Tuesday, October 5, 2010

The Early Bird Gets Tired

Over the summer I got very used to getting up early Mon-Thurs and going to the gym for 5:30am spinning or Group Power (weight lifting). However, since school started at the beginning of September I have been having a very difficult time making myself get up at 4:30am to get the gym. I've been going to bed around the same time, 9:30pm, but getting up is so much harder. I think it is partly due to a combination of spending more time at work and cool mornings. However, I also think my increased running is playing a role. I'm training for the half-marathon by running 3-4 days per week. This is more often than I have run before and my mileage is increased. This week, I will run 16 miles. Prior to this, my highest was 15 miles because I did 2 long runs in 1 week (Sun and the following Sat).

Since all this running is probably making me need more sleep, I'm going to give myself permission to not go to the gym in the mornings. I learned from the Mini that too much cross-training with not enough running doesn't work. I'm hoping mostly running with some cross-training will work better.

Tonight I went to Group Power for the first time in several weeks. It's a new release that is easier so they instruct you to increase your weight. I stayed where I was the last time I went and felt pretty good. I'm a little sore now which is reinforcing my decision to sleep in and not going to the gym tomorrow morning because I always feel less sore after a good night's sleep.