Morning training

[flydhest]

Anyone else balancing family, work, and cycling by riding early? Just got done with my intervals with some teammates. I am spent, but work will not be nearly as frustrating for the morning. Too tired to get annoyed :)

[godfrey1112000]

From now to about early September, the sun is good to go at 6am

we are able to get in about 3.5 hours of riding in and then to work, the self employment deal,

family is sleeping including the dogs past 930am so everything is good to go

vacationing on Martha's vineyard, sun is up at 530am and riding until 1030am and then to the beach daily,

riding while the peeps are a sleep is better for everyone

Being tired in the morning is just a body thing, and a couple of weeks will solve that problem, going to bed a little earlier might be helpful


The Sleeping Dogs

[jblande]

rode through the winter with dinotte lights at 5:30am. get in 2-2.5 hrs and still be at work by 9am. takes a while to get used to, but avoids lots of other conflicts. the nice thing is that if you get into the rhythm, you can get in 5-6 hrs of spinning and still be home for lunch. good luck, and stick with it for a while.

[Geoff]

I go through spurts of early mornign training, mostly becasue of life conflicts. Its always hard to get started for a couple of eweeks then its no problem. I have read stuff that your body is acctually responds better to training stimulus in the morning? I like it when I can make myself do it.

[dogdriver]

If I'm not out of the house before the kids get up I may not be able to go for a ride all day. Plus, it feels so good to be done at 8AM!

[August]

I've been trying to get out the door at seven before work three days a week, and it's tough. A friend mentioned to me that he thinks its really difficult to recover sufficiently when training this way, and I'm inclined to believe him. Many of us don't have a choice, I suppose.

GW Bridge, early morning:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2784/5754199957_e8ec46a0b7_z.jpg

[rugbysecondrow]

If I'm not out of the house before the kids get up I may not be able to go for a ride all day. Plus, it feels so good to be done at 8AM!

I am with you. Up and out by 630, back by 9:00 for homemade pancakes with the kids. My days are full enough that early is the best way to guarantee a bike ride.

[veloduffer]

I used to when I lived in NYC/Queens. I would ride and meet some buddies/team mates at 5:30 and looked like a Christmas tree on the road. I can not ride now. :( I catch a 6:03am train and get home at 7:40pm, which leaves a little time for dinner and hanging out with the family before hitting the sack. So my riding is restricted to weekends when I squeeze it in (my longest ride this year is 42 miles and usually average around 30).

[Nooch]

jeez, am i the only one that has to be at work at 8am with a 25 minute commute?

i'm working on getting out the door at 5 to get a solid 1:50 in, get home, shower, and out the door to the office... sounds like i'm doing something wrong, with all of you 9am/self-employed folk..

[oldman]

I've been trying to get out the door at seven before work three days a week, and it's tough. A friend mentioned to me that he thinks its really difficult to recover sufficiently when training this way, and I'm inclined to believe him. Many of us don't have a choice, I suppose.

GW Bridge, early morning:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2784/5754199957_e8ec46a0b7_z.jpg

You get used to it. Great shot!

[Elefantino]

We have a shower at work, so most days I ride early.

Too hot to ride at lunch these days, 95º+. No thanks.

[Tom]

Always. I am either too spent to get out in the afternoon, can't get out of work until way too late and anyway I really prefer no cars on the road when I ride. A bonus is that there are animals out in the morning.

This summer I really have to get the lights out for some overnight riding when its warm out.

[AngryScientist]

jeez, am i the only one that has to be at work at 8am with a 25 minute commute?

i'm working on getting out the door at 5 to get a solid 1:50 in, get home, shower, and out the door to the office... sounds like i'm doing something wrong, with all of you 9am/self-employed folk..

i work 7 - 430, in Princeton! 50 mile drive each way, morning rides are pretty much out of the question unless i ride to the train station, which is a hassle. i'm definitely doing something wrong.

[EDS]

I've been trying to get out the door at seven before work three days a week, and it's tough. A friend mentioned to me that he thinks its really difficult to recover sufficiently when training this way, and I'm inclined to believe him. Many of us don't have a choice, I suppose.

GW Bridge, early morning:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2784/5754199957_e8ec46a0b7_z.jpg

I assume you took that this morning!

I ride in the morning or not at all - 5:30 until 7:00 or 7:15. At work by 9:00. Home by 10:00 pm if I am lucky. Sucks because my little baby girl is asleep when I get home and sometimes asleep when I leave.

[August]

I assume you took that this morning!

I ride in the morning or not at all - 5:30 until 7:00 or 7:15. At work by 9:00. Home by 10:00 pm if I am lucky. Sucks because my little baby girl is asleep when I get home and sometimes asleep when I leave.

Tough schedule. I think I'd have a mental breakdown if I didn't ride.

I took the photo last Friday.

[JMerring]

GW Bridge, early morning:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2784/5754199957_e8ec46a0b7_z.jpg

great picture!

[flydhest]

For the mornings . . . I meet up with teammates at quarter to six. I ended up at work at 7:30 and showered here. Time is tight, alas.

I hate that I didn't get to see my daughter's smile this morning, but I did look in while she was sleeping before I left.

[Ti Designs]

I ride with a group who feel that there's no such thing as too early. 4:00am start - yeh, that works! It's what they have to do to get their riding in, so they do it. I still don't know how they can go as hard as they do as early as they do. I spend the first half of any ride trying to wake up and drafting for dear life...

