Running with Jet-lag

Just a few weeks ago I returned from my fall runcation to the Northeast for Chicago Marathon and my brother's wedding in Pennsylvania. I was so happy to be back to the Valley Isle where it's warm. #sorrynotsorry I'm spoiled here with the warm tropical climate. Anything below 74 is cold to me, so it was a very cold vacation for me. I have to say I did enjoy wearing jeans for a change!

The one thing that's hardest for me when I come back home from the east coast is the Jet-lag, a six hour time change really messes with your internal clock. Especially spending over two weeks in that time zone, it's quite the challenge to readjust to Maui time. I'm one of those people that rarely has to set an alarm because I'm always up at the crack of dawn anyways.

My whole first week back on Maui my body was waking up between 3:30-4:15am. Aka the time that most people my age are going to bed, especially my friends that work closing shifts are restaurants. At first I thought that I would go crazy waking up so early! What could I possible do for almost six hours before I had to go to work? The first day I easily filled in the time getting my life and apartment back in order, planning my groceries for the week, etc. But come day two I was already caught up on everything. So I found the healthiest outlet for my restlessness, and what feel the most natural, running.

I could have literally slapped myself for not thinking about it sooner. This pale half Irish white boy on Maui knows the peril that awaits me if I run while the sun is up, sunburn. So what I had gotten used to during my marathon training in the previous m
onths was running after dark. I already had the gear to run in the dark that keeps me aware of others, and others aware of me: my Amphipod reflector vest, Knuckle Lights, and Treks Titanium headphones (featured on the right).

What I noticed first was that it was much cooler in the mornings, duh. The sun had been down all night so the residual heat had already dissipated. Cool temps meant cooler body and less stress which equal faster pace and better performance. The other and more noticeable observation was the slim to none traffic when compared to night running. Most people were still sleeping so there less people were on the roads which means less of a chance for me to get hit from a drunk driver or tourist (sorry but they cause more accidents than drunks on Maui).

After two or three days of spending my early mornings out running I realized how much better my days happened to be. I'm a firm believer that when you start a day with a healthy decision then you are more inclined to make healthy decisions throughout the day. So by starting the day with a run that led to a veggie packed protein shake, and tons of water. That then led to better food choices in the employee cafeteria. Then come night time I would end up heading to bed much earlier, but I was sleeping longer and better than before.

Just this week I had a night body barre class, and going to bed after that class was much harder since the workout was so fresh that my muscles hadn't had all day to start recovering. So by exercising in the morning my body was ready for restful sleep by the time it hit 8:00pm. That might seem early to most people, call me a grandpa if you want, but I was still waking up at 4:00am so going to bed that early would get me my eight hours of sleep.

To sum this whole idea up I want to keep this whole morning thing up for a while. I want to see how my training differs, how my sleep will be affected in the long run, and how strong my body will become because of it.