Training & Nutrition - early morning training sessions - anybody want to talk about it

does it stink or what? I mean I do it and I love it but only because I love the training sessions but if I had my perfect timing it would be sleeping in; good breakfast, then about 10:00 pop into whatever session is due for that day. then washup and rest, maybe have lunch and a nap.

whether you weight train; P90X; swim; bike; or use indoor rollers/trainer how do you feel about your early morning sessions?

Depends on a lot of things. If i've been putting in the hours otherwise, I tend to take a bit longer to wake up than normal so don't feel so motivated until later in the day. On the weekends I really enjoy early morning rides. I sometimes do an easy 30-60min spin on waking if I feel fresh, before work. I usually treat it as a recovery/easy paced ride.

I take a long time to get going in the morning and I need a lot of lead time but right now that's when I have the free time. it cuts into my sleep though and then I'm pretty beat by early evening. I do like crashing though - I love just falling asleep without the hassle some people have

I do all of my riding in the very early morning and I love it. Was never a morning person at all before, but now that I'm used to it I don't think I've missed a morning workout in the past year...

Was up at 5am this morning, tomorrow is a rest day so I get to sleep to the luxurious hour of 8am! When you're used to going to bed at 10pm, you can squeeze in 10 hours of sleep on the rest days, and like rumrunn6 I am out like a light about 5 seconds after laying down and sleep like a rock.

does it stink or what? I mean I do it and I love it but only because I love the training sessions but if I had my perfect timing it would be sleeping in; good breakfast, then about 10:00 pop into whatever session is due for that day. then washup and rest, maybe have lunch and a nap.

whether you weight train; P90X; swim; bike; or use indoor rollers/trainer how do you feel about your early morning sessions?

Same here. But I have a family, a job, a house, etc. If I were a single, 20-something trust fund baby, I'd follow that schedule. But I have to get up, get in my training, and get on with life.

So, how do I feel about it? It's a necessity.

i hate, with an unwavering passion, getting up at 4:30am to cycle to work. but after the first 2-3 minutes once i'm outta bed and the lights are on, my PMS quickly dies down. and after i finish the 12 mile trip and get changed and sit at my desk i feel SOOOOOOO good. i feel really accomplished and it definitely puts me in a much better mood in the morning.
and since i've started riding in the morning i feel like it has really helped me lose some weight, especially the lingering bits of fat in my stomach area. i ALMOST have abdominal definition!!!

I try not to think about it. Get up, eat and be on the bike as soon as possible. Once I am warmed up it's not that bad. Although yeah leaving before sun is out on cold, damp or rainy mornings sucks.

Same here. But I have a family, a job, a house, etc. ... I have to get up, get in my training, and get on with life.
So, how do I feel about it? It's a necessity.

Yep, same here. And when my son wakes me up at 4:30 or is sick etc it makes it even harder. I have to work in the evenings after he's in bed to prepare for the next day so my usual routine is bed at 11 or 11:30 and then wake up at 5. Sometimes I can get a trainer interval ride in, sometimes I can get myself out the door to ride to work, sometimes I can barely get myself out the door.
Workouts happen morning or afternoon and sometimes night. Whenever I can find time.

Get up at 4am (UK time), lift weights. Start riding usually at 5.30am, little traffic, all weathers, riding into the training ground just before 9am. Shower, 10am, start training (work, if you can call it that). Ride home (Direct route). Home<<< Usually do core/upperbody & specific training. Relax, bed. Good money all via dedication & disciple. Its all very hard, Price you pay.

4-5 days per week (Dependant).

During the winter, I do spin classes Wednesday and Saturday at 6:00 AM. It is absolute torture. I hate it, but I hate allowing myself to get really out of shape during the winter even more. I will never force myself to actually ride at that time of day, because if I make myself feel the same about actually riding as I feel about those spin classes, I’m likely to give it up altogether.

Like some of the other people who have replied, I got started doing really early morning training sessions after I got married and had a real job. It was the only time that would consistently work.

I started when I was doing only running training a few years ago. I was never a morning person before that. Honestly, it took a couple of months before I stopped feeling like I might die. After that, my body seemed to get accustomed to it and it's not bad at all now.

I like doing my training runs or rides early before I've been influenced or "polluted" by food or caffeine. I feel like a get a cleaner picture of how I feel and where my heart rate is. Also, most running events start at 7:30 or 8:00 AM. I know you're not primarily running-focused, but if you can train yourself to go hard early in the morning, you'll have an advantage in early morning races over those who can't.

i dont ride outside until about 8am, but if im on the trainer the earliest ive gotten up was 6, i dont mind getting up early that much but it takes me a good 30 min to fully wake up. than i follow my routine of getting all the nessesary items togeather, riding for an hour or two on the trainer or going for a 40-50 mile ride outside, than coming back, taking a shower than fall asleep in front of the tv for a good five hours and by that time its about 1pm so i can start my day :D

a few years ago when I got back into cycling I could easily get in an evening ride after work two or three days a week in addition to regular saturday and sunday rides. Last year our family went from 3 to 6, and my wife also started grad school and saw an increase in hours at her job. Weekday rides were pretty much out of the question, and even weekends were tight, so I started to get up before the sun and get in my rides and be home by 8 or 9am when everyone was just getting up. I miss sunrise rides and look forward to the time change and warmer weather to get them going again.

