How Much Water Should Runners Drink Every Day?

How Much Water Should I Drink Every Day in San Diego?

by Kathleen Lisson

How Much Water Should I Drink on a Long Run?

I have found myself drinking a lot more water since I moved to San Diego. My skin is drier and I am thirstier throughout the day due to the heat and sunshine.

Here is a formula for finding out how much water you should drink. Simply enter your weight and number of minutes of exercise every day. I like that it also accounts for how hot (San Diego) or cold (winter hiking) your environment is.

The formula is here: http://www.csgnetwork.com/humanh2owater.html

Using Music to Overcome Exhaustion - an Anecdote from Mount Kilimanjaro

One Climber's Story from Mount Kilimanjaro

by Kathleen Lisson

‘This is supposed to be the defining event of my life, my giant ‘f*ck you’ to a mid-life crisis, and I’m failing,’ I thought desperately. The past few days on the mountain had slowly taken away my self-identity. Without the pungent pleasure of oxygen I was less secure and outgoing. We were at over 16,000 feet, in the ‘glacial zone,’ and I was almost too exhausted to even take a drink of water and struggle with a food wrapper.

Just a few minutes after we stopped for food and water, it was time to start hiking again into the night, footprints keeping a slow, steady pace through loose soil, the path illuminated only by the dim light of our headlamps. We had started near midnight, and, after hiking for hours, I had cautiously asked how much longer until dawn. The answer was heartbreaking. Four more hours until the sun, and six until the summit.

Mountain climbing just isn’t your skill. You’ll never hike again, and I’m not sure you’ll even make it up this mountain, the voice inside my head promised. How can you keep this pace up? Your water is frozen, your guts are liquid and your stomach stopped digesting hours ago. Screw your goals, just stop now and rest. I focused on breathing slow and steady.  One foot in front of the other. Keep up with Kapange.

A half hour down the trail later, the group took another break. While the 20-somethings chatted and enjoyed energy bars around me, I lied on my back with my eyes closed and tried to slow my breathing. When Kapange told the group in a quiet voice to start hiking again, I knew it was time to pull out the iPod. My last weapon against the night, the exhausted voice inside my head and the steady thumping of my heartbeat in my ears.

Moments later, the music blared into my brain. These were the songs that I loved, that I had sang out loud in my car on my way to work, barrelling down the highway a continent away. I relaxed into the pace and let the lyrics replace my doubting inner voice. The endless night was still there, but I was powerful, I was smiling, I was once again the wise-ass redhead that cracked jokes and believed she could run half marathons and climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

When the dawn broke, I saw the most beautiful sunrise in my life over Kenya. It was still hours to Uhuru Peak, but I knew I would be present at the top.

San Diego Running Routes

San Diego Running Routes - Where does your run begin / end?

by Kathleen Lisson

As a runner and a new resident of San Diego, I have used Gmaps Pedometer to map several running loops for 2 mile, 3.5 mile and longer distances. I stay in my neighborhood for shorter runs and enjoy running in a nearby canyon on long runs. Short or long, all my runs have one thing in common.

Where Does Your Run Begin and End?

When I was younger, my runs began and ended in the same place - my driveway. Whether I was rushed for time or eager to start running, as soon as I got laced into my running shoes, I was off like a bolt.

The problem? Running without proper warm up and cool down can result in soreness and stiffness post-run. Stiffness can take the joy out of future runs and provides one more excuse to reduce the training load or skip a workout all together.

Older and wiser, I now build in a warm up and cool down segment into each run.

But Wait: what isn't better than running straight to your front door and sitting down on your couch in your icy cold air-conditioned living room after a tough outdoor workout?

Here's the bad news: switching straight from vigorous exercise to sitting or lying down may result in post-workout stiffness later on in the day. With busy runners trying to maximize every moment of every workout, a cool down may get squeezed out of their schedule. Repeated episodes of stiffness may reduce motivation and enjoyment of exercise in new and even seasoned athletes, and motivation is so important for those just starting to work out.

Yeah, Yeah, Cool Down - I’ve read that one in every Fitness Article ever written.

True, it is a fundamental and a no-brainer, but how many athletes have you seen finish a blistering set of repetitions or a long run, grab their water bottle and stand around drinking it for a minute before heading to their cars?

What is a quick, easy cool down?

I build a cool down into my runs by using Gmaps Pedometer to start and end my runs a few blocks from my house, not my front yard. I still run the distances on my half marathon training plan, and I stop post-workout stiffness naturally by letting my body cool down after my run.