[c-record]

I used to when I lived in NYC/Queens. I would ride and meet some buddies/team mates at 5:30 and looked like a Christmas tree on the road. I can not ride now. :( I catch a 6:03am train and get home at 7:40pm, which leaves a little time for dinner and hanging out with the family before hitting the sack. So my riding is restricted to weekends when I squeeze it in (my longest ride this year is 42 miles and usually average around 30).

Brutal schedule. May I ask what you do for a profession?

[93legendti]

I'n in your boat and to top it off, my allergies have been awful this spring AND we have had too many days, with too much rain.

So here's the thing, I make myself ride-no matter how awful I feel (congested and sinus headache tonight), I remind myself that I never regret riding; I always feel better after a ride and always regret not riding (unless it's pouring rain and cold). It's a matter of doign it. As my Grandmother always said "three times makes a habit". Do it 3x in a row and it becomes easier. Maybe not easy, but easier.

[Zoomie80]

I'm out the door and riding at 0530 and back home 0645; I do this 2-3 times a week. If I'm lucky I'll see my youngest son going by in the school bus. Once home, I put the bike away in the basement, stretch and shower, get dressed and grab pre-packed breakfast and lunch. I'm on my way to work by 0730 and at my desk by 0800. It takes 2-3 weeks to get in groove but it works for me. I also do a spin class the other 2 days I'm not riding my bike. Been doing this a few years now; this year is a little tougher as I recover from a knee injury.

Cheers,
Zoomie

[MattTuck]

I give all you guys credit. I woke up this morning at 5:40, was out the door riding by 6:00. Back by 8:00. Showered, fed and at work by 9. (working in home office today)

I could see it becoming a habit, but still pretty groggy those first few miles. Especially having ridden 30 miles last night. Woot. 55 miles in about 12 hours. not a bad haul.

Met a guy last night that rides for a local team, 545 velo. apparently they got the name from their group rides starting at 5:45am. Yowsa.

[jblande]

woke this morning at 5 am, out the door by 5:30.
1000 meters of climbing and 75km of riding.
don't start until 10am on thursday, so i always try to get in a longer ride.
today was gorgeous.

[drewski]

I've been trying to get out the door at seven before work three days a week, and it's tough. A friend mentioned to me that he thinks its really difficult to recover sufficiently when training this way, and I'm inclined to believe him. Many of us don't have a choice, I suppose.

GW Bridge, early morning:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2784/5754199957_e8ec46a0b7_z.jpg

Nice picture. I have lots of memories of riding GW.
Some of them not so nice. When I was 12 I had a pretty nice kid sized
French road bike stolen from me from a hoodlum just as I was coming off the
GW. This used to be real big problem in the late 1970's.

[kelowen12]

The city I live in has a group the rides from 5:15 am to about 6:30 every weekday. It can range from 5 to 30 riders. It is great to get it done early but it does take some "training" to get up that early and then go fast.

[Nooch]

I'm getting more into the habit and managed to have phenomonal workouts yesterday and today. Yesterday was my fastest solo ride to date, doing some hard intervals, and today, doing an hour of tempo, ended up faster than that, albeit shorter, so not necessarily apples to apples.

Biggest thing that changed this week -- I put the air conditioner in Tuesday night. Wednesday morning I woke up feeling like I'd slept better than I have in the past 4 weeks -- it gets hot at the top of a three story walk-up -- but I hardly have to turn the heat on in the winter :)

[Climb01742]

since the mid-1980s my alarm has been set at 4:52AM (my original alarm clock had an 8-minute snooze button). for me, training in the AM has these benefits: schedule is more often under my control; my energy feels higher in the AM; roads are quiet(er); often cooler; i like training on an empty stomach; coffee gets me out the door; i get my ride in and it's done, no stress during the day of whether i'll be able to ride or not.

[MattTuck]

since the mid-1980s my alarm has been set at 4:52AM (my original alarm clock had an 8-minute snooze button). for me, training in the AM has these benefits: schedule is more often under my control; my energy feels higher in the AM; roads are quiet(er); often cooler; i like training on an empty stomach; coffee gets me out the door; i get my ride in and it's done, no stress during the day of whether i'll be able to ride or not.

You're a better man than I. What time do you go to sleep, if I may ask?

[san]

i plan on doing rides at 5am @ 3hr intervals starting in the summer just to get around my hectic summer school schedule. one thing that worries me is how im going to convince myself to wake up so early lol

[benb]

I'm getting better at it and assume if/when kids arrive I'll have to be doing it even more but I am like Ti, I can get myself up, but I can't ride well first thing in the AM, it is difficult for me to get "quality" miles too early in the morning.

I can put in 50-60 miles on my commute, it is 52 miles round trip the shortest way, I have been trying to do that 2x a week lately. I try to leave by 7AM, that will get me to work by 9AM if traffic cooperates.. I usually ride pretty easy in the morning and then harder at night on the way home.

It seems like I need to eat a good breakfast, and then it take about an hour before I have energy for hard efforts. So I can leave, ride easy for an hour, and then in the 2nd hour I can pick up the effort. But if I was to just roll out the door, warm up for 15 min, and then do something like intervals, forget it, it's not going to work for me.