Finding a Balance

This morning I got back to my training schedule for the Baltimore Half Marathon. I was briefly concerned yesterday to find out that the half had sold out. I thought that maybe my entry form had not made it in time, which would have sucked. But thankfully, I checked my confirmation online and indeed I am registered to run on October 11th FOR FREE! I think this year they're expecting something like 17,000 runners for all the various races, which is awesome! The running festival was one of my favorite weekends of the entire year last year and I think it'll be even better this year since I'm running the half.

I did 4 easy miles at about a 9:15 pace. Not too bad considering it was humid and warmer out this morning than it has been. Tomorrow I will do another 4-5 miles at an easy pace before taking Saturday off to do some cross training. Tropical Storm Hannah is supposed to make its way up the coast and be here by Saturday morning. However, by that time, it will probably be just a big mess of rain and wind that will make the day gloomy. With any luck it'll be gone by Sunday morning for my planned "long" run of 9 miles.

This morning, as I laid in bed trying to will myself to get up and go run, I had the thought that maybe I could actually get up later (around 6 AM rather than 5) and still get my runs in without being late to work or rushing through my shower, etc. I tried that this morning and ended up being 10 minutes late to work and rushed! So, I have settled the months-long debate about whether getting up earlier would give me more time and actually be worth the pain. While getting up at 5 is awful and too early, 6 AM is too late. I think that if I got up at 5:30, I'd have enough time to get 4-5 miles in each morning and be back at the apartment in time to get ready for work.

This is also going to be true when we move north about a mile and a half because my walk will be about 15 minutes longer than it is now, which means leaving 15 minutes earlier for the office. So, that extra 30 minutes will help make my morning a little less hectic.

Now I just need to work on a new route from our new apartment for my morning runs!