Workin' On My Night Moves

I have been told, read, and even experienced many reasons why I should run in the mornings. Many boast that it buys them an extra hour or two in their day, getting their runs in first thing. Others love the sense of accomplishment that comes from being up before other people, the birds, and the sun. During my previous (brief) AM running kick, I personally enjoyed the peace and solitude, especially when I made it back to the house in time to brew and drink a cup of coffee before anyone else was up.

Not to knock those early morning go-getters, but generally speaking, I have found running in the morning is just not for me. From time to time, I can do it for a few weeks, but sooner or later I start slamming the snooze button again. And let's face it, when I work up until or past midnight, eat dinner at 1:00AM and then hopefully wind down enough to go to bed by 2... I'm not exactly setting my alarm to go off three hours later for anything.

In the summer time, I really love my night runs. At night, especially in the summer, the humidity has typically subsided, it's naturally cooler, and you get this neat sensation that you're just FLYING through your run. I especially love night running in the city. Everything is lit up, so there's little risk of stumbling or tripping (although, this is ME we're talking about... I find ways to fall) and it's fun to make fun of the people in my head who are already hammered at 9:00PM. Seriously, who gets drunk that early? Well, I guess if you're a nine-to-fiver who gets started at 5:15...

Another cool effect of night running is that in addition to feeling faster, I feel taller, leaner, and more graceful. Standing at a statuesque five foot two, I like catching a glimpse of myself in a storefront window, all lit up under the street lights, legs looking long and gazelle-like. I mean, everyone looks better in mood lighting, right? I feel like one of those gorgeous women in a gritty, urban, sneaker commercial.

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Now, if you click the link for the source of the image above, it brings you to a "Shape" article meant to help readers determine their roadblocks to maintaining daily exercise habits. One of their suggestions - of course - is to exercise first thing in the morning. Well I say, the best thing is to determine what time of day works BEST for YOU.

Sure, I could have gotten up and run after five hours of sleep to run before my husband had to leave for work. But, I like my sleep. So sue me. Plus, there was that whole pesky cold thing, and sometimes waiting an additional 8-10 hours makes all the difference in the world when it comes to trying to recover. Ultimately, I'll run whenever it fits into my day, and I encourage everyone else to do the same. Sometimes it's 15 minutes here, 20 there, but whether it's morning, noon, or night, doing nothing first thing the morning is exactly the same as doing nothing at the end of your day.

When is the weirdest/earliest/latest time you've ever worked out?