When Should Runners Get a Sports Massage?

When do I “Feel Like Getting a Massage?”

by Kathleen Lisson

Wherever I am in my training season: basebuilding, sharpening or tapering, I schedule my massages once every month. I have used two techniques for remembering to get a massage - either I go on or close to the first of the month, or I rebook my next month’s massage appointment immediately after my previous massage.

If I am in a particularly hard phase of training, I will keep a look out for signs that I need to book a last-minute massage on my next rest day. My personal warning signs for overtraining include obvious signs and not-so-obvious signs.

The obvious signs:

• Sore leg muscles for a few days in a row.
• Getting minor injuries more often than usual, visits from old injuries I thought were healed.

Not-so-obvious signs:

• Catching every bug and illness that is “going around.”
• Changes in my sleep - sleeping like a log for hours or staying up extra late.
• Feeling bad exhausted (not good exhausted) and less motivated to run every day.
• Feeling agitated and struggling with my relationships.

I have also read that taking one’s pulse right after waking up and recording the results will allow an athlete to catch overtraining before it leads to injury. Recording daily results in one’s training journal and looking at the average heart rate at the end of the week is the best method for examining potential parasympathetic hyperactivity, according to the Evidence of Parasympathetic Hyperactivity in Functionally Overreached Athletes study, found here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23657173

Some athletes just opt to only take a rest day and end up on the couch eating a bowl of ice cream when they encounter these symptoms. Even worse, some just pop a few pain pills and try to run through their symptoms.

I like to go the extra mile and get a massage to completely relax my muscles and focus on drinking water and eating clean so I can come back at 100% on my next week of training.

Why Do You Run?

San Diego Runners Share Why They Run

San Diego Track Club water stop

by Kathleen Lisson

I had the good fortune to volunteer for the San Diego Track Club's Marathon / Half Marathon training program last weekend - check out where my water station was located!

I enjoyed enthusiastically greeting the runners as they arrived and got to know a few of them.

• Mitch got an early start on the run and arrived before the "speedies." He has been running 35 - 40 years and runs because "it makes him feel good." If you could have seen the beautiful smile that came across his face when he told me that, you would go out and buy a pair of running shoes immediately! 

• A few ladies running together stopped for a drink and shared Margarita flavored shot bloks. They were having so much fun on their run, I want to try out Margaritas on MY next long run! 

• A lady who was born in Buffalo but raised in California (like me) shared that a marathon was on her bucket list and a friend told her that if she joined the San Diego Track Club it would happen. Her friend was right - my new running friend has run marathons and half marathons for the past seven years.

• Dave ran his first marathon at 56 and went on to coach running and run in several charity races for Arthritis research. A prolific marathoner, Dave struggled through his first race but lost over 50 lbs. and became a powerful runner. 

I can't wait to volunteer for the San Diego Track Club runners again! 

Tips to Combat Running Boredom

I'm Bored With Running - Help!

So Many Gels, So Many Miles to Run

by Kathleen Lisson

As a half marathon runner, I know that training for a half marathon can be a months-long process focused almost entirely on a single activity - running. To break the monotony on longer runs, runners can try the following tricks:

Fartleks - Fartlek is Swedish for “speed play” and this technique will bring a little fun back into running. Remember when you were a kid and raced your friends down the street? Fartleks are in the same spirit. If you start feeling bored on a run, simply pick an object a hundred feet away, like a light pole or intersection, and pick up the pace until you reach it. Slow down and recover at a slow run until you feel ready to play again. Alternating the pace of your run will make it go by faster and improve your endurance.

Run your route backwards - Always take a right out your front door on your usual loop? Try taking a left and running your route from the opposite direction. Notice what is different.

Play backseat games - Remember long car drives as a kid? Use the same techniques your do with your family to beat boredom on a run. Can you find something starting with every letter of the alphabet on your next run? How many different types of trees do you pass? How many different birds do you hear?

Run in the morning / evening - If you have a flexible schedule, try switching your usual evening run with a morning workout or vice versa.

Brainstorm - Some of my most creative ideas have come to me while running. Use your next run to brainstorm about a problem or challenge you are facing. Having the luxury of time to think about all angles of the issue may enable you to find an innovative solution.

Training for a half marathon is a big challenge. Don’t let boredom sideline you from achieving your dreams. I hope that trying one or more of these five simple tips helps you put the excitement back into your running schedule.

