3 tips for morning running

Tonight's sunset...4:30pm. It's getting darker, earlier, and there's nothing we can do about it, or is there? I've been less motivated to run, or even work out as of late do to the decreasing daylight and warmth. Seeking the solace of my living room sofa and television have been all too enticing.

I am an evening runner. I love the post work run but now that it's barely light enough to see the path, I have to resort to changing my routine. As it's been darker earlier, that means it's also been lighter earlier, in the morning that is. Sunrise is at 6:30 am. I usually need about 30 minutes to feel comfortable enough to get moving. Here are my three tips to morning running:

Tip 1: Automatic coffee maker
I don't know about you, but I need coffee in the morning to really get going. I set my drip machine's timer the night before to start making coffee at the same time as my alarm clock. By the time I get out of bed, there's a hot pot waiting in the kitchen.

Tip 2: Have your running gear ready
Lay out, ball up in a pile, or sleep in your running clothes. I hate stumbling around in the morning looking for the right clothes to wear. Once I have my shorts or running pants on, I am more likely to actually go running then just sit on the couch drinking my pre made coffee.

Tip 3: The battle with the bathroom
Contraversial topic here, but it needs to be addressed. We all know what it's like running before evacuating the troops. Cramps, sluggishness, uncertainty that we'll even make it the whole way without the need to stop and find relief. Coffee is a natural diaretic and can help move things along, hence why tip 1 is tip 1.

Learning to run and relax on Martha's Vineyard + Garmin Forerunner 210 Review

When I arrived on the Vineyard Thursday, I was greeted by the Conway's of Lincoln, MA and offered an Adirondack chair and a glass of white wine. My intentions for this trip were work first, play second, but how could I resist. Feeling motivated to get a good run in on Friday morning, I decided to test out my new Garmin Forerunner 210. This really helped me get out of bed and go, otherwise, the day would get ahead of me and running would take a back seat.

I stood on the stairs of the house on Coffins Field Rd. searching for satellites. My Garmin took about 30 seconds to sync up and find all three needed to triangulate and track my movements. I was impatient, but this 30 second moment taught me a valuable lesson; never go running out of haste. With a "bleep" from my wrist, I was off to explore.

Running on Martha's Vineyard with the Garmin Forerunner 210

Martha's Vineyard is larger then one would expect for an Island, but then again, Long Island, NY is 150 miles long. Docking in Vineyard Haven, I'm wondering how far it is to my destination and excited to get out and try my new Garmin 210, first by bike, then by run. If anyone has any running route suggestions while I'm down here, feel free to comment and I'll give a full review of your route.

Running with Lulu in a Thunderstorm

Last night I was heading out the door for an after work run with Nicole from lululemon. I felt a breeze and looked up and saw ominous storm clouds approaching. Inside the buzzing store, Nicole and I discussed briefly our concerns regarding the weather, but decided, as most Bostonians of summer do, to brave the elements as they presented themselves.

The streets of Back Bay were crowded with throngs of people, clinging to every moment of outdoor time they could, creating a challenge of bobbing through the crowds as we attempted to find the river path. The heat was oppressive at one point, but the breeze kept us going until we reached the Harvard Bridge on Mass Ave. when the sky's opened.


Nicole, Assistant Manager of lululemon in Back Bay, has a deep passion for running, yoga, and bringing the Vancouver based brand onto the running scene. Did you know that they make men's apparel? I've been a fan of lululemon since I bought my running shorts there back in March, but I've come to realize that they are more than just a clothing store. lululemon has a great mantra geared towards creating a healthy community, bringing people together to share in positive experiences through yoga, running, and sometimes the occasional beer and sushi.

Our run took us around the Museum of Science where the duck boats were lined up with excited children quacking away. The rain continued to pepper us but at this point it was a welcomed reprieve from the heat. As we cruised back into the Back Bay, around 8 min/mi for the duration - said my Garmin Forerunner 210, the sun broke the clouds and reflected off of the Prudential Tower. After a good stretch and a quick bite at Bostone's, my favorite local pizza joint, we said our goodbye's and headed for home.

