Filip Kwiatkowski for The New York Times
Morning or evening running… which is better?
My running partner, Paul, sent me a link to this article earlier in the week. It’s kind of a typical NY Times exercise article — short and lacking in detail — but it’s still an interesting read. The gist of it centers around the question: Is it better to run in the morning or in the evening? Beginning runners that I coach often ask this question. I’ve traditionally blown it off saying something like, “it depends” or “do whatever works for you.” I thought the issue of “which is better” came down to a simple question? Do you like getting up at 5:30am to run before work? No, well then you’re an evening runner. Simple.
Turns out, the time of day you workout really may make a difference in the quality of your run and it’s effects on your body. The chronobiologist (a profession I’d never heard of) who was interviewed quoted evidence showing that late afternoon or early evening workouts are better (easier) for the body. He says that a workout done in the morning drives the heart rate up higher than the same workout done in the evening.
Greg Atkinson, also at Liverpool John Moores University, said that some researchers, noticing that heart rates during exercise were lower in the morning, reasoned the way I did — that people must be more efficient in the morning. It would mean that exercise was easier in the morning. Of course, it seemed harder to me, but I could have been deluding myself. Not really, Dr. Atkinson said. It actually is harder to exercise in the morning.
Running time and Lyme
I found this little-known insight interesting and potentially impactful to my training. In the past I’ve always been a morning runner. I like getting up at 5:30am to run with the sunrise. I enjoy how it wakes me up and starts my day off with a nice accomplishment. I also liked how I got it out of the way so that I wasn’t tempted by laziness or forced by work to skip or miss a evening workout.
In the last year this has changed. Mostly because I now work for myself and can run any damn time I please, but also because I found that running in the morning made the afternoons tough to manage. The post-lunch 3:00pm coma would set in and though I’d be awake, I’d be pretty much useless at work and occasionally had to nap. I’ve since changed this and actually schedule my runs for that point in the day when I feel my most tired — 3:00 to 6:00pm. This may seem counter-intuitive as most people would think to rest at this time, but I feel that this works in my favor.
How it works for me
Running when I feel low serves to perk me up, get me going and carry me through the evening chores of making dinner, playing with my daughter and putting her to bed. I also find that I sleep better; usually 5-6 uninterrupted hours with 2-3 additional hours after that. Pretty good.
Sleep use to be one of my biggest issues. Early on, I couldn’t sleep more that 2-3 hours without waking up and then it could take me anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours to get back to sleep. Now and again I still have nights that are bad, but nothing like before. I sleep soundly and wake up (mostly) refreshed. If I do wake up in the night I can rollover and just go right back. All of this is one of the biggest aspects of my recovery. I shudder when I think of the days I felt like I hadn’t slept for weeks. No matter how much I tried to sleep I couldn’t, and what I did get did nothing for me. Truly a horrible way to live.
I was considering trying to switch back to morning runs, but it sounds like my afternoon timing is the way to go for now. I don’t want to make it any harder on my body than it already is. The afternoons seems to be just what I need. This should probably be a consideration for anyone with Lyme who exercises.
I’d be curious to hear what my readers think. Post a comment below.