The Joy of Running Five Kilometers

Why Should I Run a 5K Race?

by Kathleen Lisson

The running sticker on your car has to be better than 0.0!

I have been coaching a group of elementary school girls in the Rancho Bernardo neighborhood of San Diego with the nonprofit Girls on the Run. These girls take two hours a week our of their after school time to gather together and learn about running and character development. I didn't learn to love running until I was in high school, so I am eager and happy to be able to show these young girls the joys of running and physical activity. 

The goal of each session of Girls on the Run is for the participants to run a 5K race. Ours will be held in early December, so we did our first 'practice 5K' at this week's practice. I think some of the girls felt a little scared to be putting all the practice laps together and running for three miles straight, but they all eagerly put their toes on the start line and participated. 

• We have one really talented girl - I had her model proper passing etiquette (saying "on your left" before passing) so the girls would know how to run in a public place when they were old enough to go out on their own. 
• We have one really determined girl - she was incredulous at first but applied herself and RAN the ENTIRE three miles. 
• We have one really friendly girl - she ran with the two younger girls as a group and planned out a run/walk program that enabled the group to finish the whole three miles as a team. 
• We have two younger girls - they are so sweet and full of life. I am really impressed that they kept on participating and met our challenge with a smile.

After the runners had finished and cheered one another at our 'finish line,' we did a cool down and enjoyed water and a snack. I definately saw the endorphins flowing in our young ladies - smiles all around and we even ran a 'victory lap' after we had a chance to rest. Those two giggly minutes of running swiftly in the gathering evening were so special to me. 

Bobbi Gibb and Kathrine Switzer first ran the Boston Marathon in 1960's. I first started running in the 1990's.

I am so grateful for the chance to pass on my love of running to a new generation of girls. 

Agon and the Reason Why Endurance Athletes Participate in Sports

Why Did You Start Running?

I run half marathons because running is fun!

by Kathleen Lisson

I was at a party the other night and the conversation turned to weight loss. The two women I was talking to both mentioned that they were going to start running to lose weight that they had gained since turning 30 years old. 

Thinking about this conversation after I left the party, I wondered how many adults start running simply because it looks like fun. 

I started running in high school because a friend asked me to join the Cross Country team. I kept on running on and off for the next twenty years because it was fun. I run here in San Diego because of the way a good run makes me feel.

• I feel sweaty and joyful and good when I'm running and after I run. 

• I feel strong when I get to the top of a hill or practice speedwork, even though I am tired at the end. 

• I enjoy planning for races and running in groups. 

• I feel happy and connected when I am around other runners who share my passion for the sport. 

• If a sore muscle stops my running for even a day, I feel somber and look forward to getting healthy and being able to run again. 

According to Wikipedia, Agon refers to an athletic contest. French intellectual Roger Callois put forth a theory that Agon is one of four types of play in which human beings engage. 

One of the important aspects of play is that it is not obligatory. After all, if we 'have to' play, is it really playing anymore, or is it a job? 

By not tying play to a goal that I 'must' do, like losing weight, I am able to bring a joyful attitude to my workouts. Yes, I do train for competition, but I voluntarily sign up for races. I do not 'have to' race. 

Why did you start and why do you continue running? Share your thoughts with me on Twitter at @kathleenlisson

Coaching 'Girls on the Run' in San Diego

Coaching 'Girls on the Run' in San Diego

by Kathleen Lisson

I am a volunteer running coach with the San Diego chapter of 'Girls on the Run.' 'Girls on the Run' is a nonprofit organization serving girls in 3rd to 8th grades. I started running in high school, and found that running gave me confidence and healthy habits that made my teenage years much easier. While high school had the usual cliques, my cross country team was a real team, where everyone was friends. I am honored to have these girls call me "Coach Kathleen" and eager to teach them the fundamentals of running as well as share tips on healthy eating and living.

Find out more about Girls on the Run in San Diego here: http://www.gotrsd.org/

How to Prepare for the MCRD Boot Camp Challenge in San Diego 2015

What I learned from running the 

MCRD Boot Camp Challenge in San Diego

MCRD Boot Camp Challenge in San Diego

by Kathleen Lisson

One of the feelings around long distance running I enjoy the most is the feeling of being a Badass. I feel so strong and confident when I can run for more than an hour at a time. Finishing a half marathon is an amazing feeling. I also felt pretty badass when I reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in July.