I'm also going to take it a little further this year and I'm going to try to not change my sleeping schedule with the upcoming time change, I'll get up at 4 instead of at 5, skip my shower and be out by 4:30 instead of 6, stop by the natchez trace parkway on the way to work (about 5 minutes out of my way) from around 5 until 6, which will get me to work by 6:30, and be showered (we have a shower in our locker room...) and ready to go to work at 7. It's a little extreme but it's my best shot at getting in some miles, and I'd like to do the 3 state 3 mountain century ride coming up in a couple of months.

(edit) oh, and I'd like to try riding to work a few times this year but it's about 32 miles, which will get me home a bit late for parental support, never mind picking up the kids from the sitter if necessary...

I have been an early riser since a young boy, I grew up on a farm & those where the rules, I had horses & chores. I have my own gym in the house and I do everything on a time schedule. I'm up at 4:00am, in the gym at 4:30am, in the shower by 5:30am eat and out the door by 6:30am. I load my bike in my Pickup, drive to my Park-&-Ride & bike 15 miles to work. I leave work 5-5:30pm ride 15 miles back to my pickup. I am in bed no later than 9:00pm. Even on my rest days in the gym I still get up at 4:00am. I find it is best to keep a schedule based on the clock.

I love training early morning. The roads and trails are much less crowded, and when I do, I feel like I have much more energy the rest of the day. We used to have hockey practice at 6am every morning, and I really looked forward to it.

Plus, there's something really satisfying going to work/school/whatever first thing in the morning and knowing you've already done more that day than most of the rest of the people will do the remainder of the day.

I don't do so much early morning stuff these days though. When I get up, it wakes our dogs up, and they wake everyone else in the house up. Then I get yelled at...

Why would anybody want a loud dog. I hate those little yip yaps. Though they do taste good with some sirachi in a sheet of rice paper.
Early morning stuff is inspiring. Suns coming up, you're waking up, you get to see the beginning of the day in a way no one else can. It's alot more romantic than riding at night when everyone is in the fast food lane and watching their dumb news. Though I guess you get to see how stupid masses can get when the sun is going down.

My wife got me a small camera for bike rides for my birthday last Jan. and I took pictures on every ride last year... here are some early morning ride pics:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/vw_nick/2009bikerides/DSCN0404.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/vw_nick/2009bikerides/DSCN0422.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/vw_nick/2009bikerides/DSCN0421.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/vw_nick/2009bikerides/DSCN0430.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/vw_nick/2009bikerides/DSCN0432.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/vw_nick/2009bikerides/DSCN0462.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/vw_nick/2009bikerides/DSCN0474.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/vw_nick/2009bikerides/DSCN0484.jpg

Unfortunately, I'm not a morning person to begin with, and arthritis in one knee prevents me from jumping on the bike (or anything strenuous) right out of bed. Too bad, because I agree that early morning is one of the best times to ride. I get around this by choosing the second best time, which is late in the evening when traffic is at a minimum.

Early morning is best- no traffic! :-D

koffee

I love it once I'm on the bike, right out of bed it sucks though!

I love it once I'm on the bike, right out of bed it sucks though!

yes... lots of "what on earth am I doing this for?? until you're out on the bike and out of sight from the driveway.

I have terrible insomnia and I cant ever recall waking up feeling totally refreshed so the 4:45am run is hard for me but after the first 15 or 20 minutes I start to feel better and better and in the long run my entire day is always great when I can rise early and complete a workout.

seasonally I try to get as many training sessions as I can into a single day. my record is 3. morning; noon and night

I'm currently trying to find a H.S. local track (drive to) where I can run 2 miles then back to work to shower and change all in one hour. I currently walk at lunch but would love to work in a couple runs per week.

you need to be as lucky as I am and have 2 guys waiting at the meet point at 5:30am then tease you mercilessly if you are there even 2 minutes late.

This morning was my first two sport morning workout. I practiced what I learned at my first swimming lesson at the indoor pool from 5:15 to 5:45 then I ran 3 miles in a loop near my house. Feels good to get so much done so early. Weight training and spinning class tonight. I hope it makes me sleep

I'm tired just reading this! :-)

I'm taking the day off but checking out a field near my work office for lunchtime runs.

I have to get my rides in whenever I can and with a job, family, kids, many times that is early in the a.m.. Usually about 6:15 or so, just light enough so I don't need headlights. Roads are quieter then and it is cooler, temp-wise. In the real world, the whole get up at 8, dink around go train at 10, come home, eat lunch, take a nap just ain't going to happen. I guess I need your job.

Weekends I'll usually wake up, have breakfast, walk the dog them read the paper before heading out. Weekdays I have to get up and get at it, though I can usually work in lakefront runs during the day or late afternoon.

weekends can be weird. I got out really late Saturday afternoon - 3:00 pm. By time I was done with my 58 miles it was wicked dark! My plan "B" was to head out before sunrise Sunday but I couldn't wait that long! :-)