MISSION: Morning Person.
When I was little, our family had a log cabin up in the mountains of Tennessee. At night, all of us kids were sentenced to the upstairs loft which overlooked the kitchen and family area. And at that age, the four of us kids had the ability to sleep through anything. Thunderstorms. Construction. Tornadoes. You name it. Well...anything with the exception of that damn whistling tea kettle.
My dad is the ultimate morning person. He starts his day early...deliberately...and without the use of an alarm. He just naturally gets up with the sun. And every morning when he made his tea, he let the pot boil until the piercing whistle echoed through the cabin, much to the screams and of his poor, sleepy children.
Mike can attest that even to this day, I freak out if I can't get my sleep. He's usually up early with the dog on the weekends while I'm dead to the world for another good 2 hours.
It wasn't until recently that I realized I need to start becoming more like my dad in this respect...but minus the whistling tea kettle.
I'm in the process of reading Don Fink's Be Iron Fit and some of the stuff he's saying is really resonating with me.
He loosely talks about the various type of workouts that are critical to iron-distance training. Sure, there's the long ride/run and swim drills, but what hit me was the timing of the workouts. A chapter about fitting in your workouts early. And often. About doing it at the start of the day, rather than the end...
...entirely new concept for me.
You see...me and that elusive pre-work workout, we're like the screaming kid and whistling tea kettle. I tell myself that I'll get to it when I get home from work. That sleep is the most precious thing at the moment (ironically, that's the same thing I tell myself as I hit the snooze button for the umpteenth time).
Not exactly the best method when you often work unforeseen late hours.
In the past, many of those mid-week training runs and swims never even stood a chance against me and my schedule. And the only person that suffers in the end is me.
And that's not very fair to myself and everyone who is making sacrifices for me to be able to do this race. I mean, I am training for an Ironman. To respect the distance, I have to put in the time and effort. To put in the time and effort, something is going to have to bend. And for me, it's those extra hours of sleep in the morning.
So I decided to make a change. Starting today.
This morning, for the third time ever in my history of endurance training...I woke up before the sun to get a workout in. A yoga class in fact...although it was really a beat down disguised as a yoga class. Every other yoga class I've taken was focused on stretching and breathing and lengthening those muscles. However this class was one of those classes that really focuses on the core...and makes your muscles quiver until little beads of sweat start dripping from your skin until ultimately your body gives out from underneath you.
You want me to hang upside down in the crow position...at 5:20 in the morning...hahahahhaaa...
It was interesting. Me...and Gwen the instructor...and a bunch of guys (maybe they come early because they're embarrassed to be seen there in broad daylight...or maybe it's because the instructor was ten shades of nauseating attractive...or maybe because she knew how to deliver an ass kicking). The only thing I was able to school them in was my flexibility and the half lotus handstand...nevermind the fact we all had to do them against a wall.
So now, I find myself back at my desk...sleepy and sore in my upper back and shoulders...but with a smile of accomplishment on my face.
I beat my alarm clock.
This whole pre-work workout thing wasn't so bad.
Sure, it was only one day. one class. But I'll be back next week. And the week after. And by the end of the month, I plan on adding a second pre-work workout to my week. Most likely hitting the treadmill at work, at least until we're able to register for the masters swim club in the spring. It's all about taking small steps toward a bigger change.
So it's now my goal to try and become the person my dad is, and always has been. A morning person...but without the tea kettle...
...or at least fake it as best I can.
My dad is the ultimate morning person. He starts his day early...deliberately...and without the use of an alarm. He just naturally gets up with the sun. And every morning when he made his tea, he let the pot boil until the piercing whistle echoed through the cabin, much to the screams and of his poor, sleepy children.
Mike can attest that even to this day, I freak out if I can't get my sleep. He's usually up early with the dog on the weekends while I'm dead to the world for another good 2 hours.
