need to eat some carbs within 30 minutes of a hard workout.

Someday, I'd like to turn into a lark. In the meantime, I do the best that I can. Tomorrow morning is an early swim for me....oh joy.

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