Summer Days and nights on the road in Vermont - GMR Review

A few months ago, I received an invitation to join a team for a fabled 200 mile relay. That's right, 200 miles. But before you jump to the conclusion that I'm solely nuts, our team consisted of 11 other people, split between two vans that would leap frog one another during 30 hours of running.

The scenery is what you'd expect from Vermont. Green, mountainous, epic vistas and then there were the little details. During my 3:30am run, the near full moon was setting just in front of me to my right, while the darkened sky was giving way to the early morning sun behind my left shoulder. I quietly ran through a Christmas tree farm, seeing triangular shadows looming in the early morning mist, and smelling the deep pine as it moved over the roadway. My other two runs were equally experiential with rolling hills, turtles, and lots and lots of cows.

Minimalism, Barefoot Running, and a touch of science.

The Most Informal Running Club Ever - TMIRCE - at City Sports on June 11th had a bit more appeal than usual. We hosted our first ever, and in my opinion, best ever, minimalist clinic. In a nut shell, over the past few years and in response to the popularity of "barefoot running" as described in Chris McDougal's Born to Run, Informal Runners of TMIRCE had been asking about this phenomenon that we have come to know as the minimalist movement. In response to your questions and inquires, we invited Dan Lieberman, Harvard Professor and Human Evolutionary Biologist to come and share with us his findings and personal thoughts on the movement.

Informal Queens of TMIRCE Track - and some guys too.

The queens of track and Ryan

Sunny, warm nights in Boston don't happen often enough, but when they do, people shake off that wintery rust - grabbing the bull by the horns and coming out on Tuesday nights to run faster and stronger. The workout was a simple "sandwich" 1200m - 800m x2 - 400m - 800m x2 - 1200m and a 200m on top, bringing the total distance to 6.2k. What was special about last night was the great camaraderie between runners, supporting each other, clapping and cheering as we finished each lap.


It's been exciting to hear all the great success stories from runners who have been coming out to track workouts and pushing themselves. TMIRCE encourages runners to support one another and to push one another in running - and sometimes life  -  when we need it. That being said, informal Ryan recently ran a 5 miler at a 7:20 min/mile and attributes some of his recent successes to track workouts. Congrats to him for really utilizing track to get a bit stronger and faster and seeing success.

Last night we shared the track with several other clubs, all going through their weekly motions of run and repeat. Our workout pushed us to run a bit further than normal though, keeping us out 15 minutes later than our usual Tuesday workout. No one seemed to mind though, since the weather was immaculate. Not represented by the photo above are the 4 other runners, Ray, myself, Evan, and Renee who were either nursing blisters, speeding around the track, or just playing Words with Friends. 

After the beating ourselves playful into the ground, we went to Charlies Kitchen, home of the famous Double Cheeseburger and jalapeno poppers. The beer flowed and burgers demolished by the ravenous runners. A typical night of track, and post track celebrations as constituted by the Tuesday tradition.  

INFORMAL MINIMALIST CLINIC

Running twice a day. 3 reasons why you should.

Go AMCATS

Without getting into the nitty gritty details that no one wants to hear, I'll begin with this. Running twice a day can be a challenge with busy life schedules, work, kids (I don't have any though), ice cream eating contests, but there is always time to run/exercise if you use these three points as a guide:

1: The magical 25th hour
I know it seems counterintuitive, but the more you run, the more time you have for other stuff. Don't believe me? Well thin about it like this. You want to run twice a day so you wake up before work and get out on the streets. Do three miles in 25 to 30 minutes and run number one is over. You now have the whole rest of the day to do everything you want and then some. That 2nd run at lunch, between classes, during a shift break, or after work, gives you what seems to be some extra time in the day. It's magic.

2: Beef up your mileage, rock your legs
Training for a relay? Or how about a marathon? Beefing up mileage without breaking down your body can be a real benefit from running twice a day. Try 5 in the morning and 3 to 4 miles at night for a good 8 to 9 miles in one day. You'll build muscle without sacrificing to much energy.

3: Cause 3 times is too much
Who really wants to run 3 times a day anyway. Unless you're running to and from work, and running to get your lunch, really just running all the time, planning on three times a day to run is something not even world class athletes do.

What do you have to say about running twice a day?

Get out there and stay healthy. Eat right, take care of your body and run.

TMIRCE Minimalist Clinic