Early Morning Runs

I tried something new today. I set my alarm for 5:45 a.m. and set out for an early morning run. My preschoolers finished school yesterday and my first-grader finishes tomorrow. I now officially have NO TIME TO MYSELF. I'm trying to figure out how to fit in runs. One option is to run before my hubby goes to work about 7:10 a.m.

This scenario has two limitations:
1. I can only run in my neighborhood since driving somewhere would be a waste of valuable time, and I'm a bit sick of that route already.
2. I imagine three or four miles would be the maximum distance I can make it on an empty stomach.

So, at 5:45, I got up, got dressed (putting my shirt on inside out--oh well, it was early!), drank 1/2 of a G-9 (lower sugar) Gatorade and ate a handful of Cheerios. By the time I located my Garmin, my shoes, and my MP-3, it was 6:02 and I was out the door. (It took me those 17 minutes to wake up mentally as well as physically.)

Other than feeling sick from the Gatorade on an empty stomach, it was an ok run. I warmed up for a few minutes and did a 3.1 mile tempo run. I wasn't my fastest 5K time, but it wasn't my slowest, either. I think my splits were 9:29, 9:37, 9:41, and I don't remember the .1. I finished at 29:46, I think. (Any 5K under 30 minutes is a GOOD DAY for me!)

I wasn't sure how running without a full breakfast, coffee, and lots of water would work. I usually have all that, wait an hour, then run. But it wasn't too bad this way.