Winter is the hardest time of year to stay motivated to get out for morning runs – it’s cold, dark, and often some combo of rainy / icy / snowy. But that also makes it the best time of year to build mental toughness and convince yourself YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS. 💪 In fitness and in work, the grit and discipline we put into practice when it’s dark and cold pay off when the days get longer and the demands get higher.
So on rainy cold mornings like this, I remind myself of the 5 key reasons I train in the morning.
1. Make sure it gets done. If you’re setting big goals, working toward them in the morning is the most surefire way to maintain consistency and ensure you achieve them. Putting something off to later in the day (“I’ll get to it when I have time”) increases the odds it gets deprioritized when your kid is sent home sick, your coworker needs extra help, or some deadline suddenly becomes more urgent. Get training done early so it gets done.
2. Physical energy peaks in the morning. After a good night’s sleep, my physical energy (or as Garmin likes to call it, my Body Battery) is highest in the morning and steadily declines throughout the day. The same is true with testosterone and cortisol, which help both in exercise and recovery. When I run in the morning, I ensure I’m giving my best physical energy to running, optimizing the chances of good workouts and recovery. When I run later in the day, often I feel more lethargic and struggle to get the most out of a training session.
3. Store up mental and emotional energy for work and family. Whereas running demands physical energy expenditure, work and family demand focus, patience, and positivity. Running in the morning helps me build those ‘batteries’ up and save them for when I need later in the day.
4. Train my body to burn fat as fuel. Once or twice a week, I do a ‘depletion run’ where I run easy in the morning on an empty stomach. Running when glycogen stores are depleted, the body learns to burn fat. There are plenty of good reasons to burn fat. As a marathoner, my incentive is that fat is a more efficient fuel source, so training my body to use fat early in a marathon means saving glycogen and avoiding ‘the wall’.
5. Maximize physical recovery. Training in the morning gives my body the maximum amount of time for refueling, rehydrating, and recovering. Training in the afternoon or evening can mess up my circadian rhythm, leading to diminished sleep quality.
Run to Lead 
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