Morning, Noon or Night: When Do You Like to Run?

Finding your rhythm, finding your stride, finding what works best for you. In whatever you do, it's always important to find what works well for you, and it's no different with running.

One key thing I've found is finding that time of day that works best for you to get your run in. Some like the mornings, others at lunch or early afternoon and still others like the evening.

For me, I prefer the mornings. My alarm usually goes off at 5 a.m., and I'm hitting the roads by 5:30.

Never thought I'd ever say this, but I love getting out and about before much of the world is up and at-em. The streets here in this small southeastern Kentucky town are pretty quiet.

It's perfect.

Love hoofing it through the streets in the coolness of the morning. It's perfect ... for me.

Honestly, I've never been much of a morning person. The thought being up before 8 a.m. was once unthinkable for me. But that was before getting a job in the real world, getting married and having kids. Life changes your perspective.

The main reason I choose to run in the mornings is because of my family and profession. Being a sports information director eats up a lot of my life in the afternoons and evenings. And when I'm not working at those times, I prefer to spend that time with my family. So, if I'm to get my miles in, I need to do so in the mornings while everyone is still in bed.

Now, there are times that the race you're training for will dictate when you need to train. For example, if the race has a start time in the early afternoon, running at that time will help you get acclimated to running at that time and in that climate. Conversely, if you like to run in the evenings, how do you think you'll handle a 7 a.m. start?

If you don't plan and adjust for the race and stick to training at the time you prefer best, you could be setting yourself up for a struggle come race day.

Again, it's all about finding what works best for you and your race.