Thread: Tell me about your morning\daily run.

You shouldn't eat anything beforehand, it gets your body used to running on empty. You feel weak because you aren't used to it, that'll pass.

I eat a granola bar, and drink a couple small glasses of water. I don't like running on empty. D:

I hate running. It was always the bane of my physical fitness. I'm just getting over the short-windedness, since I've dropped the smoking habit, but it's still just a little too high impact for my knees. (I don't have the strongest joints). I usually just bike or skate, now.

Anyway, it's not really good to eat before running. If you do, eat something light. A banana is good or, like Abra said, a granola bar. Drink plenty of water before you head out. But not right before. Don't drown yourself in water and then go for a run.

After you come back from your run, then eat something more substantial. Your body will continue burning calories for up to about an hour after exercising, so you can eat and not really worry about too much calorie intake.

On empty.

Always.

Originally Posted by ninja9578

You shouldn't eat anything beforehand, it gets your body used to running on empty. You feel weak because you aren't used to it, that'll pass.

That doesn't sound right. Like O said, a banana or granola bar or something is probably good.

But what if you don't have a lot of time in the morning and literally have to be out to door five minutes after you wake up to be able to get a run in. Is a small something still ok?

I prefer running in the afternoon or night. My body isn't very ready to run first thing in the morning. Biking at a slower pace in the morning is something that's not so bad, but that too is better later in the day, in my case. If I run soon after I wake up, I can eat two pieces of bread and run whenever I am ready or eat a bowl of cereal and run about an hour or more later. If I eat a full meal, I wait at least 3 hours to run. It's not as much of an issue with biking since it doesn't make my stomach bounce.

It's good to drink 2 glasses of water 30 or so minutes before you run.

Make sure you study up on stretching, warming up, and all that other stuff before you get into running. There is a ton of information about it on the internet. You should look at several sources, preferably a bunch of them.

I second everything UM wrote. I run in the afternoon because I am not a morning person and because I like to have had at least one full meal that day - although I typically wait 3-4 hours after my last meal before I go running.

It's good to stretch both before and after running. However, on the beforehand stretch, you should stretch after a brief warmup, rather than "cold." I start off with a slow, easy, 5-minute jog, then stretch, then run a few miles, then finish off with another stretch. It may seem excessive, but it beats developing an injury.

you should run empty

Hey, thanks for all the replies. This may sound a little stupid but i dont really want to lose weight at all its a just a fitness thing. If i eat a substantial breakfast afterwards will it make up for the energy loss and prevent fat burn?

That's exactly what it will do.

If you can find a pool, swimming is a great way to improve cardio. Not hard on your joints at all, and gives you a strong upper body. Running is alright, puts alot of stress on the knees. My dad started running in his early thirties and is now in his mid 40's and already had to get knee surgery. Try swimming or cycling or mountain biking. Weight Training is also very good.

However, to answer your question...I wouldn't advise running on empty. You don't want to eat right before either though. Since you like to run in the morning I would suggest a large glass of orange juice and eat some eggs or something when you get back to get protein and energy for your body.

Well, I just started doing morning runs about a week ago. On Tuesday-Friday, I get up at 6 AM, and run until 7. On the weekends, I run in the afternoon, and I take Monday off (cause Monday sucks.) I hate running, but I need to get fit, and I am entering a 10K run in April, so I got 3 months to get into shape. I usually don't eat anything before.

I usually eat some sandwiches beforehand. I think it's just what you're used to. Experiment and find out what works best for you.

As for pains in the chest, that's normal. They'll disappear as soon as your condition gets better. They may still occur when it's cold or something, but that depends.
Not exercising for a few days is a disaster for your condition, you should know that. By not exercising, I mean that you're just sitting on the couch, watching tv and stuff like that.

(I run 1-3 times a week)
Good luck!

You know, different people have different ways of doing things, but here's what worked best for me after experimenting for a while..

I wake up, drink a glass of water, then I eat 2 peanut butter toasts and a fruit, with another glass of water or orange juice.

About 20 minutes later, (after writing some dream entries or something, hehe) I do some jumping jacks or I straight up jump around for a bit just to get my body warmed up, then I do a little stretch, like I'll make sure I'm not trying to increase flexibility, I just make sure my muscles are relaxed and awake.

I will drink another half glass of water, then go pee, then head out. As DuB mentioned earlier, after about 5 minutes I'll do another light stretch, then I run whatever amount of miles I decided beforehand. (Usually between 3 and 8 on casual days).

Then after I'm done, I let my body relax for about 30 seconds then I start stretching seriously, yet not too hard. Stretch just enough so you know your muscles are expanding, yet not to the point where you feel pain.

After about 10-15 minutes of stretching, I eat an energy bar (proteins and calories are good at this point), then a bit later I will eat a fat breakfast with eggs and bacon and all. (Remember, sodium is extremely important for runners too!).


As for serious runs like half and full marathons, drink like a gallon of water and eat a lot of carbs the night before the run. Then in the morning, chomp an energy bar, wait a bit, then start the run. I usually bust out another energy bar around mile 12 to keep me going, and I drink about 20 oz. of water throughout the run, depending on the weather.

Oh yeah...and remember to always keep your back straight and shoulders relaxed (not up to your chin) even when you're tired, for deep breathing will make you go long ways. Bring up the arms when running uphill, for it helps as well..
And for people that are concerned about pain while running...repeat mantras while you run, or have a jukebox going in your head!

Hope this helps anybody!

Keep on running