Sunrises during work

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Sunrise photos between intervals are always tricky!
I recently switched my work hours to provide a little more time in the morning to get my training done. And over the last month, it's been great. I get up at my usual time, even sleeping in just a little, ride or run and then head to work. Since I'm not really doing two a day workouts right now, it hasn't been an issue when I end up being there a little longer then 8 hours. It might seem counter intuitive - either way I have to do my workouts in the dark. But there's something about the mornings for me. I might be starting in the dark, but I won't finish in the dark. I'll get treated to a sunrise every day and be able to go to work knowing that I had a quality training session. I won't be stressed out about having to get home, unpack, grab a snack and then get out on the bike for two hours at 6:00 at night. I can get home and chill out or get everything ready for the next morning before relaxing. For me, that's a lot less stressful!
The colors you miss while in bed

It's not always just to the east where the beauty develops
I'm also a morning person. I love getting up early and getting my chores and work finished. I don't like the feeling of having something looming over me all day. So morning workouts are simply an extension of that. It's not any harder to plan for a morning ride or run then a post work one. In fact, it's a little easier since there's no distractions. My lights are ready - both helmet and bar - when I wake up, I have my clothes laid out with a few choices for weather conditions and my bottle is in the fridge, ready. I just need to get up, stretch for a little, have something to drink and I'm out the door. And once I hit the trails, it's just me. I'm not dodging hikers or worrying about an out of control rider thinking the Chutes is his own personal downhill run. I'm also not staring at the numbers since I have to focus on the trail and the only things I can see is what is illuminated in my lights. So the workouts are much more RPE based then power or HR. I can look at all of that after the interval, but during the interval I get to focus on the brain/effort connection so I know how hard I'm going based on how hard it feels. A valuable and underrated skill for sure.

Lights, camera, ride your bike!
No filter - just the honest colors as the day began
And finally, I'm more comfortable in the morning. It might be just as dark at 5:30AM as it is at 5:30PM, but the feeling is different. It's a feeling of anticipation, of starting something instead of chasing the end of the day. It's also more peaceful up there. In the morning, it's the few dedicated sunrise watchers, early morning hikers and dog walkers that are out and about. There's minimal traffic on the road as most people haven't woken up yet. At night, everyone is rushing around, trying to get things done and get home. And with the evening darkness comes the strangers - the people you ride by and get an uncomfortable feeling about. They are awake and looking for trouble at night. In the morning, those types are usually sleeping off the trouble of the prior night! I do worry more about one thing in the morning though - four legged trouble. I know the animals are there. There's a few gnawed on deer in Stratton, just off the main trails right now. And they keep moving a little, so whatever is doing the gnawing is still around, monitoring their snack!


How can you not start the day happy with this kind of view?




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