Finally A Runners High

Today's morning run was planned as my usual 4.5 mile loop. I was expecting the usual lackluster, painful and frustrating kind of run that I have become used to. In fact, although some days are better than others most days have felt like drudgery over the last 2 weeks.

I woke up at midnight (after 2 hours of sleep) drenched in sweat. Kinda strange but I have been concentrating on getting enough fluids in the evenings.

I then woke up at 3:45 AM (when my youngest son, Chidi, came over to our room for a drink of water)... (why did we take him out of a crib and put him into a real bed at the age of two anyway?).

The 4:30 AM alarm went off and I promptly turned it off. At this point I was certain that I would not go out for a run this morning... maybe stationery bike, or maybe nothing at all.

Somehow at 5:00 AM I managed to roll out of bed and decided to proceed with the 4.5 mile loop as planned the night before.

The keys to this mornings run being a good one appear to be the following:

1. Proper hydration the night before. Lots of water the night before a morning run seems to improve my runs in the morning. I have also noticed that if I have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night (as I did last night) it usually indicates that I am properly hydrated.
2. Stretching the night before my run. I have noticed that when I take time to do my Pilates-type stretches the night before a run that I have fewer aches and pains during the run itself.
3. AM Gel packet AND water before my run.
4. Few negative thoughts during my run.

Ran a PR for this particular route this morning and shave 2 minutes off my previous time. Did not feel as though I was straining and actually felt that I could have gone faster.

Right now I am at about 3 hours post-run and feel pretty good. It will be interesting to see if I have soreness later in the day. My focus for tomorrow is an hour of SLOW running at an easy pace.