Running in the morning.. the cause of today's whining.

So, I was up and at 'em at 5 am this morning.  Have I ever mentioned that I don't like mornings?  My son's choir that he is in - the Parlor City Boy's Chorus - is performing tonight at St. Ambrose Church in Endicott NY (at 6:30 - please notice the subtle plug) so I had to get my run in this morning instead of my usual post-work run.

[caption id="attachment_302" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="The Parlor City Boy's Chorus at their Winter Concert"][/caption]

My legs just did not want to work at first.  I'm not sure if it was that they only had 12 hours of rest time compared to their usual 24, or simply that they were trying to object to being forced to move in the cold (they have gotten used to 60's - not 40's) so early in the morning.  Eventually, they did wake up and let me run, though they were much sore-er (more sore?) than they have been.  Probably due to the fact that today was my run that pushed me over 20 miles for the week (22.1!) and I have not been running the four mile runs as slowly as I had planned.

[caption id="attachment_303" align="alignright" width="218" caption="Honest! She looked JUST like this as she walked her dog at 5am! High heels and all!"][/caption]

It was peaceful however. The sun hadn't fully risen yet, and it was quiet.  while I live near a well-used road, even the cars hadn't started up yet, as 5:30 is early for most people's commutes in this small town.   I saw several other runners in the course of my time out, as well as the early morning dog walkers.  (There is one lady, whom I refer to as "the best dog owner ever", that I see out walking her dog no matter when I go running.  She must walk that dog 4 or 5 times a day!  And yes, she was out..)  One of the things I noticed with the runners (but not the dog-walkers) is that the men were always willing to give you a nod, say good morning or even the standard - "Hi. "  The women runners more give you a wary look, but don't nod back or say anything.  Sadly, this makes a lot of sense for a woman who is alone, on a side road before the sun is up - it might discourage anything from a predator, to a male runner that is looking to "make a new female friend."  (I can't imagine much that would interfere more with the peace of a morning run, then getting hit on.)

I definitely prefer (At this point) running in the evening.  It's a nice break after a stressful day - I can head out and just burn it all away by putting miles behind me.  Plus, I can run (usually) in shorts and a T-shirt, I don't need my wind pants and long shirt.  I think that as it warms up this summer, I may find this to be the opposite (other than the getting out of bed part.  I always hate that part of the day) and I may prefer morning runs.  It certainly has its advantages though.  Tonight when I get home, I don't have to call my wife to arrange who is going to pick up the kids.  I don't have to rush out of work to get home in time to run before the concert - or cut my run short (or cut it out all together.)  I can also see where it could make planning dinner time easier, chores around the house, etc....

But it doesn't mean I have to like it better...