There is a fundamental step that all pre-dawn athletes must master in order to be successful in a consistent fitness program. They must be able to envision the upcoming day and prepare themselves for it, when all they want to do is go to sleep.
Some of this is done well ahead of time by following an already established training plan. Simply being able to forecast the training for the next day, weeks or months removes the mental gymnastics and compromises we try ultimately create for ourselves when we 'wing it'. The hard part is of course the doing.
It's late. You're a half hour behind schedule thanks to a show on t.v. and it felt so good to just sit after a good hard workout, a full day of work and time with the family. But you almost fell asleep on the couch and if you just walked into your bedroom, you would be asleep right away. But tomorrows training schedule was set up weeks ago. As painful as it might be to collect yourself before going to bed, you know you can not make up for lost training time. So the collection begins.
First you confirm your workout for the morning. Then you find your workout bag and take out the sweaty clothes. Then you make sure you have all the necessary components for your workout, including an extra pair of shorts or a shirt just in case. Then you find all your work clothes for the next day. Then add an extra shirt or socks, because you recall taking a shower at the gym and then realizing you left home without a shirt. Did you pack the belt? Double check the towel.
Did you prep your food for the next day? Pre-pack dry foods like crackers, fruit, and power gels. Salads and Tupperware foods are portioned and sitting on the front of the shelf so you don't forget them. Do you have your water bottles already filled? You don't. They're in the sink soaking but what a pain. But you do it anyway because they're your best bottles. They don't hurt your teeth when you pull them open. Don't leak down your shirt. But it really is the suckiest part of the day, cleaning out bike bottles. If your lucky you have a coffee pot with an auto start and set that up. Once less thing to think about when trying to get out the door.
Now you double check everything to make sure its all there and ready. You may even preposition some bags in the car. Geesh, did you ever think you would carry so many bags with you? Gym bag, food bag, work bag, plastic bag with even more stuff in it. Oops travel mug still has coffee in it from this morning.
Now you go to bed. Your eyes are red and hurt a little bit. You just want to sleep and have been purposefully trying to stay half asleep as you went about your tasks. Finally you put your head down on the cool pillow. Man this feels good. Crap. But instead of your mind slowing down it speeds up. Did I pack that? How far is it? I better go check. And up you are again.
By the time you fall asleep it's closer to the time you normally do so and nowhere near when you actually want to. Its tough. You know you'll wake up a couple times and stare into your indiglo watchface inches from your eyes, celebrating that its not as early as you thought, you feel well rested and can still sleep for another two hours. This is the best sleep you get all night.
This is where dreams live.
Some of this is done well ahead of time by following an already established training plan. Simply being able to forecast the training for the next day, weeks or months removes the mental gymnastics and compromises we try ultimately create for ourselves when we 'wing it'. The hard part is of course the doing.
It's late. You're a half hour behind schedule thanks to a show on t.v. and it felt so good to just sit after a good hard workout, a full day of work and time with the family. But you almost fell asleep on the couch and if you just walked into your bedroom, you would be asleep right away. But tomorrows training schedule was set up weeks ago. As painful as it might be to collect yourself before going to bed, you know you can not make up for lost training time. So the collection begins.
First you confirm your workout for the morning. Then you find your workout bag and take out the sweaty clothes. Then you make sure you have all the necessary components for your workout, including an extra pair of shorts or a shirt just in case. Then you find all your work clothes for the next day. Then add an extra shirt or socks, because you recall taking a shower at the gym and then realizing you left home without a shirt. Did you pack the belt? Double check the towel.
Did you prep your food for the next day? Pre-pack dry foods like crackers, fruit, and power gels. Salads and Tupperware foods are portioned and sitting on the front of the shelf so you don't forget them. Do you have your water bottles already filled? You don't. They're in the sink soaking but what a pain. But you do it anyway because they're your best bottles. They don't hurt your teeth when you pull them open. Don't leak down your shirt. But it really is the suckiest part of the day, cleaning out bike bottles. If your lucky you have a coffee pot with an auto start and set that up. Once less thing to think about when trying to get out the door.
Now you double check everything to make sure its all there and ready. You may even preposition some bags in the car. Geesh, did you ever think you would carry so many bags with you? Gym bag, food bag, work bag, plastic bag with even more stuff in it. Oops travel mug still has coffee in it from this morning.
Now you go to bed. Your eyes are red and hurt a little bit. You just want to sleep and have been purposefully trying to stay half asleep as you went about your tasks. Finally you put your head down on the cool pillow. Man this feels good. Crap. But instead of your mind slowing down it speeds up. Did I pack that? How far is it? I better go check. And up you are again.
By the time you fall asleep it's closer to the time you normally do so and nowhere near when you actually want to. Its tough. You know you'll wake up a couple times and stare into your indiglo watchface inches from your eyes, celebrating that its not as early as you thought, you feel well rested and can still sleep for another two hours. This is the best sleep you get all night.
This is where dreams live.
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