You wouldn't think exercising for under an hour would hold as many rituals as it does, but here is the rundown of mine.
1. Make sure the perfect running clothes are clean so I don't have to dig through dirty laundry hampers in the morning and wear something that smells rotten even before the run begins. I don't go as far as laying everything out (probably because the workout clothes I want are dirty and they barely end up in the dryer just before I hit the pillow, crossing my fingers they will be dry when I wake up).
2. Set the alarm 10 minutes before having to get out of bed so that you can hit snooze exactly one time. This really isn't a running morning ritual as much as it's an everyday morning ritual. Whatever.
3. Take a shower. This sounds stupid since I am about to get all hot and sweaty, but not only does it wake me up, but for some reason I really like when I get all sweaty and you can smell the shampoo I just used. When you've been running and sweating for 30 minutes and every crack and crevice is rank, it's invigorating when that breeze blows by and you inhale the scent of fresh shampoo. I'll really drive home my insanity if I tell you that Pert Plus keeps its aroma power better than any of the other shampoos I've tried. It's just how I roll.
4. Drink one cup of coffee. This is for the caffeine effect and the blow up your b hole effect. The coffee needs to be drunk at least 30 minutes before you run to give it time to work it's bathroom magic so that it doesn't strike mid-run.
5. Eat a banana. I don't like to eat much at all before running because it just makes me feel that much fatter and heavier. Plus, anything you eat will be nastily burped up. When running alone, it just is kind of annoying. But when you are running with someone... that's just gross. And rude. Bananas are kind enough to give me just enough calories so I don't starve without the negative burp effects. Additionally, waking up on a Saturday morning to run 4.5 miles is bananas, so eating one just makes sense.
6. Drink 8-10oz of water. At first, I was nervous to do this. I thought it would make me have to pee. But it really doesn't. If you are running far enough (or just to the mailbox in Texas during the summer), you'll sweat out the water before it has time to reach your bladder. If I don't drink before I run, I feel sluggish and dehydrated and really hit a wall at the 3 mile mark.
7. Get the accessories in order. I have to have my iPod shuffle, a nifty new green one I gifted myself last month when I decided to train for a half marathon, and my specific sony headphones. My ears are dumb and every other kind of ear buds fall out. These ARE THE BEST. If you have trouble keeping your headphones in, get them now.
I also have to have Burt's Bees lip balm. It's a deal breaker. If I don't have it and I'm going over 3 or 4 miles, I will probably postpone my run.
This morning, all my rituals went smoothly except for the coffee. I was in a hurry to get to Dad's and since it's hot outside, coffee just didn't sound good. So instead, I mixed up some Spark for energy. It doesn't get the poop going, but that's ok. Coffee isn't a deal breaker like the Burt's Bees.
So I get to Dad's and we exchange comments like, "We must be crazy," "Why are we doing this?," "Who is up at this time?," or "I'm never doing this again." This has almost become its own ritual. Strangely enough, it's actually encouraging and builds camaraderie. Then we begin the run.
The first mile went fine. No biggie. Until Dad says we have to turn back because he has to take a crap. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? So we run a mile back to the house. 2 miles down, 2.5 to go. I hated running back to his house because it was a false finish. When you get back to where you start, you are supposed to be finished. That's just how it works. Not today, apparently.
So we went back out to finish the last 2.5 miles for our total long run of 4.5 miles. It felt pretty good. Maybe it was the 5 minute poop break, but it wasn't bad. Next week is 5 miles. Dad is coming to MY house and I am going to map a 5 mile course that has plenty of 7 Eleven's along the way for necessary plumbing. We aren't coming back to my house until we're done. :)
Distance: 4.5 miles
Time: Approx 55 minutes (we don't time ourselves yet, it's about finishing, not PRs)
Temperature: 82-84 degrees
Overall: Great
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