It wasn't until recently that I realized I need to start becoming more like my dad in this respect...but minus the whistling tea kettle.
I'm in the process of reading Don Fink's Be Iron Fit and some of the stuff he's saying is really resonating with me.
He loosely talks about the various type of workouts that are critical to iron-distance training. Sure, there's the long ride/run and swim drills, but what hit me was the timing of the workouts. A chapter about fitting in your workouts early. And often. About doing it at the start of the day, rather than the end...
...entirely new concept for me.
You see...me and that elusive pre-work workout, we're like the screaming kid and whistling tea kettle. I tell myself that I'll get to it when I get home from work. That sleep is the most precious thing at the moment (ironically, that's the same thing I tell myself as I hit the snooze button for the umpteenth time).
Not exactly the best method when you often work unforeseen late hours.
In the past, many of those mid-week training runs and swims never even stood a chance against me and my schedule. And the only person that suffers in the end is me.
And that's not very fair to myself and everyone who is making sacrifices for me to be able to do this race. I mean, I am training for an Ironman. To respect the distance, I have to put in the time and effort. To put in the time and effort, something is going to have to bend. And for me, it's those extra hours of sleep in the morning.
So I decided to make a change. Starting today.
This morning, for the third time ever in my history of endurance training...I woke up before the sun to get a workout in. A yoga class in fact...although it was really a beat down disguised as a yoga class. Every other yoga class I've taken was focused on stretching and breathing and lengthening those muscles. However this class was one of those classes that really focuses on the core...and makes your muscles quiver until little beads of sweat start dripping from your skin until ultimately your body gives out from underneath you.
You want me to hang upside down in the crow position...at 5:20 in the morning...hahahahhaaa...
It was interesting. Me...and Gwen the instructor...and a bunch of guys (maybe they come early because they're embarrassed to be seen there in broad daylight...or maybe it's because the instructor was ten shades of nauseating attractive...or maybe because she knew how to deliver an ass kicking). The only thing I was able to school them in was my flexibility and the half lotus handstand...nevermind the fact we all had to do them against a wall.
So now, I find myself back at my desk...sleepy and sore in my upper back and shoulders...but with a smile of accomplishment on my face.
I beat my alarm clock.
This whole pre-work workout thing wasn't so bad.
Sure, it was only one day. one class. But I'll be back next week. And the week after. And by the end of the month, I plan on adding a second pre-work workout to my week. Most likely hitting the treadmill at work, at least until we're able to register for the masters swim club in the spring. It's all about taking small steps toward a bigger change.
So it's now my goal to try and become the person my dad is, and always has been. A morning person...but without the tea kettle...
...or at least fake it as best I can.
Labels: Sleep Makes The World Go 'Round, Yoga
posted by Iron Jayhawk at 8:21 AM
7 Camper Comments:
YAY! I'm so proud of you. I'm just lucky I work at a gym and can get my workout in whenever I want, theoretically anyway.
we are trying to get up earlier...i have put an iPhone next to the coffee pot with an alarm...I titled the alarm "Keep your ass out of bed!!!!" :) Since I'm next to the coffee....it's easy to just stay up even though I don't love it :) Where are you yogaing?
GREAT JOB!!!
I did NOT want to get up to swim this morning. I told myself I could sleep in and do it later. But I also remembered that I'd feel much better if I just got it done already. So I got up.
You're making a change that will help later in the year when there are 2 hours of workouts on the schedule for a weekday!
Oh how it feels soooo good to get that workout in and done before heading off to work! Nice job!
I am going to use the Don Fink program for my iron training. Currently I am going to MAsters swim at 530am on 2 days per week. Good Luck in your training.
Keep it up...pretty soon it will be "normal" and you won't be able to sleep in after 6:00!
It's a great feeling to have at least one workout of the day out of the way before work!
Nice job getting the workout in before work! I keep telling myself I'm going to try that. But I just keep hitting snooze. Hm. Someday.
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