Why You Don't Have to Run in the Morning
By: Heather Campbell
Tags: Fitness, Health, Running Tips, Running, Resolutions

Why You Don't Have to Run in the Morning

Sleep in if you want and remove “should” from your running vocabulary.

Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash

We’re approaching New Year’s resolution territory. Maybe you’re vowing to yourself that next year will finally be the year you become a morning runner.

There’s no shortage of articles that will tell you how to make that happen. I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to.

Ask yourself why you want to become a morning runner. If the crack of dawn is the only time you can squeeze a run into your schedule, then you just may have to resign yourself to waking up early. But if the reason is you think you should, think again.

Of course, there are benefits to running in the morning. Some find it’s the best way to start the day, giving them mental clarity and motivation for the rest of their waking hours. But if you’re not a morning person, those benefits may not be reason enough to run before you’re fully awake.

I can attest to this. I feel notably slower, and my runs feel much more difficult when I run in the morning.

Despite the fact that so many outlets push morning running, research shows our bodies are best primed for running — especially harder workouts — in the late afternoon or evening. By that point, your core temperature is high and your muscles are warm. You’re awake, and you’re focused.

And yet, they keep telling us we should run in the morning, that we should want to run in the morning.

Well, I’m not buying it anymore. I’m not becoming a morning runner.

I’m also giving you permission to say it’s not right for you, too.

The only thing you should do is stop worrying about what you should do.

Make your running routine work for you

Sure, when you first start running, it makes sense to try different pieces of advice. Run first thing, run last thing. Run fast, run slow. Run frequently, rest more. Experimentation is the best way to figure out your preferences.

But once you’ve dialed in the routine that works for you, let go of the worry you should be doing something differently. Because that belief — that your routine is not right — might be holding you back.

When I manage, maybe twice a year, to drag myself out of bed at sunrise for a run, I often enjoy it enough to let the thought creep in that I should commit to changing my habits. Inevitably, though, I will not follow through the next morning. The alarm sounds at an ungodly hour, and the memory of my lovely run the previous morning just isn’t enough to separate me from my bed.

That’s when the guilt sets in. If I was just disciplined enough, I could do it. If I was a real runner, I would do it.

It’s a spiral from there. The guilt and self-criticism compound throughout the day, and if I don’t run at all, it only gets worse.

Contrast that with my routine now that I’ve finally accepted I am not a morning person, and I will not be a morning runner. I give myself permission to sleep in and wake feeling fully rested for my run later in the day. Without guilt, I go at noon or at the end of the day.

I’m consistent because later in the day works for me. It works for my body, my mind, and my schedule. But it’s taken me some time to finally accept I don’t have to do anything that doesn’t work for me.

Part of that is because there’s so much advice in the running space. Research abounds on how to maximize performance. It’s hard to ignore all the studies that tell us what we should do.

But running is also highly individual. And just because research says something will work for the majority of runners, there are always outliers.

So, should you run more or less? In the morning or at night? With a watch or without? Seven days a week or three?

It’s totally up to you. Try the advice that appeals to you, but not because you feel obligated. Embrace the habits and routines that energize you and optimize your running. Reject, without guilt, the tips and tricks that don’t.

Resolve to remove “should” from your running routine next year and find deeper satisfaction in running the way that works best for you.