I have been focusing on strengthening the muscles in my core, hips and legs to prevent my ITBS from flaring up as I prepare to train for the Triple Crown in 2015, so I felt confident that I would be up to the challenge of the MCRD Boot Camp Challenge this September. Held once a year to celebrate Fleet Week in San Diego, the 5K obstacle course race allows civilians to experience the obstacle course that Marine Corps Recruits use during their training. Screaming Drill Instructors are included, too! Money raised goes toward Marine Corps family charities.

Tips for Running the MCRD Boot Camp Challenge in San Diego

A Month Before the Race

Pushups are Mandatory. It took me a few weeks to be able to do 10 pushups while fatigued. Practice your pushups, because there are not one but two pushup stations on the course. The drill instructors stand right over you yelling at you when you do pushups!

The Day of the Race

Arrive early. Traffic was backed up at several gates around the MCRD. Only one gate allows cars in without a military ID, so know your directions in advance. 

Wear long pants. I wore pants to my calves and pulled a few splinters out of the fabric of my tights after the race ended. The obstacle course will require you to make contact with wooden obstacles, so protect yourself from splinters.

Use all four pins for your race bib. I crawled under and slid over so many obstacles, I tore off one of the corners of my race bib before the finish line. Make sure your race bib is well secured.

Wear sunscreen and use the water stops on the course. Be smart about hydration and sun protection.

Have Fun. If you are in relatively good shape and can get yourself over an obstacle, you have a good chance of completing the course. I was a little scared to enter into the first set of obstacles, but I pictured my friend Michelle smiling at me (she’s a Marine) and ran headfirst into the adventure!

Be a badass at the end. I passed several men who were walking to the finish line after the final set of obstacles. Stay hydrated and preserve some energy for running the final mile.

For more information about the MCRD Boot Camp Challenge, visit bootcampchallenge.com

How to run the San Diego Triple Crown 2015

Race Signup Information for Triple Crown 2015

by Kathleen Lisson


What is the Triple Crown?

Run these three San Diego area half marathons in the same calendar year and earn a 'Triple Crown' medal.


When is the 2015 Triple Crown Series in San Diego?

Carlsbad Half Marathon - January 18, 2015 - http://www.carlsbadmarathon.com/

La Jolla Half Marathon - April 26, 2015 - http://www.lajollahalfmarathon.com/

AFC Half Marathon - August 16, 2015 - signup Opens January 2015


Run all three races and earn your 'Triple Crown' medal at the finish line of the AFC Half Marathon!


Join in on the fun on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/halfmarathontriplecrown

View the rules here: http://www.carlsbadmarathon.com/Event_Information/Participants/triplecrownc38c.htm

Best Tips on Sticking to a Training Schedule - focus on Willpower or Gratitude/Pride ?

What is the Best Way to Stop Skipping Workouts?

My running journal and gratitude journal

by Kathleen Lisson

Sticking to a training schedule when life becomes stressful and busy is hard for some runners, including myself. Over the last few months I have moved to San Diego with my husband for his new job and gone through all of the steps of buying a new home in San Diego. I know that running brings me pleasure, but on some days it seemed easier to skip my morning workout.

How can runners dealing with stress and busy lives make sure that running and other endurance exercise stays on their daily schedule?

Many running advice and tips articles I have read focus on taking the thinking OUT of preparing for a workout:

• Lay out your clothes the night before, or even

• Wear your running clothes to bed! 

I am interested in solving the cause of the problem instead of just treating the symptoms. How can I think less impulsively (skip the workout and relax on the couch of on the beach - it is San Diego!) and more long-term (this workout will enable me to run the Carlsbad half marathon)?

The Pacific Standard article 'A Feeling of Control: How America Can Finally Learn to Deal With Its Impulses,' offers some insight into using emotions to do the hard work of keeping up with a punishing training schedule. Dr. David DeSteno writes that "there are two routes to self-control: cognitive strategies that depend on executive function, willpower, and the like; and emotional strategies that rely on the cultivation of specific feelings." Dr. DeSteno mentions gratitude and pride as two emotions or feelings that can spur and motivate self-control. 

How I use gratitude and pride to keep me on track with my running:

• Gratitude - I keep a gratitude journal and try to think about what I am grateful for several times a week. Running and my health are two items on my list. According to the article, "The psychologists Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough have found that simply assigning research participants to keep gratitude diaries over several weeks enhanced the participants’ physical and mental well-being."

