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Morning Runs: A Pros/Cons List

It's that time of year when the weather is so oppressive that even waiting until after 7:00pm offers little relief from the heat and humidity. So I have switched my weekday runs mostly to mornings. This week, I have completed an astonishing three runs all before 8:00am (I know, that's not terribly early, but I don't have to be to work until 9:00am). I did two six-milers and a nine-miler. Here are the pros and cons, as I see them, of running in the morning versus the evening:

Pros
  1. My workout is out of the way for the day.
  2. I'm more energized going into work.
  3. My evening is free. I can do household chores that often get neglected, cook dinner, go to yoga--the options are endless!
  4. I get some solo running time.
  5. I get to see the sunrise. 
Cons
  1. It's more challenging to get started.
  2. I'm likely to eat more throughout the day at work (more than necessary).
  3. I'm too tired in the evening to do productive things.
  4. I (sometimes) miss running with friends in group runs.
  5. It can still get hot quickly, and the humidity is pretty much full-on 24/7 this time of year.
Obviously the list of pros outweighs the list of cons for me, or I wouldn't be making the change; but I do hope to spend my evenings doing more productive things. I'm just excited to have the free time right now. 

I've also added a protein mix into my diet for those days with morning runs, as my weekly mileage is creeping up and only getting higher in the coming weeks. I'm using the Garden of Life RAW Protein mix, which is vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, and soy-free. What's left, you ask? Grain, bean, legume, and seed protein. It doesn't offer as much protein as the whey and soy formulas, but that's okay with me. It's still 17g per serving that I wasn't previously getting. I have the chocolate flavor, and I won't go as far as to say it's delicious, but it's not bad, for a protein mix. It's also very low in sugar--less than 1g per serving--so it's unsurprising that the flavor isn't great. Ideally, I would make this into a smoothie with a banana, some raw honey, and almond milk. But I'm too lazy to get out the blender and then deal with the mess in my limited morning time, so I just add a little bit of almond milk and some water, stir it up, and call it a protein drink.

I'm off to Ohio this afternoon to visit family and friends. I'm hoping to get in an 18-miler while I'm there. The lows are currently in the 60s up there, so I'm very excited about running in the cooler temps!

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