Two Miles In 19 Minutes

This morning, as I rolled out of bed at 6:05 am, my hands burning because I slept on them, I could only think of one thing, "Two miles in 19 minutes." It became my mantra for my run. Three out of four morning runs are "junk" runs for me - where I'm just running to log the miles and practice and timing it is just for fun. It's pretty tough to have a really productive run when you've just gotten out of bed, you don't have any food in your stomach, and the only fluids you've had in 8-10 hours is the 1 cup of water you just chugged. Despite it all, I set out, determined to pick up my pace and see what I could do.

My usual route is my apartment to Cherokee Park, the loop in Cherokee, and back. I hit three hills, and each is between 1/3 and 1/2 of a mile. If you run the entire route it is 3.5 miles. I took off and ran the first mile in 10 minutes and 2 seconds. My second mile would involve the steepest hill of the three, but I took off LIKE A BOSS and made myself crank it out. My time for the 2nd mile? 9 minutes and 11 seconds. Two miles in 19 minutes and 13 seconds? I'll take it! Now I have something to work for: trying to beat that time and getting in some good speed work. I'd be curious to see how quickly I could run 2 miles doing some other routes. And maybe after a month or so, I'll push it up to three. I can still run for long distances, but not at a 9:11 pace. This conditioning will help me train for The Bourbon Chase!

How do I get up in the morning to workout? Here are my tips:

1. Lay out all of your workout clothes the night before. I put mine on the floor right next to my bed.
2. Put a cup of water on your bedside table. As soon as I wake up I reach for that cup of water and chug it!
3. Put your alarm (I use my phone) in a spot where you have to GET OUT OF BED to turn it off. Otherwise, you'll just reach over and turn it off in your sleep.
4. If you're lucky and have friends that are as crazy as you are get up early too, meet up to run! You can push each other!
5. Leave yourself enough time so when you get back you can stretch, drink water, check your email, read the paper, et cetera.

Up and at 'em!