• Pride - That's what the race medals and finishers certificates are for! I display my race hardware in my home in San Diego and smile every time I notice them on the wall. Dr. DeSteno states that "You feel pride when you believe you’ve succeeded in a way people will value. These ... emotions are the ones that have helped us build social relationships for millennia, by combating impulses to be self-centered or lazy through increasing the value we attach to long-term rewards."

Read Dr. DeSteno's article here: http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/feeling-control-america-can-finally-learn-deal-impulses-self-regulation-89456/

How do you practice gratitude or pride? Tweet me at @kathleenlisson

How to Build 'Mental Muscle' - With Boredom?

Mental Training for Long Distance Runners

by Kathleen Lisson

I am still thinking of the excellent article on mental training I read in Runners World recently. In 'How to Build Mental Muscle,' Alex Hutchinson details how he used "brain training" to strengthen his resolve in the last miles of a marathon. 

Does Being 'Bored' Slow Us Down?

Hutchinson found that exhausting his mind with a boring online task for an hour before a training run helped him to simulate late-race conditions. I understand how this could happen - running after a long day of work often seems far more tiring than it should be. 

• Could being mentally exhausted affect race time just as much as physical exhaustion slows us down?

• How can we as runners strengthen this weakness and perform at our best late in a race or on a long run?

What can you do as an athlete to simulate mental exhaustion before a training run? Let me know your ideas by sending me a tweet at @kathleenlisson

Read the article here: http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/how-to-build-mental-muscle?page=single

Cyclists : How to Prepare for a Century Ride

Cycling Tips for Training for a Century Ride:

Is endurance sports advice "universal?"

Cycling over the Golden Gate Bridge

by Kathleen Lisson

James Herrera provides advice for training for a century ride in the article 'Your Best Century' For Bicycling.com.

As a runner, some of the tips sound very familiar:

• Check your equipment.

• Map out the water stops. 

• Don't eat/drink/wear anything new the day of the race.

The article also offers advice for breaking down weekly cycling workouts into one long ride and weekly shorter rides.

Cycling and long distance running may be two different sports, but it seems as if some endurance sports advice is universal. Before I moved to San Diego, I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and I followed all three of the tips above when preparing for summit night. 

Do you have any "universal" endurance sports tips? Share them with me on Twitter at @kathleenlisson

Read the article here: http://www.bicycling.com/training-nutrition/training-fitness/your-best-century

Why Don't Endurance Athletes Practice Mental Training?

Long Distance Runners : How to Improve Mental Toughness

by Kathleen Lisson

In the enlightening article 'Train Your Brain to Run Your Best' in Runner's World, Michelle Hamilton shared her experience as she trained for the Napa Valley Marathon. Hamilton enlisted the services of Dean Hebert, M.Ed. of Mental Workout to strengthen her mental training for the race.

Hebert tells her "No one expects endurance to come naturally, but people think mental toughness does. It's a big myth. You do not need more willpower. You need to train the brain like you train the body." 

For Hamilton, this meant "practicing mental skills throughout training, not randomly tossing in a mantra midrace. Mental skills, like physical strength, develop over time and with consistency."

Hamilton states that "in a recent study, pessimism ranked as runners' top mental roadblock. Negativity, whether it's worry or doubt, often leads to self-defeating behaviors including slowing down, cutting a workout short, or dropping out of a race."

She had a positive experience with mental training, mentioning in the article that her "motivation skyrocketed. I trained better, did drills, more recovery runs, core work."


Read the article here: http://m.runnersworld.com/sports-psychology/train-your-brain-to-run-your-best

Middle-Aged Endurance Athletes - Do You Still Chase a PR?

Middle-Aged Endurance Athletes - Do You Still Chase a PR?

What inspires you to lace up your shoes and train?

by Kathleen Lisson

In an piece titled 'Don't Look Back' written for Bicycling Magazine, Selene Yeager shares a big DON'T for endurance athletes regarding post-race chatter. 

• Do your thoughts and judgements about your last performance influence your future competition?

• Can you be proud of your all-out efforts or does all your self-praise come attached to criticism?

Selene also touches on a big question for middle-aged athletes - 

• Do we still complete even though our PR level performances may be behind us? 

I just turned 40 and I haven't raced yet in San Diego this year - should I keep my old PR times from my 30's in mind or set a new baseline for each new decade? 

Tweet your thoughts to @kathleenlisson


Read Selene's blog post here: http://blogs.bicycling.com/blogs/fitchick/dont-look-back?cid=NL_BIK_1821914_BIK_08292014_fit_chick

Can Athletes Improve their Endurance by Using Marine Corps ‘Mental Fitness’ Techniques?

Can Athletes Improve their Endurance by Using Marine Corps ‘Mental Fitness’ Techniques?

A Powerpoint slide from Dr. Millegan's presentation

by Kathleen Lisson

I recently learned about how Marines in San Diego are using ‘mental fitness’ exercises to combat chronic pain.

In a lecture sponsored by the UC San Diego Health System Center for Integrative Medicine, Dr. Jeffrey Millegan, MD MPH presented a video case report of a US Marine with chronic pain who participated in the Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) Mind Body Medicine program.

The Marine was living with a debilitating injury and chronic pain, but found healing through starting a meditative practice. Dr. Millegan spoke about how Marines who had a regular meditative practice were about to stay “in the zone” in their daily lives.

If Marines find value in adding meditation to their daily lives, would it also benefit endurance athletes?

Meditation can help athletes change the way they react to situations and emotions that can decrease performance, like pain, stress and fear of failure.

If you could lower your post-workout stress levels and change the way you perceive the normal pain of endurance training:

• Would the quality of your workouts improve?

• Would you be less likely to skip workouts?

• Would you feel more "in the zone" and confident about your training and performance?

I am excited to find out. 

I have run a few half marathons in the past, but I will put my love of the distance to the test as I try to earn a Triple Crown in 2015. The training will be hard and last for over 9 months. I am going to add meditation to my workout schedule and see if I can use the ‘mental training’ it provides to keep my body healthy through the process.

A card Dr. Millegan gave to the attendees

I came away from the presentation with a number of resources:

Relax Relax is a Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center Health Promotion and Wellness Department website with mental fitness resources including guided meditations:

http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcphc/health-promotion/psychological-emotional-wellbeing/relax-relax/pages/index.html

The NMCSD website:

http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcsd/Patients/Pages/MBM.aspx

Integrated Health Community Portal - http://www.sdihc.org

According to their website, the UCSD Center for Integrative Medicine focuses on whole-person wellness by addressing physical, as well as lifestyle, emotional, psychological and spiritual needs. http://cim.ucsd.edu/

Mental Training Tips for Endurance Athletes - Overcoming Pain & Distance

Mental Training Tips for Endurance Athletes - Overcoming Pain & Distance

by Kathleen Lisson

The Runners World article 'Raise Your Athletic IQ' provides tips on overcoming common obstacles to completing long, hard training runs. 

The article shares advice from Cindra Kamphoff, Ph.D., a sports psychology consultant and professor at Minnesota State University. Kamphoff discusses the different techniques that recreational and elite runners use to cope with pain, and shares the secrets that top runners use to avoid bailing on long, hard runs. 

I agree with the advice to take it 'one mile at a time' on long runs. I also used this advice while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. I was certainly suffering by the midway point on summit night. Thinking of the fact that I had four hours until the summit was daunting. Instead, I concentrated on just putting one foot in front of the other until the dawn. Separating that hike into chunks of effort helped me to get all the way to the summit. 

Read the article here: http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/raise-your-athletic-iq?cid=socTP_20140823_30278386

How to Train Yourself to Exercise in the Morning

How to Train Your Body to Get Up in the Morning

How to Train Yourself to Run in the Morning

by Kathleen Lisson

One of the hardest parts of training for 'night owl' endurance athletes is getting their shoes on and gettting out the door for their daily morning run / cycling session / swim.

In the Fast Company article 'How Circa CEO Matt Galligan Trained Himself to Wake up at 6:30 a.m. Without an Alarm Clock,' author Rebecca Greenfield reveals Galligan's secret - body clock training. Galligan set an alarm clock for his preferred wakeup time, 6:30 a.m., every morning for a solid month (including weekends) and didn't use the snooze button. After 30 days of waking up at the same time, he had trained his body that 6:30 a.m. was the time to wake up, alarm or no alarm.

Should you try this method to become a 'morning person?'

• This technique will be difficult if an athlete enjoys sleeping late on the weekends. 

• I have also found that using a sleeping mask helps me to stay asleep until my alarm goes off, especially if the sun rises an hour before I want to wake up. 

• I would add that an important part of this technique is the discipline to go to sleep a full 8 hours before the alarm goes off, in order to make sure to get adequate rest at night. 

Read the Fast Company article here: http://www.fastcompany.com/3034180/agendas/how-circa-ceo-matt-galligan-trained-himself-to-wake-up-at-630-am-without-an-alarm-cl